DarkShadow73

Great that it is in the UK shops, but why hasn't it surfaced in the USA yet? This was the one I was looking for the most for 1H2012, anybody have any idea if its headed here anytime soon? Me and Camaro365 we're just discussing it.

The thing is I bought the 9397 Tow Truck when it first arrived at TRU and it was only $69.99, the Lego MSRP, then I decided to buy a couple extra for resell later and they were $87.99 towards Xmas, luckily they had a BOGO 50% off, so it made it worth it but still... @BobBongo: Here in USA, TRU seems to concentrate more on City and other themes, but Technic is I am guessing not a real big market as it is in Europe. They will have limited quantities and bring some in when released, but only the smaller sets, I found 1 8043 Excavator in the summer, but they were not stocking many of the medium size to larger sets from 2nd half 2011 whereas Europe's Amazon and TRU had most of them in stock It appears they only stock a few around the holidays but only for a limited time, Technic is a rare find at most TRU's in the States except the much smaller sets. @KEvron: I agree with you there, KB went belly-up here in states along with a lot of the smaller toy stores a couple years ago. I found a couple 8435's from 2004 or 2005 on the shelf at KB on clearance before the stores finally closed permanently... @Camaro365: I agree there, S@H is best, but I have had trouble with delivery with them where I live, and the nearest Lego store is about 150 miles south or east of me in Michigan, USA. I like to just pick things up off the shelf instead or paying shipping costs and TRU has most in stock, but the shipping prices through them are astronomical.

Glad I got 3 of the 8285 sets when they were first out...incredible main model, 'B' model tractor-trailer is good, but could do without with crane, have landing gear or be more excessible with the coupling between the fifth wheel pneumatic raise/lower instead of two axles you have to pull out, then the trailer just rests on the floor. I'm not great at MOD's, but I installed landing gear via 2 4x2" liftarms and a 10 or 12 length axle(can't recall which), and removed the crane(that was a lot of fun), then added some 8x16" smooth plates with holes in the bottom that attach to perpendicular axlehole/pinhole attached in to the frame at staggered intervals to attach the smooth plates...looks a bit better this way. Now I can use it for both a flatbed trailer using the landing gear for loading pallets of supplies using a Bruder Telehandler or Front End Loader with forks, or use the ramps to roll off wheeled/tracked equipment. On topic I too am eagerly awaiting the 9397 Logging Truck... BTW - Just my opinion Lego should produce a Forked Telehandler that is medium size scale, not huge like the 8295, but not too small as the tiny Telehandler (think the part # is 8045)...and it should be pneumatic rather than the subpar 8295 which if you crank the boom by hand kills your hands in after about 15 lifts, and the M-motor and even the XL-motor didn't do much, the boom was simply too heavy, large and heavily geared for either motor to really handle it much less too wide, looks great from the sideview, but from the front, it looks garishly wide.

What is the deal with TRU? They had prices at a normal level for a while, but then they jack them WAY past MSRP through Lego S@H or Amazon. Three such examples: 9395 Tow Truck, MSRP $69.99 USD, TRU wants $87.99; 9394 Jet Plane, MSRP $49.99, TRU wants $60.99; 8070 Supercar, MSRP $119.99, TRU wants $131.99. This is ridiculous...

Are these true 'b' model images? We just got a 'b' model snowplow with the Unimog last summer...

Without reading through all the massive amount of posts, I wonder again if anybody has seen the 9397 Logging Truck available as of yet? i'm sure its been asked and answered dozens of times... Thanks, Eric

I came across a website that showed pics of the main model 8069 being powered and RC'ed. Might have been posted here at some point too, I don't get on the computer regularly. Has anybody here successfully done this, and if so, have some instructions on how to do it? Thanks in advance, Eric

Thanks JSG, appreciate it.

@DLuders- rather figured it would be a later release, but I noticed in a post above on this thread, somebody said their local TRU had all of the sets on the shelf, however, I wasn't sure what he meant by all of them, since I am awaiting the 9397. I do know the difference between 1H and 2H sets, and I know the 8070 Supercar was released about March of last year, just wondered if anybody had seen it retail or on a website of sorts.

