What is your favorite Technic Set and why?

[Lego Tom]

I'll list my top 3:

1). 42146 Leibherr Crawler Crane 
This is my favorite because of it's features, use/play-ability and easy expansion/modification. Yes, it's pricey - but no one is being forced to purchase it.

2). 42100 Leibherr Excavator
A close second to the crane, also due to it's features and use/play-ability. Plus it just looks so bad megablocks, IMHO. Like a prehistoric dirt eater. It's a massive model that is so cool to play with.

3). 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator
Although there were some rough spots, like the place where the conveyor hangs up, it's still a very neat model that has a lot of features. People are always impressed when the conveyors start up, the bucket wheel starts to spin and the whole works starts to rotate right an left like a monster devouring everything in it's path!  I am seriously considering taking this one apart to do the upgrades to make it more friction free.

Honorable Mention:
42082 Rough Terrain Crane.
I feel guilty that this isn't among my top 3. The features are great and they all work well. If it had been self-propelled, it would have bumped the Leibherr Excavator out of second place and into third.

All of these sets are (IMHO) excellent and leave me wishing LEGO would do more. Cars and space stuff is OK, but as a person who grew up in a sandbox with Tonka and Pre-Tonka toys, give me construction, digging, hauling and lifting stuff!

So what are your favorites and why? There are no right or wrong answers!

[everybrickasculpture]

8880, it was the first technic set I saw that really made me lust.  It still holds up great today; tons of features, great looks, cool parts, fun to play with.  The first technic car that lego made that perfected the formula.

 

I'd give an honorable mention to the Unimog, 8110.  It introduced some awesome parts and is still a blast to play with, and looks great on display.

[Stereo]

42098 Car Transporter, feels like the most Lego-as-Lego to me, it has lots of parts that are all generic enough to build pretty much any medium sized truck.  Definitely a good number of sets that I like more aesthetically or functionally, but I keep going back to 42098, taking it down and building something different..

[pleegwat]

I'll put up 42128 as a recent winner. While the liebherrs are interesting sets to a degree, there's too much big for the sake of big in them.

[2GodBDGlory]

My favorite would probably have to be the 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs. For one thing, it was my first real Technic set, so there's lots of nostalgia there, but it's also just such a functional model, with fancy steering, a solid piston-engine drivetrain, full suspension, a function selecting gearbox, and four pneumatic functions! It's also just got so many specialized pieces that it's got a lot of potential for rebuilding

[rener]

I think the 8043 Motorized Excavator has to be one of the best sets ever; four motors, cool gearbox, easy controls, pretty complex and cool build. It’s a very compact model and looks nice too.

 

[zoo]

I have very fond childhood memories involving the 8849 Tractor.

I built this tractor many times in different colours and made all kinds of modifications to it including front end loader both pneumatic and manual versions as well as many implements like harrows, plows and trailers.

[Dylan M]

42055 BWE both A & B model are fun to play with, and possible can work together with such clever mechanism 🙂

[SNIPE]

Probably 42128 because its big but not huge like the 42082 for example but is packed with functions. Keep in mind that im not even a big pneumatics fan, I only used pneumatic components once in a humanoid hand mechanism at 1:1 scale because any other way of actuating the fingers was too big.

The set also reminds me of set 8462 which I wanted SO BADLY as a kid but didn't get it, that set was possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen and it looked massive on the product catalogue (nut everything looks bigger when you're a kid)

Edited February 29 by SNIPE

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

Easily the 42115 Lamborghini Sian for me. It was the first 1:8 supercar to have no significant problems out of the box in terms of major functions, and is still my favourite of the four Lego have so far released. Special mention though to the 8865 Test Car, which I've had since Xmas 1988 and still have built up and on display. More recent stand-out Technic sets have been the 42107 Ducati, 42156 Peugeot, and the Dune Ornithopter (not technically Technic, but still).

[Aurorasaurus]

42069 for the great amount of functions in a really cool package.
42077 because it was my first proper technic set, so it has a special place in my heart.

[Jurss]

9 hours ago, Lego Tom said:

I'll list my top

Favorite Technic Sets - LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling - Eurobricks Forums

[Lego Tom]

11 hours ago, SNIPE said:

Probably 42128 because its big but not huge like the 42082 for example but is packed with functions. Keep in mind that im not even a big pneumatics fan, I only used pneumatic components once in a humanoid hand mechanism at 1:1 scale because any other way of actuating the fingers was too big.

I just finished 42128 and you are right, it is packed with features! I just couldn't bring myself to put some of the stickers on it. The operational ones were OK but the ones with the 'orange hulk' got left off.   I was especially impressed with the lifting third axle. If LEGO reissued it in a different color, I'm likely buy it as well. Maybe black and gold (NOT yellow!)???

