Updated Nov 27, 2019It took me 23.25 hours to complete this mostly by myself but with approximately 30 minutes of help from one other adult and several hours of help from my toddler. 😉There were a few extra tiny pieces with each bag but that is normal...I wasnt missing any pieces for completion. It will take far less time with more than one person working on it and it helps to have all matching pieces grouped together since most of the bags have several types of pieces included.The app controls the movements and Little Mister is just thrilled with the result. He had Mama, control that, please on repeat since he wanted to see this digger pick the pieces up and dump them into his quarry truck see photos.The construction was not difficult and I followed the ... MoreUpdated Nov 27, 2019It took me 23.25 hours to complete this mostly by myself but with approximately 30 minutes of help from one other adult and several hours of help from my toddler. 😉There were a few extra tiny pieces with each bag but that is normal...I wasnt missing any pieces for completion. It will take far less time with more than one person working on it and it helps to have all matching pieces grouped together since most of the bags have several types of pieces included.The app controls the movements and Little Mister is just thrilled with the result. He had Mama, control that, please on repeat since he wanted to see this digger pick the pieces up and dump them into his quarry truck see photos.The construction was not difficult and I followed the instructions exactly. There was only one spot in book one where I actually wrote on the page where a piece went because it wasnt exact in the photo.The app includes challenges that you can complete with your excavator and you can collect badges for your achievements. I ran this over some of the lego pieces on my coffee table and the app showed exactly the degree of slope that each track was experiencing. It plowed right over them. Slowly, of course.Anyway, this was an amazing build and I give the engineers and designers major kudos for the end result since it actually worked during the final testing phases. As I stated in my initial review or photos, the first two tests failed. After a 10 minute phone call to lego tech support, I found that it wouldnt pass at those times but by the time you are completing your build that may be fixed.Overall, I would highly recommend this if you enjoy legos, building, or even puzzles. My only tips would be to 1 make sure you have good lighting because the pieces are tiny duh, and they need to be exact when you are constructing this, and 2 set aside a work area that you can cover when you arent working on it. I used a fitted sheet over the coffee table to keep Litt.

A lot of smoke, but not so much roasted meat....

GOOGLE TRANSLATED from the italian review, published into the italian web site.PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS ONLY MY PERSONAL OPINION!As premise, I am 50 years old and on the subject of Technic sets I think I can say that I have grown up together in the last 40 years ... My first Technic set was the 852, and since then I have purchased a lot of sets, mainly big and very big. Well, when I saw this set for the first time, I was dazzled by its grandeur, the 7 engines, the over 4000 pieces, the weight, the wealth of details, so much so that I decided to buy it, at the suggested resale price visible at the lego shop online (so we talk about a very important cost level). It took me 4 days to assemble it, as my age requires me to have other needs and activities, in addition ... MoreGOOGLE TRANSLATED from the italian review, published into the italian web site.PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS ONLY MY PERSONAL OPINION!As premise, I am 50 years old and on the subject of Technic sets I think I can say that I have grown up together in the last 40 years ... My first Technic set was the 852, and since then I have purchased a lot of sets, mainly big and very big. Well, when I saw this set for the first time, I was dazzled by its grandeur, the 7 engines, the over 4000 pieces, the weight, the wealth of details, so much so that I decided to buy it, at the suggested resale price visible at the lego shop online (so we talk about a very important cost level). It took me 4 days to assemble it, as my age requires me to have other needs and activities, in addition to my passion for Technic. During these 4 days, I was able to see that the quantity of non-techcnic pieces is relevant in relation to the technical functions pieces. That is: many pieces that stand still and pretend to appear doing something. Few who actually do something: many cascades of gears to reduce engine revs enough to gain torque and power, necessary to move the joints and tracks of this mastodon, but in the end we have 7 engines with 7 cascades of gears and nothing more. Great work by the designers, undoubtedly, but personally I believe that the technical content of the glorious 8880 is far superior, despite being built with 1/4 of the pieces used here. Oh well ... times that change. After all, I come from a time when T-REXs were teaching behind the chairs ... (maybe the younger ones would say). But I am also a professional electronics, with 30 years of experience ... And when we talk about smartphones, I can understand something! Enough to be able to say that the APP used to manage the set still needs some work. I installed it on a Huawei P10Lite which, with all the updates of the case, is perfectly centered on the specifications defined by the company as regards the phone to use. The command is quite spartan: a lot of captivating graphics, but many flaws. For example, the actuation of the left track is accompanied by the movement of two power indicators which indicate the power level applied to the track motor, both forward and backward. The right one is not! If I manually operate the track controls to move the set forward or backward, after a few seconds the right track stops. It is necessary to act repeatedly on the command to restart the rotation of the right track. There are many points in the app where, once entered, you cannot go back unless you finish what you tried to do, for example storing a sequence of commands in a specific memory location of the 4 available. And if I go to look at deeply well by applying the same criteria that I use to debug electronic devices when I work, I think i can find other anomalies. Last but not least, if you don't have a smartphone, this object remains a very heavy paperweight as there are no remote controls supplied with it and it is not even mentioned by anyone that there are any usable ones. So in 5 or 10 years, period in which the phones and the protocols will be changing, will this set continue to work? how? with what? In the end my opinion is as follows: great advertising, but I would not buy it again! Aesthetically beautiful, but I wouldn't buy it back!

