ZO6

With the Atlantis theme on the horizon, I thought I would take a look back at one of my favorite aquatic factions - the Hydronauts Part 1 Hydronauts at a glance... Year of release - 1999 Four sets, including: 6110 Solo Sub 25 pieces Link - More info on Brickset 6150 Crystal Detector 104 pieces Link - More info on Brickset 6180 Hydro Search Sub 297 pieces Link - More info on Brickset 6199 Hydro Crystallisation Station 482 pieces Link - More info on Brickset A bit about the Hydronauts First thing you notice when you look at the sets is all the yellow... and trans-green!! I was always a fan of the colours and thought the sets were pretty slick looking overall. Some of the subs appear to be quite awkward looking, but when you play around with them in person the designs really grow on you. Hydronauts saw the return of wheeled vehicles, as well as pose-able arms. There is of course the obligatory small set... ...as well as the flagship base set. The crew - featuring single-sided printed torsos. The Hydronauts consisted of 3 unique members (names from LEGO Mania Magazine)- Crystal Miner, the navigator Hip "Muddy" Waders, and the captain Hank Hydro All geared up and ready to go. The breathing apparatus allowed search lights to be attached at the rear. The minifigs could also be equipped with flippers, a harpoon gun, and a suction gun. Some of the aquatic life included the classic grey shark, octopus, manta ray, as well as corral and the all important crystals. The Hydronauts theme featured many of the accessories introduced with the Aquanauts and Aquasharks in 1995/1996 and introduced the suction guns/hoses. These featured rubber hoses and suction cups which could be used to pick up the crystal boxes. Part 2 featuring an in-depth look at the sets now complete...

I am now sold on the Fire Station, Lighting Repair vehicle, Small Car, and Seaplane. The Fire Station looks to have the usual reception area complete with coffee maker which is quite fine with me. The second story has a wonderful little sleeping area (and are those 1x2 "pillow" tiles I spot!? ) and even a door(!) out to the fire pole. Glad to see the little supply room in between the two garages - I think the new rescue net is a great addition. IMO the two vehicles are fairly well designed with a decent amount of detail. Though the description says there is 5 minifigs, I only count 4 - however, the cat and tree make up for that. The Lighting Repair vehicle isn't the most attractive thing ever, though considering it's purpose who can complain? Nice to see a full set of tools included - as well as the extra lights, fences, and green bin. Overall a huge The small car is adorable. Love the size/design, the large doors, and the unique minifig. I like the sleek and compact design of the seaplane, and the wind sleeve and oil drum will add to my outback setup. The fire copter would be a must have for me if it had a brick built front (and preferably rear as well) as I quite like the included water bucket and vehicle. However, since I own the coast guard copter, I just feel this fire one is too similar yet not as well designed overall. The fire boat I like a lot and am glad to see it has a small interior, but I doubt I will pick it up due to space limitations.

The Family House (Apple Tree House on the box) looks absolutely wonderful! I can't help but say "drool" out loud every time I look at it I am so pleased with the added small details in these recent creator houses. This latest one will look fantastic next to the other creator houses in my very young - but very quickly growing town layout.

Blacktron 2, SP2, and Ice Planet were always my favorites - however, seeing how I own the most Ice Planet sets out of those three, I guess they are my favorite. Something about that trans-orange/blue/white/black colour scheme really appealed to me. Ice Station Odyssey may not have been the biggest or most well designed space base, but it will always have a special place in my heart. Deep Freeze Defender is my favorite space ship, and the smaller sets in the theme mostly weren't bad either.

This set is simply beautiful. There are so many small details scattered throughout it that put a smile on my face. Great set, very reasonable price too IMO. I very much look forward to adding this to my town. Who else would love sets similar to this but for other holidays during the year? A haunted house with pumpkins and spooky tree for Halloween, a sweets shop for Valentines day etc. To dream... Edit: Or how about just a set to give a representation for each season? (Spring, summer, fall, winter) This Winter toy shop seems to cover what many associate with that time of the year - ie. gifts, decorated tree, snow (well...depending on what part of the world you live in) etc. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a set to display that embodies the typical activities/colours and whatnot for each season of the year? Don't know if this comes out making any sense or not. (Also I hope this doesn't offend anyone with "seasons are not the same for everyone around the world") And now I'm just ramblin'...

