[SET] Creator 31146 or the Resurrection of 5590 Whirl and Wheel Super Truck

[pow]

Just as I'm looking at TLG's new sets for 2024, didn't I actually stumble across a "Mini Model Team Truck with Heli"? 5590 sends its regards! Some of you will get flashbacks right away. And yes, it's too small for Model Team, but it's no coincidence that TLG is clearly referring to an old set here?!
What do you think, is this TLG's careful attempt to bring Model Team back?

31146 "Flatbed Truck with Helicopter" 270 pieces, 19,99USD/EUR, 17,99 GBP, Release: 2024-01

P.S.: Ideas are starting to pop up: How about a "scale down and model-teamify" contest, for example? In which, as the name suggests, we not only scale down, but also build Model Team versions from old Technic sets.

What do you think? Should we buy this set, to show TLG that there is a market for those sets?  I'm super interested to hear your opinions!

Edited December 11, 2023 by pow
title changed a bit

[icm]

Model Team is Creator Expert/Icons vehicles, and Creator Expert/Icons vehicles are Model Team. Full stop. The only function that Model Team ever had was steering. Now that steering comes standard in Creator Expert/Icons vehicles, there is no reason to pine after Model Team as being something different and better.

[pow]

5 hours ago, icm said:

The only function that Model Team ever had was steering.

That is a very good point!

5 hours ago, icm said:

Model Team as being something different and better.

,,,this not

I certainly don't want to open up this debate with my contribution and will adapt my title so that it is about the spirit of Model Team. And only in relation to this set.
My point is that TLG often offers different versions in different sizes of the same "object". ...If the Technic bulldozer sells well, there will almost certainly be a larger version after a while. And when that is done, there will be a mini version. And a system version, of course. And that's totally okay!
If we assume that this is how TLG works, doesn't that give us customers an opportunity?
a) to vote with our wallets or
b) to let TLG know by e-mail or forum thread that the number of parts should be quadrupled? I bet a few people from Billund visit here occasionally!

...That's what I was getting at^^
Thank you for your constructive feedback. Which, by the way, brought me to another point that I'll add later. I don't have time to write in more detail right now.
Have a nice start into the week!

[TeriXeri]

Those 4 wide truck with trailers seem very popular within 3-in-1, as there have been 7 sets like this format since 2011, basicly every 2 years, except 3 years from 2021 to 2024.

To me , this comest closest to the 1996 Giant truck + extra cargo ,rather then the 1990 helicopter truck, mainly due to the helicopter color being so different, and the original 1990 set using an european style cab. (but the red stripe design certainly is the same)

 

But yeah, as far as large scale vehicles go, the concept of Model Team existed for quite a while after it's disappearance, with Creator 3-in-1 having large scale vehicles up to around 2010 with similar sizes,   Advanced Models from 2008-2012, until the appearance of the Creator Expert branding in 2013, which later became Icons.

Edited December 11, 2023 by TeriXeri

[gyenesvi]

19 minutes ago, pow said:

If the Technic bulldozer sells well, there will almost certainly be a larger version after a while.

Yeah, that sometimes happens, so by that line of thought I'm expecting a proper sized technic Jeep Wrangler and a classic Land Rover :) I guess I'll have to wait a few years though.. Ferraris and Lambos seem to get duplicated more rapidly in technic nowadays.

Nice catch for this set by the way. Interesting reference by TLG.

[msk6003]

I also remind black cat instantly but even that is tribute of black cat or not, I planned to buy that because design looks very cool.

Edited December 11, 2023 by msk6003

[johnnytifosi]

8 hours ago, icm said:

Model Team is Creator Expert/Icons vehicles, and Creator Expert/Icons vehicles are Model Team. Full stop. The only function that Model Team ever had was steering. Now that steering comes standard in Creator Expert/Icons vehicles, there is no reason to pine after Model Team as being something different and better.

Model Team was not licensed, featured some original vehicles and had B-models. Large trucks or aircraft for sure wouldn't feature in today's Icons.

Back to the topic, I mentioned the similarity of this Creator set to the legendary 5590 and 5571 sets in the dedicated Creator thread. The semi is clearly a reference to 5571, but the trailer and helicopter refer to 5590 IMO. I really wish Lego revisited one of these sets too, either as part of Icons remakes (Space, Pirates and Castle have had enough love already, why not Model Team?), or within Creator 3-in-1 as a ~1000 piece set. They've done large vehicle Creator sets before or large Creator sets in general, I don't see why this couldn't get some love. It has to be one of the most consistently high rated themes, at least according to Brickset. Personally I would be all over a 5571 remake, hopefully with a B-model too. Apparently Lego still hasn't forgotten about it, when it is referencing it 28 years later.

Edited December 11, 2023 by johnnytifosi

[icm]

6 hours ago, johnnytifosi said:

Model Team was not licensed, featured some original vehicles and had B-models. Large trucks or aircraft for sure wouldn't feature in today's Icons.

If Lego had done licenses at the time (which they didn't, so it's not like Model Team was specially creative for being unlicensed), I'm dead sure the yellow jeep would have been a licensed Jeep, and the big red and black semi truck would have been a Peterbilt (or a Mack, or a Kenworth, or a Freightliner - I don't know enough about semi trucks to pinpoint the inspiration for 5571).

Creator Expert/Icons has featured some original/unlicensed vehicles, like the 10290 Pickup Truck and the double-decker London bus. Both of those have identifiable real-world inspirations, but neither carries a license from a manufacturer or operator of the real thing. (The bus was not a genuine Routemaster that carried a license from the bus manufacturer and the London public transit authority, but rather a generic red Routemaster-style London bus.)

