2025 Technic Sets Discussion

[Aurorasaurus]

29 minutes ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

 

So by that logic last year's flagship was G Wagon or Apollo Rover.... Over McLaren. I am not concinced. Neither Apollo Rover or G Wagon fits into the shoes of flagship.

G wagen at least offers some playability value, mclaren does not.

[2GodBDGlory]

22 hours ago, allanp said:

Yeah, the 1:8 cars are kinda their own thing. They could be seen as being flagship level, but they are their own subtheme of Technic. It could be (and I think has been) argued that the highest piece count for the year is what makes a flagship, but there is at least one exception to this rule, even ignoring the 1:8 cars.

Yeah, an example of that situation would be 2010, where the 8053 Mobile Crane had 1289 pieces, while the far more expensive (because of motorization) and far more legendary 8043 Motorized Excavator only had 1123 pieces, but was clearly the flagship despite the smaller part count.

 

22 hours ago, allanp said:

As for flagships disappearing, well there are Flagships (8868 in 1992, and 8880 in 1994) and then there are "flagships" (like that forklift transporter truck released between them in 1993). What separates the men from the boys, the Flagships from the "flagships" is a different, much bigger question.

Yeah, I'd say since 2005, when Technic started getting back on its feet, there was a clear flagship every year from 2005 to 2021, with the possible exception of 2008's Off Roader, which wasn't that large or impressive. 2022 didn't have anything of the scale/price of other flagships from its time period, but the 42145 Airbus was big enough and good enough to be a flagship by old standards, at least. 2023 pretty clearly had the Liebherr crane, but 2024 didn't really have anything. If we exclude the McLaren, as we have in the past, the flagship does become the G-Wagen by default, but we've never had a large licensed car be the flagship before, and it doesn't feel like a classic flagship at all.

I wonder if the traditional concept of "flagship" has been abandoned by Lego, leaving even-numbered years with UCS supercars at the top of the line, and odd-numbered years with large, motorized construction equipment at the top of the line?

[Michael217]

2 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Yeah, I'd say since 2005, when Technic started getting back on its feet, there was a clear flagship every year from 2005 to 2021, with the possible exception of 2008's Off Roader, which wasn't that large or impressive. 2022 didn't have anything of the scale/price of other flagships from its time period, but the 42145 Airbus was big enough and good enough to be a flagship by old standards, at least. 2023 pretty clearly had the Liebherr crane, but 2024 didn't really have anything. If we exclude the McLaren, as we have in the past, the flagship does become the G-Wagen by default, but we've never had a large licensed car be the flagship before, and it doesn't feel like a classic flagship at all.

2024 was an unusual year for Technic, the number of sets increased dramatically, and in 2025 we will have a lot of sets again, and I don't really like it, it would be better if TLG released 14-16 sets of higher-quality, well-designed models with features than the more than 20 small ones and medium-sized sets.

..Yes, we don't have a specific flagship set in 2024. G-Wagen this is a Defender replacement. If the 42175 had more features and details, it could be considered a flagship.)

Edited March 9 by Michael217

[gyenesvi]

11 minutes ago, Michael217 said:

2024 was an unusual year for Technic, the number of sets increased dramatically, and in 2025 we will have a lot of sets again, and I don't really like it, it would be better if TLG released 14-16 sets of higher-quality, well-designed models with features than the more than 20 small ones and medium-sized sets.

While in some sense I agree that fewer well designed sets would be nice to have, I do see an advantage of the lots of small sets too for MOC-ers; they provide lots of new part recolors, which is really good! But yeah, at least one good flagship (not a licensed car) would be great to have per year!

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

On 3/8/2025 at 9:22 PM, Aurorasaurus said:

G wagen at least offers some playability value, mclaren does not.

Technic flagship usually introduce something new or is loaded with (motorized) functions. Personally G Wagen does fall behind the Defender which was not a flagship in 2019 (but it was first timer off-road car with such complex gear box) so I don't consider it as a flagship material. Apollo Rover would be more flagship material but it is too niche. 2024 did not had a flagship, I guess we will get it every two years now. 

