tomacwhite

I spent some time tonight taking 8865 apart for cleaning and I am surprised how well it went. Considering its age and how stuck some of the black friction pins were, everything came apart without issue, although three or four pins required a sharp blade being put behind them slightly to 'unstick' 20 years :) One of the red flat panels which make up the top of the rear "window" of the Test Car has a slight crack in it, but I think I have a replacement I can use, or if it matches I will just make sure I use that part for the front bumper were it wont be stressed. I was hoping to get time to clean the parts today and start the rebuild, but it looks like I'll have to wait a little bit longer. One thing I noticed was how jammed in the parts are on this car, and that's not meant in a negative way. The building process is complex and there are so many tiny studded Lego pieces which fit on the main chassis area, its ace :) Here is a quick shot of the car in pieces :) Edit - I am going to make a stop-motion film of me building the car too which should be cool!

Great photos, I really love the Bulldozer. It's got fantastic functions and its so chunky looking!

I always loved that space shuttle but never got it, and in fact I have never seen one. It looked like it had plastic tubes that lit up on the back, and a robot arm inside the shuttle. Was it quite a complex model? I have tried looking for videos but nothing really shows off the features too well.

Are these the black pins which hold pieces together?

It does look cool, and its huge! However, the lack of motorized telescopic boom and winch on a £130.00 Technic set is a bit of a letdown. That gearbox is mental though! Want! :)

I am not sure what pins mine has on it? Got a picture to compare the two? I do know that I got it the year it was released in the UK, because I remember seeing the TV ads and catalogue and getting very excited knowing that it will be waiting for me on Xmas morning (well, hoping!). I always remember it being the Test Car. I am going to try and dig out the box sometime soon so maybe the name is on there? Did they change the names of the kits between different countries?

I got the Lego Technic 8865 Test Car when I was 10 years old for Xmas. It was an awesome piece of kit and I loved building and playing with it. Some 20 years have passed since then, and my Test Car has stayed built up in numerous places. It's been on a shelf, in the loft (attic), then brought out again a few years ago to proudly sit in my room. I have since moved out into my own place, and after discovering this place and looking at all the cool new Technics, I thought I might as well rebuild the Test Car. Firstly, it's dusty. Really dusty. It needs a complete strip down, wash, brush and dry before we do anything else. Secondly, it's missing a couple of small parts, and/or some could do with being replaced. The "gate" parts of the gearbox is missing but I suspect my nephew has borrowed those small black "2 stud" slates for his own creations. And, the yellow blades from the engine have got small bites marks which I did when I was a child and didn't have the nails to pull parts apart myself. I know, gross, but hey I was 10 years old! Here is a pic of how it stands tonight. Steering is a little knackered, and lights don't raise/lower anymore, the engine has come free and the passenger seat is loose, but for 20 years old its not in bad shape. This will all be sorted of course when I rebuild it. These were taken on my iPhone 3GS so aren't the best quality I am afraid. I hope I am not breaking rules here by doing my own review, I just thought I would document and show my strip down, clean up, and rebuild process of one of my favourite Technics ever, and probably my most loved "toy" of all time. More to come soon...

I wasn't sure about this Technic set because I wasn't 100% sold on the vehicle itself. However, after reading the review and seeing the functions I might go for it if I can find it for a slightly lower price. Thanks.

I think I am going to hunt one down before they vanish. Surely somewhere in the UK is still selling them..

Wow that is impressive! I thought it would be just a simple update of the classic Technic "digger" but it looks VERY feature packed! So many axles etc, looks awesome. And, seeing it next to that Bulldozer makes me want that too. So tempted to skip the new Crane Truck and get the Dozer instead, it looks mean! :)

I'd definetly be interested in seeing the winch motorised, it's a shame it isn't. Actually, after the awesome Bulldozer with full remote control everything else doesn't seem quite as cool or feature full.

What modern Lego kits have Pneumatics in them?

Ah I see, thanks for clearing that up. I had no idea the new cylinders are mechanic, I thought they would be air still. Sounds cool :)

I don't know anything about modern Technics pneumatic systems so the explanations are a little confusing to me. So the new pneumatics (like the new Crane Truck coming out) have got a compressor driven by a motor? You used to pump them with your hand (the old system), and its now done via a motor? Will the new Crane Truck have a really aggressive operation like this MOC Excavator? The Truck is using Pneumatics by the look of things? Thanks so much :)

How come the movement of the Excavator is so fast in the youtube video? Is that what modern pneumatic Technic is like? Is there no way to dampen it to make it smoother? Looks very aggressive.

Hee hee yup, it was indeed the V4 engine that had an insane amount of pieces. I think it took a while to do that part! I might take some piccies of the before and after the clean and put them up here if people would like to see them?

This is my first post here, I only found the site last week. I love this custom Excavator, it looks really great and has some interesting parts. The orange bricks are especially cool, what set has them? I am new to the Power Functions of Technic, I had a Pnuematic red crane when I was a kid, that rocked. I haven't played with big Technic sets for many, many years (I bought the Go Kart this year and the Snow Mobile when it came out 2 years ago). The last big set I had was 8865 when it first came out. I was 10 years old and got it for Xmas, so you can tell how old I am :) I am going to take it apart this week (if I have time with work) and clean all the parts and rebuild it. My parents visited yesterday and they think the box is still in the loft which is great! I only ever built it once (it was a monster, with some of the bricks per step being HUGE) and then it sat on my shelf for years, then in the loft in a box for years, then I got it back out again about 5 years ago, and I left it at my parents house so my nephew could play with it. I want that new Crane Truck when it comes out, but I think I might hold off and grab the 8292 Cherry Picker and Snow Groomer instead. I can have them on my desk at work too :D Sorry for going off topic. So, where do you get those orange bricks from?