I'm 40+ and the only sets I'm interested in are full rc as I gave up pushing cars around on the floor a very long time ago, 8043, 9398, 41999 are the only reasons I buy lego, the new stuff this year seems a bit backwards to me.

ahahah so true man!

i completely agree with you!

i just need more pieces to make better cars....i would really like to have shorter steering links so i could use double wishbones for small models :p

I agree with nicjazno, In think lego should concentrate les on technic bodywork and do mmore with the internals, Technic IMO is not greate for body work and im not that bothered about it anyhow, the old technic sets didnt have great bodywork but technic was meant to be for mechanismsin the beginning.

I think the big thing that studless lacks is the ability to have holes that are 1, or 2 plates apart, the best you can get now is 1 half bush apart.

this means gears cant be combined in so many combinations or directions.

No, don't get me wrong, i like the new approach. It is infinitely lighter and more parts efficient than studded.

My gripe is that too much emphasis is placed on design. (speaking of supercars ofc), than on the technical bits.

What is interesting on a supercar is how the suspencion, drivetrain and other car related bits work. And for that we do not need another warmed up double wishbone setup. We need something new and interesting.

And we don't need another gearbox that looks and works like all its predecessors. We also need something new.

And the supercar needs to be made with being r/c able in mind. Which means that whatever fake engine it has needs to be instantly replacable with electric motor(s), the steeting can be instantly servo motorised and the gearbox needs motorisation aswell.

As i said, i'm willing and available to design a SUPER supercar for TLG (with a little help of some friends - you lot, ofc)

They should simply hire Sheepo and Crowkillers, then you'd get some nice cars

And we don't need another gearbox that looks and works like all its predecessors. We also need something new.

Maybe TLG doesn't want to make Crowkillers' and Sheepo's and others' amazing gearbox designs to become obsolete

I'de love to help you design that nicjasno . it's about time we moved on from the current (which is now old) and welcomed the new, as much as that might frighten some people

They should simply hire Sheepo and Crowkillers, then you'd get some nice cars

Costing 2600 parts and $200, yes.

And we don't need another gearbox that looks and works like all its predecessors. We also need something new.

That's why 8070's gearbox does not have the same function as 8448's. But guess what...complaints everywhere, because it was too different from what AFOLs decided a supercar ought to be.

8070 was boring and not a real supercar :(

It's gearbox looks just like any other function switching gearbox, it's called a supercar when it isn't one and they remembered to motorise the doors and the hood but forgot about the bloody wheels as though the limitations of the weak diff strikes again! You might think that to be a little harsh but when you have a little boy in a toy store looking at a motorised car, what do you think he thinks is gonna be motorised? Watch the review by the brickshow in which the adult reviewer gets a bit confused by this. Although he's a bit of a child himself and built it wrong! One good thing it had though was that it introduced the female cv joint part, so that's one good thing.

Edited January 8, 201411 yr by allanp

I used to think stud-less was better but now I'm moving back to studded, I'm referring to beams only here however.

the only unique thing about the 8070 was the doors and mechanism

Edited January 8, 201411 yr by SNIPE

Glad I found the '2014 bitching' thread!

Over the years technic got some new tyres every now and then and a new part here and there, but major changes or sets consolidating new/existing paradigms, and currently still relevant if I got it right and leaving mindstorms aside, are these:

1980: 8860

1984: Pneumatics

1994: 8880

1999: Studless

2007: Power functions

2008: Linear actuator (for better or for worse IS a major change, tighly related to PF)

Improved pneumatic RF vs IR or imporved steering/suspession add costs without really adding function. The current number of Lego sets based on Franchises is staggering. After all most children nowadays are more interested in Bits that ABS parts, so makes sense the stronger the resemblance of a set to something that children want the better. Ferrari makes sales, Ackerman not so much.

I think Lego Dark Ages are there for a reason. When children get to a point where enigneering and realism are relevant to them, biology and hormones get in the way... For most sex becomes more interesting than bricks, until one night bricks and not sex are what keep you awake and you are an AFOL and probably way older, consuming a product not really aimed at you.

So unless TLG considers the relatively small AFOL Technic market big enougth for some innnovation targeted squarely at it I don't see a true 8880 successor happening in the near future.

Omg there is no hope!!

I think one can please both at the same time.

