DrJimbo

Has anyone got their hands on these yet:? https://decadastore.com/products/1-with-8-lamp-groups-jv3046?variant=39666233999448 basically a bunch of 8 LEDs ending in what looks like a stud. Looks like great potential for making neat headlight clusters or light bars.

Not exactly a bargain, but chuffed to get 42129 for €180. Seems to have been the last one in the country in from Smyths.

This fabulous B model of the Bugatti has all those features: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-63528/Porsche96/audi-r8-spyder-42083-b-model/#details

That's a nice mod, I added it. This is a great set. Really good lego designer level of mechanics. Lots of functions to fiddle with. I will have to rebuild the Mack to give it something meaningful to tow. Very sturdy - the flip flop beams really supplement frames to allow rigid building. My first experience of the new pneumatic switches - nice and discreet in this style of model. Most of my tweaks are minor colour changes. I tried to make all the lbg behind the cab dbg, it doesn't pop out so much from the dark blue. Small panels above cab to white - the original lbg makes no sense. Also the 15L flip flop below the light bar to white. While still very multicoloured, the different colours are largely confined to zones of the build.

And done

I finally bought an built this recently - went straight to @jb70's pimped version, as always now. My impressions - it is really big, nice lines, best use of flex axles I have experienced (by this I mean they flow well with panels, are well-secured, and end in the right place). I do find it odd that in a set that includes black as well as red 2- and 4-axles (so recognising that the red stands out visually in certain places, and that the builder can manage the difference) that there remain places where the red versions peep out in the finished car. Why not provide more black ones for e.g. the hinge of the bonnet/hood? I am not an anti-blue pin obsessive, but I find this - well inconsistent. And use the grey axle-pin connectors rather than red as well. So it looks lovely, and the functions all work well - doors, spoiler, gears & engines. It is definitely the best of the Lego 1:8 supercars. And yet it is all slightly ... unsatisfying. Maybe I have too much lego, or I just need to make some function-filled MOC. Anyhow, I am in awe of the technical improvements to the gear box, HOG, etc. There is one outrageously lazily-made bit that I want to share my improvement of.... drumroll... the luggage! The stock version has gaps at the sides and bottom - I can't imagine how the bottom was deemed ok. Here is my pimping contribution, all 100% legal, I would suggest:

Mods may well impact the rebuildability. @jb70's pimp up my Porsche mods definitely made it more attractive to rebuild 42056, and did not disappoint (gear indicator a particular highlight). On the other hand, I built the Bugatti and the LandRover fully pimped from the start (and will do with the Sian shortly). Meaning there is less incentive to tear down and rebuild, since I know the brains trust here has already made them as good as they can realistically be.

Top sets to build - having come out of dark ages with 42030: 42043 - The Arocs is great. The modularity has never been equalled, and there is a bit of almost everything in there. 42053 - The Volvo is an almost pure pneumatic set - I remember thinking 'where are the gears and axles?' - that is really rewarding 42054 - Claas Xerion - there is so much going on in this set, linkages going to and fro, crammed in to a fine-looking model. 42055 - BWE is so different from anything else, the scale is nuts and it is also lots of fun when built. 42056 - Porsche. Sure we have wave selectors now, and lots on here build sophisticated gearboxes, but building the flappy-paddle shifter and gearbox for the first time was a real eye-opener for the capability of Technic. Will we ever see 4 consecutive sets like this run (42053-42056) again? - really amazingly consistent quality. Anything after this I have not built more than once, that may say something about the enjoyment of the build process. I can see myself revisiting 42069, 42078, 42107 as particularly enjoyable build processes. And of course, @brunojj1's Italian supercar - now that's a great build experience!

Ooh, I have not seen those. That would be an improvement. Only remaining minor issue is that care is needed not to insert the pin too far onto the bar, to avoid clutching onto the radar dish.

Finally got this set - agree that it is great value. A few people commenting about the rotating propeller guards - I agree it is not ideal, but this is lego, so I had a go at modding it. The challenge is to get the rotation through the hole in the radar dish, without getting in the way of securing it via studs. My solution is probably not 100% up to standard for official instructions, but works well: Replace the axle on the black gear with a non-friction axle-pin connector: This little build offsets by half a unit vertically and horizontally. (High contrast version in these pics to make it clear): this goes on as before (mostly black version) Top 2 studs of the radar dish go into the part 32291: Here's the good bit. Black 4L bar goes through the radar dish hole and inserts into the 2L non-friction pin-axle connector. This transmits rotation past the static radar dish. There is just enough room due to the shape of 32291. Add the prop on a 1L pin with stud. This I am not thrilled about, since that pin is non-friction with respect to the prop, although it does spin it. With a 5L bar, you could use a black 2L pin (which would stick out the back). 'But wait!' I hear you say. 'You have a one small panel on each side that is not secured'. Strategic placement of red/green lights keeps them from flopping around: Works nicely: https://i.imgur.com/6sCYmMI.mp4

All this talk is making me think I should rebuild my 42053, which is a super set. And that there may be little point in getting this one if it is pretty similar. For those that didn’t get 42053, if this is as well implemented, could be a great buy (although seems pricey, I got a good discount in the Volvo). A 4-claw grabber could be tricky to implement with pneumatics, may end up manual, like 42042, which would be less appealing.

