Jay Psi

It's Christmas. Merry Christmas. May everyone's feet be free of Lego pieces this holiday period.

We're getting lots of dark blue panels with this one! (video link for reference) Looks the best of the modern F1 cars by far, the colour looks great and the front/rear seem to have had extra attention compared to the Ferrari. Does the Ferrari have the two-speed gearbox as well? Seems a strange choice for an F1 car.

TLG, you owe us a 10-second build, even that would look better than this. Buy it for the parts only.

Yep, this is exactly what happened with my BuWizz 2.0, which is now updated and working. Hopefully, yours will take fewer tries to update than mine (~25 over the course of a week - the unit would connect but not begin writing the blocks).

Obligatory background music for this post. Good to see you back @Gray Gear, you've done a great job with keeping all he hatches in check!

While I am (shamefully) not one of them, I can only echo their sentiment - you are a valued member of the community who has never shied away from sharing the joys you find in this hobby despite/because of the challenges you face in accessing it. But we can wait until you are ready to return. The CAT 11D will be waiting too, ready to be completed!

Bold of you to assume that this will be used for a category of products. I wouldn't be surprised to only see this integrated hub used for this one set.

8110 - At the time, the Unimog was exactly the distraction I needed, with what was then (to me) a complicated build and the outstanding play value; the pneumatics blew me away and brought me back into Technic. 42009 - This was the set that truly brought me out of the dark ages. From its then leading part count, to the expansive drivetrain and power distribution, right through to Jurgen's Ultimate 42009, which I still believe pushed PF to its practical limits.

Congratulations to your new grandchild and her parents @grum64 - how long will it be before you introduce her to grandad's favourite hobby?

The Aston Martin Valkyrie seems the most logical* choice to me: Aston Martin cars have good representation in Speed Champions already Dark green is a new (and relatively plentiful) colour to 1:8 supercars It looks visually striking and is one of the more recognisable hypercars The inclusion of underfloor tunnels would be an interesting design challenge Unfortunately, I don't expect anything mechanically novel apart from the new gearbox pieces being used for a 7+R gearbox. *I want to make this clear, it is not my personal preference.

Ain't that the truth. Has there ever been a contest for Technic animals? I could understand doubts about number of entries, but I think it would be great to see a different side to Technic (e.g. not machinery/vehicles) promoted.

There's definitely a wider trend around collecting but that would be too far off topic for this thread. But yes, the attitude shift that no B-models imply isn't a good look. All Lego, but especially Technic, should have playability as a core focus. Official B-models offer that to the consumer at no cost; I don't know exactly how much designer time B-models took, but I can see it impacting the ability to design (and then sell) an increasing number of sets per year. With accusations that TLG are moving away from quality and more towards quantity, no B-models only drives that reasoning further forward.

@Porsche96 Didn't you make the Audi R8 Spyder from 42083? That was probably the best alternate of the Chiron I built. The time you spent on this has not been wasted, I can assure you. How has the 24/8-tooth gear swap worked in practice? I've tried something similar but with little success space-wise.

The lack of B-models, is on its own concerning, but possibly not the key issue. I'm paraphrasing from @kbalage's video on the subject, but what could happen to the AFOL-made alternates hosted (almost exclusively) on Rebrickable if TLG make a move for the website? I think it's only a matter of time before Rebrickable is purchased. I'm not a regular Bricklink user, so if anyone else can speak to any changes post-TLG takeover that may give hints as to what a TLG-owned Rebrickable could look like, please share them. Hopefully this could lead to something along the lines of greater promotion of AFOLs with respect to alternate models, as while Rebrickable is the go-to resource amongst AFOLs, is still effectively invisible to the buying public. On the other side, there could be a mandated fee for any alternates...

I've seen some calls for Rebrickable staff to review your MOC, that would certainly help, but directly asking is frowned upon. On topic, the modifications suggestions are a great idea, not only for those who have the parts to do so, but for less experienced builders to see the difference part availability and choice makes.

I strongly suspect someone influential at TLG thinks otherwise, with Mindstorms on ice and programming haphazardly being bundled with Technic as Control+. Even then, as you have said many times, it would not be an exorbitant cost to include a physical remote control. Smartphone functionality could still be offered as additional play value. Let's be honest, the lack of a physical remote is a cost-saving measure, partially disguised as resource management/customer concern. The point about obsolescence should be a big concern to TLG, but perhaps the relative market share of Control+ sets means TLG are fine with dumping it in time, as they have done with Dacta and Mindstorms previously. Or their current structure means it makes more financial sense to come up with a brand new system when the time is right.

