42146 - Liebherr LR13000

[nerdsforprez]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:05 AM, howitzer said:

This of course speaks of a larger trend where more and more people have enough wealth that they can buy basically anything on a whim in this category of products (toys, collectibles, etc.) and corporations have noticed this, leading to releases of more and more expensive products. 

Pareto distribution....

[nerdsforprez]

On 8/12/2023 at 2:26 PM, howitzer said:

Yep, pewter or other tin-based alloys get really expensive fast if you just want pieces which weigh a lot. Lead would be cheaper but with its toxicity and the molding costs I don't think it's worth it. Aluminium can also be cast and it's relatively cheap, though the molding cost could be an issue. If you're going to do machining, there's no point in aluminium as steel is much heavier and thus saves you a lot of pieces to machine. Casting some sort of resin with lead shot or ball bearings inside could make for a nice, heavy piece, but I'm not sure if there would be shrinkage issues. The resin could probably be dyed or obtained in grey colour. There's also concrete which can be cast with enough precision and it could be similarly be mixed with ball bearings or whatever for heavier pieces.

Personally I would probably just make a box out of bricks and fill it with nuts and bolts or something.

Funny how fastidious folks are being for the weight plates of the set but everything else (looks and proportions wise) is crap and folks are okay with it  

 

Years ago when I did my rendition of a large Liebherr LR crane I used steel plates as the weight and old sleeper track plates from my childhood for the ballast set-up.   I was so happy to find a use for the sleeper tracks.  They were from my train sets as a kid in the 80's.  The steel plates (I had to cut them) fit perfectly inside the two brackets on the sleeper plates for a snug fit and a 1x2 brick perfectly separated them vertically.  They did not go anywhere.  

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by nerdsforprez

[Davidz90]

6 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

Fully how fastidious folks are being for the weight plates of the set but everything else (looks and proportions wise) is crap and folks are okay with it  

Exactly. In the crane I built recently, I'm using pretty much the same thing; a stack of mild steel plates in a brick-built basket to hold them. They come from 30 mm x 6 mm x 1000 mm bar (got it for 5$ or so in hardware store) and are cut into 30 mm x 6 mm x 100 mm plates (about 4x13 studs, 2 plates high). Very cheap and cutting is a 5 minute job with angle grinder 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Davidz90

[zoo]

22 hours ago, Toastie said:

And after about 40+ years, I can also afford all of their products. But I entirely lost interest in all that "new" money making stuff. There was "the RCX", and as I have learned from folks like @alexGS, @evank, @BatteryPoweredBricks, and so many more here on EB, there was a world of minds before the storm. The original Mindstorms series had it for me, as well as many Technic sets of that time. To me, it was educational. And semi-affordable. Expensive, but there were these annual Christmas and Birthday days ... where the entire family chipped in for a big one.

Well I have no idea of what is happening on the educational plane. And afford might not have been the right word to explain what I meant before. I guess I meant that before you might have been able to just casually buy whatever LEGO technic set you found interesting once in a while but this is starting to get increasingly difficult if you have other hobbies.

However, there are still a lot of cheaper sets on offer today that contains even more new parts and interesting functions than the 42146 Liebherr crane. In my view these expensive sets has not (yet) taken anything away from the smaller more affordable ones. Having said that, who knows what the techinc set lineup will look like in the future. But in my opinion we might very well be living in the golden years of LEGO technic. More sets to choose from than ever before. I don't have the statistics but wouldn't surprise me if the technic sets in retail 2023 contain more parts in different colours and more new parts than it has in many years.

Edited August 14, 2023 by zoo

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, zoo said:

But in my opinion we might very well be living in the golden years of LEGO technic. More sets to choose from than ever before.

Yeah, number-wise that may be true. Color-wise as well. Inspirational and educational ... I have at least my doubts. 

It could also be that the smaller = more affordable sets have all the Technic "spirit" - I simply don't know. I also don't know about the price tag increase on the smaller sets ... when doubling $400 it seems to hurt and become "monstrous" in comparison to doubling the price for a $30 set ... but again: I'm out on this battle.

Best regards,
Thorsten

[Lego Tom]

22 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

Fully how fastidious folks are being for the weight plates of the set but everything else (looks and proportions wise) is crap and folks are okay with it  

 

Years ago when I did my rendition of a large Liebherr LR crane I used steel plates as the weight and old sleeper track plates from my childhood for the ballast set-up.   I was so happy to find a use for the sleeper tracks.  They were from my train sets as a kid in the 80's.  The steel plates (I had to cut them) fit perfectly inside the two brackets on the sleeper plates for a snug fit and a 1x2 brick perfectly separated them vertically.  They did not go anywhere.  

