allanp

Just tested a pneumatic cylinder using a motor pump and it generated 4.8kg of force. So theoretically I guess 21 of those could lift 100 kgs, 210 could lift 1000 kgs and so on.....I guess. I think it's possible, just don't have the money to try it

I personally don't agree that making a set worse by making it unfinished or making functions not work properly or whatever makes it better by allowing the consumer to finish off their design for them. I agree with Jim that that's not TLGs intent, at least I hope not. While it's an in built benefit of Lego that we can modify it, providing the parts are in production to do so (they don't make the parts to change the Porsche to a nice colour for example), that's definitely not the same thing as poorly designing a set knowing the customer has limited scope to make it right.

I'm not so sure the next "UCS" technic set will even be a supercar of any kind seeing as we had the Porsche recently. But I think it will be licensed. We know the Porsche sold very well, and we know they are willing to invest in new parts to make it as good as is financially viable. They know the issues people had with the Porsche. Looks great but mechanically meh! So it seems logical to me that the next one will be an iconic 4x4, the most iconic being those made by land rover, much like sheepos, but with a ton of new parts to make it mechanically authentic. Is that a wish? Yes, but it does also make sense to me that this is what the next one will be as it ticks all the boxes of being a continuation while fixing the issues with the last one while also not releasing two similar products, that being supercars, only one or two years apart. In any case I am greatly looking forward to seeing what it actually is, but I must also remember that some of my own dissatisfaction was caused by my own expectations. So I'm keeping my mind open to whatever it is.

Instructions now available. Usually, I find models with lots of purely easthetic details a bit dull to build, I like to build mechanisms! But this model looks like a fun build as it mixes in some brick based building for variety and there's a good amount of mechanics crammed into the deceptively small scale truck. It's a shame the 5x7 frames don't come in black for the truck and green for the trailer and that the cranes move so slow but I'm still gonna get it as soon as I see it on the shelf!

So what happens when it's on the ground and you try to drive it, does the motor stall?

i would also like to add my thanks to Lego for being awesome and more, and also for the Technic line, which is something that keeps me coming back year after year

Sorry to hear that. So what happens when you try the other functions? Can you hear the motors working but nothing happens? Is only one motor working? Are the motors trying to work but are stalled? Can the model be moved along the floor easily when pushed by hand when in neutral or when in gear? It seems strange that steering works but nothing else, as the motor that drives steering can also drive two other functions.

Yes and the wheels are triangular, the scewing makes them look round! People, myself included, commented that the boom on 42070 looked too small. It think 5x5 boom would also look a bit too small for 42082. And to have it extend so long it needs to be beefy!

Pretty certain it's a 3x7 dog bone, and I'm also in the dark blue camp for the forklift. But I STILL can't decide what that gray part is on the logging machine behind the front seat with the black 20t double bevel gear sticking out the side

That's what I thought he meant. Still wondering what that grey piece is behind the drivers seat with the black 20t double bevel gear sticking out the side.

I can't say for this model, but I regularly use CV or universal joints on long axles to accommodate any twisting in the frame.

Looking at 42080, on the front half behind the driver's seat, what could that grey thing be with the axle sticking out the side with the black 20t double bevel gear on it? A new valve or something really obvious I'm missing?! Not unless the cabin comes assembled

It does indeed look like a 3x7 dog bone in red. Also I wonder if I'm seeing black BWE quarter ring gears for the turn table. Very hard to make out.

Working steering wheel! YAY!!! Also like how the chassis of the trailer is made from plates, quite realistic. Not sold on the crankless engine, but it had to be done to fit six cylinders. If only there was something to replace the LAs with to make it operate better . Besides that I look forward to getting it!

I dropped a duff micromotor onto a tiled floor and for some reason that got it working again!

I don't have one of those motors, but still it doesn't sound right to me. Sounds like you have a damaged tooth on one of the internal gears. I also wonder if the lubrication has dried out or something. Best thing I think would be to take it apart and inspect everything, then use some thin lithium grease on the gears when re-assembling. If you do, remember to take pictures as you take it apart so you can know how it all goes back together.

