LennyRhys

It's not an assumption; it's a fundamental principle of business. If a LEGO set wasn't going to be profitable for TLG they would never give it the go-ahead. Granted, there will be liecence costs to cover, but it's still a ludicrous amount of money for a set of its size / piece count. And to say "it's the same shape" is missing the point somewhat - the image that shows the overlay of the profile view demonstrates without quibble that it's not the same shape. Whether or not people are happy with this margin of error is a different matter (i.e., purely subjective), and that's where the controversy lies.

When I first saw the reveal on Facebook I was really impressed - it looks like such a cool set with great functionality and definitely a "collectable" for the more serious AFOL or diehard Bond fan. But... the likeness of the car is not great. There's only so much you can do with Lego bricks at such a small scale, and it's never going to look as good as some people want it to. When you see the picture of the set together with the silhouette of the DB5, you can see that it's a BIG difference in shape, to the extent that by its silhouette it's simply not recognisable as the same vehicle. And there's the price. Forget licensing and gadgetry - the only reason TLG have put that ludicrous price tag on the set is so that they can make a good profit on it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Thanks for the comments all! ColletArrow - design process was similar, but considerably easier due to the size and simplicity of the part. I wouldn't rule out making a production run of the smaller bucket (once the design is finalised) but there'd need to be a strong interest in the community to make such an endeavour worthwhile. I hear ya on the shape... I like the curves of the old bucket more than the angular look of the big ones, so I went with that idea while trying not to make it "too" realistic or un-toy-like. legoboy3998 - the prototype is made by hand from sheet styrene, cut with a craft knife. The studs come from the top portion of a white bracket. I agree that the bucket looks a little too big so I'll probably make a second one that is two studs wide. LegoDW - yep there is space to mount two levers just inside the back window. I had to change the design very slightly when the wheel arch parts arrived because in the original design they were too close to the wheels, so I had to raise them by a plate which meant moving parts of the cab around. If I do get around to building a second bucket in the next week or so I'll add to this thread.

Hi folks! I want to introduce my follow-up to the Monster Miner I designed back in 2015, and this time the digger is of a more reasonable size and will be more accessible to fans of vehicles in minifig scale. Here are some photos along with a little blurb about the model and its history. The model is inspired (of course) by the many backhoes that featured in Lego System sets over the years, my favourite of which is the one that came in set 4543. I didn't own the set but I'm able to build the backhoe from my own stock, except for the black bucket. This remains one of my favourite System vehicles ever because it's so feature-rich and has amazing detail considering the era. I also want to draw attention to EB member SheepEater who built a nice update of the backhoe last year, and his thread can be found here: I wanted my backhoe to take the best of what has come before and (hopefully) improve upon it without making it too large or unnecessarily fiddly. Here is my result (still in development!): - - - The backhoe itself can be removed easily, and can be mounted either to the left side/right side/ or exact centre, just like on the real machine. This is a feature I have tried to implement for over two decades, and now (finally) there are parts that allow for it to be done in a very small space, unlike the 2x2 turntables of old! - Onto the prototype bucket. As you can see from the pictures above, the old grey hinge and bucket stick out like a sore thumb, so I set about developing a new bucket for the model (and for other models too). I had a small checklist when I went about designing the bucket: 1) it should be larger, 3 studs wide 2) it should have studs rather than a hinge, allowing for greater creativity 3) it should have teeth, in-keeping with the current design of TLG buckets 4) its shape should not stray too far from the original backhoe bucket, but it will be deeper and have greater capacity so that it doesn't look awkwardly small And here is the result. I've primed it grey and will leave it like this because I like the neutrality of the colour. - And on the model, for reference - do you think it looks better than the official (outdated!) part? - - And finally, a comparison between old a new. The size difference is obvious, but my MOC still lacks front suspension! Thanks for looking, and please comment/let me know your thoughts about the model. I don't have it on LDD (yet) but will do that as soon as I find the time. I'm also midway through designing and building a four-axle tipper for this digger, so expect another thread soon. :)

Very nice - and a clever solution with the piston heads. I think that the existing Lego cylinder housing parts could very easily have been modified for the Chiron set, allowing them to be mounted in staggered formation like below (Photoshop) but TLG don't want to change the part moulds yet.

