Maaboo the Witch

Had a good look at the prelims, and I'll lob in my two cents: 42079 - forklift, forklift, forklift! Damn, it's been a decade! I like this - we've had a paucity of yellow sets recently, and it's actually quite nice to see one again. Phew. I like the look of the mast mechanism. The barrel looks a bit too brick-built; hopefully we'll get another HF barrel with this. Nice. 42080 - woah, I like this forest machine! A bit on the psychedelic side - check out the DBG rims that won't be in the final set! - but the overall effect is cohesive enough, and it's great to see more pneumatics since we had nothing on that front this year. Relatively rare subject as well. 42081 - woah again! Whole buncha woah! If you were in doubt about TLG's latest 'future Technic' trend, you won't be anymore! This ultra-huge mechanical scorpion bulldozer thing looks like something out of Alien's Weyland-Yutani stable, and as a proponent of said Company - if my profile pic didn't scream it loud enough - I think it looks bloody stunning. The drone is a cherry on a very big cake! It's Volvo as well, bringing the total of their licensed sets to three and beating out Mercedes-Benz. Also, Claas tyres and Volvo bucket! 42082 - big red crane! Pretty cool, good to see those Claas red rims on yet another set. Like the modular building parts as well, we don't get enough of that sort of thing with cranes and loaders - namely, a load! Now this is how you do a line-up.

Roll on the images! I'm especially interested in the futuristic Volvo and that flagship...

On the situation regarding new parts, there don't seem to be many in the Mack besides a couple of panels in DBG. Good to see plates with holes making a return to Technic, though.

I'm not into cars, but 42077 looks like a really satisfying and sturdy build. The roll cage and the engine cover mechanism are very cool as well. Plus it has suspension and you can see the engine! In my opinion, speaking objectively, this is better than the Porsche! It's even got better steering!

Ohh, that box looks good...

Alternately, then, we could look at the tyres in 8110 (2011). It took three years (2014) to get smaller versions, so maybe we'll get small tractor tyres in 2019. Time will tell!

I meant the balloon tyres in the 8455 backhoe, not the 8466 off roader.

Yeah, I'd love some smaller versions. I'd put them on everything! Seriously, though, I'm a little disappointed there are no new sets that feature them. Still, though, the balloon tyres included in 8455 took six years to produce a smaller variant, so we may have to wait until 2022 for mini tractor tyres.

Now I'd pay £220 for this!

Argos have whacked it back up to £199.99. You'd have to be desperate. Smyth's are now the cheapest, still at £169.99. Still too high for me, and they haven't shifted A ONE. TRU have it at the same price. And TLG still have it at - you know what, I'm not even going to type it. I just don't get how TLG think this sort of pricing is acceptable. I know we've been there already, but it's ridiculous. There is just no way this set should cost so much. No. Freakin'. Way. I only hope TLG have hiked it up for the holidays, because if they don't drop it back down in the new year, it just won't sell.

42076 B reminds me of 1997's Tread Trekker with that detachable plane. Overall, I'd still say this is a good set, though probably not what I'm into. The yellow axles do bring the A-model ramp debate up again.

Shame the instructions of the First Responder aren't up - we need to know what those pins are for!

Sets like 8279 and 8457 were Technic sets in the early 2000s; they were motorized vehicles that would have belonged better in Racers, but the theme hadn't been invented yet. Blakbird himself says that 8279 was practically a Racers set. Same with the Speed Slammers and some other sets. Also, some of the Racers sets around that time used Technic parts and functions. 2002 is notable, here; there were no new Technic sets but lots of Racers sets with Technic parts. In fact, the first fully studless sets were in the Racers line. Racers came to an end in 2012, and in 2013 the pullbacks came out, probably due to some math in the financial department in Billund. I'm just guessing there, though.

Yeah, in 2012, there were four monster truck-type sets and an online game, then it all just stopped with no fanfare. Guess that's why TLG brought in the pull-backs in 2013, probably cost-cutting by merging themes. Problem is, that got them in trouble in the early 2000s when it diluted the Technic brand. And now they've added another feature to the pull-backs, the engine thing. Hopefully this won't spin off any further, otherwise TLG is risking more returns to the dark days.

Racers was discontinued a few years ago and I don't see it returning. We do need a new forklift, though. It's been a decade since our last one. Maybe in H2...

Mm-hm. I remember that blurry picture of 42070... Ah well. Looking forward to the next set of blurry images!

Quite a mix.

Jetboat.

It's fine. I've lost count of the times I've got a set number wrong.

I forget where the pics are; but yes. It's another boat with another small truck, this time with a crane arm.

I have since amended my opinion, if you can afford a few seconds to check the comments above.

I think it's supposed to be like the steering on the Arocs - two knobs, but only one need be turned to make the mechanism work.

Nope. Even if they were connected belowdecks, you'd have to account for the direct input to each actuator. It definitely looks like everything is on top. Edit: I've rechecked the picture; the input axles do go below decks, through the hole in the deck panel. Everything makes a bit more sense now, though I'm still not entirely convinced until I see instructions. If it's like Erik says, I actually think this is a neat little set. It's more technical than the Ocean Explorer, and it's got some nice details. Plus that little Research Explorer Vehicle (mini 42070-B?) is the right mix of cute and cool.

Changing the subject, we can come back to the joiner thing later. Does anyone else think the MLA-powered ramp on 42076 is utterly stupid? To lower/raise it properly, you have to turn both knobs at the same time. Turn one too fast and it won't lower properly. I mean, come on! Most unwieldy mechanism ever.

Has anyone noticed that the Hook Loader has one of these in DBG at the base of the hook arm? Hasn't been one since 2005! Guess that means some other sets, not necessarily Technic, might be using them as well. Edit: Just looked on the Mack, it has several more.