8455 says hi. Japes aside, the comments about TLG departments lacking agility/flexibility are on the money. With the current directive, the designers - who are clearly talented enough to produce high-quality sets - will hardly ever be given the chance, given the restrictions and targets imposed on them.

I thought TLG's near-collapse was more a result of spreading resources too thinly (throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks), and that the "silo" approach was a symptom of trying - and failing - to keep track of it all. This would seem to be more of a "one size fits all" situation with regard to most departments, Technic being the one that it actively harms the most.

My cynical self would assert that TLG ignoring MINDSTORMS conveniently removed a large impetus for closer integration between the app and Technic developers.

The answers to the app questions stand out - with the majority of app-capable sets being Technic, it would make sense to bring that development into the Technic team, or at least have app developers on the Technic team (or vice-versa). It's a shame to see that the current direction won't change. I understand that TLG feel like they have to align to customer/market values (licensed sets, cars, colour vomit, etc.), but there was a time not so long ago when Technic set the trend in these areas and others followed. It does sound like the Technic team, and probably other set-focused departments, are beholden to the commercial juggernaut Lego has become. I suspect this video (thanks @kbalage for chasing this up) will only reinforce the attitude reflected in the thread title. There's still lots to love about Technic, but not as much as their used to be.

Monkey's paw: The set is an Animal Crossing licensed car. Back on topic, unfortunately, the increase in Technic licensed cars, and licenses in general, produces good numbers for TLG, either externally (sales) or internally (focus groups). But honestly, look at the first few pages of this forum, and you'll still see licensed cars over-represented, in alternates or modifications, even in such a discerning audience. By contrast, outside of the headline-grabbers (flagships, innovative/novel designs) the other sets have gained relatively little traction. I don't see the trend being bucked anytime soon. With that said, I've personally enjoyed most of said licensed cars. The Audi RS Q e-tron is my go-to recommendation for a Control+ starter set, the Peugeot 9X8 is the set 42039 should always have been, and both it and the Ford GT will hopefully start a new trend of relatively dense and functional ~1:10 models instead of the 1:8 empty shells that the Porsche 911 RSR and Ferrari 488 GTE were. The blue Bolide is just as cool as its yellow counterpart and the Monster Jam sets are still great gifts to youngsters getting into Technic. Outside of the licensed cars, it's hard to avoid the Liebherr LR 13000-shaped elephant in the room. It's as impressive mechanically as it is flawed aesthetically and priced outrageously. The other sets represent a good range of purposes to me, with licenses being used more astutely to represent and demonstrate the ingenuity of the real-life counterparts, albeit they still were not required to do this in all cases, except possibly the Perseverance Rover. Special mention must go to the AR app for the MT-10 SP; I know it's not to the taste of most here, but it is just as big a step in Lego's use of software as the new gearbox parts the set comes with is for its use of hardware. My biggest concern is the increase in price, beyond inflation and increased production costs. My cynical half says the licensing spree is an pre-emptive effort to justify price rises with their perceived value to the customer.

This is a good suggestion, perhaps with links to the entry/WIP threads for people to peruse if they wish.

@Unbrickme Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it. It didn't cover new ground for regulars of the forum, but there will always be newcomers or "Dark Age" returners who would appreciate collating most of the discussions into one place. However, I'm surprised TLG haven't (yet?) been in touch with regards to the title. While I am glad they do not stifle criticism from ambassadors, LUGs, etc., "...How To Fix Lego Technic" implies that it is broken or significantly damaged. Taking a leaf from @allanp, "How To Make Lego Technic Better" would be more appropriate to me, acknowledging what is good while addressing long-standing issues. The Technic Pub thread would have been a good place for this video, if it hasn't been mothballed by now.

That's a nice percentage. On a more serious note, there's a small but non-trivial chance you're right, depending on the lead-in times for new parts. Regardless, exciting times are ahead. The rotary catch was a huge step as well, but it's been a while since that came out and we're overdue the next step.

I really enjoyed seeing the creativity on display in this contest, you've all put me to shame. 4: 10 5: 6 9: 4 8: 3 2: 2 10: 1