DarkShadow73

One would think with the 8110 in orange that TLG would have enough molds to have made the 42006 in orange...that would have been awesome.

Now that makes me drool, I wish TLG would make at least 1 excavator in orange instead of standard yellow all the time...the 8294's red scheme was a nice change, but I tend to see a lot of orange color ones around my neck of the woods, wish I had enough orange to modify my 42006 that way...very good work Technic Gearhead...

Agreed there captainmib - it makes buying a 2nd copy null for me, they didn't show the back attachment, its kind of dopey looking...if it was a lateral ripper like most big dozers have I might have bought a 2nd copy, but its more like a harvester. Kind of false advertising on TLG's part in a way, they said it could be made into a dozer, but just axles sticking out in front isn't a dozer, it would need a solid blade...ah well, no biggie, saved some $$$...as agrof put it, its more of an agricultural vehicle, just without wheels...

Problem is the 8043 is a much larger scale than the 8294 and 42006...i thought I'd just get my thought out there on whether it is possible to attach a bucket like the 8294...I'm trying to modify 1 of my 8294's for just a claw grabber, just having issues since they only use 2 LA's on the 8294. I know its possible to accomplish this, I'm just not as good at MOCs as most of you are...thought I'd throw the idea out there...really it wouldn't have been a stretch for TLG to add a 3rd LA, whether it be full-size or mini for the bucket tilt function...

Nice informative vid...still don't understand what the attachment on the back is for though...usually some dozers come with rippers in back, but always side to side (aka 8275), this one is strange...I'd build it, but I've got only 1 copy of the set and wanted to build what I really bought it for instead of disassembling and building it...I know on the desc of the item it said you could make it a dozer, but there is not attachment for a blade, or a blade period, just the axles jutting out in front...no biggie

I'm interested in knowing exactly what is on the back end of the b model of the 42006 Excavator? In the description on the S@H site it says you can put a dozer blade on front, but all I can see is the axles sticking out the front, and the mechanism on the back makes me scratch my head as to what it is. To compare the 8275, that set had a ripper on the back but this odd looking rear end comes out at an angle. I was looking to possibly buy a 2nd copy for the b model, but I am tossed up about it...

Ah, good, I have the 42010 Racer and the 42004 right now. Haven't built them yet. Like many of you, I have bent or broken 8-tooth and 16-tooth gears.

Yes you should, some vintage sets do keep or rise in value...I've wanted an 8880 for some time, it is all the 8448 had for functions, its kind of a toss-up, but I'd rather go with the 8880 in the end...I took a look-see on Amazon Marketplace and even 8285's are going for nearly a $1K or more...glad I have 2 sealed for MSRP... Patience is the hardest part, especially when you get your hands on a good set...I find that hard too... I bought it from a BL seller back in the summer, $400, way too late now. Maybe I got taken, I don't know, but I do know it is a highly coveted set like many larger, vintage sets, I'd also like to get the space shuttle too. I know a local seller that has it, but the price is outrageous, and its used too. I finally also got an MISB 8462 Tow Truck set as well in the fall, so my older collection of wants is nearly taken care of. I also bought a used 8286 3-in-1 car w/ the helicopter. Rather futuristic looking, but it struck my fancy so I bought it, still inventorying it to make sure all parts are accounted for.

I know this is way out there, but I wonder if there is a way to add a medium size bucket (aka 8294) to the 3rd boom...I know most, and I too, bought it for the claw operation, but I was thinking its such a realistic looking excavator of trying to use the mini-LA for the claw function and somehow turn it into a real excavator...any ideas?

Would be cool if you could get a motor strong enough to make the 9396 lift off

What sets have they appeared in this year, if any yet? Like the topic beginner said, those 8-tooth gears slip out of place when meshing with another gear, case in point, the 8-tooth meshing with the turntable on the 8043, I never bought the 9398 Truck, maybe they made their debut on that model? Never sat flush, moved up or down, as in many other sets, 8419 same issue just to name a couple. I see the 42006 doesn't have any, and I have only the 42010 Race Car for 1H offerings. But, if a seller on BL is selling them, I wonder what set they came from, curious... Edit: I just checked the 9398's inventory and they aren't in that set either...

I agree on the 8043, it is a totally different scale, its like comparing the 8421 to the 8053. I tend to group flagships like the 8043 and 8421 in a totally different scene. The 8294's box is exactly the same size as the 42006's is, and thus is on the same scale. I'm still planning on modding 1 of my 8294's with a just a 2-prong grabber, problem is like said above the 8294 only had 2 LA's and the 42006 has 3...would almost have to add in a mini-LA for the grabber claws. That's my holdup right now. Have all the needed parts, just the design is tough threading another axle, or else I would have to manually operate the claw by hand... One thing I don't understand, US S@H still lists the 8043, but it is sold out and at a sale price, so you can't even add it to your cart Though I have 2 unopened 8043's so wasn't interested in purchasing it because of money flow, but still why do they offer it at a sale price if you can't even acquire it...

