plethorabricks

I got the City and Star Wars calendars this year, and my only complaint (and it is so minor but mindboggling at the same time) is that the calendar layouts on both are EXACTLY the same. Each day on the Star Wars calendar is in the exact same place on the box as the day on the City calendar. So where you open the Day 10 flap on the Star Wars calendar, you go to the exact same location on the City calendar to open Day 10. I don't know if it's like this on the Friends calendar though. They could have been different layouts, just to mix things up. And yeah with a Day-1 Super Battle Droid, you can only go up from there. It took to Day 10 on the CIty calendar to get the non-Star-Wars-theme equivalent - a catapult.

I've built the DS twice. It was thrilling to build both times, but in between I cleaned the pieces because it had been out on display for so long the first time. It was worth it though. Once it is built, yes it is a big honking toy. BUT - when viewed at certain angles, the swooping spherical shape made by the pieces really does work and makes it look like more of a sculpture. You will appreciate it even more as you use ~200 pieces just to builld the radar dish - one of the most impressive Lego flowers you will ever build. And sure, space is a consideration, but you can set it on a table with a small top surface and still display it successfully. As for Cloud City, I think in '03 or '04 the Could City set was released. It was long and kind of bulky, and the architecture in that set doesn't even compare to anything available today.

I once built the B-model from 8258. I agree, the truck is very playable on its own.

It's really neat how you've preserved the feel of other crane and bulldozer sets while making your mocs. This set may get overlooked because it is yellow and treaded and not powered / RC like some of its predecessors. Do you think you could approximate the 8043 B-model with this set?

Hi all...new poster here. I don't want to light any fires about what is and isn't Technic. But from what I have seen in the past few model years, the use of Technic elements in System sets has never been better across the board. From the Creator line, to the Movie line, to Mindstorms, to the Licensed lines and the OP's Tumbler - it's never been a better time to be using Technic elements. The 2014 Star Wars sets alone should receive an award for Most-Improved Engineering. Not only do the Technic elements make these sets the most sturdy and swooshable they've ever been, but the intelligent use of 2-ply and 3-ply locking plate surfaces and the "weaving" of SNOT pieces and plates to strengthen models allow the Technic pieces (particulary the "dreaded" pins) to contribue freely to interesting and fun play functionality. The swiveling guns on the ISD? Pins. The ability for the unfolded ISD "skin" to lay parallel to the ground and not shear off, even while lifting the model only by its all-System-brick neck? Pins. The ability for the B-Wing to hold wings at perpendicular angles while simultaneously supporting a 360-degree free-spinning cockpit? Pins. None of these sets will ever get close to being called Technic, but to me the Technic totally makes these sets the successes that they are. Most of the other Lego lines seem to be doing more with Technic but with less elements overall - Creator's Turbo Quad, the Lego Movie's Super Secret Dropship (which in the movie has a Technic "backbone" on the bottom, where it doesn't exist in the retail model, and doesn't need it), the EV3 Mindstorms set (which to me has the lowest piece count but the most balanced set of Technic parts in over 15 years), and even the DC Super Heroes line (the jaws on the batplane in the Steamroller set!) and the Tumbler chassis supporting all those surface angles. There are quite a few examples in recent Lego System sets where levers and pins are used for movement and play features, and axles and pins are locked in to prevent slippage and accidental disconnects, just as a "pure" Technic set might. These, to me, are also Technic successes, but won't be called Technic. The only line that really seems to be missing out on the party is the Technic line itself, where piece counts go up while functionality plateaus as models move closer to being "all-clad" as a top priority. But for me this isn't about what is and isn't technically Technic. I think the way Technic is being used in System sets now should lead a Technic fan to enjoy the use of Technic even more, even if a set will not be labeled "Technic". "Best use of Technic in <*NON-TECHNIC LEGO PRODUCT LINE*>" would be a pretty interesting series of awards to have.