 

Interesting and decent solution except I don't have the bricks. As for fastidiousness, I come from several collecting fields where maintaining stock appearance is tantamount. I don't always adhere to that philosophy however, but do tend to make any changes reversible.

[nerdsforprez]

20 hours ago, Davidz90 said:

Very cheap and cutting is a 5 minute job with angle grinder

"Great minds think"....  that is exactly how I cut mine... 

 

 

[aminnich]

Has anyone seen the acrylic display case on Amazon? Only $680 

[Toastie]

6 hours ago, aminnich said:

Has anyone seen the acrylic display case on Amazon?

Don't worry; 2.4GHz penetrates acrylic glass easily.

Play well!

Best,
Thorsten 

[CP5670]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:05 AM, howitzer said:

This of course speaks of a larger trend where more and more people have enough wealth that they can buy basically anything on a whim in this category of products (toys, collectibles, etc.) and corporations have noticed this, leading to releases of more and more expensive products. When I was a kid I was squarely in the middle class and nobody I knew had wealthy enough family that they could've had any Lego set they wanted. While as an adult I'm still middle-class, I could buy my kid any Lego they wished for and same for myself - they are not that expensive, except when they are such as the Liebherr crane. It's not above what I could afford if I really wanted, but it's something I have to think about and at the moment I've concluded that I won't be getting it - too expensive for what I'd get. For less expensive sets such as the 42128 or 42145 I didn't have to think twice, I just bought them as soon as they were available. Same goes for most people I know, though I also recognize that some of them are less fortunate and have to think carefully about any excess or luxury, while I also know people that are significantly better off than me, who can buy a new car without thinking it twice. It's just that nowdays more people are well off enough that things such as Lego are no longer a major purchase than there were in my childhood.

There is a general trend of adults buying toys that they grew up with for themselves. They have more money now but still like the same things, and all toy companies have noticed it. Lego is a pretty cheap hobby compared to a lot of other stuff people buy.

This set is nice but not the kind of set I buy these days. I'm less impressed with huge Technic sets these days and prefer more moderately sized models packed with functions like 42128. I don't like those weight pieces either, they look and feel like a cheap clone brand piece.

[zoo]

6 hours ago, CP5670 said:

This set is nice but not the kind of set I buy these days. I'm less impressed with huge Technic sets these days and prefer more moderately sized models packed with functions like 42128. I don't like those weight pieces either, they look and feel like a cheap clone brand piece.

I agree about the weight pieces. And it might just be me being strange but seing many of the larger parts in this set are just thrown into a big box doesn't seem very premium to me. Sure it is better for the environment this way I guess, but still.

[The Southern Brickfan]

just spotted this on youtube from Dawid Szmandra:

puts things into perspective :)

 

[canuckster]

I think this set is a case where Lego needs to make an exception and make an expansion set for. I was disappointed at the 1m size, but I bought it anyways like a schmuck but ended up being somewhat surprised by how good it looks despite the terrible proportions. I would definitely pony up a couple hundred more to make this thing 1,5 meters tall.

[aeh5040]

4 hours ago, canuckster said:

I think this set is a case where Lego needs to make an exception and make an expansion set for. I was disappointed at the 1m size, but I bought it anyways like a schmuck but ended up being somewhat surprised by how good it looks despite the terrible proportions. I would definitely pony up a couple hundred more to make this thing 1,5 meters tall.

Just wait a few months until the parts are readily available and there are fan-designed instructions!

[CP5670]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:37 AM, zoo said:

I agree about the weight pieces. And it might just be me being strange but seing many of the larger parts in this set are just thrown into a big box doesn't seem very premium to me. Sure it is better for the environment this way I guess, but still.

I keep all the old pre-2000 boxes with the flaps and trays for this reason. They really feel like a premium product. The newer boxes aren't worth keeping for the most part.

[Lego Tom]

18 hours ago, canuckster said:

I think this set is a case where Lego needs to make an exception and make an expansion set for. I was disappointed at the 1m size, but I bought it anyways like a schmuck but ended up being somewhat surprised by how good it looks despite the terrible proportions. I would definitely pony up a couple hundred more to make this thing 1,5 meters tall.