That would be a cool set for springtime... Geez Dan, $120 each?!? I'm frankly surprised they sold for that much, that's ridiculous...I'm sure once the 42006 floods the market, the price will dramatically go down...

Ah, got it. When installed they look straight, especially the lift of the boom on the 8043. You can definitely feel the weight of the updated LA, they are somewhat heavier, probably due to the grease inside the cylinders. I don't know about all of you, but my 8258 (a year before the 8043 came out) has a lot of trouble with the lift of the crane and unfolding of the crane arm itself. Am thinking about using 2 of the updated LA's and rebuilding the crane part, luckily quite an easy task since it locks into place with the long red pins with stop bushes. Too bad TLG didn't motorize the extension of the crane arm, but it is still a stellar model even so. Looks great (don't even laugh) sitting on the top of my toilet tank, I've got models everywhere. Once when a bad t-storm came through a couple years ago, the LED light kit I hooked up to the holes in the fairings on the front of the cab actually really illuminated my small bathroom... I've noticed this too when buying from BL or Amazon that some sets don't have the piece count and some do. Guessing some of them came from different countries and sold by US sellers.

Didn't the Architecture theme release a statue of liberty set last year? I could swear I saw it in a Barnes and Noble store...wasn't really large, but captured the realism. I know Architecture has developed a lot of true to life sets. I'm not really into them, I'm a Technic guy, but I bought one of them (can't recall which) for my fiancee's daughter a while back last year. A couple other notable sets of the studded vintage area that look good in my estimation that I have are the 8837 Excavator (bought it used and replaced the pneumatic tubing), even if it is wheel instead of track based, another is the 8286 3-in-1 car w/ the helicopter. It is more space type themed, but is under the Technic series. And the 8443 Log Loader is a nice little set too, got that one MISB for a very decent price from a local seller so no shipping To nychase - not to start anything, but TLG actually changed old gray to the medium gray in 2004. My 8455 and 8454 both have the old gray. I bought a used 8408, and some bushings and gears were missing, so I substituted from my spare parts the 'new' gray. Doesn't really detract from the look, except where the 8-tooth gear runs along the steering rack. My first Technic sets were the 8448 and the 8464 and they both had the old gray coloring. But, I also own the 8439 Front Loader, a 3rd re-release of that set and it was released in 2004 and had the brighter light gray axles and bushes.

Somebody got a hold of an international seller, not sure which country, and they are ultra-expensive from his/her store on Bricklink. I'm sure as more and more buy this set, and many on BL part it out, the prices will go down as supply goes up on BL. I have to say this is a great set for 1H, even the race car (42010) and the mini backhoe loader are nice too. I wonder if they will release anything larger towards springtime like they have in the past couple years...

Some older, vintage sets I've seen go below original MSRP, I bought a couple 8437 Future Cars, and really that set goes way beyond what is currently on the market. The last great off-road buggy/racer was the 8048, but I bought some MISB 8437's because not only do I like the blue color scheme, it just looks cool IMO. But, the value on that one has dropped, same follows with the 8462 Tow Truck, I picked one up for $170 USD MISB. Guess it matters where you look. I have seen some super-inflated pricing on Amazon.com from Marketplace sellers, but they aren't selling much of the high-end stuff. What gets me on more recent sets is the skyrocketed value of the 8288 Crawler Crane and 8285 Tow Truck. They are both great sets, but when I bought 2 8288's at TRU back in 2006, the MSRP was only $50 and the 8285 $119. Kind of insane. The 8258 is a beast and likely will command higher and higher pricing as time goes on as will the 8043. A few months ago I also bought a 8446 Crane Truck, just looked really interesting, I bought it at lower than MSRP in MISB condition. I'm kind of tossed on the studless vs studded construction, I bought a used 8853 Front Loader and 8235 Mini Front Skid Loader, both also less than MSRP. But, I see on BL that the 8853 MISB, if you can still find one, haven't checked in a while is going for $299, way more than MSRP, guess it depends on the set. On a sidenote, I paid through the nose for an new, sealed 8466, if I recall I paid $400 this past summer, but that is great set. It had a lot of blemishes for its age, but everything was sealed inside.

@DLuders - thanks for information on the LA's in subsequent sets...I still wonder why the rams fully extended look they are crooked as compared to the previous versions before the 8043 mess-up. They look ok on my 8043 when extended, but still makes my wonder why they look bent...

