Timewhatistime

The christmas scene is one of my favourites of your countless 42117 alternate creations. The helicopter and the tricycle are instantly recognizable and even have functions - really great!

Now I see, thank you. Did not expect a black 2L axle.

Is the reel able to turn in order to wind/rewind the jackhammer's hose? On the one hand, the reel seems to be fixed to the black connector; on the other hand, it looks as if connected to the mini-LA's axle...

If the backhoe is built like in the digital renders, the two Mini-LAs will work counterwise and so won't operate the bucket. If it's done as shown in the video, they will.

Yes... but the turning direction of propeller changes... Besides that, it is a nice idea. :-)

This reminds me a little bit of Thaddeus Cahill's Telharmonium at the end of the 19th century. Maybe you could get some inputs from this early synthesizer.

I agree completely in respect of the importance of controls: Symmetry, accessibility and ergonomic positions are import aspects - after having struggled successfully with the functions itselves. ;-) Like you, I tend to put the controls on the cabin's roof (if there is one) so that they can by reached from both sides and without twisting my hands too much (e.g. in my purple hook-lift truck in [TC 27]).

Is a height of 2 L allowed? Then you could attach two parts 2393 (with their pins pointing upwards) and connect them by a transversally mounted liftarm (which then provides the center pinhole for your contraption).

There are rims which nearly match the conditions - except for the diameter (about 3,5 L). So they won't fit within the 3 L x 3 L space, but have to be situated above the turntable. Moreover, they are thicker than 1 L (about 1,5 L). Example: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=60208#T=C Or maybe you could built something with several connectors? I would begin with two of these https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=27940 or two of these https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=32184 or maybe one of those new parts sitting flush against the turntable's pinholes https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2393 Or maybe you could use three 5 L liftarms side by side (and stabilized by the outer pinholes which aren't used to lead axles through them). Or maybe this rare part could serve your purposes: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=61905#T=C&C=85

What do yo mean by "a 1L gap which the pin joiners have"? I don't see a 1L gap within a single pin joiner - just the small slot in its middle. And the gap betwern the two pin joiners surely is not what you mean, is it?

This truck is worth every thread bumping! Admirable density, funtionality and cleanness. ...and it's consoling that other MOCers also sometimes run into need of parts they don't have in the amounts they would like to have (pin with pinhole lbg/dbg at the horizontal mini-LA). Speaking of this mini-LA: It's nice to see your advanced version of the locking mechanism based on 8052. This is my favourite part along with the HOG steering using the blue 20 t idle double bevel gear to combine it with the control gear (black 12 t double bevel gear) of the locking mechanism.

Can somebody imagine why TLG tries to promote sets (42055 BWE) which aren't available in store anymore for a couple of years?

On top of the truck comes the crane, which increases the height. According to https://www.brickmerge.de/42043-1_lego-technic-mercedes-benz-arocs-3245, the 42043 is 14 cm wide and 31 cm tall (with retracted crane an retracted outriggers, of course). Given a maximum allowed width of 2,55 m, equivalent to 14 cm in scale, the set's height of 31 cm yields a hypothetical real-life height of 5,65 m. However, maximum allowed height is 4 m - this is the measurement our eyes are used to when it comes to trucks on average roads (at least in Germany). This seems to be the explanation why the 42043 looks a little bit out of shape. All of us who have built some Technic crane trucks will know about the challenges of this type of vehicles. So we appreciate the affords of 42043, but still see the general flaws.

42043 is a nice set with many functions and was maybe the capstone of the last "golden era" in Technic, no doubt. It had suspension and steering and four axles, which alone made it a great set. However, I cannot really understand why it is that highly appraised. I see two conceptual flaws in 42043: 1.) The whole truck is much too high. The wheel arches offer much more space than needed for the wheels. Together with too much spring travel (which is unrealistic, but nice for playing), the whole truck gets too much height. And the crane even surmounts the cabin by quite a few studs! 2.) The outriggers are at the wrong place. In the case of two outriggers, they should be right underneith the crane to provide best stability without too much torsion in the chassis. In 42043, the space under the crane is blocked by the second axle, and so the outriggers had to move to the rear. I believe this is a consequence of the out-of-scale wheels, which are pretty common in Technic.

Should we count how many different colours are used (without any reason) in this set...? We better don't...