[karmadrome]

8865. Because nostalgia ;)

[TeamThrifty]

17 hours ago, Lego Tom said:

Yes, it's pricey - but no one is being forced to purchase it.

You miss the point -  people are being forced NOT to buy it, despite wanting it. 

16 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

My favorite would probably have to be the 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs.

+1 A wonderful build and excellent finished model.

 

[Lego Tom]

6 minutes ago, TeamThrifty said:

You miss the point -  people are being forced NOT to buy it, despite wanting it. 

+1 A wonderful build and excellent finished model.

 

I want a new Lamborghini - am I being forced NOT to buy it as well?
Yeah, I guess I'm missing the point. Using your logic, there's a ton of things I'm being forced not to buy.

[johnnytifosi]

I can't distinguish between my three favourites but I will focus on the one which is overlooked the most, the 8459 Pneumatic front loader (the other two are of course the well known 8868 and 8880). It is just the perfect Technic set. Compact size, tons of functions in a small package (two pneumatic functions with air tank, articulated steering, V6 engine, 4 wheel drive with two differentials), solid build quality, classic studded design and a typical 90s quirky B-model. Plus it is a front loader! Who doesn't love those? Infinite play value.

Edited February 28 by johnnytifosi

[allanp]

The Arocs is objectively the best set ever IMHO because of its new parts and instead of settling for just a basic chassis they gave it full live axle suspension, more authentic steering linkage and double rear wheels. Except for the LA used to lift the bed, it was as close to "build for real" as you could get at the time, meaning that it feels like building a real truck in miniature rather than just an expensive toy. I believe the Unimog was kind of a tester for that, and it also felt very "build for real", but the Arocs beat even that IMHO. Of course there's still massive improvements that could be made over the Arocs in terms of "build for real" but it's the best so far. 

In terms of what sets put the biggest smile on my face for nostalgia reasons, 8868 and 8880 are big winners of course. 8459 and 8455 are also awesome smaller sets. 

Out of the past few years, no flagships sadly but the Airbus helicopter, 42128 and the 1:5 Yamaha motorbike are the day one buy winners for me.

[2GodBDGlory]

28 minutes ago, allanp said:

The Arocs is objectively the best set ever IMHO because of its new parts and instead of settling for just a basic chassis they gave it full live axle suspension, more authentic steering linkage and double rear wheels. Except for the LA used to lift the bed, it was as close to "build for real" as you could get at the time, meaning that it feels like building a real truck in miniature rather than just an expensive toy.

Yeah, like you point out, it managed to have both supercar-style functions like suspension, four driven wheels, and a full-size piston engine, but also heavy-equipment-style functions like the pneumatics, outriggers, and bed!

It's a great mix

[dhc6twinotter]

8043 PF Excavator
8258 Crane Truck
42009 Mobile Crane
42043 Arocs

All the above sets have a lot of functions crammed into small spaces.  8043 is one of most dense builds out there.  8258 had the most gears of any Technic set, only to be surpassed by 42009.  8258 also had the vertical gearbox, which I found quite interesting.  The Arocs was just beautiful with a lot of authentic functions.  

I would much rather have one of these sets than any of the newer Technic sets.  It seems many of the newer sets are unnecessarily large and just end up being quite a boring build with lots of pins and beam stacking.  That’s not fun to me.  I would much rather have a smaller, well thought out set with a lot of functions.  

Honorable mention goes to 8109 Flatbed Truck.  I bought this when I first got back into Technic because it was on sale.  Turns out there is some very clever build techniques used in the set.  The way the forks flipped out was brilliant, and the lowering suspension was a function I didn’t even know the set had till I was building it.  It’s a brilliant set for its price point.

Edited February 28 by dhc6twinotter

[williamyzfr1]

42056 The retired set I finally paid a fortune for because its my favorite car in real life.

8674 Restarted my Lego journey in preparation for helping my children build 8421 & 8275 back in the day then I Lego "retired" again until 2020. I have retained my 8674 and rebuilt their 8421 & 8275 from their Lego box!

Edited February 28 by williamyzfr1

[EricZhou]

8069，full function backhoe loader with only 609 pcs, the less the better.

[Kumbbl]

42043 Arocs: The best of the big models - by a wide margin - reasons have already been adequately mentioned above.

8455 Pneumatic Backhoe: a true marvel of Lego engineering - assembling it repeatedly brings a broad smile to the face and waves of admiration for the designer - I think every technic-enthusiast should have built this thing once in their life.

[Maaboo the Witch]

42004.

The product description labels it as "iconic", and it really is. Only 246 parts, and yet it's packed out with functions. It's the set that got me back into Technic.

[gwenhael]

8448 Super Street Sensation

42022: Hot Rod

42098: Car Transporter

42145: Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter although I'll make it even better by converting it to a manual version one day

42152: Firefighter Aircraft

Edited February 29 by gwenhael