Matt The Tuba Guy

Nice. For some reason, apart from the official set, 9391, this is the first time I have seen a crawler crane like that.

nice, if I was to do that with all my sets, I would need something a bit bogger than that, especially if i include all the bionicle sets! 8880 is on the way to me at the moment, so I will finally be able to confirm whether it is really as good as everyone says it is.

I assume you will use the Unimog wheels? That truck will be HUGE!!!

there you go. all you need is http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v= then the video code inside the [media] tags funny!

I got my set of four by buying 8466 4x4 offroader. you get four of the wheels + tyres plus some awesome metallic olive green parts, and the set itself is quite cool. they don't have 'power puller' printed on the side of the tyre, but I really don't think that matters. as for the wheels themselves, they look like they could be made out of aluminium with a matte finish, they do look quite good. I would love to get them chromed though, or at least find a more metallic paint. just a note, the Ferrari F1 1:8 uses these wheels as well (different tyres obviously!), but they are only metallic on the outside.

something I would like to see is a crawler crane, like 8288, except using the larger tracks, which would result in it being a little bit bigger than 8288. not neccesarily the flagship unless it was remote controlled like the 2010 Excavator (the gearing would probably end up quite similar, except string reels attached instead of LA's) a rerelease of 8421 would be awesome. It was my first flagship, and I thought it was absolutely amazing! It would have to have at least two telescoping pieces obviously, unlike 8053, which only had one. 8285, not so much, not after the logging truck this year, which was fairly similar. I would like to see a large forklift, the last one was in 2005. another thing I would like to see is a newer version of the motorbox with more technical parts, like 8287 we have had three helicopters in three years, each one increasing in size, so maybe give that a miss for a couple of years. a flagship aircraft would be awesome. I know there was a jet this year, but the last one before that was 8434 in 2004 (my first technic set) I definitely think a flagship supercar would be great though. last year's one was pretty good, but you have to go all the way back to 2001 (8466), or 1999 (8448) to find the last one before that. PLEASE more blue! half the blue pieces I have (that aren't pins) come from seats!

nice job with the charity auction! I have made up the Vampire myself now (red with a black spoiler and grey/black seats), and it is spectacular! I really should consider getting a couple of system sets though, the only parts I DIDN'T have were plates and tiles! once I get my latest lego orders (mostly the 2012 sets), I should be able to make the black version with a few alterations (no 19 long flexi axles in black) I do have to say, those instructions were certainly a challenge! nothing wrong with that, I do like a good challenge, but some of those steps really were quite confusing. Making instructions must be bloody hard, LEGO must spend a LOT of time making the final instructions for official sets, so you did a pretty good job! regarding the set itself, I think it would have been cool with damped suspension springs to open the doors rather than gears, like 8448 and 8466, although I do like how the doors lock closed. Overall, it is a great set, and I look forward to when it is officially released by LEGO!

is that the colour that was in the 2004 aircraft? (8434, my first technic set) quite a good colour, shame they had to change the dark grey that it is based on to that blue grey. the old grey was definitely better I did just recently get a couple of older sets though (8466 and 8448) which has the old grey.

I'm from NZ, not sure if there are any other technic fans here. Being a LEGO fan on this side of the planet really sucks because all the lego is ridiculously expensive. for example, the unimog costs $400 NZ, which is the same as $325 US, or 245 EURO. My last three LEGO purchases were all from Bricklink, and I think I will continue doing that because it is a lot cheaper, even with the shipping!

I think it is because it was a limited release set, so it was hard to get. I really wanted it, but I never saw it in the local toy store, where I have got most of my technic sets from. I am still considering whether to get it or not, and I really hope TLG releases another similar set (bigger maybe?)

any particular reason why you posted 8285 instead of 8258? I actually own all three (4 if you include 8258) 8421 was my first big set, and it was absolutely amazing when I first got it. It is a really good set, both with functions (motorized as well as pneumatic) and appearance. 8285 also has pneumatics (all three you listed have pneumatics. If this is one of the reasons, this one is the worst!) it is a pretty good set, very large! I would rate it lowest out of the flagships I own though. the new logging truck (9397) probably has just as many functions. This one is pretty good as a parts set if you can get it cheap. 8110 Unimog, you should still be able to get any way. it is a really great set, the wheels are HUGE! It is a good all rounder, pneumatics, motorized functions, suspension, and Orange. Unimog is definitely the best, but there is no doubt that the mobile crane is far superior to the tow truck. I would say get the mobile crane if you can, since the unimog is still available.

looks quite a lot like 8049 It has lime green panels though, which is kind of cool. I wonder what the attachment will be, it is a bit hard to see what it is in that one photo.

Well i have built this now, and the tyres have arrived too (WHY ONLY ONE SET?!) It is really awesome! I decided to put the engine in the back, and give the sets blue stripes. I didn't realise until I built it that it had optional FWD and RWD, and it is built so that the engine can be put in the front or back. I might considering updating it with new panels and put a roof on it. A great car!

