DarkShadow73

@Lost_In_Noise- Very nice review...this model has interested me for a while, so I took a chance and actually found 2 MISB and bought them, hardly any sets in blue anywhere, so was the clincher, plus it had those interesting red engine elements and also a rear diff, which is a plus. The alternate model is sub-par, but the buggy/racer is a nice addition to my collection of racers/buggies. I also have the much more recent 8048, the 8829 I am still pondering, it is a bit older than the 8437, and its a bit more odd-looking. Its nice that you compared all 3 side by side to show that all are same scale, nice addition to your pictorial review. @Paul- You are right, I also own the 8428 Concept Car, and it is very similar and came out a couple years later, but it is still old school Technic, much like the 8437 is. Odd though, the 8437 used some current style liftarms, whereas the 8428 had more of the older Technic elements. Unfortunately I didn't take as good of care of my 8428, the kids messed it up some and I had to sub a couple of different studded plates for another color, but you don't notice it too much.

Thanks DLuders for the link. Most smaller sets, this one has 246 pcs generally come with booklets for both a and b models, I'm too tired to check now, gotta get to bed after my long night shift. I will indeed post my impressions, I bought 3 of them. 1 to build main model, 1 for the telehandler, and 1 for later re-sale on BL or Amazon. Eric

@Dluders- I received a few 42004's and even though it is smaller, both the main and alternate models look cool, hopefully they included instruction booklets for the alternate telehandler, just received the package Thurs, 12-7, opened it up last night late. Still waiting on that tracked excavator like machine that has the grappler on it, that's on my list, but I'm guessing it will be their spring release like we have gotten the past few years.

Funny that local TRU's have stocked all of the 2H2012 sets since they come out, usually once the first batch sold out, I only saw some of the smaller sets on their shelves except for an occasional surprise, like the 8043 and 8070, that reappeared in the spring of this year, and for the first time I saw 9397 on the shelf there, but with the holiday rush they are all selling out fast. Only time will tell if they restock after Xmas. As far as the Golden Age, as Paul B. pointed out I came out of my dark ages with the 8448 Supercar, but then they started specializing on those smaller sets in 2002 and into 2003, Slizers, Throwbots, etc., and I was turned off until the 8455 Backhoe Loader and 8454 Rescue Truck were released then I've been into it whole-heartedly since then, skipping some of the 'kiddie' tiny sets. They do keep getting better and better and more complex in the past few years...but then I started collecting vintage studded sets from the late 80's into the mid 90's, this summer I got that bug, paid way more than I should have but got some I wanted (both sealed and used but complete sets) from that era at decent prices due to a local BL storekeeper a few miles from me so no shipping costs, that was nice, but I've cleared the seller out of most of ones I wanted, only 1 still on my list is the 8462 Tow Truck, but money is now tight, just have to take a chance the seller still has some available. There are advantages and disadvantages to studless vs. studded sets. I think the Golden Age, no matter what I might have said earlier has been going on since the late 80's and continues to this day.

Received a few copies of the new release 42004 Mini Backhoe-Loader yesterday that I ordered Sunday night. Haven't built it yet, FedEx is really behind as was the S@H warehouse so even though I ordered Express since I had so many VIP points to use, even received an e-mail from TLG giving me some more bonus points, but nothing interests me, got everything up until 1H2013 besides the small sets. Looks to be a fun little set to build, especially paired up with, say an 8271 Wheel Loader or 8047 or 8419 Excavator. In the process of doing an MOC low-boy trailer to hook to a fifth wheel on a modified 9397. Its no 8069, but it might sit next to it for smaller jobs that require more precision on my construction diorama.

Shoot this getting really in-depth with all the extra parts and modifications/ideas, mainly Alasdair (and I thank him for that)...I'm just going to go simplistic and use the beam idea...temporarily snap on a 15L or whatever would be sufficient (I'd have to back through the posts to see, but 1 poster showed a pic of that idea) to keep the boom up and extended for a period of time..then remove the beams when I want to lower/retract it, making sure to pump air back into the pnuematics as the air will have leaked out over a few hours as it always has before and apparently I'm definitely not alone with this irritating issue, then after the cylinders, hoses, and lines are powered back up, just remove the beams and lower/retract the boom...

