Hobbes

Oh, I didn't notice :-$ And I never wanted to go into politics... ;-)

Whoa, that many? Actually I was just explaining rather than complaining why I split the review. But thanks, I'll update my reviews right away *sweet*

Yesterday I bought the 7248 Digger and set up the alternate model (clickable thumb): Even in this picture you can see that the truck-side hanger part leans "in". I have to find a different way for that. Nonetheless, I like this model a lot better *sweet*

One 7248 to "build" the alternate Heavy Loader model, and one 7344 (I know it's ugly, but it's a Construction set and I'm hooked on those at the moment ;-)).

Nope, I don't have any Star Wars sets. Sorry... But here's two pics of it in my (not finished) layout where you can compare it to sets like the BSB, the XXL mobile crane (which I'd put at XL tops here) and other sets:

Thanks everybody *sweet* @oo7: I got it for 51.99 Euro + shipping off ebay. It's gotten a bit cheaper, even, there's sets for 49.99 available at the moment (ebay.de). Watch the shipping costs, though, they can be pretty high. @Athos: There's some MOCing possibility ;-)

Well, here it is! Sorry for the delay but it took some time taking the pictures and sorting them. The set is a real beauty and was lots of fun to build. But check for yourself. As with the Heavy Loader review I've split it in two. Enjoy :-) The box again is the same crappy "design" as all new bigger boxes. That means you have to tear it on the sides to open it. It does have a flip top but that's for a diorama of the set. The back side again shows almost all the sets of the same theme, in this case "Construction". And I must say, this sub-theme really has evolved nicely. On the left half of back side you also see the bags for the different modules and what pieces they hold. This is not entirely accurate, though. Some bags are numbered and hold pieces for the respective modules, but there are also unnumbered bags that hold pieces that are needed almost anywhere during building. It's not a problem since there are very distinguishable pieces in that set. The DSS (

*empty post - please delete*

Nice review, it actually made me consider buying it. But when I checked S@H I noticed this: Austria: EUR 94.99 Germany: EUR 94.99 Belgium: EUR 89.99 NL: EUR 89.99 Italy: EUR 79.99 Spain: EUR 79.99 SWE: SEK 999 (about EUR 108!) DK: DEK 799 (about EUR 107!) CAN: CAD 109.99 (about EUR 77) AUS: AUD 129.95 (about EUR 76) US: USD 69.99 (roughly EUR 55) And yes, that's the regular price in the States. At least there's no mentioning of a sale... Sorry for bringing the price thing up again. We're used to price differences, but lately it's gotten worse, and those 50 % between Europe (except for our southern fellows in Italy and Spain) and the US is just something I had to vent. Even Australia is cheaper (save the shipping) >:-(

Ever heard about the L word, Leia?

:-D

Well, check out 7900 here, crane will follow soon :-)

Thanks yoda :-) You're right, I put the pics on BS yesterday, but it was late and I didn't want to do the review half asleep. I decided to wait until I'm at work where I have time to do a thorough review >:-) And, oh my, I just noticed it took me over an hour 8-