Great review Jim - thanks. As always the photos are fantastic and it's really nice to see the model at different stages in the build process.

Not necessarily. Based on the size of your current prototype, you should be able to fit a AAA battery box into each of the middle and outer rings. Or, if you want to save weight and space, an old System 9V battery box with PF extension wires would do the trick nicely, and you will have plenty of room for, say, an L motor plus gearing. Bung an IR receiver in each ring, and job's a good un. Really nice idea btw.

I think one objection to the high part count is it drives the price up (or it can be seen as a reason to drive the price up). For me personally as an AFOL, I like that the sets are bigger and have more functioning parts; but as a parent buying toys for my child I might not like the heavy price tag so much. TLG knows that such sets will appeal both to kids and AFOLs, so they have no real reason not to put them to market.

I agree that the set is much bigger than it needs to be, but TLG aren't stupid - they know that the same model made 4x bigger with over 4,000 pieces is going to turn more heads, even though it has similar functionality to a smaller set. Ever heard the expression "Why do dogs lick their genitals?" Because they can..

This is an awesome idea for a contest. I expect to see a lot of really interesting creations as a result, and I may even take part this time!

This is a sensational model - probably the best Technic car MOC I've ever seen. The styling is very accurate and, as others have said, the door mechanism is ingenious. Nicely done!

The best thing about this model (to look at) is the tyres - if only TLG would give us smaller tractor tyres like those! As soon as the balloon tyres are fitted, it looks very much like 8459. I see a couple of issues with design: first, the parallel lift doesn't work great as the bucket tips too far backwards and the load will spill onto the cab, and also your pneumatic control valves are too close together so one lever fouls the movement of the other. Besides these two minor issues, it's a great model and I really like it.

You could do what I did and buy 42055 (Bucket Wheel Excavator) which is an absolute gold mine for parts (just shy of 4,000), and you can get other parts like shocks, transmission, panels etc. from bricklink. The best thing about 42055 is that it's vastly cheaper than any other set in terms of price/part, and you get an XL motor as well. Maybe instead of bricklink you could get 42055 and 42077? Just last week I received my bricklink order with some wheels & tyres, diffs, portal axles, hubs etc. and it's amazing how easy it is to get started on vehicle building.

@sirslayer there was a UK TV documentary on TLG and there was some information about transitioning from one colour of ABS to another. Some of the old colour plastic remains in the injection moulding machine and must be flushed out with the new colour, and these "marble" effect Lego pieces happen at every transition. They are supposed to be destroyed before leaving the factory but obviously someone has been naughty naughty and taken it home!

Here's a wee update on my bulk buy - I'm very pleased that I got two pristine, fully-functioning buggy motors along with a host of other 9V goodies in good working order, some of them in the pic below. This will all be sold as I have no need for any of it, and I'm sure it'll make somebody very happy indeed! I also scored a metal hook and a ridiculous number of gears, axles, pins, connectors, liftarms, beams, wheels etc. including a handful of parts in uncommon colours. Still a lot of sorting to do, but I'm pretty happy with what I got for my money!

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It looks nice thanks to the wheels, but IMO the B-model is better than the forklift. TLG have given us many technic forklifts over the years but have yet to make a "proper" motorised version with IR remote. Also, some improved "fork" elements would be nice as the ones released in set 8835 (almost 30 years ago) have been obsolete for a long time already, and standard technic beams do not look great at all. I'm probably going to prototype some of my own. I've already made two MOC forklifts and am currently developing a third, much improved version (thread to follow soon).

Neat idea - I particularly like the rainbow 8860, and the bike is a close second.

