Aqualize

With the 8110 they are trying - atleast it is not a yellow model :) The problem with airplanes, helicopters, boats and submarines is that they can't fly or sail. We have come to expect that the flagship model can do the real life task it is modelled after. The bulldozer can (with PF) push things, the crane truck and unimog can use their crane via PF and PF+pneumatic. The excavator can load lego parts. So as long as TLG hasn't invented an anti-grav device and embedded it into a helicopter we don't see that as flagship model.

I've always liked models that can do things, like construction machines. I'm not so fond of car models (in fact I don't own any flagship car/offroad set). I need a loader bucket or a crane claw to think they are worth it. So with that explanation I can say that I don't want a car/offroad vehicle. But also I will not cry if it lacks "track or wheels". It is time for TLG to renew themself with a flagship that stands out.

No one rember the 8868 Air Tech clawrig? It also takes "forever" to raise a heavy load. And its compressor is even smaller than the unimog's. Most stupid thing with the 8868 I think is the white fake fuel tanks on the sides. Would been so much better with air tanks that was usable (surely someone had modded this but I'm talking about original). Speaking of 8868. When the unimog rumors started people where talking about "the new 8868" (electrical and pneumatic functions, claw arm, etc.). Has anyone posted some picture of the 8868 and 8110 side by side?

Well I picked up my 8110 from the post office this monday and still haven't had time to build anything of it. I looked at the bags... And I'm going away this weekend. Patience is a virtue I've heard...

What is the intended usage for them? So I know what and where to look for this kind of things. The prospect of putting rubberbands on a few hundred tread links is not so appealing... I guess these are a lot faster to mount :)

On the linked technicbrick blogpost they showed a video with the rubber band trick on the threads running on a glass surface and it seemed to have no problem turning. if the whole links are covered in rummer might be different but think of all the RC toys that has rubber threads and they work.

Is it just 'hard' to steer or does it not steer until you move it? I have the 8295 telescopic handler and it has all-wheel steering but it is a slack so it really doesn't turn the wheels all the way when it is standing still.

I haven't retrieved my unimog from the post office yet so I don't know how it is to build. But I can say that the 8043 will definitely satisfy your requirement of "lots of gears". Realistic steering and suspensions is not applicable to that model. It has power functions for all its things. Comparing it to the 8258 crane truck and unimog it can move itself(1) so it has greater playability. Parts count it is not as much as the unimog or crane truck but I think it can be the model that you would like the most. Then when you're done with it and your wife has eased up to the reality of you building lego (if this is a problem) you go and by the other sets, unimog first. (1) not considering mods that make them moveable with PF.

I look forward to your backhoe thread. I don't understand your description but I assume it will be explained in the upcoming thread. I'm not in a hurry, I can wait. I have the 8110 waiting for me at the post office that I need to "take care of" tonight.

Well the linked page says that they are not lego rubber bands. Seeing the prices on bricklink for single rubber bands and comparing to a store with 100pcs pack I will not be so religious about using non "official" parts. It is not like we use a big rubber band to build a big catapult, just replacing a comparable rubberband with non-official that are a lot cheaper.

How do you suppose the rear wheels of the backhoe are made? I want to make big tractor models (not backhoes) but the limit is that there isn't any lego wheel big enough for that scale. Is it a lot of small tires put on a "tube"? I really would like to have lego wheels that are 2 dm in diameter (fixed rim with connectors instead of single small axle pin is ok) so I could build some model with lots of internal functions.

I for one certainly hope for it. It would give us easier opportunity for small servo assistance where a medium motor is too big. On the other hand, using small motors everywhere in a model, directly attached to their purpose kills some om the ingenuity with lego technic, you know a machine with a lot of axles and cogs doing magically things. I.e. the 8043 excavator wouldn't have been the same if all the linear actuators had a motor directly connected to it. I don't see any particular need for a "large" motor. To place it in between XL and medium, should it be 4 units wide? makes it a bit odd.

What speeds are we talking about for this machine? When I've been building trucks they are more like trial trucks that moves slow. I just hope your monster truck is fast as real monster trucks are. When you feel ready I hope you record a movie.

Is that retail store prices or internetshop? I guess it can be a normal retail store price in Sweden too. But on internet I ordered mine for equivalent of 1306 NOK, (€169, $234). There were some shop that are a little bit cheaper than the one I ordered from but they don't have it in stock yet.

