Technic 2020 Set Discussion

[Ngoc Nguyen]

2 minutes ago, Timorzelorzworz said:

I wonder which designer did which model in 2020. What is Milan's (Grohl's) model for 2020?

Apparently he only worked on 42104 B model. He did state on his page that he didnt work on the 42113. That might mean he is also working on sth big for 2021 or 2022.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Timorzelorzworz]

1 minute ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Apparently he only worked on 42104 B model. He did state on his page that he didnt work on the 42113. That might mean he is also working on sth big for 2021 or 2022.

I thought he did 42114 but not. Seems a bit strange that he has no model for 2020. Something tells me that we will see a further model in October which is a surprise yet.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Timorzelorzworz

[howitzer]

1 hour ago, tohan said:

If only this whole thing could help TLC realize how much we don't need licensed sets in the first place. I, for one, am perfectly fine with generic cars / trucks / planes with an occasional inspiration from real-life stuff.

What did licensed set bring to the table ? More expansive sets with no B-Models. So many sets were awesome in their own rights without having to suck up to any brand... it's just sad.

This being said, and as I already said, I really hope the Osprey finds its way to me...

I feel that the reason for licensing is that almost every conceivable generic model has already been done to death and it's very hard to think of anything new for the Technic line. So they have turned to licenses instead, as a way to bring additional value to the sets. 42056 didn't bring much on the table that 8070 or other non-licensed supercars didn't already have, but the license certainly helped to make it stand out. Even the Osprey wouldn't have been entirely new, in 2004 there was a generic tiltrotor, though Osprey would've certainly been much more functional and interesting. As for entirely new machines, 42055 was something, but I wonder which set was the previous entirely new thing? It's been a long time, maybe you could count 8110?

[Ngoc Nguyen]

30 minutes ago, howitzer said:

which set was the previous entirely new thing?

42112, Concrete Mixer.

[AVCampos]

32 minutes ago, howitzer said:

42056 didn't bring much on the table that 8070 or other non-licensed supercars didn't already have

Sequential gearbox.

[tohan]

1 hour ago, howitzer said:

So they have turned to licenses instead, as a way to bring additional value to the sets.

I hear you, but I'm still looking for the actual additional value... the fact that licenses may attract more public is certainly valuable for TLC, but for the average consumer I'm not so sure.

Cranes certainly have been done over and over but I don't really mind, it's still fun to build and play with.

Did 42113 and 42114 truly need to be licensed ? I certainly don't think so... 42064, 42066, 42068, 42069, 42070, 42079, 42080, 42082 just to cite a few recent sets were perfectly fine without being licensed (yes, even 42070 IMHO).

When licensing brings gems like 42054, 42063 or 42078 I can agree there's value in it, I'll give you that. 

[howitzer]

4 hours ago, tohan said:

I hear you, but I'm still looking for the actual additional value... the fact that licenses may attract more public is certainly valuable for TLC, but for the average consumer I'm not so sure.

Cranes certainly have been done over and over but I don't really mind, it's still fun to build and play with.

Did 42113 and 42114 truly need to be licensed ? I certainly don't think so... 42064, 42066, 42068, 42069, 42070, 42079, 42080, 42082 just to cite a few recent sets were perfectly fine without being licensed (yes, even 42070 IMHO).

When licensing brings gems like 42054, 42063 or 42078 I can agree there's value in it, I'll give you that. 

I don't need the licenses either, I can do very well without them, but for many people instantly recognizable branding appears to be an additional reason to buy the set. I feel that this is especially true for the average consumer, us AFOLs are generally more interested in novel functions and new parts, though for some of us licenses might still be of some value - especially for a set that doesn't appear to have any other novelties in it. Of course no set (except maybe the supercars) _need_ to be licensed but some of them like flagships, might still sell better when licensed. 42113 is of course a special case, as the license seems to have made the set unfit for sales.

And yeah, some of the licensed sets are truly among the all-time best of Technic.

[jonwil]

I can say for sure that the only reason I am even thinking about buying the Lambo is that I love Lamborghini so much.

 

[thekoRngear]

I think a SUV/Jeep like Ford Bronco or Hummer H1 or H2 should be released from Lego as a Technic set that will work as

1. a spiritual successor to Lego 42110

2. correct the problems/issues the LRD had faced (like too much gears crammed, suspension could not load the complete body eventually which also is a problem for other type of vehicles).

I know with little to moderate tweaks people have remedies for those problems but for greater audience, the improvement is indeed needed.

Edited July 24, 2020 by thekoRngear

[N-4K0]

I don't see the chance of a Hummer being very big considering it originated as a military vehicle. it would be cool though.

Just look at the potential cancelling of the Osprey set because of its use as a military aircraft despite the set being branded as a search and rescue plane.

[TeriXeri]

*moved to wishlist topic*

Edited July 27, 2020 by TeriXeri

[Rudivdk]

We have a dedicated topic for future set wishes and speculations in Technic forum:

Let's keep the '2020 set discussion' on the currently known 2020 sets...

[Polarlicht]

On 7/24/2020 at 8:02 PM, thekoRngear said:

I think a SUV/Jeep like Ford Bronco or Hummer H1 or H2 should be released from Lego as a Technic set that will work as

1. a spiritual successor to Lego 42110

2. correct the problems/issues the LRD had faced (like too much gears crammed, suspension could not load the complete body eventually which also is a problem for other type of vehicles).

