2017-2018 Recommended Technic Sets for vehicles?

[loluwotm8]

Hi all :)

Getting back into Technic, it's been a very long time. I'm looking to buy a new Technic set to get some of the new parts I've seen around on YouTube. Can anyone recommend me a set that would be best bang for buck? 

Currently I'm building RC/IR PF cars with my 9398 Rock Crawler & 8297 Off-Roader, with some other parts from my Mindstorms sets. Looking for new sets that contain a lot of the square brace parts for drive systems (to hold diffs in etc) & some of the newer suspension parts like I have seen in the 42056 Porsche. 

I seriously lack body panels so they are fairly high priority too. The Porsche looks like it comes with a bucketload of those but I'm not sure about the colour- perhaps I should buy some panels separately & get a smaller Technic kit that still has the newer suspension parts, like the 42077 rally car?

I also have absolutely no larger road wheels so I would prefer to buy a kit that is a road car, not a 4x4 vehicle. 

I know that's a pretty hard criteria to find stuff for but I'm open to suggestions. So many sets have been released since I last played with Technic!

 

Cheers guys! :)

Edited June 28, 2018 by loluwotm8

[allanp]

If you like the porsche but not the colour maybe look at the Bugatti 42083? 

[loluwotm8]

Waow the Bugatti looks fantastic but the price tag will absolutely break my wallet. The Porsche is more in my price range (~$300 AUD); there's one going for less than 300 on Bricklink right now but the cheapest Bugatti is $500. 

So far my options I can see is:

~$300 for the Porsche (not sure how much I can use orange in my own models though; would rather black, red, or blue) but the actual parts are exactly what I want.

~$100 for the Rally Car (42077) & I could buy some random body panels separately. 

Looked up the part lists for those sets and I'm thinking that I will go for the Porsche; has exactly what I want in it (CV joints, suspension arms, etc). Any other good options out there though?

 

[LvdH]

If you just want the suspension arms/springs/CV joints, 42037 could do that just fine and is much cheaper than a Porsche or Bugatti.

I think 42000 is one you could consider as well. I don’t know if it had A-arms at the front, but it does have the rest of the suspension parts and red/white parts. 

I think 42077 is also a great set to get. I think we’ll see much more dark azure in the next years so those parts will become more usable over time. 

42039 could work for you as well, but the colours are an even bigger problem than orange.

42056 is a great set. Even if you don’t have any orange, there is still so much you can do with the included panels liftarms and soft axles. It also has a lot of gears (one advantage of having an overly complex gearbox ) and gearbox parts. 

[loluwotm8]

Thanks a ton man. Those are some great sets. The green on 42039 is actually not that bad; the reason I'm not so keen on orange is that my last 'big' Technic set (the Rock Crawler) is mostly red and orange so I wanted some other colour parts. 

I think it will either be the Porsche or 42039 now, though still leaning more to the Porsche because as you say, it has a lot more stuff that will be useful.

[Rudivdk]

2 hours ago, loluwotm8 said:

I think it will either be the Porsche or 42039 now, though still leaning more to the Porsche because as you say, it has a lot more stuff that will be useful.

Please also note that the green on 42039 is not available in any other set (only different shades of green), so not much choice in that particular color...

[Erik Leppen]

If you want to stick to sets currently available, maybe the Rally Car 42077 is your best choice. Personally, I dislike the set as a model, but as a parts-pack it might best suit your needs.

It's not super cheap, and it's a bit light on actual functions and gear systems, so you may need a second set with more gears if you want to extend those, but with 42077 you get a decent starter pack for a car with suspension and some panels in dark azure and white. Also, you're getting a fake engine. Here's a picture showing the underside. This shows what you'll be getting in the suspension and techniques department.

 

If you don't mind bricklinking old sets, then I want to mention 8070. It's in a single and common color, which is useful for MOCing, it has more functions, including a switchbox, and has all the suspension bits 42077 has too, and it's in my opinion a really good set, so be sure to build both models before you're sorting the parts for MOC usage.

 

[TechnicRCRacer]

I agree with Eric; 42077 is the best parts pack for your needs and I like it as a model as well. 8070 has a gearbox and some older wheel hubs that are useful, but they are expensive to buy if one breaks (personal experience ). 42077 is definitely the best option. 

[LennyRhys]

You could do what I did and buy 42055 (Bucket Wheel Excavator) which is an absolute gold mine for parts (just shy of 4,000), and you can get other parts like shocks, transmission, panels etc. from bricklink.  The best thing about 42055 is that it's vastly cheaper than any other set in terms of price/part, and you get an XL motor as well.  Maybe instead of bricklink you could get 42055 and 42077?

