[BOOK] Lego Technic: An Unofficial, Illustrated History

[2GodBDGlory]

Thanks for the pictures!

It's pretty cool to see someone else enjoying it, and to see a copy with an actual spine!

[Milan]

2 hours ago, emielroumen said:

here a 2 photos of the printed copy

It looks awesome! Thanks for taking time to post it.

[Maaboo the Witch]

7 minutes ago, bobfily said:

Wow! Hobbyists and true fans will be delighted for sure. 

We are!

[Paul B Technic]

This is great, I am just starting to read it :)

[2GodBDGlory]

48 minutes ago, TangersTechnic said:

This is great, I am just starting to read it :)

Glad to hear you like it!

[P McCatty]

39 minutes ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Glad to hear you like it!

+1. I'm still at 1985 LOL. Taking my time & enjoying all of it.

[mla2]

This is great, thanks for sharing!

[JunkstyleGio]

@2GodBDGlory do you plan to make year-addendums?

 

[2GodBDGlory]

27 minutes ago, JunkstyleGio said:

@2GodBDGlory do you plan to make year-addendums?

 

Do you mean updating it each year? Yes, I've been doing that since 2017 (though I hadn't shared it yet), and I plan to keep doing it for the foreseeable future.

[glowytheglowbug]

thanks for posting this online for free some more! <3 the effort

[shroomzofdoom]

Great book!  Thank you for posting it!

[2GodBDGlory]

I've just completed my 2022 addition to the book, with all of the new sets for this year added!

Here is the link to the new version:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y67yGqrN190WPzZ2GDrCCMyIuSGi2HH3/view?usp=sharing

As before, let me know if you spot any errors, or if this link isn't working!

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by 2GodBDGlory

[phildc]

Just discovered this great book! Thanks a lot!

Phil.

[Aleh]

20 hours ago, phildc said:

Just discovered this great book! Thanks a lot!

Phil.

Same!
Thank a lot for you work! Downloaded the book!

[2GodBDGlory]

I've got the 2023 update to this book done now! Hopefully Lego doesn't drop any surprise late-November 2023 sets to force me to edit it...

Here's the link to the new version:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J95q3pTi8s_HVfQZ17GFtDN67wZmT9El/view?usp=sharing

[JunkstyleGio]

A good book. Nice updates for 2023.

A few little tips:

A: A book should end with a rear cover.

B: Please add pagemumbers,

C: A pageindex at the end would be nice.

A little pro-tip last: a book always contains a plural of 4 pages.

 

 

[emielroumen]

44 minutes ago, JunkstyleGio said:

A good book. Nice updates for 2023.

A few little tips:

A: A book should end with a rear cover.

B: Please add page numbers,

C: A page index at the end would be nice.

A little pro-tip last: a book always contains a plural of 4 pages.

 

 

@2GodBDGlory: I like @JunkstyleGio's tips, although I have a printed copy already.

Perhaps you could team up to improve this version?

[2GodBDGlory]

1 hour ago, JunkstyleGio said:

A good book. Nice updates for 2023.

A few little tips:

A: A book should end with a rear cover.

B: Please add pagemumbers,

C: A pageindex at the end would be nice.

A little pro-tip last: a book always contains a plural of 4 pages.

 

 

Thanks!

A. That's a good point--I probably should make a rear cover design, and also update the front cover to have some post-2018 sets.

B. I can add basic page numbers easily enough, though on some pages the images would be covering them. The main reason I haven't done them before is that my printed copy changes every year or two, which involves adding pages early on in the book (in the timeline section), which would throw off all the page numbers following it. I guess my assumption is that page numbers are a bad idea on printed copies for that reason, and that they're unnecessary on digital copies, because most programs list page numbers. Do you think it would be worth doing them in spite of that? [EDIT: Come to think of it, I could always just put, say, six blank pages after the timeline and fill them in over twelve years, which would push any updates to the page numbers/index into the distant future]

C. Hmm, an index could be handy, but again the issue is that page numbers change every year when I update it, so the whole index would need to be changed each year, which sounds like an awful lot of work. I typically just use the timeline section in the front as a sort of pictorial index, because I can quickly determine what year a set is from, and then page through to that year's section to find it.

Is there any particular reason that books always have pages in multiples of four?

25 minutes ago, emielroumen said:

@2GodBDGlory: I like @JunkstyleGio's tips, although I have a printed copy already.

Perhaps you could team up to improve this version?

This reminds me, another person on here was working on reformatting the whole book a couple years ago, including some of those improvements, but I kind of forgot about all the progress he made. I'm not sure where that project is at now, but if something based on it could come together it'd be nice!

Edited November 20, 2023 by 2GodBDGlory

[JunkstyleGio]

@2GodBDGlory

In programmes like Microsoft Word or  OpenOffice Writer page numbers, when set to on, are always automated.