I see that TLG has released at least some of the 1H2013 models already, strange cause usually TRU has them way before S@H does, usually you don't even see them on TRU shelves until mid-Dec, then S@H usually release them on January 1. The racing cars I'm not really interested in, but I am somewhat interested in the 42004 Backhoe/Loader. Its no 8069 I realize, just kind of a mini-me of that set. Im rather sure nobody has purchased the set yet, I just happened upon it. Only S@H seems to have it right now, I hate shipping, but also hate the crowds in TRU this time of year, but they don't even have it, at least in my area yet, even in their online site as well as the retail stores. Anyway, what does anybody think of it as model in terms of functionality and looks? The alternate telehandler doesn't look too bad either.

Interesting take Allanp...you are right, but usually this topic doesn't come up too often, sometimes in topics that are started in a different way, though I'm not here all the time and some topics on studless vs studded so way down the topic list since this is such a popular forum/website. I've gained a lot of knowledge and ideas here on creating some simple MOCs and I save all the mods to existing sets, some are very good, especially the Ultimate 8043 Excavator. I really wasn't a huge fan of studded because the modern studless models look so very sleek with the smooth fairings, beams, liftarms and such, but I got the bug mid-summer and decided to start collecting vintage studded sets (got an MISB 8843 Pneumatic Log Loader, 8235 Front Loader, 8437 Future Car, 8446 Crane Truck, an 8837 used Excavator, an 8286 3-in-1 car, just looked cool and a 8853 used Front Loader (in some ways I think the 8853 beats out the more recent 8453 and 8271 Front Loaders) and many are very nice, attractive models...only 1 on my list I still want is the 8462 Tow Truck but it is fetching a rather high price, not over the top like the 8285, 8421 and 8275 that skyrocketed in price...but luckily I have copies of all 3 of those sets. I actually took apart my 8275 dozer and built the 'inspiration model' with the claw, I modified it myself, built a nice cab with LED lighting on 4 trans-clear blue 1x1" round plates and then modified the claw to make it shorter and added some to it to make it small enough to pick up and hold tightly to some Bruder (sorry...) log trunks I bought from Amazon. It grabs on to the log trunk which is about 1.5" in circumference and holds it tightly in place as the motorized jaws grab and lift it up. There are many talented MOCers on this site, and I wish I had those skills but I'm learning with the help of this forum. I made a completely MOC semi flatbed trailer complete with independent suspension on 4 sets of dualies on the trailer. I used those smooth black panels and many black studless beams for support underneath and designed my own landing gear. It will hook up to one of my 9397 Logging Truck since it is an attractive tractor taking off the log loader sides, designed a 5th wheel for the pin on the trailer to drop down into, and took off the crane jib on the set and made it into a motorized winch. I also took one of my 8464/39/59 Pneumatic Front End Loaders and took off the bucket and designed a forkset for it to unload pallets and other things from the trailer I built. My next project is a lowboy trailer w/ ramps for hauling construction models like the 8464/59/39 (have 4 of them), one of my 8294 Excavators (too small for the 8043), and other wheeled or tracked construction equipment, forklifts, etc. I will have to have the smaller rims, planned on 3 sets of the small rims like the ones that came in the 8053 Mobile Crane set, you get 8 black rims and when I built the harbor crane model I just modified the 4 supports for the crane w/o the wheels, instead using half and full bushings in place so it was a static harbor crane (IMO that alternate model of that set surpasses the main model). So, its a learning process, and can be frustrating at times. I recall retrofitting the Front Loader with the forkset and changing my mind on how it would go together and be most authentic looking, but it looks great, just have to take some decent pics of it to upload to this site. I'm proud of what I've accomplished with the inspiration of the many talented members who design and build MOCs here. This is the best forum to get ideas from others and I take each and every one of them.

