LEGO 42146: Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000 - HANDS-ON REVIEW 

Been looking forward to this review purely to see just how badly it was rated. Sariel didn't disappoint.

this is the first technic set that sariel has given a 0 star in terms of authenticity

I am quite impressed by the app. The dynamic load display and center of gravity indicator are well done. I think this is the first set where the C+ system actually adds something as opposed to good old Power Functions. That being said, this functionality still does not merit the €700 price tag.

Mercedes 42043 has roughly 100 pieces less, pneumatics and power functions, a B model, looks like a real deal, and if I recall corectly when it was released it was over 3 times cheaper. I know that alot of things have changed in last couple of years, but still, that price is simply nuts.

I’m glad I watched this video. I saw this and was immediately excited and dreading the whole in my wallet it would bring. But your critical reviews help bypass that intense need to have a new Lego set. Hopefully something more worth while will fill that need instead! Great review, as always!

"Crude wall of panels..." It's so accurate it hurts. This kit is insulting. Watched the entire video. You hit this nail directly on the head. I'm really disappointed too because I've wanted something like this since I was old enough to know what a crawler crane was. The worst part about all of this is that I'm almost 100% sure that adding some better counterweights, some decent tracks, and literally just a *couple* more boom parts would have made this kit way cooler. But for $700 every tiny problem it has becomes magnified to a point where it's just inexcusable. And yeah, the "It's very big" tax is strong here. It would have cost them cents to make it just that much taller too...

Liebherr cranes fan here: - The colours livery is the all new colours for liebherr crawler cranes (yes it doesnt look goo). - The model is almost nothing like the liebherr crane. - The counterweight plates are like on the LR1750, the LR13000 uses big concrete plates shaped in the same size of a 20ft container. - The counterweight has to go in the back part of the superstructure and in a floating tray, hanged up from the derrick, that must be longer. - Crawlers: They just look like excavator tracks, crawler cranes have trapezoid shape. - Luffer: The luffer back mast are too short, they must have at least one section in. - The hook: The real Hook is composed of two pulley packs, each with 15 pulleys and double hook in the biggest config (main boom) and on pack of 15 pulleys on the luffer config. So my final note is that i don't what the hell is going with Liebherr allowing to make this crap into an oficial LR13000 model, looks more like a chinese bad replica.

I can imagine Sariel wanting to make a MASSIVE battle tank out of these pieces! :)

I had high hopes for this set but they killed it with the lack of authenticity and the crazy price tag

What this set needs is another box with trus pieces and ballast slabs to increase the height and possibility of a superlift configuration with floating ballast. I'm amazed at how well the superstructure turns. That is not easy to design for such a big set. There are so many configurations in real life the crane comes with a pallet full with instruction books and maintenance manuals!

I'd be interested to see someone try and make a realistic boom configuration for this set. Also 3D print the ballast pieces in metal-fill filament so they're actually heavy.

btw 10:12 the ball can be removed through momentum, add a long stick to the end, slam it hard onto a hard surface and the ball will simply fly out of the socket lol works really well

Thank you for your thorough and honest review. I was already going to pass on this due to the ridiculous price, and I still refuse to purchase any technic set that requires the use of the control+ app. All that money and one day the app will no longer be supported and the set will become useless. This type of Technic set should be right up my street but LEGO's greedy pricing and my disliking for the Control+ app make it an easy pass for me and will save me a load of money 🙂

Amazing review as always!

I was waiting for the set to be released for the past year and oh man... People were speculating that the price was going to be set at about $450, but they just knocked it out of the park with this one. And sadly it's really similiar to the leaked images from a couple of months back. I also have a grudge regarding the app-only control. With models from the powered-up / power functions era, you could put the sets to storage or resell them 15 years later, and the remote will work like out of the box. Here on the other hand: ''smart device requred'', ''check for compatibility'' and so on... No one is going to guarantee that the app is going to be available indefinitely, or even work with your device in the future. Using smartphones are like bringing multitools for work - they are barely enough to get the job done, but terrible at doing it efficiently. Btw, You missed an opportunity to compare the unboxing process to assembling Ikea furniture, with all these boxes with sorted parts and minimalistic wireframe pictures ;D

I have an idea to what could make this better: of course include more details, and match the shape of the superstructure, but the best would be additional sets of truss pieces. Since not everybody needs a giant crane, making it 2 metres tall out of the box would have just opened it up to "It's too big, it's difficult to find place for it" category. But release extra sets, with extra instructions for each, or some of the real configurations, and you immediately have better potential and better realism

Ouch. That's harsh. I don't think I've ever seen zero stars before. Never mind, LEGO totally deserves it.

