Lost_In_Noise

I haven't recieved the 8460 yet, but I expect it to be better than this. It was probably re-released 2 times for a reason.

8421 Mobile crane was released as the ultimate Technic flagship in 2005, and is the second-most parts heavy set only surpassed by 8110 Unimog U400. It features 4 extending outriggers, six-wheel steering, and a fake 6-cylinder engine. An electric RC motor operates the crane winch and expansion, and two pneumatic cylinders lifts the boom. According to Brickset, this baby was 150$ on release, and I gave about 180$ for mine without box. The average used price on BrickLink is 200$. The stickers on mine was worn, but they don't make a big difference when building this set. Yellow is still yellow. 1884 pieces makes for a solid build, stretched over two instruction books, the first one for the chassis, and the second for the crane. Rather than having them named book #1 and #2, they have greyed out the part that's not present in each book. I have not seen this in any other set, and it indicates that you could build whichever module you want first. The instructions are a whooping 212 pages long, containing 126 steps. That makes for an average parts-per-step ratio of 15. In comparison, the 8110 has 618 steps for its 2048 pieces, giving a ratio of 3 pieces per step. I guess the kids have gotten dumber with time. I consider myself an experienced Technic builder, but this behemoth took me a solid day to complete. That of course includes taking pictures and so forth, but still... It also took me 4 hours to disassemble for this review:S Let's take a look at the parts... The special parts, containing motor, battery box, pneumatic cylinders , pump and switch. There is also some strings with 1 stud on each end, which will be used to extend the boom. The RC motor is able to drive two axles at the same time. Okay, let's start building, the chassis is first, comprised of liftarms and pins. This is the chassis at step 8. And this at step 14. The other side. No suprises here. A little gear rack for the back axle. Held in place by another double-bent liftarm. Next is making some wheelbases. These three are going to be placed in turn later on. Four out of five axles are steered in this model. These gears will control steering and outriggers from the back of the truck. The middle axle holds the differential which will power the engine. This is the only mobile crane I know of which have a differential. Here it is in place: Another gear rack is made to extend the driveshaft and steering rack. Placed here along with the second steered axle. two 8T gears are placed to allign the second and fourth axle. Two double-bent liftarms keeps the axle in place. Another gear rack to extend the steering to the first axle. To lock the steering axle in place, this contraption is made. Two 15L beams is the base for the drivers cabin. More beams are added to strenghten the body. These knobwheels are later connected to the outriggers. The axles for the outriggers are extended to the front side of the truck. These four are the attaching pins for the Crane superstructure. This cage will hold the turntable in place. Next is the outriggers- Two sets are made and placed in front and back. First outrigger placed. You can see the yellow 3L pins with stop bush that keeps it in place. The front fender is placed. Rear set of outriggers are placed, along with an extension of the HOG axle. This is the final lenght of the crane truck. Rear controls for outriggers and steering placed, here you can see how wide the truck is. The engine is a standard Technic 6-cylinder V. It's connected to the driveshaft differential via a 16T clutch gear. Next is the cocpit. The colour separation in the instructions are excellent. I was never in doubt during the build as of which color to use where (LBG/DBG). Nice comfy seats. Next is the