grum64

The finished build looks quite imposing. Aside from the rather fragile blade ends it's a pretty rugged build easily handling being the plaything of an enthusiastic 5yr old. If you're lucky enough to find one at an affordable price buy it. You won't regret it. Thank you Andy. The numerous subassemblies are a joy to build with some of the techniques used being very interesting. The build is quite repetitive in places but I don't mind at all. Most sets are. I'm glad it's not just me who finds building using an iPad a tad difficult at times. Building using downloaded instructions means the original instruction books stay prestine and frees up space on my build table. I have been toying with the idea of getting an angle poise lamp arm fitted with the top of a music stand. It can then hold either an instruction book or iPad.

Build Day 3 - Building time 6hrs 50mins - Total build time 15hrs 50mins Today's been a brilliant day as I've had much more time than usual to build. Surprisingly for me everything today seemed so easy, without any problems. Even building the 'engine' was easy, it only took 20minutes vs the usual hour & more. With this ease I've made pretty good progress. So far this build has been fairly repetitive but that hasn't made it any less enjoyable. As you can see, at this point it's basically made up of two assemblies housing the drive motors. Both of these assemblies are almost identical eachother. Once married together and the bracing added it seems to be a strong structure, it must be as my handling of it while fitting parts has been less than delicate to say the least. Note: The yellow studded beam shown in picture one is only there to support the assembly while the picture was taken. The stage of the build as shown in the last picture marks the end of Instruction Book One. Books Two and Three to go.

I agree about the windscreen parts but other than that I love it. It's instantly recognisable and a nice size. You have my support.

Build Day 2 - Building time 4hrs 20mins - Total build time 9hrs Today’s been a good building day however progress would have been greater had I not used 10L axles instead of the required 12L in a couple of places and spent almost an hour changing them over. A stupid mistake. I'm obviously a slow learner as it's something I’ve done a few times. To exonerate myself I'm blaming a lack of clarity when using downloaded instuctions on my iPad. It's that or stupidity. The smaller assemblies have been a job to fit mainly due the sticky outy bits making them difficult to handle but a healthy dose of perseverance got them done. Front of assembly Rear of assembly

Thank you. I agree, the 8275 is a heck of a set. The finished model has real presence and makes for a great display piece.

Be happy to

My word Edwin, you've really got your work cut out to get all that done in time. I wish you good luck and complication free days and restful nights.

That's going to take some packing!

Build Day 1 - Building time 4hrs 40mins - Total build time 4hrs 40mins Today I finally made a start on the 8275, the set that introduced Remote Controlled Power Functions to the Technic theme. Like the 8258 this was an another of the early sets I built and as with the 8258 I don’t remember much about the build process (as much the fault of my abysmal memory than anything else) so it’s good to reacquaint myself with it. There's not much progress so far but what there is has been pretty straight forward. Of course it is only day one.

I only had a chest infection. You've got broken ribs and more. I remember how painful broken ribs are so climbing in and out of your cab must give you gyp. Hope they heal soon. Maybe you should think about leaving diagnosis of any future ailments to those a little more qualified

OMG! I didn't know this stuff existed. I've ordered a tin of primer and a couple of tins of the Plasti Dip so I can get my clamps recoated. I've got 5 pairs, each for a different task, and the coating on all the handles is pretty much chewed through so this is just what I need. Might get the jaws coated also give the parts some protection. Thank you for posting the info

This is looking incredible, just stunning. Excellent work Edwin ?

Might be handy next time my Daughter in Law visits

For me it’s not just the size of the set that draws me to it but the complexity. Big or small I want a build to be challenging, something that’ll really make me think. I spend hours, sometimes days, when I build working out how best to approach the next days building. How can I attach parts to an awkwardly shaped subassembly, how do I manoeuvre something into place, how will I keep multiple parts aligned to fit another to them and in the case of the BWE just, how? Every model I build, big or small, is challenging but the bigger that challenge the more enjoyment I get building it.

Thank you Erik. Thank you also for taking the time to help me with the crane arm. Although I’ve built the 8275 before it was several years ago and I can’t remember too much about the build process so it’ll be good to get reacquainted with it. Thank you very much Bart. There’s not much that stops me doing what to get done in life but if anything will it’ll be a chest infection. To quote from a recent correspondence with a friend. ‘The infection itself doesn't stop me but my stupid body, in particular my chest muscles. As they're on permanent vacation I can’t cough, instead I go through the motions, spluttering away in a particularly animated fashion. Think arms flailing akin to a teenage girl at a One Direction gig with shoulders shrugging like Dastardly’s Mutley on laughing gas. It’s been commented that I look like a marionette operated by a seriously intoxicated puppeteer during an earthquake.’ All less than ideal when building.

