Holy Grail, Dream and Regret sets/parts?

[Saberwing40k]

I saw a topic like this on a Transformers forum I frequent, and I think it might be a good thing to have here as discussion. The question is what are your grail, dream, and regret sets and/or parts. Here's what each thing means.

• Holy Grail: A set that exists, and that you want to add to your collection, but have not been able to acquire due to rarity or other reasons. Or, a set you desired for a long time, but have since acquired. For example, mint in box 8880, a particular variant of a set, etc.
• Dream set/part: This is a thing that does not exist, but you would very much want. Example: a particular replica set, a machine/vehicle that has not been made in Technic, parts that have not been produced in a particular color,etc.
• Regret: Can be any regret, be it buying a set, not buying a set, selling it, passing up on it in stores, anything.

I'll start with mine.

Holy Grail: At this stage in my life, I am more interested in parts rather than sets, although I have found that for certain parts, it is better to buy a used set then buy the parts individually. For the longest time, I wanted to get one of the RC sets that include the buggy motors, and still kicked myself for not buying one when they were on shelves. But, I persevered, and finally got the sets. One of my big things was not following up on somebody local who had them for sale, and that bugged me for so long. Then, it was some particular pneumatics parts, but I got lucky there to.

Dream Set/Part: I could fill literal pages with this stuff, as there is so much I want that does not exist. As a short answer, I'd really like gray or black pneumatic cylinders, and an 8x8 Mercedes Zetros with a crane, and full suspension. There is certainly more, but this is what I'm putting in for now. Oh, and how about a 9 axle crane set with x outriggers, at 42009 scale?

Regret: I have a few. Not getting the RC sets when new. Not following up on somebody local who had some. Not getting 8275. Not getting 8455, even though I did get 8454. I'm sure there are others, these are just the ones I remember most. I haven't ever sold any Technic set, or regretted buying one.

So, those are mine. What are yours?

[Aventador2004]

Holy grail: a mint 8880, a buggy motor, a cheap gt3 rs, and a second 42000 to keep together.

Dream: a Ferrari edition 42000, a ucs Ferrari 458 speciale ( my to do list ) , a ucs Porsche 911r with a manual gearbox, and new (cheap) buggy motor.

Regrets: a bundle 42000, 42039, and lego sport bike For $195 I did not have the money for .

[Victor Imaginator]

Hmmm, it's a fun topic)

Holy grail: 8070 supercar and 9398 crawler. I started to build something serious when both sets was already somewhat rare, and now i understand that i missing old style wheel hubs, long hard shocks and V2 receivers. Getting these sets will push my building skills further like nothing other. And just buying parts is far away from opening sealed box.

Dream: TLG released various new parts each year, so i dreaming about future. Nothing special)

Regrets: When i started building LEGO againg - green 42008 was on the shelves. I just didn't want it so much. And now i regret, that i don't have it. I miss that green parts.

[1974]

6 hours ago, Saberwing40k said:

.. as there is so much I want that does not exist. As a short answer, I'd really like gray or black pneumatic cylinders ..

But they do

[TechnicRCRacer]

My turn!

Holy Grail - 8448 I need one of these so bad!

Dream - another buggy motor or smaller suspension

Regrets - I still don't have a Claas :(

[JJ2]

Holy Grail - 42055 BWE set, I want it just for the parts

Dream - More durable lego electronic parts and better dive chain parts.

Regrets - not buying the BWE when it was on super sale on amazon

[Alex Ilea]

Holy Grail(s) : Supersonic RC and 41999 (sealed in mint condition box)

Dream: Technic ferrary and a better servo and battery suply.

Regrets: PASSED A 180€ PORSCHE (42056 i think)

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Holy Grail: 41999 & 8258. I'm not so keen on 8258 A model because I already have 42043 and I consider 42043 a vastly superior model, but I'm really fond of 8258 B model. The pickup truck has an accurate look and very well covered with panels, even by today's standard.