[kbalage]

15 minutes ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

Personally G Wagen does fall behind the Defender which was not a flagship in 2019

I really wonder in what aspect the Defender surpasses the G Wagen. Having a more complicated gearbox that does not work properly is not really an advantage :)

[allanp]

The G wagon does feel like it wasn't meant to be the flagship. And I don't think it was because if the Control+ flagships that came before it. The airbus, though not intented to be a flagship, it became one by default after the crane got delayed, but it felt more like a flagship than the G wagon. The airbus felt like an earnest attempt to raise the bar for its chosen subject matter. While not totally realistic for nitpicky reasons only helicopter mechanics would care about, it was by far the most authentic helicopter they had ever released. The G wagon by contrast didn't feel like that same earnest attempt to push the boundaries but instead felt like they played it safe. That is probably the rarest type of flagship and we're not really accustomed to it. Usually a flagship is:

A) They aim high....and miss! For me that's 42009. It's insanely complex but not in a realistic way, and was perhaps too complex for it's own good. After the power from it's single motor has passed through 2 multifunction gearboxes, a turntable and 4 mini actuators there was barely any power left to move the stabilisers up or down.

B) They aim high....but in the wrong direction! For me that's basically the control+ era. Very ambitious which is to be applauded, but replacing authentic mechanisms with coding and smart phone apps ....that doesn't feel like Technic and isn't for me.

C) They don't aim high at all. By not doing so people will question, is it even a flagship? Was it meant to be? Not many examples of that but the G wagon unfortunately does feel it belongs in that category. 

They aim high....and hit! The Arocs. 8480 space shuttle (arguably the first licenced set but didn't need to boast about it). Control centres 1 and 2. 8868 airtech claw rig.  8880 Daytona VX4 supercar. Bare in mind with those older examples, it's looking through the lens of what came before it. Before 8880 was the test car, which itself was a big improvement over the autochassis before that. 

I am actually optimistic for the future. The control+ era, okay, they swung for the fences and missed, but at least they tried! At least the ambition was there. How ambitious was 42100?! 2 smart phone controlled hubs and 7 motors?! Holy moly! Now, if they could only aim that ambition a little better, in a way that's more authentic, not just mechanically, but in a way that's more authentic to the physical, non app dependent Lego building experience, we could be in for some crazy good stuff! As much as I praise the Arocs for being the king, Technic has the potential for flagships that would dethrone the king real quick! Aim that ambition a little better, that's all it takes.

 

 

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

1 hour ago, kbalage said:

I really wonder in what aspect the Defender surpasses the G Wagen. Having a more complicated gearbox that does not work properly is not really an advantage :)

Perhaps that gearbox on 11+ toy was not meant be put on the limits like it was done by some youtubers. Car is playable on lower gears. Just a nice representation of the complicated gearbox which  unintentionally also displayed limits of the technic system. For me partly working Defender gearbox was still more impressive than the differential lock knob on the bottom of the G Wagon and simple gearbox. The rest is just a reskin.

[Jockos]

I imagine TLG decided not to release a "flagship" model in the same year as a 1:8 supercar, because they might eat each other's sales if released simultaneously. So it might be one of the reasons why they delayed the Liebherr crane (aside from design decisions) to let the Daytona shine.

[allanp]

1 hour ago, kbalage said:

I really wonder in what aspect the Defender surpasses the G Wagen. Having a more complicated gearbox that does not work properly is not really an advantage :)

The defenders gearbox was indeed too complex to work correctly. But did we really have to sacrifice functions/capability.....in a flagship? Having seen inside (admittedly the older more iconic) defenders gearbox, the Lego defenders gearbox was more complicated than the real one! But the Lego defenders gearbox did have a main gearbox with more speeds (as well as the hi-low gearbox) than the Lego G wagons Hi-Low range only gearbox, which is why people think the defender surpasses it in the sense of functions. The G wagon has diff locks, but the control for the rear one was at the diff itself. You might argue that the centre diff lock control was mounted in a better place in the cabin, but the optics of having the rear diff lock control located where it was isn't good, not for a flagship. That's probably more the issue than anything. The G wagon was meant to be a flagship where the defender wasn't? 

That's the thing. We're looking at the G Wagon through the lens of FLAGSHIP. A flagship simply does not solve the issues of previous sets (especially non flagship sets) by removing functionality. Any other set, okay......maaaaybe, and a cam style engine? Aaaah okay, maaaaybe. But in a flagship? No. A flagship set would look at the previous defender and say "the issue is not the amount of speeds in the transmission, but the unrealistically complex way those speeds were achieved, so let's look at the real thing and bring some new parts to make it right". What makes it look worse is they already had the new gearbox pieces in the Yamaha and P1 to solve all the issues of the previous defender whilst keeping the functionality. Given they already had the parts from those sets, it seems odd that they would use them to remove functionality relative to the previous defender, rather than adding to them.

