grum64

This has been on my To Buy list since the first grainy pictures appeared. Now I've seen this new picture it's staying there.

Yes, you're quite right, I did say that but to be honest it'd completely slipped my mind. My bad. I've some sorting out to do and a couple of projects to get finished and then (if I remember) I'll do a studded build. It'll be one of these: 8285 Tow Truck 8275 Bulldozer 8466 4x4 I've sold almost all my other studded sets along with several smaller studless sets to help fund the purchase of the Bugatti Chiron and the Rough Terrain Crane.

That’s very kind. Thank you.

You may not have room to build but you do get to travel around one of my favourite countries and one of the world's most beautiful. I'll try not to be envious. Nope, not working.

Thank you. As for the lack of building space in your work environment. Does your employer have a suggestion box? Afterall, a happy worker is a productive worker .

Thank you very much for your kind words. It's reassuring to know that the often nonsensical ramblings of a stubborn old man are useful and appreciated.

Thank you for your very kind comments Erik. I do often wonder if my posts are interesting enough for posting alongside members reknown for their reviews. I’ve not the writing skills or technical knowledge to write concise, in depth reviews so just try to document the building process as best I can. As long as the kind members of our forum such as yourself continue to ‘enjoy’ reading my ramblings I guess I’ll continue writing them. Don’t worry, you’re not imagining things, my topic did have ‘Where no project is too hard’ included in the title. This was unknowingly bestowed upon me by our esteemed leader, Jim after seeing the sign (which was bought for me by my Nuisance Daughter in Law) in the first post of this topic. I always thought having it in the title on my topic was a little pretentious and so (after several requests) Jim agreed to remove it. As for the 42055 being a tad overly ambitious. I have to be honest, there was a time when I thought just that but the enjoyment of the build soon did away with that feeling. Thank you for your kindness Ludo. I too am curious to see what’s next

Thank you Zerobricks. Building this behemoth was always going to be a little different from the norm for me. I’d like to say I used some special technique to build it but in all honesty it was just bloody mindedness . As for my next build, I’m still thinking about that. In the mean time I’m going to start sorting out my parts boxes . Thank you my friend. As for my ramblings. Be careful what you wish for . Thank you Paul. I can assure you, there’s no one more surprised than I that this is finished. I do have a good selection of sets to choose from for my next build. I'll have a think while I’m sorting out of my shed. Thank you. I can say with no hesitation that you’ll enjoy building the BWE. It’s such a fun & interesting build. The anticipation towards the end of this build was something I’ve not experienced before. I don’t know that it was to get to play with it as much as it was to see it in it’s completed state to appreciate it’s size and the work that went into designing it. As for how long I keep at things. Never underestimate the determination of a stubborn man . Thank you for your kind comments. I’ll decide my next build while sorting boxes of parts out. I may be sometime. You’re very kind, thank you. I may buy another set, maybe to try modding, maybe to build the B model. It looks interesting. Thank you. Jake wants to build the little white truck but at the moment it’s sitting in it’s bag waiting for him to finish his SATs. Thank you Bart. Thank you. I must say I share your preference for only occasionally scanning my posts. Reading them in their entirety is not recommended as it can cause drowsiness and in some cases unconsciousness and so shouldn't be attempted if operating machinery of any kind . I may buy a second set to either mod or to build the B model which I agree does look particularly interesting. Time will tell. Thank you. I don’t know about the patience of a saint. I’m just too stubborn, some say stupid, to let anything beat me. Next is a sort out of my shed while I decide what to build next. Thank you very much Andy, you’re always very kind. It’s a shame you have to wait to build this set but as they say, all good things are worth waiting for and the BWE is a very good thing.

Build Day 33/34 - Days build time 4hrs 50mins / Total build time 83hrs 55mins With no feasable ideas on how to fit the digging arm the only to do was wing it. Starting with the superstructure and arm side by side on my laptray I pulled the counterweight end of the arm up onto my chest, tucked it under my chin and reached out as far as I could to get my fingers underneath the other end. Lifting the arm up, I swung it over the top of the superstructure & lowered it down toward the locating axles/pin but time & again one side would drop down perfectly but not the other. After dozens of attempts the axles/pins found their marks and it was done. I looked at the clock, it had taken an hour and 40 minutes. After fitting the top/arch (sorry no pic, I clean forgot to take one) or as I prefer to call it, the carry handle as that's what I can see Jake & George using it for, there was just the last 4 liftarms that bridge the joint between it and the superstrucure to fit and all would be tied together and the digging arm secure. With 3 of the liftarms fitted my changing of the build order came back to bite me on the proverbial as the end of the walkway I'd spent so long fitting to the side of the arm obstructed the 4th. There was no way it could be fitted with the walkway in place so the offending end was eased out just enough get the liftarm through and fitted into place. The end of the walkway was then pushed back in. Note to Self: Pay more attention to the consequences of changing the build order in future builds. All that remained was to fit the last few lights etc., and that was it, the build was complete. And what a build it is. Before I started building I'd looked at many reviews, pictures & build video's and thought I had an idea of the size of the finished model would be but it's only now it's built & sitting on the table in front of me I realise just how big this thing really is. It's immense, dare I say almost intimidating. It certainly has presence. I've built many sets over the last 7 years or so but only 3 do I list as special. The 8258 which was my very first Technic build, the Ultimate 42009 was the most complex and finally the 8880 which was by far the hardest. I can now add the BWE to that list but not for the reasons you might think. It's undoubtedly big, has a headline grabbing part count, has a high degree of complexity and has been hard to build. It could go on my list for any or all of the above but no, the reason it finds itself there is because quite simply it's been an absolute delight to build. It has almost no repetition, has always been interesting and a lot of fun. If you've not built this set I really recommend you do. Yes, it has a few flaws, what set doesn't, but these pale into insignificance compared to what you'll get from the building experience. Now all I've got to do is find somewhere to put it. I think I'm going to need a bigger shelf. As always, a very big thank you for all your kind comments & messages of encouragement and support.