Just last week I received my bricklink order with some wheels & tyres, diffs, portal axles, hubs etc. and it's amazing how easy it is to get started on vehicle building.

[loluwotm8]

On 6/29/2018 at 12:16 AM, Rudivdk said:

Please also note that the green on 42039 is not available in any other set (only different shades of green), so not much choice in that particular color...

Ahh good call, thanks for the heads up.

On 6/29/2018 at 12:28 AM, Erik Leppen said:

If you want to stick to sets currently available, maybe the Rally Car 42077 is your best choice. Personally, I dislike the set as a model, but as a parts-pack it might best suit your needs.

It's not super cheap, and it's a bit light on actual functions and gear systems, so you may need a second set with more gears if you want to extend those, but with 42077 you get a decent starter pack for a car with suspension and some panels in dark azure and white. Also, you're getting a fake engine. Here's a picture showing the underside. This shows what you'll be getting in the suspension and techniques department.

 

If you don't mind bricklinking old sets, then I want to mention 8070. It's in a single and common color, which is useful for MOCing, it has more functions, including a switchbox, and has all the suspension bits 42077 has too, and it's in my opinion a really good set, so be sure to build both models before you're sorting the parts for MOC usage.

 

Damn 42077 comes with a good array of parts. Might save a bit on the Porsche and just get that. 8070 looks GREAT but my problem with that is that I want the rear suspension parts as shown on the 42077 rally car in the pic. I like how I don't need to secure a ball joint steering section still for rear independent suspension. I'm definitely not short on gears; I have a couple Mindstorms sets, the Rock Crawler, and the 4x4 Offroader (the grey one) from when I was younger... mainly just after the suspension, panels and a few of the newer parts. 

On 6/29/2018 at 12:49 AM, TechnicRCRacer said:

I agree with Eric; 42077 is the best parts pack for your needs and I like it as a model as well. 8070 has a gearbox and some older wheel hubs that are useful, but they are expensive to buy if one breaks (personal experience ). 42077 is definitely the best option. 

Yeah ok thanks man. Agreed, the rally car looks really good- I'm just worried the colours aren't going to be that re-usable (red wheels for example). Can always buy the right colour ones for a project off bricklink though!

On 6/29/2018 at 6:09 AM, LennyRhys said:

You could do what I did and buy 42055 (Bucket Wheel Excavator) which is an absolute gold mine for parts (just shy of 4,000), and you can get other parts like shocks, transmission, panels etc. from bricklink.  The best thing about 42055 is that it's vastly cheaper than any other set in terms of price/part, and you get an XL motor as well.  Maybe instead of bricklink you could get 42055 and 42077?

Just last week I received my bricklink order with some wheels & tyres, diffs, portal axles, hubs etc. and it's amazing how easy it is to get started on vehicle building.

Wow that excavator has a ton of parts. I like the colours too... its definitely a tempting option. Yeah vehicle building is the best ;)

 

So many options now but I think I've made my decision: I'm going to go for the Rally Car (after seeing the underside it has what I want) and I will have some money left over to buy some more specialised parts straight off bricklink or get another set down the road (sooner than later).

Anyway: thanks heaps guys you've been super helpful. Gotta love the Lego community. 

 

By the way, I have finished my first MOC; where's the best spot to post it? 

 

[Erik Leppen]

33 minutes ago, loluwotm8 said:

By the way, I have finished my first MOC; where's the best spot to post it? 

Just open a topic in the appropriate board (probably Technic board). Most people open a new topic for each new MOC. Some other people keep all their stuff in a single topic. The choice is yours :)

[loluwotm8]

Cheers thanks man ;)

Also found 42077 for sale at Target so I ordered that. Looking forward to it arriving :)

Edited July 1, 2018 by loluwotm8

[1gor]

IMHO (since topic's title says 2017 and 2018 sets) 42077 is the best choice. I do not build cars (anymore) and bought 42077 set mainly for parts, but Did build set anyway and despite great parts donor it is a decent set, so again I recomend to buy 42077 set 1000 parts for some 100 euro

Edited July 1, 2018 by I_Igor

[loluwotm8]

Great, thanks. Bought the 42077 (was on sale as well so was a no brainer). Cheers guys, looking forward to it arriving!

[1gor]

[Bartybum]

It’s not 2017-2018, but if you can try get the 42043 Mercedes Benz Arocs 3245 from 2015 2H. It comes with a great assortment of Technic parts and still hasn’t been outmatched by any set since. To be honest 2017 and 2018 1H haven’t really been that impressive from a parts standpoint, if that’s what you’re after. They were mostly just beams, wheels and some gears. No pneumatics, and a small number of the crappy stiff springs. If you’re after parts I’d suggest just bricklinking them or holding off until 2H this year.