The regular LA's have a longer ram than pneumatic cylinders, but like you said, sometimes you need even a longer ram to do what you need to do, especially for an MOC. I am going to rebuild my 8295 Telehandler and see if I can integrate 2 LA's instead of just the one to see if it helps the lift and thus strain on the XL motor...

Agreed, lots more color choices, just wish there were more blue in the sets out these days, like many on his forum, I'd like a good set in mostly blue, wonder what the deal is. Yellow, black and red seem to be their only choice now. A bit off topic but I took a look at Lego S@H and they must have released the 1H2013 sets already. I saw a mini-backhoe, a couple of 'pull-back' racing cars and a small Hovercraft.. Kind of a crappy lineup as compared to the last 2 years with 1H sets, last year we had the 9395 Tow Truck which was a large set for 1H, and the year before the 8069 Backhoe released right around Christmas as a true 1H model. Funny they released them in late November instead of the usual Jan. 1 release, but maybe, and I haven't seen anything, not that I've looked too much at 1H2013 lineup, but last year we got the 9397 Logging Truck and the year before the 8070 Supercar in Feb-March timeframe. I checked TRU online and they aren't there yet. I'm a guy and hate crowds, and from here on out until the holidays are over I'm betting the retail stores are mobbed with long lines and such. But, usually if they are not available online, they aren't in stores yet anyway. The only one that vaguely interested me is the 42004 Backhoe, but its no 8069 either. Funny they used 5 digit set #'s instead of sticking with the usual 4-digit set #'s, I'm sure there are plenty left to use, usually the special sets use the 5-digit set #'s, usually with a 1 starting the set #...odd

No doubt that's a monster, I've never seen one that large...amazing...if TLG reproduced something like that and added PF or RC, it could easily top out at the highest price Technic set ever, not to mention the highest piece count most likely...

D3K - Being a front loader/wheel loader fan, this is a really fantastic looking MOC...kind of makes me drool when I read your list of what it does with RC...wow...

@Alasdair - Very true, hadn't thought of axle count, I indeed have seen some 4 or even 5 axle mobile cranes in real life...

With the exception of the crazy Bionicle, Slizers and Roboriders which in IMO were a huge mistake for TLG...those may have contained Technic parts, but when I think of Technic I think of construction and air vehicles like all the helicopters that have been released, and the 9394 Jet Plane from 1H and really technical 9396 Helicopter from summer. But, look at a lot of City sets nowadays, the 7632 Mobile Crane comes to mind and other City sets, a lot of them have what used to be only-Technic parts instead of just blocks and plates... Like has come up in this forum quite a bit over the time I've been a member here, the studded beams and plates offered lots of versatility in MOCs and even modifying existing models, sometimes I try to think of a way to do something only just the studless sets, and many of my ideas are shot down because of lack of those types of parts in my spares boxes...like say you want to create a semi trailer, I used black smooth plates parted from a couple 8041 Race Truck sets, but I could have used a couple of those old style mudflaps of days gone by...they probably still use them in many City sets, but I don't want to have to buy, say a $40 set, just for a few pieces I need... I like both sides of the conversation here. If you'd asked me a year ago I would have said no, studded and old style Technic is not my thing, but after purchasing quite a few older sets from the 80's and 90's, I found them a lot of fun and good looking in a diorama or on a shelf, or since it is a toy after all even though we are AFOL's (I'm not sure if TFOL's are allowed or not on EB? Either way doesn't make a difference in this group, you either like Technic or not), playing with them . Many pieces that are 'new' to me from days of yore...much like the newer sets released in the past couple years have offered up new parts that are also interesting to me... One model in particular that enthralled me that was almost entirely studded was the 8853 Excavator (even though it was a front end loader). I think it operates better than the 8453 or 8271. I love the design of the studless 8453 and 8271, but on the 8453, you have to manually tilt the thin liftarms to tilt bucket forward and back...even though it was only $19.99 USD, I would have thought they would have geared it somehow...and many might argue with me, I thought the simplest and smallest regular excavator (the 8047 from 1H2010 was more of a mini-excavator), the 8419 was the best one in terms of playability and fun, and it was only $19.99 USD, well it was when it was in production anyway, look how much MISB ones fetch nowadays...

