Paul B Technic

I found this today on FaceBook, which makes a lot of sense and does not paint a good picture for the future... By https://www.facebook.com/andytgeezer?__cft__[0]=AZa79moYgYDNdocuZWy8NOJqvhDgD0Vp8ueINOx8JmfPxlNHQEI_-J99_-BuW78puAGKO13-rNz_xgltBd7iRalQ5erjjv8lAUaCPq4jvb6ea9DlRvKOTTMiC_zoUqNr68M52hrsgID-aQjekMEXCnOchBsFGoYOFIXhVxIaEk81kqoyu-dAWiF3cFRPorT26QYQsxurM6vPbPh62VvRbWuAOogPRzM_6kBFHSOoGoFMpQ&__tn__=-UC*F Has LEGO turned its back on curiosity? Following my last two posts on FIRST LEGO League I've been thinking a lot about what I have always loved about LEGO and why what they're doing right now that makes me so uneasy and I finally put my finger on it. There's a much bigger thing happening here than LEGO losing interest in robotics. The more I look at the direction LEGO has taken over the past few years, the more it feels like the company has been slowly shifting away from encouraging active curiosity and more towards passive consumption. For many of us, and for a huge number of engineers I’ve spoken to, LEGO lit a fire in us. It spoke to us and became our language giving form to the ideas in our head. If we could envisage mechanisms, linkages, ridiculous contraptions, LEGO could actually bring them to life. You could see it working. You could feel how it moved. There’s something magical about that. Watching gears turn. Understanding cause and effect. Tweaking something and seeing the result. For some young people, like me, that moment casts a spell they never quite recover from, and it sets them on a path towards engineering. But I’m starting to worry those experiences are becoming harder to find if you're a LEGO fan. These days I often hear kids saying, "I've built this set and that set" rather than “I invented this from random parts" and from experience I find that children who only build from the instructions in sets really struggle to create anything new. Anyone can follow instructions. That’s not the same as thinking. By training children to follow steps, not to solve problems, we are creating a generation of consumers. To become a creator you really have to take things apart, to see how it works, improve and put it back together again differently. But LEGO don't make many kits like this any more, but instead are selling a lot more high tag, licensed partnerships instead. Think Star Wars, Marvel, Disney. The thing about these partnerships is they come with very distinctive characters, logos and IP. The last thing that these companies want you to do with their characters is put them in some other universe outside of their control, (which most creative imaginative play ends up doing) so most of these sets only come with a single set of instructions and you're not encouraged to take them apart and put them with anything else. When you look at the Technic range over the last few years, instead of highly mechanical, complex models, it's been a steady stream of licensed race cars. Bugatti, Maclaren, Ferrari. All cars and all licensed IP. And again each model usually had instructions for only one model. They don't want you turning their beautiful car into a helicopter with a BMW logo on it, the company just want you to make their vehicle and admire it. There's a picture on the box and that's what they want you to make. But that's the problem. It’s not just about what they’re selling. It’s about what they’re encouraging. By moving towards models where you build only one thing and are only shown a single way to put the bricks together, LEGO is creating a generation of consumers rather than nurturing the creators of the future. This is no doubt great for the bottom line, but as parents and Educators we should be concerned.

I could see some good use for both of these in some of my builds.

This is why I like to keep my work (IT) and my hobby separate.... I would love LEGO to just focus on the bricks and not do anything that requires apps for another device to be supported in to the future.

TLG almost needs to have two seperate "lines": - Classic sets that suit those who want this building experiance. I recently built 42218 and this was almost as simple as one piece per page :( I miss the older building guides and process that required some thinking.... One the technic side, this needs to be about the features, not the looks. - The "new" way, where it is more about the looks and having a bunch of parts which serve little purpose outside their intended use. The above won't ever happen, but I can only hope.

All the best with the move and joining TLG :)

Great job, I love it.

I recently came across this C Model, it was worth building and writing a short review of it: https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2026/03/review-lego-technic-42173-c-model-old.html

Latest Update: Mobile LEGO Building Station From Sewing Cabinet to Mobile LEGO Building Station. "Sometimes the best LEGO solutions don’t start in the LEGO aisle." https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2025/12/mobile-lego-building-station.html

Mobile LEGO Building Station From Sewing Cabinet to Mobile LEGO Building Station "Sometimes the best LEGO solutions don’t start in the LEGO aisle." https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2025/12/mobile-lego-building-station.html

Review of the 8865 C Model. https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2025/12/lego-technic-42213-c-model-8865.html

No, it was the whole Technic forum had a theme applied, I could not see any text, even my own posts from the past.

Yes, same here. Looks like a theme has been. Applied that has not worked...

Build an A model under 250 / 300g and then build a B model, using the same parts.

Review - LEGO Technic 42214 Lamborghini Revuelto Super Sports Car Great Fun, but Everything That’s Wrong with Modern Technic LEGO Technic 42214 is, in many ways, a great set. It looks good, it’s fun, and it delivers a strong play experience. At the same time, it also highlights many of the issues I have with modern LEGO Technic, especially when viewed through the lens of an old-school Technic builder from the 1980s and 1990s. The Positives: The instructions are clear, logical, and easy to follow. At no point did I feel lost or unsure of what LEGO was asking me to do, which makes the build accessible and frustration-free. The finished model looks very good on display. The shaping, proportions, and overall presentation are strong, and the addition of lights is something I genuinely love, they add a lot of character and help bring the model to life. As my first Control+ set, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The set is genuinely fun to drive around and has a high play and fun factor. Once completed, it’s hard not to pick it up and just start using it. The Negatives: From a pure Technic perspective, the build peaks very early. After around step 65 out of 395, you could realistically add the wheels and call the functional part of the build done. From that point onward, bags 3 through 8 are largely focused on adding bodywork and panels. As a result, the building process becomes increasingly repetitive. There’s a lot of “more of the same,” with little in the way of new mechanisms or engineering challenges. I had to actively resist the urge to just throw the wheels on early and start playing with it, which says a lot about both the strength of the play value, and the weakness of the build experience. Overall Thoughts: At around a 20% discount, and considering just how much fun it is to drive around, LEGO Technic 42214 is well worth it. It delivers a strong end result and an enjoyable play experience. That said, as someone who grew up with Technic sets from the ’80s and ’90s, it’s hard not to feel a bit disappointed. This set perfectly illustrates how modern Technic has shifted its focus, looks have increasingly taken priority over functions. While it’s undeniably fun, it also serves as a reminder of what Technic used to be, and what I still hope it can return to someday. More Photos: https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2025/12/review-lego-technic-42214-lamborghini.html

This is very cool, I love it.

That is a great setup.

I did. I had some a while ago but ended up going a different way. I had been looking for these for a while and they were back in stock the other week.

The weight limit for the A model and using those parts for a B model sounds great to me.

Great looking setup. This is my build area.

Great looking setup.

That is very cool and very unique, love the sound effects.

Following the 1H 2026 releases, I felt I needed to make this video. https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2025/12/video-future-of-lego-technic.html

That is coming along really well. You have clearly put a huge amount of time and effort in to it.

That looks great and has some cool features.

I showed this to my wife and daughter, both really liked it. I suspect I will end up getting it.