allanp

@nerdsforprez True true.

Looks pretty cool. Regarding the price though, it seems they are inflating them to make the sale/special offer/40% off type deals be the actual price you are supposed to pay. A lot of companies artificially inflate prices so that they can run money off sales and still have you pay what would actually be the RRP. This is where most models fall for me, miiiiiiiight buy when there's a heavy discount. Of course the tow truck was a day one insta buy! Not seeing any instabuys from 2022 just yet.

Soooo, there is room for something like this? Of course this a non functional sketch build, but you get the idea.

White makes me think Markus will get his space shuttle! In a similar scale and complexity to the osprey, and the osprey battery box being a perfect replacement for 8480s rear set up (it basically is the 8480 rear set up) and the new smaller motor from the last education set, might be a cool, official studless remake of sorts. Not sure it should be the flagship, as today's flagships are 3 times bigger, but still a big set.

I do find the blue plastic fake spring to be off putting. Others have raised valid points about pneumatics and fake engines. But for me I think it might be just that having an inner real spring and an outer fake spring is not how the real one is. Lego can't make a real ICE and as for working hydraulics, I would actually argue that is possible using stainless steel shafts and plain old tap water for 18+ sets, but it's more understandable if they don't want to go to that expense. But the only reason they have done this fake outer spring is to have the outer spring be blue. So it's more of a direct example if sacrificing mechanical accuracy for looks, which strikes a nerve for those of us noticing this seems to be Technics overall direction. They could have easily had a real metal spring on the outside, but this fake blue plastic spring really does scream little kids toy rather than model kit/toy for adults/big kids!

It could be builder error, that's usually my first assumption. But Sariel has built one or two sets before, he also wrote a few books, so it doesn't seem likely in this case. But then others are saying it's fine. Maybe it's slightly looser belts in sariels copy or some unseen mould flashing/abnormalities or something?

@nerdsforprez you also make some good points. They are doing what they need to do to sell more bricks. I would never argue that they shouldn't do that. I just lament the lack of passion to try to go beyond that. I have stated that the new larger than ever 1:5 scale of this set afforded lots of new possibilities that I feel have been missed but I think another thing that struck a chord with me, about this particular set, is that there is indeed many new large and complex parts. There is one new wheel, 2 new tyres and two new kinds of shock absorber/spring. They are all good for only 1 thing (except maybe the smaller spring, which is also just weird having a plastic fake spring on the outside) and that's 1:5 scale motor bikes. These are highly specialised parts which people have usually argued against. I personally don't mind specialised parts as real world machinery is mostly made from specialised parts. But it still seems odd to me that they would go for parts that were souly intended to just make something bigger as opposed to something like working brakes and more realistic gearboxes that can be used for many different types of vehicles in various scales.

So, in the BMW zx111000rrkxj whateverthefrick it's called review topic, @nerdsforprez wrote (and I'm paraphrasing here) that the BMW can be modded to our whim to include all the functionality that we want. Apologies for bumping this topic but this topic was created to answer such arguments, and hopefully to contain them in this topic as opposed to repeating the same discussion in every other set topic. I have no intention of trying to change nerdsforprezs mind or anything like that, of course he's free to have that opinion but I can't help but reply to that argument So nerdsforprez wrote that we can change the BMW to our whim. I argue that this is not true, or perhaps I should say that it's missing the point? Let's take the BMW, let's put some though into what could make it a truly great TECHNIC model that lives up to the marketing hype if "build for real" and so on. At this huge 1:5 scale there's a lot that's possible. There's a lot that was wished for and suggested in the forum, 6 speed, more realistic gearbox with all the sizes of clutch gears, working brakes, proper shocks like that large, oil filled adjustable shock found in some RC sets and an older Technic bike. And in the reviews there was comments that you can't see much of what the gearbox is doing, you can't see much happening. It took me 5 seconds to think of a solution to that, you could have the option of adding a motor to the base to drive the engine. That way you could flip through the gears and have them in the correct order, and really see the speed of the rear wheel changing. You could even have a hand crank in the base to make the same effect. It wasn't just me, there were a few members that got excited, their imaginations got fired up for all the possibilities that a 1:5 scale model could bring to the table. So it is regrettable that TLG themselves lack that same fire and enthusiasm for their own product. Sure the BMW has some fans, but the bike just feels like the lazy, bare minimum needed to make a few sales. Let's just make it bigger and good looking, and we'll add an extra gear over the Ducati and people will buy it as a display model. If there's anything I would want to change about this model, it's that lazy approach to its creation. That's the main thing I would want to change to my whim, but I can't do that. I could go over all the other things I'd like to add/change and the reasons why I either can't or shouldn't have to, but this topic has already covered that. But in short, you wouldn't expect a cake to come without any toppings or filling and be expected to add them yourself, nor should a company expect you to. And there are some things, like a realistic 6 speed gearbox that just aren't possible with current Technic parts, and yet would be so easy if only the parts were available. They have the power to do that, they could go beyond the bare minimum requirement and make Technic into something truly phenomenal with these sets that are getting increasingly larger, but it seems they lack both the passion and the will. I think that's a shame. Do they want to make their sets bigger in order to make them better? This BMW tells me no, and that the only reason they make their sets bigger is to sell us more bricks, that's the only reason. Edit: rereading my post, lazy is probably the wrong word. I don't mean lazy. I'm sure it took a long time and a lot of effort to design. But it just feels like the very hard work of a product designer that's not really a fan of Technic.

