I have just completed a marathon Lego Technics week after receiving a 4 kg (9 lb) box of classic Technic Lego pieces. Fortunately all the parts were separated into their respective colours.

After doing several loads of washing with these parts in mesh laundry bags on delicate wash cycles and laying them out in a room with a dehumidifier, I was ready to discover what treasures I had received. I had some idea of the main sets included but when I had finished building these sets, I had loads of red, yellow and blue Technic and regular bricks left over.

Using the parts inventories and scanning the sets released at the same time as the others, I was able to discover three additional sets. It has been a real challenge and drawn on my knowledge of how these Technical sets were put together.

By focusing on some key parts and using Lego forensic analysis, I discovered this 852 Helicopter. I grew up at the time when these Technical sets were new and what lead me on the path of discovery was this set's 16x6 black plates.

Technical sets introduced the concept of combining two or more sets to finish off one set. I knew that the 853 Car Chassis when combined with 852 made a station wagon (estate) car with black body panelling. The key here is that the 16x6 black plates are for the wings of the airplane which is the second model of 852 and does not feature as prominently in the traditional images.

To confirm this suspicion, I also looked at the the quantity of 4x1 yellow Technic bricks which was a giveaway.

So I managed to find this rare collectable set in amongst all the random bricks remaining after a week of building other Technic sets.

One key point with this set is that there are no rare parts included. I was able to build MOCs of this more than 30 years ago and this was when the instructions were not available online. Online did not exist. I truly believe that if you have sufficient classic Technic beams and a few 24 tooth crown gears and universal joints, you will also be able to make this set from scratch.

The challenge is to MOC it from the box images and not downloaded instructions.

Box/Instructions

As stated earlier, I did not get the box or instructions however I have managed to source an original A2 blueprint sheet from the first release.

Parts

When all the different colours were separated, it was clear that at the end of the 70s, Technic sets had about 50% regular bricks. The parts were also limited to the classic yellow, red, blue, black and light grey. These were the days when Lego conservatively controlled the introduction of new parts and colours.

Nearly all the parts that Technic introduced are still in the system and can be purchased from Pick a Brick or brick resellers. I have sourced all the missing parts for all of the sets included in the box.

The Technic theme was the first time that Lego could be constructed in anything other than vertically. This set has several places where there is rigid triangular construction geometry used in the fuselage.

It has a very clever collective control.

I thought that the tail could have been built with red slope bricks and that the flybar stabiliser is disproportionately large.

The build

Building this set was the icing on the cake after a week of classic Technic. I did not expect this to be included in my purchase and I am pleased to have this rare set in my collection.

The completed model

You can see from the above photos, that this set was not complete when purchased but all the missing parts have been sourced.

It brought back memories of when I MOCd this model years ago.

This image shows the model completed with all the missing parts included and motor 870 installed.

It is sitting on the reverse of the instruction sheet which is styled as a blue print at scale 1:1.

Overall opinion

The other two sets discovered in the left over pieces is a 850 Forklift and about ¾ of 853 Car Chassis (missing the four big wheels and four square pistons, yep ... ordered).

The data bases maintained by Brickset and Peeron are detailed and very well maintained.

It was through these sites that I was able to ferret around and find the parts inventories and building instructions.

If you are a collector of classic Technic, this is one set you should acquire.

This is one of the first Technic models ever made, but even then, in my opinion it belongs into the top ten of best Technic sets.

Box/Instructions

This set comes in an old technic style box. So it means it has a plastic inlay with compartments for most of the pieces. Compartments for axles, for different types of gears, for bricks and so on.

I like these style of boxes much more than the boxes are today.

There are two instructions in this set. Both are on a big paper. One paper is for the A model (the helicopter) and the other one is for the B model (a plane).

Like all the other old (technic) sets, there are many parts per step, so you can build this model in around 10 steps. That makes it a good challenge to look if you've had everything in the step and I like that.

Parts

The parts in this set consists of many technic-bricks, normal bricks, technic-plates and normal plates, some slopes and of course the wheels, axles and gears. It's a very good assortment. Almost everything is blue or yellow.

The build

As I said before, the build is a real challenge. Because the few steps, there are many parts in a step, so you have to look closely if you've done everything. The model itself isn't very complicated, but it is a nice average build.

The completed model

And when you're finally done with building your model, you have an fantastic helicopter in front of you. It's also quite big; around 40cm. This helicopter has 2 functions:

• You can turn the crank in order to turn the blades on top of the model and on the back of the model. It works very smoothly.
• You can push the lever to make the top blades go up or down (not the blades at all, but the blades themself, I don't know how to explain). This is a very special feature and it was only in a few other lego helicopters. The other ones used special parts, but this helicopter uses only some bricks and some axles. And it still works very well.

Also a nice detail: the levers to control the blades are in the cockpit in front of the seats, just like the real thing.

You can also motorize the A and B model with the motor pack from the same year. Also with the motor, all the functions work very well.

Summary

This is a very nice model and you get good parts for your money. It has a good playablity and it has a very good building experience. It's very detailed, with seats, levers, and more.

So, if you're an technic fan and you have the oppurtunity to buy this model; grab your chance!

This is an model that ran for years on and on in my room on the 9 volt motor!
Every time I look at it, it give me the shivers...
This is what LEGO Technic should be.
Simply the best at the year 1977!!

I can still visualize the box cover of the first 852 I built. Kevin's little sister V had taken a ballpoint pen and marked across the helicopter picture on his 852’s box lid. Bummer for Kev, but it didn't matter much to me -- I just had to build that set. By this time it was 1981 or 1982 and this kit was no longer available in European stores (or if it was, I sure couldn't find it).

Anyway, the 852's box lid picture belies the actual sizes of the completed models (the alternate model is an airplane). That is one big helicopter. The voice of experience authoritatively states that you can test the 852’s solidity by getting smacked in the head by the whirling main rotor (which tilts to satisfy your directional pleasure whims). I somehow ended up with a photocopy of the building plans, and built a black one about 20 years ago (for covert operation purposes, of course). Night rescues were aided by the addition of blocks out of the 970 lights kit.

I finally got an 852 of my own (complete with box, instructions, and even the clear plastic insert) years later, and it stands out as the best of the four different helicopter sets that I own. There is a lot to be said for simplicity in design.

The good variety (and number) of parts (wheels are supplied, too) contribute to a more than fair share of imaginative building fun, which of course is what Lego is all about. The 852 thus gets a 10/10, 24 April 2004

This helicopter was excellent and far better than any other subsequent helicopter that has been released. The titling blade mechanism works very well, and despite other comments the gears are not cranky! I have the set here in front of me and it works very well indeed. This is one of the few early sets where if you installed the electric motor where you were instructed to do so, then it actually worked too! (I say this because when you install the electric motor on the first super car - Set 853 - it does nothing except strain itself). I hope Lego would consider releasing this as a Lego Legend!