Kumbbl

From the pure studded models overall this is my favorite midrange set: 8854: The picture below tells you why ;-) Or let me cite Blackbirds Technopedia (http://www.technicopedia.com/8854.html): "Set 8854, released in 1989, is one of the best examples of high function density: lots of functionality packed into a small package. This mid size mobile crane features rack and pinion steering, outriggers, a slewing turntable, pneumatics, a luffing and telescoping boom, and a cable hoist. This is the first Technic model to feature the metal hook. Despite its relatively small size, it is every bit as capable as the next couple of much larger cranes which would follow, and remains one of my favorite Technic models." On top of this it contains an awesome b-model with articulated steering and a nifty pneumatic dumping mechanism which simultaneously open the hatch of the tipper when dumping. And in addition the building experience of both models is quite good - i would not call it a real challenge but compared to the often boring and too easy builds of modern sets it is a very interesting build.... Highly recommended for every collector and at least for all studded lovers...

i agree when talking about new sets with box and BI - then it's obviously not lego.. BUT: if you buy (as I) a second hand model in ebay without box and BI pictures then you have NO chance to identify this a clone.... first time to realize that you have bought a clone is when you can take your hands on it, when you see and feel the parts... disagree... at least as many by people who are quite indigent or needy and want to buy their kids toys which at least look like real lego....such people are probably not able to spend so muc money as real lego cost .. and real lego is expensive to be honest - well, its worth its prize, no question, but absolute it's much money (at least for many people)...

i doubt there is an easy way to identify a fake just from the ebay-offering...at least if there is no picture of the box oder the BI (then it's easy ;-)... here i have postet a picture: http://www.eurobrick...8 In general the parts have lot of burrs, axles and connectors stuck to death, axles can not spin freely within beam-holes, the plastic seems to be somehow translucent, bumped or as if being treated with a solvent... hard to describe... Here is a thread with some more informations: http://www.eurobrick...opic=52834&st=0 I think there are not really many different fake sets but especially the ferrari sets seem to be dangerous... and at least for the enzo fake there is a unique identifying feature: This bulky gray fake damped shock absorber has nothing to do with the original part nr. 32181c02 (http://www.bricklink....asp?P=32181c02)

Just found that in German ebay some of these "Bela" 8653 were sold (e.g. http://www.ebay.de/i...=p2047675.l2557) - ~ 50€ - quite expensive for this clone trash... DO NOT BUY THIS CRAP - its not worth 1 buck... parts are of terrible quality... I bought one second hand (without box and BI) by accident without being informed that it is a fake... please be aware not to make the same mistake ;-)

yes, now i'm quite sure that my second hand enzo 8653 is a bad chinese clone - i have found this post in your linked thread (thank you peter_m): http://www.eurobrick...50#entry1514280 He writes: "..About parts: - the worst are connestors-axeles (worst pair, axeles often stuck to death in connector) and beams (badly molded, some pins fall out, others stuck hard)..." This is exactly my observation... and furthermore he writes: "I have many of those fakes ... http://www.brickshel...y.cgi?i=4708854 8674 ... Also I have "BELA" 8289 and 8653..." And Paul Boratko writes in the same thread: "...There was some guy from China selling 100's of these fake sets on Ebay last week and they have all mysteriously disappeared. He had dozens of fake 8653 Enzo Ferrari sets and fake 8674 Ferrari F1 sets for $39.99. As someone mentioned before, these knock offs are absolute trash as I have come across these in the past. The quality is terrible..." Just found that in German ebay some of these Bela 8653 were sold (e.g. http://www.ebay.de/itm/Lego-Racers-Enzo-Ferrari-110-8653-/221370895745?pt=DE_Allesf%C3%BCrdKind_Spielzeug_Lego&hash=item338abbcd81&nma=true&si=zFVcYlqu3DrPfPSLEs404bwTbHA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557) - ~ 50€ - quite expensive for this trash... well, all this together is quite a proof that my set is such a "BELA" clone... grrrrrr...annoying though it was a cheap deal on ebay... well, better no hard feelings - hang it all - or better up in the trash bin ;-)

Hmm, i'm not sure if any cleaning can help here - most of the parts seems somehow damaged, somehow bumped, somehow "translucent" - sorry, can not better describe - take a look: the right one is one liftarm of my parts assortment whereas the left one is a liftarm of this mysterious set - do you see the slight bumps? is this original lego? Or here: again on the right a normal good liftarm from me and on the left the "damaged" one: please take a look at the forth pinhole of the left liftarm (counted from bottom): do you see this odd pinhole with this obvious smaller diameter - in this hole never ever fits an axle.. how can this happen? again: is this original lego or can these be fake parts?

this idea came already in my mind - but why should anybody superglue the parts of the enzo 8653 together?????? thank god that this is my third enzo and it was quite cheap (need the parts for some MOCs and the enzo is a good starting point for red supercar MOCs...;-) so i will survive this desaster but still very annoying... But the more important question: if it would be (super)glued - does i have any chance to clean the parts?

Hmm, very mysterious.... just checked some parts and it seems that a lot of liftarms are somehow affected by - by what is the question?! If i put one of my cross-axles in the pin-wholes of the liftarms then the axle can't spin free as it should but the "connection is so strong that the liftarm is spinned when i spin the axle... this happens in more or less all liftarms and in many of their pin-wholes.... has anybody an idea which environmental impact can cause this - is this heat or any deformation - never seen this before... at the moment i feel as if i should put a lot of the parts in the trash bin....

sounds interesting... and would be the effect? why do you suggest this?