@Alasdair- If you compare let's say the 8421, 8053 and 8460/31/38, the 8421 really towers over the rest of them, so I'm (no criticism, please don't take it this way) wondering what a LARGE lego crane would look like, it would have to be a monster...can't wait to see your finished product...

@Alasdair - do you think 1 LA would lift that heavy a boom with it extended as well and not fail with time? I'm no MOC'er like you and many others are on the forum. I may make some simpler ones that I just haven't had the time to take pics of yet, but like in the case of the 8295 Telehandler, that 1 LA struggled with the M-motor and even torquier XL-motor, any telehandler I've ever seen in real life had 2 pistons, one on each side of the boom, even most mobile cranes. Just a thought...no criticism, I will definitely be waiting for your instructions on this mod.

@Richie - agreed on the 8049, it was a great idea, but so many models use that turning axle connector, so does the 8295 Telehandler's tilt function, everything else can either be done by hand at the rear of the model (if you want to turn A LOT, and don't mind twisting and twisting a gear, in that set as well as the 8265 Front Loader, motorizing w/ PF is almost mandatory). I whole-heartedly agree it wouldn't be a stretch to motorize ALL the functions, including the functions that are at the end of crane or claw mechanism. Kind of stupid not to finish the models like the 8049 w/ an extra pneumatic function. Sure you can motorize the 8049, but not the claw, just the raising and extension of the simple boom. At least the 8436's grabber mechanism is full pneumatic though. @Blakbird - I agree on the mid 90's, those were some good years for Technic, as a 39-yr old collector and builder, I have purchased quite a few sets from 1995-1997 and those were really functional and fun. It kind of went downhill from there as you have said, I recall seeing on the TRU shelves, since the internet was really just dawning at that time, those Tech Play and Tech Starter sets, and that horrid Universal Building Set, and thought what has become of Technic. I was in my dark ages then, but re-emerged in 1999 when I bought the 8428 Turbo Command, a great little car, bit futuristic as was the 8446 Crane Truck, but they were interesting and had a lot to offer as far as functionality and pure Technic, then came along the really dumb looking, at least IMO, the Slizer, Bionicle, and Robomodels, and those were all really just for a younger audience, and I thought is this it for Technic? I had bought the 8448 Supercar, passed on the 8466 from 2001 initially (real stupid move), then got it for a decent price this year, brand new, just bad box. The 8465 IMO was a joke, it was like the mini-me of the 8466 so I passed completely on that set. Then finally in 2003 things changed for the better with all the construction models, the 8455, 8453, 8454, 8451, and its been fairly good ever since and has increased in functionality and looks. I still have a fondness for studded construction, but I do like the liftarms and sleekness of the models since too.

IMO, the golden age has come and gone, I really have gotten more into the vintage studded models in the past few months, sure their lines and such aren't as sleek as 2003-up sets starting with the 8455 and 8454 in '03...I think it ended summer 2011 with the 8110, just too bad it wasn't full RC, it really should have been...lots of new and improved parts on the models in 2011 and 2012, but no really great releases since the Unimog. I wouldn't mind having the 9398, but money's tight and as I and another member commented the color scheme is wild, TLG should have stuck with one, with accents of another color, maybe the orange, definitely not the ugly white box in back), and I've heard good and bad about the 9398, esp the twitchy remote, you let go of the steering wheel and it immediately the model goes back to center... I know there might be a bit of argument about one set, I really love the 8446 Crane Truck, it just looks elegant and the crane arm is very cool looking, the 8436 is really nice to, esp with the grabber attachment, the grappler hook one was a big mistake, always having to remove that red long pin with stopbush on it just to extend the crane arm, lots of times the whole assembly of black beams just slide back if you raise it up from level or lower...

