Blakbird

I was notified today that my 8258 Crane Truck has shipped. That means that I should have it by the weekend. I'm still away on vacation, but I should have a review written by the following weekend.

I'd probably give 8439 a 10. I stand by my rating of the snow groomer. I've seen LOTS of front end loaders, this is the first LEGO snow groomer. It gets points just for that. Really, I don't see how you can argue with someone's rating. It's an opinion. You can't tell someone their opinion is not valid. You simply have a different opinion. Maybe I just really like snow groomers, I don't know. Make your own decision. The same thing happens with movie critics. There are certain critics whom, if they give a movie a bad review, I am guaranteed to like it. Other critics are the opposite. People like different things. I think the snow groomer is fantastic. Also note that there is no fixed definition of scale. A rating of 9 does not necessarily mean it is rated against every set ever. Maybe just against this year's sets. In my case, it was meant to represent how happy I am with my purchase. In any case, I think we've spent enough bandwidth discussing an opinion. It is what it is.

Well, I wrote the snow groomer review. I have every single Technic set ever made, so it would seem like a pretty good set of experience to draw from. In my opinion, this set is a 9/10, that's why I wrote it. Obviously not everyone will agree. That's why there are a lot of other details in the review for the reader to make their own choice. Not everyone likes the same things. For instance, some people rate sets highly when they come with a lot of minifigs or a wide variety. I, on the other hand, couldn't care less about minifigs so these mean nothing to me. What I am looking for in a Technic set is functionality and originality. I felt the snow groomer had lots of both for its size. That's the other important point. You can't compare the snow groomer to the 8275 bulldozer. They are totally different sizes and price points. My rating is intended to indicate that, if you wanted a set this size, this would be a good one to get. To each his own.

Well, I don't have time to write my review before my vacation, but I did build the model last night. I posted the pictures on Brickshelf which you can view once moderated. It is a VERY good model and it is huge! http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=392321

I'll see what I can do, but it will have to be when I get back from vacation!

There wouldn't even be any soldering. The needed components are commercially available. With the advent of micro and pico R/C systems, you would just need to buy what you need and stuff it into a brick box. I guess if you wanted to use a 2x4 terminal plate, you'd have to at least solder that. For instance, I have a 4 channel R/C helicopter whose total flying weight with battery, structure, and radio system is only 1 ounce. This is not the "toy" variety, this is full proportional hobby grade stuff. Basically, you would need one receiver and then a speed control for each channel. A little 2 amp speed control should be plenty. You could still use the LEGO battery box. They will generally operate on anything from about 4.8V to 12V.

No, this isn't quite right. LEGO never made a pneumatic set that was remotely controlled and they never made a motorized switch. In fact, only one set even had a motorized compressor. The MOC in this topic uses those features, but they were never in an official set. The new set (8258) does NOT use pneumatics. It uses what we're calling "linear actuators". This isn't very descriptive since pneumatic cylinders are also linear. The new actuators are mechanical and operate by rotating the input which turns some internal threads, extending the rod. It LOOKS like pneumatics, but it is a precision actuator.

You can find all of the instructions on Peeron. I made a conscious effort NOT to link to any external sites because I don't want the maintenance associated with making sure the links don't get broken. I also wanted my site to be 100% content I created so I don't reproduce any copyrighted LEGO material. Less hassle that way.

Roland Melkert, author of LD4D Studio, and I have been doing some collaboration on Technic animation. We chose set 850, the first Technic (Expert Builder) set ever as a test case. Roland set up the animation parameters, then I rendered the frames in POV-Ray. We went through several iterations of motion, timing, lighting, and other effects before settling on something that looked pretty good. If there is interest, I'd like to incorporate a few of these into Technicopedia to showcase some of the more interesting functions. So let us know what you think! name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="873" height="525"></embed></object>"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="873" height="525"></embed></object>" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> If you'd like to see some of the earlier test cases, take a look at them on YouTube: Click There are a total of 500 frames in the animation portion of the video, and some of the trials which used radiosity took over a week over continuous rendering time. The final version uses area lights, but no radiosity. I think it looks pretty good, but I'm biased.

I don't know, I haven't built it yet! I guess I could compare the boxes.

I thought you might all be interested to know that my 8265 wheel loader showed up in the mail tonight. I will be doing a review on it similar to the snow groomer, but I leave for vacation tomorrow. I doubt I will have adequate time tonight to do it justice, so it may have to wait until I get back!

There was a somewhat similar topic in this thread, so you might read through that one. I agree with the other posters. The big "flagship" sets mentioned are excellent, as are many of the smaller construction vehicles. I'd take the cherry picker over the hauler, and the tracked excavator is very good.

You are the first person I've heard from that actually has one. Is that a challenge? I agree, and I have lots of lots of Power Functions components. However, sometimes they are just not right for the application. In this case, the line-of-sight IR would be a problem. I'm heavily into R/C so it wouldn't be that big of a deal to make my own 8 channel receiver and speed controller block, but I figured I wouldn't reinvent the wheel if I didn't need to. The advantage to doing my own would not only be the use of QPCM radio frequency, but I'll also be fully proportional on all the channels. Thanks for the reply.

