What's a good Technic starter set in 2020?

[Flak Maniak]

I have a cousin who's 12, and is looking to get into Technic. Not being a Technic expert myself, I don't know which sets would be good. Whatever it is, it should have a lot of parts, with a focus on lots of functional parts, such that you can build various mechanisms with it. (Yes, that's the point of Technic, you'll say.) A proper "add lots of Technic to your collection" set. Not something really small; I'm assuming it has to be a pretty big set. (Perhaps not as big as that Liebherr excavator, but.)

Is "wait for the new Mindstorms" a good answer? Surely it has to be in the discussion, expensive though Mindstorms is.

Hmm. Maybe I've got to box up some of the Technic etc. parts of my childhood and ship them down there... That might be an important part of the process.

[TechnicRCRacer]

Personally I would recommend 42096 Porsche 911 RSR, it may not be the most advanced set but IMO it’s a great parts pack. Comes with wheels, suspension, and some rarer elements.

[Musikfreak]

I think 42082 might be a good option. It can be bought with a significant discount and has lots of parts and functions from different technical areas (gearbox, motor, differential etc.). It is quite big and challenging for a first introduction to technic but since you specifically asked for a bigger set it should fit. 

[Frequenzberater]

I second that. 42082 is a great Technic Set. 

[Ric079]

42098 is also worth a look - lots of parts and a string of alternative builds on Rebrickable or 42108 if into cranes etc.

[CrankyCraig]

As stated above, 42082 is a technically impressive and huge set.

Though quite different, I also really like 42099 for the RC fun it offers, but if re-building is a greater priority then there isn't as much potential with it's limited parts. 

...And then there's the Lambourghini 42115 

 

Lots of good options out there. 

[anyUser]

7 hours ago, Flak Maniak said:

I have a cousin who's 12, and is looking to get into Technic.

I would like to mention 42108 Mobile Crane: It is less big than 42082 which might be a better introduction for a beginner. Also, as many reviews point out, it is not a perfect model. I think that this may motivate to disassemble and build something different from it. There are quite a few C-models on Rebrickable.

You could augment this with 42097 Compact Crawler Crane which I consider as instructive model. It features same main colour as the former crane.

[JLiu15]

I’d say the 42108 is a good starter set - it’s got plenty of functions and not too expensive.

When I started out building LEGO Technic in 2013 my first few decently sized sets were 9394, 42006, and 9398, giving me plenty of options for building and motorizations. The Mindstorms EV3 set came out that fall and I got it too, but honestly I was able to get much more out of those Technic sets I got than the ~600 pieces in the EV3 set. That might give you an idea on whether it’s worth it to wait for the new Mindstorms set or not.

[MAB]

I'm not going to go for a set, but a book like "The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builders Guide". Of course you will need a set or bricklink for the parts but there are some clever techniques in there that you can borrow for MOCs if they want to play about with technic beyond the sets.

[Flak Maniak]

Hmm yes, the builders' guide does sound good. I just sent that one over myself, and relayed your set recommendations to my cousin's family.

[Parazels]

Claas 42054 was the very first set that came to my mind once I had read your question.

Edited June 26, 2020 by Parazels

[Erik Leppen]

Does he already have some sets? If not, I'm not sure going with 42082 right away would be good. I mean, it's (almost) the largest set out there. When I got into Technic as a kid, it took a while before I got to the large sets (I was below 12 though).

The Ducati motorbike 42107 may seem interesting, with its gearbox, steering, drive and suspension. :)

[Bartybum]

I'd argue that 42094's a good starter set if you can find it secondhand for cheapish

[howitzer]

I'm repeating what others said, but 42082 it should be for its low price relative to the huge size and parts count and nice functions. Maybe throw in couple of smaller sets to get parts like wheels and stuff. 42096 is indeed good if you want nice parts pack with good set of suspension parts. 42095 includes some tracks and electronics for a great price. 

