42097 Spider Crane

[Aventador2004]

I like the direction this set has gone in. Great work LEGO!

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Instructions for B model are available.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I don't understand German, but by the facial expressions, I thinkn he seems to express quite an amount of bafflement towards several design choices and an overall attitude of distaste for the set. 

The main mast looks quite flimsy when fully erected.

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Maaboo the Witch]

Bit (actually, a lot) of a rubbish B model. I can see what the designer (I'm guessing still Alfred) was going for; something like this, maybe:

But it doesn't look like anything real and it seems dangerously weedy; I think @Ngoc Nguyen's use of the word "flimsy" doesn't quite cover it. 

Oh: and I was in the vicinity of my local Smyth's today, and I just couldn't be arsed. 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I think the guy in the video also said sth about:

- If the mast doesnt rotate then what's the point for the outriggers? Since there's no turntable the crane will have to run around anyway.

- Parts from the arm in the A model that can be used to form a stable telescopic mast, but the designer chose not to.

- The tracks should be ditched, so that a proper compact tower crane with rotation and 4 outriggers that form a plus figure like the one in @Maaboo35's picture can be built.

[pleegwat]

I was reading the B model instructions earlier this week. Where the outriggers on the A model may be sagging by accident, the way the outrigger turntables are mounted on the B model just has to be saggy by design. It's only mounted in two pinholes, and they're both on the same side of the actual turntable.

[Gray Gear]

Main Point of "Held der Steine" is the B model being literally useless, missing rigidity and a rotating mast, while a lot of the parts that could have been used to fix these issues (lots of structural pieces and the big turntable) haven't been used, even though they were included in the set. I dont get it either.

[Jundis]

Actually I don't know what to think about this set. As said by Aventador:

On 7/26/2019 at 8:59 PM, Aventador2004 said:

I like the direction this set has gone in.

Finally, we have what feels like a good steady stream of construction machines within the Technic program again!

But on the other side, this just doesn't feel like a original Lego set. More like a moc with a very this flimsy/weedy/wobbly design as already mentioned, although the lifting arm is a direct copy of the 42082 design, which makes it even stranger...

They say the test everything with children (10+ years of age). Surely somebody would have commented: "Shouldn't a crane be more stable?" Actually both models look like B-models of a somewhat better A-model which just hadn't passed quality control.

Has anyone already done the "How much can it lift?"-test?

[AVCampos]

When I reviewed the set, the conclusion I reached was that it's a good set for MOCers (apart from the lack of "proper" tread sprockets) but a bad set for players.

[Maaboo the Witch]

14 minutes ago, Jundis said:

Has anyone already done the "How much can it lift?"-test?

@Sariel did a quick round in his review. Apparently it can't lift more than the load provided.

[Gray Gear]

Maybe you can lift a little more when you keep the legs folded in for better weight distribution 

[suffocation]

27 minutes ago, Jundis said:

They say the test everything with children (10+ years of age). Surely somebody would have commented: "Shouldn't a crane be more stable?"

Yeah, I'm sure kids that age know a lot about average crane stability.

C'mon lads, it's a bloody children's toy. Take it for what it is and if you don't like it either leave it on the shop shelves or challenge yourselves to make it better.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I tried some tweakings, but I can't seem to find any way to make the outriggers more stable.

The 5x7 frames that house the outriggers are simple cantilevers that are mounted on one side only and float above the tracks. Usually there need to be additional diagonal bracings, but there is no space for them in the model. Another solution is to secure it with vertical bracings outside the tracks, but that would make the model look unrealistic.

[Maaboo the Witch]

1 hour ago, suffocation said:

leave it on the shop shelves

'Kay.

[Parazels]

Is it worth €50?

I can buy it right now (brand new, sealed) for this price. The box is not in good condition, but still.

 

[suffocation]

On 8/16/2019 at 3:49 PM, suffocation said:

C'mon lads, it's a bloody children's toy. Take it for what it is and if you don't like it either leave it on the shop shelves or challenge yourselves to make it better.

What a dick Glad that year's over.

2 hours ago, Parazels said:

Is it worth €50?

I can buy it right now (brand new, sealed) for this price. The box is not in good condition, but still.

 

Definitely - it's a fun set and it's great for parts.

[Maaboo the Witch]

58 minutes ago, suffocation said:

What a dick Glad that year's over.

Definitely - it's a fun set and it's great for parts.

Yeah. We don't need him around. 

I second that. The crane has that good ol' Alfredo flimsiness in places and the slewing of the boom (when extended) is utterly awkward (bear in mind that this boom was built for 42082 ), but there's nothing else like it and who wouldn't want gear racks in yellow? Plus the B-model is a fun build if nothing else, and the stabilizers really work with that one.