Often people judge sets by the question "how interesting/challenging is the build"?

I'm wondering if there are sets at all which a reasonably experienced AFOL(!) technic builder finds challenging (s.b. my remark at the end) to build with the provided BI of the set. I have build quite all sets from the beginning of the technic product line until today and i must say, exactly one set comes to my mind, where i found the build quite challeging: The good old Air tech claw rig 8868.

Remark: do not mistake challenging for interesting! interesting builds i know many but challenging just one.

EDIT: maybe the pneumatic backhoe 8455 is another candidate, but i'm not sure... probably the 8868 is really the only challenging if you take the term "challenging" literally.

You?

Edited January 20, 201510 yr by Kumbbl

I've never understood how someone could consider building a set to be challenging. The instructions aren't difficult to follow. Sometimes, while building an older set, I might not notice something and have to go back a page, but it's just following instructions.

In what way did you find 8868 to be challenging? (I've never built it before.)

I've never understood how someone could consider building a set to be challenging. The instructions aren't difficult to follow. Sometimes, while building an older set, I might not notice something and have to go back a page, but it's just following instructions.

In what way did you find 8868 to be challenging? (I've never built it before.)

in general i agree - therefore i found only this one set...

with the 8868 i found fiddling all these pneumatic hoses through the tight model somehow challenging - to make things clear: there were never the question what is to do (the BI is typical and compact for these "old" days but never confusing). but nevertheless it was a challenge to fit in all the stuff in the chassis (the valves, the hoses, the turntable-pneumatic-mechanism) and then fiddling the hoses up to the crane - the crane itself was easy going but the pneumatic stuff of the chassis i would rate as challenging..

Edited January 20, 201510 yr by Kumbbl

For me was the 8110 Unimog just because of the pneumatic hoses which were too stiff to get them into the corresponding valves/cylinders/etc.Very very frustrating.

Edited January 20, 201510 yr by Freekysch

Yes, with instructions I see no real challenge either. As soon as a challenge occurs, it is actually an annoyance for me. For example pneumatic tubing, or anything that requires a non clumsy hand, or a state in the build when I have to hold the thing in my hands because it's not held togerther yet (arrgggh those not-yet-braced gearboxes).

All of them! :laugh:

There is no such thing as a challenging official set from Lego because the instructions are so detailed and only a few pieces/parts are added per step. But if you are looking for challenging building experience I highly recommend you trying building a Madoca model by following his picture sequence instructions. This is a challenge because each part is not called out and you have to carefully study each picture in order to properly build his models. I also found D3K's recent 6x6 offroad modular truck to be especially challenging... it requires 3 and sometimes 4 hands to get some subassemblies attached to the truck chassis. Now that is challenging!

All of them! :laugh:

You made my day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:

All of them! :laugh:

:laugh_hard: :laugh_hard: :thumbup:

There is no such thing as a challenging official set from Lego because the instructions are so detailed and only a few pieces/parts are added per step. But if you are looking for challenging building experience I highly recommend you trying building a Madoca model by following his picture sequence instructions. This is a challenge because each part is not called out and you have to carefully study each picture in order to properly build his models. I also found D3K's recent 6x6 offroad modular truck to be especially challenging... it requires 3 and sometimes 4 hands to get some subassemblies attached to the truck chassis. Now that is challenging!

hmm, i disagree - i have build a lot of MOCs and all of them are quite well understandable if there are BI - regardless if a PDF or photo instructions - madoccas photos are near at perfection, they are easy to follow - really challenging is IMHO building just with an LDD - because the computer generated step sequence is in 99% crap and you have often to look ahead many many steps to see if you can add some parts without running into "dead locks" in further steps....

but i agree in one aspect: attaching big subassemblies can really be frustrating because to have to fiddle 5 or more axles and pins simultenously in different holes, connectors etc... yes, this can be hard and can sometimes make you crying ...applying Han's twin wheel MOD for the 8258 is such an example...

in general i agree - therefore i found only this one set...

with the 8868 i found fiddling all these pneumatic hoses through the tight model somehow challenging - to make things clear: there were never the question what is to do (the BI is typical and compact for these "old" days but never confusing). but nevertheless it was a challenge to fit in all the stuff in the chassis (the valves, the hoses, the turntable-pneumatic-mechanism) and then fiddling the hoses up to the crane - the crane itself was easy going but the pneumatic stuff of the chassis i would rate as challenging..