The scale is about 1:14.5, so the 62.4mm wheels would scale up to about 0.9m based on some measurements I did off some images, the wheels have a diameter of approximately 0.9 m, so I think my scale is about right. after searching for tyre diameters, I found this, which has all sorts of diameters ranging from 0.7m to 1.2m, but most are around 1m I think I will stick to my current scale because it isn't too far off. ETA: I have checked the 8258 crane truck, and that is 17 wide, so maybe that would be a better scale. this would result in a scale of 1:18, and a scaled tyre diameter of 1.1m perhaps 19 wide would be better, 1:16 scale, and a scaled tyre diameter of 1m

Today I started building a container truck. I have been thinking about doing it for a while, but I only started today because I have finally cleared enough of my floor! so far, I have made a prototype arm and stabiliser. By mattbennett at 2012-02-21 By mattbennett at 2012-02-21 Its final width will be 21 studs, and it will be big enough to hold a scaled 40 foot container 40 foot container scaled = 16.8cm(21) wide, 17.6cm(22) or 20cm(25) high, and 84cm(105) long total length of trailer will be about 108cm (135) It will use 3 sets of doubled standard truck wheels. I intend to make the loading/unloading RC, and a switch to move the lifting arms to accomodate a 20 foot container. I will also make a truck with 2 sets of steering wheels, and 2 double wheels at the back, so a total of 24 wheels! The truck will also be RC

I think he meant pieces left over after each step, which is probably something to look out for in older sets since they tend to have more parts per step than the newer ones, which only have 2 or 3 parts per step. I shopuld probably do that myself. My usual method is to look at the pictures to see what pieces have been added since the last step. Not sure why, but several times, I reach a step several pages later and realised I missed a piece, or used the wrong (but similar) piece.

personally, I would count tracks as a kind of wheels, so I don't think a bulldozer would be allowed. A Technic competition sounds great! I also like the idea of something with no wheels. I would probably make a tower crane. Quite difficult to get the balance right. I would also try and make it a 'kangaroo crane' that can automatically raise its height. The C model idea is also good. If everyone has exactly the same parts to build with, that would make the competition quite fair.

I think I might have to buy/download the instructions for this, it looks awesome! I have just looked at the parts list on Rebrickable, and as far as I can see, I have everything already, and in the right colours, with the exception of the very light grey beams, but white will do for those. I still don't have the tyres though, so I am ordering 4 of the nitro muscle sets from bricklink (cheaper to get 3+ sets, and more than 2000 pieces for less than $200NZD!)

From personal experience, yes! (the 3 long ones anyway) I was making a 4m high skyscraper though! The robot looks awesome!

a 'bang bang' remote is the standard PF remote that just has forward-off-backward as opposed to the 'speed controller' that has 7 different speeds in each direction. I'm sure the servo motor must have 7 different speeds in each direction so it can be used with the speed controller. if it doesn't, just imagine how much negative feedback they would get!

well the crawler looks pretty good. The colours do look a bit weird, but it has plenty of great parts, new motors, more orange and white, and these tyres, which I only have two of. I still think the helicopter is just as awesome, and I wish someone would take some more photos of it!

Wait, so a single beam could carry my weight (68kg) without breaking?! wow! also, if I have 10 beams placed sideways, it should easily carry my weight. LEGO is actually pretty strong! I think it would actually be possible to build a (small) bridge out of technic that a person could walk across.

Wow, they are both quite nice, I especially like the helicopter! only two though? There have been 10 sets each year for the last few, so I thought 2012 might have been the same. Are the helicopter blades special parts? Also, I kind of hope they haven't finished the final products and the truck gets new even bigger wheels. That sounds good. I wonder what else there will be. That helicopter is HUGE! At least 50 studs (40cm) long I think! Can't wait! Sucks I live in NZ, so I will probably have to wait till February just to get the 1st half sets.

I'm pretty good at music (hence my username) I'm also sort of studying physics and astronomy at university. I stopped halfway through this year due to earthquake stress, but I do intend to return eventually, although I'm not sure when yet. So yeah, I'm pretty good at mathematics, and science in general.

I am a Minecraft fan, but I kind of don't see how a Minecraft building set would work. I think they should go for collectables, like the different cubes, the mobs, and the tools, as display sets. Or perhaps just have bulk piece sets with no 'official' models, with the intention that the set can be used to build anything you can possibly think of. Perhaps these could be themed, so a set for each biome with appropriately coloured bricks, plus a couple of mob minifigures. I will definitely be interested in seeing where this goes, especially since I am a fan of both LEGO and Minecraft. I would also like to add that this is probably good publicity for Cuuso. It will mostly be in the Minecraft community, but I'm sure there are plenty of LEGO fans amongst them (like me)