allanp

I see two reasons why it has lockable diffs, firstly because the real one has lockable diffs (that's good enough reason for me). And secondly it's probably because lockable diffs IIRC has been a popular fan request. I think the only reason why the steering radius isn't affected much is because it's so large to begin with. But I'd say that's an issue with the steering rather than the diff locks. But at least with open diffs one would have to assume that you will have less stress on the drive train and increased battery life, so while locking diffs definitely helps with off road performance, there can still be a good reason for being able to unlock the diffs (besides the first two reasons previously mentioned) even if you don't notice the difference in steering radius.

I'm not sure that it's accurate to say "suddenly considered too pricey" if, like me, you considered the previous PF fully remote sets as being also too pricey. But the Zetros, possibly for the first time ever, doesn't contain completely unrealistic mechanisms. LAs in place of hydraulics? Not authentic. Drive (not steering) motors mounted directly to the axle? Not authentic. As the Zetros doesn't have these "illusion of reality only smaller" killers, I find myself wanting to defend this set more than previous fully RC sets. Okay, It's not totally realistic, a diff locking mechanism doesn't usually use any gears (it would be electromechanical or hydraulic/pneumatic), and the drive motors would be better under the hood where the engine would be, but it's a step forward having the motors linked into one "engine" located in the chassis driving the suspended live axles via extendible prop shafts. There's also realistic planetary wheel reduction, the much better differentials, a panhard rod and Ackerman steering geometry. Maybe the previous fully RC sets wasn't actually too over priced, but what I saw was always a high price for zero mechanical realism, so it always seemed too over priced to me.

I have used vertical milling machine, horizontal milling machine, lathe, surface grinder, mig, Tig and arc welders, metal shears, metal benders, form rollers, bench press, CNC mill.....lots of machines lol. I haven't used a shaper or an EDM machine.

Was the addition of an airtank a feature request in @Jims review of this set......oh wait

For a manual model an air tank is usually a good addition, but it depends on your preference to how you play. Do you like the air tank style of being able to operate functions without pumping anything but having to pause to pump to fill the air tank, or do you like to operate functions with no pausing to fill the air tank. I think both are valid options depending on preference. For motorised pneumatic models it's a bit more tricky. Motorised pumps tend to have good pressure but at very low volumes. So for a model with less frequent use of the pneumatic functions, like a tow truck, an air tank makes a lot of sense. It can make a small, single cylinder pump feel much more capable as it continuously builds pressure. But for something like a digger/excavator, where you want continuous use of many pneumatic functions, always waiting for a tank to fill up is not good. In this situation there's no substitute for a big compressor with lots of pumps (I usually use 8 pumps for this) to give you as much pressure and volume as you'll ever want without the need for an air tank. Of course you could add one, but if you feel the need to add an air tank then I'd say your compressor isn't big enough.

This one's gonna be tough to beat!

I'm also happy with the new tyres in the set. I get the point that other tyres might have looked or even worked better for this truck, but then we would just be getting more of the same tyres that we already have available to us. The inclusion of these new tyres means that we get....well.....new tyres! Ones that will work great with tractors and JCB 3CXs when combined with either the claas or wrangler tyres.

Yeah, no comparison to 42128 needed here, it is a C model after all.

I can somewhat sympathize with this. I do hope they both sell well, but the tow truck more than the Zetros (at full price anyway) I like the Zetros design but whoever chose the pricing for PU needs a rethink. It's a shame because I really want the Zetros, Grohl really stepped it up from previous crawlers IMHO, but I'm considering just buying the needed parts for that one. The tow truck however, insta-buy.

Good and bad. Good that it allows you to see inside to see all the moving parts, especially now that models in general are all plated over, but bad in the sense that it's more time looking at something fake on a screen instead of something physical and real. Still it's a pretty cool addition and I'll no doubt try it out myself. Pretty neat!

Do you mean exactly the same but without suspension? You could just swap the suspension springs with a similar length solid piece.

Good question. It was a 6x6 in early leaked images but no idea if it had similar functionality. But you are right, it doesn't like like an axle was just removed, but like it was designed to be 4x4 all along. Maybe this 4x4 version was started again from scratch?

Ackerman steering geometry detected! The steering arm is also extended using an +o beam, which makes them the same length and geometry of the 8880 and test car steering arms, which were the best ones. So that's another plus for the Zetros.

Yup, with the newer diffs and smaller tyres this should have more force than 42099 with modified gearing. In addition to that, with the motors being hard coupled and the drive train being more realistic (sans gearbox) all of that force can be directed to the axle with most grip, instead of wasting the power of one of the motors spinning an axle with no grip. So with a more realistic drive train leading to better off road performance this is a big improvement over 42099, which I still say was better than the previous crawler if only for the planetary reduction hubs that it gave us (although the previous crawler did give us the servo motor and L motor). Having said that, as much as I like the design of the Zetros (and let's not forget the awesome new wheels at a perfect size to go with the previous tractor wheels ), the price of PU is still kinda rediculous. It's a definite purchase for me but knowing it will be discounted somewhere eventually means I can wait for a good price.

Or you could replace the 5L axle of the left thigh with a blue 2L friction pin with axle, a black 3L friction pin with axle and a friction pin joiner piece to allow longitudinal rotation.

Haven't done much with Lego for a while, this MOC is giving me the itch to start something. Thanks for that and of course, great MOC

There's three review videos, all German. One possibly interesting thing I spotted was that the three previous pneumatic sets had all the pneumatic components in their own bag (maybe they were produced elsewhere?), but this one has only the hoses in their own bag, with the rest of the pneumatics in with the regular parts bags. I wonder if anything can be gleamed from that, like maybe they have changed supplier, making them in house or whatever. I really don't know.

Looks very accurate. Regarding the black Vs grey knobs, why are you switching from studless handles to studded knobs in a studless contest? You could use a pair of 3 x 0.5 pulleys and a grey frictionless pin.

If this site is recognised as official fan media then it might have been a requirement by Lego, like the rule to not post confidential images.

The Blob with Steve McQueen!

Or a technic fig for each cylinder!

@nerdsforprez Veeeerrrrryyy nice!

A gearbox doesn't necessarily have to be one with multiple speeds, it could be more of a transfer case. And yes, the diff lock function of the 94 set has never been used officially until now.

Remember that larger tyres will have the effect of gearing it up, so you'll have less torque.

@nerdsforprez The Zetros has a new CV joint part, designed to fit with the new larger CV joints, it's slightly longer and allows and axle to slide in and out freely. This is used on the prop shaft that drives the rear axle, to allow it to extend and retract when the live axle suspension moves up and down.