CP5670

It's good to see that TLG is at last doing something about the crumpled manuals we often get in large sets. This has been about 10 years overdue though, so I wouldn't give them too much credit for it.

Great model. It looks a bit like a cross between 5580 and 5571, with the Technic functionality added in. I especially like the lights. 5580 actually used those tubes in the same way, around the engine.

This is utterly massive. Unlike other models of this size it also has a fully tiled surface, which gives it a great look. I would love to see it in person too. I'm in the same situation and don't have enough time for the bricks anymore. I have still been building various Technic and Creator alternate models though, as that takes much less time than planning and building MOCs.

This is a bit like the plane simulator in the 8891 idea book. I've had an idea in mind for years for a plane or helicopter simulator with the full three degrees of freedom, but have never gotten around to building it. In principle, it could even be done with all the motors mounted in the base.

It would be a real shame if the incident with 8043 convinces TLG to become more conservative with future Technic designs, although I can imagine that happening. I agree that despite its flaws, 8043 is the best set we have had in several years. On the other hand, I can see DLuders's point too. The price of this set is exceptionally high and the issues people are describing make it clear that someone in the QA process screwed up during development (even if the original LA design was in fact the flaw). TLG has been great in supporting the set and releasing this service pack to existing buyers, but at this price I would expect nothing less from them. It's also too bad that Steve Witt is leaving. He's a great guy and has been the face of TLG at community events for a long time.

My favorite themes have always been Space and Technic, but I'm also into City (both classic and modern), 90s Aquazone, Model Team and Creator. Res-Q is one of my favorite City subthemes too, alongside Launch Command. The futuristic look of the theme doesn't appeal to everyone, but the sets are packed with features and details, and they also came at a time when most of the regular City sets sucked.

I think the best of these models is the mech, but I've seen it on Nabii's Brickshelf gallery too. I guess TLG lets the designers publish these prototypes as MOCs if it becomes clear that they will not be released as sets. The prototype flagship set is nice, but I actually like the look of the final Galactic Enforcer much better. The prison pod design is interesting though, especially the use of the Model Team wheel hubs. That was my first thought too when I saw that one. It was definitely inspired by the old 6890.

Have you tried that stuff on transparent pieces? I have some that don't look nearly as bad as your bricks, but still have fine scratches. Brasso did a decent job on them, but there is room for improvement.

I've heard of a few cases of problems with those motors too, but I recall it was actually the later 43362 motor that most people were complaining about. Mine are all the older 71427 variety and have been fine. (I have a 1997 copy of that set too)

I don't think Bjarke was present at Brickfair 2009. I seem to remember that the Q&A session that year was with Steve Witt and only lasted 10 minutes or so. Although it is possible that someone did misspeak or was misinterpreted. I asked him about this specifically. He said they expect to have most of the old parts cleaned out of their inventory in a year or so. However, we never did get the old style yellow since then, including on new pieces and sets that were introduced after 2009. The yellow has improved since 2008, but it's still some ways off from the rich-looking yellow we had in the 80s and 90s. The difference is especially visible on plates and tiles. I don't expect them to improve it any further at this point though.

We would still have our existing Lego collections. There are many products out there that have not been produced for a long time, but for which markets and enthusiasts still exist. I believe Meccano is one example. Personally, I would just buy bricks from one of the better clone brands like Oxford to add to my collection.

This was actually the same guy referred to earlier. I was at that presentation too, and he did in fact say as much. I recall that the gist of his argument was that purple is among the hardest colors to maintain consistency with, and that TLG has decided to not have the color at all instead of producing it in subpar quality. Of course, he turned out to be wrong about that, and also about yellow returning to its old level soon. So even if people are reporting these things accurately, the original, "official" statements may not be reliable.

Nice, another EB review of my first ever Lego set. The rare printed parts are easily the highlight of this set. The car design is quite generic, but as you said, the printed pieces are unlike anything we would get today. Almost everything was printed in that late 80s/early 90s time period.

8053 seems to be more of a successor to 8460 than 8421. 8421 is definitely the better set, but it was in a different price and size range and it had some issues of its own, especially the thing you mentioned with the boom falling (which was a problem with 8460 too, although the old 8854's boom stays up indefinitely). I like its stabilizers much better than what 8053 has though. 8053 still seems like a good buy. I won't be getting it since I have the earlier sets and it doesn't offer anything new compared to them, but it's a solid design and at nearly 1300 parts it gives good value for your money.

Those pieces (especially the Squidman head) do have a different texture from ordinary bricks. There have always been some specialized Lego pieces that had a duller finish than regular bricks, even ones made of ABS. I think the concern here is that pieces that are normally shiny are now showing up with the matte texture on these collectible minifigs. We have a basis for comparison with those. As for the numbers, I checked some 1x2 tiles and the crash dummy tiles are 88630, while the regular ones are 3069.

