Week TechVideo, 2009 #16 - Crawler Crane

You may have noticed this has been much quiet at TBs , lately...
Well I've been a lot busy, preparing everything for my LUG biggest event this year.

So lets make it fast this week!


A big Crawler Crane, by Norbert.
When you think that's all, there is even more coming...

It is a XL Crawler Crane with 8 PF motors (4 XL-motors, 4 M-motors), and controlled via 4 IR receivers.
Height of this crane is approx. 170cm and it was built with more than 4700 LEGO® parts, according to its author.


IR remote control:

• Channel 1: Lift up/down the suspended ballast (XL-motor); Winch 1, to move the Derrick boom (M-motor)
• Channel 2: Winch 2, to move the main boom (M-motor); Winch 3, to move the luffing fly jib (M-motor)
• Channel 3: Traveling gear left (XL-motor); Traveling gear right (XL-motor)
• Channel 4: Winch 4, to move the hook; Turn the crane

You may also see it in action, raising an entire Dump Truck (8264), here.



Have a nice week and lets wait for new stuff in some days.

TBs TechPoll 12 - 2009, 1st Quarter - Favorite week TechVideos

Another quarter is finished, and so lets run the poll for the videos weekly featured here at TBs in the same period.

In the next two weeks, vote your favorite video(s), among those from the 1st quarter (2009, Q1) 'Week Techvideo' section.


Bellow is the list with the videos posted within this period:

• Week TechVideo, 2009 #01 - Vending Machine (Ricardo)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #02 - Genial Wheeled Excavator (Makorol)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #03 - Nico's Wheeled Excavator (Nico)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #04 - Skid Steer Loader by Shmade (Shmade)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #05 - Another Compact Loader (Nico)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #06 - Ready for the winter (Sariel)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #07 - Nico's Wheel Loader (Nico)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #08 - Wheel Dozer (Sariel)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #09 - Tractors (Michael Andersch)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #10 - More on Tractors (Han)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #11 - LEGO Flexpicker (Chris)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #12 - One beast of hydraulic shovel (Zbiczasty)
  
• Week TechVideo, 2009 #13 - Cine Room (Ricardo)
  

As usual, you can vote for more than one video!

Week TechVideo, 2009 #15 - Nico's Flatbed Car Carrier

When I saw the B-model proposed for the Hauler (8264), for the first time, found it a very cute alternative of the main model and a nice usage for the new TECHNIC Panel Plates (64782).
The Linear Actuator was off course a natural solution to lower and raise the truck flatbed.

What you may don't know, is about a similar model made some months earlier by Nico with a radically different and ingenious gear solution applied to move the flatbet, when the TECHNIC Linear Actuator, was not yet available.
Apart from manual steering, Nico's model also features a motorized winch, that helps damaged vehicles to move up.
See it in action, on the video below!

Find more pictures from this model, at Nico's BS folder.

TBs TechPool 11 (Results) - Which is your favorite flagship?

Unsurprisingly surprised!...

After 3 weeks and over 600 votes, another TBs poll has ended and we got an idea about which TECHNIC sets, are actually the favorites since ever.

Not even one set belonging to this poll, ended without being voted!

The voting results is following almost an alternate year pattern, since 1988.
It supports those who say that for more than a decade, TLG is releasing a TECHNIC flagship every two years.
The only exception was for the years 1996/97, when the TECHNIC line got to real and admittedly flagships, in consecutive years with the sets 8480 and 8479 respectively.

The 3 most voted among all, were...

And the 2nd set of 3, were...

It would be probably very difficult to get fair and normalized results from a poll like this, with votes gathered this way.
Maybe that's why, I haven't done such a poll before and was somehow reluctant to do it.

Definitely the Bulldozer (8275) is a great set! But apart from its playability, being very fresh in the memory of everyone and already an icon due to the PFS introduction, I doubt its 4 new motors and not so much mechanisms, would justify the #1 position with such significant advance.

The most recent sets may be seen to be always favored, since they are naturally the most popular among the younger.
Even those who are not younger, may tend to better remember about the newer sets or fell them more appealing, specially if had not played with the others, at the time they were released.

Some old sets are still very nice looking, others not so nice looking anymore but still represent a big step forward, at their time.
But not all would be able to recognize it in a short reflection, if haven't been thinking about that before.

Besides that, when you consider the fact that there is now (IMHO) a better selection of parts to choose from than ever, available for designers to make their models, sets like 8880, 8480 or 8868 are actually doing very well, against their more modern rivals.

Still the 8258, Crane Truck

It was very unlikely that no one had taken more pictures to the new 'Crane Truck' (8258) at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 09, last February...

So here it is a new (old) photo, recently discovered by someone, at an Italian Toys website (Hobby Media).

Taken from this angle and with this perspective, it looks the 2nd front axis, may also steer like the rear wheels on the Mobile Crane (8421).

Meanwhile, some are commenting that consumer price for this set, may get above the price at which the previous flagship (8275) is being sold. Lets wait and see...



Thanks for the hint, Ryan!