Technic-wishes

[Musikfreak]

A big hello to everyone in the community. I'm pretty new here an the board and technic is one of my favourite themes so I think I'm in the right subsection here.

Overall I have been very pleased with the new technic sets that were released in the last few years. Lego is really trying to get back to where they were in their best time (not only with technic but also in the minifig-lines) - at least in my opinion.

We have seen technic gems like the 8421 mobile crane which really brought me back to technic with nice design and fascinating mechanics, or the 8275 Bulldozer which was a totally new concept for technic. I'm still impressed with these models. There were also design marvels like the ferrari-technic models.

If I try to compare the models back in time to the models today I see some similarities: I like to compare the 8275 to the 8868 Compressor Truck because both were models which introduced totally new technic functions which influenced the building afterwards a lot.

On the other hand we have the obvious comparisons e.g. the 8838 Shock Cycle and the new 8291 Dirt Bike or the 8294 Excavator (with the all new linear actuators) vs. the older ones (8851, 8837) and so on.

The models today are quite big compared to the older ones. And while they often have a lot of functions I would like them so stay this size or even become a little smaller. In the end it's a bigger challenge to add nice functions in a small place.

However, if Lego want's to continue this promising way there will be some big shoes to fill.

I think power functions are nice and make a good addition to some models, but sometimes it seems to be a bit overdone. The new 8297 Off-Roader for example is one model where PF doesn't really add value for me. The same with the 8292 Cherry-Picker.

There where some really great big models without motors in the past (8460, 8862 etc.) and although there was the 8285 Tow Truck (which didn't impress me) I'm really hoping to see a new flagship model without the need of batteries. Maybe a new Supercar with some innovative ideas. I would also like it to be the same size as the last one.

On the other hand it would be interesting to see something really new and totally unexpected like the 8480 Space Shuttle was in '96. New building techniques, new design and innovative use of existing parts (the gearshift in this is still getting a smile on my lips)

We have already seen the new small sets for '09 but what's still to come? What do you hope for in the future of technic and what do you think about the "rising" of technic in the last years?

I'm happy to read your comments!

Edited September 17, 2008 by Musikfreak

[Aliencat]

Hello Musikfreak!

Overall I have been very pleased with the new technic sets that were released in the last few years. Lego is really trying to get back to where they were in their best time (not only with technic but also in the minifig-lines) - at least in my opinion.

We have seen technic gems like the 8421 mobile crane which really brought me back to technic with nice design and fascinating mechanics, or the 8275 Bulldozer which was a totally new concept for technic. I'm still impressed with these models. There were also design marvels like the ferrari-technic models

I'm right there with ya, I couldn't agree more! I feel Technic went downhill a bit after '95, but they've definitely hauled themselves back up these past few years. And I can say the same for many other themes.

I think power functions are nice and make a good addition to some models, but sometimes it seems to be a bit overdone. The new 8297 Off-Roader for example is one model where PF doesn't really add value for me. The same with the 8292 Cherry-Picker.

Yep, 8275 is a great example of what can be done with Power Functions, the same unfortunately can't be said about the Cherry Picker and the new Off-Roader, I agree. I'm hoping for another Power Functions construction machine using the system to its fullest potential: remote controlled raw power!

We have already seen the new small sets for '09 but what's still to come? What do you hope for in the future of technic and what do you think about the "rising" of technic in the last years?

I'm happy to read your comments!

I love the new Linear Actuators, and I really think they were used very well in the red Excavator, I would like to see Lego come up with some more models using the system, like the Telescopic Handler and the upcoming dumptruck. Since they're longer than pneumatic cylinders, and have a greater range, I think a forklift using a chain over the Linear Actuator would be cool, to demonstrate the workings of a real forklift. I think combining Power Funcions with the Linear Actuators would make for a great model.

A new Super Car would be great as well, I don't think the Off-Roader really meets that criterium there.

[furious]

I would love a new space shuttle. Similar to the 8480.

The technic line in my opinion needs a plane and helicopter. Completely working with all the functions lego can fit in the form factor they chose. I personally think that would be awesome.

[CP5670]

Good to see more Technic fans here.

There may be a new super car next year. Some of the leaked pictures a month ago showed what like looked like a big yellow car with a transmission switch but wasn't a Ferrari.

The technic line in my opinion needs a plane and helicopter. Completely working with all the functions lego can fit in the form factor they chose. I personally think that would be awesome.

A new large-scale helicopter would be great to see. There hasn't been anything like that since the 8856 Whirlwind Rescue in 1991. There is room for improvement over it too. It would be awesome to have a helicopter with a fully working swashplate with three degrees of freedom, just like a real one. This can be done with the existing rotor parts but most of the fanmade implementations I've seen are quite bulky.

I think power functions are nice and make a good addition to some models, but sometimes it seems to be a bit overdone. The new 8297 Off-Roader for example is one model where PF doesn't really add value for me. The same with the 8292 Cherry-Picker.

