DarkShadow73

I bought a lot of 8109's on deals/BOGO 50% sales at TRU, I am actually saving 2 of them, 1 for main model and 1 for alternate model...seemed like a hot item, at least at the time it was released...I planned on opening a store on Amazon as a seller, life's issues have prevented it so far, but I've got tons of stock available, MSRP alone on what I have available is $15,800 according to Brickset. I didn't know EB had a selling section, could you point me to it? I know moderators don't like this sort of thing in this forum...thanks in advance. You won't be disappointed with the tracked loader, it is probably one of the best b models out there.

Problem is where can purchase the 42000? S@H doesn't have it on the US website, TRU doesn't have it available online and at least in West Michigan they are not available in stores...I like the looks of the truck better than the race car.

I've collected about 160 some sets over the past several years, think I have 6 or 7 Unimogs, a couple 8043's, 8 9397 Logging Trucks, 9 9395 Tow Trucks, 4 8070 Supercars, 19 8109 Flatbed Trucks, and many, many other vintage but mostly newer (2007-up, some back to 2003) Technic and few City constructions sets I'd like to unload. There was a huge misunderstanding with BL, both on the seller's and my part, so not sure where I go to market them. I thought about Amazon, does any body have any other ideas on where to market them? On topic, I do agree, the b model of the 8043 is a very nice model, I too did some modifying of the cab, added a led light kit to make it more realistic. It ranks among the best of the b models and is a prize in my built collection. I'm going to try and modify the 42006 with that 3rd mini LA, take off the grabbers and hopefully be able to put a bucket on my 2nd one if its possible to do that. Thanks, Eric

I seem to have lost the mod for enclosing the dumper for the b model plow somewhere since I built back last spring. The video was done in pretty poor lighting but I was able to take screenshots and I pointed with a pen and arrows of what had to be re-done. I am guessing by now it might be turned into instructions instead of the youtube video. Either way, could somebody possibly have saved it and could it be posted here or e-mailed to me at ehulliberger@live.com Thanks in advance, Eric

You are right there, the 8285 and 8070 are great even w/o the pf elements, of course the 8285 was released about 2 yrs before PF came into play. Other favorites are the 8421, it did have the old style battery box and motor from the 8287 motor kit but they were easily removed. Other notables w/o PF: 8455 Backhoe Loader, 8439/59/64 Front End Loader, 8448 Supercar, 8446 Crane Truck, 8466 4x4 Off-Roader, 8446 Crane Truck just to name a few, all of those are in my collection. Problem is most sets that don't have PF included, it is almost mandatory to add them, otherwise lots of winding of gear knobs and sore fingers, aka 8295 Telehandler and 8265 Front Loader to name a few, and the 9396 Helicopter, it just isn't the same w/o PF. As Kumbbl said the 8053 Crane is another that needs PF.

That's the problem, most PF elements are impossible to get to unless you dismantle the model completely...

And to think I've been shining my various car's tires and interior w/ Armor-All for going on 24 yrs...well maybe except for wintertime in the frozen north... I've often thought of trying to shine up the sidewalls (not the treads like DLuders said), since some of the tires in sets older than about 2008 I believe had tires that looked like crap, sort of a chalky look to them (I know there was a topic devoted to the possible change in rubber substance since then), and on my Supercars and Racers I like that shined up look. Construction and logging, which I'm mainly into, should have that 'dirty' look about the tires so I wouldn't mess with the sidewall or tread look, in fact I 'hacked' a couple bucketfuls of real sand from a construction site a couple summers ago and it gives construction vehicle's tires that perfect look. On occasion I use a spray bottle w/ water to lightly wet the sand on my road builds, then run the trucks through it to give them an authentic look. Gives the treads a muddy look that bleeds lightly onto the sidewalls. Perfect look. Oh btw, don't try this method with excavators like the 8043, 8294 or 42006, biggest mistake I ever made, the tracks tend to spit it up into the gears some if you're not real slow, but that's common sense, and I didn't use common sense the day I did that last year with one of my 8043's. Had to take bottom end apart and carefully spray off the gears, now I just set the tracks in the wet sand and then re-hook them back onto my excavators.

Probably I would guess being in Germany that since you are relatively close to where Lego's factory is that you get a better selection, or maybe kids are smarter, I've heard that European and Far East children are much more educated than in the USA, thus they are more into technical stuff...all we really have is TRU, and its spotty except around the 1H and 2H release dates, but every once in a while you get a surprise like the 8070 and 8043 appearing for a time this past spring and early summer, then they sell out and they are gone...I have yet to see a big box store carry any Technic anymore...however as a 20-something back in the early to mid 90's Lego used to dominate both sides of an aisle in TRU's, now its only 1 side, and back then they had tons of Technic...wish I had had the forethought to pick up some of those sets then... Curious, haven't really kept up with the new crane, does the superstructure have to be manually turned as in the 8421, or is it PF controlled? EDIT: should have read up 1 post, guess it has to be manually turned, that's too bad for the biggest ,baddest most expensive Technic set ever to be released.

