I’m really sad to see b models go from the technic line, I can understand the decision commercially but I felt alternates were a great way of inspiring the view that a set can become something else - more than just an extra selling point. Many people do not know the existence of rebrickable and I’m not sure it is correct to rely on independent designers to cover the gap in alternate models… Anyway, hopefully with more time and resources on new sets we will see more exciting projects - seen this year by a giant and quite different 1H wave. We at least still have creator 3in1 which continues to produce sets with creative alternates to inspire the next generation :)
I also miss the really old Technic "universal building sets," which just contained a wide variety of parts with a thick instruction manual full of all kinds of different models and mechanisms and idea pages for things you could build with the parts in the set. LEGO still does that kind of thing with the LEGO Classic brick boxes for regular LEGO, so why not Technic anymore? I'd buy the crap out of a value pack of bulk Technic parts.
Having the model meant that you get twice the building enjoyment out of every set. I always build the B model first. Then take it apart and build the main build.
The garbage truck is the highlight for me! I saw someone with a custom LEGO City moc with the same kind of lifting mechanism, so it's nice to see LEGO officially embrace such a design, albeit in Technic and not in system. 😢
Supposedly there's another LEGO set coming out soon with the same mechanism, but at minifig scale. But both are a little frustrating because that MOC you mentioned was a LEGO Ideas project that reached 10,000 supporters and then LEGO rejected it... only to now release two sets with the exact same mechanism and idea. So LEGO is being accused of stealing the idea without crediting its original creator.
Had the same thought! There was a garbage truck already with this exact same mechanism! Looked it up, It was a moc designed by Scott and Levi Hasse. Hope they receive 10% of profit : )
I saw that one too, and it looks like the mechanism is very similar to me as well. Both the moc and this one look like the gear causing the claw to close (the black one in 2:29) being blocked from having closed around the bin will cause the arm to be lifted up with the bin by the same gears that formerly turned the black gear, such that turning one gear can control both motions.
That garbage truck is awesome! It'll be my first technic set in quite a few years! The B-models are a bit of a bummer, but honestly, I've never built any of them.
Even if I’m not a technic fan, I usually got the $10 sets and found them a lot of fun, especially because of the B-models that would make something entirely different with different functions with such a limited set of parts. I really love the stunt plane, the designer has been uploading a ton of impressive alternate models on his youtube channel.
That truck reminds me of the Mack truck B-model. I do miss when lego sets were full of inspiration and alternate models, but it’s not a huge loss. The small technic sets look neat, but they will definitely get overshadowed by the technic space theme.
How much of the B model decision is tied to Lego's increasing reliance on licensed sets? Lego has no problems with turning a generic in-house designed car into a boat, but third parties are probably less enthused about their product being treated in such a manner.
Or, it could be used to transport the harvester attachement as a trailer when moving on the road. Usually, the harvesters are forbidden to be driven on public roads due to excessive width, and they need to remove the front attachement, fold it to a kind of a long and narrow trailer (that uses those small wheels), hitch it to the rear hook and then go to the fields.
They just save money by leaving the B model. And it fits with the philosophy of not to take your lego apart again and play with it, but just collect it and don't play with it.
It likely has shown up in models since, but the tilt-steering buggy reminds me of the 8252 Police Buggy with Technic scale minifig from the early 2000s, a fun set I had. It coincidentally had good B-model features and a somewhat modular design to it to switch between them quickly
Well, as highlighted in other videos, this mechanism in garbage truck was submitted to lego ideas, collected 10 000 votes... And was not selected for a set. So, one might say, that idea remained here... I am curous if there would be credit to the afol...
@@globetrotter7778 I had huge hopes for Harvester.... but I got let down. I will look closer once the instructions will be released. And well, maybe this mack as well. After all, the set is really interesting :)
@@reijo77 The Mack is definitely first on my list. It is very playable (like any good Technic set) and even though the price hasn't been confirmed by Lego yet, I've read that it should be 30-35$, which to me is reasonable for a 503 piece build.
The consumers are the driving factor on why B models cease to exists. People today buy LEGO either for resell or just to build and display. But many would not buy 2 of the same models to build and display. The other factor would be LEGO might save money from the design department by not using the time to think about B models, but rather create new sets to sell. Seriously CREATIVE FACTOR is lost since single themed sets start to exists.
Quite a lot of people seem to buy a set twice so they can build the B-model while keeping the A-model intact. Not sure if this is a good move, business-wise.
