XenoRad

Two can play that game: 42110 sticker is correct. Just the gearbox is wrong.

That's not what I meant. For the Chiron (and the Land Rover) when in Drive, shifting up from 1-2-3-4.... actually makes the pistons move faster. Shifting down makes the pistons move slower. This is in reverse to how a real gearbox works which slows down the engine in higher gears.

I'm on the mindset that I don't mind the blue pins showing on the exterior or having a bit of color for the chassis and drive train. That being said the colors used for the gearbox components mixed with the lime of some chassis pieces gives me a feeling of "tutti frutti". The yellow and orange and red axle connectors are the worst culprits here. Considering that they're of a different type so there's little risk mixing them they could have stuck to one or two more sedate colors at most.

Do we know whether for this the gearbox still works in reverse (shifting up increases engine speed, shifting down decreases it)? If so correcting that would be an important first mod IMO.

The fancy box is nice but it only works once. Afterwards, when the model is built it will just take some space on a shelf if you don't get rid of it. Perhaps they could make it so the inside has some nice scenery printed on it that could serve as a backdrop for displaying the model. That would be nice. Even better would be if we got a constructable case to put the model inside and protect it from dust. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or heavy, just some simple transparent plastic could do. But most importantly I'd really like a small booklet about the actual car. Just 10 pages or so with some images and information. With the Bugatti we got very little printed info about the car itself. We got the podcast, but it's not the same thing. Printed, visible information is the most impactful.

I'll leave this video here as it has some nifty details on the model: It confirms that there are no stickers and you only have prints. That aside initially I wasn't very excited about the Sian. I would have preferred a Countach or even a Diablo but it looks really cool and has some improvements in functionality over the original Chiron. No HOG steering as some of us would have hoped (the back of the car would have been an inconspicuous spot for it). I do wonder whether this time when shifting up the engine RPM decreases like in a real car. We do have the 18+ rating this time so a realistic gearbox functionality would be more appropriate for the adult crowd.

Leaving any licensing deal apart (which indeed would make any discussion moot if it purposely excluded HOG steering) those are valid points, but in display ability Lego can never beat a die-cast model which features fully accurate exterior and interior so it shouldn't try. I came to Lego from collecting die-casts and Lego's advantages are: building experience, more functions and the thought that if something gets damaged you can just replace the part. Die-casts are heavy and the paint needs protecting so they rarely leave the shelf. So I think Lego should focus a bit more on play ability. You're always going to end up with a compromise in design in Lego. But a compromise in design for functionality will be better perceived in my opinion. I think the true value in objects we humans make and enjoy is how we get to interact with them. There's no point in them existing for their own purpose since they're not alive and no other creature on Earth has any use for them.

The more recent Land Rover and Dom's Dodge Charger had HOG steering. If these smaller licensed models had this functionality I don't see why the larger, more expensive sets cannot, especially since it adds a lot as a function. There needs to be an evolution of these models. Perhaps in 2016 and 2018 the functions the Porsche and Bugatti had were considered enough, but now we know that more can be done.

I think this is a matter of purpose. 8880 had a purpose to show how many functions were possible with Technic at the time while not trying to represent an exact real life car. Modern licensed sets have a purpose to show that Technic can be used to represent an exact real life car while also having a few functions. We can all agree that the modern licensed sets can have more of the real-life functions and that is definitely something we can ask for, but we can't ask for features that that real cars don't have. Yes, we can ask for fictional vehicles, chock full of functions, but I don't think those functions alone would sell those vehicles. Even in real life, every vehicle has a purpose that it needs to achieve and it's build to achieve it. Sports cars need to be light and fast, 4x4's to be sturdy and capable off-road, trucks to be dependable and able to carry a lot of weight, etc. So for that, asking TLG to build a generic set of a vehicle chock full of functions with little to no relation to an actual vehicle which would need to fulfill an actual purpose -it's not going to happen. People won't buy it. More than that people that would buy it would just make it themselves out of the parts that they already have.