Sounds horrible. Among professional programmers BASIC is despised, I'm not sure how much this is related to the old BASIC flavors but it at least share the dreadful name. And they actually seem to brag about having over 800 commands and functions. To me it looked very unorganized. I prefer Java as leJOS NXJ on my NXT brick. I haven't tried it out but for beginners that want to write programs I guess pyNXC is a good choice as python is a quite simple language. C can be quite daunting with its syntax.

I'm looking forward to the Liebherr model and any walker that he might do. I recognize him for being a very good builder but I'm not into pure trucks (road train), sports cars or military models so the rest didn't excite me :(.

As I remembered it (but lets see when folks here builds the PF-added version) the pneumatic pump didn't do its full stroke length. I think the 8868 Airtech clawrig utilized the full length. I CAN be wrong about that. But if it is true it can explain why the 8049 doesn't have so much airflow. Btw I think the forest trailer is so wrong so I built my own (have I posted about this earlier on this forum?) It didn't turn out to be a nice and polished MOC, I only modified the tractor and the crane and built a better trailer (proportion-wise) (shows the drive of the trailer pushing the tractor). Read the description for info about all changes.http://aqualize.se/lego/forest%20trailer/ <-- a few pictures. For precision control I think (air) pneumatic are inferior to LAs. But when raw power is required the pneumatics are called for.

What? You say it is based of Caterpillar 9030, which from what I can find is not an existing tractor, and you show a John Deere 9300? ;) Anyway Caterpillar has their Challenger brand and the biggest wheeled bad boy they have is the MT975C. picture here Now I'm going to go back and actually look at your MOC ;) Edit: I like the MOC, I really do. I think we see too few tractor MOCs. I think the problem with this and every other tractor MOC is that we don't have the correct tires. Should be big agricultural tires. And they need new rims for that (smaller than the current wide rims). But that is just wishful thinking :(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet I don't know which ones are "harmful" to the ABS plastic lego pieces. Looking around the web there seems to be UV blocking film that can be put on the glass and of course UV-blocking glass. I guess the former is cheaper.

If you want to spend money you should get a bookshelf with glass doors to keep dust away. But I guess a standard bookshelf and one big glass window from the glass shop (glaziery?) which covers all levels of the bookshelf. Mounting it can however be a problem. In my own apartment I keep my lego in assortment boxes because I never leave a model built for very long time. I didn't bother to move my old technic lego (from before the dark ages) so it is till there, I built all the sets a year ago and now they are on a bookshelf and a towel above it to prevent them from becoming to dusty. Edit: I just love how IKEA name their products. These Swedish words that often are incomprehensible for non-Swedish speaking people :) (I'm from Sweden)

Well now I see. That new differential is actually a 28 tooth one. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=62821 That older one has 16t and 24t (the one used in the central differential). I also like the new differential. Mainly because it can be placed inside one of these: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=64179 (the 64178 can also be used). And then you get a very strong frame around it. I'm away for the weekend from my lego parts to build with... at least I here have my completed 8868 to look at :)

Yes as I understood it. But only one creation can be selected for the 10 MOCs that goes to public voting on the website.

Sorry but I don't understand what you're writing about slipping gears. Do you really mean 8t and 24t gears? You don't have those in your differential, only in the final gear reduction close to the wheels. What am I not getting? Btw I like started building with the same "hub reduction" as you a few days ago (but using the 6-hole "rims" all the way, no bushings and with axles through all the holes in the wheel's rim). But in an earlier project I made a differential lock that was very big (clumsy), your variant is more compact. I will probably use that one if I need a differential. In the project I'm doing now I skipped the differential. But perhaps I should redesign.

Yes that's strange. I see at shop@home that 8258 isn't available in the US or Canada, but Sweden (and UK). The first-half 2011 product catalog I'm quite sure it was listed so there should be a big supply here until summer I guess.

Yes, get the 8258. To scavenge it for parts I think it goes better with mindstorms. I have both and while one could have the NXT motors turn the pneumatic valves it won't give so much precision. With the linear actuators you know exactly how many revolutions it takes to fully extend it and unless you drive it too far or have to heavy load (the slip clutch will save your actuator then) you can in the program you write know more or less how much the LA is extended. Then in a year from now your fiance might have accepted your hobby a bit more and then you go out and get the 8110. Here in Sweden the 8258 are still available. I don't visit so many actual stores but many of the online shops carry it in stock. Actually a few weeks ago I was in a store and saw a few 8416: Fork-Lift, a set launched in 2005. The pricetag was a little bit less than what's on bricklink (within EU) but It didn't have any interesting parts so I let it be. Otherwise it is fun to find old sets in stores because they keep or lower their original price, but on bricklink they gain value instead so a few year old set from a store can be a real bargain.