I think that kids are getting stupider and less inquisitive too. I personally encountered this in school. It was the rare exception that actually wanted to figure out how something worked. I personally did not go through any dark ages, because of innovative and well engineered sets. My dad and I both think that Lego should do more to make it so that fewer fans go through the dark ages, and stay with the line. It should be perfectly possible to do something that can appeal to kids, and appeal to older collectors.

To that end, I was thinking bringing back of universal sets. It's not designed to make anything in particular, but rather teach kids about how things work. I was thinking the set could have 3 or 4 supplied instructions, with inspiration for other models, and an app with more pictures and instructions. Also, I liked how a while ago Lego had other alternative models and inspiration builds on boxes and in instructions, encouraging kids to see what they could do with that set of parts. I think that needs to happen again.

Also, idea books.

Those didn't just provide more interesting models and inspiration, but also helped sell sets, becasue you had to use a combination of existing sets to make the models. So you kinda had an initiative to buy those sets

Edited January 8, 201411 yr by nicjasno

I think that kids are getting stupider and less inquisitive too. I personally encountered this in school.

Yeah absolutely. This is a well known fact. It's caused by the government spraying chemicals into the sky, in preparation for rounding everyone up and making them work in forced labour camps.

Also... i think the next supercar should come with remote controll and motorisation by default.

Yeah absolutely. This is a well known fact. It's caused by the government spraying chemicals into the sky, in preparation for rounding everyone up and making them work in forced labour camps.

Please tell me you're joking.

He's joking, right?

Is your sarcasm detector broken? :)

Please tell me you're joking.

My kids would know if I was joking. How come you can't tell?

Is your sarcasm detector broken? :)

No, it's working just fine. However, I've good reason to be paranoid, because I've dealt with people who actually believe in those stupid conspiracy theories. Let me tell you, that is not pleasant. At times, it's impossible to tell whether somebody is kidding, or seriously has that point of view. It's called Poe's law, Google it.

Further, I have actually seen this in action, like with the rise of reality TV. Reality TV has actually been proven to make you stupider. Plus, you get more of what you reward, so if you reward those megablockers with their own shows, you get more stupid megablockers. See what I'm saying?

My kids would know if I was joking. How come you can't tell?

I'm not your kid, that's why. I don't really know you well enough to tell whether you are kidding or not. See above.

What a topic. And as for 8070 being boring-it was-for us. But for younger kids they see the bodywork and go "OH WOW! That looks like a really cool fast car, gimme gimme gimme!" BUT, they made a set like 8880 in the past, targeted towards the same age range...why can't they do it again? Very conflicting points here, but I guess budget is the highest priority. I would definitely buy the theoretical supercar nicjasno described, it's just that-would parents be willing to buy that for their kids? It would be quite expensive, unless it was modular and pf-ready. Full RC out of the box would be on a whole new level. There's no question the design team is able to give us a model that will blow our minds, but will the budget allow it?

The car i have in mind would be modular, it would be electrical from the start, it would look fantastic, it would be parts efficient, it would have front and rear multilink suspension and if i can convince lego to make new wheel hubs it would have pneumatic disk brakes (yes i just got the most awesome idea how to actually pull it off). All for the price point of the 4x4 crawler. But it'd be tons more fun both to build, modify and play with.

What i aim for is a car that would be a more modern more futuristic looking e-tron version of an audi a5 coupe, it'd be white, all wheel drive and driven with electric motors by default.

Edited January 8, 201411 yr by nicjasno

You're making me drool!

The car i have in mind would be modular, it would be electrical from the start, it would look fantastic, it would be parts efficient, it would have front and rear multilink suspension and if i can convince lego to make new wheel hubs it would have pneumatic disk brakes (yes i just got the most awesome idea how to actually pull it off). All for the price point of the 4x4 crawler. But it'd be tons more fun both to build, modify and play with.

What i aim for is a car that would be a more modern more futuristic looking e-tron version of an audi a5 coupe, it'd be white, all wheel drive and driven with electric motors by default.

As I said before: what are you waiting for? Design and build it yourself, put it on Cuusoo and convince AFOLs and Lego that it is so great that it must be an official set. For an AFOL even new parts shouldn't be a problem in the age of rapid prototyping technologies.

Edited January 9, 201411 yr by Cumulonimbus

I do plan to 3d print the new parts. And adapt r/c wheels that are the size (circumference and width) of unimog wheels.