howitzer

Yep, the orange balls are 0,66€ in B&P, which is cheaper than any ball of any seller in Bricklink for quantities more than a couple. Balls from PV-Productions are less than half of that though, but of course they are not genuine Lego. Should be of high quality though. Not accounting for delivery costs here, which might or might not be significant, depending on where you live and how many you're ordering.

This topic is an extremely complicated and wide in scope, but here's some thoughts. As time has passed, more and more manufacturing has moved from handmade crafting to industrialized mass-production. With automated assembly lines you're able to fine-tune the quality so that it meets the standards you set but never exceeds it - leading to products that are cheap but just barely good enough. A skilled person on the other hand tends to make sure that the product is good enough by exceeding the standards, which is more expensive but allows for higher quality products, meaning that they also last longer in use. This ties directly into consumerism, where stuff must be made as cheaply as possible, so they can be sold in masses for high profit margin while still being cheap to buy too - and if something breaks, a replacement tends to be almost as cheap as repairing the old one, which of course is good for the manufacturer (they get to make more profit) but bad for the for the consumer (they have to spend time and effort in getting a replacement) and for the environment. There are of course still some manufacturers which make high quality products intended to last, but it's hard to justify buying a 1500€ washing machine when you can get 5 cheap machines for the same price, especially for someone whose entire monthly wage would be needed for the expensive one. Here in Finland we have a saying, which loosely translates to "a poor person cannot afford to buy cheap things" - which tells a lot about the problem. High quality products are expensive as one-off purchases but they are cheaper in the long run - if you can afford one. This is one reason why it is so hard to improve your economic situation if you're poor, when anything breaks, you're often back to square one. TLG has long had the reputation of being one of those companies who never compromise on quality - and that shows in the price of their products. I really, sincerely, hope that the current issues with colours and other stuff are temporary and soon we can again think about TLG as a company rivaled by none in terms of quality. Of course there are some products that are essentially the same now as they were 50 or 100 years ago, but which are now both cheaper and higher quality, thanks to advancing technology. Even the cheapest, lowest quality watch is today much better at time keeping than the best of clocks 100 years ago. Same goes to for example television sets, if you compare today's television set to something 50 years ago. Your mileage may vary, but I'd even go as far as to say that what you see in TV is now of higher quality than 50 years ago. Today everything can be made better than few decades ago, but a lot of stuff won't be made with better quality standards.

And banana gears :D

Yeah, the spider crane didn't fail because it was a spider crane, but because it was a badly designed spider crane. That's why I'm hoping for an upgraded version where its flaws are fixed.

Umm, there has been many forklifts, starting at the very first year of Technic in 1977. There's been at least the following: 7 standalone sets, 7 in universal sets, one combined with a transporter truck (8872) and finally there's 8295 and 8045 which are technically telehandlers, which might or might not count. Others you listed are less common or even entirely new though. I'm not sure what a wheeled excavator brings on the table that tracked doesn't but variety is always nice. I hope that at some point the spider crane will get an upgraded version with properly working functions and less knob-turning. I'm not sure how the car transporter or concrete mixer truck could be iterated into a new set that's not just repeating the previous one. Firetrucks on the other hand are conspicuously absent from the Technic line with only three releases ever. I wonder why, considering it has always been a very popular subtheme in City and they would offer a lot of potential for technical features.

Funnily, when I dug into the old sets, I found that there has been surprisingly many tiltrotors in Technic previously though: 8082, 8222 and 8434, so thematically 42113 wasn't breaking any new ground, especially 8082 had obviously been inspired by the V-22. Of course functionally it would've been something much more than any of the earlier ones.

This is probably highly personal preference, but when I bought the BWE I kept it assembled and even played with it for many months. RTC on the other hand I disassembled after only a few weeks, as apart from a select few sets I don't like to keep my sets assembled for long. But the BWE was somehow much more interesting and inspiring to look at than the RTC. In playability the RTC is probably better though, as it's easy to use and the functions really work well, while BWE is more like just barely working. The BWE's B-model is much, much better though than the RTC's.

Indeed.

Seconded. Though I wouldn't mind seeing a line of cars with some Technic functionality (steering, fake engine) combined with detailed exterior (like Creator Expert). So interior made of Technic, exterior made of System pieces. I'm not sure if they should be released under the Technic branding though.

I highly recommend reading the official Eurobricks review for 42055 and 42082, by Blakbird and Jim, respectively. They give you a really good insight on the functions, building experience, parts and playability on each. Just search the forums with both set number and the word 'review' and you'll find them. Also be sure to read the comments on each review for more viewpoints and discussion. I have both, and like others, I have zero regrets on getting both of them, they are impressive models when assembled and also provide a very nice selection of parts. Something of note about 42055 is that you'll get a very large number of structural and reinforcing parts, like 5x7 frames and 3x3 corner joints, much more than any other set to date. 42082 has more parts variety though, probably at least in part because it has more decorative elements and "play features" like the chains and toolboxes, which add aesthetic and play value but are generally not that interesting for a Technic builder. 42082 also has many more panels in many varieties than 42055, and if you're going to build vehicle MOCs, those are something that you'll want to get a good selection at some point - though you'd probably be better off by picking a colour scheme and bricklinking a nice selection of panels. As said, 42055 has been retired for a while, so especially unopened sets are getting costly. This of course means that if you are planning to get it anyway, you should get it as soon as possible, before it gets prohibitively expensive.

