allanp

Maybe they want to see what the demand for this set will be.

I don't like the screws as I like to remove the batteries each time I put something away (due to leakage). Having to take apart and screw back together something each time you play with it, especially something as safe as Lego, is a pain. Hopefully there will still be some little plastic clips that hold the plate in place so we can choose to just leave the screws out if we wish. Alternatively would it not have been better to stick with the original design and just add a single screw (which could also just be left out)?

If you're willing to shorten the steps by a couple studs then you could fit an air tank either side instead of the fuel tanks. If not it looks like there should be enough room on the sleeper cab area.

Yeah the price is rather painful. Smyth's in the UK often have good deals which will make this an easier purchase.

So it's confirmed to have two hard coupled drive motors (creating a single more powerful "engine"), mounted in the main body of the truck (as opposed to being axle mounted), driving prop shafts that drive the axles which themselves have plenty of gear reduction, making this model a very capable crawler. This is all much better and much more realistic than 42099, thank you Grohl! This is now on my wanted list. Further improvements for me would be addition of realistic gearbox and moving the motors closer to where the real engine would be, like having a motor placed each side of the fake engine (looking kinda like two massive alternators). But as it is it's still a big improvement over every previous crawler to date. Well done! Excited to get this one for sure.

I don't think this is the case. It looks like the drive motors are in the main body of the vehicle, which is much more realistic and will offer better performance than mounting completely separate motors on the axles. Along with the newer diffs and 42099 hubs I'm expecting this to crawl better than even a low geared 42099, providing this model also has sufficient gearing.

So with these pictures being revealed, and most of the discussion thereafter being centered on marketing (with my point being that it's somewhat disappointing to see this is what TLG marketing thinks this is what adults want, and other posters saying Lego should stay non political, a point I strongly agree with although I'm not sure if the simple inclusion of a short haired girl on the box really counts as being political when TLG have done far "worse" in saying the military is objectively bad, EIA, not promoting police sets and donating to domestic terrorist BLM, but I digress!), does this not kinda prove my previous point? I mean, this set is "for adults" apparently and yet it's so mechanically simple that all us adults can talk about is how it's marketed! Compare this to the threads of the American tow truck and the Zetros which both have more interesting discussions about the sets their selves.

My view hasn't changed yet. I'm still in the "let's wait and see how realistic the drive train and layout is" frame of mind. I am intrigued by the description though. "Detailed gearbox"? Wonder what they mean by detailed, like do they mean realistic, covered inside a box, in the right place, or just barely functional? And also "limited slip differential"? That's not a manually locking diff, so maybe it's one with high internal friction? Also it looks to be a decent climber from the pic on the skate board. Still undecided till I see the drive train and possibly some new parts but I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine

Yes but those adults know they are building a kids toy, and that's completely fine, I do the same. I recently bought an X-maxx (intended for 14+) and been having lots of fun with that. I'm just saying the raptor is a good 10+ set and doesn't really feel like it's for adults, though of course there are some that will enjoy it regardless, which is cool.

Well, not every set can be a $400 beast with every function. They have to offer a range of different sizes and price points as well. So for what it is, it's not too bad. It pretty much matches its price. It's nice to see hand of God is included. It's also nice to see proper pistons. Making the driver's steering wheel also functional and adding 4wd would have been nice and probably not affected the price that much. But I get they chose to reach a cheaper price. But what I don't get is the marketing. This looks like a set aimed for 10+ I'd say. And it's not a boring bunch of flowers, it's a cool pick up, so why wouldn't kids like it? The 18+, the black box, the line "perfect for adults", this doesn't match the model and might be what is driving some dissatisfaction. If they need to be told once again what the perfect model for adults would be, it would have Ackerman steering geometry, caster, camber and kingpin angles, less sloppyness in the steering, different front wishbones that look much more like the real ones, working cabin steering as well as hand of God, 4 wheel drive, speed transmission with new parts to enable more realism (not just functionally realistic but actually mechanically realistic) and reliability over the defender gearbox, transfer box, a drive train that is laid out realistically (so no gearbox stuffed in the back via universal joints), slimmer rear axle and no colour coding. THAT'S what I would brand a "perfect model for adults". 42126 is not that, and seemingly never intended to be that. So why does TLG keep insisting that it is when most adults can clearly see that it's more of a 10+ kit. And don't get me wrong, for a 10+ kit and being priced the way it is, it really isn't that bad of a set. The hand of God, the proper piston engine, and if the suspension is tuned right, it'll be a simple, relaxing build that's fun to drive around. It's not a bad set, but TLG needs to realise this kind of set, with its colour coding and mechanical similarly to other 10+ sets isn't what adults have been asking for. EDIT: but perhaps TLG knows this, that the whole 18+ thing is actually aimed at kids that want to feel like they are building something that's meant for adults. I can understand that sentiment, but kids aren't stupid when it comes to their interests.

