Random set of the day: Sky Copter
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 954 Sky Copter, released in 1978. It's one of 9 Technic sets produced that year. It contains 365 pieces.
It's owned by 107 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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27 comments on this article
I don't know, looks like it's stuck on the ground to me.
I was told if I have nothing nice to say I should say nothing at all and when are the 2020 minifigrues going to get put in the database?
Uh ... where's the cockpit?
Man I love this one. Always wanted it.
Didn’t it pop up as a random set a couple years ago?
What a beauty! Look at All the functionality, how about those sweet skid struts. Top all that off with an alternative build too. Decades of joy right there.
The instruction books for those early Technic sets had pages showing various ways to use the pieces, and how you could add System parts to Technic builds- bodywork for cars, for instance. Often there were several alternate builds, not just one. (Sigh)
Sky Copter and the World of Later Today!
Starring Jude Law's younger brother that nobody has ever heard of
I like the Technic look. You can see every axle and gear work while you crank the wheel on the side. I'm not sure at what point it turned into a beauty contest. In case I have an issue with how a certain part of the set looks, I use my spare parts to modify my sets as I please. That's the true beauty of Lego.
@560heliport said:
"The instruction books for those early Technic sets had pages showing various ways to use the pieces, and how you could add System parts to Technic builds- bodywork for cars, for instance. Often there were several alternate builds, not just one. (Sigh)"
Two things wrong nowadays: too specialized parts and too many sets released per year. Back then parts were general enough to create anything. Designers had time to come up with more alternate models.
@nashikens said:
"Man I love this one. Always wanted it.
Didn’t it pop up as a random set a couple years ago?"
Maybe it was the European counterpart that was released in '77 as 853 (didn't check the number).
I don’t mind about that the beauty but where is the cockpit? And the colour scheme is a bit bizarre!
@aquarian said:
" @nashikens said:
"Man I love this one. Always wanted it.
Didn’t it pop up as a random set a couple years ago?"
Maybe it was the European counterpart that was released in '77 as 853 (didn't check the number)."
853 is the red chassis. I just bought this 852 with a nice box in The Netherlands. I love the set!
I guess the B-model plane was also in some Technic idea book.
This ( 852 ) was my very first set. Countless hours spent with only 364 pieces.
Still my favourite helicopter out there with collective pitch control. Timless classic with stunning mechanisms.
Seems legit.
Impressively rudimentary.
Always wanted this one
One of my first sets! Great!
@Slobrojoe said:
"I don’t mind about that the beauty but where is the cockpit? And the colour scheme is a bit bizarre!"
These were the only colours that existed back then. I had this set, and back then no one batted an eye at colour schemes. (I also walked barefoot through a snowstorm every day to play with Lego)
Interesting things about this model:
1. The Accurate tilting/twisting of the blades (Collective). This would not be seen again for *34* years, with 2012's 9396 Helicopter, with a 4-blade tilting system. All other Lego Chopper have either non tilting, or the inaccurate simulations
2. the 'swashplate' which pushes the blade-tilting mechanism, is actually built upside down!
I love the blocky and studded look of old Technic sets.
Maybe its a generation gap that a lot of comments always complain about colors or realism when such older sets appear.
But I can also see the point if someone just got into LEGO now of course there's a big contrast with what's being sold now.
Now that is a technic set.
I find it interesting that we get a very classic-style Technic random set right on the heels of two new Technic announcements. I guess Huwbot is taking the opportunity to champion the older Technic aesthetic, too ^^
@TeriXeri said:
"I love the blocky and studded look of old Technic sets.
Maybe its a generation gap that a lot of comments always complain about colors or realism when such older sets appear."
Same here.
I grew up with these sets and this is what Technic is and what it is meant to be for me, and always will be. Maybe with Technic beams instead of Technic bricks, but still.
It's the soul and spirit of what Technic is about, and that is not, and never was, looks over function.
As impressive as the gearbox of the new Land Rover might be, or the engineering that goes into something like the Porsche 911 or the Bugatti Chiron, none of these sets invoke the feeling I associate with Technic. The last great classic Technic set for me was 8880, the last great Technic sets of the studless era for me were 42043 and 42054. Everything after that was either mediocre in general, or put form over substance. I am still waiting for another great Technic set, but currently I am not sure I will ever again see any set that fits that description. There will surely be impressive (if mostly overpriced) sets with some technicalities in them, but not true proper "Technic" sets.
Love this and would totally buy. Very good ultralight helo (though if it were made today I'm sure there would be a customized transparent bubble canopy to go with).
At the time, it was extremely impressive that they managed to control the blade pitch with the collective. And it was very fun to play with too! No one cared about the aesthetics because (1) it wasn't any worse-looking than you could do with the rest of Lego, and (2) it had interesting moving parts.
There were drawbacks, sure. They didn't have studless beams or all of the Technic connector parts, so the pitch control mechanism would occasionally un-stud itself or the axles would slip out. Today, the much broader set of available parts would make it possible to eliminate such problems.
But on the flip side, you could build the thing in just a couple of hours. Try accomplishing THAT with the Bugatti. And once you were done, you could really play with it. It wasn't too heavy, or too flimsy, or too fragile.
Having recently built a couple early '80s Technic sets, I will admit, any modern set seems easy after you've dealt with 1980s instructions (and the sets I bought, 8020 and 8040 are 12 years older than myself).
I like how the build focuses solely on helicopter controls, as opposed to extra stuff like winches. My favorite part is how the pitch of the rotors can be adjusted.