sides, which do not open in this model. The roof is mainly made of axles and liftarms. Placed here along with some decorational "Vehicle Grilles". Finished windshield and lights. The cabin added to superstructure along with the front lights. Some decorational bricks along the sides before Wheels are added. Finished the base, it's quite big. The crane base requires some reinforcement to cope with all the weight of the crane itself. Some thin liftarms on each side ensures that it will not break. The changeover catch is connected to a 20T bevel gear. The driving ring sits on an axle with a 24T, a 16T clutch and a 12T DB gear. The DGB 5.5L axle with a bevel gear meshes with the 20T bevel to control the changeover catch. To elevate the boom, two pneumatic cylinders are attached, giving a total stroke of 8 studs. The "Pneumatic Cylinder Bracket" is only seen in this set and the motorized bulldozer, giving an average BL price of 14$ each. Two pneumatic hoses are joined to simultaneously apply pressure to both. A turntable is placed underneath, and locked with a 15L beam. The pneumatic switch is placed on the side of the base. The winch axle has a clutch gear on it to prevent the motor from stalling. It also prevents this crane from lifting anything weighing more than a few grams. The lower handle controls the changeover catch. Some worn stickers show what the levers are for. The motor is placed on the side of the crane. Some reinforcing beams and bricks. The base of the turntable consists of beams and "Pin Connector Perpendicular 3L with 4 Pins", and is locked by some 15L beams. The pneumatic cylinder inlet is fixed on the pump, and then on the superstructure. The crane has its own cabin. The primary boom is next. A "Black Bionicle Bohrok Shoulder" is used to keep the top and bottom from falling apart. A clutch gear connected to the worm screw prohibits the boom from extending too far. Here is the gear setup for the boom extension. Note the 32L axle. Some liftarms ties the back end together. And then some bricks in the front. Same setup on the other side. Note the 8T gear above the worm screw. This rack fixes the 32L axle in place, and a thin triangle liftarm secures the end of the boom. Two strings with studs are attached on the far side of the secondary boom. The crane head has two "Black Wheel Spoked 2 x 2 with Pin Hole"s, which will guide the winch line. Head complete. You can see how the winch line will go through the two perpendicular axle and pin connectors. The seconday boom is next. The tertiary boom is placed inside the secondary, and enclosed by another set of technic bricks. The gear rack for the secondary boom is added. Seconddary boom is then inserted into the primary, and the studded string is attached to two "Plate 1 x 5 with Smooth Ends, 4 Studs and Center Axle Hole"s. Two "Black Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Hole" are placed, and fastened with two yellow 9 beams to keep the boom from prying apart under pressure. Crane finished, now all that remains is the hook. The battery box serves as a counterweight in this set. Mounting the crane on the base completes the model. Comparison with 8053, 8446, 8067. I think this is a great model, with lots of functions and parts. At the current price @ BrickLink it's not exactly a bargain, but a considerable better model then the 8053 Mobile Crane. The pneumatic lifting of the boom is original, but doesn't work as well as you'd suspect, as the air leaks lowers the boom over the cause of a few minutes. At least on mine. The 6-wheel steering is really smooth for the size of the model, it almost seems weightless. The inclusion of a fake engine is a nice plus. I'll give it an overall score of 8.5/10. Thanks for reading/watching pics. If you liked the review, give me some feedback, otherwise, vote on the poll. Bigger pics @ Brickshelf