UPDATE I've updated the review with new pictures. I got this set yesterday with the new crane and since this forum's kinda... sleeping I thought a review could bring some life in here. So I get right to it. The pictures were taken with a flash since I built it yesterday evening. I'll add some "daylight pictures" soon and exchange a few. As always, thumbs are clickable. Since the box wants to depict the entire truck with bridge and show some detail it's quite big. And with all the new and bigger boxes it's the same thing: you have to tear it to open it (right picture). That is soooooo annoying! Why is it so hard to make a decent box like "in the good olde days"?! That can't be more expensive... Also, as always, the content looks like it were thrown in randomly. Fortunately the instruction booklet didn't have any dog ears (I hate it if that happens). The backside of the box has a nice diorama on it depicting almost all construction sets. As with all new sets this one's a "modular" build, too (shown on the left half of the box). What intrigued me most and ultimately let me buy this set was the picture to the right end of the box: the truck transporting the digger. That looks like a set I like. The right picture shows a close-up of it. The set comes with one minifig only (one more would have been nice). Nothing special about it but it has nice torso and it smiles (I don't like non-smiling minifigs). The red thing, I think, is supposed to be the emergency fire extinguisher every car should have. Good thing is, there ain't many stickers, just the important ones (I like yellow-black construction stickers). Now for the bridge parts. That was a huge disappointment. The left picture shows the four "side" parts. The right one shows the "quality" which is the disappointment: it looks like a Technic piece, but it isn't. You can bend it quite effortlessly (really easy). And it doesn't "straighten" itself out. If you keep it bent for a while it stays that way (not as twisted as shown here but still a bit bent). In short: it's a cheap piece. The instructions start with the truck, of course. The first two bags (they're numbered, by the way) hold the pieces for it. I didn't have problems distinguishing the darker colors as I did in other sets. What always intrigues me are certain building techniques I wouldn't expect. In this set, too. It's nothing major, it just makes me smile. Like this one: It looks sophisticated and gives it a Technic-ish feeling. On the other hand it was probably the easiest way to accomplish it and that's a good thing. It shows that somebody at TLC does think about existing pieces when designing new models. As I said, it just made me smirk ;-) The model is 8-wide, which I didn't like at first. But car models have become bigger lately, and it fits with recent models. Good thing about it is, you can fit two minifigs next to each other in the cockpit. A little semi-snotting and you're done. The positioning of the steering wheel looks a bit odd, though. Is it just me or does it look like the driver has to steer with his feet? Guess that needs to be changed... The build is easy and has no surprises. The finished model doesn't look that bad. But, as with all new car models: no doors. There's room for modifications, though, and that's why I haven't put the "Special" sticker on it (above "Transport") since I'll put a door there. With the front and the side mirrors it has a real truck-ish look. A pretty good looking truck, afterall, I think. Now for the bridge. Along with the "side parts" come four dark gray plates. It was late when I built it but I think it's the new "Dark Stone" color, or whatever it's called. These four pieces make the "platform". While building the bridge I came across another thing that made me smile. Anybody notice anything? ;-) Corrrrrrrrect, the beams are two studs too long! Easyily worked around, though. I read in another review (on 1000steine.com) that I wasn't the only with too long pieces. Seems to be a packing error since the shorter beams fit better. Anyway, here's the finished bridge. It doesn't look that bad, but the consruction isn't as sturdy as it looks, even with the cross beams and Technic beams on the side. The whole thing still swivels when you pick it up. As you can see, the bridge's ends aren't fixed, they turn. And since the plates just "lie" on a studless Technic beam they easily flap up. With a few small plates you can connect them on the underside, though, as seen in the right picture. One thing, though: "Long Vehicle" on the side and top of the bridge?! Isn't that supposed to be at the end of the "convoy"? ;-) Next up is the "hanger", which really is two parts: one on the rear of the truck and one at the far end with a wheel base. Except for the wheel base they're the same construction. It uses a little Technic but isn't that difficult or surprising. The construction itself is ok but when put the truck-side part on the truck is pretty flimsy. in the right picture you can see that it kinda "leans" back. That doesn't change when you attach the bridge to it. That was it with building. On the last page of the instruction booklet there's an inventory. This seems to be standard now. And here's the whole thing. On the right you see it compared to the BNSF with one TTX car - quite a big set, I'd say. Since I had the BNSF around I put the bridge to its intended purpose and tried to run the locomotive over it. Well, as you can see, pretty narrow: The bridge is 8-wide, the tracks are, too, and the BNSF with its railing is, too. If you turn the railing inwards it fits, but not smoothly. On a layout this bridge most likely forces you to speed down the train. A standard 6-wide car without anythin "protruding" from should run over it without problems, anything bigger (10016 Tanker, for example) is bound to get stuck. Sometimes you can only wonder... A comment about the pieces: To me the new lighter colors look kinda... cheap, megablok-ish somehow. Not as... "solid" as in early days. Hard to describe it, the left picture with the wheel brick should show it. Dunno if you can recognize what I mean. The middle picture shows the new seat. Yes, it's a new mold. It looks the same but it has a small "dent" right in the middle of it. No big deal for most people, but it makes you wonder why there's a new mold for an existing piece. The right picture shows another piece I haven't seen yet. It's the turntable used in the rear wheelbase trailer part. It's not "stepless", though, it "locks" every turn-step. I find that annoying. And molding this entire piece instead of using two 1x4 bricks and a classic turntable can't be cheaper, and using three classic bricks/pieces can't be too difficult for today's kids, either. Well, to sum it up: the truck is big as the comparison with the BNSF shows. Then again, it's supposed to be a "Heavy Loader", so I guess it has to be big. And it fits the current scale of cars (which, I think, is too big). Apart from a few design flaws the entire model does look good, and I'm sure the target audience (i.e. kids) surely will have fun with it. I'm not really the target audience but I didn't regret buying it (I payed 6 Euro off SRP anyways). Next up is the Crane. Watch out for it, it's coming pretty soon ;-)

Picked up some more 9V track I bought off ebay, and my 7900 Heavy Loader and 7905 Building Crane (also off ebay) arrived today :-)

For those who don't remember: Harry S. Truman Thread 1 Harry S. Truman Thread 2 After being prepared in the docks she went out and now sails the german rivers (click thumb): Entire Gallery

Great! "Serve your emperor honorfully", they said, "Join the Galactic Empire and defend it! Be respected throughout the galaxy and see many new worlds!" And what do I do? Act in some "Caption Contest" for crazy LEGO fans with strange, weird looking freaks pointing guns at my face... if you can call that acting, that is, standing around for days not moving... on ONE FOOT, too!... should've listened to my mom and become a carpenter or something...

One for 5150 Lego for a transatlantic trade gone well :-)

Ok, this is the first time I bought a set as soon as it was available - off ebay, though, because the prices were a lot better than S@H: 1 crane (

Ah, thanks for pointing that out. I checked the City line today but didn't look into Construction ;-) EUR 67.99 for the crane is not that cheap, though... Could you please post the US price in case they have it? Thanks :-) PS: Both sets are already available at ebay.de, and for quite a bit less, too...

Uh... what are you doing? *wacko*

... and here... ;-)

Not new, but funny (and true): Evolution of LEGO Sorting, by Remy Evard :-)

News from Heiner: It is possible to use the new motor on metal tracks and control it with the remote. It needs a little workaround, though. The new motor cannot pick up power from the rails directly. Heiner tested it with a 9V motor (right) that picked up power from the rails as usual and connected it to the new motor (left): This way the new motor gets its power from the rails indirectly and not from batteries anymore. The new motor he controlled with the remote. And it worked. But as you can see, this needs "electrical skills" - which rules me out ;-) - and the locomotive doesn't get much "stronger" (meaning, you still can't pull the 5 Santa Fe coaches). And, of course, you can control the new motor only when there's power on the rails. His review is on 1000steine again, but in a members-only area, so I can't link to it, but he has pictures of his modification in his gallery. Hope this is good news for some of the more skilled people here.

Firstly, it's the "wrong" set (this thread's about the passenger train), and secondly the link's been posted here already ;-)