All these things would be easier to explain if the G wagon wasn't intended to be the flagship. While people compare it to the defender, you could also compare it to the  Zetros (also non flagship) by swapping motorisation of all it's functions for a 2 speed gearbox. The look and the engineering of the G wagon itself is fine, but to place the weighty title of flagship on its shoulders just seems unfair.

[Jundis]

2 hours ago, allanp said:

I am actually optimistic for the future. The control+ era, okay, they swung for the fences and missed, but at least they tried! At least the ambition was there. How ambitious was 42100?! 2 smart phone controlled hubs and 7 motors?! Holy moly! Now, if they could only aim that ambition a little better, in a way that's more authentic, not just mechanically, but in a way that's more authentic to the physical, non app dependent Lego building experience, we could be in for some crazy good stuff! As much as I praise the Arocs for being the king, Technic has the potential for flagships that would dethrone the king real quick! Aim that ambition a little better, that's all it takes.

Very well said. but in my opinion, a 42100 without the app assisted features wouldn't work that well.

But there surely are so many models which would benefit from more physical control with 1 dumb battery box and 1 or 2 motors, especially when the would introduce an efficient pneumatic pump and angled connectors (L-shape with one female rubber side and one male side connecting to hoses).

[Satisfied]

9 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Yeah, an example of that situation would be 2010, where the 8053 Mobile Crane had 1289 pieces, while the far more expensive (because of motorization) and far more legendary 8043 Motorized Excavator only had 1123 pieces, but was clearly the flagship despite the smaller part count.

 

Yeah, I'd say since 2005, when Technic started getting back on its feet, there was a clear flagship every year from 2005 to 2021, with the possible exception of 2008's Off Roader, which wasn't that large or impressive. 2022 didn't have anything of the scale/price of other flagships from its time period, but the 42145 Airbus was big enough and good enough to be a flagship by old standards, at least. 2023 pretty clearly had the Liebherr crane, but 2024 didn't really have anything. If we exclude the McLaren, as we have in the past, the flagship does become the G-Wagen by default, but we've never had a large licensed car be the flagship before, and it doesn't feel like a classic flagship at all.

I wonder if the traditional concept of "flagship" has been abandoned by Lego, leaving even-numbered years with UCS supercars at the top of the line, and odd-numbered years with large, motorized construction equipment at the top of the line?

Yes, every year there is a page turning label on the bottom right or bottom left corner of the flagship product box, which is a clear message from the flagship

flagship

yellow box

2003：8455

black box and PF

2004：8436
2005：8421
2006：8285
2007：8275
2008：8297
2009：8258
2010：8043
2011：8110
2012：9398
2013：42009
2014：42030
2015：42043
2016：42055
2017：42070
2018：42082

C+

2019：42100
2020：42114
2021：42131
2022：not have
2023：42146
2024：not have

9 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

Yes, every year there is a page turning label on the bottom right or bottom left corner of the flagship product box, which is a clear message from the flagship

flagship

yellow box

2003：8455

black box and PF

2004：8436
2005：8421
2006：8285
2007：8275
2008：8297
2009：8258
2010：8043
2011：8110
2012：9398
2013：42009
2014：42030
2015：42043
2016：42055
2017：42070
2018：42082

C+

2019：42100
2020：42114
2021：42131
2022：not have
2023：42146
2024：not have

2025：42215

 

[thekoRngear]

8 hours ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

Perhaps that gearbox on 11+ toy was not meant be put on the limits like it was done by some youtubers. Car is playable on lower gears. Just a nice representation of the complicated gearbox which  unintentionally also displayed limits of the technic system. For me partly working Defender gearbox was still more impressive than the differential lock knob on the bottom of the G Wagon and simple gearbox. The rest is just a reskin.

Could not agree more on this. Plus, the doors, tailgate, headlights, A pillars- almost everything is designed more intricately with proper sturdiness on the Defender than on the G Wagen. When you switch the gearbox levers the console on G Wagen tends to bend/wobble. The console on the Defender, on the other hand, is not affected by such operation. In terms of wobbliness, the G defeats the D.

Quote

That's the thing. We're looking at the G Wagon through the lens of FLAGSHIP. A flagship simply does not solve the issues of previous sets (especially non flagship sets) by removing functionality. Any other set, okay......maaaaybe, and a cam style engine? Aaaah okay, maaaaybe. But in a flagship? No. A flagship set would look at the previous defender and say "the issue is not the amount of speeds in the transmission, but the unrealistically complex way those speeds were achieved, so let's look at the real thing and bring some new parts to make it right". What makes it look worse is they already had the new gearbox pieces in the Yamaha and P1 to solve all the issues of the previous defender whilst keeping the functionality. Given they already had the parts from those sets, it seems odd that they would use them to remove functionality relative to the previous defender, rather than adding to them.

