2026 Technic Sets Discussion

[Auroralampinen]

13 minutes ago, SNIPE said:

42045 and 42110 sold like hotcakes and were actually full of technic mechanisms, this is 2H also.

Interesting that 42045 selled like hotcakes. Well, it was affordable set and had working engine and fan:).

Plus 42045 was probably the cheapest way to buy multiple panels:). 

[SNIPE]

oops, I mean 42056

[msk6003]

To me, this situation looks very similar to Meccano. This company also started by reproducing mechanical models, but as the years passed, the proportion of models reproducing exteriors gradually increased. Currently, the company is practically barely hanging on, while creators reminiscing about old products showcase amazing creations at exhibitions. If the Technic theme continues on its current path, it might end up like this. Given TLG's stature, the entire company probably won't suffer that fate, but the Technic theme is certainly going to fail.

[mahjqa]

43 minutes ago, msk6003 said:

the Technic theme is certainly going to fail.

Here's a counterclaim: Lego says Technic is one of their top 5 performing themes in their 2025 financial report. It has been a consistent moneymaker for decades. 

You may not like what they're doing with technic and licensed sets, but it's certainly making them money.

[Jurss]

Yes, whinig as each year here, but Lego just doing its business. Don't like what lego making, make something own.

[8880]

Yes, Technic is making money for TLG, no doubt. But let's ask the question - why? I guess it's because these days there are more Lego "collectors" as Lego Fans. These new "collectors" needs big and expensive Technic Supercar for investment or display instead of simple or more complicated functional sets for play. We are Technic fans and we'll be happy to see more mechanical models, more machines, more FUNCTIONAL SETS. But it seems that for TLG we are the minority. 

Edited Thursday at 09:51 AM by 8880

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

37 minutes ago, 8880 said:

Yes, Technic is making money for TLG, no doubt. But let's ask the question - why? I guess it's because these days there are more Lego "collectors" as Lego Fans. These new "collectors" needs big and expensive Technic Supercar for investment or display instead of simple or more complicated functional sets for play. We are Technic fans and we'll be happy to see more mechanical models, more machines, more FUNCTIONAL SETS. But it seems that for TLG we are the minority. 

As a man who work corporate job, I can assure you they dont care about "fans" if sets for fans wont make a profit. At least this is the case for the highest evel management. There should be very dedicated upper level manager (with particular KPI's which wont make it easy) who should convince senior management with strong arguments in very short PPTs that sets for fans will sell. If it won't sell, person might not get yearly performance Bonuses - which is personal loss.  I think when sales mementum for particular sets is lost, it is really hard to bounce back. And I am sure that sales charts for cars are very green and TLG leadership loving it

Edited Thursday at 10:19 AM by Oh_Hi_Mao

[8880]

Yes, you are right and I understand it. Just trying to explain why we in Technic see what we see. 

[Auroralampinen]

Well, while this topic has turned into hate topic for technic. The brand new road bike has new "HUGE" Technic gear:).

 

[Satisfied]

The official images of the new set have leaked

[Satisfied]

16 hours ago, Oh_Hi_Mao said:

As a man who work corporate job, I can assure you they dont care about "fans" if sets for fans wont make a profit. At least this is the case for the highest evel management. There should be very dedicated upper level manager (with particular KPI's which wont make it easy) who should convince senior management with strong arguments in very short PPTs that sets for fans will sell. If it won't sell, person might not get yearly performance Bonuses - which is personal loss.  I think when sales mementum for particular sets is lost, it is really hard to bounce back. And I am sure that sales charts for cars are very green and TLG leadership loving it

If that’s the case, the fundamental reason for the delayed release of 42146 was probably not the lead time for new part molds. It was originally scheduled for 2022, but got pushed back to avoid a direct clash with 42143.

This implies that current sales of Technic flagship sets are likely underperforming. Nowadays, Technic flagships have become more of a symbolic release than anything else. We used to get one every single year, yet now it’s only once every two years. TLG staggers their launches on purpose to prevent internal competition with the 1:8 supercar released in the same year.

The fact that even flagship lineups are being scaled back clearly shows that TLG is gradually abandoning hardcore Technic enthusiasts who prefer more construction and industrial machinery sets. Engineering flagships are undeniably more difficult to design than 1:8 supercars, yet they sell far worse. It’s only logical that TLG no longer wants to put in huge effort for poor returns.

That’s why 2018 was such a great year — Technic flagship and 1:8 supercar were released side by side. It also marked the end of the PF era.

[mpj]

Is there any official info about summer sets release date? I mean, which sets are planned fot June, which for August?

