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Yeah, I did notice that the long history of this part included those metal pins, I just posted the one with a technic pin hole for reference, as that's the most modern iteration of the element. But yes, it does kinda make sense it'd be used for windmills, helicopter blades and other stuff like that, crude as that sounds.

lovely! just what I was curious about, definitely a sweet and creative use of the part damn you're right, it's still easily possible to emulate this by adding on the round tile or brick with axle hole in the middle.. how could I have forgotten haha overall the more you think about it, the more you realize that you can replicate all the functions that phased out parts offered by just using modern parts. That is one thing that TLG have figured out quite well

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

Talking about thiss wheel family: These wheel rims were quite popular in mid to late 20th century, and the newest variant displayed above endured until 2006, as it featured a modern Technic pin connection, making it easy to integrate with modern builds. But still, can't help but wonder, what uses would these studs have? Everything I can personally think of is putting something like this on the wheels: and then connecting them with a Technic brick or beam to produce a "wheels hidden inside the body" effect - possibly quite interesting. But nothing more. These wheels have now been retired for close to 20 years so maybe TLG didn't see much sense in continuing to make them either. But what do you guys think, do you have any practical uses for these studs? Mind showing me some models or MOCs that utilize them?

Yeah, thanks for the suggestion, I might do that. I actually went and gave that contact a good filing with sandpaper and apparently now the circuit finally closes with no extra hassle. I was super worried, so it was pretty lucky to discover that lack of contact with one of the plates was the problem!

Ok, just a heads up, I was able to narrow down the problem. The lower rear left battery wasn't making contact. Those Energizer rechargeables have really short plus nubs and apparently it just wasn't reaching the plate. It's not a problem anywhere else in the box though, for some reason. A temporary solution is just putting a thin aluminum foil strip between the nub and the contact, which does manage to close the circuit. What should I do for a more permanent solution, solder on a thin copper plate or some such? The minus side spring is fairly strong so it is pressing the battery adequately against the plus plate, but for some reason it just couldn't reach. I know I could just use different batteries, but I've got 12 of those Energizer ones, just enough for rotation for recharging, so it'd kinda suck to have to buy a new set now.

Absolutely, same here. Those are my favorite kinds of builds. My only observation was that these kinds of builds have now migrated outside of the Technic brand, but they are definitely present - in varying proportions of the systems used.

I picked up a used 8064 set from 1991 on Bricklink the other day. Sadly it turned out the battery box was completely busted - borderline unopenable and when I managed to open it, it was full of rusted, leaked batteries like no one touched the thing for at least 5 years. I was on a good track to salvaging the box with some vinegar soaking and filing off the residue, but sadly one of the spacer plates snapped off, at which point I gave up and ordered a new box on Bricklink. The new one is clean enough, the contacts on it and on the cables look alright and the motor is intact - yet somehow I can't get the motor to start in any way. I put 6 rechargeable 1,2V batts into the box (inserted correctly), and while I understand 1,2V is not as fast as 1,5V, to my understanding the motor should still work. It spins fine, all the contacts look clean, the battery box buttons click properly when pressed, so I'm at a loss what could be the issue. Any advice would be welcome, if needed I can put up photos.

You can't connect two studded beams at the ends with a 2L coupling, because their holes aren't close enough to each other. And if you do that with studded beams using plates, obviously they won't be able to rotate in relation to each other, as the connection is rigid. Even disregarding that and making a lateral connection with pins, the edges of studded beams are square rather than rounded, so you're severely restricted in being able to make them rotate against each other, and they can't do it at all if they're adjacent. Another thing is that you can't just use studded beams vertically without thinking, as the height of a Lego brick is a non-integer multiple of 1 stud tall. For that reason you need 2 plate spacers between studded bricks if you want their holes to line up vertically. With studless beams none of that is a problem. You can connect them with pins entirely adjacent to each other, their ends are rounded so they can rotate into any position in regards to each other, and you can stack them vertically with no extra considerations, as they form a perfect square matrix. So yes, aesthetics may be subjective but all these functions are definitely objective facts.

That's entirely subjective - and even if true, lego technic needed at least 40 years to get there. The first fully studless models were very skeletal and not at all particularly pleasing in terms of aesthetics and it took practically 15 years to create all the panel inventory to finally make them look more enclosed. Meanwhile models towards the end of the studded era were starting to look pretty good in their own right. I think the best models appearance-wise are ones that combine studless, studded and System - the 2007 motorized bulldozer is a great example of that. And today such models mostly exist outside the Technic line proper. So all in all, I just don't think aesthetics was a factor here, more the fact that studless beams can be connected easier at the ends and stacked vertically, so they just lend themselves better for Technic construction. Still, studded beams have their place as well, as again - models such as the Motorized Bulldozer aptly prove

I recently checked out the build process for Lego City's 2025 yellow bulldozer and being someone who greatly appreciates using any and all types of elements to achieve stunning results, I was very happy with what I saw. Studded Technic used liberally, and not just for structure, but also for function - leveraging both of its advantages. Axles, half axles, pins and connectors present in multitudes. Seamlessly mixed with both System parts and studless Technic - the latter understandably chosen for situations where full range of mobility is preferable (old studded Technic models often had their moving parts get stuck). The final model both looks great and has genuine functions not in any way inferior to smaller Technic sets from some years ago. So basically what you end up with is basically a wholesale Modelteamization of Lego System, and I'm here for every bit of it. But the free-for-all approach of System model designers has had the unintended consequence of Technic losing quite a bit of its identity over the years. If System models can use all of System parts, ball joints, studded Technic and studless Technic, then how to keep the line distinct? Lego's answer was simply to restrict themselves to the studless Technic building system for everything - since after all, there are no models like that outside of Technic (well, unless you count Racers), so it's easy to say that's how to define Technic. But while mechanically sound, the studless Technic system initially left the models looking skeletal and frankly unappealing compared to what can be built with System. Sure, some studded Technic looked skeletal too (in fact the larger the scale, the more they did), but in the earliest years of Technic that actually wasn't always that big a problem, just due to the sheer amount of plates and even bricks that were used. Right before the transition to fully studded, Lego have found ways to greatly improve the look of their Technic models. Studless needed a whole new solution though, and that solution ended up being the panels. Still, it seems like while the gifts of Technic have seen wide and frankly ubiquitous use, the line itself seems to be trying to distance itself as far as possible from the rest of Lego and there seems to be a strong insistence on only using studless Technic elements in the sets. Competitors who hire MOCers don't seem to restrict themselves like that and use System pieces liberally where appropriate - then again those competitors don't have to worry about differentiating their product lines, since the categories of their offerings are much narrower. What do you think?

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