I am no expert at this but keep in mind, the new parts/technic etc used for the Yamaha and the P1 sequential gearboxes are for a 1/8 scale car  and a 1/5 bike chassis- much larger body with significant amount of entrapment/rigidity. To achieve same level of smoothness in a 1/10 scale chassis those elements are not enough. Size/scale matters. It (perhaps) needs more research and prototyping when it comes to fit (or design) the new gearbox in such scale of chassis. But yeah, Lego do have enough time to correct that too.

Edited March 10 by thekoRngear

[kbalage]

9 hours ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

Perhaps that gearbox on 11+ toy was not meant be put on the limits like it was done by some youtubers.

Maybe you have different expectations than the average customer, especially kids. As one of the aforementioned Youtubers, I can tell you that my videos and articles about the Defender's gearbox were (and probably still are) the most commented on, with literally hundreds of people sharing their frustration with the dysfunctional gearbox, even many years after the release. The concept was impressive, but that set simply pushed the plastic too far, and the end result was unreliable. You can build it to work (if you're lucky), but within a couple weeks you're guaranteed to run into problems. Especially if you're a kid, and try to play with it and push the car in different gears to see the effect of the gearbox.

For me, this is definitely not flagship material. The G500, on the other hand, has learned its lesson, removed the unnecessarily complex gearbox and added a bunch of (well-functioning) features instead. Is that the flagship of 2024? Maybe not, but given the slow but steady transformation of the theme from Technic to Racers, I don't expect there to be dedicated flagship sets anymore.

[Amt0571]

On 2/28/2025 at 11:44 AM, M_longer said:

It was badly designed and grinded gears. That's all.

The Defender does it to, and they didn't stop selling it.

[Auroralampinen]

Hmm lego revealed the new mario kart set and i watched the 360 video i wonder how the steering is done i see there is some bionicle ball joint pieces this is really interesting approach to steering

[Stereo]

It looks to me like the balljoint just holds the steering column at an angle, I expect it uses knob gears closer to the front of the kart to actually steer.

Edited March 10 by Stereo

[Zerobricks]

The ball joint indeed steers the wheels. A very interesting solution. Also worth noting is that we get 3 or 5L suspension arms in red.

Edited March 10 by Zerobricks

[pow]

1 hour ago, Zerobricks said:

The ball joint indeed steers the wheels. A very interesting solution. Also worth noting is that we get 3 or 5L suspension arms in red.

Isn't that the same steering configuration the Icon sets (like the 10337 Lambo or 10295 911) use? So sad TLG didn't go for a clever virtual pivot point solution.

[Auroralampinen]

19 minutes ago, pow said:

Isn't that the same steering configuration the Icon sets (like the 10337 Lambo or 10295 911) use? So sad TLG didn't go for a clever virtual pivot point solution.

Yes same but connection to steering wheel is unique and the batmobile 76139 had virtual pivot steering and its the only one sadly:(

[2GodBDGlory]

23 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

The ball joint indeed steers the wheels. A very interesting solution. Also worth noting is that we get 3 or 5L suspension arms in red.

Huh, I was needing those in red for a project I'm working on! The model was originally designed in LBG, so it wasn't a problem, but I'm trying to make recolored options in red and white, so I had to come up with a workaround for both of those colors

[Timorzelorzworz]

Curious what the little Valkyrie color it is. There is a lack for green in 2025. Maybe it comes in regular green or finally dark green (earth green) in Technic.

[Aurorasaurus]

56 minutes ago, Timorzelorzworz said:

Curious what the little Valkyrie color it is. There is a lack for green in 2025. Maybe it comes in regular green or finally dark green (earth green) in Technic.

Please not more new incomplete colors...

[msk6003]

4 hours ago, Timorzelorzworz said:

Curious what the little Valkyrie color it is. There is a lack for green in 2025. Maybe it comes in regular green or finally dark green (earth green) in Technic.

For me looks like dark green main with neon yellow accent.

Or lime.

[Auroralampinen]

6 hours ago, Aurorasaurus said:

Please not more new incomplete colors...

Yeah exactly like with the 42069 purple color we haven't seen any new purple sets anymore:(