mhoeij
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mhoeij's Stats
- 4.4Average Rating
- 99Helpfulness Votes
- 0Featured Reviews
- 14Review Count
- January 9, 2008First Review
- April 8, 2011Last Review
LEGO® Power Functions Train Motor
LEGO® Power Functions Train Motor
Posted:April 8, 2011
Overall:
5
/
5
Much better than the previous train motor.
" I compared this motor with the previous train motor. It works much better. At speed-setting #2, this motor has twice as much torque as the previous train motor (item 8866).
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
From:
United States
Age:
35-44
years old
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+11points
13of 15found this review helpful.
Flexible and Straight Tracks
Flexible and Straight Tracks
Posted:March 14, 2011
mhoeij
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Parent
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
2
/
5
Price should be lower.
" It is great to have more track, that makes trains a lot more fun.
However, the 16 flex track is the same length as 4 regular tracks (straight or curved) so 16 flex plus 8 straight adds up to 12 track lengths, for $20. Last year it was 16 track lengths for $16 track, so this is a pretty drastic increase in price.
Last year we could only buy straight track by also buying curved track, which wasn't optimal because most of us have enough curved track (it comes with the regular train sets).
This year lego went to the other extreme, no curved track at all, only straight and flex. So if you only have a train that doesn't come with track (e.g. the spectacular Emerald Night, or the soon to be released Maersk train) then you'll need 4 copies of this set before you can make a closed loop (a loop has 16 curves, the equivalent of 64 flex). At $20 for each set, that's $80. In other words, to get a closed loop of track, you pretty much have to buy a train set that comes with track (the cargo train or the passenger train) (buying those would be good idea anyway though).
If you use flex track in curves then you have to tie it down (with tape or plates), to prevent the track from sliding when the train comes through. It works, but you have to spend a little bit of time. The Emerald Night is a bit wobbly on flex track (again, if that's the only train set you have, then you'll want to buy a regular train set too, a set that comes with regular track).
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
State:
Florida
From:
United States
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Parent
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
1
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Very Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+45points
53of 61found this review helpful.
Motorized Excavator
Motorized Excavator
Posted:October 3, 2010
mhoeij
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Parent
Building Experience:
Advanced LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Works much better now
" There are two releases of this set, the one in August, and the one coming out soon now. The main difference in the two releases are new improved linear actuators (there are also some changes to the instructions to fix another problem).
The linear actuators in the August release of 8043 have too much friction, making it too hard for an M motor to push up the arm of the excavator. The new linear actuators have much less friction. This way you can lift twice as much weight with the same M motor (I tested this in the B model).
If you have the first release, contact lego costumer service, they'll send you a service pack with the new improved linear actuators.
I bought the first release of 8043, right before lego stopped selling it. I decided to build the B model first (works great, is a wonderful toy), and to wait with building the main model until I received the service pack because I read that without the new linear actuators the excavator was not going to work well. I received the service pack on Friday (thanks costumer service!), I then tested the new linear actuators (they're much better) so my wait is over, I can now build the main model knowing that it will work well.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
State:
Florida
From:
United States
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Parent
Building Experience:
Advanced LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+10points
10of 10found this review helpful.
LEGO Hard to Find Items: Public Transport Station(8404)
Catch the tram or hop the bus at the LEGOA City transport station!
Posted:August 6, 2010
Overall:
5
/
5
Awesome
" This set offers excellent play value for my 7 year old. The tram looks awesome. The station with the windowed roof looks very realistic too.
The tram fits on regular lego track. It uses the small train wheels instead of the usual large ones (this makes the tram look more realistic, however, it also makes it hard to motorize the tram). To allow the tram to go through curved track, the middle car of the tram sits on one axle that can slide sideways.
This will be a very nice addition to a lego train layout. In many European cities, the main train station is also the central site for bus and tram stops. The bus or tram takes you to the central station, from where you can go on a regional train (train 7938 looks like a German regional train) or a long distance train such as 7897 (which modelled Germany's high speed train).
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
1 week or less
How often is this product used?
Every day
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+2points
2of 2found this review helpful.
Passenger Train
Passenger Train
Posted:July 10, 2010
Overall:
4
/
5
Excellent motor, train looks a bit tall.
" This train is about 4 inch shorter than the previous passenger train 7897. But it is also one brick higher, and that makes the train look disproportionally tall.
Instead of the 16 flex track, it would have been better to get 8 straight pieces, most of us have too few straight track. Flex track is not as smooth as regular track, and you have to do more work to tie down the track to prevent it from sliding.
I wonder why lego did not include instructions for adding lights? The power functions receiver has one extra slot open where you can connect the lights.
The new PF train motor is much stronger than the train motor that came with the previous trains 7897/7898. At low speed settings the motor in 7897 struggled to go through curves, but the new motor in 7938/7939 is much better. I think the new motor is twice as strong (I compared by hand the torque that the two motors put on the axles at the same voltage, speed setting #2, and the new motor felt at least twice as strong). Excellent news for those that want to build long trains!