Dream: Still waiting for a PF forklift, a PF or Pneumatics Garbage Dump Truck, a properly paneled reach stacker, a 42009 with a better appearance. Also looking for a bucket chain excavator, a dragline excavator, and a power front shovel excavator.

Regret: Nothing yet.

Edited May 4, 2017 by nguyengiangoc

[syclone]

Holy Grail: 8287 back when it was in the shops ( included buggy motor) , outdoor challenger 8675 , and my belowed Nitro Menace ( it was my dream since it came out)
Dream: 8043, 9398 ,42999, 8258, 8366, and most of the 90's and 00's sets
Regret: NXT 2.0 . modified because the speaker broke, I'm considering selling it someday

[Tommy Styrvoky]

I still am thinking about buggy motors, would two of them be worth the expensive value of $90, as the more I think about them, the more I want them... Maybe this summer, I am on the fence about them. Though I think they would be fun to have.

Dreams: more options for gears, clutch gears and differentials (ex planetary gearing). Also having most parts available from PAB online would help with the part shortages that we get, or the outrageous prices for parts on BL.

 

Regrets: not getting expensive sets, such as the Unimog GT3 RS, BWE, and some of UCS SW sets.I am too cheap on buying sets, and just put my money into BL orders.

[Blakbird]

I did most of my collecting long ago before Bricklink so I had to use eBay.  At the time the used LEGO set market was not so big or well known, so many sets were very hard to find.  My holy grail was 8862.  It took me years to find a complete copy of this set even used.  Of course, now it is easy to buy.  Another difficult find was the 8858 engines set.  It is still rare and expensive today.

Ever since about 2000 I have been buying all the sets new so I haven't missed anything in Technic or Star Wars UCS.  I do wish I had bought the Grand Carousel though.

I remember when TLG was clearing out 8288 cranes for $50.  I bought two of them just so I could also build the alternate model, but now I wish I had bought 20.  Same with 8258.  I bought 5 of them when they were clearing them out for $75, but I sold them immediately for retail.  I thought I was doing really well, but if I had held them for a couple of years I would have made a fortune.

[Leonardo da Bricki]

Only recently a Technic fan, I missed a ton of sets... I wish I could get a Unimog, or 9398 or 41999 MISB. And 8475.

A lot more parts available from PAB, and when one is out of stock, faster restocking of said part.

Not buying a 9398 when it was on clearance for $75.

[Andy D]

Holy Grail, Dream and Regret all the same...

8258 Crane Truck...

Want another to replace both copies I sold.

Regret selling both copies of my 8258... Bummer!

But I will not pay $400 plus to replace.

Andy D

Edited May 4, 2017 by Andy D

[Saberwing40k]

11 hours ago, 1974 said:

But they do

Curse you! But, who'd you have to bribe to get those? I mean having pneumatics parts, in black or gray, in official sets, and not super rare prototypes.

[bonox]

my holy grail is actually only one part - the orignal instructions for the 858 Engines set Blakbird mentioned above. The parts are trivial to accumulate and the sets I have built vary between chromed and plain taps (that hold the ignition leads). Occassionally the 'sets' come up for sale but they invariably have photocopied instructions.

 

Dream - maybe the 41999, but I have a suspicion that with the plethora of recent parts releases in dark blue, including panels, that this model will become pretty easy to build out of original colour parts in the not too distant future without having to pay outlandish sums for what is essentially a box and a 5 digit numbered tile.

 

Regrets - perhaps one of the sadest things about being old with disposable income to spend on your hobby is that your only real limitation becomes supply. The money and space are much less of an issue than when you're young, living in an apartment, juggling career, family and so on. Perhaps that's why my major grail is something pretty simple (like searching for an out of print book really) but at the same time complicated enough  to provide a lingering challenge.

