8872 and co.

I wanted to write this post a long time ago. It was before the summer when I decided to take some risks to buy the latest piece of my "Big Car" series, the 8865. Already before the purchase it was clear that the pile contains a lot of extra parts. Luckily I found everything for the big car in a good condition. This is where the riddle started, I wanted to find out the rest. I started from here:

First question: what are all these wheels? There are eight small ones, then six more of the same with larger tires, then the one in which the axle rotates, and then I did not speak about the larger off road ones yet. They seem to come from different sets, but still... Which set contains so many wheels?

After a short search I have found the first suspect, the 8872 Forklift Transporter from 1993:

It was clear in the beginning that I do not have all the parts for the forklift: the chain was missing and many other parts too. But I though the truck could be there:

Still many pieces left, let's try the trailer:

Well, that is something. I abandoned the forklift, six small and six larger wheels are crossed out. But what about the other wheels? This wing piece helped to solve part of the puzzle quickly. It was included in two Lego sets ever in yellow, only one of them Technic: the 8840 Desert Racer from 1991:

Of course the driver is nowhere, pistons neither, so this list has many missing items too. Maybe once I will try to fill the parts from my other sets, until then there is this photo. The four large offroad wheels are also crossed out, but I still have eight small ones. This part was the key to the last missing set:

So I got a 8808 Mini F1 Racer for free, year 1994. I have found almost all pieces for this one:

As a conclusion, for the already good price of the 8865 I got two thrids of an 8872, an 8808, a lot of yellow spare parts and an interesting riddle:

Finally the link to the album and a video - if there is no forklift then let us transport a racer:

8865 video

I have managed to upload the video about the 8865:

8865 Test Car

The risky purchase project has finished successfully. I admit that this was my biggest gamble evere, I only hoped that it has all the pieces. Although the set has many fragile parts all of them are in excellent shape: nothing is broken or sunburnt, they have not even been covered in dust. From the traces I suspect that the previous owner has built it together once or twice and then all the pieces ended up in a bag, for my luck. This is the oldest set I have bought so far and the one in the best condition - I will make a comparison of all my purchases sometime.


Like its age suggest, the car is built almost entirely from bricks and only a few special parts. The chassis and the bodywork is made of bricks and so is the rear suspension (excluding the springs and some links). Only the front suspension makes heavy use of special parts.


Interestingly, this car is almost a perfect representation of the developments that have happened in the car industry in the last 20 years. This car feels much more raw than its predecessors. It only has 4 pistons but they are brutally large - the block itself is bigger than a later V10. It runs very smoothly though. The gearbox has 3 gears and no synchronization at all. It happens frequently that it does not take a gear because the cogs are not in position. It also happens that the gearbox drops out of a previously selected gear. It is not very sophisticated and makes the owner feel the technology behind it unlike its successors. (Ok, the 8880 is at least hard to push forward but the 8448 is really very soft.)

I am very happy that I have bought it, it was well worth the 47 Euros it cost (about $85). Even more so if we count the remaining pieces (I will write about it later).

Let the images tell the rest of the story. And here comes the video:

Quick report

I report that the 8865 set that was purchased the risky way got in my physical proximity during the summer vacation. The bricks are in surprisingly good condition, nothing broken, not even dusty, which is not bad from a set that was first marketed in 1988. What I have found:

• there are four large wheels, promsing
  
• I have found all the parts so far, even more promising
  
• there are many parts from other sets, I did not find out yet which ones

I do not promise to make a video like the one about the 8448, but something is definitely coming.

Overwhelmed

These days I am overwhelmed with Lego sets. I have already covered the ones I got for my birthday and the 8865 Test Car is not forgotten about either. (However it is many kilometers away from me right now, it takes some time before I can take it in my hands - I promise it will come soon.)

But this is not the end of the story yet. Meanwhile I have managed to get a 8448 Sports Car too. I have already mentioned my ambitions to get all the pieces of the Big Car series and this is a new item in the row. This is where I stand now: 853 (1977), 8860 (1980), 8865 (1988)?, 8880 (1994), 8448 (1999).


I have started to put it together but documenting everything appropriately takes some time - I promise I will get there in days.

But even this is not the end of the whole story. Somehow I got a 8422 motorbike too, waiting to be re-assembled. I think was the biggest surprise of all my deals so far. I have bought second-hand sets with full warranty, missing bricks shipped after me. I have bought sets assembled and disassembled but I did not expect what has happened with this bike. It came in assembled in a bag. When I opened the bag I already got suspicious because some parts that should have been white according to my memories looked pretty yellowish. And besides that... it stinked! The previous owner must have been a chain smoker and the smell was so strong that I had to put it to the balcony to make sure the family sleeps well. I always learn something new :)

I hope I can make it enjoyable soon so that I can cover it.

Risky purchase

You probably know that I like Technic cars, especially if they are big and have a lot of parts that can be move. I already have an 8880 but somewhere in a distance I see a goal to have all the earlier sets of the big car series. Take the 8865 for example. It was sold between 1988 and 1994 and one can find many for sale on EBay or Bricklink.

On the other hand I would like make a bargain and willing to take some risks like buying the missing parts on the net. So I bought this one for EUR 30 (+17 for the delivery):

It takes some courage, I admit it. Based on the photo it is not sure that it has four wheels, for example. It is sure though that it has many extra parts like the yellow wings that were not part of 8865. I still have to wait a couple of weeks before I can actually grab it with my hands. I will keep you posted.

History of the big Technic cars

Throughout the history of Technic there have been always one or more "big cars". These cars represent the top of the range with the most working parts including pistons, gears and others. They are the most wanted sets. Let's have a closer look!


The story started in 1977 with the set no. 956 (sometimes 853) named "Car Chassis". As the "Technic" brand did not exist yet it ran as part of the brand new "Expert Builder" series. The car introduced many of the Technic parts known today: bricks with holes, connectors, rods, gears. It also had a number of special elements like the pistons (the old 2x2 type). The size made it possible to have a 4-cylinder engine, working steering and gearbox with 2 gears. Four adjustable seats made the set complete. As the name suggests it did not have a chassis and no working suspension either.


This set was replaced by the 8860 in 1980. The car became much sportier and was "driven" by a rear-mounted flat-4 engine. Just like its predecessor, it did not have a chassis, but it got a rear differential, a rear suspension and the number of gears has increased to 3. More features took more space as well so it had 2 seats only, but this is perfectly in line with the sporty character. Some models the shock absorber was made of an axle, bushes and connectors. Later models had proper shock absorbers.


From 1984 the series is called "Technic" officially but the new set 8865 "Test Car" came only in 1988. Unlike the previous sets this one had a Technic-style chassis: edges of the bodywork, the roof and the doors are marked by red bricks. The four-cylinder engine came in a V configuration this time. The newly introduced suspension and steering parts allowed a proper front suspension as well. Apart from that the car was built from the usual studded bricks.


The next set in the line is the 8880 "Super Car" introduced in 1994 that represents the top of traditional Technic building. This is the last car made of mostly studded bricks. It contains new bricks like the V8 engine or the chain in the engine drive. Apart from that it continued the traditions of its ancestors and sports more working features than any of them (and any of its successors). It had a complete four wheel drive with three differentials, plus it included a four wheel steering that is not quite typical on road cars either even today. Of course it did not miss any of the usual ingredients like front and rear suspension and the gearbox with 4 gears.

This set is the last in the row that emphasises technical content, for its successors cool looks are more important. It is also the last big car to occupy the top alone, newer models have brothers. Let us talk about them in the next part.

Many thanks for the images to koyan@gmx.net, more images here.