R.I.P official alternate Technic builds. Surprised they didn't downscale the 3-in-1 in CREATOR to 2-in-1 too. Corporate want's to increase cashflow, since the growth in 2023 was not higher than the pandemic era. Honestly I'm surprised they still employ LEGO Designers and not outsource the work to fan designers to save even more development costs. Since they leak themselves most of the times, it shouldn't be a bigger risk either. P.S. Just buy the previous sets second-hand if you like alternate builds and want to show LEGO that you hate this decision. Bricks can be washed and reused for generations.
I think rebrickable is a good solution for the end of b models. Would be interesting to see if LEGO does something more official as a partnership with them.
I have honestly am not that big of a technic fan, just don’t care for the lack of actual lego bricks included in them its a bunch of pins and panels in my opinion. But I do feel for the fans of Technic
I know, there is literally no b models. Cmon lego. There were b models las year for the dump truck, and snow groomer. B models are what make lego technic sets or all lego sets for that matter a better value for your money. I really like the John Deere and Race car in particular, will probably by them with the Speed Champions Ford Mustang when they come out. Have a great rest of your weekend,
I wish the Bulldozer set had a b model like we had with the Dump truck and the snow groomer from 2023. I'm not really interested in this technic lineup for january.
When I first got back into Lego around 2021, I greatly enjoyed the B-models, since they gave me a way to rebuild my limited number of sets and keep them fresh. After I got enough sets though, I just kinda... stopped. I still think it's worth having B-models on the $10-20 sets, though, since I imagine there are many kids who will wind up in the same situation. I understand it, though, and if losing B-models is what gets us better set varieties (which, correlation doesn't equal causation but 2024 seems to be better about) then I can't complain too much.
It really is an end of the era. Still remember old technic sets like 8480 space shuttle and fantastic b model submarine . Or 8053 with cool b model (harbor crane).
I absolutely hate that they are discontinuing b models. I build and rebuild my Lego models as a way of stress relief and relaxation. I feel that with the raising prices and taking away the b models were really not getting our money's worth. I have been building technic for at least 30 years and I've gone back and collected older sets from ebay. So I guess I'll be buying more old sets from eBay and less new sets from lego.
@@TACTORi heard inside infos of great wheel parts like wheelhubs with integrated metal ball bearings and and and, lego will take massive L to the other companies
It was not too long ago (5 years ago) that even the flagship Technic sets like the Bucket Wheel Excavator and Rough Terrain Crane had B models, as well as the Racing Yacht, so I really hope they bring back B models in future sets!
I've only really gone back to Technic in the last 2 years, but I was blown away by the Bucket Wheel Excavator's B-model. Its a Mobile Aggregator to sort the pieces collected by the Excavator, works perfectly with the base model.... so you really need to buy two sets. Ingenious.
Sorry but Lego straight up ripped off the garbage truck design and specifically the mechanisms from a very popular lego ideas set. I think that is really scummy. The point of Lego ideas is that Lego can make the set and provide some compensation to the designer. Just stealing people's ideas when you post them is really messed up (edit) I just checked and the original kid that designed it was about to sell this set through the brick-link designer program when he turns 18 in January 2024, I feel now that this was even more awful and intentional on Lego's part
I`ve never built B-models so not too sad for me personally but I can see that it`s a problem for the majority of others. The garbagetruck is my favourite among these january 2024 sets! Feels fresh and very recogizable.
It reminds me of the B model for the Mack truck released a few years ago. That was a great B model. Second only to the SUV B model for the Le Mans car that I love to modify.
It is a small-scaled version of "big brother" but with electric engine (=a few panels instead of inlet and intercooler behind the cabin) and side-loader arm instead of front fork-loader
around 2020, TLG is moving even further away from the idea of children's toys and turning into a pump for pumping money out of adults, playing on nostalgia.... beautiful? - perhaps, but the spirit of the techniques in the sets is less and less....
I still miss the alternate designs we used to get on city sets. There might not have been any instructions for the alternates but as a kid in the early 90s they where inspiring to go build something else.
the loss of B models is really sad, ever since i was a kid i always built hte B modeels at least once, and sometimes i even prefer the B model over the A model. EDIT: the Garbage truck looks excellent though. might have to get that one
I find the loss of B models sad in theory, but technic is a nightmare to pull apart, so I only ever really did it once or twice (I would build the B model first almost to get it over with), but it's sad for others that like them.