I know with little to moderate tweaks people have remedies for those problems but for greater audience, the improvement is indeed needed.

A Lego Ford Bronco would absolutely fly off the shelves

[MarkyMark42]

On 7/25/2020 at 5:50 AM, N-4K0 said:

I don't see the chance of a Hummer being very big considering it originated as a military vehicle. it would be cool though.

Just look at the potential cancelling of the Osprey set because of its use as a military aircraft despite the set being branded as a search and rescue plane.

There's a bit of a difference between a Hummer and an Osprey. Yes I know a Hummer may have military roots but much like the Land Rover Defender, Joe Bloggs can walk into a Hummer or Land Rover dealership and buy one of those vehicles. Same probably can't be said for an Osprey

[jonwil]

It will be interesting to see what happens to produced-but-not-delivered Osprey sets (or more specifically to the parts inside them). And to the parts exclusive to the Osprey that got made but didn't end up in bags/boxes yet at the time of the decision to cancel the set (especially the battery box)

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by jonwil

[mkbryant]

46 minutes ago, jonwil said:

It will be interesting to see what happens to produced-but-not-delivered Osprey sets (or more specifically to the parts inside them). And to the parts exclusive to the Osprey that got made but didn't end up in bags/boxes yet at the time of the decision to cancel the set (especially the battery box)

I keep checking bricks and pieces for the new colors and none of them have showed up yet. I've actually got a couple other MOCs that I really want some of the new DBG panels for. I wonder if/when they do show up, if there will be a limit on some of those pieces exclusive to the Osprey.

[jonwil]

I seriously doubt the parts exclusive to the Osprey will shop up on Bricks & Pieces (at least not unless they end up in another set that is).

 

[tohan]

On 8/2/2020 at 5:27 AM, jonwil said:

It will be interesting to see what happens to produced-but-not-delivered Osprey sets

That's where investing in a B-Model could have been a smart idea... ;-) Just throw a bag of extra pieces to make it look like a real A-Model and you're done!

They are probably trying to come up with a model that will re-use most parts to minimize loss anyway. What I'm hoping at this point is that they will do so and release a new set that will still include all the parts for the Osprey even if some are extra to the new set so we can still build it ;-)

Now that would be great, wouldn't it ?

Edited August 3, 2020 by tohan

[howitzer]

53 minutes ago, tohan said:

That's where investing in a B-Model could have been a smart idea... ;-) Just throw a bag of extra pieces to make it look like a real A-Model and you're done!

They are probably trying to come up with a model that will re-use most parts to minimize loss anyway. What I'm hoping at this point is that they will do so and release a new set that will still include all the parts for the Osprey even if some are extra to the new set so we can still build it ;-)

Now that would be great, wouldn't it ?

That would be great indeed, but what sort of machine beside a tiltrotor would make a good use of the 6 rotor blade parts so that it would allow the B-model-Osprey to use those parts for the rotors? I guess one could find some use similar to that of the Sian where the purpose is mostly decorative but there's six of them and they have to be black...

[allanp]

33 minutes ago, howitzer said:

That would be great indeed, but what sort of machine beside a tiltrotor would make a good use of the 6 rotor blade parts so that it would allow the B-model-Osprey to use those parts for the rotors? I guess one could find some use similar to that of the Sian where the purpose is mostly decorative but there's six of them and they have to be black...

Any new model with the rotors in black wouldn't need 6 as they would then be available on bricks and pieces

[howitzer]

4 minutes ago, allanp said:

Any new model with the rotors in black wouldn't need 6 as they would then be available on bricks and pieces

Yeah, but @tohan's comment was about making a set with Osprey as a B-model so it would then have to include the 6 rotor blades, otherwise it's not really a B-model.

[tohan]

@howitzer you're absolutely right, it doesn't matter whether all parts were needed for the new A-Model or not, and of course, the B-Model wouldn't be advertised as such.

[jonwil]

Many years ago TLG produced a Creator set called the "Cool Cruiser". At some point after they had shipped a few container loads of the set to Australia it was discovered that the set was highly unstable and prone to fall apart when picked up. TLG then went back and re-designed the set and re-issued it. But rather than ship all the sets that were in Australia back to the factory to be repackaged, LEGO dumped all the parts and gave parts to LEGO clubs. I have a large tub full of assorted "cool cruiser" parts,

If they have a bunch of Osprey's that got made but aren't going to be sold/shipped they could do the same (unpack them, recycle the box and instructions and stuff via whatever is appropriate and dump all the parts randomly and give them to LEGO clubs alongside the other random parts they seem to give out to LEGO clubs)

At the very least one good option for unsold battery boxes (either those pulled from unsold Osprey sets or those made and assembled but not actually put into sets yet) could be to make a new accessory pack similar to how they already sell the Technic hub via set 88012. That would allow them to get a return on the investment in the tooling they made for that battery box.

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by jonwil

[JGW3000]

Clearly the 'dumb' battery box will be on LEGO.com at some point, as it is a useful component that many of us have been waiting for.

[allanp]

5 hours ago, howitzer said:

Yeah, but @tohan's comment was about making a set with Osprey as a B-model so it would then have to include the 6 rotor blades, otherwise it's not really a B-model.

Ah right. That's what I get for reading too fast while at work!