[nerdsforprez]

These are all great recommendations.  I would vote for 42108 though.  42082 seems a bit extreme for someone with no experience with Technic before.  Also, if you want something big and can afford it (which, if you go with 42082 you will be spending a pretty penny) perhaps I would recommend two 42108 (which would probably be still less than 42082 even given it is not new anymore).  That way your cousin can build the official set but also build some of the alternative sets already pointed out by others.  There are so many.  IMO, at least what has been put out by the community in terms of alternative sets, this seems to be one of the best ever.  If I were 12, I certainly would prefer multiple mid-size cool models to one huge model. 

Also, if you really wanted to be extreme, I would get 2 42108 sets and one 42097.  Prices are already going down for this set and I think you could get all three of these for almost the same price of one 42082.  This would actually give you more unique pieces (the large, several thousand piece sets have TONS of redundancy in PINS, PINS, PINS), a consistent color scheme for construction vehicles, gear racks for added functional mechanisms, and tracks.... so he could build both wheeled and tracked vehicles.  With all the alternative sets out there plus tracks... I think the possibilities are endless with these three sets. 

[howitzer]

12 minutes ago, nerdsforprez said:

These are all great recommendations.  I would vote for 42108 though.  42082 seems a bit extreme for someone with no experience with Technic before.  Also, if you want something big and can afford it (which, if you go with 42082 you will be spending a pretty penny) perhaps I would recommend two 42108 (which would probably be still less than 42082 even given it is not new anymore).  That way your cousin can build the official set but also build some of the alternative sets already pointed out by others.  There are so many.  IMO, at least what has been put out by the community in terms of alternative sets, this seems to be one of the best ever.  If I were 12, I certainly would prefer multiple mid-size cool models to one huge model. 

Also, if you really wanted to be extreme, I would get 2 42108 sets and one 42097.  Prices are already going down for this set and I think you could get all three of these for almost the same price of one 42082.  This would actually give you more unique pieces (the large, several thousand piece sets have TONS of redundancy in PINS, PINS, PINS), a consistent color scheme for construction vehicles, gear racks for added functional mechanisms, and tracks.... so he could build both wheeled and tracked vehicles.  With all the alternative sets out there plus tracks... I think the possibilities are endless with these three sets. 

Dunno about this... 42082 costs a bit over 190€ while two 42108 + one 42097 would cost (where I live) right now about 260€ so unless those prices actually come down significantly, 42082 is a clear winner even accounting for pins (and it has electronics too). 42082 has 4056 parts of which 1009 are black and blue friction pins total (plus several hundreds of other kinds of pins). The other sets would have 3504 parts total, of which 850 would be black and blue friction pins. So discounting these pins, you'd get 3047 parts with 42082 for less than 200€ and with the other set combo you'd get 2654 parts for 260€. I'd say 42082 is a clear winner here, in terms of parts per euro. I didn't check, but I'd also bet that 42082 has significantly more different kinds of parts, although the selection in the other sets is by no means bad.

[nerdsforprez]

1 hour ago, howitzer said:

Dunno about this... 42082 costs a bit over 190€ while two 42108 + one 42097 would cost (where I live) right now about 260€ so unless those prices actually come down significantly, 42082 is a clear winner even accounting for pins (and it has electronics too). 42082 has 4056 parts of which 1009 are black and blue friction pins total (plus several hundreds of other kinds of pins). The other sets would have 3504 parts total, of which 850 would be black and blue friction pins. So discounting these pins, you'd get 3047 parts with 42082 for less than 200€ and with the other set combo you'd get 2654 parts for 260€. I'd say 42082 is a clear winner here, in terms of parts per euro. I didn't check, but I'd also bet that 42082 has significantly more different kinds of parts, although the selection in the other sets is by no means bad.

Well, that was certainly a much better planned analysis than my response.  42082 certainly is a great set and I think either options would really help out the OP. 

That being said, here are a few things to think about.  I need to pay better attention to euro prices, especially since most users on this site use this as their primary currency.  But as a stereotypic American, I guess I only thought of prices in US dollars .  For US dollars, 42108 is 100 bucks.  42097 is selling for 85$ on Amazon, but I am sure there are better deals out there.  That brings us to 285$.  42082 is still in production it looks like, at least on the US Lego site, and 299 is its price.  I did a quick search and at least here in the US, 250$ is about as low as I could find..... and not sure about the reputation of the sellers.  Admittedly, I am not much of a bargain hunter for Lego, so perhaps there are others who can find better prices.  But I get skittish about buying something overseas from some unknown company.  Either way, if we meet somewhere in the middle we get 275 bucks.  275 versus 285.  difference? Yup.  but not sure it is all that huge.  At least this is my thinking why I posted what I did.  