Big overall question for the models that have just come out 1h2012. Lego has not posted the B model instructions. I considered building the B model of the 9395 Tow Truck, but without being able to download the instructions, what good is it. I know S@H rarely has items on their website before TRU does, which has always seemed odd to me. If they are in the TRU distribution centers they obviously came from Lego, but why does it take S@H, at least here in the US, sometimes 3-6 weeks to catch up and get them posted on their website. One would think if TRU got them, TLG would have to have shipped them from their dist. centers. Anybody have the B model instructions for the 9391 and 9395?

JSG - how exactly do you hinge the lift? I see your pics, but I don't really see how you did it speficially? This model is exactly how regular-duty tow trucks look like in the USA with a winch and wheel lift. From what I gathered on the TRU website before I ordered I understood that the lift goes up and down manually, or when PF motorized it automatically goes up and down? Is that not the case, does it always stay down, that would be plenty stupid if it did, in the US the wheel lifts generally slide under the truck, but obviously it would be impossible to do with this model, but please correct me and I hope I am right, does it lock up into place when not used? As far as the turning or pivoting of the lift side to side, I believe that is what you accomplished in your pics, but is there any way you can elaborate a bit more on how to modify it to do this? Thanks, Eric Alasdair- This looks a bit interesting, but does anybody know how this lift works as far as does it go up and swing inwards onto the chassis of the truck? There actually have been a few Technic models I have bought simply for the B model. I bought this for the main model, but if it is functional enough I might buy another down the road for the B model. I had expected after the release of the Unimog last summer, Lego was creeping back into pneumatics, I see this has an LA to the lift the boom of the 9397, kind of disappointing in a way, I love pneumatics so much more...

Exactly my question, does Europe get the 9397 Logging Truck now or soon, and we in the USA don't get it until much later? I rather wondered as usually 1st half sets are usually the smaller ones, the 9395 Tow Truck being the biggest I could see on the TRU website. I would love to get my hands on the 9397, t is the 1 set I wanted out of all the newer sets, the little ones don't do much for me, I like a challenge, but I did buy the tracked crane, 9391 I believe is the no., looks interesting, but maybe the 9397 will be a spring release like the 8070 was last year in the US? I did Google it and saw a few people had it in their hands already, so that makes me wonder if they are staggering the release dates and we in the US get it later?

I checked my local TRU stores via phone, hate the craziness of this time of year in a big city, none of the 3 in my area had any of the new Technic sets. I bought the small tracked crane and the 9395 Tow Truck online, but the BOGO 50% off sale wasn't in effect, at least in my area, early this morning (about 2AM EST when I placed the order). Then of course I logged on to check my order status this morning and I see all Technic is BOGO 50% off, figures... Another question, is the larger 9397 Crane Truck, similar in looks at least chassis wise to the 8285 Tow Truck going to be available 1st half, or is it a sneak peek for the summer offerings? Just curious, didn't see it listed on TRU website which seems to have all the new sets way before Lego S@H posts them for sale... Eric

Is the first half models available? They aren't on the Lego S@H site or at any TRU stores. At least not in the TRU stores in West Michigan, USA. I was looking to get a 9395... Anybody in the USA know if and when they will become available? I even looked on Amazon and they are even listed as well as Lego S@H, no hint or release date or anything.

Hi David- I removed the crane and made it a true lowboy, maybe not as sophisticated as some of you might have modified it. It can carry the 8294 Excavator and other models of that scale, but the 8043 does not fit well at all, too wide and long. I can fit my 8464 Front End Loader and my 8455 Backhoe Loader if I raise the bucket on it and let it rest on the 5th wheel, but once you disconnect the 5th wheel if you say you use the tractor that goes with that 'b' model, it rest right on the floor, no real need for those ramps, it looks odd. I rigged up a landing gear of sorts like is used on semi flatbed trailers with a couple of 2x4 liftarms attached to the frame with black friction pins and I believe a 10 or 12L axle fitted into the axlehole on the 2x4s, 3x5 liftarms make it raise up too high and the pin won't fall into the hole on the tractor used with this 'b' model. I like others think the crane is useless on this version and way you have to pull off the axle connectors and pull the axles out to unhook from the 5th wheel is kind of odd, but the landing gear works so I can back my tractor right underneath the 5th wheel attached to the trailer and then I hit the pneumatic switch and it drops perfectly into the hole. I haven't tried the 8436 with it. I modified the trailer from the 8063 Farm Tractor w/ trailer set and although it sits a bit high, it lines up perfectly with the a perpendicular axle modded onto the back bumper of the 8436 and the pins falls right in. However, I tried doing some ramps with some of those great solid panels that came out a few years back, and I used some of the new smaller u-joints and blue pins with axles to connect them to the back of the modified trailer. I took off the sides, replaced the ugly green panels with red ones from the 8258 Crane Truck set, added a longer deck with a bunch of 15L black beams, fits most everything I have construction wise, but it does sit high up and when you lower the ramps and raise the linear actuator the tip angle is pretty high for anything to roll off nicely. I generally use the couple I built for just moving materials, bought a bunch of long zip strips and 16L dark gray chains, then bought a couple of Bruder (German-made ABS plastic models, sorry but they do look good along with Lego) Telehandlers with forks to unload the skids of materials from the trailer. Wish I had a digital camera to send along images. For someone who really rather sucks at MODs I think I did a pretty good job. There is a Lego Group out of Texas that I have a few friends who are AFOLs and they were quite impressed with my construction scene diorama, mixing the Lego and some Bruder equipment. Eric

