2027 - Technic 50 year anniversary

[PG52]

10 hours ago, yqc said:

I agree to some extend, but at the same time, I see a few great MOCs with part counts well above that limit:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-59230/juggleman/gbc-chairlift-detachable-cable-car/

Just having like a functional chairlift essentially splits the build up into two (or at best even three with a middle station) desperate builds, which will function well together in the end.

As a long-time chairlift / gondola MOCer, as much as I'd love to see Lego get into cable cars, I very much doubt they will ever do so, because :

- detachables are VERY hard to even get them to run 1 hour without any problem, even for people who designed some or many of them, including myself. My best ever result was around 2.5h of continuous operation without a hickup on my detachable quad. Parts under tension also wear quite quickly.
- cable cars require some sort of back and forth mechanism which could be implemented in an official Lego set using some electronics and sensors, BUT they also have too many cables to make them easily manageable, which have to be independantly tensioned with significant weights...
- even basic fixed-grip chairlifts can be quite finnicky to get them run reliably
- All these have one problem in common, which is, stations and pylons have to withstand serious forces and therefore need to be either heavily weighted or anchored to the ground. Water tanks would probably be the least awkward solution (already used for parasols and such). But I don't see Lego doing that.

One option I could see, but it's a niche thing, is a funicular railway. And if I were Lego I'd not make it a Technic set, rather a City/Creator/Icons one with small-scale rails and manual operation using a crank.

Again, I'd very much love to see Lego dive into this theme, but I don't see it ever happening, at least in large-scale Technic fashion.

Edited June 9 by PG52
Complement

[gyenesvi]

3 hours ago, Timewhatistime said:

I understand the wish for a 4L beam. However, getting only a single one of them per set (like it was the case with the 3L anniversary piece in 2017) wouldn't help that much.

2 hours ago, yqc said:

More like a symbolic sign that it'll be added with a print and after that used more frequently without any prints and/or be available in PaB.

Exactly, what would actually matter is the acceptance (after so many years) that it is useful and needed, and to have the mould done. After that, designers would use it everywhere and TLG making it in various colors would happen quite rapidly.

[yqc]

52 minutes ago, PG52 said:

As a long-time chairlift / gondola MOCer, as much as I'd love to see Lego get into cable cars, I very much doubt they will ever do so

Thank you very much for that detailed answer. I have  it yet designed a chairlift, but it's definitely on my to-design list. Then I'll probably notice exactly what you have now mentioned. The funicular railway as a Creators set seems like a very good idea though. Just one rope for each of the vehicles, connected to a single winch and some technique for the middle point and that's all that's Technic in that set.

By the way, have you published instructions for any of your models? I'd like to take a look at them.

[pleegwat]

1 hour ago, PG52 said:

As a long-time chairlift / gondola MOCer, as much as I'd love to see Lego get into cable cars

The 8891 ideas book includes something like that. But I'm not sure if that counts.

[1nterstellar]

What i want is something crazy and unique, like railway track laying machine. What i expect is mighty machines 2.0 and a bunch of cars.

[yqc]

7 minutes ago, pleegwat said:

The 8891 ideas book includes something like that. But I'm not sure if that counts.

Thanks for sharing that! For reference, this is the set entry for the exact idea: https://rebrickable.com/sets/8891-1-c7/

From what it seems like, the role needs to be tensioned yourself using non-Lego objects and then the chairlift has a motor in it and can propell itself on its own.

7 minutes ago, 1nterstellar said:

What i want is something crazy and unique, like railway track laying machine.

Oddly specific, but I get your thought and 100% agree. There's this YT video I found after a quick search which shows a very simple model of it:

[PG52]

57 minutes ago, yqc said:

Thank you very much for that detailed answer. I have  it yet designed a chairlift, but it's definitely on my to-design list. Then I'll probably notice exactly what you have now mentioned. The funicular railway as a Creators set seems like a very good idea though. Just one rope for each of the vehicles, connected to a single winch and some technique for the middle point and that's all that's Technic in that set.

By the way, have you published instructions for any of your models? I'd like to take a look at them.

It's a fun process to figure out how to make a chairlift :) 
I haven't made instructions but Tomas Ullrich, who you probably know for his crazy GBC concepts did use my design as a base for his GBC chairlift. You can find his instructions here : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-59230/juggleman/gbc-chairlift-detachable-cable-car/#details

[Timewhatistime]

I am pretty sure that the relevant management descisions have been made some months or even years ago. Thus, our reasonable wishes won't be heard (in time or at all, respectively).

