Jay Psi

I hope you're not thinking of eating that Technic pizza, But I can only agree and hope that the coloured axles are needed for future sets. However these sets may not be Technic - we're seeing more Technic parts in System-based sets, and you could argue that Lego care more about consistent colour schemes in those themes than in Technic.

Compressible suspension? Then I hope it's not made from gas!* I can see both sides to this - if the suspension can be locked in its compressed state then I would be okay with allowing it in theory, but I doubt TLG would let such a mechanism get past their QA process if there was any chance of excessive wear or damage to pieces. If we're going to emulate official sets, then to be safe I would not allow it in the contest. Having said that, would the 8297 Off-Roader be a "typical" example of the type of compressible suspension that is being referred to? Because that mechanism looks okay to me from watching some videos but having never built/bought it I can't be sure. *+1 to anyone who gets this.

You need to make your Brickshelf folder public. But the one picture I can see shows me a very nifty looking (if a little cluttered on top) MOC.

Here's the embed so everyone has no excuse to see yet another excellent one-set MOC from MrTekneex: Kumbbl, I haven't seen a thread on this before so I think you'll be ok with this one. MrTekneex does say on his Facebook page that he is making instructions for this transporter that will hopefully be ready for Christmas. I'd be willing to pay a lot as well, but I'm confident the price will be more than reasonable NB: I've only just "figured out" MrTekneex's name. Boy do I feel daft right now...

You shouldn't have to worry about that, the set should be in print for at least another year. I think 3 years from release is a good rule of thumb for recent flagships. Finding it cheap might be tough though, especially if you don't live somewhere with a strong market for Technic.

With Technic pieces appearing in more non-Technic sets for provide extra rigidity, functionality, etc., perhaps TLG felt the need to produce them in a wider variety of colours so they wouldn't stick out (as they would if they were black/light blue grey)? It does seem odd to make differently coloured axles just for a small Technic set.

A quick search of "Baja Trophy Truck" in this sub-forum would have been a good place to start, because the fourth result is exactly this model. You'll find a link to the instructions and parts list in the opening post. You picked a fine truck to start with though, Madoca's MOCs never fail to amaze. NB: This truck uses a couple of S-Bricks, although they can be switched out for PF IR receivers with little fuss.

You're right. The move towards studless-only sets also brought a recolouring of axles to make them easier to distinguish; black is reserved for even-length axles while LBG is used for odd-length axles. Unless the axle needs to be a different colour for aesthetic purposes that's the way it has been for a decade plus.

It looks like the news that the 1H 2016 sets are on their way to Sariel is being better received than information about the actual sets! That's what good reviews (and hamsters) will do to a group of AFOLs. At least I am reassured that I haven't booked the day off in vain.

Looks like I'm pretty close to the "average" vote - my 1st, 3rd & 4th places came 1st, 2nd & 3rd. Jim, was there anyone whose votes matched the end results exactly from 1st to 3rd, 4th, etc? Fell free to tell me off if you think I'm being lazy! Congratulations to the podium finishers, and well done to everyone that entered this great contest.

Time for me to make this thread slightly more useful... The 42043 Mercedes Benz Arocs is currently available at Amazon.de for €159, a €40.99 (20%) reduction on their usual price. That's £112 at the current conversion rate, a sizeable reduction on the current Amazon.co.uk price of £146, not to mention the £169.99 RRP. Even with shipping to the UK it is still under £125. It's been hovering between €159 and €170 for a few days now but I think it will stay at the current figure until the Christmas shopping picks up (is Black Friday a thing in Germany?) Looks like I have no more excuses not to familiarize myself with the latest and greatest Technic offering!

We've already had a C-Model contest, at the back end of last year. I don't remember any stipulation about instructions, I think it was taken on good faith that every builder stuck to the limits (600 parts, maximum of two sets from 2005 or later). Here are the general, voting and results threads if you want to find out more about how it went.

Err, the link is in the opening post. Go to Stefan's Bricksafe page, find the Aventador Anniversario, download the PDF instructions.

1: 10 3: 6 6: 4 9: 3 17: 2 16: 1

Just to add to this point - when we think about authenticity as it applies to Technic (it is part of the mission statement after all) the first thing that comes to an AFOL's mind is replicating the functions accurately, but authenticity also applies to making the model look like it's real life counterpart. Let's also not forget that the main target audience are children, who may not even bother with the realistic mechanisms and innovative design solutions if the set looks like someone has dropped tins of paint on a block of Swiss cheese. It helps that Lego are a increasingly shrewd with the panels they introduce, as they have to be to justify the cost of production. Yes there will always be concerns about colour vomit but that applies to the liftarms and bricks as well. Stickers? They'll always be a pain but I wouldn't want to see Technic without stickers if it meant ditching the panels they stuck on to.