Hi guys. I think this is an interesting discussion and would like to add my input. I don't think there's an ideal panels vs gaps or functions vs aesthetics ratio that can please everyone. TLG can release various licensed or unlicensed sets, big or small, complex or simple and see which sell and which don't. Then they can create future sets based on market preference. I personally would have little interest in generic sets. I'm more about cars and collecting car models and I only got into Technic due to its licensed Corvette set, 42093. A generic model like 8880, even a modern version, wouldn't really be that interesting to me. On the other hand a licensed set, but with big gaps like 8145 would not be aesthetically pleasing. I suppose the only way that we could come close to having sets that cover more of the spectrum would be to have the chassis, mechanicals and body panels be built separately and in such a way that they can be easily put together or taken apart. This would mean space for parts to move so either bigger sets or more gaps. But the biggest change then would be in the construction process. Rather than starting with a chassis piece and continuing to add to it in one large assembly, you'd need to build multiple separate assemblies like individual parts and only later join them together. You'd need to have a clear delimitation between structural and non-structural pieces. I see some MOCs come close but many and especially the smaller ones still use what would realistically be different pieces as one assembly that cannot be easily taken apart. Realistically for any two Technic pieces that you wish to join or separate you need space for at least three pieces so you can remove the pin holding them together. This equation complicates exponentially with different angles or more pieces tied together. This fact alone has a huge impact on both the design and the functions that can be included for any given size.