This train costs $40 more than the previous passenger train 7897, but there are some benefits. Apart from the very much improved motor, the power functions in this train 7938 (and in the cargo train 7939) are more useful than those in the previous trains 7897/7898 because you can use them for other things. For instance, you can use the battery box, remote control, and receiver, in your lego technic constructions. Or, you can use these items (plus an XL motor) to power the Emerald Night (the most spectacular train ever made by lego).
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
1 week or less
How often is this product used?
A few times per year
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+4points
5of 6found this review helpful.
Mini Telehandler
Mini Telehandler
Posted:May 24, 2010
Overall:
5
/
5
Very nice set
" The two models in this set are very different from each other, and yet, each of them uses almost all of the pieces. It's interesting to see that you can take apart one thing and make something so different with the same pieces. Well done LEGO designers!
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
2-7 weeks
How often is this product used?
Once per week
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
0points
0of 0found this review helpful.
Switching Tracks
Switching Tracks
Posted:March 17, 2010
Overall:
5
/
5
Trains need switches
" If you have trains, you have no choice: you need switches. Without them, your trains would always be running in the same loop!
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
Longer than 1 year
How often is this product used?
Once per week
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
0points
2of 4found this review helpful.
Train Motor
Train Motor
Posted:February 26, 2010
Overall:
4
/
5
Good for fast trains
" Some people have written that this motor is not as strong
(less traction perhaps? as the previous 9V motor.
(less traction perhaps? as the previous 9V motor.
I found that this motor can pull just as much as the previous 9V motor. I currently use it in a 5-car train (I bought two 7897 sets to build one 5-car train and one 1-car train).
This motor can pull that 5-car train just as fast as the
old 9V motor can (i.e. it derails on the highest speed setting, which is not a great thing because the track is on tables in the garage, and the floor is concrete, so a derailment means a hard landing, and searching for pieces all over the garage).
This motor can pull that 5-car train just as fast as the
old 9V motor can (i.e. it derails on the highest speed setting, which is not a great thing because the track is on tables in the garage, and the floor is concrete, so a derailment means a hard landing, and searching for pieces all over the garage).
The biggest problem is running trains at lower speeds. Others blamed the motor, but I think that the problem might not be with this motor, the problem might be the electrical controller used in the 7897 train. Speed settings 1 and 2 don't move the train, and it has a hard time in setting 3 as well. Setting 7 causes the train to fall on the floor, so I can really only use settings 4, 5, 6.
Basically, what now is setting 3, that should have been the lowest setting. "
Basically, what now is setting 3, that should have been the lowest setting. "
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
Longer than 1 year
How often is this product used?
A few times per month
Play Experience (Optional):
3
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+6points
6of 6found this review helpful.
LEGO Star Wars Clone Wars - Venator -class Republic Attack Cruiser
Built for ship-to-ship combat and bristling with turbolaser batteries, the Venator-class Republic Attack Cruiser is Grand Chancellor Palpatine's personal flagship during the Clone Wars. Open the front panel to access the Chancellor's quarters, reveal the hidden wing-cannons, and drop bombs on the Separatist forces below! Includes Chancellor Palpatine, 2 elite Senate commando bodyguards, 1 Clone Trooper Pilot and 1 Clone Trooper gunner. Includes 5 minifigures: Chancellor Palpatine, 2 elite Senate commando bodyguards, 1 clone trooper pilot and 1 clone trooper gunner! Open the front hood to play inside Palpatine's detailed command center! Lift rear wings to reveal hidden gunnar and storage area for extra bombs and missiles! Measures 20" (51cm) long, 12" (31cm) wide, 7" (18cm) high
Posted:January 4, 2010
Overall:
5
/
5
Excellent play value
" My 6 (almost 7) year old loves playing with this, especially the bomb dropper. This space ship is bigger than I had expected, and fairly heavy too, but he doesn't seem to mind, and happily carries it around (the carrying feature is very useful).
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
1 week or less
How often is this product used?
Every day
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
0points
0of 0found this review helpful.
Flexible Train Tracks
Flexible Train Tracks
Posted:November 13, 2009
Overall:
3
/
5
Useful but we don't need so many pieces!
" If you have a complicated track plan, it can happen that you sometimes need a piece of length 1/2, or 1/4, or so. In this case it's convenient to have these pieces, that's why I bought this item. So I use this product, and it is convenient, but I really only need just a few of these pieces, there is no need to have 64 of them.
(don't build long pieces of track with the flex track, the emerald night train wobbles if you do that).
"
From: Tallahassee, FL
Age:
35-44
years old
How long has this product been owned?
5-6 months
How often is this product used?
A few times per year
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
3
/
5
Share:
+3points
5of 7found this review helpful.