Looks like your MOC is working flawlessly. Too bad the video quality is rather bad. What camcorder did you use? Do you have a part count for this model, it looks like a lot. Thanks for sharing, this may inspire other users to create their own GBC.

According to a pic I found @ eBay, it does: My item shipped in a ziplock bag though.

That's probably why they were missing in my set. A lot of my second-hand sets suffers from missing stickers, nowadays I use a sharp knife to split the STAMPs when I place them.

In my first reviews, I didn't use any exposure compensation, and couldn't tell the pins from the bricks. That's the reason I chose to over expose all shots for these reviews.

The 3-In-1 Car was released in 1996, contains 734 pieces and two Technic minifigs with white helmets. The amphibious car features steering via HOG, a winch in the front and a towing crane in the back. The trailer has pendular suspension. The helicopter features rotating props via a crank. Before buying this, I supposed 3-in-1 Car meant that you could rebuild it into 3 different models. Now I see that they meant that the car itself consists of three different models. And all for 60 $, great. The box is the old flip-top style which shows the parts assortment, and suggests playing themes of the set. This set is the one I have with the most diverse wheels assortment. There are 4 sets of 6578, 4 of 6594, 3 3483, a 4084 and a 3641, for a total of 13 wheels. EDIT: Although 8872 has more wheels. The instructions have separate parts for the car, trailer and helicopter. First off, it's the suv-like car. The frame is the first part to be made as usual. I really don't like this way of constructing sets. starting with the guessing game of how many studs these plates are apart. They should rather have you turn the model over to place the plates. The same setup on the left side. If you look closely, you can spot the error I corrected between this shot and the previous one. The rear trailer hitch is placed. Front steering. Rear license plate. And lights. Two of these goes in the front and back. The steering rack that goes to the HOG. Front fender. HOG added at step 16. Front fender finished: The center console has radio , phone, an automatic gearbox and ventilation. The sides of the cabin is placed. No opening doors this time. Some side slope bricks in the front. Side supports in the back made of 8 axles and perpendicular connectors. The doors stay open thanks to the 3 axle with stud. The rear wheel suspension consists almost solely of perpendicular axle and pin connectors. You can see the propellers in the back. The front winch is next. Finished. The rubber bands pushes the 1/2 bush against the 8T gear, stopping the winch from retracting. Next is the towing crane for the flatbed. The small rubber tire is placed on a half-bush-resulting in a very slippery control. It reminds me of the great 8880. Crane finished, now all that remains is the windshield, made of yellow flex axles. The HOG light is also placed. Putting on the wheels wasn't a trivial task, caused by some old bushes. Car finished, now for the trailer. Starting with some bricks... A Steering Knuckle Arm with Ball Joint is attached to the front of the trailer. Pendular suspension for the wheels. Finished. The helicopter base. Rear wing. It has a 24T crown gear and an 12T bevel in the back, suggesting a main-to-rear prop ratio of 1:2. The rear driveshaft har a 8 tooth and a 12T bevel attached, resulting in a 1:3 final drive ratio. Engine and rear prop placed. The main prop diveshaft casing placed. Main driveshaft in place. And 8T gear gives this the same ratio as the rear. A pulley wheels drive the rotors. Landing gear in place. A camera. Lastly, the canopy and rotor. 3-in-1 car in action: The helmets can be placed on the dash. Rear end suggest that someone with CN initials made this model. I don't know. Comparison with 8849 Tractor with log loader and 8872 Forklift transporter, its scale is somewhere between those two. Thanks for reading my longest review yet. If you like this set, vote on the poll, someone is always watching. Big pics @ Brickshelf

You're welcome. Check out my other reviews, I need some feedback on them.

I would recommend buying some extra unimog shock absorbers if you want to buy this model. They are more suited for the big car. The build is similar to the 8448 SSS, so if you liked that one go ahead. If you decide to buy it, then find out it's not up your alley. Just part out the wheels, panels and shocks to be back at square. Each wheel fetches at least 17$, and the shocks total 25$, the wheelhubs cost 16$ - The panels are 9$ total. That equals 118 $.

8847 Dragster was released in 1983, contains 250 parts and features steering and a working 4-cylinder engine powered by a rear differential. The set uses the 4267 tires, which are the same as the 8848, 8849, 8850, 8853, 8854, 8862 and 8868. The manual contains 24 pages, in which 8 of them are for the main model. The first page of the manual contains a guide to building Expert Builder sets. It's my first time seeing one of these. Because of the length of the model, each page in the instructions is rotated 90 degrees. Interesting parts; 3 24T gears, a gear rack, 4 spur gears and 16T gears, two 8Ts, a differential and a chain with 23 links. On with the build, hinged bricks help form the lines of the dragster. This is step 3 of 16. The differential and steering arms is next. The engine is a 2-cylinder with 8 valves. The crankshaft consists of 24T gears and "Axle and pin connector"s as usual. It is the only engine I can think of with a white compartment though. Crankshaft Driven directly by rear differential. Six yellow "Brick, Round Corner 2 x 2 Macaroni" suggests the exhausts on the side of the engine. The steering rack is pointed the opposite way as per usual. The engine block has its own sub-instruction containing 64 parts. Mounted on chassis. You can see how the rear differential drives it. Steering rack placed at step 12, along with the chain for the driveshaft. Steering wheel and rear wing support. Rear wing and wheels placed. Finished. Comparison with 8205 and 2129 Questions? Comments? Feel free to ask, and vote on the poll. Big pics @ BrickShelf

I did not know that. Well, I'll have to wait until I get it.

The HOG axle has 2 8T gears on it. The lower one swiwels the turntable, and back part of the truck. The top one meshes with a crown gear on top of the steering rack for the second axle. The first axle is fixed in position, and just follows the body. Because the distance between the second and third axle is so big, it works like a single back wheel steering. Like a forklift. No, it has very little movement. The rear axle is the one turning the most. The 24T crownwheel causes these two axles to turn in a 3:1 ratio. I dont why they used the "Steering Arm" on the back axle. Maybe it was the most cost-efficient solution. I've checked the B-model which does not use this part. The axle passed from the back allows it to be pendular on either side. The two "Light Gray Technic Cam"s restricts its movement to about 5 degrees.