That pretty much sums it up for me as well!

All of them! :laugh:

Hahaha, brilliant! Mad respect to you!

The Unimog was my first truly difficult build, mostly because of the air hoses and it was my first gearbox, though not a hugely complicated one, 42009 had a very large amount of gears, made the instructions a little hard to follow, and that pointlessly long axle...

There is no such thing as a challenging official set from Lego because the instructions are so detailed and only a few pieces/parts are added per step. But if you are looking for challenging building experience I highly recommend you trying building a Madoca model by following his picture sequence instructions. This is a challenge because each part is not called out and you have to carefully study each picture in order to properly build his models. I also found D3K's recent 6x6 offroad modular truck to be especially challenging... it requires 3 and sometimes 4 hands to get some subassemblies attached to the truck chassis. Now that is challenging!

I agree. The homemade instructions like Madocas photo instruction for the Tatra, which I am building now, are giving me a very satisfying challenge. They are very detailed, but you need to be on your toes all the time, a small mistake and you will be sorry later. Speaking from my own experience :) Also you need to figure out yourself how to do the job, Madoca only shows what it should look like. For me this is very challenging.

Also some old sets where the instructions weren't overly detailed. I remember that 8880 was challenging for me. I had some things that needed to be fixed in order to get it to work properly.

Edited January 20, 201510 yr by Askan

There are few MOCs I found challenging to build, but perhaps it was the limited instructions available, and I had to try few 'options' before coming up with the correct parts/assembly.

The first Technic model I got was the 8043 Excavator, which I really didn't find too challenging to build. I did make a small mistake with the placement of one of the clutch gears though, but that was probably because I built it so late at night.

in general i agree - therefore i found only this one set...

with the 8868 i found fiddling all these pneumatic hoses through the tight model somehow challenging - to make things clear: there were never the question what is to do (the BI is typical and compact for these "old" days but never confusing). but nevertheless it was a challenge to fit in all the stuff in the chassis (the valves, the hoses, the turntable-pneumatic-mechanism) and then fiddling the hoses up to the crane - the crane itself was easy going but the pneumatic stuff of the chassis i would rate as challenging..

If all those hoses are not sitting exactly right, it's not gonna work well (especially the slewing) and you can't really make that out in the instructions as such. I'm confident it's one of the most "I've build it, but now I must take it apart and try again to make it actually work" sets, followed closely by 8043, 42009 and maybe 8110 (if help threads are to go by here)

Anyway, the most challenging MOCs are the ones I haven't build yet 'cause I can't figure out how to put my ideas into bricks

Cheers,

Ole

hmm, i disagree - i have build a lot of MOCs and all of them are quite well understandable if there are BI

Try building Lipko's V12 Coupe. Now that was a real challenge!

Try building Lipko's V12 Coupe. Now that was a real challenge!

Indeed, but it was great fun as well!

The Vampire GT had some parts I really had to force to get attached. Many pneumatic MOCs are probably tough just because of all the tubing

Edited January 20, 201510 yr by Rishab N

khm*useTherionsInstructions*khm

I seem to remember quite a lot of cursing and skinned knuckles building the 8880 chassis. There are a couple of steps where you have to put pieces under stress to fit them in.

As already stated, none of the current kits are a real challenge! The challenge comes when you start to "improve" the kit, as has been done to the 42009 crane and is now being done to the Volvo loader.

Most things are pretty easy, but 42030 had a couple steps where stuff was just flopping around loosely that I found annoying, particularly when it came time to start nailing it down.

Just try to buiil this one...

now that is was I call challeging..

It's from the online building instruction of the 42039.

I guess TLC makes the a-model instructions so low in quality for a reason.

Edited January 21, 201510 yr by JunkstyleGio

Whoaa, after seeing your picture JunksyleGio, I remembered that i built 8110 with online instructions, a nightmare. The quality is so poor ...

Wow, that has to be a new low!

EDIT:

For those who think the new instructions are too easy, just throw them in the trash and build from the .pdf instead!

Edited January 21, 201510 yr by D3K