Really looking forward to these reviews @Jim . I already want the American tow truck, but the Zetros still may have it's surprises in terms of a realistic transmission and off road performance. Soon all will be revealed!

I think it's a bit of luck. Some people have issues with the Sian/defender, some less so. If slightly bent axles are at least partially to blame then this might explain why. But if such small and possibly unavoidable variances in axle straightness or other such unknown quality issues are enough to make the difference between a set working nicely or not at all, then there are more fundamental issues and changes needed. Instead of forcing/expecting TLG designers and MOCcers alike to expertly tip toe around and problem solve these issues to often insufficient levels of success, better to have some investment into the new parts needed to tackle these issues head on and for good.

I still suspect it's slightly bent axles. When I first built a brand new 42009 with fresh batteries the outriggers would not work. Years later I built it again but this time I built a tester (a row of eight 1x2 technic bricks sandwiched between two 2x8 bricks so their holes aligned to create a hole 8 modules deep) to test the axles. I would then drop an axle through this hole to see if it fell through freely and many axles failed. I fear this maybe unavoidable unless they are going to pre-test every single axle they produce and then pack them in their own little boxes to prevent them bending in the box. Using only axles that passed this test the outriggers of 42009 worked as well as seen in any online video. Still not great but they worked. I believe this is because, in a complex mechanical system that has no proper bearings, any point of extra friction will cause additional friction down the line, and the friction will keep multiplying. I'm just not sure that the incredibly complex gearboxes if sets like 42009, the Sian and the defender are wise in an all plastic toy with no bearings. So I see two options (which aren't exclusive, they could do both). Firstly they could greatly simplify their gearboxes. The real life gearboxes of the Sian and defender are nowhere near as complicated as their technic counterparts. They are mostly just an input and output shaft with all the different ratios created by different sized gears on these two shafts. The only other option would be to introduce things like bearings and machined straight metal axles! I know people can build different versions of these gearboxes that manage the friction better, but still they are highly complex, all plastic, bearingless systems that can still fail should some axles arrive that are too bent. I feel that this shouldn't be acceptable. I mean, they colour code everything to look like knex (garbage), but they won't release all the different sizes of clutch gears to make realistic and reliable gearboxes, so even if an eight year old can build an 18+ set perfectly it still might not work? Well, this post went on longer than I expected!

As I recall the "anti" sway bar worked more like a "pro" sway bar

A grader could make for a neat pneumatic model but I don't see it happening TBH as it's not that recognisable. It's movements are also kinda limited in range so might not make for a very exciting play experience. HOWEVER, a bulldozers blade also doesn't move very much, and they did say that more obscure vehicles could now be more possible now that the box art shows the vehicle in its native setting to give it some context so who knows.

Do you mean the planetary reduction hub?

Well so far it sounds bigger and more expensive but not so sure about it actually being any better yet. If big is all you want then wouldn't the Colosseum or world map be better options? A motorised ladder doesn't seem like a very exciting function. Whilst the prelim image looked kinda small and meh, without something new like some sort of sophisticated new RC pneumatic technology for example, I don't see much justification for making a standard RC bulldozer any bigger or more expensive. My hopes are still very low for this set right now. Without something that's really new or interesting I'm just not that excited for a bulldozer. I'm sure it's going to be well designed and engineered but if it's just more PU and LAs then there's just not enough there to be an exciting flagship.

There's also a community post on his YouTube channel.

Well, they made the Colosseum as it is now instead of how it was in its prime!

I already did that ....in a small MOC forklift (used an air tank to look like an LPG tank on the back). Worked ok but I should have included a manual backup pump.

Make no mistake, air tank or no air tank, this set gonna be mine!

So far I'm really liking this one. You've kept the original styling, scale and functions while upgrading the main function to be more realistic. Love it!

He hasn't modelled the insides, and yes it will be a manual pump.

@nerdsforprez Fit is exactly right. In my experience I'd much rather work with another engineer I get along with!