Truck too big. Fork lift food.

Those old Technic manuals look so nostalgic...

@Maxbricks14 said:
"1984?

Technic didn't evolve much for a while there."

Yeah, I was surprised at that release year, too. Other than the Technic branding (which doesn't seem to have appeared until 1982), this could have been late Seventies. I thought it was, at first!

@MCLegoboy said:
"Truck too big. Fork lift food."

So, what, hot dogs, baguettes, and other stuff that's both skinny and long?

Yes! I've built it just last year with my spares (I had to say good by to 8680 due to missing parts). Great functions using chains and pneumatics. One of my favorite Technic sets.

@Atuin said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Those old Technic manuals look so nostalgic...

@Maxbricks14 said:
"1984?

Technic didn't evolve much for a while there."

Yeah, I was surprised at that release year, too. Other than the Technic branding (which doesn't seem to have appeared until 1982), this could have been late Seventies. I thought it was, at first!"

Looked basically like that until the late 80s. Instruction design in general was very constant during that time. But it worked.

Also one of the first Pneumatic sets, featuring the old one-way cylinders."

I was talking more about the look of the model than the look of the manual.

@jsutton said:
"The ideas book contained a pneumatic car with gull wing doors, not unlike a deLorean. That was pretty cool at the time."

The ideas book was a gold mine and I remember that car. The black truck was a true miracle.

It is still cool today because when was the last time we got pneumatic gull wing doors?
(8466 at least had spring dampers)

@jsutton said:
"1984 technic was all about pneumatics. This fork lift used the taller version of the pistons. The mechanisms were not bad, but because the air supply wasn’t regulated (you pumped the spring loaded piston to push air through the system) the movement tended to be very jerky. Later sets introduced a reservoir for the compressed air which solved this problem somewhat.

As a member of the target audience at the time, the development into pneumatics was exciting at first, but the novelty wore off rather quickly.

The ideas book contained a pneumatic car with gull wing doors, not unlike a deLorean. That was pretty cool at the time."

I built that gull-wing car and it was very cool. But the position of the pump was problematic and ultimately buckled some of the pieces, because of the stresses. I guess the quality control was lower with the Ideas books.

Classic set!

And I guess the big flaw of that early (one way) Pneumatic system won't be that much of an issue here, thanks to gravity.

As for the ideas bookes mentioned, loved those! So many cool builds! It always was a bit of a puzzle to recreate whatever was in there with the pieces I got, but hey, isn't that just part of the true Technic experience?

I must say, I thought it was Saturday again for a moment. And Ifeel this one does not look as charming as the more coherent 1977 line.

That said, it seems like a fun mechnical model.

Technicopedia about 1984 and the gen1 pneumatic system:
http://www.technicopedia.com/1984.html

About this set, with explanation of the functionality:
http://www.technicopedia.com/8843.html

The gif of this set's pneumatic actuator working with the lift chain to lift the forks is particularly cool. It looks so simple and effective!

Fun fact: this was one of the first models to use the 3-length axe, which was the first uneven numbered length of axle. The 3L was new in 1984

@jsutton said:
"The mechanisms were not bad, but because the air supply wasn’t regulated (you pumped the spring loaded piston to push air through the system) the movement tended to be very jerky. Later sets introduced a reservoir for the compressed air which solved this problem somewhat."

Funny that you say that, because my first and only pneumatics set is 8436 Truck from 2004 and it had the same issue because by then air tanks were no longer around. I don't recall seeing one in a non-rerelease set since 1998. Things really went downhill after the rise for pneumatics.

Although in fairness, by 2003 there was the 3rd or 4th version of the pneumatics system, so maybe mine that uses metal rods was not as jerky as the old fully plastic kind.

@ulibu said:
" @jsutton said:
"The ideas book contained a pneumatic car with gull wing doors, not unlike a deLorean. That was pretty cool at the time."

The ideas book was a gold mine and I remember that car. The black truck was a true miracle.

It is still cool today because when was the last time we got pneumatic gull wing doors?
(8466 at least had spring dampers)"

I loved the Technic Ideas Book 8889. I must have built at least half of the stuff in it. I still have the technic cable car built and on display. The book well deserves it's name.

At well as a pneumatic pick-up truck model B, the instructions https://lego.brickinstructions.com/lego_instructions/set/8843/Instructions show a motorised version to do the pumping, does anyone know if this worked?

The chains are curious you assume they would rotate but are static and a thin beam (these existed for steering) could have been used but these look so much more cooler. I liked the lever to move the assembly forward and then back so that you lifted the missing pallet slightly off the ground before lifting.

Had it! Loved it. Pieces still used by my kids to this day.

If I'm not totally mistaken, this was my very first Technic set.
Next was 8860.
Good times.

@AustinPowers said:
"If I'm not totally mistaken, this was my very first Technic set.
Next was 8860 .
Good times. "

Have you seen this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXjjXnLYg3c

I don't think he has done anything Pneumatic yet. Should be a nice challenge. And maybe worth an article here on Brickset? The guy is in the UK after all.....

Ha this is what i got for christmass a long time ago

@WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"If I'm not totally mistaken, this was my very first Technic set.
Next was 8860 .
Good times. "

Have you seen this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXjjXnLYg3c"
I had seen an older video by him of a smaller set, but this is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

I bought this set new, back in 1984, whilst on holiday with my parents. Here's the thing why it sticks in my mind so much: because it was the first time that I'd ever had a new Lego set that actually had missing pieces. Most annoying of all was that I only discovered this after the 8 hour car journey home, so not possible to take back to the toy shop to complain.