Icons got a large aircraft just this year, the Concorde. Two years ago it got the Space Shuttle Discovery.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a large semi truck sometime in the future, since they've already done such a large vehicle as the double-decker London bus.

But yeah, Lego doesn't do B-models anymore outside of Creator 3-in-1, which is a real shame. It's great that we have Rebrickable, but it would be nice if Lego itself did back-of-the-box builds. However, the Icons vehicles team does make an effort to include some options for customization, as in the Land Rover, the Corvette, the BTTF Time Machine, the Camaro, the VW T2 Camper Van (though it's only stickers there), the Porsche 911, and the Mustang.

 

Back to the topic, it's no coincidence that Lego is referring to the old Model Team semi truck here. They've previously referred to it in the Apocalypseburg D2C set for TLM2. It's quite common for modern Lego sets to feature easter eggs that refer to old sets and lines. They rarely tease forthcoming products. In short, I don't think this is "Lego's careful attempt to bring Model Team back."

Edited December 11, 2023 by icm

[TeriXeri]

37 minutes ago, icm said:

But yeah, Lego doesn't do B-models anymore outside of Creator 3-in-1, which is a real shame.

The last time LEGO had B-Models part of a theme outside of Technic seems to have been LEGO Movie 2 in 2019, and the last individual set seems to be 40573: Christmas Tree from 2022 (still available).

But if Technic has stopped it, there's just 3-in-1 doing full remodels, and then DreamZZZ having partial B-models.

DreamZZZ will still have it's 2-in-1 system in 2024 , but could be seen as 3-in-1 as there's a "base" model to start with, but none are full rebuilds like Creator is.

Edited December 11, 2023 by TeriXeri

[pow]

The past has shown that whenever TLG is doing badly, the sets get better!
And in general TLG is still trying to show off. The "Icons" Land Rover, for example, even has suspension and really good steering. Maybe there will be another big set at some point.
I think a 1000-piece set like the London Bus has a better chance than an 1800-pieces truck. But as far as developing MOCs goes, a big MOC like that, and in great colors, would be a dream!

So there are very good reasons for and against my theory.
CON:
- TLG brings Eastereggs, that's not unusual
- thematic repetitions are normal ( a truck every 2 to 3 years)

PRO:
- Things that work well TLG brings again and again, even in different sizes (Claas Xerion and Mini Xerion)
- At the moment, Lego's business figures are not looking so good.
...maybe the past year, which was rather average for Lego, means that the sets are getting better again!

[efferman]

Hi,

Yesterday i bought the 31146 and made some changes on it.

The free instruction is online at Rebrickable. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-178013/efferman/micro-black-cat-31146-overhauled/#details

[howitzer]

On 12/11/2023 at 1:53 AM, pow said:

P.S.: Ideas are starting to pop up: How about a "scale down and model-teamify" contest, for example? In which, as the name suggests, we not only scale down, but also build Model Team versions from old Technic sets.

Could be a fun contest, at least in the sense of being something novel and something to challenge Technic builders who don't normally build in System and also a good reminder that this forum has also "Model Team and Scale Modeling" in its title. There's a downside though: many Technic builders might not have a good enough collection of suitable parts to make a good entry for this kind of contest. I personally have some parts but as I don't really build in System, I don't have a good sense of the parts I possess, so entering would be difficult.

[msk6003]

7 hours ago, howitzer said:

good reminder that this forum has also "Model Team and Scale Modeling" in its title

Remember "mindstorm" is also part of title. I asked mindstorm/C+ contest many times but all rejected.

[howitzer]

16 hours ago, msk6003 said:

Remember "mindstorm" is also part of title. I asked mindstorm/C+ contest many times but all rejected.

Mindstorms and Control+ has been allowed in many contests though and I'm sure will be in the future too, so nothing's preventing you from including them in your build. It's true that there has been no Mindstorms-focused contest, but I'm not sure if that's a great contest idea anyway, considering the lack of participation in some of the contests where programmable electronics would've fitted perfectly, like the transformation vehicle contest. There just doesn't seem to be too many builders here who are interested in those and also interested in contests.

It's also noteworthy that Mindstorms was only recently merged to this forum, while it is my understanding that Model Team has been there since the beginning.

[msk6003]

8 hours ago, howitzer said:

Mindstorms and Control+ has been allowed in many contests though and I'm sure will be in the future too, so nothing's preventing you from including them in your build. It's true that there has been no Mindstorms-focused contest, but I'm not sure if that's a great contest idea anyway, considering the lack of participation in some of the contests where programmable electronics would've fitted perfectly, like the transformation vehicle contest. There just doesn't seem to be too many builders here who are interested in those and also interested in contests.

It's also noteworthy that Mindstorms was only recently merged to this forum, while it is my understanding that Model Team has been there since the beginning.

All I asked for for the C+ contest was any hub, 4 motors, and no sensors. I don't think this condition is that difficult, and I think it's quite possible since we've already done something similar with the S Brick Contest. It is true that there were few participants in the transformation vehicle contest, but I think this may be due to the vagueness of the topic. I participated, but I couldn't think of any ideas, so I asked the local community for ideas.
Regarding Mindstorm, as far as I know, it was a Technic & Mindstorm forum from the beginning, then the model team came in, Mindstorm left in response to a request to create a separate Mindstorm forum, and then merged again due to not enough posts. .