[CADA] CADA General Discussion Topic

[Bartybum]

13 hours ago, efferman said:

Something new and unexpected. Or do i living behind the moon?

https://decadastore.com/products/cada-suzuki-katana-motorcycle-c59021w

*snip*

Oof, not sure how I feel about that cowling mould, feels a bit cheaty. Still an interesting set, regardless

[brunojj1]

6 hours ago, Bartybum said:

Oof, not sure how I feel about that cowling mould, feels a bit cheaty. Still an interesting set, regardless

I instantly felt the same. On the other hand we don´t know what the licensor Suzuki had required in terms of authentic looks. Some unique shapes just can´t be achieved by using the standard paneling repertoire, though in this case I´d certainly have had some alternative ideas. If I compare it to the AMG shark fin - I designed a new rotorblade which I planned to stack 2 of them to imitate the shape and I still believe it wasn´t the baddest idea. The licensor wasn´t happy about this solution, so the R&D made an exclusive moulding with an engraved brand logo in order to please them AMG guys. My rotorblade is being used in various other sets, so I´m pleased too at some point .

[MarkyMark42]

1 hour ago, brunojj1 said:

I instantly felt the same. On the other hand we don´t know what the licensor Suzuki had required in terms of authentic looks. Some unique shapes just can´t be achieved by using the standard paneling repertoire, though in this case I´d certainly have had some alternative ideas. If I compare it to the AMG shark fin - I designed a new rotorblade which I planned to stack 2 of them to imitate the shape and I still believe it wasn´t the baddest idea. The licensor wasn´t happy about this solution, so the R&D made an exclusive moulding with an engraved brand logo in order to please them AMG guys.

I guess that's the downside with making licensed sets, you have to answer to someone else. Lego might be able to get away with it being a well-known brand but CaDA don't have that same cache so they may have to do more to appease manufacturers.

The upside of them not using your solution for the AMG is a printed piece i guess

[astyanax]

4 hours ago, brunojj1 said:

If I compare it to the AMG shark fin - I designed a new rotorblade which I planned to stack 2 of them to imitate the shape and I still believe it wasn´t the baddest idea.

Thanks for sharing this look into the kitchen! Though that leaves me wondering, how you had originally planned to give shape to the intake over the roof?

[amorti]

The fin part on the AMG isn't printed, it's more special than that.

I'm also in two minds about model specific parts, but in the end I do believe that they are worth it.

Could you picture the Lego Concorde with a normal canopy? Maybe the one from a Star Wars ship but with a new print? The BMW motorcycle without its specific visor? No... and for me this cowling isn't so different from that; it's absolutely central to being able to identify the real life motorcycle.

As a side note... did we notice the brake caliper mounts on those forks? And how the new rounded panels fit so nice as a fuel tank or swing arm when you use only the fairing part without the base? Nicely executed!

Edited September 10, 2023 by amorti

[nintiendo]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:20 PM, efferman said:

Something new and unexpected. Or do i living behind the moon?

Too fast too furious, LEGO just released an Yamaha and now it's CaDA's Suzuki :D

Edited September 11, 2023 by Milan
Please do not quote images from the same page.

[R0Sch]

That Katana looks pretty good and the price is more than acceptable. Glad the Suzuki license was not a one-time thing with the Jimny. But I think the decorations are mostly stickers even though the renderings appear to be prints.
 

[SaperPL]

@Bartybum @brunojj1

I think the new/custom panels and other pieces are a good way to make a smaller licensed model look good and not be messy, as long as CADA has checked potential uses in different places for this piece. When Lego introduces a new piece it's always that most of us look forward to new ways of building with those, while if CADA makes a custom piece the response is that it's cheating. Lego also did things like that where they make a custom piece for a specific set, so it shouldn't be treated as cheating. In both cases it depends on how big portion of the model is handled through such new custom piece and whether it's something that is actually reusable in other models or doesn't really make sense anywhere else.

[R0Sch]

Found this review:

 

 

[gyenesvi]

It's got quite a few interesting new parts, I especially like the alternate use of the leaf springs!

Has that appeared in any other set (as a leaf spring)? Is it possible to get those somewhere individually? CADA's individual part offering seems pretty random and small.

[R0Sch]

3 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

It's got quite a few interesting new parts, I especially like the alternate use of the leaf springs!

Has that appeared in any other set (as a leaf spring)?