I have no doubt the parts will become available but I'm afraid to see the price, given what one supplier is asking for the weight pieces.

[howitzer]

3 hours ago, Lego Tom said:

I have no doubt the parts will become available but I'm afraid to see the price, given what one supplier is asking for the weight pieces.

Hopefully the truss parts will become available in B&P at reasonable price - still an expensive expansion, but you'll need a lot of them so that's kind of unavoidable. I don't think the pricing of the weight pieces are relevant here.

[nerdsforprez]

Anyone know of a reasonable time frame to expect the new elements from this set to become available on B&P? 

 

[Lipko]

Interesting discussion on the price and size.

I am a middle class guy (I don't know the definitions, maybe upper class since I have about twice salary as the median salary), I could "easily" afford to buy this money-wise. The reason I cannot afford being a collector (which I am not interested in at all) is space. I cannot afford to have a separate air conditioned room or basement or shed. This is where I stand a bit surprised: seeing some of you guys have a dedicated room bigger than my bedroom. I could do it if I told my misses that "we cannot have another kid because I need that room for my toys".

So to sum it up: my opinion is the opposite to most of you: the set it not appealing as it's way too big. Not shelf compatible as the Titanic or the Saturn V. 

[AVCampos]

4 minutes ago, Lipko said:

I could do it if I told my misses that "we cannot have another kid because I need that room for my toys".

[allanp]

34 minutes ago, Lipko said:

Interesting discussion on the price and size.

I am a middle class guy (I don't know the definitions, maybe upper class since I have about twice salary as the median salary), I could "easily" afford to buy this money-wise. The reason I cannot afford being a collector (which I am not interested in at all) is space. I cannot afford to have a separate air conditioned room or basement or shed. This is where I stand a bit surprised: seeing some of you guys have a dedicated room bigger than my bedroom. I could do it if I told my misses that "we cannot have another kid because I need that room for my toys".

So to sum it up: my opinion is the opposite to most of you: the set it not appealing as it's way too big. Not shelf compatible as the Titanic or the Saturn V. 

I guess that depends how you store your Lego. I have the majority of sets sorted disassembled with parts organised in storage bins, which seems to take up way less space, well over 100 sets (probably well over 200) and a few thousand parts bought separately all sorted by type in a roughly 7 feet by 4 feet area which includes a build table. I also custom made my own bed frame to be a bit taller to house all my most valuable sets, such as those legendary boxed 90s technic sets and some boxed 90s era pirate and 9v train sets. I have room for all the Liebherr crane pieces and some empty bins ready for the new truss and large frame pieces. Just waiting on a good deal, and it'll hopefully be a Christmas present from me to me! The sorting of a few hundred thousand pieces by part type took months and months, and takes effort to maintain. Every set you build, you have to disassemble and sort every piece and never let it get out of hand, sort one set before you build the next, but it's worth it.

[Lego Tom]

17 hours ago, howitzer said:

Hopefully the truss parts will become available in B&P at reasonable price - still an expensive expansion, but you'll need a lot of them so that's kind of unavoidable. I don't think the pricing of the weight pieces are relevant here.

Doubling the size would require 10 more truss blocks, each block being 4 parts so 40 more parts. At $5 (probably a low figure), that's $200 and doesn't include the other necessary parts or cables. $300 may be a close estimate to total costs, especially since added weights will also be needed to offset the extra weight of the trusses. At that point, buying a second set might be a more viable option, especially if retail price comes down.

[BrickWild]

Anyone found a way to partially take it apart to store it in a cabinet somehow?

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

I got one for 469 Euros. I think the price will gradually go lower - perhaps the most patient people will get it for around or even slightly less than 400 euros since it is 40 percent off the 680. 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Oh_Hi_Mao

[Lego Tom]

11 hours ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

I got one for 469 Euros. I think the price will gradually go lower - perhaps the most patient people will get it for around or even slightly less than 400 euros since it is 40 percent off the 680. 

Or you could buy the one some idiot is asking $1400 for on ebay!

On 8/25/2023 at 12:05 PM, nerdsforprez said:

Anyone know of a reasonable time frame to expect the new elements from this set to become available on B&P? 

 

Someone has a listing on ebay for 10 sets, each set containing the 4 sections needed to make one section of boom - for $69.99 per set or $17.50 per section.