Review: 8839 Supply Ship
Posted by Huw,
I'm working my way through dismantling my large collection of Technic sets in order to reduce the space they take up, and thus make room for more (like the new Volvo Wheel Loader). I'm keeping the ones I really like assembled -- the cranes, diggers, helicopters and so on -- but before I break up the others, I'm taking the opportunity to photograph and comment on some of the more notable ones.
Today I have chosen to highlight 8839 Supply Ship from 1992 which is an interesting model in many regards.
One of the great things about having collected Technic sets over a long period, is seeing new technologies introduced into the sets. The initial 'Technic technology' was of of course the holed beams, axles and gears that formed the basis of the debut range of sets released in 1977. The next significant step was probably the pneumatic system introduced in 1984 which has since undergone several iterations to get to the usable and reliable system we now have today.
Discounting electronics and motors, the next technology to be introduced was the flex system in 1991. That year, a rather uninteresting Universal Set (8074) was the first to use it. Then in 1992 three of the six sets launched featured it, including this supply ship.
Before I discuss the flex system, the other interesting thing to note about this model is that (I think I'm right in saying) it's the only Technic ship to have been made. There have been small boats, hovercraft, submarines and other water vessels since but no other ships. I'm guessing they are not considered 'cool' enough for today's Technic consumer.
The flex system consisted of thin plastic cables of various lengths with notches on the end that clipped into two types of connector: a black one suitable for connecting to a ball joint, and used here on the rigging, and a dark grey one with a standard technic hole in it. In these first models, the cable was simply threaded through half-pins fixed in the Technic beams but later on, the flexible tube we are familiar with today was introduced to enable the cables to be curved around corners thus providing for more complex mechanisms.
The boat has wheels to enable it to be 'sailed' across the floor, and a pair of propellers at the back. The steering mechanism makes use of a complex arrangement of flex cables and levers to turn both the rear wheels and the propellers when the 'steering wheel' on the top of the cabin is turned. Also, the propellers are connected to the front wheels and rotate when the boat is pushed.
You can just about see how it works in the photo below: the wheel turns the gear on the right which in turn rotates the lever. This then pulls the long flex cable which turns another lever connected to the back wheels. The propellers are also connected to this lever by flex cable.
The crane mounted on the back of the ship can be turned, extended, raised and lowered using wheels on the site of the ship. The stickers, which incidentally are not on transparent backing but are as good as when they were applied, show which wheel does what.
It's not a great looking model, but It's certainly different and made a change from the endless stream of plant and road vehicles that were prevalent at the time. It also packs in a lot of complex Technic functionality which wasn't always the case during this time.
I'm pleased to see that the white in my example has not suffered any signs of yellowing and overall it looks as good as the day I built it.
The flex system was last used in 7471 Mars Exploration Rover from 2003 and hasn't been seen since although the tubes themselves do see use today, mostly for aesthetic purposes.
If you're looking for something a little different to add to your Technic collection, see if you can track one down...
4 likes
11 comments on this article
Actually the more I look at it, the more it looks immensely cool. The color scheme certainly is. (And I'm not into studded Technic at all. I even think the holy Super Car is quite hideous.)
I might go get one for myself. Even though the prices are crazy. Thank you for the review.
I think this looks surprisingly good, and tons of interesting functionality.
Keep these old Technic reviews coming, Huw - I'm really enjoying them.
Or maybe 'todays Technic consumer' isn't considered to cool for ships. By the way, what submarines have there been in the Technic line? I wasn't aware such a thing existed.
I'm not overly interested in Technic, only things like the Hot-Rod (2014) and the Grand Prix Racer (2013), but I've not collected any Technic sets at all. I've just spotted a few interesting Star Wars sets... Great review anyway! Very interesting as usual!
One of the sets that brought me out of my 'dark age' - thanks Huw - fantastic review - I'm off into the loft to dig this set out & rebuild it!
Andy
@Tom, maybe that's a topic for a future review :)
http://brickset.com/sets/8299-1/Search-Sub was one of the first sets to come with a CD-ROM containing instructions and other material about the model, including an animation which was cutting-edge at the time.
http://brickset.com/sets/8250-1/Search-Sub was the same model without the CD-ROM
I didn't know there ever was a Technic ship. Cool review!
"By the way, what submarines have there been in the Technic line? I wasn't aware such a thing existed."
In addition to the examples provided by Huw, Set 8480 (the superb Technic space shuttle) had a submarine as an alternate build.
Nice review. Not sold on the ship, sadly. It's not a model type that seems to suit Technic and maybe that's why there's only been this one. Also the Flex System simply wasn't very good!
I always liked this one, too. Flex system as used in that red helicopter was so exciting! Oh, and on the Control Center dinosaur! Try making a tail like that with the current assortment of parts!
My younger brother got this ship for his 6th or 7th birthday back than. It was quite cool. The flex system was great and imho is greatly under estimated in the community. It is a great tool to transfer power/a movement to places were a driveshaft, pneumatic or LAs would not fit.