Yes, the leaf springs appear in this military truck:
https://decadastore.com/products/df-21d-c56031w

[brickphisto]

On 9/10/2023 at 11:05 AM, MarkyMark42 said:

I guess that's the downside with making licensed sets, you have to answer to someone else. Lego might be able to get away with it being a well-known brand but CaDA don't have that same cache so they may have to do more to appease manufacturers.

Well, it really depends on the license holder. Regarding my CaDA models LEVC (London Taxi) was rather demanding although no new parts were needed here. Citroen did not ask for a single modification for my C4 which should be released soon. For my fourth model the license holder (which cannot be revealed yet) insisted on some new moulds. Two of those are rather special than generic.

There is a first (German) review of @brunojj1s AMG One: https://justbricks.de/reviews/2023/09/cada-c61503w-mercedes-amg-one-im-review-11784/

[amorti]

4 hours ago, brickphisto said:

There is a first (German) review of @brunojj1s AMG One: https://justbricks.de/reviews/2023/09/cada-c61503w-mercedes-amg-one-im-review-11784/

He says there was an NDA with earliest publishing date, and he abided by it.

Well, he got a different date to me...

Solid review though, and he clearly has way better photography equipment than I do.

He's not mentioned a few things I'll be talking about here on EB, though.

Edited September 11, 2023 by amorti

[langko]

On 9/10/2023 at 5:50 PM, brunojj1 said:

If I compare it to the AMG shark fin - I designed a new rotorblade which I planned to stack 2 of them to imitate the shape and I still believe it wasn´t the baddest idea. The licensor wasn´t happy about this solution, so the R&D made an exclusive moulding with an engraved brand logo in order to please them AMG guys. 

This is interesting because I randomly saw a version of your AMG 3 weeks ago that used a double rotor blade. The person had tried to use all lego parts with a custom paint job. No idea how they got such early access but whatever, main point is after seeing the photos I really believe an all lego version would be possible. Not a fan of some of the persons solutions but I think its doable with some creative thinking. The mudguard panels on the back also look pretty easy to swap with normal lego ones.  @astyanax could pull it the whole car off I'm sure . Red bodywork or all black with some coloured seats/accents would probably work.

 

[LvdH]

25 minutes ago, langko said:

This is interesting because I randomly saw a version of your AMG 3 weeks ago that used a double rotor blade. The person had tried to use all lego parts with a custom paint job. No idea how they got such early access but whatever, main point is after seeing the photos I really believe an all lego version would be possible. Not a fan of some of the persons solutions but I think its doable with some creative thinking. The mudguard panels on the back also look pretty easy to swap with normal lego ones.  @astyanax could pull it the whole car off I'm sure . Red bodywork or all black with some coloured seats/accents would probably work.

The full instructions were apparently leaked and I guess floating around the Chinese forums. There’s a white one and a yellow one out there as well. 

I won’t elaborate any further on it, but red in full LEGO is definitely possible  

[brunojj1]

@langko : Thanks for sharing! And I thought I´m the one and only owner of a "black series" in the world . Interesting enough - there you can see how impossible it is to replicate this air scoop / shark fin. A second batch or limited "carbon edition" was exactly what I was thinking of btw., but can´t tell you yet if it will become reality. 

1 minute ago, LvdH said:

The full instructions were apparently leaked and I guess floating around the Chinese forums. There’s a white one and a yellow one out there as well. 

I won’t elaborate any further on it, but red in full LEGO is definitely possible  

I understand you have not much interest in adding another red car to your collection, especially this one.

If I may ask - where can I find these pictures? (no closed FB groups please)

[LvdH]

11 minutes ago, brunojj1 said:

If I may ask - where can I find these pictures? (no closed FB groups please)

I found these on FB, don’t know who built them but they come from China.

[amorti]

There is a cluster of CaDA special parts in the door hinges, and some of those connections would be hard to replicate without losing significant strength. Otherwise it should all be possible in Lego as there's not much use of special parts. I'm just assuming that Lego wing panels can just be subbed in for CaDA panels 1:1 here, which actually probably isn't the case. That image above has lost some finesse around and above the rear wheel arch, for example.

However I don't understand why you would go to the trouble? You'll need the instructions since CaDA doesn't publish PDFs until a few months after. If you're going to use a pirated copy to make a replica of a properly licensed model, then congratulations you are Lepin. To get the look right, you're still going to need the CaDA wheels, special aero parts, and ideally the Michelin tyres. Also I doubt that 2x Lego L-motors will get all 3kg moving, although admittedly I haven't tried it. Maybe with a 200$ buwizz3. So what's the point?