[yqc]

10 minutes ago, PG52 said:

I haven't made instructions but Tomas Ullrich, who you probably know for his crazy GBC concepts did use my design as a base for his GBC chairlift. You can find his instructions here : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-59230/juggleman/gbc-chairlift-detachable-cable-car/#details

Oh, didn't know you did the base for exactly that model. That is on my buold-list.

7 minutes ago, Timewhatistime said:

I am pretty sure that the relevant management descisions have been made some months or even years ago. Thus, our reasonable wishes won't be heard (in time or at all, respectively).

Always be optimistic, maybe they will read this and do our ideas regardless. Or keep it for their 75 years anniversary. 

[Saruzeufel]

9 hours ago, 1nterstellar said:

something crazy and unique, like railway track laying machine

That would be really interesting.

Other ideas for unusual machines Lego has not yet done: 
- sugar beet or potato harvester (especially the latter could be so mechanically interesting with folding conveyor belts, rotating brushes, etc.)
- feller buncher (nice addition to the skidder from a few years ago)
- trencher (functions might be too limited on regular floor so it might not be something Lego would do)
- wood chipper (either self propelled or as an attachment for a Unimog or Tractor)
- something from Le Tourneau's line-up of very weird prototypes or an Oudin Termit

Or they could do something that never got a proper version, like a grader, scraper or a full RC skidsteer loader.

[kbalage]

On 6/9/2026 at 4:13 AM, krtwood said:

50 car models for the 50th!

This.

[R0Sch]

Maybe they'll make a Car Transporter to fit the 1:8 hypercars. 

[pleegwat]

13 hours ago, yqc said:

Thanks for sharing that! For reference, this is the set entry for the exact idea: https://rebrickable.com/sets/8891-1-c7/

From what it seems like, the role needs to be tensioned yourself using non-Lego objects and then the chairlift has a motor in it and can propell itself on its own.

Yes, it's self-propelled and you need to provide your own rope. There is also a self-reversing feature: When it reaches the end of the rope, the red upper structure flips to the other side and an 8z gear on the vertical shaft meshes with the other 24z crown gear, reversing movement direction.

[howitzer]

I have many desires, stuff that would really embody the spirit of Technic and make for a great anniversary sets, but I feel listing them would be a waste of breath (or keypresses). Rather my expectations are at most 1 set worth of the title of 50th anniversary set, and the way things have been going even that doesn't seem likely. There will be cars, cars and more cars and little beyond that.

[Satisfied]

When do the official written previews of next year's new sets usually come out? I reckon we'll get the full lineup list for next year pretty soon this year.

[PLD24]

Quote

On 6/14/2026 at 6:41 PM, Satisfied said:

When do the official written previews of next year's new sets usually come out? I reckon we'll get the full lineup list for next year pretty soon this year.

 

We might hear about the 2027 Jan sets anytime between July-September based on previous years. Past 2 years were in mid July, so still have at least a month to wait.

Plus honestly I don't think (or hope) this car craze would last too long, other companies are catching on and bringing good competition esp with the mattel sets. To me it just doesn't make any sense to get the car transporter gang sized cars with gaping holes and weird proportions when a diecast model could bring similar functionality with 10x better looks. At one point it has to get repetitive and kinda meh for the average consumer. 

[SNIPE]

I hope we get a big BIG yellow mobile crane mkIII

Use some technic baseplates in yellow sideways to pack a mega compex drive+function gearbox in, maybe use dark bluish gray vespa wheels and tyres

use black XL and L linear actuators.like set 42215 did.

give each axle steering suspension and a reinforced differential 

Give it better 2 stage outriggers than set 42009

Edited June 21 by SNIPE

[PLD24]

8 hours ago, SNIPE said:

I hope we get a big BIG yellow mobile crane mkIII

Use some technic baseplates in yellow sideways to pack a mega compex drive+function gearbox in

Yeah been waiting for 10+ years for a proper successor to the 42009, other than the 42043 and 42082 we've barely had anything similar. And I also want to see the 64x20 tyres in huge sets again, those were never a miss. 
With the new gearbox parts from 42232, there is definitely a possibility for a new mega distribution/sequential gearbox, but I doubt they would motorize it the way they did for the old C+ sets like 42114. Unless theres a successor to C+ system, we may not see it soon. Well at least those parts would make for some giant mocs. 

 

[HydroWorld Outlook]

On 6/9/2026 at 2:16 AM, yqc said:

I agree to some extend, but at the same time, I see a few great MOCs with part counts well above that limit:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-169020/mdemerchant/liebherr-ltm-11200-mobile-crane/

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-59230/juggleman/gbc-chairlift-detachable-cable-car/

Just having like a functional chairlift essentially splits the build up into two (or at best even three with a middle station) desperate builds, which will function well together in the end.

