Splat

Thanks for the replies ekwj, BrickAl, and Brix I just checked my account on The Hut's website... it still says that my 8043 Excavator is 'Awaiting Stock Pick', with an estimated dispatch date of the 20th of April. Every few days I get the following (automated) email: I haven't heard of anyone from Australia getting the 8043 from The Hut in this forum or the Whirlpool forum. I'll keep crossing my fingers, but I won't hold my breath!

Hi Brix, have you received your 8043 Excavator from The Hut yet...? I placed an order at about the same time as you, and while my order hasn't been cancelled (yet), it still hasn't been dispatched yet either. Their website claimed that the 8043 Excavator was usually dispatched within 3 days, but I notice that it has been taken off their website now. I have been waiting for over 3 weeks... Did anyone else place an order for the 8043 Excavator from The Hut at about the same time (14th Arpil), and have you received yours yet...?

I can only go by what I can see in your photos and Blink59's photos, but I had just a few small imperfections. As I suspected, I didn't get the back quite right where the number plate is, and the way I connected the bonnet/hood to the car is also different. There are also a few places where a Axle 3L with Stud was used, but I just used Axle 3L. I'm pretty sure that I had most of the mechanics right though (drive-chain, steering, suspension). Congrats on getting a V8 in there. I didn't think you would be able to do it. But as I mentioned, you did have to change the front suspension set-up quite a bit to get the V8 in there.

Hi TechnicFreak Out Of Sight noticed that if you align the universal joints in a certain way, it can eliminate some/all of the wiggling and vibrations in the Excavator arm. See this topic : http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=49999&view=findpost&p=885184 I followed his instructions, and it seemed to help my Excavator - perhaps this will help yours too. Let us know if this fixes your problem...

From looking at your photos, I can see that mine isn't perfect. It's close, but not perfect I'm not sure if it is legal or not. I know that there are many other scans of Lego sets on the Internet, and Lego themselves make the instructions for many sets available too. But being such a new set, I can't find instructions for the 8081 anywhere. Oh well, I can wait... I'll probably get a few copies of this set for the parts when it becomes available (maybe I'll wait until it is on sale somewhere). I really want those black panels for a MOC that I'm planning, and a differential and shock absorbers are always good too, but there isn't much else to this set apart from a few liftarms, a 4 cylinder engine, and wheels. Thanks for the review You mentioned that there is enough space for a V6, but with the way that the front suspension is set up, I'm not sure that a V6 would fit though.

Hi efferman, is there any chance of you scanning the instructions and putting them online somewhere...? They aren't available on the official Lego website yet, but I want to see how close I was with my reverse engineered attempt at making this set. Thanks. I have also managed to modify mine a little bit and add two M Motors to have it remote controlled. I hope to get a video and pics up soon...

Welcome to the forums MstrOfPppts I'm in IT too (developing websites), so I completely understand that you want to get away from the computer when you aren't working.

After lurking on the forums for a while and reading other people's reviews, lately I've been thinking about doing a review to give something back to this great community. I have at least 3 complete sets, I have a dSLR, and one of my other hobbies is photography, I have a bit of time to follow the course, and As mentioned above, my motivation is that I want to give something back. My reviews would be mostly Technic oriented, and I'd like to mix in some computer generated pictures and animations to show how the mechanisms work too. But maybe I should graduate from the Reviewers Academy first... if you'll kindly give me access...

The 8, 24, and 40 tooth gears fit better in the older studded beam constructions, but they don't fit as easily into the newer studless liftarm system. They are just a fraction too big to fit nicely between the liftarms. The 16 and 20 (and 12) tooth gears fit a lot better. Perhaps this is why you don't see as many of the 24 tooth gears these days.