All said in the review

I personally thought that $500 (taxes included) was way too much for a set like this, so I poked around on eBay and found someone who was selling this set for about $100 less. There was no box but the bags were still factory sealed so I didn't have to worry about any missing parts or anything like that. I was a little worried at one point cause I couldn't find the two sticker sheets but they somehow managed to get stuck inside the one of the manuals and they just fell out. It wouldn't have been a big deal since that's nothing customer service can't handle, but it would take longer than usual to resolve since COVID-19 is slowing things down it bit.The set itself is absolutely amazing! It came out way bigger than I expected when I finished bag 2 and when you look at ... MoreI personally thought that $500 (taxes included) was way too much for a set like this, so I poked around on eBay and found someone who was selling this set for about $100 less. There was no box but the bags were still factory sealed so I didn't have to worry about any missing parts or anything like that. I was a little worried at one point cause I couldn't find the two sticker sheets but they somehow managed to get stuck inside the one of the manuals and they just fell out. It wouldn't have been a big deal since that's nothing customer service can't handle, but it would take longer than usual to resolve since COVID-19 is slowing things down it bit.The set itself is absolutely amazing! It came out way bigger than I expected when I finished bag 2 and when you look at the picture of the real machine at the end of book 2 or even look up a picture of it online, it's kinda hard to tell spot any differences between the two different versions. The details are in all the right spots; retractable entry steps, oil canisters, dual exhaust, air duct fans, fake hydraulic lines, etc. it's amazing no matter where you look at it. It really doesn't seem like this is the biggest technic set, but it certainly is the most beefy compared to the Bucket Wheel Excavator. (42055)Although there is no bonus model for this set, I'm okay with that considering that once you finish this set, you probably won't want to take it apart until you want to sell it which let's face it, that probably won't happen for a few years. The overall play experience was just as amazing since you feel like you're operating an excavator in real life (boom & bucket on the right side; stick & swing on the left) and you can learn some advanced maneuvers like pivoting the bucket, spinning in place, jump turns, and more.Another cool thing is that since you are gonna calibrate the set when you launch the app, it knows the limits of the linear actuator so they'll stop about a millimeter shy of the point where they would normally make that grinding noise, which is good since that'll help the workings inside the actuators last longer. If you're really against the wall on getting this set, it really is that good despite what others say. Disregard any reviews that aren't 5 stars cause those people just got unlucky.My only complaint is that the set struggles to turn on carpet and I know it's because of those clutch pieces that are in the drivetrain. It has no issue going in one direction but that's something to keep in mind if you do get this set.Overall, very awesome set. It's a blast to play with and you're gonna get your money's worth no matter where you buy it from