I just hate the thought of taking them all apart, I've got a whole list on new ones I want to put together...you do have a good idea though, just wish PF elements on most are impossible to remove, mainly the motors which are for the most part way inside...battery boxes usually aren't too much of a problem to just remove with minor disassembly... Agreed there, most of the time I can just wipe them down, but for those elements way inside they need a good shot of water spray...used to be when I had more time on my hands I would take models completely apart and put all the parts in my dual kitchen sink on one side in Dawn soap and then I would grab handfuls and rinse them and put them on a couple large tupperware like lids and let them air dry...made the stupid mistake once with an Exploriens set (way back before I got into Technic) and I thought I had all the parts around the stopper and I didn't...and once they go down the drain, well that's about it... I know I mentioned the outside hose in the warmer months in Michigan...I'd put a 2x4" across the end of the garage floor to catch any parts that came off...very effective, but not feasible in the winter of course...

How could I forget the Unimog..slipped my mind...

I agree with DLuders - about the only time you see lots of Technic is around Christmastime and sometimes at 2H release dates. Heck, in 2 of the TRU stores in my area they couldn't even fit the Unimog (which surprised me it was in the store) on the bottom larger shelf. They basically jammed them under the price tag strip above, rendering them as a major shelf wear issue if you planned on buying for resale later. Even the 9397 made its appearance in the stores for a brief time, and they still have tons of the 9394 Plane, 8069 Backhoe Loader and 9395 Tow Trucks, so that just shows people or should I say parents aren't interested in Technic, heck if I was kid in this day I'd go wild over those 3 sets. TRU markets to children, and nobody wants to go in the stores and pay the high cost of Technic, well at least the largest sets anyway, they market for the most part to children, and sure you see a few smaller Technic sets, but most times that's about it. I seriously doubt the 42008 or 42009 will ever make it into TRU, in fact I'd place a bet with surety they won't. And places that used to carry a lot of Technic don't at all anymore like Walmart, Target, and a couple other big box stores in my locale. I can recall going into those stores back in the late 90's and early 2000's and seeing a lot of Technic, but little by little they disappeared totally, I don't even bother going in those stores anymore looking for even smaller Technic sets. TRU is about the only place to find them, and only at a couple times a year like said above, or online which I hate because of the shipping. One thing that is a mystery to me is why the 42006 hasn't even made it to TRU online or in-store, its not a large set. I bought one in early January from TRU online, paid through the nose for shipping and taxes, but they must have gotten only a few from Lego, since then nothing. Odd... Another oddity is the 42008, Lego S@H doesn't even show it, TRU has had it on their website for a few weeks but no stock available. I do think that Lego is marketing in retail stores like TRU with just the children-only themes, I've seen more Chima than I'd care to say in the past several weeks. Funny thing is some of those sets, including Chima, have a hefty price tag. I have to admit I used to buy some City sets back in the mid-late 2000's because they looked cool and fit in with construction scenes, I was actually thinking of buying the 4203 Mining Transport w/ Excavator, just for the excavator alone as a small compact excavator(even with its faults with the boom sections falling off), but for around $40 USD, it hardly seemed worth it for just the excavator, and the lowboy trailer was way too small and didn't fit in at all with Technic. I did buy the 7746 Drum roller, and the 7632 Crane, which surprisingly uses a lot of Technic parts. I just modified it a bit to get rid of the City look. I also bought the Bulldozer in 2008 I think it was, but modified that also and a few of the 7631 dump trucks which I took off the cab and hooked 2 of the dump trucks in tandem like real life. A little small, but still worked on my construction scene.

I'd feel pretty funny about going down a woman's makeup aisle...

Found it on the USA Amazon website. It might work ok with newer studless models, but for the older studded models, I just can't see it getting in between the studs. Might be worth a try though, I don't have an air compressor, no real need for one, got too small a garage to any real work on my car. Thanks for the input to all... I'm kind of a clean freak and it extends to my massive Lego collection. I tried the compressed air route for keyboards and such, didn't work real great. Might get a small paint brush though.

I still like the 42010 stand alone racer, even though it has no steering control or suspension. The combo w the 42011 is rather odd looking IMO.

8455 hands-down. Pain in the a-- having to pump air into the systems all the time, too bad an airtank or 2 couldn't have been implemented but I see no way in such a compact set, but a centerpiece and so true to life. Other notables: 8459/39/64 Pneumatic Front Loader 8285 Tow Truck 8421 Mobile Crane (too bad the boom doesn't stay up though with modifications) 8043 RC Excavator 8448 Supercar 8466 4x4 Off-Roader 8462 Tow Truck (2 airtanks!) I've noticed at least on Amazon.com that if somebody buys a set, others that have that same set raise their prices because of demand. Kind of gouging but hey some people will pay the outrageous prices on even smaller, long since retired sets. Glad I bought 3 of them in 2006 when they were released at $119 MSRP USD. Now look at the prices for MISB or even NISB...crazy prices, even the 8421, bought 2 of them new in 2005 at $149, now look at what they are going for...another out in space price... Oh yeah, forgot about the 8446, i bought one last summer at a reasonable price on eBay, brand new. An odd beast indeed, but still a cool looking crane truck, the jaws are very unique. And I like the green color...