I feel very sad about seeing them gone, it was always a nice value additive to the price we pay TLG, outsourcing it to rebrickable feels like a cheap excuse. While there are talented and great moc designers out their, some even active lego designers like grohl, the official b-models had a certain quality assurance and zero entry level barrier. Now the 8 year old child HAS to know about rebrickable, is potentially charged for instructions, and has to use a computer to access them. All of this used to be different. Maybe great for members of the community, but utterly cheap on the side of LEGO :(
Thank you Balasz for mentioning the death of the B-model. For me it was a defining characteristic of Technic since I was drawn into it as a kid in the 90s. Just their existence was an excuse to constantly rebuild between the two models, getting way more value out of the set. As a result, I will vote with my wallet and stop buying Technic. Unfortunately, it seems the majority of people don't bother since they just build a set once and are done with, so it won't matter that much. It is clear by the type of sets that Lego is churning out and their business tactics that they promote single use, licensed and display sets, so that they can keep selling more. People forget that every Lego product line used to feature B-models, or even multiple back of the box builds. Town sets for example did this, now City is a shadow of its former self. Technic was simply the last one standing, leaving Creator 3-in-1 which still has them as a defining feature. The existence of rebrickable is not an excuse for lego to cheap out on the development of B models. Alternative builds on rebrickable tend to be either lower quality or not free. And I am not keen on spending 10+ euros just for instructions as lots of creators demand. Personally, I've posted quite a lot of free MOCs.
I think that there are tons of valuable and high quality MOCs on Rebrickable besides some less polished ones, and there were better and worse official B models, so it is not a black and white situation. I think with the migration of B model instructions to lego.com they were able to track precisely the amount of people actually building them, so from their perspective it was a rather simple equation. As a trend I saw casual builders choosing the official B models less, and experienced builders turning more towards Rebrickable.
Completely agree. In addition, technic models tends to get far less, and often worse, alternative models: this is because the technic parts are less versatile than the classic ones. If you start with a set that already has a single one construction in mind, the versatility would be even lower. On the completely opposite direction, the small 3-in-1 creator sets have seen a huge increase in replayability during the years
I agree wholeheartedly. I might just be getting grumpy, but Technic has been losing momentum in the last few years (almost a decade now?). Too many licensed sets, increased focus on aesthetics over mechanisms, less interesting machines... Nothing wrong with a licensed/good looking set in principle but lately I've felt that even the largest sets are glorified display pieces.
@@RacingBrick But WHY were the official B-models chosen less? Because not everyone wants to build a model with a smartphone or pad or computer screen needed to show the PDF instructions.... they want a piece of paper to browse through cause THAT doesn't need electricity or a gadget to display it..... Of course you would see a decline in B-model building..... and the fact that most of them were way worse and uncreative anyways (maybe on purpose letting Lego cheap out on the customer getting less experience for more money.....).....
@@320iSTWEdition 100% agreed with you. Don't like instructions on the screen started white cybermaster. Now I don't want the kids behind a screen all day. B models must be include on paper in the box.
Lego really was inspired by 2 of JK Brickworks' mocs. One being the Solar System orrery and the other being the garbage truck! They did a good job though
I love the smallest sets they always do, usually $10 USD. They’re always such fun little builds for a great price! I tend to collect the majority of Technic sets but there’s just something about the tiny ones that’s always fun. Kinda disappointing there’s no more B models, hopefully that will just be temporary but we’ll see.
Lego should have introduced C models. But they took away B models instead. 😮 For just A models why spend hours building something when something readymade toys like remote controlled cars, truck etc available?
So it's ok to mix system cabin in Twchnic in harvester, why they didn't do with a cabin in Mack? It would look much cooler with System bricks cabin fittable for minifigs. I'll do it on my own.
Technic is my favorite L.E.G.O. and serene and unique childhood memory I kind of will miss these. 테크닉은 제가 가장 좋아하는 L.E.G.O 입니다. 고요하고 독특한 어린 시절의 추억이 좀 그리워질 것 같아요
It is a shame that they don't make B models anymore especially for kids. With B models there is a bigger drive for them to dissembling and bilding and eventually making there own creations. And it should be on paper. They see enough screens and get distracted wen they're on the internet.
The removing of b models doesn't matter too much tbh.. on bigger sets, they were almost never an option because of the pain taking technic apart. In terms of smaller lego sets, you have alot of cool alternative builds on bricklink for example.
Wish b models are still around too. Very set, technic or system, that we have with alternate models we built them all. Some rebrickable models cost additional money
I'll miss having B models as some of them were even better than the A model, the blue crawler crane comes to mind, I straight away mine into the B model.
I'm excited for the January 2024 sets but I'm sad because no more B-Models and Monster Jam. My favorite Technic set in 2024 is the Mack LR Garbage Truck
Rebrickable is great, but after finishing some builts…i’d 99% of the time prefer the lego alternate. And i won’t be paying 2-3€ for instructions of a 10€ set. Sad to see Lego lose more and more…
I noticed a while back that the B models became less and less of. The last Technic I had with B model was Mack Anthem truck 42078. Because Dom's charger didn't have any B model, neither the rally car. It's sad.