I actually like the fact that they're including the PF stuff on smaller models now. The electric components used to be limited to only the biggest, flagship sets in the past, so this is a welcome change.

That being said, those two sets themselves haven't appealed to me. The 8297 is as big as the 8466 (and costs as much) but doesn't really stack up in terms of mechanical functionality. Motors and lights are always nice but they shouldn't come at the expense of intricate mechanisms.

We have already seen the new small sets for '09 but what's still to come? What do you hope for in the future of technic and what do you think about the "rising" of technic in the last years?

I would like to see a better mix of studded and studless elements in the future, instead of the completely studless style they have adopted on most models these days. The 8275 bulldozer was a notable exception to this, but many other recent models have gone so far in the studless direction that I find that building them no longer feels like Lego anymore. I think they had gotten the balance right with the initial wave of studless sets around 1999 or 2000, with sets like 8446 using a great mix of both types of pieces to give models that were both lightweight and very strong.

Edited September 17, 2008 by CP5670

[JINZONINGEN73]

To be honest, a big thing that made me NOT get into Lego in the early 80's was seeing really skeletal, full-of-holes construction models in ads on the back of my comic books.

The further they can stay away from studless parts, the better. We live in a world of highly detailed, highly poseable Japanese toys. We live in a world of picture-perfect works of art in both action figure and vehicle toy design.

There is NO room for small Technic sets that drive home the fact that you're holding a handful of expensive beams with holes all over them.

A fusion of System and Technic is necessary these days, in order to "cover up" what I personally describe as hideous-looking sets.

Look at this here. What's the BEST looking part of this model?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29805279@N06/...pool-818883@N25

And WHY is it the best part?

Here all I see is a bucket, tires and then a bunch of weird beams on top.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29805279@N06/...pool-818883@N25

Not pretty. I should not have to squint my eyes (!!!) in order to make something look right.

Wish #2. Redoing the Technic men.

What large vehicle toy line usually doesn't have drivers? If you're going to be forced to make something very... uh... unattractive, you can still get kids buying them if there's a figure to role-play into the driver's seat.

But the Technic men of old need to go bye-bye in place of something better.

Here were the problems of those figures:

--Unlike minifigs, the size of these figures did not warrant their strange angles or disproportional human anatomy (shape of lower arms, length of arms, really angular parts that looked kooky and didn't complement angles in it's other parts, etc).

--Lack of customization??? You have these tiny System minifigs that could turn into nearly ANY person or character, but Technic guys were stuck as you purchased them! All they had were pop-off lower arms, lower legs, head... but at a decent risk of breaking them.

Even more, the later figures had terribly asymmetrical bodies. That rarely looks good, but it's depressing when there's no room to swap out parts to make them "normal".

And that's terrible.

Here's where Technic figs of course need to go:

--Better human proportions.

--Customization...

----Head (hair pieces)

----Head (ability to wear glasses and goggles WITHOUT requiring a helmet, by having nibs on side of head similar to the minifig helmet ones)

----Head (Ability to disconnect from torso)

----Body (At LEAST 3 parts, torso, abdomen, pelvis)

----Feet (They looked ridiculous the first time around. Needs more of an arch)

----Legs (A top and a bottom able to be disconnected)

----Arms (A top and a bottom, able to be disconnected)

----Hands (Similar to old style, but able to be disconnected)

They need to have the ability to swivel at said torso to abdomen connection point, and if they were feeling REALLY generous, add swivels in the middle of upper arm and or upper leg.

[VBBN]

Okay, now I will agree with Jinzo in terms of the the Technic men. They were really awesome.

As for my wish, I wish that they would bring in vehicals similar to the old ones, with a bit of the simplicity, but also try and keep them in a slightly more common scale.

[Musikfreak]

A new large-scale helicopter would be great to see. There hasn't been anything like that since the 8856 Whirlwind Rescue in 1991. There is room for improvement over it too. It would be awesome to have a helicopter with a fully working swashplate with three degrees of freedom, just like a real one. This can be done with the existing rotor parts but most of the fanmade implementations I've seen are quite bulky.

At least the 95 Nighthawk (8412) had the same rotormovement as the 8856, but nothing else to offer.

But you are right: A combination of the 852 and 8856 movement would be great to see.

I don't think technicmen will come back soon, because we don't even have the standardised chairs anymore. The idea of modular design sure sounds great but in the end technic is about the mechanics unlike the minifig series where looks are quite important. You don't really need to populate a technicmodel to make it more interesting.

Edited September 18, 2008 by Musikfreak

[CP5670]

At least the 95 Nighthawk (8412) had the same rotormovement as the 8856, but nothing else to offer.

But you are right: A combination of the 852 and 8856 movement would be great to see.

I don't think technicmen will come back soon, because we don't even have the standardised chairs anymore. The idea of modular design sure sounds great but in the end technic is about the mechanics unlike the minifig series where looks are quite important. You don't really need to populate a technicmodel to make it more interesting.