I would like to join this Academy if I'm worthy. I've done some Technic reviews in the past (check my profile), and tend to do some every time I get a new shipment. I want to recieve a more constructive feedback on my reviews, rather than "Great set" and so forth. So where do I begin?

That is seriously one big excavator. It looks and works like a real thing. Only thing I'm a bit puzzled by is the retractable ladder. Do you use flex system to extend it, of wire? If so, how do you power it?

I voted 8862 and 8865 because they are the biggest sets, and the ones that IMO functions the best. Can't say I've tried the 856, but those chainlink tracks can not possible work on a smooth surface.

Set 8443 was released in 1996, contains 327 parts, and features a grapple arm powered by two pneumatic cylinders. The parts includes one small and one large pneumatic cylinder, a pump, two switches, and a large turntable. The 6 wheels used in this model are all 6582s, and they come in set 8829 Dune Blaster, 8280 Fire Engine and 8282 Quad Bike. The Instruction's first page shows how the pneumatic system works. Anyway, on with the build. Starting with the front, this pneumatic cylinder is used to raise and lower the main boom. Steering setup next. The first pneumatic switch is placed at step 7. The long gray pneumatic hose goes to the pump. The turntable is placed on top, and the hoses connects to the cylinder. Steering rack placed at step 11. The turntable is locked by 2 long pins. I've never seen such steering before. This axle with 2 8T gears is placed between the crown wheel and the turntable. The instructions forget to mention that the steering and the turntable is to be aligned. The crane boom is comprised of Technic bricks. Some clips are provided to hold the rigid pneumatic hoses. Left side is exactly the same. The rear end of the truck has its own separate building instruction, first the steering setup. The rear hitch. The rear end has some stickered that says "P43S" on it. Mounted on rear axle. A pneumatic pump is placed, and locked with a 8 axle. The rear is attached to the turntable. Left side pneumatic switch added. Rear complete. Hoses extended to the end of the boom. Those perpendicular axle and pin connectors and 4 axles secures the rear end to the turntable. The drivers cabin is starting to form. Crane arm finished. Now all that's missing is the claw. Claw added to main boom. Lastly adding some 16T gears to assure the claw closes symmetrically. Finished! Comparison with the other pneumatic claw rigs; 8436 and 8868. Thanks for reading/watching pics. Remember to vote on the poll. Some LEGO designers may read this. Big pics @ BrickShelf

Maybe here? http://www.steine-wiesbaden.de/

8845 Dune buggy was released in 1981, contains 174 pieces, and features steering and rear suspension. The manual spans over 6 pages, with an average of 12 pieces per step. The pieces includes 4 sets of tires in 17 x 43 dimension, also used in other early sets in the Technic line (850, 851, 854, 855, and 8841). Other notable parts are the two shock absorbers used for the rear suspension. We start with the chassis, as usual, which consists of bricks and axles. Rear axle finished. Front axle connects to the rear by an 12 axle. Next is the steering rack for the front. The yellow bricks is the base for the seat. The brick-built "engine housing" only contains the steering gear. In place. This is step 7, and we're halfway there! The steering wheel is a simple u-joint and two 4 axles. Rear suspension in place. Next is the boot, simply bricks on a plate. Nice, comfy seats. Placed here along with the supporting columns for the roof. The roof consists of toggle joints and axles. Finished. Comparison with the other Technic "Dune Buggies"; 8841, 8818, 8829, 8048 . You can clearly see the development towards a more speedy car than this first "Desert cruiser" Thanks for looking/reading. Bigger pics @ BrickShelf

Congrats on The Lego Car Blog feature. Will you exhibit this somewhere?

