Out of Sight

You should build it first, and see if you encounter any problem with the LA. Taking off the LAs is very simple even when the model is already built,by simply removing the red pins. I've got a newer edition set, so I didn't have to order the service pack. Quick installation: http://technic.lego.com/en-us/Designers/Blog/Default.aspx?date=10/29/2010

Lego can call it Multi Purpose 4x4 Truck... if they decided not to use the MB name. But the tought of seeing the Technic logo on top of "UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät" -UNIMOG on the box is...intoxicatingly sweet! LEGO is a legend, so is a Unimog.

well Santa didn't get me the 8043, he said I was bad this year...so I bought it myself It took me 3 days to build the 8043 between work breaks, with a total of 10 hrs build time. Since I just got back into Technic, I decided to build it slowly as not to goofed up on any building steps, I mean my previous excavator was the tiny and simple 8047..it's a real bummer knowing you misplaced an axle burried deep inside and having to walk back few steps back just to disassemble it I also had a pack of Marlboro lights standing by to calm the nerves..a double espresso coffee to keep my eyes open.

WOW..so my prediction is "true"...if you guys checked my thread on discussing about the 2011 flagship model, I mentioned about Unimog too. I'm a BIG fan of 'Mogs..I collect many Unimog diecast models, so if Lego decided to launch it for 2011, it would be a welcomed addition! As some may notice, the Unimog is an implement carrier..it's equipped with attachment point for many different equipment. It would be neat if Lego gave a few "optional" attachments for us to choose. The real Mog utilizes P.T.O. (Power Take-off), where the equipment is driven straight from the same driving engine. I see many possibilites to use an XL motor (mimicking the diesel engine) at the front and use this to operate the equipments or perhaps also drive the truck it. The Mog also has PTO winch which is also its hallmark. If the Mog cost more than the 8043,..I'd still get it! If Mercedes Benz is also involved this would be worth every cents! The last question remains..which Mog series will Lego make. The heavy duty U4000 or the medium duty U400? the U400 "medium duty"..comes with Vario-steer, you can move the steering from left to right.

There are 5 u-joints for the bucket and 3 for the dipper arms. I made sure all the u-joints on each axle are in-line. The operations improved a lot, yes there's still a very slight vibration, but almost unnoticable,and almost completely gone on fresh alkalines. I would suggest everyone do this fine tweaking to improve the whole operations of their 8043 or any PF equipped Technic set which utilizes U-joints.

@DLuders @ Richard Thanks for sharing your perspectives on this matter! I also believe that the wiggle and the notchiness of the LA is caused by the non-constant speed of the U-joint when positioned at an angle, as the speed of the input shaft on the LA varies and causes intermitent quickening and slowing down. Maybe Lego should make CVD's (Constant Velocity Drive) for future PF equipped models? Could be a new part in Technic inventory as well

Guys, after spending (playing to be exact! ) almost 2 weeks with the 8043..I noticed there was a wiggle/vibration when extending/retracting the dipper arm and bucket. The wiggle was quite excessive especially on the dipper arm, I check every single U-joints, make sure all the axles are not binding or misplaced. I could spin each LA freely by hand. Got me frustrated for a while. I did swap position of all 4 LA's in case there's a defective LA..nope same thing! I then disassembled the whole boom,dipper and bucket assembly and took off all the U-joints and axles. Here is what I noticed, the vibrations seemed to be coming from the U-Joints. I did a simple diagram here: as per Lego instruction booklet, I attached the U-joints in a perpendicular orientation on both ends of each axle. I then repositioned all u-joints so they're now in parallel orientation on both ends of each axle. To my surprise, this actually fixed the problem..this almost completely eliminated the wiggles especially when the LA's are under load (expanding). My question is to those Tech experts, should the u-joints ideally be installed in this manner (parallel on both ends of each axle)? Well at least I can sleep with ease tonite, knowing that my 8043 is smooth as butter

Arrggh all you guys Europeans are so lucky..i've been wanting to attend that Toyfair! My wife will be visting Europe but in March..sigh. In the meantime I'll get a few locally available sets. I've been eyeballing the 8265 Loader, to assist my 8043 shoving Lego bricks around my work desk

@andythenorth Thanks for reminding me of that...I knew I'd seen a Technic snowplough way back then. Since Blakbird mentioned about Technic sets which need to be instantly recognizable to kids, I think snowplough trucks are a common sight in Christmas/winter time..as common as Santa Claus Although for Indonesian like myself, most kids here have never seen a snow due to our tropical climate..duh! Anyway here's a pic of the real thing. I see many possibilities to utilize PF especially on the front blades. That offroad undercarriage is a good potential to exploit a working suspension too,afterall a 'Mog is an offroad truck! That square cabin shape is also easily 'brick-able'

I think it's a good model..to exercise your finger by turning those tiny knobs, especially for all ye spoiled AFOLs who are used to the convenience of PF operations! Hahaha, just kidding! Even though I own the 8043..I still love to manual turn the knobs on my tiny 8047 mini excavator! But seriously, for the price, the many features, the 8069 is really good I'll buy it.