I have a couple Technic sets sized 500 to 1000 parts from 2015-2020. I looked for suggested B-models on Rebrickable and other sites, and while there were a few ideas, none were of the official Lego quality. I didn't like and didn't build any of them. That said, not every official B model was good, in my opinion, but many were very good. I even liked some of them more than the A models.
The garbage truck set looks awesome and interesting. By the way, (in my opinion) the alternate builds from Rebrickable are better than the B-models from the Lego sets. So, Lego doesn't need to hire more employees and make extra costs to make sets with B-models. I buy an affordable Lego set rather than a super expensive set with B-models.
Lego, a company whos biggest achievement in the past couple of years was to drastically increase set prieces while at the same time drastically decrease set/part quality. It's hard to believe someone would really think Lego will dedicate the designers time and resources into new models instead of b-models :D :D :D
Relying on the fan community to provide alternate builds is like Bethesda putting out buggy games and counting on the modding community to fix all their problems for free on top of paying for DLC.
JD shoud be sold without branding. It does not resemble any details of real machine, even colours are wrong at few places, like sides missing black grilles.
In the 90s I bought several Technic sets. The B models were never really fun to build. 2 years ago I came back, buying a used Liebherr 9800 which did not have any B model anyway. I discovered Rebrickable and bought several Alts. So much fun! Also, with some extra parts (old and new) I can build several original models available through the LEGO builders app. B models are just not needed, imo.
Apparently LEGO shares this opinion. I had some nice experience with B models, especially for the smaller sets in the past years. I also very much liked the B model of the 42077 Rally car or the Mack Anthem.
Electric garbage truck without electrics. I am sure some parents will fall into that trap... Regarding the B-models, it fits the trend that Lego wants to give the customer less for more money. Less consistency in color between parts, prints accuracy, part shape tolerances, scratched windows, no basic remote controller but everything must use a smartphone, etc.
I’m really sad to see b models go from the technic line, I can understand the decision commercially but I felt alternates were a great way of inspiring the view that a set can become something else - more than just an extra selling point. Many people do not know the existence of rebrickable and I’m not sure it is correct to rely on independent designers to cover the gap in alternate models…
Anyway, hopefully with more time and resources on new sets we will see more exciting projects - seen this year by a giant and quite different 1H wave. We at least still have creator 3in1 which continues to produce sets with creative alternates to inspire the next generation :)
Don't worry, LEGO will buy rebrickable sooner than later too. I'm surprised they didn't ask for a slice of the cake yet.
I also miss the really old Technic "universal building sets," which just contained a wide variety of parts with a thick instruction manual full of all kinds of different models and mechanisms and idea pages for things you could build with the parts in the set. LEGO still does that kind of thing with the LEGO Classic brick boxes for regular LEGO, so why not Technic anymore? I'd buy the crap out of a value pack of bulk Technic parts.
@@R0Sch88 After Lego snapped up BrickLink a few years ago, the next logical step would be to acquire Rebrickable as well.
@@R0Sch88 Wouldn't surprise me if they did
@@pangolin_bricks be a shame as they wouldn’t want your free instructions being around.
Having the model meant that you get twice the building enjoyment out of every set. I always build the B model first. Then take it apart and build the main build.
The garbage truck is the highlight for me! I saw someone with a custom LEGO City moc with the same kind of lifting mechanism, so it's nice to see LEGO officially embrace such a design, albeit in Technic and not in system. 😢
Supposedly there's another LEGO set coming out soon with the same mechanism, but at minifig scale. But both are a little frustrating because that MOC you mentioned was a LEGO Ideas project that reached 10,000 supporters and then LEGO rejected it... only to now release two sets with the exact same mechanism and idea. So LEGO is being accused of stealing the idea without crediting its original creator.
Had the same thought! There was a garbage truck already with this exact same mechanism! Looked it up, It was a moc designed by Scott and Levi Hasse. Hope they receive 10% of profit : )
I saw that one too, and it looks like the mechanism is very similar to me as well. Both the moc and this one look like the gear causing the claw to close (the black one in 2:29) being blocked from having closed around the bin will cause the arm to be lifted up with the bin by the same gears that formerly turned the black gear, such that turning one gear can control both motions.
@@mr.platinum-lego I think it's JK Brickworks
@@smaug131 Exactly! It's a very compact and efficient design.
I like b models. It's always nice to see what can be done differently. But yeah, fans will eventually take care of that.
That garbage truck is awesome! It'll be my first technic set in quite a few years! The B-models are a bit of a bummer, but honestly, I've never built any of them.
