2027 - Technic 50 year anniversary

[Repkovsky]

4 hours ago, msk6003 said:

Although it has little problem like don't have physical controller and high price but standardise hardware of PU/C+ system is already perfect. Main problem of PU/C+ is software.

From Spike to C+, all the software in this system operates independently. It is the default for features supported in one software to not be supported elsewhere, some software cannot be shared, and as of this month, even the Robot Inventor software, which previously supported the above, is completely unavailable for download.

Fortunately not yet, we have a few more months and backup - see below

 

[Plumber]

11 hours ago, msk6003 said:

Although it has little problem like don't have physical controller and high price but standardise hardware of PU/C+ system is already perfect. Main problem of PU/C+ is software.

From Spike to C+, all the software in this system operates independently. It is the default for features supported in one software to not be supported elsewhere, some software cannot be shared, and as of this month, even the Robot Inventor software, which previously supported the above, is completely unavailable for download.

Hardware - software - doesn't really matter which bit is incompatible, the point is it was all made/marketed to look the same with the same (new) connector but motor/hub combinations were a minefield of incompatibility, control+was (albeit subtle difference) not the same as PU  and my limited perception of the proliferation of different incompatible softwares in the 'robotics' sets was mind boggling, all of which was seemingly undocumented for years by Lego or hidden behind the high paywall of the Education theme , I would not agree that situation was anything close to perfect!

I have no skin in the game regards complex control, not my area of interest ( in spite of, or maybe because of,   a career in process control for heavy industry), I have plenty of 9v and PF hardware, am quite happy to buy more from third parties and am quite able to design and fabricate dumb motor packages in any form I might want, just makes me giggle how Lego thought they were going to keep up half a dozen different control programming environments in the crazy world of smart phones and tablets etc without it becoming all consuming but a bit sad for those who do enjoy the 'robotics' type product because PU hardware seems to be gone and the software for the earlier systems seems to be being withdrawn (not just unsupported) and I guess PU apps will follow in medium term

I do get that the real hardcore users will do there own thing but then one has to ask why bother with the lego aspect at all?

Since this is all getting somewhat off topic I'm gonna shut up now and wait to see what '27 brings us 

[HydroWorld Outlook]

On 7/4/2026 at 4:00 PM, Plumber said:

Since this is all getting somewhat off topic I'm gonna shut up now and wait to see what '27 brings us 

A new LEGO electronics system is indeed on topic in the sense that it's directly related to Technic's 50th Anniversary, which is simultaneously also the 20th anniversary of the original LEGO Power Functions system that debuted in 2007. But yes, you are correct that I opened quite a can-full of worms by talking about that, so perhaps that's enough about that particular aspect of the subject for now. Pushing that specific part of this conversation aside, before I mentioned the electronics system, I had posted about flagship sets and the possibility of an unconventional nonlicensed vehicle being released as the flagship for 2027. Unfortunately, this is unlikely due to the fact that essentially all past flagship sets since the 2018 Rough Terrain Crane (set 42082) have been realistic and licensed with very minimal exceptions, and not once have we ever received non-land vehicles as a flagship set ever since the 21st century began back in 2000. The only known exception to this pattern, as I previously pointed out, is the 42145 Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter set released back in 2022, which was only a flagship set by accident since the 42146 Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000—originally destined to become the 2022 flagship model—was postponed into the 2023 Summer Wave set release cycle.