Everything You Want From a LEGO Build

What an incredibly fun, challenging build this was!Directions were extremely clear - at no point did I feel I was flying blind. When things didn't work or fit, it was inevitably my mistake. Figuring out those mistakes was part of the fun.Mid-build Bluetooth motor testing went perfectly. I had a couple of issues with a previously-connected power pack having problems reconnecting, but that was because I exited, but did not terminate, the Connect Plus app. It was easily fixed by taking out a battery and, essentially, rebooting the pack.When all was done, the last test - the moving of the scoop front to back - failed. I heard the ending purring perfectly, but the gears and scoop did not move. I figured out that I didn't put one key dowel into the red motor input ... MoreWhat an incredibly fun, challenging build this was!Directions were extremely clear - at no point did I feel I was flying blind. When things didn't work or fit, it was inevitably my mistake. Figuring out those mistakes was part of the fun.Mid-build Bluetooth motor testing went perfectly. I had a couple of issues with a previously-connected power pack having problems reconnecting, but that was because I exited, but did not terminate, the Connect Plus app. It was easily fixed by taking out a battery and, essentially, rebooting the pack.When all was done, the last test - the moving of the scoop front to back - failed. I heard the ending purring perfectly, but the gears and scoop did not move. I figured out that I didn't put one key dowel into the red motor input (I accidentally put it in a hole just to the side), and with very little deconstruction got it in the right spot.That didn't end the problems - the hinges that connect the front scoop panel to the motor/gears were connected wrongly. After about an hour of trial and error, I finally got everything in the right spot, successfully calibrated the unit, and I was off to the races.I hope this doesn't sound like a criticism of the set - as I said, every error was my own fault, and it was a sick kind of fun figuring out every which way I went wrong. When the unit finally worked perfectly, it was incredibly gratifying.I will say the Bag # 5 set of parts (the last stage of construction) was a little tedious - lots of ladders, lights, trim, but I do have to say the once it was done (after about 90 minutes of work), all these little bits added up to a better-looking, more realistic excavator.I haven't played much with the set other than to test out what it can do, but that will come, now that I finally worked out the bugs.Bottom line: I absolutely LOVED this build. It required a level of focus and attention to detail that I found very, very rewarding.This takes the place of the Roller Coaster (10261) as my favorite build. I can't recommend this any higher!

Expected more from Lego

I have always expected great things from Lego since their name is synonymous with quality. I have enjoyed designing and building MOCs for some 35+ years. I was overjoyed to get this 42100 model, but very disappointed about the new Control+ system. I have tried time and time again to get the Control+ app to work on different devices, but needless to say, it doesn't perform 100%. The connection & testing of the hubs with my phone didn't work at all to begin with. I had not yet built the model because I wanted to do a quick test to see how the hubs worked with the new motors, but it kept failing to connect. I gave up and started building the model. As I completed the base, I did as the instructions said and tried to connect the hub to my phone. For whatever the reason, ... MoreI have always expected great things from Lego since their name is synonymous with quality. I have enjoyed designing and building MOCs for some 35+ years. I was overjoyed to get this 42100 model, but very disappointed about the new Control+ system. I have tried time and time again to get the Control+ app to work on different devices, but needless to say, it doesn't perform 100%. The connection & testing of the hubs with my phone didn't work at all to begin with. I had not yet built the model because I wanted to do a quick test to see how the hubs worked with the new motors, but it kept failing to connect. I gave up and started building the model. As I completed the base, I did as the instructions said and tried to connect the hub to my phone. For whatever the reason, it worked... for this part. I proceeded to build and got to the next part to test (as there are 4 testing parts). The second one worked. I finished the model and tried to test all functionality, but I am still unable to sync the 2nd hub so that all functions are able to be tested. The model looks great sitting there, but otherwise functionally unless. I read a few reviews on the app and it appears that others have had similar issues. I generally buy sets for their parts and to see how Lego engineers figure out complex problems, which I was able to do with this model, but the Control+ app so far has been a big disappointment and you can't use the motors without the hubs, so there's that money down the drain until they improve the coding & testing of the app. On the Control+ page of the Lego website, it states very few Android devices that it was test on, but I would assume since it was Android, it should just work anyways, so I am guessing it is a bug within the app itself as I tried it on 3 different Android devices. Overall, I am very surprised that this doesn't work, but being so new, bugs are expected, just not from Lego and especially at the price. I would only recommend paying this price for the amount of parts you get and not the new hubs & motors until they get these bugs fixed.