Very, very nice. Instantly recognisable. I love the colour scheme, it works really well and the hidden pneumatic pump is just genius. Great work.

Looking good. I’ll be following this with great interest

I don’t know how you do it Paul but I’m very glad you do. I look forward to see this progress.

Build Day 31/32 - Days build time 5hrs 10mins / Total build time 79hrs 5mins With the damage from the digging arm's surprise collision with terra firma repaired and its functions tested it was time to move on to the next stage of the build which should be mounting the arm but as you can see from the pictures, I've changed the build order from that in the instructions to ease building. The walkways, ladders, cab and numerous lights were all to be fitted after the arm was mounted when the build would be much bigger & more unweildy leaving the risk of another thud on floor greater than ever. Building the cab was time consuming & particularly fiddly in places but it was fitting the windscreen that proved to be the hardest part of this stage. The SNOT bricks & plate that make up the lower front of the cab kept falling apart as I tried to press the 'screen down. It was try, break, rebuild, try, break, rebuild, try, bre... (you get the picture) but in the end it got done. Done that is until I knocked it off. Twice! After over half an hour of repeating the above and more by luck than anything else, it clicked into place. It was handle with extreme care from then on. The railings were fitted to the cab/walkway assembley before fitting it to the superstructure. It made what would have been a tricky job much easier. The railings etc., for the counterweight were going to be fitted before attaching it to the digging arm but it was as I was about to do this that my alter ego Mr Goldfish Brain arrived and before I knew it the counterweight and arm were one with no sign of any railings. So now I have a dilemma. Do I detatch the counterweight and fit the parts or risk leaving things as they are and fit them? Decisions. Decisions.

Terrific little models. If these were on the shelves I’d be happy to buy any of them for Jake & George.

Very cool. My Grandchildren love it.

If this is 'just' a WIP I can't imagine how great it'll be once it's completed. It's already awesome.

One word. Brilliant.

Really nice build with all the functions you'd expect. Dumpers aren't something we see very often on these pages so thank you for adding a little variety

Nice truck with impressive performance. Good luck in the competition.

Good looking build, definately has the look of the Audi Quattro. I look forward to the video

Oh my days. This is just gorgeous. The shaping’s spot on and the attention to detail outstanding. If it were in the shops it’d fly off the shelves. I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

I'm really sorry you feel this way. The members of this forum haven't said or done anything that warrants this kind of reaction or should I say over reaction. Sure you got off on the wrong foot and yes you took some stick for it but you read far more into things than was there. You made the mistake of taking those comments personally and to make matters worse you then start a topic about mindset & atttitude which is almost guaranteed to get a negative reaction from people. I can't help but think you didn't know this could be seen as provocative. I tried to tell you that this is a very friendly place and to keep that in mind when reading comments but it appears from what you've said in this topic that you've chosen to do otherwise. I'm sorry you're leaving as you're obviously a builder with talent but I can't help but feel you're the master of your own discontent.

Oh my, that looks great fun. It's fast, agile and jumps well so should do well in the competition. Good luck.

If I post a comment on a build it’s almost always along the lines of those of which you speak, WOW!, amazing build, HoF, great build etc,. I post these things not because I’m following the herd or to insinuate a model is perfect but because I simply don’t have the building skills nor am I technically knowledgeable enough to do otherwise. I wouldn’t know a good axle from a bad one, an efficient gearbox from one bogged down by friction or why. I’ve way too much respect and admiration for those phenomolly talented builders in this forum such as yourself to critique what I don’t understand. Before I go any further, I’m not getting into the rights or wrongs of that recent topic title nor am I criticising anyone. The comments below refer ONLY to the above quote. You must never apologise or feel you have to apologise for something you’ve worked hard to design and build no matter what the level of criticism. Nobody here wants that. You build what you want to build with a focus on that which you’ve clearly explained, members here fully understand that as they for the most part build for the very same reasons. I’ve said many, many times that this is the friendliest place on the ‘net and I stand by that. It will help you greatly and ensure you enjoy your time here if you keep that in mind when reading comments on your own, or for that matter, anyone else’s builds. Keep on MOCing

I second, third and forth the above.