The book you’re about to read has been created with a simple goal: to teach you everything I’ve learned about building with LEGO Technic over the last 20 years. Of course, everything turned out to be more than a single book can possibly include, and certain omissions were necessary. The book was written with a modern builder in mind—somebody with access to today’s LEGO sets—but also includes some material for those who have a history with older sets. If you’re an adult rediscovering the joy of building with little plastic pieces, you’ll find plenty of help and inspiration in these pages.
I encourage you to explore on your own the topics I had to omit from this book. These primarily consist of various dead ends in the history of LEGO Technic development and some extremely specialized modern elements. LEGO MINDSTORMS and NXT kits are barely mentioned, as there are many other books dedicated to them.
Rather than giving you building instructions for complete LEGO models, this guide attempts to equip you for your own adventure with LEGO Technic. It does so by introducing the principles that make LEGO constructions work, and by showing you component mechanisms, such as transmissions or suspension systems, which you can then incorporate into your own unique creations. LEGO sets usually provide you with complete instructions and no explanation of how things work. I decided to take the opposite approach. I strongly believe that playing with LEGO is about unleashing your own creativity, and not about following instructions.
Please do not consider any construction you find in this book to be a final or definitive design. There is always room for tinkering and improvements: As a matter of fact, some of the constructions shown in this guide make deliberate use of basic LEGO pieces, to help those who try to build with limited LEGO resources. If you are lucky enough to have newer, more sophisticated pieces at hand, do not hesitate to experiment with upgrades. If your collection is modest, remember that creative thinking can overcome nearly any limitation.
This guide uses BrickLink’s part numbers, part names, and color names. I decided to rely on BrickLink (http://www.bricklink.com/) not only because it’s the largest and most accurate database of parts but also because its catalog of pieces serves as the de facto marketplace. Any piece or set you find at BrickLink can be purchased with just a few clicks, no matter where you live.
It’s my most sincere wish that this book lives up to your expectations. But remember that it only gives you tools to explore—it’s up to you to provide the rest. Creating something new and seeing it work the way you intended it to is far more rewarding than building even the coolest LEGO set ever released. Enjoy creating.
