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A History Question: When did the Technic parts begin to mingle with regular sets?
sonsofsceva
Member Posts: 542
In the decade of 1980, when I was a wee lad, the LEGO System sets were very separate in their parts from the LEGO Technic sets. The System sets were "solid" sets and the Technic sets were the one with the holes in them that made, in my young opinion, mere representations of vehicles. But the Technic sets were much more mechanically minded than their System counterparts.
Having come back to LEGO within the past year, I have been building the SW Clone Turbo Tank and the AC Earth Defense HQ with my boys and it struck me, looking at the other sets we also built, just how many "Technic" pieces were being used in "regular" sets. When did this begin to happen? How has this transition been received?
Or was it always there and I just missed it?
Having come back to LEGO within the past year, I have been building the SW Clone Turbo Tank and the AC Earth Defense HQ with my boys and it struck me, looking at the other sets we also built, just how many "Technic" pieces were being used in "regular" sets. When did this begin to happen? How has this transition been received?
Or was it always there and I just missed it?
0
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Comments
I'll have to have a think!
DaveE
I'm trying to think of the first "complex" play mechanism in LEGOLAND-- I'm thinking either the walking mechanism from 6882 Walking Astro Grappler. Or if that's not complex enough, maybe the 3-bar linkage from the 6953 Cosmic Laser Launcher?
I seem to recall that the bigger sets often started getting more complicated play features that would be difficult for kids to invent on their own (rather than duplicate).
And more recently, I agree, it seems like there's been a trend of having a more-or-less technic framework with a standard brick "decoration" on top. I think I really started noticing that with Exo Force, but has been less pronounced even earlier.
DaveE
The 1970-72 800-801-802-803 European type gear sets evolved into the 1974-75 810-811-812-813-814 gear sets with LEGO parts...
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=S&catString=422.421
But there were some other seats that used gears, axles and axle bricks. Two that come to mind were 2 of the Hobby Sets... the 392 Formula 1 Racer set (1975) and the 393 Norton Motorcycle (1976). These 2 sets had the 9 tooth red gears and Technic style axles. Later versions of the 392 Racer set were redesigned to use red Technic style pulley type wheel and tire that matched it.
Another pair of sets that used these early gears was the 912/404 Universal Building set, and the 387/780 Construction sets. The 404 and 780 were the only USA sets (that I recall) that had the European style gears in them.
Also, Technic parts were found in regular LEGO sets, from the very beginning, but in very small quanitities, almost a "blip under the radar"....
Examples can be easily seen by going to Bricklink and doing a set search on some of the more common Technic parts....
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3700&colorID=5&in=A
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3700&colorID=3&in=A
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3709b&colorID=5&in=A
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=32001&colorID=11&in=A
So there was a "comingling" of Technic and regular LEGO parts... but it was usually just a few pieces per set...
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Gary Istok
I think it is safe to say that Space sets have usually had some sort of Technic parts in them
@davee123 and @krklint - That is a great crossing. I never thought about the transition in terms of the train systems before, since I was never into trains much, but I can see that as a possible place where the Technic pieces would quickly come in handy.
I seem to recall a couple of the old space sets with blue Technic beams in them, as mentioned by several of you. But now the whole chassis system of "regular" vehicles is made with Technic parts and techniques.
Perhaps it is the Technic techniques being incorporated about which I am curious. A beam or a gear here and there is different from whole sections of functionality being made in Technic fashion.
Note, this list is sort of unfair in a few places, but gives a general idea of what's been going on: And if you're REALLY curious, here's the breakdown by theme (BrickSet won't let me post the whole list, so I stripped the "tame" themes that were less than 1%)-- I'm not sure I like all the categorizations that BrickLink has, but again, it's good enough for seeing more-or-less some of the trends: DaveE
Each playtheme is targetted at a slightly different market. The themes with a lot of technic construction generally have a target market that does NOT want to re-build with their LEGO bricks. They want the model shown on the box, and aren't really interested in disassembling them and making other things. So they're willing to accept a complex design, as long as it's cool looking and does neat stuff.
Also, that target group wants really BIG things. And big things have to be very sturdy. If you build them up with normal system bricks, they're more likely to fall apart. But technic beams are a lot more secure, so they can handle the stress from being larger, as well as from more intense play.
Another issue is that kids "don't understand" technic. They instinctively understand how to build using stacking bricks and plates, but they find technic a lot more challenging. As a result, if you give a pile of elements to a kid, they'll typically build with the bricks, but not with the studless technic beams-- those will just sit there, unloved.
That means that in play themes like Creator, there's not much technic present at all. Kids that buy Creator are interested in building and re-building things with their bricks, so any technic pieces included would essentially be a waste to them. Hence, those themes avoid technic as much as possible.
Back in the 80's and early 90's, the target group for minifig sets was pretty much the same. The level of building was very similar for each castle, space, pirate, or town set. But since then, each playtheme is much more isolated in terms of its target market, and is highly specialized for that group.
The mechanisms that I mentioned before are also pretty different. Technic in the 70's and 80's involved pretty simple concepts that children could understand and then replicate in their own creations, like a steering mechanism or a piston. But kids are (apparently) more interested in cool features like bizarre 4-bar linkage systems that they can't ever hope to replicate on their own.
Also: studless technic. Supposedly, the technic beams were an incredible annoyance to technic designers. The holes in the beams are actually a fraction of a millimeter too high, causing tolerance issues at times. In addition, studless beams work on a uniform grid, whereas studded beams use the bizarre 5:6 ratio for brick hight, causing a lot of oddities. Additionally, you've got rounded corners and smooth sides which help in a lot of situations where square, studed surfaces would be a hindrance. Hence, studded technic slowly made its way out of technic-- to the point where nowadays, studded technic beams are no longer classified as "technic", but are instead "system"!
DaveE
What caught my eye was this novelty... the 2011 Technic 8067 Mini-Mobile Crane...
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?S=8067-1
This had all the new Technic parts used for building functionality... and then using an old Technic 1x8 (studded) brick as the part at the end of the crane, serving no Technic building functionality whatsoever... just what the crane is carrying around....
Thanks for the info Dave!