Thanks to Peppermint_M for taking the time to sort out the problem with my old account and helping me to get back into it. Now back to Lego...!

Ah! You have eagle eyes! I didn't notice the red 3x11M panel and now I see it... and other red panels too. I've studied the photos as much as I can (not great quality) and other than the obvious rescue helicopter, I see parts of 42007, 8051, 8071, 8274, and several others that are harder to identify. I see DBG tracks and one large yellow sprocket, but I don't think I'm lucky enough for 8275 to be in this bundle...now that would be some find.

I'm very much a convert of the modern Technic theme and I love that axles are available in a variety of colours. I particularly like that the larger even-length axles are also being produced in red. However, I can understand the objections to the unicorn poop scenario. Having just built 42055 I see that the set comes with axles in black, LBG, DBG, brown, tan, dark tan, yellow, and red. That's a lot of colours in one set!

I just won this on Sunday evening for £156 (including shipping) on ebay UK. It may not look like much, but aside from the very high part count (over 12KG in weight) there are some nice things hiding in here which together are probably worth more than I paid for the entire lot. 2x RC buggy motors RC receiver unit with steering Red micro motor (!) 3x 9V battery boxes, various cables PF train remote PF standard remote 4 or 5 sealed bags of PF parts Pneumatic parts Several Technic sets that may or may not be complete I'm looking forward to digging into this so I can sort it all out and decide what to sell on. [/img]

You may be surprised to find that this is not true on either count - when TLG released the first pneumatic system it came with both yellow and red cylinders and pump. For whatever reason, they dropped the other colours and have stuck with yellow (except for the random transparent ones). There were many pneumatic models not yellow, such as 8851, 8854, 8044, 8042, 8462 etc. I think any discussion about colours of Lego Technic parts is moot because TLG clearly threw the colour design manual out the window when they started giving their pins and axles bright primary colours (yellow, red and blue). I'll admit I didn't like it at first, but I think it really works with the new approach to Technic construction - it helps to quickly locate parts and makes building a lot easier than if everything was black or gray, and it gives the completed models unique character.

I've been trying to access my original account (LennyRhys) for the past few days but seem to have been locked out of the forum. I've tried resetting my password but I always get a message along the lines of "This member is not awaiting validation" and the only way I can access the forum thereafter is to clear my cookies. Is it possible to restore access to my old account or should I just keep using this new one?

I agree with many of the things that have been said in this thread. Speaking as somebody who came "back" to Technic with 42030 and 42042, I didn't like it at first because I was unfamiliar with the vastly different inventory of pieces and building techniques, however now I really do love the new Technic system and about two weeks ago I bought 42055 and 42065 for parts. I also have a bricklink order coming in the post tomorrow which will give me 4x CLAAS wheels/tyres and some transmission parts for a 4x4 vehicle. One thing is for sure though: LEGO Technic is basically a different thing from what it was 25 years ago. It has become less of a toy and more of a prototyping "tool" nowadays, considering the potential for extremely complex gear trains and motorised functions. But this hasn't happened quickly... remember that the humble clutch parts were introduced in 1994 with the 8880 supercar, and they are still being refined 24 years later in the Bugatti Chiron! I also notice people talking about the size of sets, and this for me is a bit concerning because while the models themselves get huge, axles and pins are the same size and are becoming too small for the jobs that they do. That's why for the largest Technic wheels we have a need for yet more specialised parts like portal axles and wheel hubs. I particularly like the use of mini turntables in 42055 to bear the weight of the digging and conveyor structure... that is a very clever design indeed. I think it's better to view modern Technic and "old" Technic as two different toys or systems, because they are so different that it's almost impossible to compare them. 8868 will always be one of the best Technic sets ever, but so will 42043 (and others... etc.).

Really happy to hear that the buckets are being delivered slowly but surely, one by one. There are still a few in transit but I'm sure they'll all arrive within the next few days. Maybe if I find the time I'll have a go at a MOC featuring the bucket... free time, what's that?