Even if I’m not a technic fan, I usually got the $10 sets and found them a lot of fun, especially because of the B-models that would make something entirely different with different functions with such a limited set of parts. I really love the stunt plane, the designer has been uploading a ton of impressive alternate models on his youtube channel.
That truck reminds me of the Mack truck B-model. I do miss when lego sets were full of inspiration and alternate models, but it’s not a huge loss. The small technic sets look neat, but they will definitely get overshadowed by the technic space theme.
How much of the B model decision is tied to Lego's increasing reliance on licensed sets? Lego has no problems with turning a generic in-house designed car into a boat, but third parties are probably less enthused about their product being treated in such a manner.
Great comment, I totally understand this logic!
2:42 At the back theres a 4 stud axle with half bush,meaning it can be connected with a trailer from another set
True, I'm curious to see if the hitch is at the same height off the ground as the 42136 tractor.
Or, it could be used to transport the harvester attachement as a trailer when moving on the road. Usually, the harvesters are forbidden to be driven on public roads due to excessive width, and they need to remove the front attachement, fold it to a kind of a long and narrow trailer (that uses those small wheels), hitch it to the rear hook and then go to the fields.
The best B model must be the garbage truck version of the Mack truck from 2017. It was more interesting than the A model.
1. Electric Garbage Truck
2. John Deer Harvester
3. Heavy-Duty Bulldozer
They just save money by leaving the B model. And it fits with the philosophy of not to take your lego apart again and play with it, but just collect it and don't play with it.
It likely has shown up in models since, but the tilt-steering buggy reminds me of the 8252 Police Buggy with Technic scale minifig from the early 2000s, a fun set I had. It coincidentally had good B-model features and a somewhat modular design to it to switch between them quickly
The sad news for me was no more Monster Jam monster trucks. I loved'em. Me, I liked the little bulldozer
the john deere sets are perfect one after the other! all the three models so far are beautiful and the bright green is such a great color.
The loading mechanism on the garbage truck seems very clever. It seems turning *one single* gear makes it grab then lift the garbage can.
Well, as highlighted in other videos, this mechanism in garbage truck was submitted to lego ideas, collected 10 000 votes... And was not selected for a set. So, one might say, that idea remained here... I am curous if there would be credit to the afol...
@@reijo77 Hopefully so. Are there any sets among these that you're interested in?
@@globetrotter7778 I had huge hopes for Harvester.... but I got let down. I will look closer once the instructions will be released. And well, maybe this mack as well. After all, the set is really interesting :)
@@reijo77 The Mack is definitely first on my list. It is very playable (like any good Technic set) and even though the price hasn't been confirmed by Lego yet, I've read that it should be 30-35$, which to me is reasonable for a 503 piece build.
The real sad news is the state of the SC BMW double pack.
I'm not too upset about the missing B models. There's enough variety on rebrickable that it's not a big deal.
The consumers are the driving factor on why B models cease to exists. People today buy LEGO either for resell or just to build and display. But many would not buy 2 of the same models to build and display. The other factor would be LEGO might save money from the design department by not using the time to think about B models, but rather create new sets to sell. Seriously CREATIVE FACTOR is lost since single themed sets start to exists.
These look amazing can’t wait for them to come
Big fan of the garbage truck, gonna get that as soon as I can
I only enjoy the large sets, it seems. AROCS, Liebherr excavator, Xerion tractor, etc.
Garbage truck looks cool!
I don't care about the missing B-Models, once I have a set, I build it once, then I take it apart for MOCs
the track is awesome
Quite a lot of people seem to buy a set twice so they can build the B-model while keeping the A-model intact. Not sure if this is a good move, business-wise.
R.I.P official alternate Technic builds. Surprised they didn't downscale the 3-in-1 in CREATOR to 2-in-1 too. Corporate want's to increase cashflow, since the growth in 2023 was not higher than the pandemic era. Honestly I'm surprised they still employ LEGO Designers and not outsource the work to fan designers to save even more development costs. Since they leak themselves most of the times, it shouldn't be a bigger risk either.
P.S. Just buy the previous sets second-hand if you like alternate builds and want to show LEGO that you hate this decision. Bricks can be washed and reused for generations.
I think rebrickable is a good solution for the end of b models. Would be interesting to see if LEGO does something more official as a partnership with them.
The removal of Monster Jam and B models is really disappointing. I seriously hope they bring them back.
Funny how even a bad move like missing B Models is being excused like that… just sad calling this a win win 😡
Compare 42167 to 42078 when you get it
Definetly gonna buy that buggy
To the B model stuff
Never was a huge fan of them because all of them where looking a bit of idk how do describe it so I wound miss them
im immediately buyin that garbage truck and small dozer.