Some thoughts... -The firestation is growing on me. Still want to see the interior and know final pricing/piece count information before passing final judgment, but I imagine I will end up picking it up. -The off-road fire vehicle with the boat really does seem like the fire-theme equivalent of 7726 but with a more dynamic suspension system. -The Octan truck will be a must buy for me. Though the included fuel pump is quite small, I like that it's thrown in there anyways. -Glad to see the Cherrypicker - and that it includes a street lamp to work on (and is that a green garbage bin included as well?) -Hard to make out the little car, but it's always nice to have more civilian vehicles to drive around town. Thanks again for the pictures!

Those are pretty funky. I could use the wind-up flashlight one... (or at least I assume that rotating arm is used for cranking to charge up the light)

I seem to remember some sort of an attempt at reviewing that bizarre Squidman's Pitstop set back in July... Squidman's Pitstop review ...how time flies...

Most of the rest of the sets look better than that initial model we saw, but until we get detailed pics, piece counts + prices, I don't want to make any final judgments.

Both the fire station and boat are nice - they certainly don't exceed expectations, but more than anything at this point I look forward to seeing the fine details within the sets (which I cross my fingers that there is an abundance of). Hopefully we will see some of the other city sets soon as well (pig pen ). Overall though I'm thinking the 2010 city sets are getting a from me.

Looks fantastic! Having the Go-kart myself, I will definitely try building something similar to what you have done. Thanks for showing off your creation!

I believe you're referring to linear actuator mount? It's used in the alternate model.

Both a wonderful model and review. Thank you very much! Seeing how expensive this model is in Canada, I'm hoping that it will arrive in stores soon enough as I don't really want to pay even more for shipping & handling from S@H (though your review is really making me want the set sooner than later ). BTW, I'd probably motorize the loader, but I'm curious as to how much cranking is required to raise and lower the bucket in comparison to raising and lowering the boom on the telescopic handler?

I really think you should stop insulting both myself and other people as well. I thought this rating debate had been settled by now - 4.5/5 IS MY RATING FOR THE SET. This is not some universally agreed on score, but simply my take on the telescopic handler. You have pointed out many times that you rate this set much lower, and that's fine, however - please put and end to saying that my own opinion and rating for the set is wrong. People are allowed to have different opinions in this world... On a separate note: I see a poll has been added - thank you

Set Name: Cherry Picker Set Number: 8292 Year Released: 2008 Number of Pieces: 726 Price: $84.99 CAD, $59.99 USD Front of the box - letting the buyer know of the included motor and battery box, as well as some of the functions of the set Back of the box - showing the alternate dump truck model In the box are four instruction manuals. Two for the main model (48 pages each) and two for the secondary model (48 pages each) The functions of the set are explained Random manual page. Once again the instructions are nicely laid out and easy to follow. The completed model. (Note: This set includes a sticker sheet with about 14 stickers- all of which I applied) In my opinion, this is a pretty nice looking Technic set. The cab has some nice detailing and features a bit of SNOT construction. The doors can open and close, though they slightly catch on the very bare side mirrors. Back view The heart of the cherry picker. The set features a single driving ring which is used to control the two main functions. The opposite side hosts the motor - logically there is also a 24-tooth clutch gear not far away. The battery box is attached to the back of the cab (Note: it requires 6AA batteries). This 16-tooth gear is located directly under one of the 16-tooth clutch gears, which when engaged by the driving ring will work towards raising or lowering the boom. Just out of sight is a 12-tooth bevel gear redirecting the motion of travel to a 36-tooth double bevel gear... (Note: The green line indicates the transmission path for this function) ...powering the worm gear, turning the 24-tooth gear which is attached to the lift arms and allows the boom to be raised or lowered. Slightly different angle Tah - dah! Boom fully raised - this takes about 14 seconds, and when everything is extended it measures approx. 19" (48cm) high. Transmission path resulting in the rotation of the turntable. The boom can rotate 360 degrees in either direction and takes approx. 30 seconds for a full rotation. Bucket extension (this sadly is done manually) Hand of god steering One last look at the completed cherry picker. Final thoughts: Build - Straight forward but quite enjoyable, taking a few hours with short breaks. The model looks nice (the cab is fantastic IMO), however due to it's size and weight there is some flex. It's not an incredibly complex model (structurally or mechanically), but for it's size it's about just right. It includes a nice selection of pieces and gears etc. Playability - Thanks to the inclusion of the motor, and smooth and satisfying functions, the cherry picker is a lot of fun to play around with. I really must emphasize that the speed at which the boom rotates and raises/lowers as well as the smoothness in which it does so is excellent. Having to manually extend the bucket is a bit of a letdown, but it hardly brings down the whole experience. The model also features working steering and opening doors. Price - 726 pieces including power functions for $85 CAD/$60 USD is quite reasonable. If the set did not include the motor and battery box, it still would not be all that horrible of a price, but thankfully it does - making the cherry picker a pretty good value. An easy comparison would be the 8264 Hauler- which is very similar in price but includes a couple hundred less pieces as well as making far less satisfying use of the motor. Overall I think the cherry picker is a great set and highly recommend it to both those who are new to Technic and those already well familiar with the line. I give it a 9/10 Comments, questions, suggestions are more than welcome! Cheers!