This has been probably been asked before but I am wondering what is the best way to clean Technic models of dust, etc. Used to be I'd drop them in the sink if they fit, otherwise I'd do one end then the other, put a bit of dish soap in and then hose them down with the sprayer and set them on my foyer area tile to drip-dry or towel off what I could. During the warmer months I'd set them on my garage floor or driveway and put the hose on gentle spray (I live in Michigan so about 6 months out of year I can't do this). However, since the advent of PF motors, battery boxes, etc, this method isn't going to work obviously, and a lot of models would require a lot of dismantling to even remove PF elements. I tried canned air, but it just doesn't do the job as well as soaking and spraying. What do you all do with cleaning your models? Thanks in advance, Eric

They are going to re-release the 8421? As far as sets for 1H2013, there are some interesting ones, and some very good ones... 42006 - Great 42004 - Great (main model backhoe, b model sucks) - only thing it needs is larger rear tires like most backhoes have, I added in the balloon tires from either the 8053 or 8273... 42010 - Great - not thrilled w/ the pullback feature, but the look of the model is eye-catching 42011 - Blah 42007 - Great 42002 - haven't bought it, but looks to be an interesting take on Technic models Can't really comment on the 2H ones, though a fellow EB member and friend of mine discussed the upcoming crane, we both agree it will be a must have. As far as the 42000 - well I'm more into race cars than formula 1 type cars, so not going to buy that one, plus its not even on Lego S@H site yet (odd), and hasn't been available at TRU, both in-store on online as of yet.

I definitely agree, the 8455 is one of the finest and truest to form models ever released by Lego. The 8465/39/64 Pneumatic Front Loader is another true to real life model as well, a must have. The 8285 Tow Truck is another great example. Agreed there, it is the finest model of a real-life loader ever produced by TLG. I modified one of 2 I have built with a fork attachment, you see a lot of loaders in freight yards with the bucket off and a forkset for loading pallets and such on trailers, that kind of gave me inspiration to design a forkset, Ice Road Truckers series gave me the idea. I really like the 8436 as well, pneumatics are touchy on just about every model that includes them. I saw someone posted about the 8460 below, that crane is another excellent example, glad I got one last year.

@Anio - I agree, the 8109 is an excellent flatbed, the winch is great for pulling smaller vehicles onto the deck. @Samanen- Thanks for the pics, it helps so I know how to add the dualies.

I had one parked in my driveway for a couple nights while they were re-roofing our complex. I didn't see any type of shock absorber, I would imagine it does independent live suspension on each wheel, but no shocks. It was a standard JLG telehandler.

I suppose so, but most on this scale have at least a bit of room for at least a V4. So, basically all you did is put longer axles on the rear and that's it?

Yeah I've never seen a telehandler w/ suspension, or without front outriggers to stabilize when lifting.

@DLuders - good thing I saved the wheel lift swivel to my Lego file, you are right about the need for dualies on the back of the tow truck, all American ones have dualies on the back. I'm not sure how to implement them without the one wheel on each side sticking out from the body of the truck since their is a diff controlling the wheels. @Samanen - I agree, it should have at least a V6 engine. I've never seen a regular duty tow truck without at least a 6 in it. I see you have the 8109 Flatbed on your profile picture...I have always wondered why that set didn't have an engine at all, especially considering the size of the set. I love the truck, but it really needs an engine...

I made a telehandler out of the b model of the 8049 Log Loader. Was quite easy, also made a quick disconnect so a platform could be added for a manlift, much like Genie boom lifts. Was quite easy, just took off the useless grappler assembly. Wish I had a digital camera to show the forum. Its not real big, but it extends out quite far, just used a 16L axle from the 8416 Forklift set. The extension of the telehandler/manlift is manually operated via gearing and the actual lift of the boom is pneumatically operated. As far as the tilt of the forks or the manlift platform, unfortunately I couldn't figure out a good way to pneumatically operate it, so it is also manually operated much like the 8295's forklift is. Still looks good and the lime green and red boom color scheme seem to mesh quite nicely IMO.

It is listed on the website, but it hasn't become available for order yet. I have an e-mail notification for when it becomes available. Strangely its not on Lego S@H yet. Seems like Technic isn't popular enough to be carried at those big box stores, just the other themes, Chima seems to be popular. I used to walk into Kmart years ago and they had a lot of Technic, but their competitors, with the exception of TRU, don't seem to carry the Technic theme any longer and haven't for years.