I went to the Lego store on release date and purchased this set. I spent a couple of hours each night building it.
As a crane it is a fitting replacement for 42009, it is more complex and a lot of fun. It has some features which that crane has, some that 42042 has, and it adds a longer boom.
Like 42042, everything runs off of one motor and it is a brilliant instruction on how to use one motor to drive multiple systems, this in itself made me like the crane.
There is a lot more to like about this besides its elegant use of transmission of power.
When I say this is massive, I am not kidding, it is a meter tall with the boom fully extended. However, the build does not feel overwhelming at all. It is well organized into sections. The instructions are split into two books and the parts are sorted into 13 sections.
Finding parts this way is not too daunting. Total build time for me was about twenty hours split over three days.
The crane lifts more than I thought it would and the spindle winds and unwinds the cable extremely well. This one won't tangle and the cable unwinds and winds back onto the spool by a very clever use of two pulleys that travel on axles.
The designer(s) of this crane did a great job. I just wonder if they took into account the two linear actuators being driven by the same axle,the gears travel in opposite directions which means at times one of the linear actuators may have a larger stress on it.
All in all, a great flagship model! Thank you designer(s)
KIDS ZONE