I have honestly am not that big of a technic fan, just don’t care for the lack of actual lego bricks included in them its a bunch of pins and panels in my opinion. But I do feel for the fans of Technic
Time for a pool? 1.Don't care about B models . 2. Like digitally B models 3. B models must be include on paper in the box.
I am pretty sure I have seen a MOC that has identical mechanism for that garbage grabber. Did they hire the MOC creator?
I know, there is literally no b models. Cmon lego. There were b models las year for the dump truck, and snow groomer. B models are what make lego technic sets or all lego sets for that matter a better value for your money. I really like the John Deere and Race car in particular, will probably by them with the Speed Champions Ford Mustang when they come out. Have a great rest of your weekend,
Thank you for this video. Are you know when we watch instructions for these set?
Technic B models were pretty bad. But sad to see them go instead of be refined.
I wish the Bulldozer set had a b model like we had with the Dump truck and the snow groomer from 2023. I'm not really interested in this technic lineup for january.
I think they simply can't create a B model for a licensed product
OH WHERE'S SPPED CHAMPIONS 2024 :(
Couldn’t care less about B models. Never built one.
Ill probably just get the bulldozer. I like small and cheap sets with alot of functions. Sadly im not very impressed by these
When I first got back into Lego around 2021, I greatly enjoyed the B-models, since they gave me a way to rebuild my limited number of sets and keep them fresh. After I got enough sets though, I just kinda... stopped. I still think it's worth having B-models on the $10-20 sets, though, since I imagine there are many kids who will wind up in the same situation. I understand it, though, and if losing B-models is what gets us better set varieties (which, correlation doesn't equal causation but 2024 seems to be better about) then I can't complain too much.
It really is an end of the era. Still remember old technic sets like 8480 space shuttle and fantastic b model submarine . Or 8053 with cool b model (harbor crane).
I absolutely hate that they are discontinuing b models. I build and rebuild my Lego models as a way of stress relief and relaxation. I feel that with the raising prices and taking away the b models were really not getting our money's worth. I have been building technic for at least 30 years and I've gone back and collected older sets from ebay. So I guess I'll be buying more old sets from eBay and less new sets from lego.
Just used lego is good Lego! I would recommend to never again buy new Lego. There are so many other brands out there, that are better than lego
@@TACTORi heard inside infos of great wheel parts like wheelhubs with integrated metal ball bearings and and and, lego will take massive L to the other companies
It was not too long ago (5 years ago) that even the flagship Technic sets like the Bucket Wheel Excavator and Rough Terrain Crane had B models, as well as the Racing Yacht, so I really hope they bring back B models in future sets!
I've only really gone back to Technic in the last 2 years, but I was blown away by the Bucket Wheel Excavator's B-model. Its a Mobile Aggregator to sort the pieces collected by the Excavator, works perfectly with the base model.... so you really need to buy two sets. Ingenious.
Sorry but Lego straight up ripped off the garbage truck design and specifically the mechanisms from a very popular lego ideas set. I think that is really scummy. The point of Lego ideas is that Lego can make the set and provide some compensation to the designer. Just stealing people's ideas when you post them is really messed up
(edit) I just checked and the original kid that designed it was about to sell this set through the brick-link designer program when he turns 18 in January 2024, I feel now that this was even more awful and intentional on Lego's part
45° offset knob gears in the garbage truck- those will be useful!
I`ve never built B-models so not too sad for me personally but I can see that it`s a problem for the majority of others. The garbagetruck is my favourite among these january 2024 sets! Feels fresh and very recogizable.
It reminds me of the B model for the Mack truck released a few years ago. That was a great B model. Second only to the SUV B model for the Le Mans car that I love to modify.
It is a small-scaled version of "big brother" but with electric engine (=a few panels instead of inlet and intercooler behind the cabin) and side-loader arm instead of front fork-loader
What is b model
@@malawigw It's an official alternate build.
I have never bought a Lego set for the B model, and have never disassembled any of my built Lego sets.
around 2020, TLG is moving even further away from the idea of children's toys and turning into a pump for pumping money out of adults, playing on nostalgia.... beautiful? - perhaps, but the spirit of the techniques in the sets is less and less....
I still miss the alternate designs we used to get on city sets. There might not have been any instructions for the alternates but as a kid in the early 90s they where inspiring to go build something else.
I feel the same way about the early years of Lego Star Wars.
for those of you who say "first", know that for the first few minutes everyone sees an empty comments section despite having comments
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the loss of B models is really sad, ever since i was a kid i always built hte B modeels at least once, and sometimes i even prefer the B model over the A model.
EDIT: the Garbage truck looks excellent though. might have to get that one
I find the loss of B models sad in theory, but technic is a nightmare to pull apart, so I only ever really did it once or twice (I would build the B model first almost to get it over with), but it's sad for others that like them.
