2024 Technic Sets Discussion

[LvdH]

7 minutes ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

Interesting that neither gt3 rs , Chiron, Sian or Daytona was considered a flagship at the time of release. 42183 is still a blank number (I really hope it will be 42131 CAT dozer replacement). 

Well, 2016 was probably one of the best summer waves of all time; Volvo EW160, Claas Xerion and BWE. Even one of the designers at TLG called the Porsche “something on the side” in some review (I think it was with Sariel) back then. 

In 2018 they released (according to many) the best technic crane with “big red”.

2020 and 2022 on the other hand don’t stack up that well, the Volvo dumper was very popular but relatively small and due to the delay of the Liebherr 2022 didn’t bring that much special in comparison. Perhaps after 2018 the supercars were just considered “an extra”, as said by one of the designers in that one interview.

[nerdsforprez]

I think these discussions are difficult.  So very subjective.  I know plenty of others who felt like "big red" an obstreperous, lunky, over-built brick.  I tended to agree with them.  

Of course there are some themes.  Some sets, rarely, seem to be loved by nearly all.  Claas Xerion was one of them.  

 

But hard to argue "best" and "worst" years for Lego Technic.  Very subjective.  

[Divitis]

1 hour ago, LvdH said:

Perhaps after 2018 the supercars were just considered “an extra”

Seeing how little they bring in tern of true technical functions (besides being the first set to use a new part) I can imagine designers aren't necessarily looking forward to working on one, when the main 'feature' is the looks.

[howitzer]

1 hour ago, nerdsforprez said:

I think these discussions are difficult.  So very subjective.  I know plenty of others who felt like "big red" an obstreperous, lunky, over-built brick.  I tended to agree with them.  

Of course there are some themes.  Some sets, rarely, seem to be loved by nearly all.  Claas Xerion was one of them.  

 

But hard to argue "best" and "worst" years for Lego Technic.  Very subjective.  

It's true that these things are very subjective. I like the Big Red but I can see where some of the criticism comes from (it's far larger than the functions require and could've use some additional functionality like suspension, but on the other hand, it's great to play with and all the functions work very well).

Hardly anyone disagrees with the statement that 2016 was a great year though. Probably the best of the studless era.

[Maaboo the Witch]

2 hours ago, howitzer said:

Hardly anyone disagrees with the statement that 2016 was a great year though. Probably the best of the studless era.

Meh, 2018 was better.

[thekoRngear]

8 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

Meh, 2018 was better.

One liner conclusions are tough ya know. However, I second that. Two very well-made fan-loved sets (Mac Anthem, Rally car), the BIG Red, the 1/8 Chiron with orange rotary catch that is arguably much loved by casual sheep, variety of sets like the First Responder, the Yacht, Forest Hervester, Heavy duty forklift, and a Volvo

versus

BWE, the first 1/8 scale Supercar which many regard as the best 1/8 in terms of Technic spirit (with huge mods from community, ah I love the enthusiasm and pages-after-pages discussions in EB), a Klaas Xerion, the EW160E, a somewhat underwhelmed Helicoptre and a drag racer and several forgettable sets.

Nah, I would go with 2018.

[howitzer]

22 minutes ago, thekoRngear said:

One liner conclusions are tough ya know. However, I second that. Two very well-made fan-loved sets (Mac Anthem, Rally car), the BIG Red, the 1/8 Chiron with orange rotary catch that is arguably much loved by casual sheep, variety of sets like the First Responder, the Yacht, Forest Hervester, Heavy duty forklift, and a Volvo

versus

BWE, the first 1/8 scale Supercar which many regard as the best 1/8 in terms of Technic spirit (with huge mods from community, ah I love the enthusiasm and pages-after-pages discussions in EB), a Klaas Xerion, the EW160E, a somewhat underwhelmed Helicoptre and a drag racer and several forgettable sets.

Nah, I would go with 2018.

As said, subjective.

For me the BWE alone takes the cake, with it's unprecedented size, subject and mechanical marvelousness, not to mention the many modifications it sparked and the introduction of banana gears which revolutionized turntables. As I said earlier, I like the Big Red but while it's a nice set, it still falls way short in comparison to the BWE. I could write here about my thoughts of the other sets too but I don't think it matters much - both years were great and in the end it's only about everyone's personal preference which is better.

