Grosse Kind

I'm still a fan of the earlies. I recall when i got 8020, not building the little van or range rover lookin thing, but regearing the crap out of the windmill with a borrowed 24 tooth gear to 27:1 and needing to spin the propeller blade by hand in order to get the geartrain turning enough to handle the torque required. Then adding a second steering kingpin back onto the original power input shaft to do same before laying into the third gearset overdrive i added to get that initial breakaway result instead. And the joy of 8841 having a piston (even if i MUCH later learned it was just a revision of 854) that i could with a 40 toother alter the stroke and feet per minute mean piston speed with higher gearing to the point where it "threw a rod". Sure they looked crude, but it was never really about the styling back then (if you wanted frippery there was the model team stuff). I got 5510 one year for christmas and though it looked nice, it was boring as batshit. I fitted a pair of pins and a six hole belt/steering wheel to two of those big pretty white wheels to allow them to transmit drive to a crownwheel and built something else entirely instead. I may now older and better equipped for parts and sets locate all its pieces one of these days and rebuild it to appreciate it for what it was but back as a kid it was more limiting than it was inspiring. I always wanted 8860, everything about it was cool and out in the open on display. Turning it upside down is in fact pretty plain (slight better look at the diff but thats about it) as all the workings are right there to see from the top. I am glad i picked up 8880 but it feels less "pure" and though the body is crude, it was there. I'll get hold of 8865 (beginning of the end. Still plenty of function, but form was getting its toehold) as i look forward to owning the better gearbox and its now to my jaded older eyes a classic in its own right, but i loved things unshrouded and am toying with rebuilding it and 8880 as an open chassis with a few vertical beams here and there to keep whatever (mild at best) structural rigidity that that depletes. I hope 8110 is going to be the marvel i read about but though its packed with features, its not exactly breaking massive new ground to my mind. Lots of nifty subsystems quite neatly packaged into a though compact massive model made possible by new part designs and some very neat assembling tech. Insofar as as the shape of it, i am impressed and by perusing the features and instructions online theres a pretty good argument for its existence. But theres a bloody great big (even if again its compact. Never owned or really wanted 870 but its "add on" asect appealed to me, without it you just had a wheel on a shaft to turn to negate any need for it) electric motor and battery and compressor and sychros to have it do its thing that are covered by a tray body and its direct non ratio alterable drive to the crank in spite of a centre diff and a dummy steering wheel in the cab of as little consequence as a steering wheel in a lego town set when cars were 4 studs wide, the windscreen wipers on 5510, or arguably even the very cool to me still seating on 8860. I've no doubt i'll love it and be in awe, but the purity is gone. Technic has let me learn many basics that i've carried into the generally less adaptable to purpose (don't like the internal ratios of your VW Beetles gearbox? Lets see you substitute a pair of 16's for a 24 and an 8 without removing the entire drivetrain and either hunting down a gearset from an alternate model or having a new main and layshaft forged, splined, tooth cut, machined and hardened) world of full scale motorcycles and cars that i let take over from it for which i'm forever grateful. But as it evolved up, and i grew on, i find i can easier and more affordably buy a project bike (i recently picked up a free 1976 yamaha TY175 trials bike in basket case form off a friend and had it rideable from a stripped engine in a bucket for 28 dollars in parts, and hours of fulfilling free to self labour) or old car to restore than the $350 that 8110 has cost and isn't yet delivered. And sadly, my fingers ain't as small for fiddly things as they once were ;)

Still my favourite. Got a couple of other sets that make me smile too but she's a sweetheart.

Arrived in the mail this morning. Quite exciting and following the instructions, all slipped together fine. See how we go when its big brother arrives next week or so. Impressed by the strength of its winch cable twine too.

Thankyou fellas. The BOM seems to be to my rescue thus far. Once i sort the WiFi out on the laptop i'll check out the programs you mentioned. Slight hiccup: the BOM shows part numbers in the colour i want for certain parts, but google turns up nought. hoping as you described, the manager one will reveal all once i get onto it. A very slight variation on an moc i saw but hoping the parts exist to make it.