As for unique pieces in the sets, I like to think of sets this way.  Take total piece count and divide by unique lots.  Generally speaking (and I have written several threads on this and looked at data sets as large as 100 sets) you will find that larger sets have more pieces per lot.  I look at it as less uniqueness ( at least in terms of difference pieces) and can be viewed as less variety in a set.  Without droning on... it makes sense because huge sets need redundancy for structure... etc.  Its pretty much a law of nature.... large entities have lots of redundancy (this has been shown in biological systems, engineering, political systems, etc).  But... onto the sets. 

Lets look at the values.  42097 is 920 parts and has 103 unique lots = 8.93 pieces per lot.  42108 has 1292 pieces and 144 lots so that equals 8.97 pieces per lot.  Average the two and you pretty much get 9 pieces a lot (8.95). For 42082 you get 4056 pieces, but only 263 lots.   4056 divided by 263 lots gives you fifteen and a half pieces per lot. Thats alot of redundancy!!  6 and a half more pieces FOR EVERY SINGLE LOT than the comparison of 42097 and 42108.  As you can see, you have to consider much more than just pins here.  Also, 42082 was pretty much famous (or infamous) for suspicion of stat-padding.  Adding pieces it did not need just to reach the 4000 piece mark.  I mean, just for the hubs there is what 10 pieces... non-technic? Times that by 4 and you have 40 pieces right there that really aren't even technic.  Thats just in the hubs!  It is pretty much well known (or at least heavily suspected) that 42042 engaged in some heavy stat-padding, even in the realm of non-technic pieces.

But.... you got me on the electronics.  42082 offering battery pack and a motor could be fun and educational for the newbie.  Also the above example is not entirely honest   I mean, the numbers are but the comparison assumes that the 103 lots and 144 lots in 42097 and 108 respectively are totally unique and do not overlap.  We both know this is likely NOT the case.  I am not going to do the work of comparing the two inventories.... but honestly, I'll bet the figure of 9 pieces a lot is underestimating the real value if we add the two sets together and then compare against 42082.  Still, something to think about. 

[howitzer]

5 minutes ago, nerdsforprez said:

Well, that was certainly a much better planned analysis than my response.  42082 certainly is a great set and I think either options would really help out the OP. 

That being said, here are a few things to think about.  I need to pay better attention to euro prices, especially since most users on this site use this as their primary currency.  But as a stereotypic American, I guess I only thought of prices in US dollars .  For US dollars, 42108 is 100 bucks.  42097 is selling for 85$ on Amazon, but I am sure there are better deals out there.  That brings us to 285$.  42082 is still in production it looks like, at least on the US Lego site, and 299 is its price.  I did a quick search and at least here in the US, 250$ is about as low as I could find..... and not sure about the reputation of the sellers.  Admittedly, I am not much of a bargain hunter for Lego, so perhaps there are others who can find better prices.  But I get skittish about buying something overseas from some unknown company.  Either way, if we meet somewhere in the middle we get 275 bucks.  275 versus 285.  difference? Yup.  but not sure it is all that huge.  At least this is my thinking why I posted what I did.  

As for unique pieces in the sets, I like to think of sets this way.  Take total piece count and divide by unique lots.  Generally speaking (and I have written several threads on this and looked at data sets as large as 100 sets) you will find that larger sets have more pieces per lot.  I look at it as less uniqueness ( at least in terms of difference pieces) and can be viewed as less variety in a set.  Without droning on... it makes sense because huge sets need redundancy for structure... etc.  Its pretty much a law of nature.... large entities have lots of redundancy (this has been shown in biological systems, engineering, political systems, etc).  But... onto the sets. 