It has nothing to do with modern or old. The motorized functions are jerky because of the low gear ratio. The pneumatic functions are jerky because he is using a motorized pneumatic switch and a compressor. The compressor builds up pressure until it stalls and then the motorized switch releases it all at once. There is no flow regulator. The bouncing is due to the fact that the arm is not very stiff and is cantilivered so it has a low resonant frequency. These are all things which can be "designed out" with enough effort, although the pneumatic speed is the hardest to deal with.

No. Neither the main model not the B Model have motorization options. There is really nothing to motorize.

Yes, everything on the site is in my personal collection. They are all assembled simultaneously so there is no stealing from one set to make another.

Yes, the cab is intentionally leaning forward. The height is 7 studs in the back where it is pinned, and the front connection is a 1x6x1/2 beam. I guess offsetting it any less than 1 stud would have been too complicated.

To my delight, a box was sitting on my front porch yesterday when I got home from work. Within the box was the new Technic snow groomer, set #8263. To my chagrin, however, I didn't have time to build it until tonight. As I know everyone has been waiting patiently to see the new sets, I thought I'd offer this review! Vital Statistics Set 8263 590 Pieces 17.1 ounces, 484 grams Build time was about 2 hours (including taking all the pictures) The Box The box is surprisingly large. Pictures of the front and back can be seen below. This is not one of the boxes in which you need to cut the rear corners to get it open. Rather, it is one of the boxes which is made to be punched out on one edge. I opened mine with a letter opener instead to avoid tearing anything. The Instructions The instructions come in two large booklets: one for the main model and one for the alternate model. The book for the main model is 75 pages with 53 top level steps. The instructions are quite clear, as usual, and I found only one minor error. This error involved a part which was not actually part of the step. Inside the Box There are 5 bags inside the box. One of the 4 smaller bags contains all the treads. The largest bag contains all the panels and also has 2 smaller bags within it containing the pins and other small parts. New and/or Noteworthy Parts Those interested in the new parts will be very interested in this set as it contains a very good selection of them, as well as quite a few other parts which are not seen very often. The most obvious new parts are these H-Beams. In keeping with the new tradition of using odd numbered lengths and widths for studless beams, this part is 5x11. There are axle holes in all 3 directions: 8 total on the face, 14 total on the sides, and 6 total on the ends. This vast array of connections make the part very versatile and usable in many situations. I consider this part POOP (Parts Of Other Pieces) in that the same shape was possible before from smaller parts. However, if this part were built up from others it would tend to parallelogram due to looseness in the corners. This large framed beam is very stiff in bending so I can imagine it becoming the foundation of many new large models. This model is no exception as this is the first part in the instructions. There are 4 of these parts in the set (TLG #64178), all in light bley. There are also a number of new panels. There are 3 of the larger panels in black (TLG #62531). They are 11x3x2 with axle holes in all three directions. The front face is flat and smooth while the rear face is grooved. This difference makes them usable for totally different aesthetic effects depending on which way they are turned. There are also some smaller panels. Like the older panels, these are numbered to easily distinguish left from right. In this case, the numbers are 3 and 4. The dimensions of these is 7x3x2 and, like the others, they have holes in all three directions. The set comes with 6 of them in black and 6 of them in red (TLG #64391 & 64683). Although not brand new, this image shows a couple of other parts of note. There are 3 steering links which have not been seen in a while, especially the long one. There are also 3 of the (almost) new 9L axles. There are two of the new 3x3 T Beams for the first time in light bley. There are also a pair of brand new 3x2 parts which I will call Axle Joiner, Perpendicular. They look like the old 1x2 axle joiner, perpendicular except with an extra stud appended on either side. I can imagine these being quite useful. Finally, there are 12 tread sprockets and 66 black tread links. While the black treads have appeared in Mars Mission sets before, this is the first time in Technic. It is also worth noting that, although difficult to tell in the picture, the sprockets are not light bley. They are actually pearl gray. Here are the parts left over after building the primary model. The Build It took me about 2 hours to build this, including taking all the pictures and munching on my dinner at the same time. The set is somewhat modular in nature like we have come to expect from recent sets. The model is almost entirely studless with a couple of pleasant exceptions which I'll detail below. Like all studless sets, the model is built from the inside out. There are some clever uses of the new parts and connections which make the model very sturdy and rigid. There are a couple of building techniques in the mechanism which have very rarely been used in official sets and are a very welcome surprise. This first image shows a clever use of a yoke part to make a cantilevered gearbox. Note also the use of a T-Beam. This next image shows the first core module. The previous gearbox is on the inside, driven by the black double bevel gear on the top. This turns the worm gear which, in turn, rotates the liftarm on the back via the pinion gear. The ball joint you see here will be used to lift the snow smoother on the back. I like this next bit very much. A Bionicle ball joint is used as an input lever, almost like the control stick in an airplane. Movement of the stick forward and back pivots a crank arm which pushes or pulls the long steering arm visible on the bottom. This then lifts a linkage on the front which will be used to raise and lower the plow. Side to side motion of the stick rotates a central axle. This axle acts on a set of knob wheel gears which turn a lateral axle on the front. This axle will later be used with another steering arm to pivot the plow left and right. Although side to side motion of the stick also moves the lower steering link side to side, the presence of ball joints allows this to happen without interrupting the motion in the other axis. This results in two independent controls using one gimbaled input. I love this arrangement and it is very reminiscent of the excellent controls on the 8855 airplane. This shows the completed core combining the first and second modules and adding some reinforcement. Here is the undercarriage assembly. There is no suspension, just a planar set of bogies. The left and right sides are independent in rotation. Now here's a pleasant surprise. The grille at the front of the cab is actually quite nicely detailed with cheese slopes and other Creator like parts. In fact, this area reminds me a lot of 6743, for instance. Construction involves some simple (but lovely) SNOT. Here we can see the cab which makes heavy use of the new panels as well as a few more cheese slopes on the spotlights on the mirrors and on the light bar. There are a pair of flexible axles representing the side windows which are a nice touch. Here is the completed chassis without the implements attached. The Verdict I love this model! Having seen all of the Technic sets, it is sometimes hard to impress me. But this set makes excellent use of new and rare parts, has a good price for its size, uses clever and innovative building techniques, has great mechanical functions, and even looks good! On top of all of that, it's not another construction vehicle. A snow groomer is a perfect subject for a Technic model, yet one which has never been used before. Price: 8/10 Functions: 9/10 (for the size of the model) Appearance: 8/10 Parts: 9/10 (lots of good stuff here) Total: 9/10 I'd consider this set a "must-have" for any serious Technic fan. I haven't built the alternate model yet, but it looks excellent as well. I may buy a second copy just for that. Here are some images of the completed model. Scale In case you are trying to get a feel for how big this is, I've included a couple of comparison pictures. The first shows the 8272 Snowmobile. The second shows this model along with Hans Crielaard's superb Prinoth Leitwolf snow groomer. Wrap Up While building this model, I listened to "Back in Black" by AC/DC and "Pyromania" by Def Leppard. They seemed to work nicely. I considered "Bitor the Snow Dog" by Rush as being topical, but it seemed a bit too obscure. I also tried out a new photography technique for many of these photos. The white backdrop is simply a white melamine book case. I placed the models inside. There is no direct lighting. Rather, all photos are taken with a single flash. But the flash is not mounted on the camera which is why you don't see reflections. You also don't see sharp shadows. This is because the flash was used for indirect lighting. My Nikon D70 can control the flash remotely (wireless) so you can put the flash wherever you like. I also pointed the light up at the next shelf up. This way the light bounces from the bright surface and illuminates the subject evenly like good overhead lighting. I thought it worked pretty well. You can see the setup in this picture. The picture itself has lousy lighting because I couldn't use the flash to take a picture of the flash!

