Random set of the day: Aircraft
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8434 Aircraft, released during 2004. It's one of 5 Technic sets produced that year. It contains 445 pieces, and its retail price was US$35/£24.99.
It's owned by 626 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at Brick Owl, BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $102.00, or eBay.
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25 comments on this article
You aircraft. Me human.
And this is why RXotD was late today. It took an extra hour because it had to learn how to fly a freaking tilt-rotor airplane, and had absolutely nothing to do with Daylight Saving Time.
I wonder why they used a red gear, instead of the usual gray? Did the designer just want to add a bit of color?
I think that Lego should make a large, modern version of this. Maybe they could slap on some orange paint and give it motorized functions. And then perhaps they could base the model off of the V-22 Osprey, but give it coast guard branding to disguise the fact that it's a military aircraft. Doesn't that sound like a great idea?
Oh wait
I like seeing gears in action. Neat set.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I wonder why they used a red gear, instead of the usual gray? Did the designer just want to add a bit of color?"
Smart Play...!
Needs a skeleton to pilot it given how much of the craft itself’s bones are showing
I know 2004 was a bit of a tumultuous time for TLG, but Aircraft? That’s the whole name? Were they afraid of imagination at this point or what. Not to be beaten on blandness, 2004’s Technic range also included 8536 : Truck
The propellor blades are a fun choice though, that’s a Bionicle weapon element I think?
@TheOtherMike said:
"I wonder why they used a red gear, instead of the usual gray? Did the designer just want to add a bit of color?"
I wonder why they didn't cancel this one.
I mean, it's clearly an Osprey, and not even in clown colours or with Rescue branding.
Shame on you, TLG, shame!
@stefwaffles said:
"I know 2004 was a bit of a tumultuous time for TLG, but Aircraft? That’s the whole name? Were they afraid of imagination at this point or what."
They were clearly afraid to call it what it actually is, for fear that it might upset some people who in turn would then force its cancelation...
love love love the Technic aesthetic of the time of situational Bionicle parts usage
This is an interesting one. The blades are air katana parts from Lewa Nuva, the panneling is gunmetal gray (exclusive to this set in that color) and it uses an air shock dampener for the tilt. That's an unusual part that has previously been used for the gullwing doors of 8448 Super Street Sensation and 8466 4x4 Offroader.
Technic sets from around 2003-2004 were still figuring out this whole 'studless building' thing and the use of odd colors, bionicle parts, very unusual specialised parts, odd recolours and the occasional old dark gray amidst the new bluish colors is quite typical of the era. It' quite a vibe. The 2004 sets also introduced the black with endless pin holes in the ground box design. Which still are livelier than the icons boxes IMHO.
And beside being a tilt wing it's as much an official boeing osprey as 8222 VTOL is.
@stefwaffles said:
"I know 2004 was a bit of a tumultuous time for TLG, but Aircraft? That’s the whole name? Were they afraid of imagination at this point or what. Not to be beaten on blandness, 2004’s Technic range also included 8536 : Truck
The propellor blades are a fun choice though, that’s a Bionicle weapon element I think?"
Yup, from 8567. The Toa and Toa Nuva weapons and armor saw a fair amount of reuse around that time.
Great to see some functionality with rotating Bionicle sword blades and lifting undercarriage.
As much as I usually dislike color puke, that red gear looks cool! Didn't know they made it in that color.
All in all, pretty nice totally-not-Osprey!
EDIT: now that I look at the colors for that gear, kinda surprising to see they made it in 15 colors, 9 of which were just for one single set, and 3 only for 2 or 3 sets. Only three colors were used a ton of times, unsurprisingly old grey, LBG and DBG.
This feels like proper technic to me. Skeletal, but even when there is some paneling, it's still got some big holes.
Just bought this from a car boot sale, caked in dust so dismantled, cleaned, then had to try and work out which beams went where because the colours look so similar in the online instructions.
@stefwaffles said:
"I know 2004 was a bit of a tumultuous time for TLG, but Aircraft? That’s the whole name? Were they afraid of imagination at this point or what. Not to be beaten on blandness, 2004’s Technic range also included 8536 : Truck"
You mean 8436, not 8536.
@Binnekamp said:"And beside being a tilt wing it's as much an official boeing osprey as 8222 VTOL is."
Yeah, just compare its design to 42113, they look totally different. The shape of the nose is completely different, and this one has a T tail, while the Osprey has an H tail.
Bionicle vehicle before their introduction in 2008!
@TheOtherMike said:
" @stefwaffles said:
"I know 2004 was a bit of a tumultuous time for TLG, but Aircraft? That’s the whole name? Were they afraid of imagination at this point or what. Not to be beaten on blandness, 2004’s Technic range also included 8536 : Truck"
You mean 8436, not 8536.
@Binnekamp said:"And beside being a tilt wing it's as much an official boeing osprey as 8222 VTOL is."
Yeah, just compare its design to 42113, they look totally different. The shape of the nose is completely different, and this one has a T tail, while the Osprey has an H tail. "
Looks like it was based on the Bell-Agusta BA609, which was a predecessor design to the V-22, and is still planned to be produced later this decade, for civilian use, as the Leonardo AW609. Note that the BA609 first flew in March 2003.
@MCLegoboy said:
"This feels like proper technic to me. Skeletal, but even when there is some paneling, it's still got some big holes."
Very much agree. For me, Technic is about the engineering. Panels that contribute to the look of vehicles detract from the essence of Technic. I’m not claiming that contoured and panelled vehicles are badly engineered, only that by hiding their workings, they’re missing the point.
@FlameoftheWest said:
"I think that Lego should make a large, modern version of this. Maybe they could slap on some orange paint and give it motorized functions. And then perhaps they could base the model off of the V-22 Osprey, but give it coast guard branding to disguise the fact that it's a military aircraft. Doesn't that sound like a great idea?
Oh wait"
Alternatively, they could fix the gearbox and then release the same exact (corrected) model and label it: plane or aircraft. That should be low key enough to pass under the radar of groups that have nothing better to do than sap the life of others for no good reasons.
@Zander said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
"This feels like proper technic to me. Skeletal, but even when there is some paneling, it's still got some big holes."
Very much agree. For me, Technic is about the engineering. Panels that contribute to the look of vehicles detract from the essence of Technic. I’m not claiming that contoured and panelled vehicles are badly engineered, only that by hiding their workings, they’re missing the point."
That's the nice thing about 42128. The only thing that's hidden are the pistons, and not only are those secondary (or even tertiary, quaternary, or lower) to the main functions, but you can raise the hood to show them off, if desired.
Ironic that the Osprey program was a direct response to the failed attempt to rescue the US embassy staff held hostage by the Iranians.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I wonder why they used a red gear, instead of the usual gray? Did the designer just want to add a bit of color?"
My guess is that it's to highlight it's a control point since it isn't super obvious otherwise.