allanp

So with the understanding that the app will be updated to include a way to make your own custom setups in future I bought it Sunday and I have to say I think 42099 is great! Control+ works so much better than PF and I found myself not having to look at the screen very much at all to control, though a physical control is still very desirable. The drive train remains very unrealistic with all the motors being mounted to the axles. Would much prefer them mounted under the hood and linked to live axles using drive shafts. But on the plus side the new gear reduction hubs are brilliant. There's no jerky movement AT ALL. I built it using 16t gears all round in the drive and as a crawler it outperforms the old crawler easily, with power and precision. Great job

I was hoping that you could attach a servo directly to a new style pneumatic valve and when to do the calibration, it would know that the mechanical limit is roughly 45 degrees either way, and you would then have 10 smaller steps or something for finer control.

Well I've just upgraded my phone to a pixel 3a so that's that problem sorted!

It seems that Control+ requires a device with slightly higher specs than the powered up app. https://www.lego.com/en-gb/service/device-guide/control-plus Android 6.0 and 1.5gb of ram for control+ vs android 5.3 and 1gb of ram for powered up. My smart phone is android 7 but only 1gb of ram.

I'm also curious about the stress limits of not only the new CV joint but also the new wheel hubs. After all the internal sun gear is smaller than a regular 8 tooth gear, but then it's also a solid piece. I wonder, if any of you had yours sent to you by Lego, would you be willing to test these to destruction! Which part breaks first, the wheel hub, the CV joint or the axle driving the CV joint (hopefully the latter), and using an XL motor what gear ratio is needed to do that?

So there could be a control+ + programmable and customisable app in future! C++ is the future folks!

Of course. Battle of the titans, tug of war and ascent were all tests of torque delivered to the wheel, so three points for what is essentially the same test. But we know 42099 does much better with more appropriate gearing. So if you take those three points from the old and add them to the new the scores are much closer. I know it's all a bit of fun but I demand a Rocky 4 training montage (sings Parts on fire, gears swapped over, crawling shall begin!!!!) and a rematch!

Is that a spoiler for tomorrows main event?! Maybe just the first half. I'm pleased to see the XL motor actually has the same internal motor as the PF XL as that means it should have the same or similar overall power, but delivered in a more sensible way, higher speed and lower torque. it's a shame that the control+ app appears so limiting right now in terms of customisation. I'd be paying £200 for 4 hubs and the CV joints which is all I want from this set right now. I love the new mechanical parts but the very expensive electrical parts are making me lean towards just bricklinking the parts I want instead of buying the whole set, at least until they get the customisation sorted.

RIP Ingmar. May God bless you.

@syclone that's awesome!

See I knew it was driver error!

I've just founds Fords new marketing campaign for the 1974 pinto wagon! I mean, I've never smashed a single Lego model in a YouTube video coughHYPNODISKcough!

@Sariel I notice there's a question on your YouTube page asking which one will win out of 42099 vs the old crawler. I look forward to seeing the answer on Friday out of curiosity, but here's my prediction. New crawler 42099 is defeated by the old crawler. So the new crawler is forced to go through a rocky 4 style training montage (PARTS ON FIRE!) and comes back for the rematch. The old crawler declares "I must break you". The new crawler gets flashbacks of being thrown from a crane for a promotional video! But he pull himself together and the new crawler does much better, but is it enough to win? Noice!

I'm guessing that teaser is the outtakes. Driver probably went to one touch mode accidentally and drove it off the crane

I don't recall having that issue. Obviously it will be a little harder to turn with the weight of the crane on it but not excessive. Was yours bought "new" or used? Maybe there is some dirt/grit in the turn table?

What phone do you have?

good news! Any change you can measure the torque of the new motors?

Silver would be an OK substitute for chrome, which tends to peel over time. But yeah, I know a Ram is very unlikely but I wanted to give an example of how the next UCS car doesn't always have to be a supercar.

Well I'm glad someone said it

Wow factor much?! Now picture if you will, chrome front bumper and grill and new chrome wheels, same diameter as the unimog wheels but much narrower (to be more like real wheels), and have a very deep positive offset allowing two to be pinned together directly for the rear wheels. Also has new stronger diffs and a new 24 tooth planetary outer gear that can be braked using a servo motor. Several of those stacked together combined with a control+ hub and you have a motorised monster with the first official automatic gearbox. Would also have 4 wheel drive with options for high range, low range, two wheel drive and diff locking, beefy suspension, live axes and drop link steering. Still want another UCS supercar? I just think that this is where a line of sets aimed at adults (and adult wallets!) could really excel beyond what we've seen before. But now I fear I am going into wishlist territory.....just a bit!

