howitzer

Nice review as always. There were few cuts which happened faster than I could read the text. No big deal though, as it's easy enough to jump back, but something to maybe consider with future videos? Any chance on getting a comparison video with the Top Gear car? I understand it was pretty underwhelming in performance, but I'm curious on just how much...

Volvo hauler had a PU-operated gearbox, so maybe we're going to see that idea taken further in here? I agree that just having a bunch of motors controlling various functions directly would be really boring and that wouldn't do justice to the possibilities offered by PU. Somehow I'm also hoping for a single hub solution, as 12 batteries for two hubs is a bit much, rechargeable or not.

I don't know which prices you are looking at in Bricklink, but I just recently bought 2 PU L-motors for about 17€ each, and even cheaper ones are available (on the order of 12-13€) as of typing this. Cheapest PF L-motors seem to cost about 11-12€. In TLG's online shop PU L-motor is 39,95€ so there's a pretty steep difference. PU Technic hubs are less than 20€in Bricklink and 89,95€ from TLG. Prices will of course vary from country to country, where I live TLG's prices are always higher than in many other European countries, and I have no idea how they change when you go across the pond.

I haven't been a daily user but got my fair share during the eight years I studied various branches of metalworking. They can indeed break if flexed sideways but in my experience the breakage is only as deep as the cut the disk is in, and the fragments tend to be pretty small (and thus less harmful than larger fragments would be) if the disk is of the fiber reinforced type. No sudden catastrophic breakages from simply spinning the grinder. Of course wearing personal protective equipment is a must, otherwise even the small fragments can cause serious damage (not to mention sparks...)

You are exactly on point here. The true beauty of Lego is of course shown in the countless of MOCs out there, which show just how far beyond the official releases this thing can be taken. I've never examined 42076 up close but I believe your assessment that it has good mechanisms and play features but I fear that looks is what determines large part of sales figures, which is a bit sad considering that it makes us get empty shell sets like the ones you mentioned instead of sets with good functionality - even in the theme that should be all about functions.

A bit off-topic, but hasn't the shattering disk problem have been solved already years ago with disks that are reinforce with fibers embedded into the disc material? I've never used an angle grinder disk that doesn't have reinforcing fibers nor have I ever had a disk completely shattering no matter how hard it's been abused, except the small Dremel disks still come without reinforcing (and thus are prone to shattering really easily). I use similar but reinforced ones for my jewelry work and never had any problems with those.

I may be wrong but I believe this is an example of a part that had been used by a competitor before TLG: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=35480

For me playability is the most important aspect of quality when considering Technic builds, whether it's an official set or a MOC. I think the whole point of having Technic line of sets is to have mechanical functions and a build without that kind of functionality is no different from a display-only System builds like SW helmets or the Grand piano set. While in System sets playability is mostly related to minifigs and other such features, Technic doesn't have figures (yeah, there were dudes in the 90's but those times are long past and they weren't that common even then) so it's the mechanical functions which make up all the play value in a Technic set. When those functions are badly done or nonexistent, there's not much value in a Technic set, except as a parts pack. I see little point in having display-only set built from Technic parts as System is much more versatile in producing good-looking models. Now, what separates nice sets from stellar sets are those that manage to combine great functionality to good looks. In official sets these are few and far between, usually one is compromised for the other but there are sets that manage to combine both, like 42043. Still, good functions are enough for me to consider buying a set, but good looks alone aren't - unless it's a System set. As for the questions... I might get the childlike feelings when there's something particularly great but those moments are rare. Not that often but when I do, it's a sight to behold. I don't really do this, I build the official sets as they are and after a while take them apart to have their parts available for MOCs. With my kid sometimes, but as for myself, only rarely unless it's to show the stuff for someone else. Never. I bought the 911 RSR only as a parts parts because I got it with nice discount and while I built it to see how it feels as a set, I took it apart the next day. Nothing of interest there. I probably won't buy more such sets because they don't interest me in the slightest as sets and my parts collection is almost as large as it needs to be.

Probably the most important and useful part released since the 15100 pin with pin hole in 2015.

I wonder why they went for orange rims but yellow midsection in the body, is that accurate to the source material? I somehow feel that both being the same colour (whether orange or yellow) would've worked better.

That's really awesome! But stupid. But awesome! It even sounds like a real angle grinder!