Hi guys. First time posting here and I thought I'd share some of the modifications I've done to set 42093. Now I realize that I'm late to this party. This set has been out since late 2018/early 2019 and most people have probably already made up their mind on it, modded it, left it as it is or scrapped it for parts. However I figured that as long as it had potential it would be a pity to just leave it as it is and perhaps someone else may find these modifications useful. This is going to be a rather lengthy post with plenty of details and pictures so grab a good drink, sit back, relax and enjoy. Let's start with a bit of intro. Prior to this year I was not familiar at all with the Lego range when it comes to vehicles (both System & Technic). As a car enthusiast I had plenty of mostly die-cast models of various sizes and I was always looking for that one cool model to add to the collection, but didn't think that I could find the accuracy or details needed with constructions made out of the little bricks. One day however I stumbled across a LEGO store on a lunch break and decided to go in. For some reason set 76897, Speed Champions - Audi Sport Quattro, caught my eye and I bought it. After assembly I really liked it so some days later I bought another set, the Camaro. Then another set and another and another until I saw the Corvette ZR1. It was bigger than what I already had, a Technic set which I wasn't familiar with and it was at a good discount. I also liked Corvettes, started around the time the new C6 was released in mid 2000s and have pretty much liked them ever since. So I got the set, built it and really liked it. Yes, it was indeed a bit rough with details, but overall a good effort and a great starting point with Technic. Not too small, not too big. Seeing as how I also liked the B model and wanted to improve the A as well I got another set, built both and made some modifications using some other sets I bought since. Right now my method of going about this is to have the larger sets with proper licensed cars and enhance them with parts from the smaller sets. I'm interested in adding structural strength, not having any parts that are either very stressed or at risk of easily falling off, not having any weird connections or parts that can effortlessly move out of alignment and generally adding detail where needed. With this mindset I got about modifying the Corvette and also building and modifying the Hot Rod. So let's begin. Here they are together, bad boys for life. Right off the bat you may notice that the Corvette's front is a bit different and the Hot Rod's front is plenty different from the original. For the next section we'll continue with the Corvette and then move on to the Hot Rod. CORVETTE ZR1 Here it is, pictured below next to its box. What I wanted to achieve with my modifications was fill in the details and also make it more robust if possible. The core structure has been mostly left unchanged with the exception of the rearward area to make room for wider tires. I'll detail that portion when we get to it. Right now we'll start at the front. Some of the first changes I'd like to point out here are: - extended the front lower spoiler by one stud outwards and also added more detail for the front area, especially around the headlights; - changed the gray beam with cross axle from just before the "ZR1" sticker with an orange one (rather small change but does make a difference in cohesiveness of colors); -you'll also notice the reverted and lowered rear wing but we'll be discussing that in more detail last. Another look at the front and the improved look. We have three black beams here at the nose. Two 6 Half Beams joined together on top and one 5x1 just below. At the bottom there's another 5x1 beam in orange. To the sides, just where the orange fins end I also added a pair of the black grilled elements used for vents at the rear. They look good as the real small side-fins you find on the actual car. The original 2x1 with one cross pin beams were moved from inwards to the headlights to just above the soft curved axle, to the right and the left of where the hood ends. Their place has been taken by 3x1 orange beams which fit well there and remove the original gaps one could see around the headlights. Here's a picture of the bottom to see how the front spoiler was extended. You may also note, just behind the front steering lower gray connector (Cross Block 3X2 ), an extra 5x3 L black beam. It reinforces the chassis and better connects it to the orange bottom panel as well. If you want your model to bend less this is a mod to consider. It looks so complete with it that I don't understand why it wasn't included from the start. You'll also see the 43.2x22 rear wheels. These you can find in 42103 Dragster if you're only doing the Corvette/Hot Rod or 42072 Whack if you want 4 of them so you can use them for both models. Otherwise I'm sure many of you may already have some around from older sets. In order to fit the wider tires without sticking out or rubbing internally I had to made other modifications, which I'll get to a bit later. Onto the engine bay. You can see the new gray half bushes replacing the yellow ones. Also the 1x1 Beams as cylinder sleeves. They leave plenty of space for the crankshaft to lift the pistons, they stabilize the pistons in their motion, add weight so the pistons more easily come down and they look cool. The crankshaft "cam" order was also changed to better match that of the rear car. So the new order of the cams in order from the front to the rear is: top-left-right-bottom. Originally it was top-left-bottom-right. There are a few other aesthetic changes for the engine. I filled in the gap in the beam right before the first two pistons. I used a frictionless pin, here covered with a little black cap. I also added 4 such blue frictionless pins as engine mounts, you can see a couple of them to the front of the engine. All in all I feel that these modifications make it look more like an actual motor. It's more complete and with more realistic colours. The original interior was rather sparse. Just one black 4x2 L beam with the steering wheel attached at one end. So I added a full two-tone dash with a central indicator (sort of mimics the digital real one) as well as a small central console with a red shift knob and either a beverage in a cup holder or a rotary button. Gray would have maybe been a more realistic color for the knob but I only had the red one readily available and think it works better from an attention grabbing point of view. The whole assembly is mounted to the bottom light gray beam via 2 long red push pins at the sides. I tried to replicate the original interior more, but there was just not enough space, not as it is but with also the two axles for drive and steering there and generally not many mounting points in that area at all. I also had to move the headrest mounting position. The original pieces that connected it to the doors I mounted just behind it to limit its travel. You'll also notice the black 4x2 L beams behind the doors. I used them to move the door one stud forwards. More on this just below, but before we move on I'd like to add that originally