Axle connectors have a wider and a narrower end. And they have 2 flat and 2 curved sides. For a smooth appearance, you want to join like to like.

So, the gearbox seems underwhelming. To me, at a very high level, it seems like they have recreated the look of the original reasonably well. My big problem with it is the real world bike has zero visual appeal (a hot mess of random colours and panels), so the same applies to the Lego version, no matter how well done. In contrast, the red Ducati looks great, and after some tinkering, so does my Lego copy, sans stickers. So it’s a no from me.

A lime green helicopter with really big landing gear A lime green helicopter with really big landing gear Hulls from 42105 will make nice floats for a lime green amphibious heli.

Playing around with some more parts. Added a smaller model: a bit hampered by the inability to use the centre part of each face. Next challenge is to make a 5x5 version with a true dice pattern.

Finally got round to building the B model of this. It looks like it really stretched the parts from the A model - lots of random gaps in the floor and use of alternatives to simple black pins in various places. I thought the old battery box in a flying machine was ridiculously heavy in the A model, and with unimpressive rotor speed was a really poor cost-benefit ratio. So I modded the B model to use a hand crank on the outside to get into the gearbox and drive the functions - a fun challenge that I eventually got to work satisfactorily. The B-model is huge - a really big body and then 2 enormous rotor radii. A fun build - but too big to keep around in my lego den, where display space is at a premium! Having seen the new Denis Villeneuve Dune movie, I'm thinking those giant blades will work well in a model of the ornithopters from the movie. At some point I may give that a go, but more realistically some of the MOCers here might come up with something better and quicker than me ;)

That is a thing of beauty! Love it.

So I bought and built this in the last couple of days. I agree with most of the comments above. This is an unusual model, and an interesting build. It is by far the wobbliest Technic set I have built! The mechanisms are not your normal vehicle stuff and use some interesting techniques and properties of the bricks. BUT, it all feels a bit pointless, since it can’t really be played with (no bath in this house). I put together a little stand so it can display at an angle. Admiring it for now, not sure how long I will keep it assembled.

Thanks for bumping this thread, that B model looks gorgeous, I will be getting the instructions for sure.

I am semi-obsessive about this since reading on here that it can make it easier to assemble beams with multiple connections, which I think is the case. Anyone else bothered that the box image of 42043 has part 41678 in the grille in different orientations?

Pretty common in 80s Ireland to call these JCBs. I first heard backhoe in Australia in the late 90s.

Hi folks, I am working on a generic tank, based on a request from my son. Inspired by the many shades of green provided by Lego, I have gone for a camo approach, supplemented by black & DBG where needed. Aims for the build were to have something fun for the kids to play with, that looked like a tank, with tank drive, turret rotation and elevation, and ability to shoot. Still working on the last part. The LandRover is providing a lot of the panels, beams and plates. I plan to close the front corners of the turret with 21/22 panels, but waiting for final barrel design. Openable rear to house battery box. Buwizz / CADA compatible, using CADA for now. Bottom is fairly enclosed, this drives well on grass: Drive is by 2 L-motors, pretty much directly connected. Simple and effective. I could try CADA L-motors and Buwizz battery for lots more power. One issue is that this is a far from modular build, so very difficult to take apart even for photos, let alone rework. Two M-motors in the middle of the chassis drive turret rotation (full 360) and barrel elevation. Again, pretty simple linkage. Adding a cockpit for the minifig commander, with opening hatch, ended up with a pleasing result. There are additional crew in the back, but these may need to make way for a second battery for a firing mechanism. The LandRover mudguards work really well here, I think. The current firing mechanism was to be a manual pull back, with a catch, that releases technic springs. This really does not work, so I am looking at some other options described in videos out there. In any case, I realise this needs to be mechanised anyhow, since there is no point having an RC tank that you need to walk up to to fire. I just hope I can find something that works at this scale. I appreciate this is quite crude, and probably reveals its 'make it up as you go along' design choices, but I am quite satisfied at how well it drives and funcitons and it pleases the target audience - I just need to finish that firing mechanism!

Since we are talking about bluntness and being able to take criticism - yes, it happens, @M_longer does this a lot from what I see. All it takes is to acknowledge the work that goes into an MOC and some good points, as well as pointing out things that could have been done differently or better. Part of making 'constructive' criticism actually constructive is expressing it so that the person being criticised will respond positively. That is what is missing imho.

Just finished building this - a really enjoyable build. The roof mechanism never gets old - really well-executed and satisfying. I made a few minor modifications - put on an Audi logo and tweaked the mirrors. And I thought the black panels were because there was not enough light blue, but then saw that the real car has this too (mostly). To me, it is ugly in the real car also, so I tried to replace with light blue. I also tweaked the doors so they catch when closed. Thanks for the creation!

Quoting from another thread that is closed: ”For example, if someone were to pour their effort into building a MOC that they’re proud enough of to go to the effort of taking photos and posting them here, and all you can muster up is “The wheels are too small” or “This doesn’t look like X” without so much as an effort to make them feel welcome for contributing to the forum then sorry but that’s just behaving like a rude piece of shit.” I am far from young, or thin-skinned, but this sort of response does make me reluctant to post stuff here. What’s the point, if some MOCers (whose models I have admired and paid money for) can only seem to respond by nit-picking.