DLuders

axlyoon posted two identical YouTube videos (in Low-Definition and ) of his "LEGO 9398 4x4 Clawler REVIEW". Imbedded here is the low-def version, showing a rapid photo sequence of the entire build process:

Wow, there are a lot of good things in this Lego Technic Motorhome RV! "Features: - Pneumatic Suspension - Remote PF Slideout - Pneumatic Door Open/Close - Rear Lifting Bonnet - Manual Function Steering - V10 Fake Motor - Approx. 100 hours [work] - Total weight 3.5kg"

@ vwpint: The Lego 44772 wheels are used on both the 9398 4x4 Crawler and the 8297 Off-Roader II. The Lego 54120 "Tires 94.8 x 44R Balloon" are the same for both sets too. There is no tire-to-wheel slipping problem with using 3rd-party, RC-type 1.9" (48mm Inside Diameter) tires on the Lego 44772 wheels, since the 3rd-party tires' rubber is VERY SOFT and GRIPPY. One does not need to use CA adhesive (Superglue), because the fit is nice and tight. As efferman indicated, see the Eurobricks topic on "Third Party Tires for Lego Technic Rims" to see many pictures of various tires. Any 1.9" (48mm) RC tire that is 37mm-48mm wide will fit just fine on the Lego 44772 wheel.

A Lego Technic 9398 4x4 Crawler (with the Two Face 1.9 Offroad Scale Tires) crushed Stephanie's Cool Convertible!

On TechnicBRICKS, Fernando Correia (Conchas) wrote an extensive TechReview of the 9393 Tractor set, with some suggested improvements.

I'm 55 , and say that only my wife and son understand why I enjoy Lego Technic so much. My other relatives and workmates are missing out on the fun! I have a desk job, so actually BUILDING and visualizing things in 3 dimensions is great.

@ efferman: The Mickey Thompson 1.55 Baja MTZ Scale Tires (available from multiple sources) has these specifications: "Outer Diameter: 3.28" (83.5mm) Width: 1.02" (26mm) Inner Diameter: 1.55" (39mm) Advanced X3 Soft & Sticky Compound Reinforced sidewall" The tire has the same "Advanced X3 Soft & Sticky Compound" as the other RC4WD tires I got (Rok Lox 1.9 Comp Tires and the Two Face 1.9 Offroad Scale Tires). They are MUCH SOFTER and MUCH GRIPPIER than the hard rubber Lego balloon tires. I spent 3 hours building most of the 9398 4x4 Crawler this evening. I intend to compare the crawling abilities of the stock tires vs. the 3rd party tires (including the Rock Creepers 1.9 Scale Tires) soon. Although I'd like to finish the set now, I got to get some rest for work tomorrow....

@ efferman: I received a set of four Mickey Thompson 1.55 Baja MTZ Scale Tires, and mounted them on Sariel's Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (which uses the Lego 41896 "Wheel 43.2mm D. x 26mm Technic Racing Small, 3 Pinholes"). The appearance is thinner than the Lego balloon tires, but is perhaps a more realistic "scale" tire like one would find in the real world. My Flickr photoset

@ Tinkerer: Welcome to Eurobricks! Saberwing40k's Brickshelf gallery shows his creations (under the user name "Saberwing2"). See also this recent Eurobricks topic about "Saberwing's Future Project Thread". His Eurobricks profile says "Howdy folks, I'm Saberwing40k, an aspiring engineer and technic fanatic. i build many weird things in lego, not all of witch i have posted, but I'm getting there. i also belong to a FIRST team, 2083, Team Blitz. aside from lego, i am also into LOUD TECHNO MUSIC, Transformers, hard science fiction, and giant robot anime." Member Title: Technic catch of the day Age: Age Unknown Birthday: Birthday Unknown Gender: Location: Tabgha Lunar Base Interests: Lego, obviously. Giant Robots, Science Fiction, Catgirls. Country: Luna."

Yes, one can build a lot of things with Lego -- "This [LEGO 3D Milling Machine] model was developed by Arthur Sacek for ZOOM Education for Life":

The official USA Shop.Lego.com website now has all three of the 2H2012 Lego Technic sets for sale -- 9398 4x4 Crawler, 9396 Helicopter, and 9393 Tractor.

@ Rodeown: Post 'em here! You could create an account of Flickr.com and use the uploaded pictures immediately (unlike Brickshelf).