I loved every minute of bit of this build. It was a absolute joy. Thank you. Thank you Jeroen. The 8275 will be a build with no interruptions from I’ll health as I’ve banned germs, viruses etc., from my system. I agree that Bully is every bit a classic and I’m really looking forward to starting it at the weekend. Thank you Paul. I have to admit the ‘novelty’ of seeing little more than our bedroom ceiling or the trees out of bedroom window for almost 7 weeks was starting to wear thin so it’s good to be back in my ‘chair. Nice to hear I inspired you (as opposed to send you to sleep) to build the 8258. I hope you enjoy the build as much as I did. Thanks Edwin. I agree that the 8258 is one of the best sets ever. It’s a great build experience, has great (and very clever) functionality and looks really good on the shelf. Thank you Andy. Yes, it does look great and was such fun to build. Glad you got yours finished. I told you you’d get yours done before me Hope all’s going well for you after ‘the incident’.

Build Days 9 / 10 - Building time 7hrs 40mins - Total build time 37hrs 5mins Just as the weather cooled down enough for me to get back in my shed I developed a chest infection which knocked me of my wheels and put paid to me doing any building for much of the last 7 (very frustrating) weeks or so. Happily the antibiotics have chased away the little buggers that trespassed into my system so I've been able to have the last two days in my shed to get the 8258 finished. As you know, I was in two minds whether to build the crane on or off the truck. You can see from the pictures that I chose the latter and I'm happy I did. Building it this way made it much easier to work on. In case you’ve not read my previous post, when last I built this I found trying to fit the 2853 Crankshaft & 32449 1x4 Thin Liftarm to the LA at the angle shown in the instructions (stage 166) particularly difficult. This time I thought if I couldn’t get it exact I’d just get it as close as possible, my thinking being that I may have been overthinking the angle's importance. I convinced myself this was the best thing to do but a little voice told me to double check before going ahead so I posted the question and before long had the answer. Thanks to Ngoc Nguyen and Erik Leppen I now know that the angle of fitting is indeed important and why. I’m very grateful to them both for taking the time to help and for saving me from myself. Knowing the correct angle's importance is all fair & well but it didn’t make fitting the parts at that angle any easier. To save you from more of my prattling I’ll just say that after an hour and 20 minutes it was done. With the crane complete and mounted on the chassis it was time to extend the outriggers to enable the fitting of the last section of each. Switching on the battery box and flipping the pole reverser into position but the motor stayed silent. My heart sank, please don't let it be a dud motor! I turned the battery box off & back on and flipped the pole reverser back & forth but there was still nothing. After testing each PF component in turn I found the problem was a faulty pole reverser which took an hour or so to swap out but once done all worked as it should. Phew! With the exception of me cannibalising a nearby 9390 for a needed but absent 6L axle before realising I'd used it in place of an 8L in a previous step the rest of the build has been pretty much problem free. Last time round I didn't get to enjoy, I mean really enjoy, the build process. It was my first Technic after repairing little Police & Star Wars sets for Jake and I was so determined to do it, obsessesed with proving to myself and the doubters that I could, that I didn't give any thought to or leave room for proper enjoyment. This time though there were no such pressures & I've loved the build, every last minute of it. And yes, that includes the 3hrs it took to assemble that pesky engine. In my opinion the 8258 is a magnificent set and is up there with the greats. As with any set there a few niggles. The hole in the cab roof, no duallies, manual operation of the final section of the otherwise excellent outriggers, poor lifting capacity of the brillianly designed crane and cab doors that don't open but really these are all trivialities and are quickly forgotten when you gaze at the (very big) finshed model. Personally I think it has everything. It's a great design, is a fun & educational build and has enough functions to give it great playability. What more could any self respecting Technic fan want. Thank you for the kind comments, continued support & encouragement. My next build will be the excellent 8275.

1: 106: 68: 47: 32: 212: 1 Good luck one and all.

I'm not surprised you and the owner are happy with it. If it were for me I'd be doing cartwheels! (Oh the irony )

Good job. I like the blue & grey far more the the set's original yellow & black. Looks great

That picture of Hagrids internals is amazing. It’s almost a travesty that the finished model gives no clue as to the work that went into creating the complexity beneath.

You've gotten a lot done in 3 days Edwin but as for what she's going to be, the mystery continues.....

Thank you for the explanation Erik. After I read your post I watched a few 8258 videos on YouTube and can see what you mean. Watching the linkage doing its thing, it seems it’s brilliance lies in it’s simplicity. So, with cooler weather building can now resume. With angles correct of course.

It seems we’ve gotta get those pesky angles right. I had an idea that might be the case but thought it best to ask anyway. Thank you for your very kind offer to show the results of fitting the part at the incorrect angle but really, there’s no need to go all that trouble. I’ve got it now. Yes, I did mean 90°. My bad. Thank you for taking the time to help. Much appreciated.

With much cooler weather forecast towards the end of the week it’s time to start preparing for building to restart. Whilst looking ahead through the instructions I came to a stage that when I built this last time took almost two days (it’s that stubbornness thing again ). Not wanting history to repeat itself I thought I’d ask for a little advice. This may stupid question but does the angle of the 2853 Crankshaft (arrowed) and black assembly have to be at the exact angles shown? I had the devils own job last time trying to get it as shown but kept getting it 45° out. If I do the same this time is it going to cause problems later on? I don’t want to get the build completed only to find out that the range of movement is restricted. Any advice would be very much appreciated. You just might help me keep my sanity. Thank you.