Cumulonimbus

It's unstoppable. Check this article and video and be impressed: http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-russians-make-the-best-truck-in-the-universe-for-5-1758030433

You're right, I didn't say it couldn't. I'm just enjoying some speculation and trying to find some clues or hints. Note that in case of the 41999 and the 42050 both colours already existed in non-technic parts. Introducing a completely new color is a much bigger step. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that TLG will choose an existing colour (see here). Could it then be Dark orange if the Porsche must resemble lava orange ? Or is this set so special it really will have a completely new and custom colour?

Just another thought: What if the choice for purple curved panels on the 42038 Kart means that this Porsche will be purple as well? Let me explain: - Changing the colour during the production of a certain part is a rather time consuming and costly business in the world of injection moulding. As far as I can tell, the previous colour run for these panels was green for the 42039 Racer. It doesn't really make sense that TLG only did this effort for a small set with only 3 of these panels. As you will have noticed, the 42056 uses at least 10 of them, making a production run in purple a lot more economically viable. - It is reasonable to assume that the Porsche was under development for at least a year. Maybe the color was determined/tested a long time ago and the purple panels were available for the designers of the kart set. - Purple would be striking and unique enough for this special set, wouldn't require yet another colour added to the TLG portfolio and, as said here before, it looks like one of the available colours of the real car. It makes me rather confident to predict that the 42056 will be launched in purple, with silver/LBG rims.

Don't forget about the injection moulding points on most Technic panels. These round depressions are virtually impossible to print, so if the Porsche would rely on printed panels for a certain look or colour, these will really stand out in a negative way. Stickers cover these defects much better, but then again, these leave a lot of uncovered area around the edges of all panels. I would prefer a single colour for this set, without having to rely on stickers or prints.

Thank you for the link, the video triggered me to give the steering mechanism a try. The image below shows the progress so far. Note that this in not a reproduction of the Xerion set, I just want to figure out a system that could work, and then compare it to the "official" soluction of TLG. Some explanation: - The HOG always steers the front axle - From the front axle, two links (green and blue) send linear steering inputs to the back of the vehicle and each work in opposite directions. - Near the rear axle a crude gearbox has 3 positions: connect with the blue link, a neutral (locked) position and one where a connection is made with the green link. - The gear shifter (not shown yet) is directly connected to the rear steering, exactly how exactly is something I still need to figure out. The system should work like this: One link will send identical steering input form the front to the rear, making the vehicle crab steer. The other link will send an opposite steering input from the front to the rear, making the vehicle 4-wheel steer. The central locked position will fix the rear wheel in place and disconnect the rear steering from the front, leaving only the front wheels steering. To be continued...

I really hope that IF it will be orange, it won't be the standard TLG orange (don't know the official name). This colour is just not bright and saturated enough for this car. On the other hand, yet another color for Technic parts is not really an advantage for modding. I like the idea mentioned above of two body kits/colours in one set.

Thank you for the interest. My crane was finished a while ago but I don't have any images at the moment. It came out pretty close to the LDD design shown here before, but I have improved some things while building. Like the 8288, I really love the fact that despite the small scale (I guess micro figure) it is still a rather tall MOC. I never completed the climbing frame, because is became too bulky for this scale and the same is true for PF/RC. Things I like about my creation: - Modular construction of the whole crane - Manual operation of the winches Aspects which could be better: - The torsion stiffness of the mast (the central column) - Play in the base

It's funny, I feel the complete opposite of this. I really love the realism which comes with licensed sets. It stimulates TLG to step up their game for the detailing and the proportions of their creations, which is probably the reason for the higher part count This also means that the 1H sets don't really appeal to me (I haven't bought any so far), but I'm really enthusiastic about the upcoming 2H sets. To me, the Volvo is far from a total disappointment as you state. It the first medium scaled licensed set, it has the new pneumatics (which will lower the prices for these parts on BL) and it's a wheeled excavator which hasn't been done for ages in an official set. I think it will be a very playable set, with a lot of possibilities to MOD. Thumbs up from me and I think I will buy at least two.