[MarkyMark42]

18 hours ago, brickphisto said:

Citroen did not ask for a single modification for my C4 which should be released soon. For my fourth model the license holder (which cannot be revealed yet) insisted on some new moulds.

Are either of these in the technic style or the brick style?

[langko]

2 hours ago, brunojj1 said:

Interesting enough - there you can see how impossible it is to replicate this air scoop / shark fin.

I think the solution in the above yellow one is pretty good to be honest. I can respect the licenser wanted something hyper realistic - hence the custom piece. But for me it does seem to loose the spirit of building a bit. A brick built solution like the yellow one seems more satisfying to me, even if its less realistic. 

2 hours ago, amorti said:

However I don't understand why you would go to the trouble? You'll need the instructions since CaDA doesn't publish PDFs until a few months after. If you're going to use a pirated copy to make a replica of a properly licensed model, then congratulations you are Lepin. To get the look right, you're still going to need the CaDA wheels, special aero parts, and ideally the Michelin tyres. Also I doubt that 2x Lego L-motors will get all 3kg moving, although admittedly I haven't tried it. Maybe with a 200$ buwizz3. So what's the point?

- a few people have a large range of parts in the their lego collection already, and could get close to building the car without much more cost investment.
- some people might want to build it out of arguably better quality pieces.
- some people might want to build a modified manual version, hence the motor problem won't exist.
- some people might want to modify the set to there own taste, and mixing cada and lego pieces on the one build might not be ideal/preferred.
- some people like the challenge involved in building a lego version. Tell someone it can't be done? someone will want to prove them wrong.
- if you build it out of lego its easier to use the parts for something else down the line if you want to pull it apart.

I personally fall into most of those categories... And if I did want to give it a crack I have no problem waiting till whenever cada releases the PDF instructions. There's no rush, I've got plenty of other things to do in the meantime. 

[brickphisto]

4 hours ago, MarkyMark42 said:

Are either of these in the technic style or the brick style?

Brick style with few Technic functions like steering, working fake engine, suspension and ready for RC version.

[blondasek]

I do follow this thread really often. What I see, and I am happy about - Lego has a competitor who is better and better. But also more expensive with time.
What I do see as well is that, a big advantage for Lego, due to the pieces which Cada makes just for a specific models they will not be so popular in a long run. It is difficult to build something different out of the model made by them and let's be honest - not everyone do have unlimited space for display models. With Lego you can always rebuild it to something else, often much better than original, using the same parts. Will this happen to Cada models? I doubt, but maybe I am wrong.

[brunojj1]

1 hour ago, blondasek said:

...

I doubt, but maybe I am wrong.

Yes, you are so dead wrong, dude  !!! One single exclusive mold for a particular set can't possibly prevent you from building anything you want from the rest 99,9% of the parts, right? On the oppisite, and this has always been my credo - a missing part can´t possibly stop me from building anything I need! Consider the CaDA parts are perfectly compatible to Lego parts, except the newer electronics, still nobody has set limits to your own imagination and inspiration to BUILD ANYTHING YOU WANT!

I can´t emphasize that enough - that is the prime and ultimate goal playing with bricks, since you have been born and started licking the taste of bricks! And don´t ever whine and complain about a missing B-model in any Technic set, whether from Lego or from CaDA - build one yourself and be proud of it, Man! 

[amorti]

1 hour ago, blondasek said:

I do follow this thread really often. What I see, and I am happy about - Lego has a competitor who is better and better. But also more expensive with time.
What I do see as well is that, a big advantage for Lego, due to the pieces which Cada makes just for a specific models they will not be so popular in a long run. It is difficult to build something different out of the model made by them and let's be honest - not everyone do have unlimited space for display models. With Lego you can always rebuild it to something else, often much better than original, using the same parts. Will this happen to Cada models? I doubt, but maybe I am wrong.

CaDA's new palette of wing panels are different than everybody else's, that's true.

Different... but also BETTER than the existing palette of panels. You have new options for putting the base and the wing part in either orientation, there are axle holes like a cam in place of pin holes on the smaller base which can really help with alignment, and you get the option to omit the base entirely and make new sizes and compound curves you didn't have before.

Once you get your head around the possibilities, there are lots of new constructions available.

[blondasek]

Guys, I get it. Still, this will take a few years - if there will be enough people to buy their products and make them better, this have a future. However Cada is getting more and more expensive and in a year or two this will have a big impact on the decision making of their customers.