I tried to see if I could link the steering wheel with the steering axle. The fact that they would spin in the same direction when turning gave me hope but soon I realized that there was not enough space for a geared assembly and I simply did not have a proper rubber hand readily available at the time. Plus, it would have meant taking apart quite a few parts to put the band around the axle. Still, if someone has the white rubber bands that come with some sets or replacements that would work and is willing to try it out, this might be a worthy mod to investigate to get a working steering well. You could use half bushes to secure the band at both ends or ever some one sided half gears. The side view. You can see that the doors have been pushed forward one stud. This fills in the space in front of them better and moves the vent sticker starting location to a more realistic location, just before the A pillar. The vent sticker is a bit covered at the lower portion, but it's an acceptable compromise. The extension is done by mounting a 4x2 L beam just in front of the rear wheel arch. I only had one extra orange one and not two to do the other side so I opted for black, but I think it looks good and can mimic an actual vent. I also opted for a small 2x1 bream with one cross to tie in the rear wheel arch with the bottom orange 5x3 L beam. This pulls in the area above the wheel and makes it better fill that space. The connection isn't 100% perfect since the arch panel does follow the tilted angle of the rear section, but it's a strong connection and there's minimal stress on the parts. You can also see the lowered and inverted rear wing and the two mirror elements used as C pillars. I did have to "borrow" them from the Hot Rod (don't worry I put something else there in return) but I think it was worth it as they fill in the place rather well. A closer view of the rear area, where the most changes were made. We'll start off easily with a new orange 3x1 beam just between the lowered wing and the roof. Initially there was nothing here. Adding it in fills in the space much better and it's a good mount using the blue pins which are also now holding the wing. More on the wing connection later. We can better observe the orange mirror pieces, acting as C pillars. Now we go to the more significant changes. Moving the entire door one stud forward meant changing almost all connections there. To start with, the orange 3x5 beam to which it's still connected had to move one stud forward. The connection between this beam and the door needed to be preserved due to the straight angle between them, also because this 5x3 beam is the one responsible for the tilt of the entire section so there was no way to connect the door to anything else and still preserve the tilt. The door is connected to the orange L beam via the 2nd, 4th and 5th pin holes with 90 degree black connectors. The top two pin holes are used with regular black pins to hold the black 4x2 L beam. As a consequence of moving the door forward the headrest assembly could not longer be connected to it cleanly. Luckily the move did create enough space so that the headrest assembly could be mounted directly to the chassis via a couple of vertical beams. The original connectors can now be seen at its back, limiting the travel of the horizontal portion. As a note, connecting the headrest assembly to the chassis, rather than the wings does mean it's now vertical and not tilted. It works just as well and maybe even better as it offers the ability to tilt the top portion slightly. A lower view with the wheel removed. You can better see how the door is connected to the orange L beam. At the bottom of the orange L beam is a 3x3 T piece to which the vertical beams for the headrest assembly are mounted. You'll notice that now there are a couple of 3x1 yellow beams for the tilting mechanism, with the second one added at the rear, just behind the red push pin holding the roof fixed. This is a not a required change, but I found that fixing the first yellow beam between the orange L one on one side and the black one leading to the other yellow beam on the other side stabilized it, limited its travel and generally added more robustness. The black beam between the yellow ones can be 6 studs in length but I only had it in 7 studs. It worked better I think as the offset one stud at the front would stop against the headrest vertical beams, limiting an unnecessary forward movement of the whole assembly. All in all this setup works fine. There's no interference with the rest of the parts, acts as a more study mounting platform for the tilting mechanism and also fills in that rear section a bit more. Previously looking at it from one side was greeted with a rather empty space. As a last note here nothing was done to the wheel connector itself. The larger 22 wide wheel (14 initially) fits in well with just a couple of mm sticking out of the wheel arch. The wheel is connected via a 4 stud long black axle with a full bush tucked just inside of the wheel arch. It looks good and to make it fully flush with the wheel arch you'll need to modify the rear assembly around the differential which I'm not sure is worth doing also since it will make returning to the narrower tires more difficult should you ever have the need to swap them back out again. These modifications, initially made to make room for the wider wheels but also to move the doors with the vent sticker further forward to better align the looks with that of the real car did take some time to figure out but I'm very happy with the result. More work is indeed involved taking this section apart and putting it back together but otherwise the parts fit well together and also prop each other up. With these mods there's little risk of damaging the model or having connections come apart when picking it up and playing with it. The rear section. Not many modifications here. Primarily the wing has been inverted to better resemble the rear one and was also lowered by one stud. You can see the connection via the blue pins which also hold in place the 3x1 orange beam mentioned earlier. Additionally you may notice a couple of extra Cross Block 3M beams just above where the exhaust pipes end. This used to be empty space before and I didn't like it much. You may also use the regular 3x1 black beams but those are rarer and the Cross Block works better IMO with the rest of the parts there. In time maybe I can find a solution to have the taillights more closely resemble the real ones and also get rid of the pin holes from the second orange beam from the top. In theory it should be rather easy with two 1x1 and two 4x2 orange System parts (or any combination that would fill that space well), but I don't have those yet. That mostly does it for the Corvette. Apart from the changes I mentioned I also put some more blue pins in a few places to better tie down some parts but that would be a small change all in all. As for general aesthetics I may change a bit here and there but for the most part I'm happy. I think it looks reasonably better than it did originally. All in all about 50 or so extra parts (including connecting pins) had to be used. Most would be