The title sounded poetic, so I hyphenated it. This post is all about the old Technic and how it changed the way I played with sets. In the 80s, I remember my brother getting a large Technic car. It was like a buggy, and had a figure with it. I still have that figure, but much of the beams and fixings were split into the main Lego population. When we distilled it down, I had half of our childhood memories, taking parts of that set, but not all.
The emergence of this type of design, meant that the bricks became angle-less. There were fewer limitations, where you could fix blocks to all sides. The pin was a triumph, making connection that also had rotation. Axles were the other factor that changed it. Wheels had fixed parts with a steel pin for an axle. Now, we could create wide-beamed rovers, aircraft and boats that looked like they were supposed to. Nothing could prepare us for the detailing that could be made on construction equipment.
Meccano were royalty when it came to cranes, but now Lego were able to design sets that could also be powered. Although large, the motors and battery-packs where slipped into gaps and gave more immersion for the player. Technic is staggeringly clever. I have another Technic set coming in the future, more additions to my Space stock. Look out for that.