[allanp]

I still want to believe the best year/era is still to come. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/P3hoMguu3HLaR4yo6

[Jockos]

2 hours ago, allanp said:

I still want to believe the best year/era is still to come. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/P3hoMguu3HLaR4yo6

I have that feeling, too. Frankly, I can't imagine why Technic is struggling alltogether. Seeing other themes' sets, some are evolving functionally, but mostly visually (shaping, greebling, colouring, etc.), so feels like Technic can't get that much of it.

[Maaboo the Witch]

2 hours ago, allanp said:

I still want to believe the best year/era is still to come.

TLG better reinstate B-models and give us less cars then.

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

2 hours ago, allanp said:

I still want to believe the best year/era is still to come. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/P3hoMguu3HLaR4yo6

I can see it after "hey look it has HOG steering and fake engine!" cars will be officialy established as a Technic subtheme. To be honest I can't see us getting less cars because people are really buying them (conclusion is made from Technic groups in Facebook/Reddit where major part of people are sharing their Technic cars-only collections) 

[Jundis]

1 hour ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

I can see it after "hey look it has HOG steering and fake engine!" cars will be officialy established as a Technic subtheme

Exaclty.

Actually I don't get it why these smaller technic cars are so popular when comparing them to Creator Expert sets. The studded sets are way prettier and have steering and even suspension (e.g. Defender). They carry the spirit of Model Team sets way better than pure technic sets could.

Right now it really seems every category of Lego blooms from City to even small sub themes like Star Wars.

I really, really hope they re-establish what technic made so great...

[Stereo]

On 5/24/2024 at 9:08 AM, Jundis said:

Actually I don't get it why these smaller technic cars are so popular when comparing them to Creator Expert sets. The studded sets are way prettier and have steering and even suspension (e.g. Defender). They carry the spirit of Model Team sets way better than pure technic sets could.

Probably always going to favour the small sets due to price... the Defender looks nice but it costs 5x as much as the Huracan.  And actually more than any set I've ever bought.  I go for $200(cdn - about 135 eur) sets at most once per year, flagship electric sets and Technic supercars are not even a consideration for me anymore.

Edited May 25, 2024 by Stereo

[howitzer]

On 5/24/2024 at 4:08 PM, Jundis said:

Exaclty.

Actually I don't get it why these smaller technic cars are so popular when comparing them to Creator Expert sets. The studded sets are way prettier and have steering and even suspension (e.g. Defender). They carry the spirit of Model Team sets way better than pure technic sets could.

In addition to Stereo's comment above, it might simply be the Technic branding. Some kids/teenagers might want to think themselves as technically-minded so they're buying stuff branded "Technic" as that evokes the correct image in their mind, even when the actual  functionality is equal or less than that of the Creator sets.

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

3 hours ago, howitzer said:

In addition to Stereo's comment above, it might simply be the Technic branding. Some kids/teenagers might want to think themselves as technically-minded so they're buying stuff branded "Technic" as that evokes the correct image in their mind, even when the actual  functionality is equal or less than that of the Creator sets.

Another example is plain and simple sets such as Ferrari 488 which are branded as 18+ adults welcome. It is just a cool looking collectable

[allanp]

Sorry if this comment seems all over the place, but then so does the Technic theme! It really feels like somethings going on behind the scenes. There's so much secrecy though, we're just left to speculate. Was there some early demise of PU? Are the designers strangled by higher ups? Are they already well ahead of our concerns and ripping the bandage off quickly so to speak, or is there nothing wrong at all? Can we not get any kind of dialogue between us and the Technic team, even if we have to sign NDAs? There have been some fantastic efforts made in recent years in terms of new pieces, but the sets seem way behind. We have yet to see the Merc and McLaren, but we kind of already know the cool new pieces we can expect from them from the Yamaha and Audi. And releasing a roughly 1:8 scale car flagship the same year (if not same month) as another 1:8 scale car, something seems wrong here. 

It's not like they don't know what to do. We could all easily describe a dream flagship that would be considered "best ever".

How about a 4000+ piece motorised pneumatic JCB 3CX in 90's flip up lid box with a grader b-model?