optional, but the more significant (extending front spoiler, extending doors, lowering rear wing, more details on the interior) changes would require a minimum of about 25 extra pieces. In this form the model is very sturdy, there are no parts that are at risk of easily coming off and there's only minimal extra stress on maybe a couple of parts. The takeaway here is that making room for the wider tires and extending the door proved to be rather difficult. Considering the size and the limited space there, not to mention the fact that most connections would not be traditionally possible due to the tilting of the rear portion I say the original design was pretty good. It did capture the aspect well and there were no obvious ways to dramatically improve it with the set part count. If only this would have a been a straight 600 piece set from the start I'm sure some of these changes would have been included from the start and the reception to the set would have been better initially. HOT ROD Now onto the Hot Rod. The original design was pretty good but a bit barren as plenty of parts from the A model were not used in the instructions. I wanted to really flesh it out and also give it a more menacing look. As for sturdiness, it was already sturdy enough but now it looks even more so. A big difference from the original would be in the front area. I kept the headlight stands, but removed the headlights and instead added the panels used for the Corvette's taillights. The yellow indicators are from the 42103 Dragster set and the four headlights from 42104 Race Truck or 42088 Cherry Picker (only has two though, but plenty of other useful parts). Where the headlights would have been mounted I added a couple of pieces which can resemble proper "get out the way, move b..." horns. I also added a proper front bumper, a bit Mad Max style since I didn't like how exposed the steering assembly was initially. The bumper side pieces are from the Cherry Picker and the central bit from the Dragster. Here's a frontal pic. I think it resembles a praying mantis and that I find quite appealing. A three quarter view. Important modifications would be the wider 43.2x22 mm tires, just like for the Corvette. This was much easier though. I had to use some slightly longer axles and half bushes a their ends so they wouldn't look strange sticking out from the wheels like that. The engine got the same treatment with the cylinder sleeves represented by 1x1 beams. I left the yellow half bushes as pistons. For one they fit this model better, second I don't have enough gray ones to fit here and also fit to other models where really needed. There's also a couple of extra fins between the exhaust and the original, longitudinally mounted fins. There's another picture below better showing the setup. Another addition would be the side-mirrors, which I'm not 100% sure about. They look like mirrors but are a bit too bulky for my taste. Right now with the leftover parts I don't see an obvious, much better solution and would rather not spend some of the more exotic ones. With the setup as it is though the mirrors remain well in place and have a decent range of motions. A closer look. The second pair of orange wings are attached via a Cross Block piece. That piece is linked at the rear with a Beam 1X2 W/Cross And Hole which connects the black 4x2 L beam you see on top with another orange 6x1 beam at the bottom. An interior screenshot from the other side posted below shows more. I also replaced the black exhaust endings with silver ones from the Dragster. They look much more like real exhausts now. The side view. You can start to better see the extra seats in the interior and an extra wing added at the back. Interior time. I added a full length dashboard rather than the original 3 stud wide beam only meant to hold the steering wheel. There's a single instrument right in the center as would have been the case originally for many such old cars. I also added a floor mounted shifter. The part is 6553 Catch and has a red bush on top for a knob. We also have two seats mimicking gray and black fabric (or leather for the more pretentious kind). They're three 5x3 L beams. They're linked to the middle assembly there via black pins going though the center of what would be the seat bottom. I also put an axle though though the first pinhole to better secure them together. Here you can also better see why the mirrors don't look fully fine. I'm missing the smooth face pieces to connect to get rid of the studs on them but for now I have to make do. I suspect I should get them or find a better altogether alternative before too long though. Here's a photo from the opposite angle, showing better how the seats are connected. No changes further back of the seats. Also, as they are, the seats cannot be moved further back as they'd interfere with part of the opening top portion and the yellow axle acting as a reinforcement for same portion. Onto the rear. The extended rear wing came because I wanted to fill in the top and actually ran out of the original length parts. So I had to place some extended beams instead and saw that it gave me just enough space to mount a couple of small wings. They worked out just fine and also allowed me to attach indicators and taillights. I think it looks cool like that, like a mini-truck cab that had been used for the body instead of a smaller vehicle's cab. Finally, here's a bottom pic. There are no structural changes here. You can see a couple of beam colors swapped at the front, the floor mounted shifter next to the central axle and the wide rear tires. Nothing rubs, nothing clashes, all work well together. That's pretty much it. Right now the models are fit enough to be proudly displayed alongside my die casts. I'm sure that as I get more parts I may even swap out a few details or colors for certain parts. Small details aside the original designs were pretty much nailed when it comes to proportions for such a (small) scale. It's a pity they couldn't add a few extra pieces here and there to fill some of the empty spaces a bit more. Anyway I don't see how much more could be done for this scale. Any gearbox or motorization added would either alter the proportions or at the very least get rid of the interior as we've already seen with some mods for this set. For me though, at this scale, I'd prefer interiors and details as these models will remain assembled as display pieces. Next on my list would be to build some of the larger sets (to help me get through the COVID-19 quarantine boredom) and will use the spare pieces from the smaller sets to buff and add details to them. I've done the Defender, next should be the Chiron and maybe then the Car Transporter. The plan is that by the time I'm done with that I should have enough experience and spare parts to build my first custom (MOC) car to put on its platform next to the blue car (which will be modified to better resemble a real life car). With that I do hope that some of you will find value in these modifications. By all means, if you're still interested in this set try them out and if you get stuck at a certain point and don't know how I did a certain modification let me know. I'll gladly help out.