Thankyou. Later works may be more of a nightmare which is why i'm glad theres a way around this. The current project is composed of only 24 but even those are proving fun to track down. I'll check the programs you mentioned out. Again, thanks for the patience.

Hi. Is there a way to get part numbers from the parts you select in LDD please? Have drawn a design and having hells own trouble working out how to look up the part #'s to order and build it. I used the word descriptions i found on a few sites that identify brick designs on the net but i'm headbutting a wall. One made of bricks. Not plastic ones but clay. Also, if a part is shown on LDD, and can be changed to another colour, is that a verification that somewhere out there such a part exists in that hue and is procurable even if its rare? Thanks for your time, glen.

Thanks Thomol. Bloody good video! Going to download the instruction pdf he mentioned and have a look over it even though it's likely as you said a lot expensive to build. The thread daunted me somewhat as i'm not planning any non std attachments or extra motorization and was going batty reading through. 70 something pages seemed a bit excessive and i stopped circa 10. Later on perhaps. Shall be careful with assembly re the diffs as i'll not rush into this. Will bebmy first studless and think the instructions if even way too thorough/simplified, as described, will be a godsend. Little sad from my reading that the cab wheel does not steer, but am sure theres been a way found around that somewhere. Well, hopefully :)

Thankyou both. The outrigger placement of the batteries in std form, i take it once removed the vehicle would not stay level into the other tilt direction? Is there possibly a way off counterbalancing it on the other side or does the central battery placement to the tray maintain it level fully? Would the airtank then fit where the battery was before perhaps or is there a better spot? So far i've nothing planned for the tray, except to see if a 9390 will fit in it. Again, thanks.

Still there really i think. Entered them in 1990 with the purchase of 8850 and though i dreamed of 8860 still, even back then, ebay not existing to me and had it done so the price of them was out of reach. 8850 saw me with 6 smooth running round pistons and a differential. I looked at 8865 when it was current and though i thought it interesting, cost was a factor again. From probably 91 onwards i never really gave things another thought as life took over and golf, bmx, motorcycles, and studies pushed it aside. 2009 i split with my girlfriend and through some retail therapy involving a saxophone, the box set of the rockford files, two more suzuki's, and another couple of other things i'd always wanted, 8860 came into my life and was since never out of eyeshot and played with periodically, life got in the way again. Last year i got run over on one of my suzukis by a young girl who wasn't looking where she was driving and made a mess of my leg. Enter long recovery/non employment/climbing the walls. One day while thumbing through a back issue of a subscription i have called "Oldtimer Markt" i spotted the big orange unimog and saw how far things had come. Got a bit of googling on and found out what i'd missed. Figured i'd grab something to keep myself amused and trawled through what was out there on offer. I discounted 8070 as a bit gimmicky, and though 8448's 5 speed seemed appealing, the body and construction type put me off. Suddenly, down to between 8865 and 8880 i figured the snchro box was enough of a draw and a cheapy was procured, once again off ebay. It's flawed, as was the 8860 before it and delving into ways to fettle out some of their shortcomings and make them more playable has kept me amused quite pleasantly since. So i suppose, 8110 prompted my return (even if its now 4 years old and discontinued) and i should see the one i've ordered in the next week or two. Overall, when you compare the price of them, to how much time you can invest into even a basic set, and how well they last and retain relevance in your lives they're pretty damn good value for money. Like anybody, i wish i had more parts to build with and shall procure a few bibs and bobs, but the next new set i look at getting, if at all, will have to be something pretty special. But never say never.

Little excited. Bought a sealed set off ebay this afternoon. My first "new" lego since 1990. Have decided to also make it my last. Was a snippet trepidatious at how much i was spending and may track down one or two used classics but am certainly going to enjoy this one. Probably been done to death already but any suggestions on small enhancements or pitfalls i should be wary of? Would like to build fairly as is but in searching have read of a glitch in the front panhard rod joint and the suggestion of an air tank. Am prone to tinkering with my other two main babies (both ebay buys made waaaaay out of production. An 8860 and an 8880. They're never truly finished are they?) so don't really mind if i need to pull parts of it down post assembly but if theres something to be "put to right" in the preliminaries i'd love to be made aware in advance please. Am not expecting the model to be perfect but would like it at least as good as it should be in box stock form so would love if you've run across hiccups or outright maladies, could you make me aware please? Thanks for your time, glen.