Hi all, just bought a quite old second hand technic set (studless) - the model is prebuild. Now i have the following challenge: some cross-axles are obviously more or less "cemented" in the cross-holes of the liftarms that is quite impossible to dismantle them - have already broken an axle... No my question: Anybody out there with an idea what i can do? maybe using some penetrating oil? but could this affect the plastic? Thanks in advance!

For me a frontpage candidate and also a member of the new Technic Hall of Fame - Jim, what do you think? ;-)

Never ever - the GT 500 wins in every way... The landy is too unreliable

?? What about e.g. 8448? iMHO it has also Ackerman ...

yes, you are right but the original suspension of 8448 is too soft ... anyway: this MOD is not essential but IMHO with the harder springs it works better... A remark and addition to the HOG-mod: With the HOG drive-train shown in the first post you can not mount the co-drivers seat at least not unmodified. You have to remove one of the black Technic, Liftarm 1 x 3 Thin (Nr. 6632) of the mounting-rack of the seat and replace also the right of the 3M axles with a 2M axle at this mounting rack... but in general i prefer the original and more stable mounting rack of the seat and also two equal built seats, so i have modified the HOG-drivetrain slightly: I'm sure you find the difference... ;-) Mounting sequence when installing the co-driver seat: 1. remove the left axle (that one which has the bevel gear on the left and the pinion on the right and is connected with the black cross axle joiner) 2. mount the co-driver seat 3. re-mount the axle removed in 1 4. Voila

8448 is a great supercar but it has two drawback: a) suspension is too soft b) no HOG which is really bad for the gullwing version because it is really hard to steer even for children well, drawback a) is very simple to fix: just replace the original shock absorbers with the hard spings (e.g. from 8458 silver champion, Part 731c04 at bricklink - quite cheap) - works very well and the suspension is now exactly right, not too stiff, not too soft Here comes a simple MOD for the lack of a HOG: it does not violate the modularity of the model, i.e. you can build this new HOG-drivetrain just into the chassis and then add all the other stuff as rear and front suspension, gearbox, engine etc as described in the official building instructions...also adding the mini 9V motor as described in the BI is still possible. And after applying all the red panels the additional gray gears are well covered so the beautiful look is not disturbed... and i'm sure everyone of you has the skills to apply the HOG an base of this modification ;-) For the convertible version there is nothing to add: in this case no HOG is needed because you can steer with the steering wheel and the new HOG-preparation is just driven without using it - works like a charm... In this brickshelf folder http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=540020 you can find some zoom pictures.... BTW: IMHO there is no other good way to apply a HOG because a HOG-drivetrain below the gearbox would reduce the ground clearance too much and beside the gearbox (as with 8880 e.g.) there is really no place cause of the design of the 8448-gearbox... anyway... maybe you find this useful if you are a fan of this old beauty or if you have kids who wants to play with the gullwing...

IMHO the suspension of 8448 is too soft. so my idea is to replace the original shock absorbers with the hard springs of 8458 silver champion (the yellow ones). before i dismantle the affected components ow my question: has anybody tried this? Does it improve the suspension of 8448? Thanks a lot in advance!

No, disagree... 8051 looks good but it has a disqualifying designflaw: the chain is either to short or to long but can never have the right length... IMHO the 8420 bike is superior though it lacks of front suspension... Superb b-model too

Does anybody know this beast? Found this on youtube: Just one word: Awesome.

Here comes a recommendation which fulfills all rules ;-) http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=84978&st=0 Own thread: Yes, s.a. Published by the designer: Yes Oustanding model: Yes (at least IMHO ;-) Rebrickable: No Instructions: No Parts: ~ 5200 Why: ~Most parts, ~most motors, ~most pneumatic, ~most functions, ~most incredibility ;-)

Hmm, this B-model doesn't impress me but 8052 is the set for which most** alternate models have been designed - all with instructions: - Grohl has made at least 4: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=grohl666 - Tomik has made 3: http://buildinst.sweb.cz/8052en.html Therefore i like 8052 a lot...great set for building around... **Well, for 8048 exist also a lot of alternates and also for 8271 - grohl has made more than 30 AFAIK...

i think also that in general Jennifers MOCs are at least one of the "initial sparks" for such outstanding "highend"-MOCs and have inspired many builders ...

agreed - built the chopper today - cool model, looks like the real thing - together with the cute streetbike by far the best motorcycle set of Lego... in generel i like these sets most where the b model is as good as the a model... these sets i always bough twice - 8420 is such a set ...

sorry, but i do not understand what you mean...

funny, that was my first try - until i saw that this is impossible with 8421 (at least without redesigning the whole upperstructure) :-( have a look at the bottom of the upperstructure of 8421 and you will see that the changeover catch is so nearby the outer ring of the turntable that there is no room for the driving 8z gear - it would collide with the changeover catch when slewing.... therefore i had to use the inner ring... placing the changeover catch somewheer else would result in a heavy redesign of the upperstruture and i want to avoid this...

you have misunderstood me: for me studded is never outdated, overall i still love studded more than studdless (ist more lego, but probably this is a matter of taste).. what i had in mind with "outdated" is, that i think in the meanwhile there are at least one or two mobile cranes at the same niveau as jennifers, e.g.: well, jennifers chassis suspension is outstanding but on the other side her crane has only a two section boom.... anyway, let us not debate which one is better, i agree with you Jennifers Mobile crane is an epic model and incredible well designed but for me using non lego-parts is a no go... Compare Grazis Tow Truck which is at least as elaborated as jennifers crane (and has even more nifty suspension) but uses 100% lego...