suffocation

Wow... I'm overwhelmed by the kind comments. I guess the pics cover up the flaws better than I thought The one thing that's still great about being British is our innate ability to laugh at ourselves Ha ha, thanks, guys I wish it did but if you look carefully, especially at the back shot, you'll see the shape is just... boring. The bodywork on 42082 might not be especially realistic but at least it's dynamic, whereas my model is far too boxy and disproportionate, not to mention severely lacking in details. Thank you, Grum! Thanks! Yes, the superstructure was really frustrating. Dealing with the inherent asymmetry exacerbated everything and precipitated my throwing in the proverbial towel. Thank you so much, Jeroen - it means a lot coming from you. I'm pleased enough with the functions but terribly disappointed with the bodywork. It's one area I really have to work on. Thank you! Thanks, Andy. I do agree that it has character - I have to thank the guys who advised me in the WIP thread (thanks for unearthing it, Zux!) to cut down on the orange since it would actually stand out more against the black. Thank you, Zux. I dunno, I really like 42082, especially the dynamic bodywork and all the little details. Functionwise I can't really compare the two because my model has some €350 of PF elements alone.

Ha ha, even after 20+ years abroad, the steering wheel on the right side still feels... right. Great progress, Grum - thank you for sharing. Your photo report and commentary really show what an epic, no-frills model this is.

This must be RTC week. 42082’s coming out (officially, at least) and it looks great. Another brilliant RTC on the way is @BrickbyBrickTechnic's. If you have some weird hankering for an eyesore, though, read on and see what an RTC should NOT look like. This is a rough terrain crane I began working on a few months ago (I started a WIP thread but can’t seem to find it) and then dropped for a number of more or less serious reasons. Yesterday I managed to force myself to throw a few beams and panels on the chassis so I could convince myself I’d seen it through to the end (not quite closure, but close enough for now). I also need to see the finished product in order to understand what to improve, so if I manage to solve a few personal issues I’ll make a second version which will hopefully look and work better (some of you gave me precious advice but I was in no condition to implement it this time around). The black quarter-gear racks from 42082 would be a welcome addition. Edit: - random WIP pictures here: https://bricksafe.com/pages/hateofallhatreds/rough-terrain-crane - hi-res pictures here: https://bricksafe.com/pages/hateofallhatreds/rough-terrain-crane/done The model is fully RC. I’m usually not too keen on full RC – in fact, initially I was going to use a six-switch gearbox driven by one XL so I could have some nice gearwork going on. Then I realised that a full-RC, 8043-style gearbox would actually be more complex, so I went with that instead. What I like about the model: - lots of functions, most of which work decently, especially the suspension. What I dislike about the model: - the looks – it’s boxy, unimaginative, disproportioned, ugly, you name it; admittedly, nothing looks right. - The superstructure turns too fast. - The boom reaches a mere 45° angle. - The winch drum is too far back. - No high-low gear. - No fake engine. - No working lights. - Outriggers don’t extend outwards enough. - Too much black. - And so on and so forth. Some stats: - Weight: 4.5 kg - Length: 58 cm - Width: 21 cm - Max height: 100 cm - Carrier motors: 2 XLs geared down 1:9.8 (drive), 2 servos - Superstructure motors: 1 XL, 2L, 1 M - Carrier power source: 1 BuWizz v1.0 + 2 PF IR receivers (the BuWizz unit’s BT is a half-dud, so I use it as a battery box and yes, it can still run at 9V) - Superstructure power source: 1 rechargeable battery box + 2 PF IR receivers Carrier functions: - 4-wheel drive - 4 steering modes: front-wheel, rear-wheel, 4-wheel, crab - Pendular suspension on both axles Superstructure functions: - Boom raising/lowering - Boom extension/retraction - Winch raising/lowering - Cab tilt - Superstructure rotation - Outriggers Feel free to fire away.

Love this MOC - it's light-years off the beaten track, looks great and works so smoothly. Thanks for sharing!

Great start, and it looks far better than my sorry attempt at the same kind of vehicle. How much of it is going to be PF-driven?

Yes - I've done it myself, except for the drive because I wanted direct drive. But there was plenty of room to direct the drive from the superstructure.

A telescopic crawler crane could pack at least six motorised functions and in 42082 scale would easily exceed 2500 parts.

Two-way gearboxes are pretty simple. This is a very basic setup for seven two-way switches - I'm sure it can be adapted to the model.

Probably because it looks good. Cranes usually aren't masterpieces of aesthetics, so if you want to turn one into a marketable toy in 2018 then you'll have to take the odd poetic license. I for one think it looks great and I hope it wobbles like a bowl of jelly in a seastorm because then even more humanure is going to come out of the woodwork and put on yet another hilarious show of social anencephaly.

Uh, that wasn't my point. My point was that most people would find stuff to bitch about no matter how good the set.

If they'd used pneumatics instead of actuators, the average comment would be "omg wtf theres alreddy 42080 wif numattics legos got gas this year lollerz ima nevah buy legos agane omg giant roller coaster taek my munny".

Love this set - great functions, great aesthetics, great donor and come Black Friday it'll drop to €160 or less. Doesn't get much better.

Exactly, and I wish more people would realise this. The only way to have close to zero backlash is to have the motor coupled directly to the output or at least to have a very short and simple drivetrain. The moment you start using one motor to drive multiple functions through a distribution gearbox, backlash becomes inevitable.

Amazing model - especially love the shapes, the live axles and the double driveshaft. And your English is excellent.

I've always found the z24+z12 combo to produce a ton of friction. Have they produced a new z24 mould to overcome this issue? (Note that this doesn't happen with white clutch gears.)

Dunno - they're slow models, anyway, so you'd have to be pretty distracted to let them hit a wall and stand there mouth agape with your finger still glued to the remote.

42030 and 9398 each have two open diffs.

Well-deserved exposure for one of the most talented builders out there

An idea for effective sprung pendular suspension is to have the shocks mounted on a pivot - something like this:

Kinda funny how this awesome, creative build gets ten replies while another WIP thread with ZERO pictures gets fourteen.

All of the superstructure's functions are independent, so they can be driven separately or simultaneously. Speedwise they're not quite in sync but close enough. Thanks! It's actually not that long - some 76 studs from tip to tail when fully folded. The whole thing weighs barely 2.7 kg, which is some 800 g less than the BWE. Not too sure about the boom fitting on 42082 - from the preliminary pics it looks like 42082's is only five studs wide and pivots on an axle, whereas this one is seven studs wide and pivots on two turntables.

Thanks Although to be fair, the RTC is far more complex.

Needed more torque. Could've used 1 XL per track but L motors are also great for structural solidity.

This is a telescopic crawler crane I threw together almost overnight in the hope of overcoming builder's block. The undercarriage had been sitting around for months after I began (and never finished) a mod of 42055, so I just needed to remove a couple of unneeded motors and touch up the tracks. The model is the usual combination of RC and hands-on that I like. Some technical details: - undercarriage driven by 4 L motors (2 per track) geared down 1:25 and powered by 1 BuWizz unit; - superstructure featuring 5 independent functions - boom raising and extending, winch, rotation and cab tilt - activated by a two-way gearbox driven by an XL motor, plus a fake 4-cylinder engine (based on 42030's) driven by an M motor. I decided to use a brick-built actuator so I could get the boom to almost vertical. I always struggle with bodywork - I did my best not to make it too boxy. I'll make a video at some point - it started raining as soon as I took the last shot. (Apologies for the messy garden).

@Didumos69 As far as I can tell, the two diffs are structurally identical. But I don't have much of an eye for detail, so let's see if anyone more eagle-ly inclined can pitch in.