allanp

Alot has been said about gearboxes that change gear ratios vs gearboxes that change functions. But we have not yet had a gearbox that works like the real thing, with different sized synchro gears all in a line. And we have yet to have a proper motorised car with a gearbox (8448 doesn't count because of the poor design of the gearbox it can't handle the strain and so has to have it's rear wheels off the ground). That's what I would like to see. A proper 4x4 supercar with a proper, more accurate gearbox that is motorised. If it must be remore controlled then give it a sequencial gearbox. That to me (and I suspect also to the target age group) would be far more exiting than motorised doors and hood (how many cars have that pointless feature anyway!).

Well to me the Unimog looks much bigger and better than the 8070. And why should a flagship have a fully remote control function? Being remote controlled is not a function and just makes it more of a childs toy to me. I actually prefer it when a flag ship is NOT remote controlled.

Glad I could give you some ideas! LOL thanks, it's a pretty powerful and compact compressor, run by one XL motor it can run many pneumatic functions and will give you all the power you'll ever need. Also, you can run the air hoses to look like exhausts so it doubles as a realistic looking engine.

You could try the front axle from a JCB i'm working on. It can handle ALOT of tourque and has 1:3 planetary reduction within the hubs. I am also planning to use something similar in a monster truck. But to be honest with you, If I was modelling one of those particular jeeps I would not have any gear reduction.

Yeah, that this forum is about 2h2011 sets!

I'm fairly sure the New York toy fairs at least almost always have the 2h sets on display. I really cannot wait to find out exactly what functions the unimog has, it looks so freaking awesome I can't wait!

As with most things it's a balance. I personally did not have any problems building any set at any age, but that's only me. I can see how alot of the older instructions would have been difficult and needlessly frustrating for a kid who wants no help to complete his mission. But it's a bit rediculous now. You put on a couple of pieces, turn the page, a couple more pieces, turn the page, turn brain off, continue until suddenly your model is finished. Then you are left wondering how the heck you built it. You don't remember it because it was so easy and required so little thinking that you turn off. At least that's what happens to me. However whilst i'm sure I can make a MOC to match anything TLG can release given the same parts, i'm no expert in making instructions for them so that the intended age group can build them without risking complaints from angry parents cos mommy couldn't build it either!

Richthelegodude I agree with everything you said 100% (well almost, replacing the blue pin with a tan peg does not solve the problem of having LAs! ) and I can't wait for the Unimog, or even the first toyfair pictures which should be coming soon.

That's a great looking car and a brilliantly made video to show it off, big thumbs up from me And Blakbirds renders always look sooooooo cool!

Because it's awesome!

Those magazines are a great find, those old mania mags bring so many memories! Unfortunately it was a mag from the lego technic club, which i've still not been able to find. As for building to a plan, how many people plan their MOCs in MLcad (or anywhere on computer or paper) before building anything in real life? I do sometimes and these are sometimes my favorite plans to build from.

Gotta pay attention to those backets guys!

I kinda think the Unimog (IF it has a compressor) is the new 8868, except with improved complexity. Although the 8868 is one of the best sets of all time, it's only drawback was that it was lacking in gears, and it's compressor only used half the single pumps stroke (I hope the Unimog has a better compressor), but still complex and the first set to my knowledge to have 4 motorised functions powered by one motor, no problems with performance either Awesome!

I remember reading an interview with the designer of the 8480 in a lego technic club magazine from 1996 (can't find any scans of it on the internet). All I can remember is that he said he was working on, or had worked on, a 5 speed transmission (they wouldn't give those kind of secrets away now would they!) so i'm guessing he also designed the 8448. Personally I build the models too quickly to notice the different personalities of the designers, and don't really look for that. One thing I have noticed tho, and i've said it before, is that I think they must have been allowed to spend much more time designing the older sets up to about 1996.

I believe it is yes.

I also very much enjoyed building this set. I refused to look at any pictures on brickshelf of it's inner workings so that I could "discover" them for myself when I built it and I was very pleased with the complexity and at how well everything worked, and surprised at how big it was.

Dude you are a man after my own heart! I too would love a return to the old style boxes, at least for the flagship set of any given theme. I have the 8880, 8480, 8868 among many others in there boxes (opened and very well played with of course). I'll build them, keep em built and play with them for a couple of days and then take them apart before any dust collects on them. They look amazing when built but when they are in their boxes in pieces they look so inviting, I just wanna build them. I just throw the new boxes away. I know the internet may have played a small part in this but I think the main reason is cost cutting. But with how much more appealing the older style packaging looked I wonder if that move to cpeaper, less appealing packaging was maybe not such a good idea. Of course the test would be to release a new set in both style of packaging and see which one makes the most profit.

Zblj is right. Putting the gearing in the axle will also put less strain on the drive shaft. Too much tourque will cause it to twist and store energy. When the drive shaft springs back (releasing the stored energy) you get that jerky movement. I still say they should remove the gearing down from the motors!

I guess licensed sets are ok because they are only based on fictional stories, not actual wars where millions of people were killed.

They would still be too ugly and too unrealistic for me! Besides to have a motor that powerfull you would either have to redesign/beef up every axle and gear to take the strain or just break everything. Of course a current XL motor as it is is capable of powering many pneumatic functions with lots of speed and power (which is proportional via the valve) simultainously, you just have to design a compressor that works properly (unlike the one at the very top of the thread ) I'de really like that!

Alot of sets still do have instructions for adding a motor. I guess as you have only recently come out of your dark ages you have not encountered any yet. Remember this is not a flagship like the Daytona Supercar (which really was a supercar) however it is still a fairly large and expensive set so I can totally understand that opening doors and hood being the main features is very dissapointing. Besides the parts selection is better now IMHO (not quite yet reflected in the sets, but the Unimog offers hope). There is no reason why you can't have a car just as fully featured as the 8880 for the same scale and price as this new so called "supercar" and have it motorised. Now that would be something worth buying.

Looks exactly like the real thing pictured. Nice one

There are many solutions to the free falling "problem", I just stated the obvious. You could also "balance" the weight with a spring or restrict the airflow on the appropriate port. There are many easy and obvious ways to prevent it going down to fast, it really isn't a problem. Soooooooooo true! Oh and welcome to eurobricks!

If I want a toy excavator that is only nice to play with I would get this: http://www.otherlandtoys.co.uk/track-rc-excavator-p-2156.html This is properly radio remote controlled, has more motors, lights and everything and is much cheaper. The thing is though, I don't want any toy, I want technic. I guess it comes down to what you want from technic. To me, what makes technic the only toy that appeals to me and unique from all the others as it has no real competition, is it's core values like authenticity and so on. There is nothing authentic to me about LAs being used in heavy construction equipment. I know pneumatics are not hydraulic but they are so similar as to be about as authentic as you can get without spending thousands on a model from Wedico (or whatever they are called). After all, both of them operate via a fluid under pressure (yes, air is a fluid ) LAs would be great if ever they made a pick and place robot! Besides the other reasons I don't like them, I only find them boring because even with a motor they are too slow and without a motor they are even worse. Cranking them until you get cramp in your fingers is not fun in anyones book. To be fair tho, the game of skill plus the always cool pffft sound of operating pneumatics and those cool looking hoses everywhere making it look like a heavy duty machine instead of a little electronic device is always gonna be cooler to me than any other motorised function.

So what you are saying is, to get LAs working almost as fast as the real thing you need to run the motors on 11.1v?