I think what Siegfried said sums things up nicely. After doing some research, I thought that 8295 looked like an interesting model and wanted to pick one up for myself. I only buy sets that appeal to me, I don't go around collecting everything. I own relatively few Technic sets, 8295 is my largest and therefore is special to me. When doing this review, I think I did a pretty thorough job of letting people know the functions of the set as well as what they are getting into. I think the comments in the rating section, as well as throughout the rest of the review cover the flaws. It's not all about the end ratings ...and luckily I did cover what needs to be known about this set. For me, knowing about the functions and seeing how they work is the most important aspect of Technic sets. I plan on doing two more Technic reviews, both focusing on the model's functionality. Feel free to disagree with my scores, but please don't make it sound like I have not done an informative review.

As I wait to acquire the newly released Technic sets, I thought I would do some quick reviews of a few slightly older sets. First up... Set Name: Telescopic Handler Set Number: 8295 Year Released: 2008 Number of Pieces: 1182 Price: $109.99 CAD, $89.99 USD First up is the box - it is quite large and features the back corners which must be torn to get in. The back of the box shows how the model can have power functions added. A picture of the alternate model is also displayed (Log Loader - the instructions can be found online). The build is split up over three instruction manuals, each weighing in at about 75 pages. Random shot from instructions. They are well laid out and easy to follow so long as you are paying enough attention. Colour separation is decent - there was only one point in which I accidentally used a pair of black beams in place of dark bley and did not catch my mistake until much later on. At the end of the third manual are instructions as to adding power functions to the model. I tried this out using the motor and battery box from 8292 Cherry Picker and found it worked fairly well. The sticker sheet after it's contents have been applied. They don't enhance the model greatly, but I figured I'd stick 'em on anyways. The completed model. The exhaust is used to engage/disengage the stabilizers at the front. The cab features a little seat, levers, a steering wheel, and an instrument panel (sticker) It also includes the lever to switch between raising/lowering and extending/retracting the boom, as well as steering controls (via hand of god) The 4-wheel steering tour... The 4-wheel steering works not too badly, though it is perhaps a bit vague. Thanks to this system though, the large vehicle can make relatively tight turns. A small modular section which is the starting point to all the action in the model. It can easily be removed and replaced with a motor. The heart of the telescopic handler. (note: the cab was removed to make photographing easier) The source of sore fingers. Cranking the beige gear sets things in motion. By flipping the red lever on the side of the cab, the clutch mechanism can divert the cranking action of the beige gear at the back to either work it's way to the linear actuator thus raising or lowering the boom (green line), or to extending/retracting the boom (purple line) Alternate angle. Walk through of functions. Green still for raising, purple for extending... And voila! Boom fully raised. ...continuing with the extension mechanism... ...still going... (note: the half pin is used to prevent the boom from retracting any further) ...finally the 8-tooth gear gets to work it's magic! (note: the 1x2 slope is used to prevent the boom from extending further) Fully extended Raised and extended (measures approx. 18" (46cm) long and 19" (48cm) high. Quick recap The front forklift can be adjusted as well. A cargo pallet is also included. Ratings: Build - 4/5 Nearly 1200 pieces means the telescopic handler will take many hours to build. The model is quite large and therefore has a bit of flex to it - still feels quite solid though. Decent selection of pieces and gears. Includes 1 linear actuator. Playability - 4.5/5 It's fun to drive this thing around and chase after house pets. Thanks to the 4-wheel steering, this thing has some pretty fun handling characteristics. When it's time to work the boom (raising/lowering, extending/retracting), front stabilizers can also be deployed. These functions are addictive to use, though turning the gear to do so gets hard on the fingers - this is where the set loses marks. Extending/retracting is relatively quick and painless, but raising/lowering is time consuming and requires significantly more effort. Power functions can be added to the model. Price - 4.5/5 $110 CAD/$90 USD for nearly 1200 pieces (though of course many of these are small pins etc). IMO this set is very reasonably priced. It is large and fairly impressive Overall - 4.5/5 I REALLY like the telescopic handler. It may not be as technically/mechanically impressive or complex as some other models, but it's still got a lot going on. A telescopic handler is not as easily recognizable as many other models featured in the Technic line and may perhaps be overlooked by many because of this. This is a shame as I think this set is pretty nifty and encourage more people to check it out if possible. Comments, questions, suggestions are more than welcome! Cheers!

