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Yeah, I had quite a break myself. Seems like "dark ages" is not a thing for no reason. and the propeller housing? yes, I do feel it's an evergreen, even though according to Rebrickable it was last used in a set in 2005.

Funnily enough, I believe that age group was targeted back on the cusp of studded/studless transition for Technic, around 1997-1999. That's when Technic tried to rebrand from "nerdy" to "cool" and "edgy" and targeted older, rebellious kids and teenagers.

Oh dear, as a huge fan of unlicensed LEGO I'd definitely have a bunch of ideas. I know underwater themes have been done a lot, but I'd definitely give this another try, perhaps Aquazone II - a proper reimagination of Aquazone with similar-looking and directly inspired factions but modern moulds. I wouldn't mind the return of those octagonal tubes, since today we've got way better ways of SNOT building than before, so they'd be easier to integrate into builds in ways that don't seem awkward. The propeller housing should deifnitely make a return though. It'd feel right at home, seeing as how TLG have been making a slow return towards angular shapes after almost two decades of roundness (if the Lego City yellow bulldozer is any indication). Regarding a newer theme, I picture: dark bluish gray and neon green. spaceships, vehicles - combo of sci fi and Lovecraftian fantasy. exploring deep tunnels in search of ancient civilizations and creatures, uncovering mysteries. Think a combination of space with the character of Adventurers and Rock Raiders, with a dash of the mid-late 90s sci-fi themes such as UFO and Insectoids in terms of aesthetics. I know it's all vague, but that vibe might end up leading to something pretty cool Funnily enough, I believe that age group was targeted back on the cusp of studded/studless transition for Technic, around 1997-1999. That's when Technic tried to rebrand from "nerdy" to "cool" and "edgy" and targeted older, rebellious kids and teenagers. As for System themes though? you're probably right, nothing to my knowledge ever targeted teens directly and explicitly

Kid friendly in presentation perhaps, but most System models are 16+ or 18+ these days. Hell, even models rated 8+ like the yellow bulldozer already contain a shitload of studded and studless Technic both . The complexity and part density has only increased over the years, while the age groups remained the same. I doubt introducing a system of lighting would go against kiddie play friendliness, unless you give a 11+ set to a 6 year old, but then that's on you.

Is it just me who's bothered by the fact that like 90% of Technic is licensed these days? I dunno, I prefer to use Lego to escape reality, not be reminded of it. And as for big media franchise licenses - I don't like those either, since your headcanon will never matter there anyway because there's a well-established official story. the latter is not a big problem with Technic, but it sure is with the rest of Lego parts-wise though things look mildly interesting

Yeah well, good for Lumibricks to patent their bespoke lighting system (which they're now making their biggest gimmick separating them from Lego), but I believe if Lego wanted a similar function, they'd go about implementing it in a different fashion anyway Anyhow, after studying NewElementary a bit more and looking at recent trends, I must conclude that TLG will be forced to close the gap on some of the most useful moulds used by the competition if they want to remain relevant. They've actually been in the course of this process already, if slowly. I expect it to accelerate from now on. Hell, wouldn't be surprised if Lego caved in and gave us the two-sided plates within the next 3-4 years.

It might seem like a hot take, but to be perfectly honest, I don't think there is such a thing as building difficulty. There is only such a thing as instructions clarity. You can deliberately make your instructions clear and unambiguous to follow, or you can make figuring them out a task. I'm under the impression that the difficulty of building the "hardest" sets has always been about deciphering the suboptimally designed instructions.

Yep, the introduction of the angled liftarms definitely elevated some studded Technic models' aesthetics, not to mention it single-handedly enabled entirely studless construction at small scales, which we already got in 1998. And yes, someone should totally do a side by sicde comparison video of the yellow crane trucks. Lego have made at least four if not five of them by now, all from different eras. It'd be amazing to analyze their differences and how they've progressed over the years!

Well, this might be a legitimate concern if the flagship Technic sets weren't being marketed as "16+" in the first place...

I've got a 8856 waiting to be built, something always drew me towards Lego copters and that one is a marvel to be sure! Examining the evolution of Technic helicopters is a great experience in its own right, and this one is definitely one of the best of them. Well, after making a list of reasonably budgeted (up to around 100 USD per) Technic sets, I found myself wanting the most from 1999 for some reason - 4 of them. Seems like the studded chassis - cable exterior thing they were going for that year really speaks to me for some reason. But I noticed wanting 2 sets from 1993, 1994, 1995 each, and three from 1996 and 1997 each. So yeah, guess you could say that era really has some serious appeal! I only regret that in later years there are no more than one set that I want due to everything being licensed, which bothers me. Exceptions are 2013 and 2015 apparently, where there are two models each that caught my interest. But overall yeah, it feels like the era right before the abandonment of studded building for large scales seems to be my fav aesthetics-wise.