Throughout the 1980s and much of the 1990s, nonlicensed "oddball" futuristic vehicles—partially resembling real-world vehicles but not trying to look exactly like them—were the baseline standard throughout the LEGO Technic theme. There was an entire futuristic world LEGO built around these sets, as chronicled in the CD-ROM games that LEGO released back then in various Technic sets. And don't get me wrong about the Technic figures—those were amazing, and it's incredibly sad how LEGO's financial troubles in the early 2000s forced them to cut those loose. Keep in mind that I'm in Gen Z and wasn't born until the late mid-2000s (I'm 20 years old), so most of this stuff was already long gone well before I was born into this world, and yet when I compare those older sets against what we get today, I honestly start to wish I could travel back in time and experience them myself. Although I understand that bringing back the Technic figure is probably impossible for LEGO at this time—even though that would be another fantastic way to celebrate the theme's semicentennial anniversary—I know it is well within reach of the company to develop and release some more imaginative, nonlicensed Technic sets like the ones we got back then. 2024's Technic Space sets (set numbers 42178, 42179, 42180, and 42181), along with the 42211 Lunar Outpost Space Rover set that succeeded them shortly afterwards in 2025 (even though that last set was technically licensed), all very successfully proved that this is possible, but it would be nice to see such unusual and unique concepts get more of a proper spotlight to celebrate the theme's 50th anniversary in 2027, even if the continued coexistence and dominance of repetitive licensed car and construction vehicle sets is realistically nonnegotiable and necessary as a consequence of LEGO's fiduciary prioritization obligations.

At the very least, a large, major nonlicensed flagship set—even if it ends up being secondary to an even larger licensed flagship—is what I am ultimately hoping for in 2027, and most importantly, that flagship model should not be a conventional ground vehicle, or at least not a traditional car, truck, or construction vehicle. I would like to see LEGO get creative with Technic elements and develop something we've truly never seen before, whether that's an aircraft, a watercraft, a hovercraft, a spacecraft, an amphibious vehicle, a wing-in-ground-effect vehicle, or some interesting combination of some, many, or all of these that is packed with interesting functions and complex building techniques. I'm trying my own hand at this right now with a very large Technic vehicle I am currently building, which I am hoping to post to this forum sometime in the Spring of 2027 (provided that I can secure the remaining funds and parts that I need to finish it). However, while MOCs tend to do very well with filling in the gaps that the official LEGO design team doesn't address (or can't address, as is the case for military vehicles), one of LEGO's core objectives is to inspire the general public with original ideas and concepts, not just replicate existing ones. Unfortunately, it is true that the toy market has evolved significantly since the end of the 20th century to strongly favor preexisting, consolidated megafranchises and intellectual property (IP) licensing over original concepts, but I respectfully wish LEGO would apply as much creative energy as they do for their in-house, original system-based themes into at least a reasonably-fair number of Technic sets per year, hopefully starting next year with the theme's semicentennial anniversary.

I understand that we shouldn't get our hopes up for 2027, and low expectations usually tend to come out on top in the end, but I know LEGO can do a lot better than what they've been giving us over the last few years, with the obvious exception of those four Technic Space sets released back in 2024, which collectively and perfectly demonstrated exactly that. We need to see more of the creative, nonlicensed original sets like the four we saw in 2024 and then the additional one in 2025—unique, fascinating, and fresh concepts that aren't always trying to replicate or imitate any particular real-world thing. Standard Diecast-model toymakers and other such manufacturers can make licensed replicas far better and more efficiently at a far lower price point than LEGO can—and The LEGO Group absolutely must know that, by focusing primarily on the visual looks of Technic sets and their accuracy to real-world counterparts, they are actively fighting a losing battle. The only real advantage of Technic scale models over diecast ones is functionality—gearboxes, transmissions, action features, and engineering—that diecast models can't or don't incorporate. While I admire and respect the effort LEGO has made to include more functions in licensed scale model sets like those in their 1:8-scale supercar lineup, as they did recently with the 42232 Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear Megacar, I wish they would transfer some of that same level of effort to original, nonlicensed sets as well. Like system bricks, Technic elements are a creative medium, not just a collector's material. Nonlicensed Technic sets may not necessarily attract ultra-high-value collectors or businesses and therefore must take a back seat to licensed models, but their creative value to the wider community is just as important and thus should be recognized. 2027 is LEGO's golden opportunity—and probably the best they will ever have in a while—to achieve this. And so I am cautiously crossing my fingers that they don't blow it this time.

Edited Friday at 09:19 PM by HydroWorld Outlook