Although I never had the blue Crawler Crane, I thought that was already really nice, pretty well priced and did the job and functions with little fuss. But besides what's already been covered, I'd be happier to spend this set's cost on several smaller but still rather large sets. For example, for £2 more than the price of this crane, I can buy the John Deere Skidder, Heavy Duty Tow Truck, Airbus Helicopter, one of the smaller scaled £45 cars, one of the Monster Jam Monster Truck sets and one of the smallest Technic sets. And that's just going by their normal retail prices; it's easily possible to spend far less than that with discounts being so frequently occurring with Technic sets in the UK. Yes none of them have Control+ but it goes to show how much better value there is elsewhere.

Another great, well presented review Sariel, honest and quite brutal at times. The Australian price is $1050.00 so I think I will give it a miss.

As always, Sariel's review is a breath of fresh air among the hordes of people passionately defending it with the "bUt iT's wOrTH iT beCuZ it'S sO bIG" argument.

Great video! I think it would interesting to use a real counterweight and see how much it could lift

Many thanks for this review, yours are after all the best LEGO reviews on YT. And by now I know why I love my very old my 8288, and old 42009 and 42042. A comparison with Liebherr LR13000 MOCs would have been interesting, but also difficult in terms of functionality of the MOCs.

I was simply rolling of laugh with this magic item card at the end 🤣

This is the best review of the Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000 (42146) that I've seen. The comparison with actual Liebherr cranes was excellent and showed so many differences it was hard to pick one. Sariel's criticisms were dead on. The set does seem rushed. I think this set would have been received much better received if it wasn't associated with any existing crawler crane AND was at a more reasonable price. I won't buy this set primarily due to it's lack of authenticity and innovation plus the high price for what you get.

I'm very happy to see a checkpoint system implemented for such a large set. I had some small building errors in the last set I bought that would have been easier to spot and fix had there been a checkpoint halfway through

I'm surprised how it actually still managed to somehow score 2 stars for value...

9:56 This is an old part, released in 2020 in SPIKE Prime kits

I don't know why, but your speed builds are quite calming.

I sort of feel all of the extra boxes for the build seem unnecessary. It was like Lego was trying to make this a high end building experience like the Porsche super car or something similar. I doubt this ads a lot of money to the set, but who knows. It would be nice to see what Liebherr says about the license. Maybe they did not want this to look like one of their real cranes? It is possible that would have created too many issues for Liebherr. The hook does look way over complicated. I want to try lifting the Saturn V when I get this.

Expected for 2024: Huge LEGO pile driver, with a 2021 model number, 130 parts, priced at 999 USD!

Seen this thing decimate RU-vid, decided to check it out. Too bad Lego has disappeared in Russia (big sad for me). So now I mostly watch Lego content for memories and fascinating mechanical engineering

Thank you for the review!

I believe it looks fairly unrefined, i.e. colours and proportions as well as not looking at all realistic. Though I do believe you could make some fairly straight forward modifications to make it better and a bit more realistic.

If it was half the price this would be a fun set to get. But for 700 euros I want a lot more than 2900 pieces

The Supreme Commander music for the intro section was an absolutely inspired choice. The only issue with that bit is that it makes this set look much cooler than it really is.

Hehe great intro Sariel!

I paid less for the cat d11 and the liebherr r9800 combined than the msrp lego put on the crane. Absolutely bonkers pricing.

My dream set. Unfortunately each year the price of these legos just keep getting higher… this and many other lego sets are now unaffordable for more then 90% of lego fans including me :(

I just built mine yesterday, and it's not as bad as reviews say. The whole set is very rigid which is becomes obvious and impressive as you build the set. the lack in boom length can easily be fixed by adding additional box truss sections (which i calculated to be around ~20EUR per section). I feel like the designers had to compromise authenticity and height for stability and playability knowing people would start lifting 5kgs with this. It's robust and sturdy, but it's still a lego people. I enjoyed building mine and i'll probably order at least 2 more box truss sections to add length to it.

Thanks for the review

some of that budget really shows in the app integration, maybe ive not watched the right videos, but that is far and away the best Control+ interface ive ever seen

33:20 Please don't listen to them! You're not an idiot! It'll be okay! Stay strong! Never give up! 😁❤️

6:34 this diagram showing a wiring pattern looks incredibly finnicky

Thanks for your honest review. I guess you spoke out what a lot of us where already afraid of...