Thanks for the photos - looks brilliant! As an owner of relatively few Technic sets, I look forward to picking this one up - lots of interesting building techniques used. ^Love that picture as well - seeing all those gears and clever construction makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Blakbird - I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments once you write up your review.

^I did a review of Squidman's Pitstop a couple weeks ago. It can be found HERE According to the TRU website the set is $49.99 USD - LINK

I was in the Newmarket TRU again today and can report they did not have the Lamborghini in. They did not have any new/different stuff from last week. Yes, it's too bad they closed down. I used to go there a couple times a year, but then when I went a few months back I was disappointed to find them shut down. Their site seems to be gone now which is both a good and bad thing - the site had given no indication that the stores had shut down and was therefore misleading, however the absence of the site gives little hope that the stores may return (I'm guessing the store in London Ontario suffered the same fate as the one in Cookstown?).

I got Squidman's Pitstop at the TRU in Newmarket at the Upper Canada Mall. I've been going there every week for the past couple months to check up on new releases. As of Saturday, June 27th - all the new Castle sets, Agents 2.0, Power Miners (including the Mining Station which I believe they just got in that day), ... actually it might be easier to list what they did NOT have yet: newest Indiana Jones, Galactic Enforcer, Hyperspeed Pursuit, Max Security Transport, newest Star Wars, + some other stuff. For the most part that TRU has an amazing selection and usually gets new stuff in reasonably quickly. They just got Pitstop and Mining Station in on the 27th, and there were some empty spaces on the shelves, so I would not be surprised if more new sets were unpacked either later that day (I went there soon after they opened in the morning) or since then. From what I remember the empty spaces were in the Space Police and Power Miners area. I'll report on any new findings next time I stop in at that TRU. If you have any questions, let me know

What you've done looks great. It's amazing how many sets had to be part donors though. A worthwhile experiment I'd say, and hopefully one day you'll be able to acquire the sets you want in both the condition and price range that meets your satisfaction I too would love to own 8466 or one of the other super cars, though I may have to settle for a super car released in the future. At least the Crane Truck should provide a fine distraction when it becomes available.

Thanks for the welcomes everyone, having been in "read only mode" for the past couple years it's nice to finally break the ice. This definitely is an oddball set, but for me that's one of it's biggest charms - it actually looks pretty neat on display and stands out from the crowd. Canada is where I call home, and I'm somewhat fortunate to live just 15 minutes from the largest TRU in the country.

^ I definitely agree that the set is overpriced. As I said, a $50 CAD or $40 U.S. (or cheaper) price would be much easier to swallow considering what you're getting. Due to my love for LEGO I can pretty much always look past the price of a set, however there are many out there who don't have as much cash to spend. The 6/10 for pricing is a bit of a compromise between me feeling that the price is maybe a 7/10 whereas for most it may be around a 4/10 or 5/10. The other ratings are strictly my own opinion though. I think perhaps to play it safe - unless you really want this set and are fully aware of it's pros and cons, wait for it to go on sale. Maybe if we are lucky we might one day get a base for both the baddies and the police that do them justice

Finally finished adding all the pictures back into the review, thanks for sticking with me. I've added a few other comments throughout as well. I definitely agree with what some have said about the Twin vehicle so far - it's pretty weak at the moment. I personally think it would look better if it were done with colours more to a throw back of Octan stuff seeing how it's driver has a faded Octan logo on his uniform. It could also do without the spikes and instead have a steering wheel!! I don't think that the pitstop is very empty - there is quite a bit to fiddle around with though it may not be apparent in photos. It really does come across nicely as being a trashy, shifty, hideout/repair shop for the aliens.