kbalage

Rechargeable AA/AAA batteries are still a totally viable option today. There's no real disadvantage compared to regular alkalines, the voltage difference is only noticeable when the alkalines are brand new, it disappears quickly with use. The benefits are obvious, and even though a proprietary rechargeable battery could potentially give us the luxury of in-hub charging, I think there are way more drawbacks. It would be definitely more expensive than 6 high quality rechargeable AAs, would be way less versatile as it could only be used in the hub and nowhere else, availability would be limited and so on. I don't say TLG should not release it as an option, but definitely not as a full replacement of the current solution. As an example for me the 51515 Mindstorms set and its hub is less convenient to use in general as the rechargeable battery is the only option there. You cannot buy additional batteries for it on lego.com, the one for Spike Prime might be accessible in some countries through LEGO Education if you are lucky, but it still has a whopping $70 price tag. For that sum I could buy 8 packs of 4 high-quality rechargeable AAs from IKEA, meaning I have 5 full sets for my Technic hub and even 2 spares for the TV remote.

Apologies for not aiming at a 100% accurate color representation, I think if I tried to replicate the medium blue correctly then the orange and other colors would be totally off :) Different shades of LEGO pieces are notoriously difficult to replicate on photos or on video, I use a similar color grading for all of my content produced so there was no specific setup this time either.

I agree, including a rechargeable battery in all Control+ sets would cause a lot of headaches. TLG could offer it as a separate alternative though. The remark about the accessibility is interesting, the Volvo hauler will definitely have some challenges with it. It's already quite tricky to access it even with the snap-on lid, so with the screws you either need to open the bed to have some access or remove the whole hub. The latter is not that difficult as it's only held in place by 4 pins.

Here's a little story that I could not really squeeze in any of the current topics. Apparently the upgrade of the Technic hub with the screws can happen any time now, since all of the building instructions of the available Control+ sets were upgraded with the new version. This might also explain why most of these sets are out of stock currently on lego.com. Additional fun fact - the Zetros will have a new version with more pieces (2110 -> 2129), providing fixes for some of the issues we've experienced with the original version, but not all of them! Details in my video:

Better check the screen settings :) You can verify the part list already on rebrickable, and they are 100% medium blue. I made a video test last year and there was no significant difference in speed, distance or bounciness. I did a quick test now with the Megalodon and the different tires. I have 60x60cm tiles in the room, and with 60 cm windup distance the truck went 560 cm on the stock tires and 490 cm with the tractor ones, that's only ~13% difference. I don't have carpet around here for such comparison.

Thanks! The Monster Jam series is practically unknown around here so I had no preference, Megalodon was simply a more interesting build with more new parts to show.

Why shall I mention this? Getting sets for review from TLG is not automatic, I'm not getting offers for everything that is released. I regularly buy sets for review, it's not a big deal.

And here is the video :)

Bought them, built them, review coming later today ;)

You either kill the app, then the hub switches to pairing mode and turns off after a while. The other method is to press and hold the green button on the hub for 7+ seconds, then it will switch off.

Check the axles in both rear wheels, it seems that your axles are not pushed all the way in the small tan gears that are inside the differential's housing. Edit - sorry, I thought it was the buggy and not the Volvo. Did you follow the on-screen instructions to switch to D and then push the virtual joystick forward? If it does not move this way then try to re-do the calibration again.

I didn't say it would cause problems, I also built 42099 with PU L motors. If you check the design, the XL motors are placed in a way to be a structural part of the build. They don't make it stronger or weaker, they are simply used as any other frames or beams. Since the XL motors have more mounting points than the L motors, if they fit then they can be used in a more versatile way.

I assume there were tests to compare the performance of a single XL versus 2 L motors and the latter combination was better for this purpose. A single XL could be good for slower mid-size builds, but it always depends on the purpose, the weight of the model, performance required etc. PU sets in general use a higher default gearing, and there's a reduction at the end, e.g. with the wheel hubs. I assume the motors were designed to fit this need, compared to the much slower PF XL version. Regarding the difference between the PU L and XL motors, the performance is very similar, but if you gear the PF L & XL motors to the same RPM you'll also get a somewhat similar performance. So why would you need a bigger motor if you can have a smaller one? As the PU motors have way more pin holes they can act as a structural part of the model, just like in the case of 42099. If the model is big and spacious enough, the XL version can be a better choice.

It does not defy anything, as the Zetros already has way more torque than it requires.

I'd be surprised if a single person could significantly alter anything there. I know multiple people involved in the development of PU for years, they are all nice guys, they know all of the concerns and the feedback of the community, but they still work for a multinational company with all the downsides of the system. This is totally off-topic here, but I really don't think PU is in this state because of the people involved.

You mean the Technic hub with the screws instead of the snap-on lid, not the "mysterious" rechargeable battery. The latter one turned out to be the Spike Essential hub's battery...

Well I think a LEGO set is different, as it's not something commemorating the winner of the 2021 championship. As you said the cost would be too high, and it'd be a quite odd talk with the teams anyway :D

They possibly considered the color scheme as well, choosing a team that has their dominant colors aligned with their part inventory or whatever they were planning to produce.

And how did you expect them to predict the results when they started to negotiate the licensing deal, probably just around the season start this year? :)

Using the video and photo I posted 2 days ago, what makes it more official than that?

The resolution of the print won't show you a lot, but yeah those can be 2 small wheels. But the position is still weird if this thing really only relies on gravity.

Just for clarification, this is not a leak, it's legit news :)

@Ngoc Nguyen it's time to update the title, it's the 42136 - John Deere 9620R 4WD Tractor :) More details:

I managed to grab a copy of the 2022 catalogue, so besides the 3 sets we've seen previously you can take a look at the John Deere 9620R:

Simple 2L beams I think