Thanks a lot!

The general consensus in the Technic forum seems to be that the 42113 was cancelled because of the military connection which goes against TLG's ethical guidelines. There was a serious issue with the gearing but that could've been solved simply by fixing it and postponing the release - which did not happen, instead the set was cancelled.

Ok, so finally I was at home while the sun was shining so I was able to photograph my mystery colours with proper lighting. On the upper left some bricks with colours that I'm certain about. Photo taken in direct sunlight coming through a window, with standard office paper as a background.

It might be gone for good, as it's 2018 set. You can find plenty of them from various sellers in Bricklink though, and with much lower price too, than in Lego's own webstore.

Seconding TeamThrifty here, I'd be very interested in seeing photos of how all the stuff is arranged and maybe even a video on how the functions perform.

Not going to happen, considering how the Osprey turned out. Chinook is also a military aircraft, and if Osprey is against policy, then so is Chinook.

I like your electric car concept. While fake engine and transmission are interesting from technical perspective, they don't actually do much in a Lego car so omitting them in favor of spoiler and retractable roof makes the model much more playable. The usage of gear racks as mudguards is also very nice, I actually had the same idea for my giant tractor project, but I seem to have the same problem as you in that I have hard time finishing the projects I start...

Ladda is actually rebranded Eneloop, which is known as a high quality brand. But yeah, quality matters a lot, even with alkaline you might get better voltage and capacity from expensive brand batteries than cheap bulk ones.

It's widely known that rechargeable batteries have lower voltage than disposable alkaline batteries so if you really need the highest possible power without resorting to more exotic diy-means, you need to use alkaline batteries. They too will lose voltage as you use them, so you only get the maximum oomph out of them for a relatively short while. Rechargeables of course are much cheaper to use than alkalines so I wouldn't use the latter unless absolutely necessary. For some applications, like running a GBC in a show, alkaline batteries become completely unfeasible as continuous running for a long time shoots the cost through the roof. Replacing the batteries might also become an issue, with the motors stopping while you do it, so some sort of 230V to 9V power adapter (like the old train regulator) is preferable.

Yep, there they are. Except the rotor blades are out of stock as of typing this. The new tapered panels should be available though. I didn't check for the recolours of older part types.

My first Arocs I got for 74€ Anyway, I'll be sure to buy the instructions once you get it complete!

Hmm, I never had any problems with it. Of course it's not exactly swift in turning and you have to be very careful with all the hosing, but that's what you get when you route 8 hoses through it. I'm not sure how it could be done better... As I understand, the Unimog had similar problem except much worse, and Arocs was praised on improving the slewing so it's actually usable?

It's not so black and white though if you look at the three biggest sets ever: 42082 works very well and I understand that 42100 is also very much functional and playable. 42055 is also a marvel of Technic engineering, even if it requires careful construction to work (and even then has its problems, but at least nothing breaks even if it jams). Then you have also 42043 which is widely regarded as one of the all-time best Technic sets and is also quite large. The technical problems seem to be concentrated on the largest car sets, while some of the mid-size car sets (like the 42077 and 42096 you mentioned) are functionally quite boring. 42111 on the other hand seems pretty good set even if the subtle curves would be better rendered in System. 42109 is apparently quite functional, though it is absurdly expensive and not that great looking. Everything you said about the Ducati is true though. As for other machinery, it's not all roses in the mid-tier either, as operating the 42097 would also be endless knob-turning and the outriggers were a joke. 42108 is a bit underwhelming even if it's functionally adequate. Yeah, pneumatics is where Technic really shines and the dumb battery box is needed badly. A set combining these with a compressor would be really great, and even greater if it included the 1x11 cylinder.

When I first read reviews and other experiences about Sian I got the impression that functionally it's essentially the same as Bugatti, except designed better, so I'm a bit surprised to see complaints about Sian's gearbox etc. now couple of months after release. I don't own either set nor I plan to as they are not interesting to me but both are meant to represent the pinnacle of Technic design so I do follow the commentary on their features and flaws. Land Rover on the other hand was from the start noted to have serious issues in its gearbox and the serious flaw in Osprey gearbox indicates there's something amiss in the Technic department of TLG. The concrete mixer appears to be pretty adequate average set with no obvious flaws, though it left something to desire in detailing. Volvo hauler seems to have some issues too, but it surprised with its innovative gearbox, though apparently the software could be better (calibration issues etc.) Ducati is almost universally praised even if it also has some minor flaws. Hopefully next year we see something that's both innovative and well designed, like the Liebherr last year (the price tag prevented me from getting that one though.) I just bought me a Saturn V in misb condition and a second Arocs, both at bargain price, so I don't think I'm going to get any of the new Technic releases this year. I was going to get the Osprey, but we all know how well that went.

Lack of extension cables is indeed a severe limitation, but hopefully an TLG will be release them in the future. If not, I'm sure someone will start making unofficial cables at some point.