Bear in mind these opinions are entirely based on the angle(s) we see in those pictures, but in the absence of anything else to go off for the bigger sets I'll take what I can get. The heavy lift helicopter looks really good to my eyes, even in the rather drab white/orange (+ DBG stripe) combination. It has some of the best panelling I've ever seen in an official set. On the other hand the drag racer doesn't do it for me at all, but with two Tumbler tyres confirmed I'm looking forward to their prices dropping sharply on Bricklink. The airport fire truck really does look like a miniature version of Lucio Switch's monster!

With an absence of a like feature, please accept this thumb up: I'm actually surprised I haven't seen that factoid on here before now. I'd like to think I can build quickly if I needed to, but it's more important to take what I can from building the set. This can (should) be enjoying the model coming together, but I find it useful to look at the techniques the designer(s) have used and see if I would have done the same or not. For an upper bound I remember 42009 taking me ~20 hours, but I deliberately spread it over 6 days (one for each booklet). Building 42000 for a friend took ~4 hours, but that was about as quick as I get.

Ah yes, I forgot that the Power Puller had manual steering (I only bought it for the wheels...). That would tick all the boxes and as long as the steering isn't too prone to bump steer it should keep the drag racer going straight under power.

If I had money to bet, I'd put some on the Drag Racer having Tumbler tyres; the days of TLG making new moulds for pieces that have limited use are long gone. But I don't have any money spare, because it looks like I'll be using it to buy almost all of the 1H2016 sets! Are we sure about this? I don't see anything in the description that implies new pistons. New coloured pistons, maybe, but even that's a long shot to me. What I'm quite interested in is how the motorization will work. There was zero mention of steering (and why would there be? I doubt a Lego drag racer will have enough power to lose control out-of-the-box!) so will it end up as a PF version of what we see with pull-back models? If it was designed to move with the M-motor then I can't imagine it being that quick. I agree, it must have some mechanism in there. Maybe a linear actuator (sorry allnp...) connected to a linkage that pushes on the ground to tilt the model until it rests on the wheelie bar, which will probably have a small wheel on it so the bar doesn't drag on the ground. The large Tumbler tyres will help with tilting the model (if they are in this set).

I think you might be missing a trick here

Resistance is futile. You will give in to the yellow side It looks like you're planning on building cars. In that case, you will want a good compliment of wheels, suspension and powertrain parts. Luckily most of these can be found in various supercars, and doubly so because they aren't yellow! Sets like 42000 and 42039 should be easily available and have lots of the parts that are used in the MOCs you describe. They are available in older sets (8070, 8448, the legendary 8880) as well, but these sets can fetch a high price because they aren't produced and contain parts that haven't been used in a long time. As you have mentioned, it would be useful to be able to compare and contrast the techniques used in these sets to the way experienced builders do. Of particular note are red pieces - because red is a very popular colour for supercar MOCs, red bodywork pieces (especially connectors and flex axles) are not cheap. If you're not too picky about what not-yellow colour you want then you can get more for your money, so to speak. I wouldn't be too fussed about motorizing your MOCs just yet - in my opinion it would be better to get a handle on the fundamentals of car construction rather than rushing to make it RC. However 42030 would still get a yes from me because it gives you a full complement of PF pieces (one of each type of motor, two remotes and two receivers) and other nifty pieces like portal axles and green cylinder blocks. If I were to make one recommendation MOC-wise, it would be Nathaniel Kuiper's Predator. As well as being a great example of advanced building techniques, IIRC Nathaniel designed it to use pieces that are readily available and in good supply (apart from the wheel covers, but the I think the instructions offer alternatives), so it isn't expensive to Bricklink the pieces.

I don't know if it's the wait talking, but those sets looks more substantial than the smaller 1H sets of previous years. It looks like the mould for the mudguard panels from 42039 is being put to good use in both the Hydroplane racer and Go Kart.

Purely from a shelf life standpoint I'd go for 42000 - it will be out of production sooner and probably cheaper now. In a year or two 42039 will probably be the same position as 42000 is now (i.e. more readily available and cheaper). The big positive I would take from 42039 (new gearbox parts) doesn't apply if you are looking to motorize the set. Both sets are relatively easy to motorize, a quick search shows how it is done for either set. I suppose 42039 might be easier because there's more space inside the body if you want to keep the look as close to the original as possible. Edit - Here's an example for both sets (both using XL motors), so you can see what sort of changes you would need to make and get a good look at the pieces/construction involved:

Here's the video for you: And your Brickshelf folder isn't public yet, which is a shame because I want to see as much of this beauty as possible! The use of panels at the front and rear is superb, you've taken a relatively simple boxy shape and given it some spot-on styling cues that make it very striking and very reminiscent of low-riders. It's impressively large as well, I make it 31 x 60 studs? It's no wonder you have so few parts left (and have made good use of them).

I was of the assumption that the IP Car would somehow work in the Tumbler tyres, just because they aren't likely to come in any other 2016 sets (Claas Xerion maybe?), but new wheels would be appreciated. Doubly so if they put the mounting holes on the outer edge of the wheel so the steering pivot can be inside the wheel like it should be...