phoenixrising

Do you think back then (i.e. late 70s to early 80s), the drawings were CAD software-generated or manually drawn? If it was the latter then hats off to the drawing team and understandable why they tried to minimize the steps...

Do you mean to say the older instructions were more 'compressed' (i.e. many steps combined into one) compared to the current ones? Is this one of the reasons why today's models have multiple booklets for the same model?

The 8258 mod seems particularly interesting for me as I intend to build that model in the near future. Will have to see if I have the necessary pieces though...

Thanks for the welcome, kelmanator...

Congratulations, and welcome to Technic!

Thanks for the appreciation on the set choices :) I chose them after going through lots of forum posts and had to go through a lot in getting them because Lego is not available locally... Yes, I'm slowly coming to the same realization... plus how to tackle the wife and toddler Thanks for that suggestion... much appreciated On a similar thought, for someone who has been out of Technic since the 80s, it's startling for me to see how complicated the newer sets have become. My last most complicated Technic set was 8851, which I think was the first pneumatic flagship -- but the level of complexity of that one (granted, cutting up the hoses and putting together the pneumatic circuit with three switches and cylinders was quit challenging) seems much less compared to the flagships and even mid-sized sets of today. I'd say the current level of complexity I saw during that time was probably in the idea books 8888 and 8889 which I used check and sigh at because I knew I could never get my hands on those sets that were needed to make them So, in multiple levels, this return from the Dark Ages for me seems very very promising and fulfilling I'd dare not!! Thanks for the tip, DLuders and replying so promptly!

Well just discovered that in 8110, the bags are numbered but in 8258, they aren't -- so will 8258, despite having fewer parts be more challenging??

Hi all the experienced technic builders! A little bit of background/intro: I'm trying to come back from the dark ages and discovering things have moved on quite a bit in the Technic world... My 3 Technic sets when I was a kid were 850, 8843 (yeah, TWO fork lifts ) and 8851. In the last couple of months, I've accumulated these 4 sets (in order of purchase): 8069, 8109, 8258 and 8110 to build in the course of the next 2-3 months. My limited experience of the new studless system of building is through 8386, which I built 2 years back and 8066 which I built 4 months back almost as a re-familiarization (took me 50 minutes). I know it's a matter of personal preference, but still would like to know which set sequence you'll recommend for someone like me who is a bit inexperienced... should it be smaller to larger -- 8069->8109->8258->8110 or some other sequence? Sorry if my problem is too trivial. Best wishes, phoenixrising

Wow, Sheepo, this is simply mind-blowing! I am a fan of Land Rover and also Technic -- this seems to be a match made in heaven -- too good to be true...

Thanks for the welcome Si-MOCs! Thank you Blue Brick! :)

Thanks for the welcome TimH! Hello to you too LegoMadRo7!

Hi to all! Thought this would be good time to join this forum and say hello to all, as I plan to end the Dark Ages :) This is a brief Lego chronology of mine: Basic 544 (Got this in 1981 and the sets up till 6881 afterwards happened 1 in every 2 years or so, as gifts coming from relatives from abroad as Lego sets -- at least good Technic ones -- are not really available in my country) Technic 850 Technic 8843 Technic Motor 8700 Technic 8851 Space 6881 Then began the Dark Ages A brief ray of light happened in 2005 when I bought these 3 while I was in Dubai on a business trip... Racers Ferrari F1 1:10 8386 Racers 8383 and 8385 and maybe a return to Technic and and end to the Dark Ages will be happening with these sets I got last week: Technic 8109 Technic 8069 Technic 8066 I'm also planning to get these two as well, sometime this year: Technic 8258 Technic 8110 Apart from Lego, I try to collect fountain pens and mechanical watches -- and I am an avid follower of computers and related technology. Will be hopefully participating in discussions! Cheers, phoenixrising