@Nazgarot: Unfortunately my computer is set up in a small corner (small condo) so that would be a great idea, but I have nowhere to assemble them near the computer and because I have cable internet I'm stuck. That's the reason I would need to print the instructions. @dr spock: That is sort of the reason why I wondered if any of you had built it, to see if it is worth it to actually waste the ink and paper. If I built it, I would have already used those supplies and would know if I like it. It looks interesting enough, just wondered if it was really worth it.

Are the motorized pneumatic switches as touchy on the Unimog as the 8049 Log Loader's were when you motorized that one? I hated that part because the valve switches were tight and tended to make the pistons open real fast which was annoying. I like the motorized function of the pneumatics, but they were more like 'on' and 'off' switches on the 8049 unless you carefully feathered them which was a pain.

I bought 2 8109's at the last TRU BOGO 50% off sale. I am thinking of building it, but of course there is that matter of lots of paper and ink. Anybody built it yet? Is it worth it? It looks interesting enough, I just don't want to waste the ink and paper if its subpar...

2 models come to mind, I'd like to see in larger scale then the tiny 'b' model grader from the 8451 Dumper set from 2003. Alternatively, I would like to see a large motorized or pneumatized grader or a larger motorized dump truck, or even a dual dump truck that separates in the middle like we see in the USA used for most construction hauling operations, would be nice if it had a working back tail gate that opened as it raised as well. The 8264 Dumper was a disappointment really, I mean 1 gear?? And that was just for the pivoting of the cab against the dump end. I think we've seen enough cranes and excavators. I know Lego used to reissue successful older models, I'd love to see the 8459/8464/8439, respective in release date, I believe the 8439 was only sold overseas and in Canada, but I'd like to see a reissue of that model. I haven't seen reissues in a long time. @Alasdair: Ah Alasdair, you took the words out my mouth, that was my other idea, just didn't scroll up far enough, a low boy trailer that detaches from a tractor for all different construction equipment transporting would be nice. I actually modified the 'b' tractor/trailer of the 8285 Tow Truck set and removed the crane portion, and it hauls my 8294 Excavator, my 8455 Backhoe Loader and my 8464 Front End Loader nicely (too small for the 8043 and the 8275 dozer) @Nazgarot: Actually the 8416 Forklift was a very good design, too bad it didn't have a motor of some sort to stop all the ridiculous winding to raise the lift, it was large enough to include some kind of motor and battery box, though back in 2005 we didn't have PF which are so much smaller than the older, but the mechanics were great. Unfortunately this was one year shy of the smaller battery boxes that came out with the 8287 Motor Kit in 2006, remember the giant battery boxes from 2005 and prior, though the 8421's battery box made a great counterweight. A remote forklift with full PF's would be great.

Snowplow looks interesting for the alternate 8110 model. Looks like it uses the same undercarriage as the Unimog does though much like the 8436 Truck and the 8421 did. I like original 'b' models, but have to admit the snowplow since I live in the frozen north during the winter looks pretty cool. I own 3 Unimogs so I will build the plow model and leave 1 MISB for later selling on BL or Amazon.