@Kierna - that's probably why Technic, especially the medium to large sets aren't available too much in retail stores like TRU. Heck I was building Technic stuff when I was 9 or 10 years old, long time ago (say about 30 years ago...) and Technic was much, much simpler then, but I do recall my dad buying a motor set and a simple Technic car, could I recall the # or name of the set anymore, nope...of course at that age, my brother and I were enthralled at watching gears move when we hooked up the motor to whatever it was 'driving', but that was like 1983 or so if I recall...still have remnants of the sets though, found some old cracked rubberbands and pulleys and a few OLD gears in a sorter a while back...I remember we combined Legoland as it was called back in the day, city blocks and such, and we made a truck with real steering, I still have the image of that model we put together, problem is we were kids and the steering rack constantly kept coming apart from the gear, but then we would just crash it into a baseboard or something. But I know we had the old Technic tires and rims that were around in the early 80's. Lots of memories, long ago, but still vivid...

@Gekke Ted- I think the 9396 Helicopter did it for me, its kind of useless w/o the PF added, not sure why they didn't just them, its just an m-motor and a battery box and in some less expensive models, say the 8109, 8052, 8264, have PF added to them already. Of course the latter 2 set #'s are both out of production and command lots of $ now, but the 8109 is still available here and there...it seems rather underrated, it by far beats out the 9395 in terms of functionality, but I may be a bit biased too, I like Flatbed Tow/Hauling Trucks and although I disagree on the color scheme of the 8109 its functions outweigh that. Looks great next to the 9395 as a team if the 8109, just too bad they didn't make the majority of it the black color scheme. But, getting back to the topic, the 8069 still tops my list. Looks nearly as good and is almost the size of the masterpiece 8455 Pneumatic Backhoe/Loader. Still the alternate of the 8069 really does leave a lot to be desired, wheels are too far apart and when you turn the front and back wheels nearly touch each other. Cab is nice on it though. Going to try to modify it with a less wide wheelbase, too bad like the 8455's alternate model (the telescoping loader), it doesn't have the same size wheels on each end, but then of course TLG would have to pack an extra set of rims/tires in with the set and up goes the price...

@Good old Lego builder- I kind of went backwards lately. I have mostly newer Technic, oldest I had was the 1998 Turbo Command I bought on clearance in 2000, but I really started getting an interested in some of the old Technic of the glory days...simpler, yet fun designs...

@Alasdair- Looks like its going to be something that might need to be added to LDD...quite an assembly so far...you get two extra votes from me...

@SheepEater - thanks for the pics, but like most have said its a subpar model w/o much function as compared to other buggies...maybe if I can find it cheaper than the one MISB I found, I might pick it up eventually... @Lost_In_Noise - yeah the 8287 kit is outrageously high priced now, geez its just a motor and battery box and few cheap elements in the box...wouldn't even consider buying one unless I could find it at more of a decent price, but doubt that's going to happen, and if you buy an item like that used, well you never know how hard its been abused too...could fail in a week, could work forever, its a crapshoot

@Alasdair - you have my vote for sure...I've often thought about adding an LA to each side of the boom, but since this model was released in 05 with the previous battery box and motor, not sure how to go about it with PF elements...if you come up with a new idea..please let it be known... Thanks, Eric @DLuders - never would have thought pneumatics would be that weak since I really jam on the hoses to the hilt at all connections @Alasdair - guess I should look down the reply list before posting, that looks like a great start... @skylinedan - hey bud - yeah I hate that I raise it at night, then in the morning the boom is lying flat down and string and all just a mess...if I can't get an LA to work like Alasdair is working on I might just go with the support beams to keep it up, then pump the system with air and remove the beams and retract/let it down...the model is brilliant, but that one quirk about it kind of ruins the fun of keeping boom up for more than a few hours...

It is an odd shaped motor with only the 2 axle holes, but it is much more powerful than the newer PF elements IMO. Noise didn't bother me either, it is hooked up to my 8421 Mobile Crane.