Jay Psi

I'd second 42029. I'm not a fan but many people I know hold the set in high regard because it's very mod-friendly, including remote control conversions. If you're interested in motorization then 9398 has all the Power Functions parts needed to make your own drivable vehicle but I'm pretty sure that's EoL now so a cheap one will be hard to find. But if you're mainly into trains I assume you'll have enough receivers and remotes already? The only PF part you may have to buy separately would be the servo motor but this isn't necessary, medium motors can steer vehicles just as well. In terms of suspension parts, 42000/42039 would be good buys as well. They also have more useful parts for supercar MOCs if you're looking at those. However 42039 may still be expensive (or unavailable) depending on where you're from and 42029 should be cheaper than both. Of course you can't beat flagships for sheer numbers and 42009 is a good place to start. If you are bitten with the Technic Bug (!) there are instructions to convert it to full RC as well.

This is a mega review. You've taken the right pictures and the video demonstrations of the mechanisms really help get the good points of the set across. What's more amazing is that the review still feels very concise and to the point. You've actually convinced me to put this set on my list and not just as a decent parts pack. I'm not sure air jacks are the feature that will have people fawning over this set, and pneumatics are being covered rather well later in the year ... but I agree with everything else, most notably removable front and rear bodywork (the removable engine cover on 8674 would be a good starting point here) and the inclusion of some nod towards a hybrid system. It's also worth remembering the preliminary design did have the Big Honking Fin (BHF) that is mandatory on all current prototypes, so maybe when that was removed any trace of a tunnel or diffuser went with it. On the subject of steering wheels, all modern prototypes actually have left or right hand drive. The regulations demand that both LMP1 and LMP2 cars are nominally capable of seating two people. Of course in practise the "extra seat" is taken up by the hybrid system in LMP1 and electronics/extra cockpit access in LMP2. However this doesn't change the fact that it would be easy to link the steering wheel to the HoG/front axle.

So if I bought the ebook where does that put me on the Lego AFOL scale? But more seriously, there are valid reasons to prefer a digital to a physical copy (for me it's accessibility - I always have a pdf-capable device with me so when I'm on the road I can easily grab a few minutes to read some more). However, if the choice is print-only or no book at all, I'll accept that in order to see the next book produced. I'm not naive enough to think that the piracy would disappear with a physical copy, but the lack of a digital copy to start with should discourage all but the most ardent "sceners". Yes, it does make me less likely to buy the book at all but at least I still have the opportunity to purchase it. Thanks for thinking about us (I seem to be the only ebooker in this thread!), but ultimately I would suggest that you go with the numbers. I expected the print copy to outsell the ebook but not by that much. What's the split in digital sales from the Humble Bundle and through other online stores? Honestly it sounds like the exposure from the Humble Bundle has done more harm than good, I realize it's not easy to find out but do you have any idea of how prevalent the piracy was before and after the bundle went live? Did NoStarch have any previous business with the Hubmle Bundle or similar outlets, because if they did I would expect them to have given you good warning about exactly this situation - I know this isn't the first book-only bundle they have sold. Also I seem to remember you mentioning anti-piracy measures before releasing Incredible Lego Technic. If I'm right, what came of that? I remember hearing that big-name artists got less than £1 from every CD they sold back when single-disc albums cost £12-15, so if you factor in economies of scale and the size of the market 1/16 of the revenue sounds about right to me. Think of it as a measure of just how much work (and money) goes into making and distributing a high-quality product for a niche audience.

You'd be surprised by the lengths some people will go to chasing the "glory" of being the first to release unpirated content, and once the hard work (as it were) has been done all it takes is Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V to get the EZ-PYRASEE ball rolling again. As someone who bought the Humble Bundle just to get your book in electronic format, I would live with you to ditching the ebook format even though I would be less likely to purchase it. There isn't much of a sliding scale with DRM - it's either woefully easily bypassed or it frustrates the paying customer no end, and in a lot of cases it's both. If a print-only run is going to be the only way to get round this issue then I think you should do what it takes.

This is what I was getting at, thanks for the clarification. I would be confident in saying that most people coming out of their dark ages won't have taken the time to look into Bricklink and will have bought their set from a shop or ebay (hence the exorbitant price). In my case the decision to buy the Unimog was on impulse - it was probably another two months until I stumbled upon BL. It is, so seeing as I've helped drag it off-topic let's get back to it: I was talking to a friend recently who also came out of his dark age with a Technic set. His last experiences with Technic were 8880 and 8480 (I spent a lot of time at his house when we were young...) so he was very hesitant about the change to studless construction. But he bought 8109 and thankfully he hasn't looked back since.

I didn't vote or apply for voting this time, but the top two in my mind came first and second (and my 3rd choice was 4th) so I'll claim that as validation of my opinions! Well done Jeroen, Omikron, TeClem8 & D3K. Thank Jim for hosting another great competition.

The only thing I could ask for is the addition of the sidepods just in front of the rear wheels, but I assume that didn't gel well with the curved bodywork. Regardless this is a brilliant MOC.

While I also prefer 8043 to 42009 I don't think it's such a stretch to cite the mobile crane as a "landmark" set. I would say that some of it could be attributed to not being able to purchase 8043 or even see it in person to compare it with 42009. I can't speak for those in this thread but if they were only seriously thinking of getting back into Lego in the last couple of years then a £200+ out-of-print set was never an option. If you had made this thread before 42009 I suspect we'd see a similar trend with 8110 (replacing 42009) and 8043. You've also got to factor in the sheer part count of 42009 - it [currently] has the most parts of any Technic set. That's a big draw for tempting people out of a Dark Age and back into a hobby which is known for being expensive at the best of times. YMMV on how much value for money the 42009 parts actually represent, but the "endless pins" debate is probably best had in another thread. Again, the numbers argument extends to the boom extension and I think the number of axles/wheels? (Correct me on this if necessary). As with most things nowadays the headline figures of the crane grab people's attention, perhaps moreso than anything individual aspect of 8043 at first glance. Add that to the assumption that bigger => more complex => better and it's not hard to see why 42009 is so well received. (I should point out that I do like 42009 a lot, despite just denouncing it in the above paragraphs!) As for the set that brought me out of my Dark Age, it was 8110. I had the choice between that and 9398 but the crawler was never going to win; I had the chance to finally get a pneumatics set that my parents never saw fit to get me as a child... Also first post, hello, AFOL, Technic fan, etc.