I feel very sad about seeing them gone, it was always a nice value additive to the price we pay TLG, outsourcing it to rebrickable feels like a cheap excuse. While there are talented and great moc designers out their, some even active lego designers like grohl, the official b-models had a certain quality assurance and zero entry level barrier. Now the 8 year old child HAS to know about rebrickable, is potentially charged for instructions, and has to use a computer to access them. All of this used to be different. Maybe great for members of the community, but utterly cheap on the side of LEGO :(
Thank you Balasz for mentioning the death of the B-model. For me it was a defining characteristic of Technic since I was drawn into it as a kid in the 90s. Just their existence was an excuse to constantly rebuild between the two models, getting way more value out of the set.
As a result, I will vote with my wallet and stop buying Technic. Unfortunately, it seems the majority of people don't bother since they just build a set once and are done with, so it won't matter that much. It is clear by the type of sets that Lego is churning out and their business tactics that they promote single use, licensed and display sets, so that they can keep selling more. People forget that every Lego product line used to feature B-models, or even multiple back of the box builds. Town sets for example did this, now City is a shadow of its former self. Technic was simply the last one standing, leaving Creator 3-in-1 which still has them as a defining feature.
The existence of rebrickable is not an excuse for lego to cheap out on the development of B models. Alternative builds on rebrickable tend to be either lower quality or not free. And I am not keen on spending 10+ euros just for instructions as lots of creators demand. Personally, I've posted quite a lot of free MOCs.
I think that there are tons of valuable and high quality MOCs on Rebrickable besides some less polished ones, and there were better and worse official B models, so it is not a black and white situation. I think with the migration of B model instructions to lego.com they were able to track precisely the amount of people actually building them, so from their perspective it was a rather simple equation.
As a trend I saw casual builders choosing the official B models less, and experienced builders turning more towards Rebrickable.
Completely agree. In addition, technic models tends to get far less, and often worse, alternative models: this is because the technic parts are less versatile than the classic ones. If you start with a set that already has a single one construction in mind, the versatility would be even lower.
On the completely opposite direction, the small 3-in-1 creator sets have seen a huge increase in replayability during the years
I agree wholeheartedly. I might just be getting grumpy, but Technic has been losing momentum in the last few years (almost a decade now?). Too many licensed sets, increased focus on aesthetics over mechanisms, less interesting machines... Nothing wrong with a licensed/good looking set in principle but lately I've felt that even the largest sets are glorified display pieces.
@@RacingBrick But WHY were the official B-models chosen less? Because not everyone wants to build a model with a smartphone or pad or computer screen needed to show the PDF instructions.... they want a piece of paper to browse through cause THAT doesn't need electricity or a gadget to display it.....
Of course you would see a decline in B-model building..... and the fact that most of them were way worse and uncreative anyways (maybe on purpose letting Lego cheap out on the customer getting less experience for more money.....).....
@@320iSTWEdition 100% agreed with you. Don't like instructions on the screen started white cybermaster. Now I don't want the kids behind a screen all day. B models must be include on paper in the box.
I miss when there wassnt so much Lego Technic on license products
Lego really was inspired by 2 of JK Brickworks' mocs. One being the Solar System orrery and the other being the garbage truck! They did a good job though
This is awful! I absolutely loved B models, sometimes I bought sets just for it!
The fact that there are no official B-models is great news for creators on Rebrickable.
This is a sad news indeed. LEGO is pricey in my country. B models makes technic line seems a good deal because it feels like I have two sets.
Any worthy alternative build from rebrickable cost like smal lego set. So you have to pay twice
I really miss the cool alternative builds of rebrickable but oh well! Thanks for informing us about the January sets and the bad news!!
I love the smallest sets they always do, usually $10 USD. They’re always such fun little builds for a great price! I tend to collect the majority of Technic sets but there’s just something about the tiny ones that’s always fun. Kinda disappointing there’s no more B models, hopefully that will just be temporary but we’ll see.
It's pretty dumb that Lego discontinued the B models. It's opposite of what Lego should be all about.
Great vid. But removal of B MODELS IS SUPER SAD. I LEARNT SO MUCH from technic and different ways of building and engineering with b models.
Lego should have introduced C models. But they took away B models instead. 😮 For just A models why spend hours building something when something readymade toys like remote controlled cars, truck etc available?
So it's ok to mix system cabin in Twchnic in harvester, why they didn't do with a cabin in Mack? It would look much cooler with System bricks cabin fittable for minifigs. I'll do it on my own.