I'm sure somebody wants to "morph" the 9398 into "Bigfoot" or "Grave Digger" (popular Monster Trucks in the USA), but the colors simply don't (yet) exist in real Lego parts!

OK, I "lost" the white and now have a black 9398 with yellow accents. The front racing stripe (on the hood/bonnet) has been extended onto the 1x2 Technic Liftarm. The colors are like the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL (American Football) team, similar to the Lego supercar shown above. I know that the red chassis underneath clashes with the black/yellow, but I'm just trying to change the body shell. Any suggestions?

Since rm8 liked the revised color scheme for the 9398 so much , here is another attempt to recolor the set's body shell. I replaced the orange parts with yellow, swapped the tailgate Technic Panel with the roof panel, blackened the rear portion of the rollcage, and added yellow accents to the rear mudguards, cargo bed, and rollcage buttresses. I am attempting to have the yellow "racing stripe" accents carry through the entire model, end-to-end. I believe that The Lego Group intended for the "wild" color scheme of this set to be changed by AFOLs, to make the 9398s unique in appearance. Real rock crawlers often have "loud" colors (to help rescue helicopters find them when they are upside-down in a ravine!). Is this recoloring to your taste? Suggestions? When I receive my 9398 in a few days, I intend to build it with some alternate colors.

[bUMP] On a recent post by Nicjasno on another topic, he stated that Mineral Oil will destroy plastic. He is right -- see this article about Mineral Oil's compatibility with various plastics and adhesives. Since Lego parts are basically ABS plastic, it seems that Mineral Oil has a grade of "D - Severe Effect" on ABS. I sincerely apologize to those who I may have recently given bad advice to. There is this old LUGnet topic about "Lubricating Lego Parts". It contains hyperlinks to discussion about various lubricants' suitability for Lego parts. It seems that 100% Silicone Oil is the best for use on Lego (ABS plastic) parts. Note that the composition of WD-40 is not good for Lego's ABS plastic either -- it contains some Mineral Oil and hydrocarbons (according to this article). Silicone Spray is not WD-40. Perhaps the 8043 Motorized Excavator set is the one which could benefit the most from lubrication. In this by Gifti1234, "Lubricate the Lego 8043 with Silicone-Spray for smoother movementsusing a standard 100% Silicone Spray. Spray some amount of silicone into a jigger, tip the brush into it and lubricate the axles and holes where movements happens (friction bearings, gears,...). Also lubricate the linear actuators, the motors, the cardan joints and the chain links. Use only small amounts of silicone and apply punctual with the brush peak ... Silicone drys greaseless, odourless and transparent. Silicone doesn't affect rubber or plastics anyway!" When you are done, the 8043 should operate smoothly like this:

OK, I got rid of the orange parts entirely, and now have a Black/Yellow/Blue/White body shell. Better or worse? I don't want to color panels that don't exist in real life (or which are rare and expensive to buy). I think that the stock 9398 has too much black in it (to perhaps hide scuff marks and scrapes?)....

Did you try lubricating the Lego steering elements with Mineral Oil? It seems that the friction of the differential is almost as great as the friction inside the rightmost steering element. If you place wheels on the parts and "load" them onto the ground, does the same thing happen?

Here are some color scheme changes to Lego 9398 4x4 Crawler set. Using the Lego Digital Designer (LDD) .lxf file prepared by P4trickvH and refined by Zblj ( http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/zblj/LDDparts/9398.lxf ), I could see how new colors would look. The original set's body has Black/Orange/White, and the new color scheme has Black/Yellow/Orange/Blue/White. Either way, the 9398's stickers will provide a transition from the black doors to the white rear quarter panels. Your opinions and recommended changes are welcome.

@ SheepEater: Without straying too far off-topic, the FAST 8475 RC Buggy is not even the same kind of vehicle as the slow 9398 4x4 CRAWLER:

For those AFOLs living in the USA, this site allows you to order multiple 9398 sets (instead of being limited to just one).

Conchas (Fernando Correia) posted this -- an "integral part of my review to the 2012 LEGO Technic set 9393, Tractor.The full set review will be soon available at: http://www.TechnicBRICKs.blogspot.com ."

@ TechnicFreak: See this Eurobricks topic about Jurgen Krooshoop's Ultimate 8043 Motorized Excavator. The downloadable Building Instructions show how to assemble the three PF Remote Control units.

Wow! This is very useful information! Thanks for testing the various Lego Power Functions elements over these many years!

@ Gabor: Welcome to Eurobricks! Your minifig-scaled Power Functions truck is very nice!