8434 was released in 2004, contains 445 pieces, and features tilting rotors and pneumatic landing gear. The set has an unique color combination of red, silver and pearl dark gray. It is a somewhat rare set, and I had to wait 4 months for any to be availible on BrickLink. The silver hoses are also used in 8466 and 8458, but the panels are never seen in this color in any other Technic set. The "Bionicle Weapon Air Katana" is never used in any other Technic set. The "Technic, Gear Timing Wheel 8 Tooth" is only used in 8479 Barcode Multi Set, which I don't have. In this model it doesn't serve a function. The color separation in this set is horrible. I have to keep this picture in front of me at all times to remind me that Brown is PDG and Gray is Black. Well, enough whining, let's get building. Starting out with the frame, I noticed how those blue frictionless pins stood out from the other parts. Checking BrickLink however, I think these pins with black color went out of production in 2002. The shape is starting to form at step 10, although I think it loks more like a helicopter at this point. There are a total of 52 steps for this model. Tail section almost finished. We begin to construct the landing gear mechanism at step 18. Next is the arm with a pneumatic cylinder to lower the landing gear. In place at step 20. Landing gear in place. You can see how it will be operated via the PDG 15L beam. The gear setup for tilting the rotors are placed. Chassis is reinforced at the left side. Adding the canopy roof next. The nose has its own separate instructions. Lovely printed tiles make out the instruments. Canopy added to the superstructure. Flex axles makes out the windows. Left side landing wheel in place. Some panels finished left side. Left side wing is mounted. Right landing gear is placed on the same axle as the left one. They can be pushed upwards, loading the damped spring. A flex axle and some panels finishes the right side. The right wing is, suprisingly, exactly the same as the left. This thing is beginning to look like an aircraft. This red 24T gear is placed on top of the worm screw, and kept in place by 2 6 axles. The axle will rotate the rotors. Two red "Axle and pin connector, perpendicular" is added to prevent the rotors from pointing downwards. Now that would be a bad thing. The axles are extended to the tip of the wings, and some lights are placed in front. Now the wings are ready to have the motors attached, but first some panels and flex axles. The engines themselves consists of 30 pieces each. So you thought those gears were really gears? Both engine houses placed, now the turbines are next. Done. Now all that remains are prop blades, or Bionicle katanas. If you look closely, you'll notice they have axles at the ends. They each fit into the holes on the "Pin Double with Axle Hole" on the turbines. Finished. This plane looks very sharp. It resembles the V22 osprey. Landing gear lowered: Raised: In comparison with 9394, 8204, 8222, 8836 and 8855. Sadly, I don't have the 8425 Black Hawk to compare it with. Thanks for reading/watching. Vote on the poll, and feel free to ask questions or comment. Big pics availible @ Brickshelf

I read this

Not yet. I have 123 out of 200 sets. Maybe some day I'll have them all. I do have 8835

8441 was released in 2003, contains 70 pieces, and features lifting forks powered by a rubber band. The set uses 4 of the "Tire 24 x 14 Shallow Tread", and is the only Technic set to have them in white. The build begins with the wheelbase. Four frictionless pins holds the wheels. The roof has its own sub-assembly part in the instructions. The cocpit begins to take form. Main body almost done. Now for the fork sub-assembly: A rubber band keeps the forks uplifted. Finished! Comparison with 850, and 8872's forklift. Now to see how much it can lift: And... there it goes. High-res pics availible here

Very nice bike. Is it able to drive and turn without falling over?

Set 1972 was released in 1985 as a promotional set, and was only availible in the USA. No other Technic sets were released that year. (Thanks Technicopedia) It is a basic Go-Kart consisting of 98 pieces, sporting steering and not much else. The engine is only for decoration purposes. The average price on BL for this set is about 12$. I can't remember what I paid for it, but I think it was about the same. The instructions spans over six pages, and features the axle measurements on the front page. I've stopped using this because I've built so many sets over the past year (). The back of the instructions shows the models feature. So, a look at the pieces, we see a lot of plates, 8 sets of wheels (the same ones used in the 8815 gokart), some axles and pneumatic tubing. The only gears included is a rack and a 16T gear. We begin with the base which consists of mainly plates and technic bricks. The steering wheel holder is placed at step 4. Left side complete. I don't know what these axles on the sides are for, but they enhance the look of the model. Now behold the high-tec motor, along with the complete steering rack. A "Minifig Utensil, Space Gun / Torch" is used to hold the pneumatic tubing in place. This was the first vehicle to use the hinge plates to make a folding seat. Now the steering wheel. It's attached to the "Axle and pin connector" for a fixed angle. Lastly, adding wheels. Finished! Comparison with it's predecessor, 854, and the later 8815 Speed Bandit. The speed bandit has a slightly lower wheel distance, allowing tighter turns. You can't really compare it size-wise with 854. Thanks for looking/reading. Vote on the poll, and give me some feedback. Bigger pics availible @ BrickShelf