The Nighthawk did have the same rotor system, but the model itself was much smaller and it didn't have the winch or landing gear that 8856 had.

I always liked the Technic guys mainly because they were rather rare, especially before 1998 or so. None of the larger sets came with them, even though they had the seats for them. The lack of any modularity with them was an issue though. If they ever bring back these guys, some customizability would improve them a lot.

On a side note, has anyone else seen this new set? Lots of interesting things there. They're bringing back the air tank which had previously been discontinued, along with a new pressure gauge piece. I'm going to buy one soon, although it may be harder to get outside the US. Some people had feared that pneumatics were gone altogether and were replaced by the linear actuators, so this is very good to see.

Edited September 19, 2008 by CP5670

[paul_delahaye]

I too am a big Technic fan, and construction is by far my favourite range, I have 3 wishes

I would like to see either a PF grader like in this link: http://www.engineering.co.hays.tx.us/Porta..._Grader_IMG.jpg

or I would settle for a fully PF excavator, I know we have a small one this year, but I would like to see one on a scale with last years bulldozer with 6 way remote control power functions, (left & right tracks, traversing, and 3 independantly powered linear actuators :-)

That one is a big dream :-)

I would settle for a truck, propelled & Steering with PF, It could maybe have a log trailer, with a grabber on the back?

We will no doubt get another car, they are a bit like police stations

Edited September 19, 2008 by paul_delahaye

[F0NIX]

There is one technic part that I always has missed. I actually have made one by myself just to play around with all the ideas for its use.

It is a hollow axle, or more like a clock axle. To explain how it work; first you have one 2L axle and then a 4L axle and then a 2L axle. The two 2L axle is connected with a steel rod going trough the center of the holow 4L axle so they can turn idependent of the 4L axle. I just made it this length because of the difficluty to bore through the lengthwise of a 4L axle. And is had to be in perfect center and absolute straight to work good. But I got it to work....

The problem with the homemade axle is how I attach the two 2L axle to the steel rod; with glue. And I cant find a good glue that holds it firm. This could be solved by not have round ends on the part of the steel rod that is fixed to a slot in the 2L axle. But that is not easy to make with my tools...

[furious]

On a side note, has anyone else seen this new set? Lots of interesting things there. They're bringing back the air tank which had previously been discontinued, along with a new pressure gauge piece. I'm going to buy one soon, although it may be harder to get outside the US. Some people had feared that pneumatics were gone altogether and were replaced by the linear actuators, so this is very good to see.

The air tank is such good news. I don't have one and the prices on bricklink are sky high. I wonder if anyone buys them.

[5150 Lego]

The air tank is such good news. I don't have one and the prices on bricklink are sky high. I wonder if anyone buys them.

Out of desperation to finish a project i paid $16 for two tanks a couple years ago. I have no idea what they go for now, but i'm sure its probbly double that.

As for what i'd like to see for techinc... I'm in agreeance that Techinc figures would be a welcomed return. But i'd be happy if they continue to make sets that can at least fit the classic figs. (they look really good in my 4404 dirt diggers truck, as well as the 1:17 scale ferrari F430's)

I agree that a more usefull use of the new power functions is a must. At this point its looking like TLC is just through PFat every set they can. It also seems that the sets that really should have PF (such as the new excavator and tellahandler) don't, and the ones that do (such has the new offroader) don't really benifit from them.

[Conchas]

But at least the new Excavator (8294) and Telehnadler (8295) come with instructions to add a Power Functions Kit.

It is a pitty that with actual 8294 size, it turns difficult to add PF to every single function possible.

Hope to see a larger model of this kind of machine soon.

And of course a new Supercar.

On the other way, have to admit that this year Off-Roader (8297) brought some extent of design innovation, with its motorized raising suspension.

[Parax]

The one thing I would like to see is a $500+ Technic Set...

If it they can do several in star wars why not other themes too?

How about a big version of my favourite recent set 8288? (Yes with 6 motors for 6 functions!) (how many folks make their own??)

Maybe as Conchas has said a larger 8294, (with 6 motors for 6 functions).

Or yes even an updated Supercar... afterall the supercar has been a much repeated theme throughout Lego History, I don't see why they have not continued the evolution...

I thought that the largest set of recent years (8275) was a real success, perhaps not for Lego?

Parax.

PS: I said a Big 8288!

[CP5670]

How about a big version of my favourite recent set 8288? (Yes with 6 motors for 6 functions!) (how many folks make their own??)

One guy at the Brickfair event a month ago had made this one. It was an absolutely stunning piece of work.

[Parax]

One guy at the Brickfair event a month ago had made this one. It was an absolutely stunning piece of work.

Yes that's Alvin Brant's work, Awesome beast, but I don't think it would sell well, I couldn't get it in my house! I'd stick to 5 feet... ish..

I also think Alvin has about reached the limit with that box section design, there is a noticeable sag in it even when upright under self load.

Parax.