Official sets are the biggest source of ideas for me. Many of my MOCs start out because there is something I don't like about an official set, and I think I can do a better job with the same concept. I do occasionally see things in real life or in PC games that inspire me (usually ground vehicles of some sort). There was a big combine harvester in a wheat field across the street a few days ago, and watching that in action gave me a few ideas. As a primarily Space and Technic builder, minifig scale issues haven't been too much of a concern. Space models don't need to resemble things in reality, and as long as the minifigs can sit/stand inside properly, it's usually good enough for me.

The sound is probably the best part of this MOC. It sounds just like a real one.

Good review. However, I think this set was generally the weakest of the three monorails. The track layout is great and it has some clever features like the turning radar dish and detachable pods, but the train and pods themselves and the large base are rather poorly designed. There is a lot of scope for adding more things to the set though, and my MOC layout originally started out as a mod of this set. Strangely, the box shows him cooperating with the Unitron guys. Apparently TLG hadn't yet made Unitron into a theme of their own yet, and hadn't decided if they were friends or enemies with Spyrius.

The old yellow ones in the 80s (used in 8862 for example) may have worked well here. The larger, front loader bucket is somewhere between the 8294 and 8043 buckets in size, while the smaller one may be too small but is actually more appropriate for an excavator. And yes, this should be moved to the Technic section.

I have been to the Tysons Corner and Arundel Mills stores. One of the Tysons employees is an old school space fan and likes my MOCs, so we talk a bit whenever I go there. There are also a couple in the NY/NJ area that are actually closer to me, so I'll probably visit them at some point. It would be good if there was a way to see what the PAB walls have before you go to a Lego store. In most cases, the PAB walls are the only reason for me to go there, but I don't want to spend a hour commuting and find out that they have nothing useful.

As Lego Otaku said, TLG introduces new sets and removes older ones from production a lot quicker today than they used to. Almost all the sets in the 80s and 90s lasted for 2 years, and many of the larger ones remained for 3 years. Today, even some of the largest sets (e.g. in Technic) are available for less than a year. If you really want a given set, it's best not to wait more than 8 months or so after it has been released. Everyone likes to say this, but I can hardly think of any cases where we actually got major changes between the preliminary images and the final product. The vast majority of sets come out just as they looked in those images.

TLG seems to build these huge models at promotional launch events for those sets. There was also a similar model of 8285 posted here at one point.

It's nice to hear some official word on this, but the same person gave a talk about this at Brickfair in 2008, and said almost the exact same thing about yellow back then. I'm taking it with a grain of salt this time. I think TLG's present-day tolerances on some colors are simply not as strict as they would like us to believe. I certainly did. There was actually quite a bit of discussion on the Bricklink forum in late 2006 when the clear ABS pieces first started to come out in sets. However, you are right that the AFOL community at large barely noticed it back then, and I think that is why we're still seeing these issues today. TLG never had any incentive to correct them.

In this respect, the best sets were arguably the Universal/Multi-model sets. These sets feel like they're the Technic designers' concept notebooks, full of quirky but clever ideas. Many of the models were unique concepts that wouldn't have sold well as actual sets, but showcased the possibilities of the Technic system. I think these sets encouraged the builder to just explore and experiment with different mechanisms, more so than regular model sets.

I like to see innovative and clever mechanisms more than anything else, in the manner I described here. A set doesn't necessarily have to be large or even very playable to stand out in this respect, although many of the best examples were flagship sets. Conversely, a set can be quite playable and featured without being interesting in this manner (e.g. control knobs located right next to a function, which we've been seeing too much of lately). I also rate 8868 as my all-time favorite for the same reasons Mark mentioned. It was not only an excellent model with a very "complete" feel to it, but it (and its alternate model) introduced some entirely new mechanical ideas to Technic that had a big influence on MOCs, and some have never been seen in other sets since then. The emphasis on mechanisms in this model can be seen in how they did the turntable slewing function. It could have had the turntable controlled manually or running off the motor, and this would have actually worked more smoothly, but I think it would have made the model less interesting. Other examples of this are 8480, 8082 and 8094. The two latter sets didn't exactly have realistic models, but they stand out in my mind for various unique mechanisms they used. You have a point. We have had some excellent sets in recent years, but hardly any of them have pushed the boundaries of Technic in the same way as the sets mentioned above (the only candidate is 8043). In contrast, if you look at the 8888 idea book from 1980, TLG had only the most basic Technic parts available but used them to their fullest extent. 30 years later, some of the concepts there have still never been seen in an actual set.