Jim

Can we pin this somewhere?! I was about to post something similar, but I couldn't have phrased it better. This is exactly what should distinguish Eurobricks from other social media, like Facebook. I even think we should turn this into some sort of guideline.

True. We don't need to agree with, or approve, or condone, everything TLG does, but I do think we can sometimes be a bit more considerate. Imagine you have worked hard on something and you show it to an audience, and the next 20 pages of comments are like "this sucks" and "that's horrible". That's basically what Facebook is all about. I'm glad that we do better on Eurobricks and tend to provide arguments why we don't like stuff

Part of the criticism is justified, since we do have some proper engineers on this board. If there's a community to be critical, it's definitely Eurobricks. So, big thumbs up for this And the new sets are always the nails

Amen brother I do think that's the way they do it. At least, for Technic. They simply need to have some "cool" sets, which look great on the shelves and sell. The Rally Car is a good example. There have been complaints about it being too simple, but it is what it is....a cool car with vibrant colors which will definitely compete well with other toys on the shelves. And there need to be some sets which cater the older kids and AFOLs alike. These sets are more expensive and have more Technic functionality. And then there are the smallest sets. People also complain that they are not interesting?! It's like they are comparing them with 100+ euros sets. The smaller sets are gift sets, and sometimes great parts packs. Actually I find some of them quite ingenious to be honest.

We could do a survey like this.

We definitely influence TLG, but some of us don't see that. We asked for big UCS sets, we got big UCS sets. We asked for other colors than blue, red and yellow, and we got them. We asked for new parts, and we got them. We asked for other models then simply cranes, and we got them. But somehow, it's never okay for the AFOL. We complain about the odd 42076 Hovercraft, but we asked for stuff like this. We complain about sets getting bigger, but we asked for this. We complaine about panels covering the model, not we complain about holes in the model. Need I continue? I am sure if TLG starts producing sets with tons of functions, but without bodywork, we will complain about the model not being finished. My point being; we always complain and it's never good enough. We also need to keep in mind that TLG designers crank out a line of sets each year. They simply don't have the freedom or the time to come up with solutions we think of. Think of it as writing an essay. It's quite hard and time consuming to write one. But when you read one, it's quite easy to be critical and pinpoint where it could have been done better. As AFOLs we come up with better solutions (or so we think), be we forget that it took a lot of time to design the original vehicle. It's a lot easier to improve an existing model than build something from scratch. I can tell from the bottom of my heart that I absolutely LOVE Technic and the changes/improvements which have been made over the years. I see cool things in almost every set, whether it's a nice building technique, a cool new part, or whatever. Yes, I think the color scheme on the Forest Harvester is horrible. But it has cool new Pneumatic parts and small panels in Lime Green. Change the chassis of the vehicle to black or DBG and you have a cool Forest Harvester. Like someone mentioned earlier, LEGO is not about building stuff and displaying it. Well, maybe the Chiron and the Porsche are display models. But Technic sets are parts packs to build stuff with. Which other toy company listens to their customers like TLG does? I know the answer to that question. Which other company gets fans from fan media to their office and let them discuss things with employees and executives? I also know the answer to that question. Which other toy company provides support to over 200 online and offline communities? Again, I know the answer. TL;DR It's easy to criticize, but it's better to give it more thought before doing so. The way I see it, is that TLG is striking a balance between catering the general audience (kids, mostly), while giving the AFOL community what they want (new parts, parts in new colors, etc). The models need to be appealing enough to put on the shelves and the parts (or sets) should be interesting enough for AFOLs to get them. Two birds with one stone. Another thing we discussed; "Who will buy expensive sets like the Porsche"? Well, probably millions of people. I stated in the Bugatti topic that the Porsche is the only Technic set in the Top-10 sets of 2017. Most likely this is not in sales numbers but in revenue, but it still says enough. Sets like the Porsche and Bugatti sell....period. While we tend to shout that we like the Rough Terrain Crane better, but it's just not as popular as "UCS Technic display sets". So, as a company, which sets would you bring to market? Again, I know the answer to that question

The only place where they can possibly be I really like this model and to be fair....I like the B-model as well. I love the color scheme and parts in this set. A big bucket for those of you who didn't get the 42030. And I like that it's a bit different than other models.

I pulled a "Huw" on that one Actually, I had an agreement with @MstrOfPppts to look very bored the first round and very excited the second round. Hence the two different pics

Excellent!!! Nice pics btw. Clean and crisp.

Since this is a topic about Opinions, I think we can slightly touch this subject here

Well, it's not really about different opinions. It's about people bashing TLG over and over again. It's okay to mention you don't like the Porsche (for example), but you don't need to express the same negative feelings in every topic on every page. That is what @Permo is referring to. See my previous comment. The problems might be valid, but there's no need to express them over and over again. Other than that, we do need to keep in mind that TLG is running a toy company and not a "let's please the AFOLs company". If you hate it so much, don't buy it. Or simply get the cool new parts and skip the set (Bugatti for example). It's perfectly okay to complain about Technic in this topic by the way

He definitely didn't pay attention during the instruction phase

This was the second one, the non-bored-picture. The picture of the first round was much better, right @MstrOfPppts?

My dreams come true

True! There are lots of applications for studded Technic in "System" sets. I build a lot of Star Wars and Technic is very common in these models.

No problem

Well, that's what this forum is all about (personal opinon) But I figured it granted a separate topic. That is something I kinda agree to. Technic sets often seem to be more "Proof of Concepts" than "This is actually working pretty well". This goes for cranes like the Arocs, suspension on the Bugatti, etc

Well, maybe it is, but I am pretty sure we need to wait another two years before that to happen.

Let's end this discussion here and continue it here. I have created a topic to discuss our feelings of the Technic theme.

Recently there was a discussion about the B-model of the Rough Terrain Crane. This comment made me think: This was my answer: I find this a bit exaggerated as well. It might very well be the case that TLG didn't have the time/resources to create a proper B-model, but is that really something we need to complain about. The A-model is the star of the show and in this case, the star seems to be delivering. However, I do like to start a discussion, because I really wonder why people think the Technic Theme used to be better. When I came out of my dark ages in 2005, I can honestly say I was impressed by the crane. But to say that 2005 is better than 2018....I don't think so. If you look at the line-up of 2018, it's pretty impressive if you ask me. Okay, the B-model of the Rough Terrain Crane is a cop out, but does that mean the Technic Theme is getting worse?! And instead of a single Flagship, we get two (or three) big sets a year. Besides that TLG is releasing lots of cool new parts. So for me, Technic definitely is doing fine. Okay, it can be a bit repetitive, but the average customer (i.e. kid) will play with it for five years, instead of 20+ years like most AFOLs.

I find this a bit exaggerated as well. It might very well be the case that TLG didn't have the time/resources to create a proper B-model, but is that really something we need to complain about. The A-model is the star of the show and in this case, the star seems to be delivering.

Done!

I absolutely agree with you! However, you are reviving a four year old topic, just to mention this. Please be aware that topic bumping is only allowed when you have new information about the topic.

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