Some time ago, I put together a proof-of-concept for a larger planetary gear, which you can see in my BrickShelf folder. The idea was to have a fixed annulus gear (the outer ring), and in this case it is made out of gear racks. As the planet carrier spins, at least one of the planets is in contact with the annulus gear at all times, which is also linked to the sun gear. You can also swap the gears to get different ratios, as shown in this pic. It works (I made it out of real bricks too), but it is a bit large to include in a real model, and the teeth can grind and/or jam sometimes. But as a proof-of-concept it was interesting to see. Wikipedia's Epicyclic Gearing page

I agree, the alien looks like the Mangalores from Fifth Element: The colour scheme of the green/red/magenta also looks similar those used in Invader Zim

To see it in action, It is also called a Trammel of Archimedes (Wikipedia).

Nice review chaosof99 The only set with pneumatics available at the moment is the 8049 Tractor with Log Loader : Later this year the 8110 Unimog U400 will become available that also has pneumatics : The small pneumatic cylinder came in 4 Technic sets, and a range of Education sets and add-on packs : BrickLink

In the 8070 Supercar, the inner and outer parts actually come pre-assembled. I'm not sure if the one from the 8475 RC Race Buggy was pre-assembled or not (I got this set about 8 years ago). The inner and outer parts are joined together pretty tightly (although they spin freely), and I'm not going to try pulling them apart as I don't want to break the plastic. If these parts did break, it would make them pretty useless. Perhaps someone else that has already pulled them apart can confirm this for you...?

(click images for larger views) Here is a pic of the 'spindle' in the 8070 Supercar: As you can see, there is a recess in the middle, and then a hole in the centre. The recess will allow the end of a universal joint to fit in it (a tight fit), but the hole in the centre isn't big enough to fit an axle, it is only big enough to fit a Rigid Hose: Or an antenna: Here is a pic of the 'spindle' in the 8475 RC Race Buggy (B model): Again, the recess will allow the end of a universal joint to fit in it (a tight fit), but the centre hole is a fraction smaller again, so an axle won't fit through, and neither will a Rigid Hose or Antenna.

From the photos that Blink59 provided on BrickShelf, I decided to try and reverse engineer the 8081. I know that it isn't 100% correct, but I did the best with the photos that I had to work from and the spare parts that I had. Okay, a few things to note: Obviously I didn't use the same colour scheme as the official model (the black panels aren't available yet) I didn't have any spare Red Technic, Liftarms 1 x 13 Thick, so I had to use Light Bluish Grey and Black instead I think that there is supposed to be a number-plate at the back, but I couldn't see exactly where this was meant to be, so I left it out There were some parts that I couldn't see too well in Blink59's photos, so I made them up a bit. I know that there are a few errors, particularly at the front and the back Please let me know if you see something that doesn't look right, or you want to see any other photos. (Click images for larger pics) And a photo with pimped out rims (wheels/tires from 8070 Supercar, and hub-caps from 8068 Rescue Helicopter) More photos on BrickShelf (once moderated) About the model itself... The back is very empty, and the chassis has a bit of flex in it, but maybe that is just the way I made it. By allowing the bonnet/hood to open, it removes a fair bit of rigidity in the frame (the 8070 Supercar felt this way too). There is quite a bit of ground clearance, but not too much travel in the suspension; about 1.5 studs in the front, and 1 stud in the back. I guess that this is probably to scale for a vehicle like this. The front suspension is quite a bit softer than the back suspension. I actually don't mind this model too much, but I'll reserve my final opinion for when I get the official model. Mortymore, I think this set could be motorised fairly easily. A Battery Box will fit either laying down or standing up in the back, especially once you remove the hand-of-god steering. Two M-Motors would fit nicely in the space under the seats, or you could probably fit an XL-Motor in there instead of one of the M-Motors, and there is still plenty of room to squeeze in a IR Receiver somewhere. It might end up a bit back-heavy though. Edit: I've also uploaded a short

I don't think this is a MOC. From BrickLink, those Technic, Panel Fairing #17 Large Smooth, Side A haven't previously been available in black. Unless Blink59 painted some pieces...? Also, those wheels look new too.