Therefore adding or removing out pages won't be a problem.

Adding an index can, as far as I remember be automated too. (but how I forgot!)

The "plurals of 4 thing" works like this..(If you keep your document only digital, you can have the numbers of pages you want.) 

Keep up the good work and good luck!

 

 

 

[2GodBDGlory]

4 hours ago, JunkstyleGio said:

@2GodBDGlory

In programmes like Microsoft Word or  OpenOffice Writer page numbers, when set to on, are always automated.

Therefore adding or removing out pages won't be a problem.

Adding an index can, as far as I remember be automated too. (but how I forgot!)

The "plurals of 4 thing" works like this..(If you keep your document only digital, you can have the numbers of pages you want.) 

Keep up the good work and good luck!

 

 

 

Oh, what I mean about the page numbers is that if I print out a copy of the 2023 edition, and then want to add pages next year for the 2024 edition, the 2024-edition page numbers won't match the 2023-edition ones, so my printed copy won't match up unless I reprint all the automatically updated pages from past years. You're right that it wouldn't be a problem online! Though, I did realize that I could also just number everything introductory on a roman numeral system, and then number all the normal pages with an arabic numeral system, and then just add to the end of both numbering systems, so it's not unreasonable if I can figure out the formatting.

[pleegwat]

Sometimes (particularly in manuals) you see numbering systems which restart on each chapter (so the 21st page in chapter 4 would be numbered 4-21). That may be suitable here, where users will be adding extra pages to their binder in future years.

[2GodBDGlory]

3 hours ago, pleegwat said:

Sometimes (particularly in manuals) you see numbering systems which restart on each chapter (so the 21st page in chapter 4 would be numbered 4-21). That may be suitable here, where users will be adding extra pages to their binder in future years.

Hmm, that's true. It wouldn't be as helpful as true page numbers, but would be something. It'd probably be harder to format that way, though, so I'd probably still go with having roman numerals and Arabic numerals for different parts.

[Toastie]

Well I must admit that I am far less concerned about correct paging and stuff - on a document I can use "search" functions, but that is just me. A printed version of course needs all these alignments!

I simply love your compilation - it is a must for me to download every update you are announcing. Fantastic work - and I bet it eats up a lot of your free time. And hopefully is as satisfactory as it appears to be (to me)!

My question is: TLG's Technic Control (TC) branch did not only run within their Dacta program, but some sets were also sold as Technic additions; e.g. #9750 (Interface A) and #9771 (ISA card for IBM's and compatibles). I believe these are valuable Technic sets as well (1986/7) and represent the first attempts of TLG aiming at "computer control". @evank knows so much more about this; maybe he can comment.

All the best - and thank you very much again for compiling these Technic sets!

Best regards,
Thorsten   

[2GodBDGlory]

2 hours ago, Toastie said:

Well I must admit that I am far less concerned about correct paging and stuff - on a document I can use "search" functions, but that is just me. A printed version of course needs all these alignments!

I simply love your compilation - it is a must for me to download every update you are announcing. Fantastic work - and I bet it eats up a lot of your free time. And hopefully is as satisfactory as it appears to be (to me)!

My question is: TLG's Technic Control (TC) branch did not only run within their Dacta program, but some sets were also sold as Technic additions; e.g. #9750 (Interface A) and #9771 (ISA card for IBM's and compatibles). I believe these are valuable Technic sets as well (1986/7) and represent the first attempts of TLG aiming at "computer control". @evank knows so much more about this; maybe he can comment.

All the best - and thank you very much again for compiling these Technic sets!

Best regards,
Thorsten   

Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

Hmm, you're right that that TC stuff is an interesting branch of Lego history, and something I would probably have never heard of if it weren't for you guys. On that level, it'd be cool and educational to include in the book, but at the same time, it seems a bit outside the scope of the book, given that I haven't even included Mindstorms in there, and that there don't seem to be any models included in the sets (that I see at quick glance). I do also feel completely unqualified to write about these mysterious pieces of circuitry, but of course that's what forums are for!

[CarloDavis]

On 10/5/2021 at 9:47 PM, emielroumen said:

As promised, here a 2 photos of the printed copy. I had it printed in A5 format, half the size of A4, after I test printed 2 pages at home in the same format.

It looks great, and it is a very nice almanac for offline use! 

Since it was a full color, double sided print with glossy heavy cover (300 grams paper), it was around 40 USD shipped.

Thanks again for creating the book  @2GodBDGlory.

This book is my dream. I had to put this wonderful book and my favorite hobby aside until I finished the main things. I'm now working on my nursing tasks and will graduate shortly. And I decided to buy nursing essays. With any luck, this will help me get ready and begin my career developing.

Edited January 9, 2024 by CarloDavis
Do not quote a whole block of images.