And the other crane also definitely seems buidable without any problems.

Oh, and also don't build it like the 42100-1, where it's largely air inside and many motors powering functions directly, but more like the bodywork of the 42082-1, with one motor and a lot of gearboxes to control everything. Having something like the 42082-1 with a bigger base, where more could fit in (e.g. the whole battery box and motor, I find it a little weird from the weight distribution to put the in the carrier) and thus a larger top structure which could potentially get higher.

Or, a bigger pneumatic set with more pneumatic functions would also be great. Potentially a well working pneumatic engine.

I absolutely must agree with this. What we desperately need to see is another set that combines motorized functions with pneumatics, which we haven't seen since the 42080 Forest Machine way back in 2018, more than eight years ago now.

On 6/21/2026 at 8:01 AM, PLD24 said:

Yeah been waiting for 10+ years for a proper successor to the 42009, other than the 42043 and 42082 we've barely had anything similar. And I also want to see the 64x20 tyres in huge sets again, those were never a miss. 
With the new gearbox parts from 42232, there is definitely a possibility for a new mega distribution/sequential gearbox, but I doubt they would motorize it the way they did for the old C+ sets like 42114. Unless theres a successor to C+ system, we may not see it soon. Well at least those parts would make for some giant mocs.

Agreed again. In fact, when you count out the 2024 VTOL Heavy Dropship set (which technically didn't count as a flagship set anyway), we haven't recieved a single non-licensed Technic flagship since the Rough Terrain Crane ("Big Red"), again way back in 2018. When you really think about it, every single flagship set since then (excluding scale-model replica cars, per our community's flagship evaluation criteria) has been licensed:

2019: Control+ Liebherr R 9800 Excavator (42100)

2020: Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 (42115)

2021: Control+ Cat D11 Bulldozer (42131)

2022: Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter (42145)

2023: Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000 (42146)

2024: NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle (42182)

2025: Volvo EC500 Hybrid Excavator (42215)

2026: Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 5023 with Crane (42242)

2027: ? (TBA)

Hopefully that question mark will be a nonlicensed set, though we all of course know better than to get our hopes up. That being said, plenty of new parts were introduced this year, so LEGO doesn't really have an excuse not to put at least some creative effort into next year's releases, especially allocating so much of their budget towards developing so many successful licensed sets over the last few years.

Edited June 26 by HydroWorld Outlook

[JesseNight]

9 minutes ago, HydroWorld Outlook said:

Agreed again. In fact, when you count out the 2024 VTOL Heavy Dropship set (which technically didn't count as a flagship set anyway), we haven't recieved a single non-licensed Technic flagship since the Rough Terrain Crane ("Big Red"), again way back in 2018. Every single flagship set since then has been licensed:

Maybe they're just having a case of writer's block, where they can't come up with new interesting technic feats and therefore shifted some attention towards accuracy with actual existing models? I mean we've seen throughout the years that every so many years they come up with major improvements, but there are periods where new releases hardly offer something really new to the table. Sometimes it takes a competitor to actually come up with a new feat.
Or maybe licensed (recognizable) models are just doing better with the mainstream audience.

[HydroWorld Outlook]

On 6/26/2026 at 6:34 AM, JesseNight said:

Maybe they're just having a case of writer's block, where they can't come up with new interesting technic feats and therefore shifted some attention towards accuracy with actual existing models? I mean we've seen throughout the years that every so many years they come up with major improvements, but there are periods where new releases hardly offer something really new to the table. Sometimes it takes a competitor to actually come up with a new feat.
Or maybe licensed (recognizable) models are just doing better with the mainstream audience.

It's probably the latter. LEGO's primary audience may still be children, but at the end of the day, they're still a company with budgets and priorities. As a private company, they have to weigh everything against their balance sheets. Since licensed sets naturally appeal to both the LEGO audience and non-LEGO audiences, they naturally carry less risk by relying on familiar and established brands, and thus usually generate more revenue. As such they are prioritized over original concepts and designs that have not yet been proven in the consumer market and thus, carry a higher risk and, in most cases, lower overall potential for returns on investment. In scenarios where low-risk, high-return licensed sets must compete with higher-risk, low-return nonlicensed sets for production slots and greenlighting, LEGO nearly always has a fiduciary duty to prioritize the former first.