As much as I really don't want another fast car for the 3rd "UCS" set (like seriously, isn't it going to get pretty boring having a fast car every two years? Why not do a heavy duty Ram pickup or something, broaden the horizons!) for an Aventador in gun metal grey or maybe white I'd make an exception!

So with control+ just around the corner I think this could be a good topic to discuss which devices the community would recommend for controlling and programming their control+ quipped Lego creations. Any device would obviously need wifi and Bluetooth and a touch screen. But beyond that I'm kind of a noob when it comes to the technical aspects. For example, doesn't control+ use a newer low power form of Bluetooth? Will any old Bluetooth device be compatible? Other considerations people might have is if they want to try the most cost effective option and download the app onto their existing smartphone. But another option would be to buy a dedicated device that would be used just for control+. This is obviously not the most cost effective approach but it does have some advantages. Firstly it doesn't have to be a phone. It could be a tablet with a larger screen making control and programming easier. If your kids wanna play with it then I think some people might be more comfortable letting them play without much supervision with a small inexpensive tablet than their own personal smart phone. You also don't have to clog up your smart phone with even more stuff. I don't know about you but my phone is already showing signs of slowing down despite only being a few years old. I think you would also get a more "premium" experience from having such a dedicated device. It may be made by Samsung or whoever, but to you it would be your Lego remote. Another consideration is future proofing. Many of us appreciate the fact that our old electronic sets still work, like our bar-code trucks and our control centres. They still work fine which really is great and also speaks to the superior quality of Lego products. Are there any such devices or brands that can match that kind of longevity and future proofyness? Please note, while I wouldn't dare to tell people what to do on the internet, I would merely suggest that this not be the topic to discuss the pros/cons of control+ itself, as I think this would inflate this topic beyond use. So for all you guys and gals that are more tech savvy than I am (most of you I'm sure), I'd like to hear your thoughts. Money wise option of using existing smart phone; Minimum phone requirements (do we even know this yet?) so we can know if our existing phones will be ok Premium dedicated device option What device would it be (phone/small tablet/big tablet/something else) Minimum device requirements recommended requirements for the absolute best experience/highest performance other consideration like future proofing or child proofing! I think it would be nice to get a bit of a head start on figuring out what our control+ options are before buying any sets so that we can be ready to go as soon as we have built our first control+ model.

Soooo much twiddling of knobs. This can't be much fun to play with....erm....I mean operate! It would only be worse with the new longer LAs because that would mean even more twiddling. The car transporter also seems to have the same issue but not quite as bad. One good thing about the crane is the Arocs gear rack housings and dog bones in yellow. I'm sorry guys, I'm trying but I'm struggling to put much of a positive spin on either of these sets. @SarielI know star ratings are purely subjective and matters of opinion but I have to ask, how do you derive your scores for authenticity? Your graphic says "How do model's looks and functions compare against its real-life inspiration?". It seems odd to have looks be part of that when you already have a dedicated category for looks. And comparing functions, well the functions look like they move like the real life inspiration but the functions certainly don't work, operate or perform like that in real life. So again it appears you have two scores for looks and non for mechanical authenticity. Not that I mind as your review shows perfectly well that these things are true, just seems a little odd that a scoring system for a predominantly Technic focused review is more concerned with looks then replication of real world mechanics or, "build for real" so to speak.

Going by how popular the past 2 UCS Cars have been it's highly likely there will be a third.

Right now I think my sole desire for 42099 lies entirely in those new hubs . Can I justify the price of the set just for those when I can wait a while and get them off bricklink? I could buy 8 hubs and build my first tatra truck! With the state Control+ appears to be in right now I think bricklink is the best option. I like the potential that Control+ has to offer, but right now there's no sign that I can make my own custom control layouts. So I may wait to see how much customisation the control app has to offer and also the actual performance of the new motors and hubs (which I still think is being heavily hindered by the models gearing). Can the hubs output more power per port than other options? What is the overall mechanical output power of the new motors? RPM alone doesn't tell you this. I hope reviewers can answer these. Perhaps the Control+ elements should have their own in depth review.