Lets look at the values.  42097 is 920 parts and has 103 unique lots = 8.93 pieces per lot.  42108 has 1292 pieces and 144 lots so that equals 8.97 pieces per lot.  Average the two and you pretty much get 9 pieces a lot (8.95). For 42082 you get 4056 pieces, but only 263 lots.   4056 divided by 263 lots gives you fifteen and a half pieces per lot. Thats alot of redundancy!!  6 and a half more pieces FOR EVERY SINGLE LOT than the comparison of 42097 and 42108.  As you can see, you have to consider much more than just pins here.  Also, 42082 was pretty much famous (or infamous) for suspicion of stat-padding.  Adding pieces it did not need just to reach the 4000 piece mark.  I mean, just for the hubs there is what 10 pieces... non-technic? Times that by 4 and you have 40 pieces right there that really aren't even technic.  Thats just in the hubs!  It is pretty much well known (or at least heavily suspected) that 42042 engaged in some heavy stat-padding, even in the realm of non-technic pieces.

But.... you got me on the electronics.  42082 offering battery pack and a motor could be fun and educational for the newbie.  Also the above example is not entirely honest   I mean, the numbers are but the comparison assumes that the 103 lots and 144 lots in 42097 and 108 respectively are totally unique and do not overlap.  We both know this is likely NOT the case.  I am not going to do the work of comparing the two inventories.... but honestly, I'll bet the figure of 9 pieces a lot is underestimating the real value if we add the two sets together and then compare against 42082.  Still, something to think about. 

My prices are probably not representative, I only looked at the cheapest local retailer, which for some reason seems to have many Lego sets for cheaper than anywhere else.

It's very true that 42082 had a lot of parts that were not exactly necessary, but still I like to think that this being Lego, those parts are always as useful as any part is, and they don't seem to be adding much to the cost of the set. And yeah, those hubcaps were a bit excessive 

As for the parts per lot... I don't think more parts per lot translates into redundancy except for pins and such, because there comes a time for every builder that they find that they don't have enough parts for whatever they were thinking about building. For example neither of the newer sets contain many L-shaped liftarms (2x4 or 3x5) while RTC has dozens of them in various colours. This is especially true if you're trying to build within a certain colour scheme. Of course RTC is missing some very useful parts too (there's only one 48989 for example) but then, we're not trying to gather a complete inventory for every conceivable Technic contraption here but only helping to get someone started.

I think 42082 is also functionally much more interesting with it's complex gearbox and many functions, while both of the other sets give me a feeling of pretty sloppy design job, they don't even have any sort of gearbox so the buyer would miss one core concept of Technic.

[2GodBDGlory]

I would say the 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245. It was my first Technic set, and it was great! Great value for the money, and a little of everything. Pneumatics, a linear actuator, transmission driving rings, shocks, turntables, gears, lots of panels, a multi-purpose motor, lots of multi-purpose tires, etc. The main downside is that it is not available new, and has increased in price a little on Bricklink.

[Bartybum]

I’d go with what Prez said. A 42108 and a 42097 will give you heaps of useful structural pieces, as well as multiple gears, turntables, linear actuators, wheels and treads, all of which will be endlessly helpful for a novice builder. While one 42082 has electronics, its large wheels restrict MOCs to larger scales which’ll be difficult for a novice. In any case, you can buy power functions separately on BrickLink. If you want him to MOC with it as a novice, don’t get him a 42082 yet. With a 42108 and 42097 he’ll be able to make literally anything he wants

Edited June 28, 2020 by Bartybum

[howitzer]

1 hour ago, Bartybum said:

I’d go with what Prez said. A 42108 and a 42097 will give you heaps of useful structural pieces, as well as multiple gears, turntables, linear actuators, wheels and treads, all of which will be endlessly helpful for a novice builder. While one 42082 has electronics, its large wheels restrict MOCs to larger scales which’ll be difficult for a novice. In any case, you can buy power functions separately on BrickLink. If you want him to MOC with it as a novice, don’t get him a 42082 yet. With a 42108 and 42097 he’ll be able to make literally anything he wants

You can also buy smaller wheels separately on BL.

Another option might be 42098, it has wheels in two very practical sizes and tons of liftarms and other structural parts with enough gears to get one started, though no gearbox or electronics.

[Maaboo the Witch]

Don't forget the smaller stuff! See if you can get 42004 Mini Backhoe Loader for a good price. It's a great example of how to squeeze tons of functions into a tiny package.