Is there any way to find new or used parts which HiTechnic does not appear to make any more? Their website is packed full of cool NXT compatible sensors, but this is not what I need. What I'm really looking for is the older 4-8 channel radio receivers. In a pinch, I guess I could make my own, but I'll strongly prefer to use one or more of these handy units if they could be found.

I just talked to the manager at my LEGO store on Friday. He said he doesn't expect the Technic sets in for a few more weeks. He also said that, for whatever reason, TLG usually delivers the Technic sets to them later than predicted, but on time for the other themes. So good luck! BTW, the crane truck still shows a ship date of August 5.....

NEW SET UPDATE The Snow Groomer is supposed to be at my house tomorrow, and I just received a notification that the Wheel Loader shipped today!

When 8448 first came out, you could download the remaining instructions for the other models. As I recall it, they were not PDFs but used an application called BIT from LEGO. It was an acronym for something I can no longer recall.

I'm not sure that is the correct technical term. I call it a corn hole.

I hadn't thought about it in terms of color before. The last few years, most of the Technic sets have been yellow. There's been some red and a bit of lime green thrown in for good measure. The last time we had a true flagship set that was blue was 8462 over 10 years ago. Blue seems to be underrepresented. maybe the next supercar will be blue! When I built Grazi's Big Foot truck, I converted it to blue: Big Foot Render Big Foot Photo It would cool to see some of the new dark red, dark blue, and dark green in Technic as well. Pink is right out.

I just received my neew LEGO catalog in the mail, and the new Technic sets are in it. I called my local LEGO Store, but they don't have any of them yet. However, Shop@Home now has them for purchase (no longer listed as "not available"). Sets 8265 (Front End Loader), 8263 (Snow Groomer), and 8258 (Crane Truck) are on their way. Final US prices are: 8265 - $79.99 8263 - $49.99 8258 - $149.99 I'll post reviews as soon as I get them built. Note that 8263 is available now, 8265 is backordered until July 15, and 8258 backordered until Aug 5. In my experience, TLG usually ships well before the "will ship by" date. No sign of the mysterious tractor with trailer. For Mindstorms fans, note that NXT 2.0 is also available.