I didn't know they were using those weird wheels with the bar-sized holes were being used this late into the 2000s. There are many old parts that have connection points like that that would make them much more useful today if they existed.

It looked a lot bigger in the thumbnail than it actually is

Does anyone have a front end that needs to be loaded? I actually had to replace a burnt out headlight, and it turns out you have to remove the entire front end clip to get the headlight assembly out where the bulb can be removed. And then a wire had shorted out inside the assembly, so I had to replace a section of wire inside the headlight chamber. I probably saved myself about $300 wrestling with that myself. Fun, fun.

@Agent00Z said:
"This was my very first LEGO Technic set. "

Same here!

"Front-End Loader"...well, yeah/duh: if you're trying to load with this from the back-end; you're missing the point the ginormous scoop...:)

@Atuin said:
"It was really strange how there were essentially NO Technic sets at all in 2002. All those thar are considered to be are either Star Wars Droids, Actually-not-Technic-Racers Sets, Bionicle and a few re-Releases under the Legends brand.

To be honest, not even the line that this set belonged to was officially considered Technic - it was released as a sub-theme of the new for 2003 Designer theme. That would 2 years later be rebranded as the 'Creator' we know today, the earlier Creator was more the successor of Basic (Classic in the US) and the precursor of Bricks and More, so had little to do with what we consider 'Creator' nowadays (the confusion gets even bigger, when you consider that they reused the 1998 videogame logo for the 2001 line...).

2004 saw the first 'real' Technic set after that rather confusing era, with distinctively non-Creator boxes in the typical black and a return of the late 1999 logo. So with the break (and also subtly noticeable change to almost all stud-less beams) is this the beginning of Technic Generation II? The color-coding change for pins, axles, gears etc. also began in 2003...

On a side note, most of these 2003 sets were actually kind of good (especially parts-wise). Their bad marketing however resulted in them being largely overlooked.

EDIT:
Just as a side note: 2004 was the big change anyways, after TLG almost went bankrupt and the CEO change took place. The Big Color Purge and the return of Duplo also coincide with this year. Both Duplo, Jack Stone/4Juniors and Belville saw major changes to their figures and the Jack Stone figures were to be cancelled the next year."

This image is nostalgic on so many levels. The 2003 era designer background. This vehicle that looks so unique and distinct with its complicated look. And the yellow bucket. How many times did we see yellow buckets on technic sets, let alone front-end loaders?
I miss the days when technic wasn't connected to black boxes. Nowadays we get more background details, but in 2004 the boxes were reaaaly drab. If the model is colorful it works. If not... it's all drab!

You might tell, but I don't like black box designs. But at least those had clear grey highlights. Not like today's 18+ line where the box is just a void with a thin line around the set to at least give a basic distinction between the subject and background...

This is probably my first Technic set as well. Got it from my mom, I think for my birthday that year.
Rebuilt it a few years ago, and it's honestly still a cute little thing, with functions that make sense, and are enjoyable. They managed to pack a fair amount of them in a limited space, and I really like how they designed the raise/lower function of the boom. How it's controlled via the grey cog in the rear, and runs through the articulated body.
I like it.

Not as good as my 8853, but to be fair, it is quite a bit smaller and cheaper. Certainly not bad functionality for its size. And mostly black pins! Even the tiny 30433 is showing more color puke....

@TheIronBadger said:
"For me, the B-model is the most notable part of this set - it's the first scraper in Technic, and, to this day, one of only two in existence. Back in 2003, I built it before building the A-model!"

Go to Bricklink, and check out the images for 950: there's a picture from one of the catalogs that shows the alternate models- one us a scraper (or grader). My neighbor had the set, and I remember that we built the grader.

@Atuin:
Following the launch of Bionicle and the expansion of SW to include Technic sets, they decided to eliminate both the Technic and Duplo branding. The official statement was something along the lines of it being too confusing to have both a Star Wars and Technic logo on the same box, so any Technic sets were being rolled into whichever play theme they were tied to. The result of this was that any Technic set that had no other theme just went up in a puff of smoke.

@TheIronBadger said:
"For me, the B-model is the most notable part of this set - it's the first scraper in Technic, and, to this day, one of only two in existence. Back in 2003, I built it before building the A-model!"

Since I have one, I know that there was a scraper (also B-model to a Front Loader) at least as early as 1992. Check out 8828, it's a great little set.

@560heliport, @RTS013:

Graders and scrapers are two different classes of vehicle. See the B-model for 8451, which was released alongside this set - that is a grader!

Thanks for the stories and recommendations, though - 950 and 8828 do indeed rock.

@TheIronBadger, @RTS013:
Thanks! I assumed grader/scraper was just an American vs. British terminology thing.
I have 8828, but forgot about the B-model!

@MCLegoboy said:
"Man, I got nothing to actually say about this one so I guess I'll just say...

Black and Yellow
Black and Yellow
Black and Yellow
Black and Yellow"

E'er thang I do
I do it big

I have a soft spot for the stud-less technic era for the early 2000's. Never got any myself as I'm not really into technic, but I liked how they looked.