First my apologies for my English.

I received this set for Christmas (must have been 1993), when I was 10 years old. I considered it as kind of quantum leap, giving me the opportunity to build whatever thing of remote controlled car.

First I built the car, and I found it amazing. Anyway, as said in an earlier review, it's not fit for racing since you have to steer back to center and that leads to some stop and go motion. Anyway we had a lot of fun. I loved the bricky remote control that carries also the battery box.

Later came the airplane, that didn't surprise me too much. The king was definitely the little bobcat/forklift. It has that actually very well working gearing, with which you change from wheeling straight to wheeling left/rightways. The third gear lets you lift an lower the fork. I loved this one, so I rebuild it a couple of days ago. No cons until here.

And that is the only con about it: After 24 years I found that the micro motor wouldn't do it anymore. As it seemed lost anyway I didn't hesitate to brutally open it. I cleaned these tiny delicate contacts and the little center shaft. I had to break a little hole in its red back to reassemble it without bending the contacts. After some tries it seemed fine and it came back to life, but sometimes it freezes and would not move further until I take off the connector cable an put it back on it in another position. So next step is to clean the electric contacts on the back, I'll see if that will improve something.

As I said, that is the only con, therefor just a "4" in parts. I was lucky to find a used micromotor for $18, and the forklift is now on display. My three year old son loves to play with it, what means a lot since he's already met my 8275 :)

If you can get one with a working micromotor, don't miss it!

It's a pity that this set is nearly impossible to find in the USA, as it really stands out amongst all the Technic universal sets. I had to pay a premium to get it from Europe, and I think that it was worth every penny. The models in this set quite remarkable, while two of them are marvelous.

This set has the same battery box and color scheme as the 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig (the battery box appeared in these colors only in these two Technic sets). Also, this was the first Technic set to feature the polarity inversersers and the micro motor, which only reappered one more time in the infamous 8480 Space Shuttle. The set does an excellent job of demonstrating some of the possibilities with these parts in the true spirit of the universal sets series.

The airplane is a decent VTOL aircraft model that gets the basic functions just fine. The engine rotation mechanism is a bit sluggish, but it works. The car was Lego's first attempt at creating an RC vehicle, and it is indeed a good one. Unfortunately, the turning speed of the front wheels is too slow making the vehicle almost uncontrollable while in motion. Nevertheless, it works well in stop-and-go mode.

The two real gems in this set are the forklift and the rabbit thing. The forklift manages to get three complex functions performed by one motor assisted by a clever gearing mechanism. It's mechanics are simply incredible. The rabbit monster is my favorite model in the set. It features a curious and highly complex mechanical loop that produces its fun motion pattern. It is worth studying up closely for sure.

All in all, this is an incredible classic Technic set that is worth picking up if one gets a chance. The models in it are quite unique and offer hours of building and play time. The parts selection is perfect plus there are a lot of rare bricks in the set. It is for sure one of the top Technic sets of all times. Too bad that it's a hard find these days. If you own one, you should consider yourself lucky!

So I am going through the old Technic sets and build the ones I don't own.

This set always intrigued me as a kid, as it was the first 'remote controlled' Lego car.

The set builds four models, and three are real gems:

1: The car is nice and has a proper differential, rarely seen in smaller sets. It als has a curious case of what I can only describe as 'brick marketing': There is a bit of red in the front to highlight the micro-motor. But the most visible is actually just a regular red 2 x 2 plate.

2: The VTOL plane is ok, it does pretty much what you'd expect.

3: The Dragon car has some really clever two-motor action going on, which you have to see in motion to believe/appreciate. It also has a lot of moving parts.

4: The Bobcat has a nice switching mechanism between functions, and four-wheel drive.

To summarise, if you want to build(or buy) something nostalgic with unique and well-designed functions, give this one a shot!