Incredible Design and Engineering

This is by far the biggest Technic Lego I've ever built. The biggest one that I've built prior to this was the MKII Crane #42009. Overall, this was an incredibly fun and rewarding build. My son and I also have been enjoying the app and playing with this excavator ever since we finished building it.The instructions, for the most part, are very easy to follow considering the size of the build. Lego did a very good job of making sure that you could differentiate between the different gray colors and types of bricks in the instructions. I did have one problem though- one of the two very large instruction books were misprinted and incorrectly bound. I didn't notice it during the build until it was too late- but the instructions skipped about 40 steps, continued on for ... MoreThis is by far the biggest Technic Lego I've ever built. The biggest one that I've built prior to this was the MKII Crane #42009. Overall, this was an incredibly fun and rewarding build. My son and I also have been enjoying the app and playing with this excavator ever since we finished building it.The instructions, for the most part, are very easy to follow considering the size of the build. Lego did a very good job of making sure that you could differentiate between the different gray colors and types of bricks in the instructions. I did have one problem though- one of the two very large instruction books were misprinted and incorrectly bound. I didn't notice it during the build until it was too late- but the instructions skipped about 40 steps, continued on for another 40 steps, and then went back to where they left off. I requested a replacement instruction book from Lego and hopefully they'll replace it. I know that instructions are available online, but for a Lego this size and cost, I always keep the manuals in plastic bags so that if it is ever damaged or we want to rebuild it, the manuals are still handy.First, although it's not written on the box, you will need a total of 12 AA batteries to run this set. The new powered up motors (there are three XL and four L motors) work flawlessly with the new Powered Up hubs. Lego designers also made it really easy to access the two hubs to turn the machine on or to replace the batteries. Other technic sets like #42009 require you to pull off parts to replace the batteries- Lego made it much easier here.There is a wide variety of parts here, including some new ones that are really cool to see in action. Part of the fun of building technic sets is to see the drivetrain details, and this set doesn't disappoint. The way that the gears are all designed is really spectacular. It is complex in design but still pretty straightforward to build. It keeps the builder in suspense regarding how it will all work once put together. Then often you're surprised once you put in the final gear to see how it all works. That's my favorite part of technic sets. In this set, nothing is really repetitive other than the two drive tracks (and you build the middle between them so it's not too bothersome).Once put together, this model really shines. Almost every part of the build is very sturdy. The details are very accurate to the real excavator and I appreciate how Lego really focuses on those details in larger Technic sets. It's fun to see how Lego captures different aspects of those details in the build. I found myself using my laptop to look up the real excavator throughout the build process just to see how accurate Lego was- and they usually were fairly accurate.There are only two things that I can complain about- and they are small complaints considering how awesome this set is. First, my front bucket was slightly warped. It seems to be made out of cheaper, thinner plastic and after I connected it it doesn't fit snugly. I tried to bend it back, but it always returns to it's slightly warped shape. It's not bad enough to ask Lego to replace it, but still, for $450, it's sort of frustrating. Second, the tracks seem very loose. As a result, the tracks tend to skip during sharp turns. I ended up removing a single track piece from both sides and it seems to have solved the issue- but it makes it very tight.The app is really awesome. I thought that I would miss a physical remote control, but you get used to it. The app works seamlessly with my iPhone and I appreciate the advanced features and controls that are available (that wouldn't likely be possible with a physical remote control). The only bad part is that my son wants to play with this Lego all the time- which means that I have to give up my phone all the time. But hey, that means Lego has a hit on their hands, right?Overall, this Lego is very impressive, as any $450 Lego should be. The building experience was excellent. The fact that you get two powered up hubs and a total of seven motors is awesome- and likely helps to explain the expense of this set. You also have to consider the value of the app and the advanced controls that the app provides. Lego engineers/designers did a great job here and that sort-of helps to justify the high cost of this set too.I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It works great as a stand-alone model, but looks great next to the #42009 Crane, #42098 Car Transporter, #42008 Service Truck, and even my #5591 Mach II Red Bird Rig from my childhood.Thank you Lego for another awesome experience.

LEGO Technic Liebherr R 9800

The LEGO Liebherr R9800 is one colossal model, yet due to several great functionalities, also very elegant! A fun and pretty straightforward build experience, with excellent final visuals. More than 4000 pieces makes it fairly valuable regarding cost per piece ratio. Most impressive feats are its motorized functions, powered by two battery hubs. The model is controlled from the Control+ bluetooth app, and (Once connected!) it works beautifully. Have patience though: The connectivity is bland, to say at least, and frustrating loading screens to be expected. That said, it won’t change the overall experience: The LEGO Liebherr R9800 truly manages to impress. Highly recommendable for all LEGO fans!

Liebherr

An absolute pleasure to build, and operation of the set is flawless. There were some challenging moments, such as routing the motor wires is often hard to see.The only complaint I have is the App. There are 4 orange buttons, and if you accidentally hit one, it prompts you to set one button actions, and once you hit that button, you're stuck in a loop of trying to set the things up with no way out. I find myself just exiting the entire app and restarting everything.Pictured is my Liebherr with a few more hours of build time remaining. The bucket is the last thing to add.The controls are great as they allow feathering of each movement, so fine tuning the rotation to be perfectly straight is easy.All and all I very much enjoyed this build. Every time I buy a ... MoreAn absolute pleasure to build, and operation of the set is flawless. There were some challenging moments, such as routing the motor wires is often hard to see.The only complaint I have is the App. There are 4 orange buttons, and if you accidentally hit one, it prompts you to set one button actions, and once you hit that button, you're stuck in a loop of trying to set the things up with no way out. I find myself just exiting the entire app and restarting everything.Pictured is my Liebherr with a few more hours of build time remaining. The bucket is the last thing to add.The controls are great as they allow feathering of each movement, so fine tuning the rotation to be perfectly straight is easy.All and all I very much enjoyed this build. Every time I buy a very expensive set such as this, I fight with myself over whether or not it's worth the money. Taking into consideration the people who thought this up, built it, tore it down, documented where each and every piece went, and drew up incredible instructions, I have to say yes. The quality of each Lego part has not changed over the last several decades, and that is a wonderful thing. Once I get my hands in a pile of parts, I know it was worth every penny.