Yeah like shadowhearth said suing them probably wouldn't work, and if I recall either from here or before I joined the forum in 2010 I believe most if not all PF elements are produced in China and some motors have failed even under light loads. MegaBloks are the only thing resembling Lego here that I have seen at TRU's and they don't seem to have quality control or durability that Lego parts have, even though it indicates on many MegaBloks sets that they are interchangeable with Lego elements. I was interested in a large construction set a couple years ago, but when I looked at the low price, made me suspicious, would guess it wouldn't stand up to the test of time...just my 2 cents worth...haven't seen the sets/manufacturer in USA stores that started this topic... Plus I'm a diehard Lego Technic fan, so I stick with what I know works even if the price is higher...I've got sets from the late 80's that were heavily played with and still function fine. 1 of them is the 8853 Front End Loader.

Very nice for an 8 hour project...one question that hasn't been asked though, a working handbrake? How does it operate? I'm rather intrigued as I've never seen this type of feature on any Technic car...please do elaborate

Guess I can agree with that, and like you not insulting my own country, but Technic seems to be more of a hot seller overseas than it is here in the States and it is well known that a lot of European and Far East countries do have higher IQ rankings. The majority of store aisles nowadays are made up of other themed sets, hardly any Technic except TRU, and like I said above a rarity except around Xmas and right at the 2H, and even then there isn't much. I actually saw Unimogs and Logging Trucks for the 1st time ever at TRU before Xmas, but I'm betting they are sold out by now and not to return. I see the new Excavator is now available at TRU online, but naturally at a higher cost than MSRP, $89.99 I believe it was, but I'm willing to bet it won't hit store shelves now that everybody's out of money after the holidays. From what I can tell, and I visited 2 area TRU's, they didn't sell much of any of the larger sets before Xmas, smaller ones we're a bit better sellers, so I would guess they would have to clean out the shelves before adding more Technic, if they planned to. A lot of the big sets were beat up too from handling. I don't much like online ordering just because of the shipping costs and during the winter its a touch and go proposition with carriers.

Just a couple thoughts on your reply DLuders - Most parts are available overseas, American Bricklinkers do have a lot of parts, but nowhere near what sellers overseas have stocked in their stores. But, like you said great expense with shipping, customs, etc. Luckily, I found a Bricklink seller right here in my city who had a plethora of parts that were valuable to me, but I kind of cleaned him out of more rare Technic parts. Does seem like we get left out of a lot of Technic in stores. Used to be you could go to any independent toy shop (which are all gone in my area now due to TRU) or TRU and find all the larger and smaller sets all the time...in the past several years TRU usually stocks a large selection before Christmas, gets rid of them, then they only stock the smaller Technic sets, usually geared more for children, then when the 2H offerings come out in mid-summer, I have noticed a re-surgence, but only temporarily, then they are gone again. Occasionally, I have gone in on a whim and saw a set or two that maybe didn't sell fast online I'm guessing, such as the 8043 and 8070. Saw both of those come back late spring in 2012, but only a couple of each... That's probably why they don't sell much and mark them down about mid-January around here because people are broke after Christmas. I have a love/hate relationship with pneumatics. They can be real touchy and always need to be pressurized (aka 8455, great set, but needs a couple airtanks, just no room to put them), whereas LA's are more precise and more easily operated especially if PF operated.

@DLuders - I always rather wondered why the updated LAs for that set looked like they had an 'bent' ram...doesn't seem to affect the playability, just always wondered, I probably missed out on that thread since I was a newbie to the forum when they came out with the revised parts for the 8043...I got in a little bit on the action, but that was well over 2 years ago... You have been a great advocate for communicating with TLG on instructions issues, but I was just real lucky to have gotten a letter from TLG saying they knew I had bought 4 8043's in July 2010 and would be sending me the updated parts, that was before I joined this group, otherwise I never would have known about the problem, their attention to the issue was fast and that was good for all who wanted or bought that set, which just about every Technic enthusiast did. Luckily I hadn't assembled the set by that time so I waited a LONG time for the parts to arrive before I did. On another note, has TLG used the updated LA's in all their sets since that issue?

Especially since it is almost a carbon copy of their 8273 set...who knows what others will arise...about the only place to buy Lego here in Michigan, USA, is TRU, haven't seen these, just cheap MegaBloks sets... Kind of makes me wonder if they go 1 year ahead and started producing sets with PF elements, like say the 8292 Cherry Picker in 2008, what their motors and such would be like? Probably not real good I would expect...IF they aren't sued by Lego for copyrighting an actual set as shown in this thread...

Looks exactly like the 8273 Truck from 2007