42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester

[PlopiNinetySix]

I really like how this set looks, but the system-ery of it annoys me (I'm just nitpicking, because it's mostly the cabin, but then again it wouldn't matter that much to the target audience).

But the main function is the front blade that seems to works very well and that's the cherry on the top of the cake for me :))

If possible, Lego should make a 2-set pack of 42168 + 42136, it'd be nice to see, considering the two would go well together.

Edited December 11, 2023 by PlopiNinetySix

[Timorzelorzworz]

6 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

I also like how the product description contains blatant lies, emphasis mine:

It is sad to see what is going on with the theme and it is even more sad that Lego feels the need to do ridiculous marketing bla bla promising wrong things to their customer. Adult people are responsible for their childs and adult people should right for critism a toy that is in the end not that what it was promising by the manufacturer.

[Maaboo the Witch]

28 minutes ago, PlopiNinetySix said:

If possible, Lego should make a 2-set pack of 42168 + 42136, it'd be nice to see, considering the two would go well together.

I'd think this set would look pretty poor next to 42136.

[PlopiNinetySix]

4 minutes ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

I'd think this set would look pretty poor next to 42136.

If it was designed the way 42136 was then we'd have a much better 42168 and yes, a much better pack. Still I think young kids wouldn't really mind this (two agricultural machines working together^), also it's a good source of green pieces (unrelatedly, 42157 stills tops both of these).

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by PlopiNinetySix

[Maaboo the Witch]

3 minutes ago, PlopiNinetySix said:

If it was designed the way 42136 was then we'd have a much better 42168 and yes, a much better pack.

What could have been.

[PlopiNinetySix]

Just now, Maaboo the Witch said:

What could have been.

Yep

I strongly think that if this set was a generic harvester and not a specifically-licensed one, then it would be miles better than we got.

[Bartybum]

23 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

I also like how the product description contains blatant lies, emphasis mine:

"Forage header tool – Kids can learn how a real John Deere harvester works as they raise, lower and spin the forage header tool to replicate the actions of a real corn-cutting machine"

"Engineering insights – LEGO® Technic™ buildable model sets (sold separately) feature realistic movement and mechanisms that introduce young LEGO builders to the universe of engineering"

Lawl.

Where is the blatant lie?

[Maaboo the Witch]

2 hours ago, Bartybum said:

Where is the blatant lie?

Because this model isn't even realistic in its functions. Blades on a forage header counter-rotate rather than spinning in the same direction. If the header worked as depicted in this model... well, then it wouldn't work.

Here's a video for clarification.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Maaboo the Witch

[zoo]

So how many LEGO Technic models retailing at $40 works exactly like the real life counterpart?

[Maaboo the Witch]

10 minutes ago, zoo said:

So how many LEGO Technic models retailing at $40 works exactly like the real life counterpart?

Multitudes. For example, 42121. Sure, the mechanisms aren't strictly realistic - no real machines are operated by HOG - but the represented functions are.

[Jockos]

I have no clue how they could've been done the counter-rotation without being the header too thick or too wide at this scale. Maybe with some more gears, but again, it might have been out of proportion too much.

[Maaboo the Witch]

6 minutes ago, Jockos said:

I have no clue how they could've been done the counter-rotation without being the header too thick or too wide at this scale. Maybe with some more gears, but again, it might have been out of proportion too much.

The whole model is out of proportion, so I'm not sure that the header being a little outsized would have affected it much further.

[R0Sch]

1 hour ago, Jockos said:

I have no clue how they could've been done the counter-rotation without being the header too thick or too wide at this scale. Maybe with some more gears, but again, it might have been out of proportion too much.

They could have used chain drive on the underside and make the top yellow gears counter rotate properly. Even using rubber bands would be perfectly fine at this scale.

Edited December 12, 2023 by R0Sch

[1gor]

As someone who makes agriculrure MOC, I have canceld (in my mind) this set since I saw first pictures

I think this make it clear how I feel about it

[Bartybum]

12 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

Multitudes. For example, 42121. Sure, the mechanisms aren't strictly realistic - no real machines are operated by HOG - but the represented functions are.

No, 42121 is also a liar of a set. No heavy duty excavator has a linked arm and bucket.

I think people flipping out over this need to relax. The parts spin, that's the important bit

Edited December 13, 2023 by Bartybum

[Timorzelorzworz]

For a kids toy with educational aspect it is totally OK, as well the harvester is and such small models are always welcome and needed. What is not Ok are the excessive marketing claims to adult people who are buying this sets for their childs. The more it appears, the more the people question it.

[Maaboo the Witch]

52 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

No, 42121 is also a liar of a set. No heavy duty excavator has a linked arm and bucket.

Like I said, the mechanisms aren't strictly realistic, but the arm and bucket move realistically.

52 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

I think people flipping out over this need to relax. The parts spin, that's the important bit

Uh, that's what we do on this forum. We over-analyze and criticise.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Maaboo the Witch

[Bartybum]

4 minutes ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

but the arm and bucket move realistically.

But they don't, they're linked. If you wanna just move the bucket or the arm, you can't

[Maaboo the Witch]

Just now, Bartybum said:

But they don't, they're linked. If you wanna just move the bucket or the arm, you can't

What I mean is that the motion is realistic, not the means of control which, again, ties into the mechanism. The arm and bucket move like those on a real excavator, just as the header on this model does NOT move like that on a real forage harvester.

[howitzer]

7 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

What I mean is that the motion is realistic, not the means of control which, again, ties into the mechanism. The arm and bucket move like those on a real excavator, just as the header on this model does NOT move like that on a real forage harvester.

While the linkage mimics the common digging motion of an excavator, it's in no way realistic as real excavator can move the bucket and the arm independently so it can do vastly more motions than the single trajectory allowed by this linked mechanism. There's no more realism there than in this forage harvester.

[Maaboo the Witch]

23 minutes ago, howitzer said:

While the linkage mimics the common digging motion of an excavator

Exactly. Now imagine the bucket dumping when the arm is lowered, and vice versa. That would be wrong, right? Wrong like half the blades of a forage header going the wrong way.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Maaboo the Witch

[Jundis]

Had some time working on my version today, still can't decide on a good design for the rear cover.

My aim is, to use not more than the 559 pieces like in the lego version. Currently 309, but the header will consume some gears...

The corn thrower will be made longer when I find a good attachment to the oddly places crossaxle. It will have a gear at the rear to switch to both sides, while raising simultaniously with yellow bionicle tooth pushing the universal joint upwards. A fake V12 engine should also be squeezed in :-)

[1gor]

@Jundis perhaps this attachment uses less pieces?

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by 1gor

[Timorzelorzworz]

Nice Idea with that yellow claw element 

[howitzer]

13 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

Exactly. Now imagine the bucket dumping when the arm is lowered, and vice versa. That would be wrong, right? Wrong like half the blades of a forage header going the wrong way.

But sometimes you want to dump the bucket when it's lowered and vice versa. And you want to do huge number of other motions too, that kind of linkage is completely unrealistic as it mimics only _single_ possible motion of the arm. There are also numerous other Lego excavators (starting with the very first one, 8851) with more motions, which are as realistic as they get within the realms of Lego. So calling that sort of linkage realistic is just as correct as calling the forage harvester's head realistic (which neither are).