howitzer

I think the looks of the nose might be improved if you changed the underside flex axles to white. At the moment it indeed looks too flat and long. The tail rotor is really interesting, but I think it would suit better for a larger scale and a simple fixed-pitch propeller would be better here. Otherwise nice job, I really like the middle and rear parts of the fuselage, the look is very clean and nice.

I think B&P is also delivering stuff very slowly now, taking up to 2 months for the orders to be mailed so if you're in any kind of hurry, that's not an option.

The part mentioned above would be this: 18591, Available only in red and trans-clear. There's also a number of one-piece nose/cockpit-parts for aircraft, you should check them out: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=P&catString=93 As for the brick-built ones, the nose cone of the 10283 Space Shuttle is quite nice too.

Sharing the program as a Python file is of course as easy as sharing any text file, but that requires writing the code in Python, rather than code blocks. (At least I'm not aware of any way to easily translate the code blocks into Python...) Either way, I agree with others that sharing the model (even without the program) would be awesome.

For once, the music is appropriately epic to match the epicness of the build. Amazing work.

I don't have a problem with the idea of partially manual/partially RC backhoe, but I'm not sure how to configure the functions (at least drive and steer in manual, but what about other stuff?) so that one hub is enough... Fully manual pneumatic backhoe with compressor would probably be better, but I don't think TLG will do that as it has already been done (8455, though it was long time ago) and they seem to be set on making their flagships motorized in the recent years, except for UCS cars.

Like 9396?

I would never buy instructions for a supposedly driving and steering RC-motorcycle MOC without seeing a good video of it in action.

No way there's two hubs at this price point, but drive and steer could be manual and dumb hub+pneumatics might make for a nice set, or smart hub + gearbox. I'm not holding my breath though, considering how few and far between backhoes have been.

Tractor is unlikely, considering there's the small John Deere set. TLG wouldn't probably release two very similar but differently scaled sets in the same year. Dump truck is unlikely too, as the Volvo hauler is still on shelves and functionally almost identical (steering assembly would be different but that's it). The other machines on your list are plausible though. A backhoe would be really great.

Yeah, and with 8043 they managed to make a full-RC excavator with just 4 motors, so even there two hubs isn't absolutely necessary. With 42100 the driveline and shovel required additional motors so the second hub was necessary (and also for the demonstrative purpose of the C+ system). I don't think we're going to see anything similar anytime soon.

If the Reddit rumor holds true that is...

This.

Sand spreader comes to mind first. Very nice looking model btw., you should be proud!

Yeah, the regs aren't bothered about that, but the customer is, and through their complaints TLG. So they make it so that at least it's slightly harder to not have it become useless.

I think IKEA Ladda batteries are LiPo. Anyway, TLG charges $30 from a $5 wall wart because they can. They know full well it's grossly overpriced, but it's not much different from for example Apple supplemental products, the wires and chargers and all that is much more expensive than it could be. Still, people buy them and of course the products themselves are of high quality and thus safe to use. Same can't be said for every third party device out there. Buwizz on the other hand is made by a small company, and they have to adjust their profit margin if they want to sell anything at all.

There's always a tradeoff. Rechargeable AA/AAA batteries are indeed a good option, but changing them for recharge is a hassle, as opposed to Mindstorms hub which you can just plug into the charger and even (I think) run while plugged in. On the other hand, if you need replacement for a moving vehicle, you'll have to wait until the charging is complete, or get a second battery set, which indeed is difficult and expensive. If the battery breaks/wears out on use, you're also out of luck, as the standard rechargeables are easily and cheaply replaced, unlike the proprietary battery of the RI hub (though maybe TLG's customer service could help you there). I guess the single screw option would be bad if you lose the screw or the threads wear out, then there's nothing holding it in place, while the current model probably stays on fine with 3 or even 2 screws. Though I'm pretty sure the axle-thing you describe could become problematic if there was an accident and it was brought to court.

Yes, but those are packaged with warning labels about batteries (in the external transport box) and presumably handled differently. Considering the way those sets are intended to be used, TLG has done the balancing calculation and decided that they indeed need rechargeable batteries while other sets don't.

Unless your collection is from the studful era of Technic, I don't think there's much that's really obsolete. Of course new parts get introduced every year and those expand the building options but you can buy most of them with affordable prices from B&P or Bricklink, and of course the same problem of keeping up applies to every MOC maker, there's just more catching up to be done if you stay out longer. As for the degradation over time, wires and rubber bands along with stickers are notorious for their degradation even in storage, but beyond that if you store the Lego right, there should be no noticeable degradation in a very long time. Discoloration of parts, especially old white, blue and light gray parts is known to happen a lot though. I have a lot of parts from the 80's and 90's and while they have varying amounts of play wear and discoloration, vast majority is still perfectly usable - except that a lot of them are also obsolete.

There are of course ways to transport all kinds of dangerous substances, but the more dangerous it is, the more expensive it gets. So as @Void_S commented, it's a necessary evil for the stuff you mentioned, though at least some of the vacuum cleaners and such still use NiMH or other less problematic battery types. For TLG it's a balancing act between cost and user satisfaction, for cell phone manufacturers such a balancing act doesn't exist, because there's no practical alternatives.

Lego and typical batteries don't mix well, all the battery boxes I can think of have had significant waste space, except maybe those housing AAA batteries (and those run out too quickly for bigger sets). LiPo can be made in almost any shape and size, but custom design would probably cost a lot and make the rechargeable insert too expensive for the retail market, so using a standard size would be better. Mass-produced LiPos come in AA size, but I'm not sure if it's usable here with the necessary controller electronics. Charging would indeed require significant changes in the hub, unless the charger cable was plugged directly in the battery housing, which would then have to include all the necessary electronics also for charging. Not sure about viability of this solution, but it too would eat some capacity from the battery and it would also have to communicate with the hub somehow. It appears that there's no easy solutions, which is to be expected, as I'm sure the people at TLG are well aware the problems with normal batteries.

Ok, that one is pretty absurd. Apparently every 2x3 brick posing as container has two stickers and then there's few more for the ship itself. Appears to be a pretty pricey collectible too. But yeah, there's no rivaling 42130 in count of stickers among Technic sets...

Stock models can't (most of the time) have rechargeable batteries because they create a huge logistical hassle due to the batteries' flammability. One option here would be to introduce a rechargeable battery pack that would be screwed to place and sold separately, which lessens the logistics hassle, as the whole set doesn't have to be treated as flammable. --- This screw-cover is somewhat problematic also in that it makes the placement of the hub more limited, as a screwdriver now has to be able to fit in directly to the box. Would be a problem for example in the Volvo hauler, and I'm sure it'll be also problematic in MOC design...

Adding to what previous posters said: Whatever the quality of other recent sets, 42128 won't disappoint you. No expensive electronics and packed with interesting functions accompanied by a great building experience.

The black pins were changed last year.