Edited May 4, 2017 by bonox

[allanp]

Holy Grail? Hmmmm, I pretty much own all my holy grail Technic sets in excellent boxed condition (opened, built and put back of course, they are meant to be built after all!), so probably all of the modular buildings. I don't own any (yet) as I don't see much point in getting just one as I think they don't look that great on their own. But the whole collection of them? That might be something worth considering, but used prices of the discontinued ones are ridiculous. There are also some model teams sets that interest me. And although I am not a Lego starwars fan, the UCS millennium falcon is....well.....it's the UCS millennium falcon!

Dream? I have so many wants, but I also would like more pneumatics in different colours as real life hydraulis are usually coloured the same as whatever it is they are attached to. Also stronger diffs, CV joints and hubs based off the larger 8880 ones to allow greater torque and steering angles but with much less friction, clutch gears in many sizes for more authentic, intuative and efficient and elegant gearboxes where gear>selector ring>gear fit in a 3M gap. So on the top shaft it would be gear>selector ring>gear>gear>selector ring>gear>gear>selector ring>gear totaling 6 speeds and 9 studs in length, wheel/hub combination with inbuilt planetary gear reduction and the ability to be driven/steered with the steering pivot within the wheel, 5x7 and 5x11 frames in other colours, leaf springs, truck wheels/tyres that have more accurate dimentions (larger in diameter and thinner, with deep hubs that extend past the wall of the tire so that steering pivots can be placed well within the wheel and so that two can be directly pinned back to back without the tires even touching, like real ones basically), ungeared PF motors with a separate planetary gear reduction unit (basically, take the current L motor and separate the motor and internal gearing into two separate modules). This way we can choose to make our own gearing down or we can use their prebuilt one. In fact you could stack them and use a few of them if you are really lazy. You can also place that gearing down anywhere in the drive train you wish, such as after a clutch gear, or you can use a belt drive. It's just much more versatile. As for sets, a pneumatic RC forklift with reeeeeeeeeeally long pneumatics and new RC compatible valves, a landrover with the the above mentioned gearbox parts, cv joints, leaf springs, new PF buggy motor and stronger diffs making up a realistic drive train layout (non of this motors mounted on the axles nonsense!) that has over 3000 parts, weighs as much as the BWE and yet can crawl over obstacles no problem, helicopter with full cyclic/collective control on the main rotor and pitch control for the tail rotor using new swash plate parts to achieve it in an authentic and elegant way (yes we have had many helicopters, yet not one that works like a real one does).

Regrets? Not stocking up on a few 8455 sets when they were £70! 

Edited May 5, 2017 by allanp

[Erik Leppen]

I don't think I have a holy grail set. I'm not much of a set collector. Yes, maybe I should have bought 42009, or 42043. Or 41999. Back in the day, I wanted 8446 for a long time, but the studded era has passed anyway.

As for dream sets. I think we are spoiled alreasy, and I don't buy most sets. But what would be cool is an unusually-colored set that actually has lots of parts in that color. Like the Porsche, but less ridiculously overpriced... The cargo plane 42025 was a perfect example of a set that brought us a lot of white parts in an age when white was rarer than it is today.

As for dream parts. I understand color-coding for small parts like pins, but what I really don't get is how large parts are color-coded. My biggest wish as for parts is that the 5x7 and 5x11 frames come in black; and the 3x5 dog bone beam as well. Also, I think it would be nice to have a 6.5 L spring with a strength somewhere between the gray and the yellow one. Often, the grays are too soft and the yellows are too hard. The other part wish is more complete ranges of parts in the existing colors. Orange is being filled up pretty well now, but new colors like bright green or azure are really hard to use right now.

Regrets? Deleting my old photos of things I built when I was young. I had dozens of old photos of really bad MOCs (including a whole range of battlebots), but I still regret not having them anymore. Forever gone...

Edited May 6, 2017 by Erik Leppen

[Markurius]

Recently (2 years back) got into LEGO again. Holy grail set is 41999. Have been for sale for 350euro, but it was an auction and I didn´t completely trust the seller so no buy... 

I like tractors and the Unimog and I wish there was a proper trailer (not as bleak as that in 8063), but with pneumatic or LA:s.