Not exactly the same thing. Western companies using Chinese manufacturers is regrettable but often unavoidable, but it's still not the same as the company having Chinese capital and all proceeds from the final product eventually making their way to China. Still, apart from that gotta say that CaDA are relentlessly innovative in a way that TLG can't match, not sure if due to their self-imposed constraints or whatever else.

I just ran an overview of Technic over the years to select one set per year to buy and gotta say, for a few years Lego have completely replaced a lot of their models such as supercars, excavators, bulldozers etc with real-life licensed models, which makes them lose a lot of appeal in my eyes. I much preferred unlicensed, original ones, but what can you do, apparently these sell better or something. Still, 2025 in particular has at least some unlicensed small to mid-size sets such as the Lunar Outpost Moon Rover or that deep sea research sub, interesting things both worth buying in my opinion. I actively avoid licensed sets and cars when looking for stuff to buy and there's still quite a bit to choose from in the 1000-pc range in the most recent era of Technic. I'd personally say that the most egregious year would be 2017, where they introduced the panels - several of their models did what they could to show off the panels, which felt like they were force-feeding us those things. I suppose that was also the year where studless Technic truly transitioned form skeletal to covered - which I don't think was such a good thing, given how that both obfuscates the mechanisms and System bricks are still better at accomplishing that same task. Many have noticed that Technic has stopped being about functions and started being about aesthetics more and more over the years, meanwhile Cada has them beat on both counts (plus they don't shy away from giving their designers free rein to use studded parts, which makes the models even better).

Ohhh, a man of taste I see. Still the holy grail model for a lot of folks, and for good reason too

Gotta say, I absolutely despise the CCP and am loathe to support it financially (supporting any Chinese-own business is tantamount to helping perpetuate the regime), but daaaamn are some of those Cada models amazing. They surpass Lego both in terms of functionality and aesthetics-wise, and that's even with Lego's current (misguided in my opinion) obsession with making Technic about looks rather than functions. That AMG GT3 is an absolute masterpiece

What year range do you think studded Technic has peaked in terms of looks? I think it was just before the transition to studless, personally. For example take a look at this absolute beauty from 1997: I don't think I've ever seen a studded set with this level of appearance-consciousness, especially the cockpit made using axles and connectors clearly shows the superiority of the "toothless system" - sure, that one did allow for connections at a huge range of angles, but later pretty much the same was achieved using axle connectors and flex axles/cables, not to mention the ever-expanding variety of angled axle connectors. Still, this one's cockpit in particular looks great. Another small set I think looks great in its own right is this one from 1996: While almost entirely studded, it returns to the glorious days of heavy use of System plates (although definitely not in the same way as the forklift from 1977, not by a long shot haha), which heavily enhances the aesthetics and compact feel of the model. The flex bars used for the cockpit were definitely a portent of the "flexi-era" that would dominate 1998-2001 and still feature heavily beyond. Of particular note is the front bumper made very creatively with yellow bricks curving downward around a black brick, giving both a rugged and pleasing look. Another thing of note with both of the above sets is the abandonment of the "axle with two bushes on the sides" connection for structure, which predominated in earlier Technic. By this point the system had matured enough for the designers to realize that friction pin connections are superior for connecting things structurally, while axles are best left to accomplish their role of transferring torque and being used with dedicated axle connectors rather than bushes. That has led to cleaner models with no bushes sticking out on the sides everywhere. Last but least, this model from 1998, the Super Tow Truck: This is probably the last model that you can truly call truly studded Technic, since 1999 onwards moved to what you could reasonably "hybrid construction" in its flagship models - small ones have been entirely studless for a year or two by now, and mid-sized ones have already been hybrids - but this one? I think it can be fairly said it's a studded model - and what a studded model it is! I'll be damned if this isn't the most hip and fancy looking studded model ever. Lego during this era have clearly been trying for Technic to lose the "boring nerd" vibe in favor of something hip, cool and trendy, since kids would perceive Technic as decidedly uncool (can't really blame 'em either). So first came the introduction of the Technic minifigs (cool move IMO), but with this model? Boy oh boy, where do we even begin. It encapsulates pretty much all the accomplishments of the Technic system up to that point - heavy use of angled liftarms, axles-and-connectors and ribbed hoses for aesthetics, heavy System brick decoration, but most importantly - the external chassis is still the tried and true studded Technic brick fare. The color scheme breaks from the familiar reds and yellows, with the cool combo of blue and teal definitely doing the heavy lifting. And yes, the elephant in the room - the almost grotesquely ostentatious https://rebrickable.com/parts/32077/wheel-70-x-28-mm-futuristic/ wheels, completely unlike any type of Technic wheel that ever came before, and on their own make the look of the model fresher by at least 10 years. Since we would never again get a truly studded flagship, I believe studded Technic ended on a very high note. But I also realize some may enjoy the more retro look and feel that Technic sets until roughly 1995 featured, or even the "toothed era". So do let me know what was in your opinion the peak of studded Technic aesthetics.