@Gekke Ted: I rather agree with you on this to a point. The Unimog is almost a stand-alone set and it is great by itself, but way out of scale with other Technic models much like the front-end loader from 2009, the motorized bulldozer from 2007 and the motorized excavator from 2010 were and maybe not as sleek or streamlined looking as the 8109, the 8109 does fit in well with other mid-sized Technic models. I still love my Unimog though, it is an engineering masterpiece. @Alasdair: Funny neither the 8109 or 8110 are available except through 3rd party marketplace sellers at extreme upcharges through the Amazon.com USA site. Wonder why? @SNIPE: In IMO the 8421 crane truck and the 8455 pneumatic backhoe loader are probably my favorite Technic sets, but the 8110 is sitting right up there. I like them all for different reasons. 8421 for the sheer size and looks, the Unimog for all the overall design and unbelievable re-creation of a Unimog (hey, I might be American but I know Unimogs, and the 8455 for the accurate depiction of a real backhoe loader shock full of miles of pneumatic goodies. Got copies of all 3 sets still MISB, though just got an extra Unimog to sell down the road at some point, but the other 2 are much older and I just break the seals and build them, especially looking at the retail of each now. @davidmull: I was rather disappointed with the 8265, not so much the model itself, just didn't realize it was so large, doesn't really fit in with other construction models, my 8464 Pneumatic Front-End Loader is much smaller and fits in great with most other models. The 8043 was disappointing all around for me at least, it was a good design and looks decent and I did somebody's bucket mod (the bucket from the 8294 or 8453) and that helped the way oversized bucket look, and though I put together 3 of them, I still get the wiggles in the arm and bucket axles even after trying somebody's idea about aligning the u-joints 'in-line' to eliminate the wiggles. And man does it suck down rechargeables fast, even the good Energizer NiMH's. On the plus side, it goes up and down well, I believe that was what prompted the major recall of them last summer because of inadequate LA's, and I did build the latter 2 with the newer LA's and even though it was a PITA, I tried to dismantle parts of the arm to put in the lubed LA's.

Seems like us Americans are the last of the lot to get the new summer big Technic sets. Same thing happened last summer, most of Europe had them before we got them and like DLuders said, Lego S@H rarely has them first whereas TRU does and most in-store, which really is odd considering they get to TRU stores or their distribution centers shipped from Memphis, Tennessee Lego warehouse, yet the website usually does not have them until weeks later and when you call they don't even know when they will be getting them. Odd... I know last summer I drove 60 miles south to a TRU in a smaller city, whereas the 3 in my area and I live in a large city had none of the new Technic items until much later, 2 of the 3 never getting them at all. I can recall going into TRU back in the 90's and seeing whole walls of Technic items but I was more into the 'System' line(Old City, no modular crap like nowadays) back then, but I do recall seeing a lot of Technic sets I wish I could get my hands on now MISB, most of them are 10x what they sold for retail then. Point is though, seems like Technic selection has dwindled down to next to nothing in my area (West Michigan). In fact, they aren't even going to stock the Unimog as originally they had planned to (I have a friend who works at a store and I get info from him on when and if their are shipments coming), the 8109 sold 6 in my area in only 1 store(I picked up 4 of them). I did get set # wrong on the Unimog when I started this thread, it is 8110, the bucket truck being 8071. All the stores in the area have tons of 8071's and the Extreme Cruisers, but Cruiser and Bucket Truck IMO look dopey, the 8292 Cherry Picker from 2008 far outweighs the 8071 and the 8297 4WD Off-Roader (the monster one from 07 or 08) far is a much larger, better example of an Off-Roader. For $60 its too steep for what little you get. Kind of like the red motorcycle from last year, it is cheesy when compared to the 8420 Cycle from 2005. That was a relic, loved it, unfortunately gave it to a friend's son who admired it to no end, wish I hadn't now...

Picked up 2 of the 8109 Motorized Flatbed Trucks at a local TRU today in Michigan, USA, they look pretty nice. Haven't seen the 8110 Lift Truck or the Unimog there yet, but they have a BOGO 50% off deal so couldn't resist getting 2 and saving one for resale down the road when they are retired and fetch more $$$.

Very nice creation indeed, like it much better than the disappointing 8295 Telehandler that came out a few years ago. Too bad TLG doesn't take more opinions/MOC's and make them into flagship sets... @Alasdair: That was one thing I hated about the 8295 Telehandler, no fork tilt that was gear operated from the model itself, and when you motorized it still didn't have the capability to tilt the forks...

Hi All- I live in the USA and haven't seen anything here yet except the lift truck, but that is out of stock, or not yet available at TRU online or in stores. What I really want is the Flatbed Truck and the Unimog. Anybody have any ideas when they will become available? I know last year it was about this time all the 2H2010 models were all in TRU stores. Any information helpful. Thanks, Eric