Regrets? No one so far, have bought every new technic-set since i started again and have over 100 000 parts.

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

Holy grail: 42053, 42054, and 42055(for the parts) and because they are all exemplary sets

Dream: Pneumatics in a super cheap, 300-piece set. LOTS of small actuators

Regrets: Not having anything from the holy grail 

[J_C]

HG: floating Technic ship, diving Technic Submarine, 

dream: advanced combine harvestor, technic train

regret: not buying 8043

[Interceptor]

Holy grail is 8858 Auto Engines set. As Balkbird mentioned this set is very rare and expensive and one who has it in mint boxed condition should consider him/herself very lucky.

Dream set would be European style garbage truck, cement mixer, asphalting machine, well-driller truck...

Regret not buying 41999 at MSRP and buying 8285 at MSRP.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Interceptor

[lcvisser]

This is so interesting to think about. My "dark ages" were not that long, but I missed the entire phase of the first (?) generation panels, like the 8455 @Erik Leppen mentions (never knew of that set actually). My "grey ages" (where I was trying to follow the LEGO world again, but not really buying or building) were during university, and after graduation I had a proper job with an income and didn't think so much in terms of "holy grails" anymore.

My childhood holy grail was probably 8880 Super Car, which I managed to buy from my saved up pocket money just before it went out of the regular sales. I also recall wanting 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig desperately, but I don't recall how I finally got it. Maybe for Christmas or birthday... Both were equally awesome. The 5571 Black Cat (Model Team) came out when I was about to attend high school. It was expensive and I didn't get it. In later years, after the "dark ages" I looked for it many years and only recently I manage to acquire it for a price that I though reasonable.

My dream set would be something like 5571 in terms of styling, yet with the technical functionality of e.g. 42043 MB Arocs. The Arocs looks good, but it just doesn't feel like "proper" LEGO to me... Andrea Grazi did it, and also @2LegoOrNot2Lego... builds in that mindset, so it's possible  I'm still contemplating whether to build Grazi's towtruck or one of Ingmar's trucks or try something myself.

Regrets? Not so much. I kind of regret buying 8479 Barcode Truck, since I've never been able to find a use for the scanner, and the new style 9v motor broke twice. Also buying 42029 Customised Pickup and 42023 Construction Crew was probably not the best decision ever, although it gave me a lot of useful "studless" parts that I was severely lacking after my "dark ages".

[Andy D]

This thread got me to thinking more about the 8258 Crane Truck, again (still?)

Anyway I looked on my BaseBrick account and I find I am missing fewer than 50 pieces of several parts... So I am going to build it, I will BL the mecessary parts and build. I have a couple of parts (one or two beams and two panels) in the wrong color, but substituting black for red will be OK as the main thing I like about the Crane Truck is the functions and the color will not affect the functions.

So my LEGO "grail, dream, regret" will be satisfied!

Thanks for this thread, it caused me to rethink my 8258!

Andy D

[Cwetqo]

• Holy Grail: I managed to buy pretty much all sets which I wanted, but I would still consider MISB 8448 my holy grail
• Dream set/part: Dream set would be 42056 in coumflage paint, like the one seen on toy fair. Fully RC Backoe would also rock and if I look at just parts, S-motor would come really handy.
• Regret: I regret selling my silver racer and not getting 1:8 Ferrari F1 racer

[zux]

Holy Grail: Managed to get most of the sets I really wanted since getting out of dark age. However still missing 8466 and both sets with micromotors - 8480 with 8082. Last two are hard to find in good condition as many parts are simply destroyed (yellowing, cracked cables, jammed motors) by time. I also got interested in some other, non-Technic sets, so old modulars, Maersk train and 5571 Model Team would be a great addition.

Dream set/part: Proper supercar with @allanp's list of must-have's. From part point of view I'd love to have full selection of parts in basic colours. And of-course proper LEGO RC system!

Regret: There's nothing I could regret I think. Most of the sets and parts other members have listed in HG section are already purchased.