Nice set, good building experience, but...

Build was pleasant and individual module builds went together easily without needing 4 hands and/or extreme finger gymnastics during assembly of those.Building instructions are clear and easy to follow, however I personally feel that full pages for installing or pushing just a single or pair of pins is a bit overkill especially with all the colors used for pins these days for visual assembly aids.Finished model is pretty robust for its weight.Control+ app works good in conjunction with this model and it is fun to operate.The Cons I see from my side are:No B model, sadly that is a tendency with new LEGO technic models even with the high price large set Technic models. Is LEGO moving the technic line to the build once and then put it in a showcase type of ... MoreBuild was pleasant and individual module builds went together easily without needing 4 hands and/or extreme finger gymnastics during assembly of those.Building instructions are clear and easy to follow, however I personally feel that full pages for installing or pushing just a single or pair of pins is a bit overkill especially with all the colors used for pins these days for visual assembly aids.Finished model is pretty robust for its weight.Control+ app works good in conjunction with this model and it is fun to operate.The Cons I see from my side are:No B model, sadly that is a tendency with new LEGO technic models even with the high price large set Technic models. Is LEGO moving the technic line to the build once and then put it in a showcase type of customer? In that case might as well remove all the electric functions since some handcranks will suffice for a showcase.Powered up still very rough around the edges even after having been introduced over 3 years ago.Still no rechargeable Li-Ion battery modules for any of the powered-up hubs available to date from LEGOPoorly documented Powered-Up app especially on the code block level.Missing legacy support for previous Power functions motors, servos & lights. IMO it should be possible for LEGO to make an adapter for bang-bang control of the older PF peripherals with the Pwr-Up hubs.My cripes with missing B-Model and Pwr-Up resulted in a reduced rating for an otherwise great model.

Painfully slow, yet entertaining

A compelling build with precise instructions. Set up of the Power up hubs and motors with your smart phone (iPhone 11 in my case ) relatively easy as long as you follow the instructions on when to do this.The model itself is a marvel to look at especially if big diggers are your thing Detailing (hand rails, hydraulic hoses and drivers cab) add to the look. Stickers as usual are a pain, be careful with the 9800 sticker that goes on the lower jibe, this can easily be slightly obscured during the build if placed central on it's panel. Place this one higher up.Building the gears and drive trains are very reminiscent of the old meccano (when it was engineering based) though a bit slack in the housings for power operation making the model annoyingly noisy in this ... MoreA compelling build with precise instructions. Set up of the Power up hubs and motors with your smart phone (iPhone 11 in my case ) relatively easy as long as you follow the instructions on when to do this.The model itself is a marvel to look at especially if big diggers are your thing Detailing (hand rails, hydraulic hoses and drivers cab) add to the look. Stickers as usual are a pain, be careful with the 9800 sticker that goes on the lower jibe, this can easily be slightly obscured during the build if placed central on it's panel. Place this one higher up.Building the gears and drive trains are very reminiscent of the old meccano (when it was engineering based) though a bit slack in the housings for power operation making the model annoyingly noisy in this department (turning up your phone for the machine sound effects or wearing ear defenders masks this )Perhaps for these kind of models adding bearings and some form of grease would fix this annoyance in them.The greatest aspect of the model is its functional attributes The digging, jibe lifting, body rotation and bucket swings are most fun and entertaining But the track operation lets it down Very clicky as it jumps the drive sprocket on full turning (worrying you into knowing your excessively wearing down the gears), works best on smooth wooden floors Slightest bit of carpet will start the worry when turning.Comically its slow in a scale speed way, it will take approx, ten minutes to pick up a dropped lego piece and hand it to you. its a lot quicker to just get off your chair and pick it up yourself. Yet it would make a perfect running partner for a tortoise.