42042 has the better playability for children and was MUCH cheaper, you can play even without smartphone. I do not understand the price policy here on the 42146, the control+hubs are very cheap electronics... even no accumulator inside...

That intro was straight fire🔥🔥🔥

I know the app has some pretty features, but I still don't lile LEGO's insistance on the control+ system. I think it's all an excuse to get apps on phones to harvest data

Spot on review!! Very good! You‘re the first to point out this set doesn‘t resemble any official configuration.

I agree that it doesn't look like the real thing. I am specially disappointed in the length of the arm. You see this kind of cranes building windmills with its long arms. Here it looks if the arm was cut of. I agree with Sariel, absolutely not worth it's price.

I've always loved lego, bought my first set in 1986 which was the gas tanker part of the "town" series. It got me hooked, bought the airport, battery train, all 3 float boats, the light and sound sets, so when i saw technics i was drawn towards it. I have to say lately technics sets have become no only bland but way too costly and not worth it. I'll gladly spend a grand for a set, but I want to be awed by it. One of the best technic sets 8043 as far as value, creativity, innovation, and bang for your buck. What happened to those type of sets?

Maybe the new drum piece is to decrease the possibility that the rope my entangle since the rope is several meters long🤔

Can't wait to get my hands on this, just feel it needs 1 or 2 extra box sections at the end.

Epic opening with the Thor's hammer being lifted leading to a somewhat lukewarm review. Not really surprised as it is nearing a $1000 US, and it's not one of the better looking Technic models as it looks very bare bones despite the rigging and functionality. I too felt the treads were too narrow for such an enormous model, and wondered why the much more appropriate Cat treads weren't used as they would make for a wider, and stabler base. Also I think this is the first time he's given a zero authenticity rating in the closing. That seems something of an accomplishment in how far most Technic sets have come in the past 10 years. For a fraction of the cost I think the airbus from last year is a much better buy/value.

Massive set😍 Hopefully I'll get one some day

Great review I’m from Australia and the price tag will be more than $700 Considering how big it is the lifting weight is disappointing I’m really on the fence now!

On the one hand it’s a giant Lego Technic crane, that’s fully remote controlled and I’d love it! On the other is that price tag for that piece count…. When I compare to my R9800.

woohoo was waiting for this set! (prob not gonna get it but it looks cute)

This set looks massive, even it has only 2000+ pieces.The liebherr excavator has more pieces it looks tiny next to it.😮

Many thanks for the review; it has seriously dampened my enthusiasm for buying something so badly overpriced, which is what an honest review needs to do! OK, I may buy it *if* a few hundred £££££ drops in my lap (because *man*, that looks like a fun build!), but otherwise... well... OK, no fooling: I want it! But now my wallet and my mind are in sync - I won't get it. Blast it! Want it. Not gonna. 😥

Cool)

That was not an LR13000. An LR130 at best. I can live with the counterweights tho. It takes a very skilled crane operator assisted by a lot of sensors to make sure a real crane does not come to harm. I once freestyled a Lego crane out of regular Lego technic, that is not specific crane parts. I had great fun lifting ever greater weights (boxes of juice) with ever heavier counterweights right up to the point where the load let go and turned the whole thing into a trebuchet. I had the hook zipping right by my face. So I can imagine that Lego is not to keen on selling something that could take out an eye. Still a bummer it does not look like the real thing.

0 STARS?! Well that's something you don't see everyday... i mean i expected the lowest you could go was 1 star so this is a shocker. What's also a shocker is the fact that value gets 2 stars!

Epic Terran Music FTW

Ive heard that the battery box change was because of a eu Regulations thing, lego would never give us metal pieces if they were not told to do so lol...

The price per piece is insane.

10:09 that ball socket isn’t actually new-it’s a recolor and has been in Spike Prime sets right from the start. As to why: I suspect having a 3x5 I-beam with holes in 2 directions attached to it instead of a 1x3 beam is important, maybe even necessary, for anchoring it stably. Maybe not for this set-though the lateral forces _might_ be a problem for the large universal joint housing-but for robotics sets.

Thanks for the honest review ... I have s feeling this price will be down to $500 or less in a few months. Maybe i will think of purchasing it then. Definitely not for $700

It’s a lego, can only do so much to make it look “authentic” i do agree that $700 is crazy, for that price the instructions should be sprial bound like some of the star wars one I beleive

I don't know if I'm sad or happy. I do not longer crave the big sets not even the 100€+ ones everything below 50 on the other hand especially the Polybags 10€Sets and the monster trucks are wholesome right now. Nice to build nice to play affordable and overall worth it. All the supercars, the cat, the crane, the new plane on the other hand.