How about a control center plus (basically a modern control center 3) based universal set, with PU2.0 which has the fully programmable control center plus remote and models including a massive robot arm, a huge black scorpion, a forklift and a futuristic space vehicle thing (in the 90s style box of course!). Imagine how cool the TV advert for that would be!

If we can dream this stuff up I'm sure they can. I'm sure their imaginations aren't limited to small supercars, medium supercars cars, big supercars cars, off road cars, futuristic space cars and a real life space car. I wonder if the upcoming water vehicle will be an amphibious car. 

 

[blondasek]

Well, personally my all time fav is 42043. Lego outdid themselves with that model. I would be happy if they introduce something like that again, but this time fully remote, good looking, with pneumatics, suspension, fake engine  and some linear actuators. I have no idea what it could be but I want it :(

[Jundis]

Maybe Lego saves all the great sets for the 50th anniversary in 2027 :D

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

10 hours ago, blondasek said:

 I have no idea what it could be but I want it :(

For me it sounds like a backhoe loader :)

[Rebel_Lego]

Backhoe loader seems to be the holy grail of technic 

[Maaboo the Witch]

1 hour ago, Rebel_Lego said:

Backhoe loader seems to be the holy grail of technic 

And it's been what, eleven years since the last one? Criminal.

[Jockos]

1 hour ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

And it's been what, eleven years since the last one? Criminal.

That was only a small one. The substantially larger was 13 years ago... and the 8455 was 8 years before that. So they aren't that generous :(

7 hours ago, Jundis said:

Maybe Lego saves all the great sets for the 50th anniversary in 2027 :D

I really hope so, and not with just some combined sets and 1x3 anniversary beam, but with at least 3-4 proper homages.

Edited May 26, 2024 by Jockos

[Maaboo the Witch]

1 hour ago, Jockos said:

That was only a small one. The substantially larger was 13 years ago... and the 8455 was 8 years before that. So they aren't that generous :(

42004 is an absolute classic, so size isn't really a factor for me. In fact, I'd prefer a smaller backhoe set to a 4000+ part version.

[allanp]

Things have changed a bit since the last backhoe, it would likely have to be licensed. I think it would be criminal for that license to be anything other than JCB, and the most iconic JCB is the 3CX. The 4CX might be more mechanically interesting due to the 4 wheel steering (at least, I think it has 4 wheel steering), but the 3CX already has a driven and steered front axle, and with it's smaller front wheels is really the most recognisable and iconic JCB. Now, if you look at what it would take to bring a flagship 3CX as a set, it's a massive challenge, the front bucket has 3 functions (raise/lower, tip and open/close) while the rear digging arm has about 4,859,259,462 functions! Okay, maybe not that many, but built into the rear frame there's the rear stabilisers, side shift, slewing, the shoulder joint, the elbow joint, bucket and telescoping boom. And if we really want to be functionally authentic there should be an extra spare pneumatic PTO near the rear bucket for an accessory attachment. It's a white whale of a design challenge, which is probably why we want it so much! It has so much potential that to not reach it would be a disappointment, I suspect not only for the fans, but for the Technic designers, at least one of which I know wants to bring us a backhoe. To reach that potential, to have all those functions, it has to be a certain size (like the BWE) with some parts being made bigger to suit. And dare I say it also needs to be pneumatic, unless you want it to have 12 motors and be either very slow or very weak. Could it be RC? Well maybe, if they bring out a new PU control valve that is stackable/daisy chain-able in some way. Then you could control all 10+ motorised pneumatic functions from only 2 ports (valves and compressor) leaving the other 2 ports for drive and steer. We've wanted a backhoe for so long, they wanted to bring us a backhoe for a while, might as well do it right and not half megablocks it. 

10 hours ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

For me it sounds like a backhoe loader :)

Nah, he referred to "some linear actuators", they can shove them where no backhoe would dig in normal operation!

[Rebel_Lego]

Pneumatic backhoe would be amazing, but I would prefer it to be somewhere round 2500 pieces. Little more affordable. It would make it a LOT harder to design though, as allanp has described above. 

Anyway, this 2024 wave isn't for me, so just waiting for next technic year!