You're a saint! Thankyou for slotting them all together for me, it's a big help to see in the solid and meshed. I'll track some down and get to playing and experimenting to see what works, what works better, and what generates the biggest grins. May grab a few extras to toy with the reduction ratios in my 8880. Re the unsychronized shifting whilst in motion: did it, doing it, and with feel theres no real violence. I think the double bevels with how they're cut they may knock into place a tad lighter too. Possibly if i can find space i may see if the three 8's inline on the engine primary drives jackshaft will change out for twelves and try a 20 as the slide pinion. Perhaps reverse the quadrant a-la a drive-second-first pattern in my Chrysler. Possibilities possibilities and possibilities. Feel like an 8 year old again!

Pics would be wonderful thankyou. I fed this into LDD: and they all physically fit, just concerned by the width of the 20 as seemingly thicker than the limit of one studs movement per gear either not engaging from first to second fully or still holding in the shift from second to third locking both shafts solid. Again, much appreciated.

Thankyou fellas. Will head to the link.

Thankyou Thomol. By rights i could run 12:20 into first to make it lesser than the 6 to one standard back to a fairly manageable wide ratio cluster with a 3 1/3 to one first. And if that was still too high i can bring it back to 2.9:1 with my 16 tooth diff pinion. Or if that turns to crap, run her as you stated in close ratio format as she handles second in the original setup without hassle. Have you put these two gears into a trans of this dispositioning and run them please? By the look of photos the 12 and 20 are wider than any of the original gears and may take more shaft travel to disengage fully and leave both first and second concurrently engaged. Only asking as i went off some opinions with my last purchase that were untested and i'd prefer to know someone has "tried" prior to me making another parts "buy".

Hi. Went to peeron to peruse the build sheets and it doesn't seem to be shown. Has anyone ever built it or seen any printouts of how to? Thankyou for your time, glen.

Thankyou. As i never got it new i wasn't sure that it may have been a time effected thing but my little (somewhat larger in my thirties than it would have been at 6 when i began craving it) heart was broken when i purchased it in 2009 to discover my dream sets three ratio transmission, really wasn't. In the grand scheme of things, probably no great tragedy, but first at six to one overall isn't ridiculous compared to (admittedly, driving not driven) engines of my particular brand of automobile with ratios of 3.32:1 and 2.92:1 at the gearbox and diff respectively, in first gear giving almost 9.7:1. Admittedly they haven't got pistons a third and crank counterweights half the width of the driver seat either. Not considered lube thus far as most if not all attract dust where you'd least want it. With all period parts and no great diversification from the stock layout, i'll still be interested to see what others have concocted. I'm keen on era specific stuff as though the printing press is mightier than the scabbard, one likely came out before and was easier to hurl at an opponent than the other, particularly if their weapon wasn't yet invented at the time.

Good afternoon. Has anyone had any thoughts on getting all gears in this set to work without skipping? Would like to imagine theres more elegant setups than i've used. Tried the search function to no avail but figure even if its been done to death elsewhere i'm keen to see whats out there. Ta muchly for your time.

The 14 would make a fair grasp of things and at least carry the can in second and third, but first was a hit and miss affair. After bracing the trans and output shafts, the strength was there for the ratio and no further gearbox drama's ensued. I wouldn't consider the standard 8860 box great as designed. But at 6:1 overall and those four big square slugs, the crownwheel and pinion became the new ratcheting point vs load. After waiting 25 years to own this set, amended instructions with the lockout on first or not, i was going to have three working ratios. I have that now, reliably, but its not original or pretty though is done with all period pieces. Might start a new thread see what others have done to get around it.