Aftermarket prices are practically the same for PF and PU motors. In TLG's own online store PU components are of course grossly overpriced. As for the third-party software... how are the developers currently being paid? BrickController 2 and Controlz are both available for free in the Play Store.

That new differential is btw. included also in 51515 set. Those hard springs on the front seem a bit strange choice, wouldn't soft springs do better? How about trying to swap the front and rear springs? Or just switch them to soft ones? I'm really excited about those alternating hole beams, though I'm not sure they alone justify buying of the set as there's little other parts that are interesting to me...

No they won't, or maybe the IR's will but the motors will wear out eventually and when they do, you'll have to source replacements that are cheap now but will become more expensive as the world supply runs thinner and thinner. But I'm sure the third-party software will make it possible to control PU motors long after TLG has given up on them.

My guess is that 26287 is such a generically useful part that having it released in new colours is not indicative of any future Technic set colour schemes. Much like the older 32054 (pin with bush) is surprisingly common in non-Technic sets and have appeared in numerous colours but only a few have ever been a colour scheme of a Technic set.

It wasn't licensed nor did it even try to replicate faithfully any real machine than I know of. 42055 is based on Sandvik PE100 as much as 8448 is based on a contemporary Ferrari. As in, the model shares some of the basic characteristic of the real counterpart by the virtue of being in the same category of a machine. Yes, both have the bucket wheel and the basic shape of the frame is somewhat similar, but both cars too have 4 wheels and the basic shape of the chassis is somewhat similar, but still there is huge differences too, like the location of the counterbalance and location of the operator's cabin. You could even argue that 42028 is also based on the Cat D11T as they have lot in common than in 42055 has to a real machine.

42055 isn't based on any real machine.

Funny, the one in the video doesn't look like a Dremel at all to me, here's the handpiece I thought:

I also thought about having a subtractor instead of skid steering and proper suspension for the tracks would indeed be interesting. But yeah, there are hopes and dreams and then there's reality, which is sometimes disappointing. Btw., wasn't Liebherr R9800 the largest shovel-type excavator in the world? And apparently Cat D11T is the largest bulldozer in the world? Are we getting a pattern here?

One definite change - and a good one at that - is every step having a box where quantity and type of each part to be added is specified. This helps enormously in ensuring that every part needed is added in each step, and I think only Technic sets had these in the early 90's. While the instructions indeed are made today much simpler than 30 years ago, I don't think it's a big deal. Yeah, they could add more parts per step and such, but apparently TLG sees that their current method of making instructions is good, so why change that? It's not like they would achieve enormous cost savings by having half as much pages in the booklets or whatever, and if there's someone out there who benefits of these simpler instructions, who am I to complain?

Very nice, I like that you made it out of entirely Lego parts, except for the glue and lube. Why did you drill out the studs of the 2x2 brick though? Is that drill chuck Foredom handpiece for goldsmith's drill? I have the same, very useful tool.

For that price it had better be the best set ever, and not just in Technic but in all of Lego. Whatever the contents, even with like 30% discount it's still really expensive. So yeah, can't see myself spending that much on a single set, especially considering that I already have 8 PU-compatible motors and the RI hub, which enable me to build practically anything there's worth building. (With the above being said, I guess that price could be justifiable if there were in addition to the PU parts a lot of pneumatics, including the new switches and many long cylinders and perhaps a multi-cylinder compressor. But somehow I suspect there won't be any pneumatics at all.)

Wow, really gorgeous build, I love the details like the use of chainlinks in the wheel covers. Any chance to get a look on the inside?

Something has indeed happened over the years. 8868 had 60 pages in instruction booklet which included both A- and B-models. 42043 had 484 pages in the instructions book which included only the A-model. Both are flagships of their era and functional marvels. 42043 is slightly larger and has few more functions than 8868, but still they are not that different in scale or complexity.

You really do have a point there, though I don't expect new, more realistic gearbox designs anytime soon (it would probably require a lot of new parts) so we're stuck with the same supercar done again and again with different exteriors. That's why I'm hoping for more machinery, even when it leaves something to be desired functions-wise, because at least they still have _some_ functions unlike fast cars. Offroaders are somewhere in between, they often have some interesting functionality, though for example the new Jeep seems pretty lazy out of the box, it could've been so much more like the improvements thread showed.