This is an expensive option, but does work: Get a Power Functions Rechargeable Battery Box, which has a socket for a Power Functions Transformer 10VDC, which plugs into the wall socket. The rechargeable battery box can be turned on while the transformer is plugged in. I'm not sure if the battery box will have any problems if it is plugged in for a prolonged length of time though.

Hi Adam. I'm fairly new around here too, but I just wanted to welcome you to Eurobricks. There is a Buy, Sell, Trade and Finds Forum here on Eurobricks that might be of interest to you, and there is also an Aussie Sales Thread that you might be interested in too (just jump to the last few pages for the most recent stuff). You could also try buying/selling Collectible Minifigures on the BrickLink site or eBay.

Hi Snipe. Just so I understand better, when you mention 'engine', are you referring to: a real engine that provides power to the system (eg. a PF M or XL motor), or a 'fake' engine (eg. the Technic cylinders and pistons) that just look like an engine, but don't provide power (power is to be provided by another source, such as turning the the wheels or a PF motor located somewhere else in the drive-train)? You have to think about your inputs and outputs for each element in your drive-train. A PF motor has no (mechanical) input, and one output. A 'fake' engine has one input, and zero or one output. A gearbox (which includes any gears in the drive-train) has one input, and one or more outputs. A Lego clutch has either one input and one or two outputs (but only one output at a time), or two inputs and one output (but only one input at a time). A differential has either one input and two outputs, or two inputs and one output. A wheel has one input and no outputs. The simplest drive-train would be to have one motor, which has one output, and this output goes to the input of a wheel (that is, the motor is connected directly to the wheel). The one output of the motor goes to the one input of the wheel. Obviously you are after something a bit more complex than that, but you have to keep your inputs and outputs in mind while designing your drive-train. In your last diagram on this page (not the PasteBin one), your gearbox doesn't have any inputs, so I'm not sure how you expect this to work. A gearbox needs an input. In your PasteBin diagram, this should work if the engines are 'fake' engines, but I'm not sure why you have the clutches in there. If the engines are real engines (ie. PF motors), then the difference in speed between the motors (and there is always a difference in speed) might cause some problems, and you would be better off using a differential between the two motors as indicated in allanp's diagram. Once you have your drive-train sorted, you just have to be careful of torque in the system, otherwise you could destroy gears, stall motors, and/or rip your frame apart.

It looks like a sticker to me. If you look closely in the corners of the top panel (near the pin holes), you can see the edge of the sticker there.

To explain the diagram: There is an engine at the front, and an engine at the rear. The outputs of these engines go into a differential. The differential accepts inputs from the two engines (which can be going at different speeds), and combines these to provide a single output. The output of the differential goes into a gearbox. The output of the gearbox then goes into another differential, but this time a single input is split into two outputs, one going to the front axle, the other going to the rear axle. At each axle (front and rear), the input is again split in two (using more differentials), so that you finally have four outputs, one going to each of the four wheels. Does that help...?

Thanks for the 'welcome' everyone. Welcome to you too Brix. Whilst I don't know anyone else in person that has a similar story to mine, it does seem that there are quite a few AFOLs around the world that do have a similar story. We are not alone.

Looking at the BrickLink page for the 8070 it shows the Extra Items that come with the set, including the 2 x Red 3 x 5 L-Shape Liftarms and 8 x Black Technic Pins with Friction, and a few other small pieces. From memory, I also had these as extra items after building the A model. I would assume that these extra parts are used in the B model, but I haven't built it... yet.

It looks like the suspension at the back might be trailing arm suspension. Hopefully it will have independent rear suspension, but if there is an engine, I'm not sure how this will be set up. If there is a differential, then the rear suspension might be linked. Or perhaps the engine is only linked to one of the rear wheels. Any other thoughts? I think that I will get a few copies of this set, but mainly for the variety and number of black panels, as I need them for a MOC I'm working on. I just checked my 8069 Backhoe Loader that I received mid last week, and it has 3 holes in the wheels. Could we be seeing the start of a whole new set of wheels with 6 holes?