Have obtained an 12 tooth bevel. Gear does not transmit torque in the application and skips horrendously. It actually makes the 14 seem good by comparison. Video below is in the highest of the three gears and it can't cope even with the low loads that that places on it. Shall stick with my modded sixteen. Has the added advantage of not just curing the skip but with my other bracing, its higher gearing (motor-differential) continues to allow first to be used. Not that the 12 was a large investment, but would have been nicer to know it was not suitable beforehand. May add it to a centre diff in 14-12-14 config as like AllanP stated, the gears when mixed form an LSD, (even if the configuration is reversed) but its otherwise superfluous in the interim.

Please tell me thats not the end of the comics but!

Thankyou kindly allan. I'll look at purchasing some of them or a set that contains them now. As a last ditch verification, is it possible for someone posessing the two aforementioned part numbers out there to physically test if they will work as explained in my last post please?

Will a 73071 accept drive at 90 degree to the outer 28 teeth from an 12 tooth 6589 as per the drawing herein if the YELLOW brick was removed and the entire RED assembly was moved one stud closer to the BLACK brick taking the YELLOWs place? I know the differential i've used in the picture is not the same as a 73071 as per my technic model 8850 but i'm not having much luck explaining the question otherwise. If i had access to a 12 tooth i could test all this myself but i've never even seen one. Thankyou in hope in advance, glen.

"forgive my curiosity but, what is you native language? your sentences are very long and some of them seem as if translated from non-english. Again, i'm just curious. the reason I am asking is, i have met people from different parts of the globe, and often just based on how they construct their sentences, you can almost guess where they're from. I hope my inquiry is ok, otherwise please ignore." Hi DrJB. Australian english. Inquiry is more than ok. Also, now intrigued! Were you to have hazarded a guess, where did i sound like i originated please?

Thankyou for the replies. Zbij: have not heard of realbricks as yet. I take it the full compendium of gears/parts both new and old (discontinued) is made available in it? Thanks for the suggestion. Blakbird: i think that your answer covers the basics quite nicely. Would it be fair to say that a 12 will take the place of a 14 if all 12 or all 14's are kept exclusively like to like parts? My main concern (hope) is that if a 12 can be used as drive from (as opposed to just in and providing the action of) the 28 tooth old differential, then one or more may be worth procuring as a safeguard to stressing out the 14's i'm currently reliant upon that have already demonstrated a propensity to skip and may eventually through age and brittle tendencies, someday stop skipping and simply crack. Will a 12 and the old differential mesh happily and with durability together? Splat and Milan: ta muchly for the tech imparting, i'll catalogue that for later use once i get into studless and its myriad intricacies. So far i've no dealings with any of the newer gears from the interim of my hibernation in the 90's. Sad as it sounds, my introduction to the novelties of 6539's, 6542's, 6573's, and the grooviness of (8 of the suckers per in fact) 2907 and what it and 2999 have made a possibility though now 21 years old, hit me as as big a revelation to others when they were new, only 3 months ago. I've a degree of catching up to do that made the term "dark ages" i've noticed reading other expats posts rather apt. Not sure how i'll go with it all as with the exception of the old and new differential casings on size and structural grounds, what i've always loved with lego was the possibilities afforded by the restrictive parameters of its design. Knowing what would or wouldn't work by the constraints of what was out there to build with and all assemblies being a complex unification of singular components was what drew me to Lego and particularly technic of old. The newer sets seem to leave some of that out insofar as being more aesthetic and to make a panel for example thats now a single piece of thin sculpted plastic with compound curves once was a longwinded or non event involving tens to hundreds of bricks. The reduction dropbox hubs on the unimog i'm considering as my intro to the new are another example of the one part replacing a multitude of complex assembling of sole components to make, and would end up grossly out of proportion to the whole. I guess i'll just suck it up and dip my toes and see if the new style appeals to me.

Thankyou Balbo, LittleJohn and incomplet also. Been looking around the site, getting pangs of want and admiration from some of the builds i'm seeing and models i wasn't previously aware of. Not necessarily a good thing as the budget doesn't currently run to the unimog i think i'm going to lust after. Will attempt not to be too much of a nuisance as i get into theswing of things. Cheers.