Well I guess I can forget about seeing big crane this year It's very interesting that one of you mentioned about lowboy trailer with a similar scale to the 8043 and 8265. Anyway how do you determine scale among Technic sets? As for me I always look at the blue L shaped 3x5 liftarm for the seats that Lego has been using..if the seats look proporsional to the whole model, I assume they're roughly the same scale as in the 8043 and 8265. An 8x8 truck of similar scale would be nice though. I'm thinking 8x8 tipper truck, like the Scania P-series to play along with the 8043 or 8265. v8 engines connected to 4 differential for each axles. Selectable transfer drive between 8x4, and 8x8. Tipping bed (obvious!). Or perhaps a snowplough truck to clear out snow covered roads, like the Unimogs U4000 series (boxy cabin shape, makes sense for lego bricks,with subtle panels), with rotating salt spreader at the rear. LOL, these are just my ideas though.

I see. Thanks By the way are those wheels the same as the ones that come with the 8265 loaders. Pardon me for asking this unnecessary question.

@GuiliuG and all Sorry, I'm a Technic noobs..can anybody tell me what Lego part is that in the middle of the wheel? Looks like a hub cap but does a GREAT job mimicking the real thing and gives a nice look as well. Thanks

Since TLG came with 8043 Excavator, they somehow set a new benchmark for a flagship model. I just love a totally 'handsfree' operation of my 8043. While some of you have the creativity and time to customize any Technic set with remote operated PF, for a Lego newbie like me, the convenience of having all the remote operated features in a set is GREAT and saves a lot headache. I personally love construction machines, their yellow color also stands out on display..and for the fact that construction sets are also HUGE For 2011 I'd love to see a 'reincarnation' of the 8421 Mobile Crane. While I haven't owned the 8421, I would love to own the next big crane. While the 8053 is good..it's way too small for a mobile crane, and the PF seems like an 'afterthought' since the PF battery box ruins the whole look of it. I would love to see the PF and remote to be integrated as whole design like the 8043. So my request to TLG is remote operated mobile crane with 62.4x20 size tires or bigger,with remote operated crane functions, remote stabilizer deployment, a super low gearing for the drivetrain so we can drive the crane at a realistic pace to and from the deployment sites I'm expecting it to be bigger and longer than the 8258, with 12 wheels (6 on each side where the first three are for the steering). Anyway while there's another thread about upcoming 2011 Technic sets, I would just focus this thread on the flagship model. Please share your thoughts of what the 2011 flagship should be.

Yikeess...to think that Lego put a lot of effort adding huge amount of lube on the updated LA's for the service pack . Rien, how did you safely open the motor? Since I've lightly lubed the gears with silicone oil, I have yet to charge the batts on my 8043 it's been 2 weeks with constant 'after work midnight digging' when I'm all alone at my work desk. At least 15 minutes a day. It's amazing what lube does and how much load it takes away from the motor.

I'm thinking of getting the 8265 as well...would be a good companion for the 8043 It's almost half the price. But I wonder if the late production 8265's that are on store shelves already came with the updated LA's like the 8043? I've seen some vids on youtube, the M-motor seems struggling just to live the main shovel arm on the 8265. But this won't matter if you decided to use the manual cranking using the black knob with your finger. But having owned the 8043, I've sworn to equip my future technic sets with PF. So much realism and you can observe the mechanisms better while they're doing their job.

So that probably makes me a Lego 'desecrator' too I guess ...I lubed my Legos but only to some extent, that it's virtually impossible to notice it, and my set stays clean,even brick purists cannot spot the difference. I mostly display my Lego, and only playing with the functions few minutes between work to relief stress, so cleanliness and build originality (model must match box photo) are also top priority. I haven't done any modifications to my 8043, or will I ever, I respect the designer's trait. But to be fair, I think Rien's power mods is a good example of how much further we can extend our Lego's playability, beyond the design and purism boundaries. Rien's mod can be considered a research too..perhaps Lego one day will come up with 11.1 power box and matching PF circuitry to power bigger model like the 8043, or probably design a more powerful and faster M motor.

As I'd said in my first post, if you do it correctly, you won't have a mess at all. I'm currently observing my 8043, the only difference I can see is the gears are just slightly shinier. No drips or runs anywhere, all the bricks stay squeeky clean Yes as long as it's a 100% silicone oil. You can also visit your local hobby shop and ask for RC models shock oils. Find a 30wt or lower, the pores on the Lego gears' surface will make the lightweight oil spread more evenly. Some petroleum based oil can harm plastic actually..not straight away though. +1 to that. I've never dismantled any Lego models too..If I want to build the B model, I just get another set and build it.