I want all of them. I'm definitely going to pick up that garbage truck quickly as my son loves garbage trucks
If there are no B-model than I don't have to buy two of each set...as if I ever did that🤭
Really wanted more monster jam trucks...bummer
42167 is like the mini version of 42078s B model
Technic is my favorite L.E.G.O. and serene and unique childhood memory I kind of will miss these.
테크닉은 제가 가장 좋아하는 L.E.G.O 입니다. 고요하고 독특한 어린 시절의 추억이 좀 그리워질 것 같아요
Other than maybe the garbage truck, these sets are terrible what is going on with the Technic line?
It is a shame that they don't make B models anymore especially for kids. With B models there is a bigger drive for them to dissembling and bilding and eventually making there own creations. And it should be on paper. They see enough screens and get distracted wen they're on the internet.
The removing of b models doesn't matter too much tbh.. on bigger sets, they were almost never an option because of the pain taking technic apart. In terms of smaller lego sets, you have alot of cool alternative builds on bricklink for example.
I will probably buy the John Deere combine to pair with the 42136 tractor. The only "miss" with this pairing is the trailer is not a grain wagon.
Not liking any of the sets. Pretty weak start into the year
Wish b models are still around too. Very set, technic or system, that we have with alternate models we built them all. Some rebrickable models cost additional money
I'll miss having B models as some of them were even better than the A model, the blue crawler crane comes to mind, I straight away mine into the B model.
I'm excited for the January 2024 sets but I'm sad because no more B-Models and Monster Jam.
My favorite Technic set in 2024 is the Mack LR Garbage Truck
Same as you can wait until I get it
@@cgaming5561 If you have the Mack Anthem from a few years ago you could build its b-model until the new one arrives.
Tl:dw: there are no B models with the smaller scale sets
Rebrickable is great, but after finishing some builts…i’d 99% of the time prefer the lego alternate. And i won’t be paying 2-3€ for instructions of a 10€ set. Sad to see Lego lose more and more…
I love the Mack. Not so much the combine harvester. I expect more from that.
I noticed a while back that the B models became less and less of. The last Technic I had with B model was Mack Anthem truck 42078. Because Dom's charger didn't have any B model, neither the rally car. It's sad.
This new garbage truck is kinda a reference to b-model of 42078.
Are you polish maybe?
I have a couple Technic sets sized 500 to 1000 parts from 2015-2020. I looked for suggested B-models on Rebrickable and other sites, and while there were a few ideas, none were of the official Lego quality. I didn't like and didn't build any of them. That said, not every official B model was good, in my opinion, but many were very good. I even liked some of them more than the A models.
The garbage truck set looks awesome and interesting.
By the way, (in my opinion) the alternate builds from Rebrickable are better than the B-models from the Lego sets. So, Lego doesn't need to hire more employees and make extra costs to make sets with B-models. I buy an affordable Lego set rather than a super expensive set with B-models.
Lego, a company whos biggest achievement in the past couple of years was to drastically increase set prieces while at the same time drastically decrease set/part quality.
It's hard to believe someone would really think Lego will dedicate the designers time and resources into new models instead of b-models :D :D :D
These Technic sets look like crap
Relying on the fan community to provide alternate builds is like Bethesda putting out buggy games and counting on the modding community to fix all their problems for free on top of paying for DLC.
JD shoud be sold without branding. It does not resemble any details of real machine, even colours are wrong at few places, like sides missing black grilles.
Wow the grab and dump function looks eerily similar to the ideas garbage truck submission from that father and son.
Yes, I remember seeing such a truck that could lift and tilt a bin in a YT video.
Indeed. Quite disappointing since the original idea was awesome and it got shot down. Glad we get to see it as a set nevertheless.
The Off-Road Buggy is by far my favorite one. Blows all the others out of the water. I have reviews of nearly all of these on my channel!
In the 90s I bought several Technic sets. The B models were never really fun to build. 2 years ago I came back, buying a used Liebherr 9800 which did not have any B model anyway. I discovered Rebrickable and bought several Alts. So much fun! Also, with some extra parts (old and new) I can build several original models available through the LEGO builders app. B models are just not needed, imo.
Apparently LEGO shares this opinion. I had some nice experience with B models, especially for the smaller sets in the past years. I also very much liked the B model of the 42077 Rally car or the Mack Anthem.
Let's not forget how the garbage truck concept was stolen from a famous Lego Ideas project...
Garbage truck should be credited to the original creator of the lego ideas submission...
Electric garbage truck without electrics. I am sure some parents will fall into that trap...
Regarding the B-models, it fits the trend that Lego wants to give the customer less for more money. Less consistency in color between parts, prints accuracy, part shape tolerances, scratched windows, no basic remote controller but everything must use a smartphone, etc.