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Speed Champions releases a bunch of cars per year and no one bats an eye.

Technic releases a bunch of cars per year and everyone loses their mind.

[kbalage]

47 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Speed Champions releases a bunch of cars per year and no one bats an eye.

Technic releases a bunch of cars per year and everyone loses their mind.

For fairness, Speed Champions is a dedicated car theme, while Technic is not (or should not be) exclusively a car theme :) 

[R0Sch]

49 minutes ago, kbalage said:

For fairness, Speed Champions is a dedicated car theme, while Technic is not (or should not be) exclusively a car theme :) 

It's like Racers and Technic had a baby and that baby keeps cloning itself forever. 

[allanp]

I think PU has a part to play in all this. To have truly great "models that move" you need a good eco system of electronics to power them and sadly, while PU was impressive in it's own way, it wasn't at all right for Technic. It's very telling to me that in all the technic YouTube content I watch, I hardly ever see them use PU hardware. I'm sure there's some, but they mostly use Buwizz, 9v, PF, mindstorms or some other third party electronics.

On the subject of cars, cars and more cars, yes I'm sure they sell well, but I wonder how sustainable that'll be in the long term. Surely so many cars will saturate the market pretty quickly right?

And if we look to brickset to see how many Technic sets are owned, the top sellers are the big 1:8 scale cars with the complex gearboxes (not the flood of 1:10 and smaller scale cars we're getting), and of course the mighty Arocs is right up there standing proudly among this group of all time top selling cars!

And then if we look at Amazon (well, Amazon UK for me) for Lego technic and look for the best sellers in the past month, it appears as though most of the cars are being outsold by the Artemis rocket, and to a lesser extent but still outselling most cars is the 42198 bush plane. The Mack LR garbage truck and the 42179 Earth and Moon seem to still be keeping pace with a lot of the cars that were released more recently. I know TLG have far more complete sales figures than my meager attempt to find some useful intel, but that's the trend I'm seeing.

It is reassuring to read that Technic is still among the top 5 highest selling themes, but that's pretty much always been the case as far as I know, long before we had nothing but cars. So I ask you, is it still a top selling theme because of all the cars or is it despite all the cars, and they're just resting on the Technic brand like a bad (yet somehow still profitable) movie remake. 

This summers Unimog appears to be a glimmer of hope, a tiny sparkle of light in the darkness, but I still yern to be blinded by a dazzling spectacle. I gladly accept this small crumb from their table with much appreciation, but still my tummy rumbles while waiting for a magnificent feast. 

EDIT: Just for those that might have missed it, this years Unimog is obviously more than just a small crumb, it appears to be a great mid sized set and I'm really looking forward to it. I was referring to something more....flagship.

Edited Friday at 04:13 PM by allanp

[Michael217]

I gathered the whole gang. There are 9 such sets coming out this year, I think it's crazy. Because of this, we lose real functional sets(

Edited Friday at 10:41 PM by Michael217

[Auroralampinen]

2 minutes ago, Michael217 said:

I gathered the whole gang. There are 9 such sets coming out this year, I think it's crazy. Because of this, we lose real functional sets(

Wow, this art work looks really great. I would happily frame this and hang on the wall to display:).

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, Auroralampinen said:

I would happily frame this and hang on the wall to display:)

And no shelves required!

[AVCampos]

It'll quickly get outdated, though...

[Toastie]

23 minutes ago, AVCampos said:

It'll quickly get outdated, though...

Quick-fix: Sticky notes + attached print-outs of new sets, with special attention to the color of the sticky notes blending into wallpaper design. Looks goofy in TLG's view of living rooms/home offices and so on, though.

Permanent fix: Snap frames/front loading poster frames. They come in all varieties, including brushed/glossy stainless steel. I would not care that much about fading colors on the printout (in contrast to the quick fix!), as this approach calls for frequent replacement of the latter.

Best
Thorsten

  

[Jockos]

How interesting that most vehicle (not only Technic) sets are photographed from their left side... how does it have connection to right-handed people (who are also the majority of population)?

[Maaboo the Witch]

4 minutes ago, Jockos said:

How interesting that most vehicle (not only Technic) sets are photographed from their left side... how does it have connection to right-handed people (who are also the majority of population)?

Well, 42242 is here to buck the trend.

[Stereo]

The box logo's in the top left, so diagonally that way works better a lot of the time, though that's another way of saying the same thing, why do we write left to right?

[Michael217]

4 hours ago, Auroralampinen said:

Wow, this art work looks really great. I would happily frame this and hang on the wall to display:).

I updated the collage and made a year-by-year scale)