During my experience running R/C model cars or anything which involves gear train, there's always some kind of lubrication on them. I don't see Lego stating anything about lubricating gear trains and shafts..but shouldn't there be? I also noticed that some member, like Rien on his 11.1v PF also does this. Subject : Technic #8043 Oil : 100 Silicone oil (I used light 30wt radio control shock oil for better capillary action). Silicone is clear, so it will leave a thin unnoticable clean film on the gears and very safe for plastic. Method : Small 5mm wide paintbrush, tiny dab of oil on certain gears,cycle the motor few times so the oil spreads to other gears. Don't over do it, you'll end up with a mess. Tiny amount should suffice and will retain the Lego 'cleanliness'. A lubricated gears will leave a slight sheen, nothing more. Results: I can raise the boom at full extension with a rechargeable 7.2v batts slightly faster than a non lubricated gear trains on 9v fresh alkalines, so that around 20% in friction reduction! The instant high pitched spooling sound of the M motors indicates this, they're literally shouting "Hooraaayyy!" Battery life is also noticably longer. I think all PF equipped models should be lubricated, especially on highly loaded M motors such as the #8043 set. Pardon me, maybe some of you had thought about this, but since I'm new member here, I'd like to share my 'newfound' joy in my Technic set.

Yea...I remembered on your post and on Youtube, you'd mentioned about 2 stroke motor oil! I have LOTS of silicone oil, comes in variety of viscocities. I used them to tune the shock oil of my radio control model cars. Hmm...never thought it worked brilliantly on Lego too. Silicone is also very dormant, so I suspect it wont harm the Lego's ABS plastic.

Ah I see... Thanks for the clear pics & quick reply,I appreciate it!

Well this makes me sad... I bought 8043 just last week...it already came with the updated instructions and 38X0 LA's. So I absolutely have ZERO chance of getting that nice Penguin keychain that Lego gave you. Btw I've been giving the gears some lube,using 100% silicone oil..combined with the new LA's, the boom raise is very smooth and consistant.

@Rien, That's a brilliant idea running low voltage alarm! Why didn't think of that? Anyway can I see how you actually plugged in the Lipo to the PF, how did you modify the cable to connect to the IR receivers or did you connect the Lipo to the PF battery box? A picture would be helpful, thanks.

I think Rien's Lipo mod gives the much needed handling agility of a real excavator. Good job on that. I'd just finished building my own #8043, it's pretty much stock with no modifications, but I intend to keep it that way to preserve its design originality It came with the updated LAs though (38X0) Here are few notes to consider for everyone else BEFORE upgrading to 11.1v Lipo: Make sure ALL the gears spins freely by giving some play/tolerances to their adjascent object. I did this during my assembly, the M motors seem happy, no apparent stresses when lifting the boom, the motors stay cool too. This will reduce friction by a lot, gives added agility and reduce battery consumption hence longer running time! I'm also into radio operated electric car models, Lipos are mandatory in these high performance vehicle. By seeing previous posts,we need to understand the proper usage of Lipo: 1.The PF circuitry does not come with a low voltage cutoff LVC. The LVC is needed to protect the Lipo from over discharged below 3.0v/cell. In a 11.1v Lipo, the minimum LVC is 9.0v. You need to measure the voltage when running it on the PF or you'll damage the cells or puff the cells ultimately. Have you seen an exploding Lipo?? Very scary..it will melt the lego bricks since it mimicks a flame thrower. 2. 11.1v is the nominal voltage of a Lipo (1 cell = 3.4 volt). But a fully charged Lipo fresh off the charger is 4.2v/cell. So a 3 cell Lipo like Rien's is around 12.6v fully charged. 3. You need to buy not just any 3s Lipo, but those that are rated for the maximum current draw of the PF motors. A lipo that's operating above it's discharge rate will get hot, damaged and ultimately explode. Lipo usually comes in C rating. C stands for continuous curret. The maximum current is the capacity of the Lipo times the 'C'. Eg. 11.1v 3s 1500mah 10C, means the Lipo is able to supply 1500mah x 10 = 15000 mah. Or 15A. So this battery will be safe to use on the PF which draws around 2-5A under load. Hope these help!

Thank you guys! I'm currently halfway into the first instruction booklet of the model 8043. Slow progress huh? I'm struggling to find time between my work, family and this..so I would only have 2 hours tops each day, and that's after 11 pm! But I plan to make tonight a worthwhile progress of the build. Lego does relief some work stresses...takes your mind off other things, which is good!