Subject:
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Re: Technic's Dead (was: I need Technic)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.technic
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Date:
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Sun, 4 Aug 2002 17:15:04 GMT
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I can agree with your feelings of the Technic theme being slowly diluted
with Bionicle, Throwbots and the like and the theme 'Technic' itself may
indeed be dead but I am in a huge disagreement with idea that the newer
Technic parts are in some way inferior to the standard Technic brick.
Before I start, let me just clarify my terminology as far as the Technic
line goes. There are Bricks and plates(with Technic holes) and respectively
beams and half-beams ( these are rounded).
> Now, of course
> these elements are useful, after all, any Lego element is useful,
> but it is not as flexible as the square beam.
These seems like a major part of your post, but you give nothing to support
that statement.
I believe that Lego realized the Technic brick and plate system is old and
there could be a better system in its place. Bricks lend themselves to stud
building and beams are geared towards axle supported structures. Both the
Brick and the Beam have the common pin-hole.
Technic Bricks have 2 connectivity points, studs and holes. Technic beams
have axles and holes. If we remove the common factor, which is Technic pin
holes then we are left with Studs vs. Axle holes. Well...which is a more
technic approach to things, studs or axles? I would have to go with axles.
Once you start using bricks, you are almost required to use plates.
If you look at a 1x3 plate and a 1x3 half-beam. I think you could find a lot
more uses with the 1x3 technic beam then with the plate.
Also don’t forget that beams are compatible with studs, every technic hole
is basically a female stud connector.
Functionally Beams have many advantages over bricks:
-Beams are a lighter part. An 11 hole beam weights less then and 12 stud
brick. Part weight is always an issue, and is extremely important when
things get motorized.
-Beams are rounded, allowing higher freedom of movement and tighter
connections. Because the ends are not 'squared off' as in bricks, beams can
fit into areas that a brick never could.
-Non gender specific. Bricks and plates are studded, a male and a female
part to each piece. This is a limiting factor, decreasing the usability of
each piece. Rounded beams do not have this property.
-Piece Dimensions, I don’t know specific dimensions but the width and height
of a beam is a lot closer to a 1 to 1 ratio then a brick is. Symmetry is
always preferred over non-symmetry. Non-symmetric parts are harder to build
with. Beams are also broken into halves, where bricks are into 3rds. This
just may be personal but halves are easier to deal with then thirds.
All of these advantages means that any given structure can be built smaller,
weight less, and sometimes even be stronger then using bricks.
You can also look at this situation this way. If you observer real world
structures your more likely to find something that looks like a technic beam
before you will find anything that looks like a technic brick. The reason
being is that a Technic brick is a complicated piece, male and female studs
split with the technic holes. I'm guessing its even harder to manufacture,
therefore costing more.
> Of course, like every one else any time I find a part that
> is useful in a construction it is a good thing so the more parts
> the better. Its just that the percentage of new elements that
> fit into this category keeps dropping.
I strongly disagree! Have you even purchased a new set? Almost every new
technic set contains a few new pieces. Look at Darth Vader for example, this
set has many new pieces. Which decorative pieces are you speaking about, any
examples? Spybotics; even thought these aren’t good for technic parts, one
does contains a completely new gear (32 tooth I believe), If that’s not a
new useful part then I don’t know what is. I could make an extensive list of
parts which have come out in the past 12 months which are incredibly useful
and even show you examples of how I used them.
I even find the rounded beams a lot more attractive then the square bricks.
The beams look almost futuristic in comparison. Even our cars today
compared to 20 years ago have a lot more curve to them. I think curves are
just more pleasing then right angles. If my girlfriend was full of 90
degree angles she would look funny :)
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=17121
This is my RoboarmII. Built with less then 15 bricks. I've never seen anyone
build a robotic arm with all 6 degrees of freedom this small before. If this
was built with bricks it probably would weight a bit more, requiring larger
motors, which means more weight, etc., get the picture, it would also move a
lot slower.
I think the new pieces are a great addition to the technic line, even if the
theme 'Technic' doesn't exist in the same way it used to. The problems are,
In my opinion, Lego may have changed the line to quickly and maybe changed
it too much for some peoples likings.
I'm not new to the Lego world, but since the recent push to a beam building
style, I would never go back.
-Brian
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Technic's Dead (was: I need Technic)
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| (...) Larger beams don't have axles, which then renders them inferioir to technic bricks. I'm okay with using a few liftarms and small beams when I have to. But I just find that Technic bricks are ALOT better then beams for a structual, 'chassis' (...) (22 years ago, 5-Aug-02, to lugnet.technic)
| | | Re: Technic's Dead (was: I need Technic)
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| (...) And both the brick and beam have their place in the LEGO parts catalog. But what about those of us not building robots or complicated gear boxes? What about builders who want the old style Technic bricks to use as bracing or frameworks for (...) (22 years ago, 5-Aug-02, to lugnet.technic)
| | | Re: Technic's Dead (was: I need Technic)
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| sorry i know this is the old one topic but i couldn't stop myself to add my voice here brian you are absolutely right my lego story begins in early 80s so i used to technic bricks and plates then i had some break :) (few years) when i bought som (...) (22 years ago, 21-Oct-02, to lugnet.technic)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Technic's Dead (was: I need Technic)
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| Guys, I hate to break it to you, but Technic as a theme is dead and it didnt just die all of a sudden due to Lego's 2002 vertical marketing scheme but has been on a downhill slide for several years. Alot of the discussion about his topic confuses (...) (22 years ago, 3-Aug-02, to lugnet.technic) !!
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