Note sure if we mean the same thing, but the thing that strikes me about that video is the fact that the lever to select the drive modes is moving while steering in the crab- and 4wheel steer. My guess is that the lever is a direct connection with the steering mechanism of the rear wheels and might be a clue to solve the alignment issue.

4: 10 16: 6 5: 4 10: 3 2: 2 8: 1 EDIT: typo

Thank you, I did use the available videos as input, but let's just say that I understand now why they made this preliminary model all black. It makes it really hard to distinguish individual parts and structures and a lot of detail is obscured by shadows and the limited dynamic range of the cameras which where used. We'll have to wait for better/more/higher detailed pictures and movies.

Update: I think that's it for me. My aim was to get an understanding of the mechanisms, but the inner workings are too covered up to do any estimated guesses. I have become even more curious about this model, hardly can't wait to find out more about the model accuracy, the design choices, mechanisms, new parts, etc.

Ah, I missed that picture ... Yes, that make rear wheel steer less likely (unfortunately). Meanwhile, I made a space claim for the engine compartment. This marks the maximum available room for the rear axle, gearbox, motor, and possible PF elements. The fact that you can stack a boxer engine op top of a BB with plenty of room to spare, gives an idea of the size:

I think you are complete right about this, I forgot that this car has 4 wheel steering in real life. My mock up confirms this, the links I assumed where for the gearbox end up so close to the rear suspension, that it would not make sense to link them to a gearbox. This would also explain the axle with CV joints going to the steering console and why the left and right links are so far apart. In my opinion, the sequential gearbox will be routed through the central tunnel, just as in the real deal. This really is a reincarnation of the 8880. (the purple parts in the image below are placeholders or temporary supporting structures) EDIT: a small update:

So far, I have seen no clues for PF or RC in the photo's or descriptions, so my money is on a true 8880 reincarnation: a fully manual, as realistic a TECHNICally possible model (and this would make me a very happy AFOL).

Maybe the camshafts are modelled too, then I think the current cylinders might actually fit quite ok.

An update: Still not a clear idea how the gearbox connects, but boy that is a lot of space in the engine bay.

Two thoughts: - If there is a third selector mechanism (possibly hidden from view now) controlling another set of gearbox gears, then the amount of gears would be 2³ =8, right? How many gears does the real GT3 have? - If there are only 4 forwards gears, could the central lever be used for forward, neutral and reverse?

Ebbi, did you see any gearbox parts in the rear? Did the grey parts look anything like the grey parts in this set?:

A last contribution for today from me, I have built part of the structure to get a feeling for the proportions: And it just got a little stranger: The "sliders" end at the place where the passengers area is, so there is an extra linkage needed to connect with the mysterious engine bay. Another thing is this: could the central lever change the ratio between the left and right selector mechanism? If true, this could mean more than 4 gear ratios.

I interpreted it something like this (similarly to the video of the MOC sequential gearbox posted here before): The two frames should ensure a smooth linear movement as the input for the actual gearbox, the two orange links are out of phase 90 degrees to get the different gearbox ratios

Yes, exactly what I'm thinking. By now I'm pretty convinced that we are looking at a sequential gearbox, but how to operate it? If the lever in the middle shifts up or down, then why would the mechanism be so close to the steering wheel? If it's supposed to mimic the flappy paddle gearbox, then where are the paddles? If the actual paddles are not attached yet in this preliminary model, then where could they possibly be attached? Many many questions ...

I completely agree, I have never seen an more impressive and exciting line-up of Technic sets: Thank you very much TLG, you can expect my money coming your way once these become available.

In white Or in silver? (Again, just quick an dirty photoshopping, but you get the idea.)

Euhm, they are still making the rigid tubes, in fact this set has about 6 of them, used for the outlines of the windows and as a protector of the front window.