It's true that any company will charge whatever price brings the most profit. But that tends to be more spread over TLGs entire range of products from all themes. When comparing two specific sets however, its interesting that the correlation between price and weight happens to be very strong, which is more useful for us fans that are trying to decipher why one set costs X amount compared to another set. More weight means more pieces, larger more complex pieces, assemblies counted as one piece like a suspension strut, power functions, or any combination of these. I don't know the weights of the rally car or the hover craft, but I would say the rally car is heavier with its large tyres and wheels, suspension parts, despite having less parts than the hovercraft, so with the correlation between weight and price being so strong ide expect the rally car to cost more.

There isn't much of a correlation between price and piece count. However the correlation between price and weight is fairly strong.

Ah you mean like the Arocs then!

Good point. As a kid I remember looking at a set and reading it's functions and thinking that I couldn't recreate it with the same functions in the same space with current parts, so there must be new ones. I think kids that are into technic, aka existing customers, are aware of these things. I understand that they have to constantly look for new customers to whom all parts and functions are new, but smart companies look after existing customers too to keep them coming back year after year. You are right. Designers are artists in many ways, and art doesn't always flourish within the cage of business. Every single one of my favourite bands have produced real stinkers of music from time to time. It happens. Only need to worry when the stickers start to greatly outnumber the gems.

I'd say the rally car kinda compares to the Dakota wrecker released in 1994. They both have a v6 engine driven via the rear wheels, both have full suspension, the Dakota wrecker has a winch while the rally car has opening doors. The differences are that the Dakota wrecker was £35 on release (equivalent to £65 today) and it has a bunch of new parts (I mean real new parts, not some variation of connector peg) to bring a suspended steered front axle to a set this scale, not seen before except only in much larger sets. Back then, there was a need to improve in terms of mechanical complexity and authenticity on what came before (even in the smaller sets), not just simply have the same but repackaged in a different shape/colour. Because of this, the rally car does not appear to have such innovation or improvement from previous years as the Dakota wrecker did, and is more expensive even with inflation taken into account. Here are some examples of what new things I think the rally car MIGHT have had, had it been designed with more of a golden era mindset, but in 2017 with all the sets of previous years to contend with and seek to improve upon: A new wheel hub holder piece, similar to what it has but it accepts a suspension spring directly into it allowing a McPherson strut setup possible, A front transverse mounted inline 3 engine driven by the front wheels (there are many front wheel drive rally cars), A 20t clutch gear (extending the range of clutch gears from 1 to 2!) to make an extremely simple 2 speed gearbox with very few parts, At this price point, possibly all of the above! So for those AFOLs who got to enjoy the golden era of the late 80's through to mid/late 90's as children, I can see why some may be a little disappointed. However todays kids aren't the same kids as we used to be. Now there's so many more distractions and sources of instant gratification from social media, the internet and so on. I only had 4 TV channels to choose from! So more emphasis (read more of the sets budget) kinda has to go towards it looking good and attention grabbing on the box, while at the same time keeping at least the same level of functionality so as not to go backward into irrelevance (because Technic with mechanical functions is a pointless thing). It's nice to see with the Mack truck that a striking, bold looking and impressive model can be made from grey, and not goofy colours like baby blue or purple. Like a monkey in a bra, simply being striking does not equal being desirable! It's a tightrope that the designers walk on between being what Technic should be (well crafted engineering marvels that appeals to all ages), and what it has to be to sell in a world full of distractions. But at the end of the day the rally car is a 1st haft set and not the biggest first half set of 2018, so it really should be no surprise that it falls on the childish side of the tightrope. And that's fine, if it helps keep Technic popular then it's great, because when Technic is profitable it means we can look forward to a second half which has a larger budget to help make it have an even greater appeal to both kids and adults, as it should be, because that's when it's at it's best.

Reeeeeeeeeally like the new roller coaster parts! Hoping they expand on this in the coming years.

I think one thing parents like about Lego is that it get kids away from computers and smart phones and all that stuff. And as been said regular, none mindstorms Lego sets contain everything in the box except batteries for it to be used and enjoyed as per the instructions. While the current PF is 10 years old, I think a better option may possibly be proper radio control, or if they go Bluetooth they should sell an add-on which is a Bluetooth touch screen or control system of some kind which is NOT a phone.

Nice one

Wasn't Jim going to be releasing his QnA session with the designers!