Karle

I used the abbreviation for the word " assembly". Now I know!

Take a look at Motomatt's 2980 Moc of a Peterbilt Tri Axle. It has a motor driven lifting stub axle megablocks'y with a spring suspension.

It would be nice if Lego would just produce some of the parts that they have already issued. Short steering arms (6571) and the left and right yellow fairing panels (64681 and 64393) come to mind. I'm sure others can add to this list.

Agree! Build the Ultimate version with the extended boom or go right to the Grove 6400.

Look on rebrickable, Bobby's Blocks (105) had 8 new ones for $.75 each.

Contact Lego and let them know that you are missing those parts. They are extremely helpful about replacing missing parts.

I built Jürgen's version of the 8043, from scratch, last year. This was a full build ,including stickers, all of the long panels and a LennyRhys bucket. The cost of the build was approximately $500. By the way, the bucket is the strongest part on the boom. I tried digging in snow and the boom arms will twist long before the bucket is stressed.

There is a drawing that shows how to rig the boom sections to retract the third section. Look under Ultimate 42009, the post was by" therealjustin. Sorry! I don't have the post number"

Looks good ! Now can you find pens to match some of the other Lego colors?

Speaking of rechargeable batteries, I just bought a charger for a Lego rechargeable battery. There are no instructions on how long to leave the charger on or if the red charge light changes states. Can someone out there shed some light on this problem.

One thing not mentioned is the S-brick for RC control. The price is not that much greater than the IR receiver/transmitters and the performance is much better. You can use them out doors in bright sun light and at a much greater range. Each brick has four outputs and can be hidden inside your creation.

I like it. It's in my file of Lego MOC's to build.

Take a look at www.philohome.com LEGO tech info You may find your answer there.

Sounds interesting! Please post a few pictures of your work.

Nice detail over all. What is the part number of the cylinder covers?

Are the channel selector switches set to the same numbers? As you said, not rocket science, but some times the obvious can kick you in the back side.

I don't believe so. With all sections extended, the model is on the edge of stability and disaster as it is.

I've built the Grove using one 42009 kit and ordering the rest of the parts from Lego and Brick Link. There was a parts list for the first version that was "mostly" accurate. I found it on Brick Shelf, unfortunately, I'm not sure of the link. The hard copy has \Grove GMK6400 New.bsx printed on it. The prim mover of version 1 is a little under powered, the steering's a little vague, and there is a tendency to leave gears and 2.5 axels in its wake. The MK II is now being rebuilt into a MK III. Good luck with your build.

Agree! The Ultimate 42009 is a good next build. I suggest that you build it with the "extended boom" designed by Christophe Moittie. That makes a really nice model.

If it proves to be to big for TC-9 rules then blow off the contest and keep building. It has the potential to become a great model.

I'd be interested in buying a few of the Heavy Hooks.

The large LA's can be modified by parting off the ends, the top of one and the bottom of the other. I used a metal lathe to ensure accuracy. The screw was machined off of one of the rods and a hole drilled in the end. It is a little smaller than the pin on the other rod. The other rod had the connector removed. The 2 were then mated by forcing them together and then silver brazed. The inner bodies were machined and a piece of brass tubing 12mm long was used to secure them together. When assembling them and before the glue sets, rotate one of them until the inner threads line up so that the rod screw can pass from one to the other without binding. The outer barrels were turned so that one would fit into the other by about 3mm. I used 2 double LA's on my ultimate 42009 and a triple set on the Grove 6400, that was unnecessary because a double set will lift the boom to the stops, but triples do look good. I an unable to up load my pictures from backlink.

I'm interested in building the 8275 bulldozer. Has anyone built one with pneumatics?

I know I'm coming to this party late, but I'm gathering the parts to build this model and would like to make it studless too. Did any of you build it and if so would you share your progress and pictures.

I have no problem with using third party or modified Lego parts. With the move toward more realistic models I think this is gong to become more common.