With this set you have to look at the price per gram, also you can buy it allready with a 28% discount. But I don't intend to do that though, as - regardless of the other shortcomings -it only fits the scale of Titanic or Eiffel Tower at most.

Holy cow! The box is huge but it less bricks than the Liebherr 42100 .

Hello! Nice review! It worth the wait! Who design this set ? Marcus Kossman, like the Cat d11?

been waiting for this

Another great review, thank you for making these, they are very informative. If I am completely honest, I am growing tired of these branded sets, that are often over priced. In many cases, I think that they have reduced the creativity of modern sets. However, I say this with a huge MOC crane recently completed, with power functions... Maybe it is time for me to update after all? 😁

This looks like Markus Kossman or Uwe Wabra creation. Though I haven't seen Uwe designed Control+ sets, so more likely it's Markus.

Love the starcraft intro music :) This thing is huuge o.0 I wonder how it would perform with stronger lines ?

That's the music from Starcraft 2 Suit Up animation!!!

lego should make an official mod to this set to make it a dragline

I think this set will be able to lift way more when people add a heavier counterweight to the end

So many new DBG pieces :)

Isn't the ball receptable same as part number 39370, which comes in medium azure in the spike prime and spike expansion sets? So it's not a new part, it's just a recolour. But yes, even then your question applies, why was it created when a similar one already existed.

Here’s a question, would you like it more if the set was the exact same except it was $450 and not called LR 13,000, rather a generic, crawler crane like the blue one

If only the weigh were in metal.... by the way, as they are made from plastic, does they somehow connect to regular lego pieces or can they only be placed over with no real attach?

The most challenging part of this set will be the cable setup. For those had build 8288 & 42042 will be had basic idea & experience.

0:50 soooo, the crane is worthy?

It has quite great quality. Moving crane for motors is great! But it is very expensive. It doesn't have value for money. Also I don't like that color a bit. It has many color, so its color is not neat. Finally it has different boom shape compare with real model. 42100 is much better than this. +I have never know that the hydraulic system is made by suspension until I watched this video. ++Most of my opinions is similar to your final note. I get a lot of help from your video when judging a product. 👍🏻

To me, it feels like this set is made more for people not into Lego, but with a big wallet. The oversimplified things (the specialized truss pieces, the use of less parts), the heavy reliance on the app and the big scale (even if it's not accurate) are big signs to marketing for adults not into Lego.

Well, I will save moneys for the Massive Cobi Tiger 131.

Reminds me of the bucket wheel excavator #42055 from 2016, which was similarly inauthentic and unwieldy, yet for MSRP of ~$350 in today's money and with a thousand more pieces. And a unique B-model. Where did the value go? Double the price for C+ and an (effectively unused) license? Nah.

Been a minute since you've been down on a big set. I was looking forward to this set. No, I don't know.

This is certainly a worthy set.. since it can lift the Mjolnir..

Now you should do an authentic one!

I must admit that the Lego model looks much better than the original to me. I like more spectrum of colors than just a yellow one. On the other hand, as you said, throw out the licence.

30:00 price per piece for 42114 should be 11.4c, not 7.8c

And moving on... I'm actually underwelemed by this set.. Sorry guys... But Sariel made a hell of a video!

Are you figuring out a way to store it somehow?

Lego is getting really lazy with the new pieces recently. Either new moulds are inconveniently shaped, are easily replicated with existing pieces, or are too specialized. There are so many elements like brackets, beams, chains and gears that people have been asking for for ages. One of the single most common complaints with most technic sets in the last decade has been that wheels/tires don't match the real vehicles. But instead we get more large frame elements, more specialised printed mudguards, and more updates to existing pieces. The flip flop beams are the only new technic pieces that actually feel super useful.

Liebherr cranes also have the red tips just FYI...

You gave zero stars for authenticity, but two stars for value? Shouldn't they both have been zero? I try to imagine this scenario: Lego giving a copy to the people at Liebherr to display in their lobby HQ. Then I imagine that their visiting clientele will all walk in and laugh at them - "What is this? Is this supposed to be one of your machines? It looks nothing like what you make! Why are you displaying some other company's machine?"

I was looking forward to this set, now not so much 😕 might have to wait for 20-30% off sale