That being said, LEGO has historically proven that they can balance their output of licensed sets with non-licensed ones, as they surprisingly demonstrated very well with those four Technic Space sets back in 2024, along with one more in 2025. Outside of Technic, some of their non-licensed concepts, particularly original action and adventure themes like Ninjago and Monkie Kid, have proved mega-successful, so that's not to say there isn't some potential for a non-licensed Technic flagship set in 2027, though that probability is unfortunately quite low based on recent history over the eight years that have passed since the last nonlicensed flagship (42082) was released back in 2018. Although LEGO is naturally likely to at least sell a small handful of unlicensed sets in acknowledgement of Technic's 50th Anniversary—perhaps replicas or homages to the early waves of Technic sets released in the late 20th century, like a bare-bones car chassis with working piston engine, or a modernized studless recreation of a classic brick-style Technic model—it is only realistic to expect that these sets will be relatively small in size and secondary to licensed models, the latter of which are likely to remain a higher-priority focus for LEGO. In other words, most if not all major sets in 2027, including any potential flagship set, are far more likely to be licensed as well.

While I would vastly prefer a large, nonlicensed flagship set in 2027 (even though we should all understand by now that this is statistically unlikely), I personally wouldn't mind a licensed one as long as it isn't yet another car, truck, or construction vehicle. In that case, if 2027's flagship must be licensed, I would ideally like to see an eVTOL aircraft done as a major Technic set, since LEGO has not yet released many other sets featuring electric aircraft in that capacity. Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation are both excellent candidates for a licensing partnership, though EVE Air Mobility could potentially also qualify if they're far enough along in development. Since both Joby's S4 and Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft both use five-bladed proprotors, that creates an undeniably massive opportunity to finally reuse the specialized swashplate assembly and "starfish" beam rotor head elements featured in 2022's 42145 Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter set, if the model is large enough to use them. Even though those specialized swashplates were designed primarily with conventional helicopter models in mind, they can still be utilized on a large eVTOL model due to the complex tilting features and variable blade-pitch functions used by the aircraft's proprotors when transitioning between vertical (rotary-wing) hover and horizontal (fixed-wing) flight.

Unfortunately, however, it should be understood that such a large, official LEGO Technic aircraft set of this size and stature is highly unlikely to appear anytime soon, given that both aircraft and watercraft typically get a back seat in Technic and tend to take a lower priority for LEGO than ground vehicles when designing large Technic sets. Furthermore, neither the Joby S4 nor Archer Midnight are realistically likely to finish Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) civil-commercial passenger certification here in the United States until late 2027 and possibly early 2028. In my opinion, a large original, unlicensed eVTOL aircraft model invented by LEGO's own creativity would always supersede any pre-existing licensed version, but again I know better than to get my hopes too high for any major nonlicensed set these days. 

Alternatively, a large model of the Airbus Flightlab RACER hybrid helicopter, perhaps similar in scale to the 42145 set or larger, would also be nice to see in 2027. It uses the same 5-blade count for the main rotor as the H175 and as such, the specialized rotor-related elements created for the 42145 model could be employed again here, in the way they were actually intended to be used. The only major difference would likely be the split-tail empennage at the rear, along with the addition of the twin box-wings ending in pusher-propeller pods on either side, which could in theory spin manually or be driven by the same motor that drives the main rotor, similar to how one motor was responsible for both the main and tail rotors on the 42145 model. 

Again, though, no LEGO Technic aircraft—licensed or nonlicensed—is likely to appear as a flagship set for any year in the foreseeable future, given that most large Technic flagship models have historically all been ground vehicles. 42145 was the flagship set for 2022 only by accident because the 42146 set that was actually intended as the flagship set for that year was delayed to the next summer's release cycle (2023) due to structural integrity issues. Therefore, it is more realistic to expect that another massive ground vehicle which fits neatly into a similar category (construction, racing, etc.) as its predecessors is more likely to become a flagship set than any aircraft model or even watercraft model, at least until LEGO's design and budgeting teams feel determined and confident enough to break that cycle.

On 6/20/2026 at 11:29 PM, SNIPE said:

I hope we get a big BIG yellow mobile crane mkIII

Use some technic baseplates in yellow sideways to pack a mega compex drive+function gearbox in, maybe use dark bluish gray vespa wheels and tyres

use black XL and L linear actuators.like set 42215 did.

give each axle steering suspension and a reinforced differential 

Give it better 2 stage outriggers than set 42009

And even if we did get this, how is that gearbox going to be powered? Because from my understanding, LEGO is clearly axing the Powered UP (Power Functions 2.0) system, which means something must be coming to replace it, because people will expect electronics in major sets if LEGO is to continue charging the prices they are and still bring in high-value customers. Control+ is likely continuing to exist as its own closed-loop electronics system for small- and medium-sized, licensed ground vehicles under the Powered Up framework for the time being, provided that the 42239 Tumbler wasn't intended as last set to feature it. However, as for the rest of the Powered Up system, the writing is clearly and indisputably on the wall:

- LEGO Education Spike Prime is being discontinued on Tuesday, June 30th, 2026,

- Many of the remaining LEGO Technic Powered Up sets introduced in the 2023 and 2024 Summer Release Cycles, including Technic sets 42146 and 42160, will be leaving production on Friday, July 31st, 2026,

- The LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor App will be discontinued on Thursday, October 1st, 2026,

- LEGO Powered UP Hardware is expected to be removed from LEGO's Pick-A-Brick shop by Thursday, December 31st, 2026, and unfortunately,

- After the 2026–2027 season officially concludes in late April of 2027, FIRST LEGO League will officially disband.

Summatively, all these signs point to the fact that we are rapidly approaching a major fork in the road. The LEGO Group has not yet publicly made certain what their next move will be, but given that the 50th Anniversary, or semicentennial anniversary, of LEGO Technic will simultaneously mark the 20-year anniversary of the original LEGO Power Functions (PF 1.0) system's debut back in 2007, and LEGO just introduced the Smart Play system at CES in Las Vegas, NV, USA earlier this year, the dates and timings of all these announcements and changes are awfully suspicious, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that there is a pattern indicating how a major corporate pivot towards a new electronics and robotics hardware framework may be on the horizon.

Therefore, I am starting to become quite confident that we may see a new electronics system launch alongside next year's Technic sets, and this new system may be based on, or at least similar in functionality to, the hardware currently being introduced in LEGO Education Science & AI classroom kits. We won't know for certain until we are close enough to the official confirmation and release of the 2027 sets towards the tail end of this year, but it's a strong possibility that should be kept in mind.

Edited Sunday at 02:17 PM by HydroWorld Outlook

[Repkovsky]

Quote

because people will expect electronics in major sets if LEGO is to continue charging the prices

I would be astonished if LEGO Group was secretly preparing new electronic system, but I'm afraid this assumption does not have to be true. More pessimistic perspective is:

• Lego sets are becoming more and more 3D puzzles with instruction, designed almost solely for display and not to spark creativity and build MOCs. Sometimes motor would be nice to have in some sets, but it isn't common requirement.
• Recent years in Technic come with overwhelming wave of technically uninteresting cars, where the only possible need is simple, reusable motor assembly, with unified functions, for one-per-year motorized set - and that is exactly we got with new Technic "Move" Hub (present in 42176, 42214 and coming 42239 sets). No sets with complicated mechanics, where motor would be needed to power it up. On the other hand - no need to develop complicated control programs, completely new app profile for each new set - just new interface in the app, done.
• New system from CS&AI fits well this very application - independent pieces with wireless charging and communication, intended for this almost only one remaining theme where Lego wants you to tear down what you build and build something else (however, still with their instruction). For Technic wireless charging would be pure pain in the megablocks, since if we had each motor with its own battery, they should be all accessible for charging - this is not going to happen. What do we miss in PoweredUp which would be nice to have in new electronics system? Maybe Power Functions' simplicity and compatibility with new USB plugs, but not much more. Is it worth building new system?

For me end of cooperation with FLL and progressive phasing out PoweredUp is sign of TLG giving up electronics, apart from few exceptions: CS&AI, Trains and cookie cutter Technic cars. The only hope is that the current weakness in Technic lineup is rather result of Powered Up end-of-life and some new electronics systems will bring renewal of Technic.

[yqc]

13 minutes ago, Repkovsky said:

I would be astonished if LEGO Group was secretly preparing new electronic system

Oh, please. Not another system incompatible with all the others. Just stick with PU now, it has data and power transmission.

17 minutes ago, Repkovsky said:

The only hope is that the current weakness in Technic lineup is rather result of Powered Up end-of-life and some new electronics systems will bring renewal of Technic.

But just why? Why do we need a new system? Power Functions was not ideal, as it didn't feature data transmission. But PU imo just had everything it needs to be a full electronics system.

[msk6003]

No. CS&AI system is suck. NEVER bring it on normal technic system. Ok for educational perpose, but not good for normal set.

The only advantage is that it is convenient to use in models where the motor part needs to move, such as cranes with grippers, due to the absence of a connecting cable, but that is it. The motor torque is poor, the battery life is poor, and unlike spike motors, it only has two pin holes instead of four, which is also unappealing. Furthermore, the fact that the rear must be exposed externally for charging and connection is also a drawback.

Edited Monday at 01:47 AM by msk6003

[Oh_Hi_Mao]

Don't have any expectations if you don't want to get hurt. RIP Technic 1977-2027, long live "Racers"