Hey I remember this argument, in the Technic is for kids.... topic!

Yup, I think he said in a review it was because of finger prints. As for the set, I've left my comments in the review topic.

Thanks for the review Milan, you did a great job in a short time. The set however doesn't impress me. Sure it's big and looks good but mechanically it offers nothing new or more realistic. They have brake callipers and brake lines but they are completely non functional, and the gearbox is the usual overly complex unrealistic mess. Technic will never look as good as a proper scale model but that's all they appear to have focused on here, while having a too skinny looking rear tyre and missing rear view mirrors and odd proportions. I would have liked to have seen much more technical features, more realistic mechanics/gearbox and for playability, how cool would it have been to add the option of a motor inside the large build stand that powers the engine. Then you could really see the speed of the rear wheel increase when you flick through the 6 gears. Then lift the bike off the stand and feel the working brakes. Maybe next time?

And this also

There is if they made the drive ring shorter. The drive ring engages the gears with less than half a stud, 3 studs is two studs of wasted space!

This close to the review, I shall give this the best chance. No candies for me, will wait till official presentation for the best first impression.

Again, it's probably too early to pile on this set, we only have a few more hours to wait to see all the goodies and finer details this set has to offer. But from the description, imagine the reaction from the star wars community if the description for the UCS AT AT was "it's much bigger and more expensive than previous AT ATs with a tiny bit if extra detail and room for one whole extra minifigure!" We haven't seen the set yet but the description is giving me that feeling.

If that description is accurate then it's just a bigger Ducati, 3 times the price for one extra gear. This doesn't sound great. Is there still hope for new gearbox parts, like a drive ring that's reduced to 1 stud in length and 3 sizes of clutch gear? I wouldn't say all hope is lost just yet but it's not looking good. 6 gears and 3 single stud length drive rings would make a simple, low friction, reliable and authentic 9 stud long 6 speed gearbox, which would fit nicely below/behind the 8 stud long 4 cylinder engine. This would open up lots of possibilities (like a regular transverse 4 cylinder front wheel drive family car for example, or an Arocs sized truck being able to have a compact 6 speed transmission as a standard feature). It's still too soon to write it off and I have always warned against letting your hopes and expectations be the enemy of what would otherwise be a great set. But for the massive size and price increase over the Ducati, one extra gear made from the same old parts isn't exciting me.

Which is true. I can also get any one of the Chinese counterfeit Technic brands which sell 1:8 RC cars. But why does it have to be either RC or mechanically accurate, why cant it be both? Sure it's not great with the current gearbox parts Technic has, but with a more realistic gearbox system they could easily have an RC 1:8 car that's mechanically realistic and interesting.

16mm is two studs exactly. The current pistons have a large gap between them whereas real pistons are closer together. So the current sizes might be a little off for 1:5 scale but in order for them to stay "in system" then I think the current 2x2 pistons is the closest, as opposed to moving up to 3x3. Here's a thought though. Lego engines have mostly just stayed the same level of detail mechanically. At 1:5 scale is there a chance for more of the engine to be there, such as the timing chain and double overhead cams and such? I think the closest we got to that was the trike from 1993, or maybe the rare engines set from the 80s! This is something that could be added to the list if possible reasons why this bike is so big. It will be interesting to see how many (if any) we can tick off from the following: New more realistic, much simpler and way more compact 6 speed gearbox with all the different sizes of clutch gears Working (possibly pneumatic) breaks More mechanically detailed engine (with timing chain, cam shafts, etc) Proper front and rear fenders Oil filled rear shock (like what was in one of the previous bikes and those weird RC sets) I'm trying to not get my hopes up for any of these let alone all of them. But I can't help but get excited for whatever the reason behind the huge 1:5 scale choice might be. The members of this Technic forum have expressed time and time again that we are unlike many of the other themes in the sense that a models size and part count increase can't be justified by just being bigger. That's understandably fine for a display model of the Titanic or an ATAT. In those cases bigger just to be bigger and more detailed and impressive is absolutely fine. But for Technic it needs something mechanical and functional to justify it. TOMORROW we find out, is it a "build for real" machine, or just an expensive and empty handbag.

Haha well played! Ok ok, but what if, like me, you don't really care what the subject matter is (be it a car, motor bike, crane or whatever) but how well the model accurately recreates the mechanics (not just functions) of its real life counterpart?! All will be revealed Thursday! At a 1:5 scale they could get pretty darned mechanically accurate, ahhhhh temper those expectations Allan!

Yup. I don't think there's ever been a 1:5 scale Technic set before so that would normally require a few new parts.

Would be hilarious if you could break the Lego speed record using only pull back motors! Who wants to try it?

I like how you worded that also!

Sweeeeeeeeet!!!! Thanks for the update. I know nothing can be revealed just yet, and I know the worst enemy of a good set is having too high expectations, but I can't help feeling my hopes slowly rising for this one. Can you reveal where our hopes should be?!

Yeah, a sharp needle in the slot of the green piece will get it moving. No Biggie for us, but an error non the less when Lego is meant to be dissemble able and other solutions are possible.

Indeed. The ducati already has all the usual functions of a Technic motorbike plus a 2 speed gearbox. Very curious what additions (if any) are present in this "UCS" motorbike to warrant it's size increase. I really do hope it isn't 3 times more expensive just for the sake of making it bigger.