The complete history of Lego technic
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Lego Technic 1986

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Category: Technic history 1980s
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The Arctic Action Sets

 

1986 NL Technic catalog

 

8 new sets were released in 1986, the most in a single year since the line began. In addition to a go-cart and tractor model, 2 new Universal Sets as well as the Arctic Action sets were released. These were the first sets to appear in the US under the name of Technic, replacing the Expert Builder name. New elements included the worm gear, the action figure and several action figure accessories, such as skis, helmets and chairs.

 

The Arctic Action sets: The 4 Arctic Action Sets comprise the first Technic theme, based around a polar expedition. The series included a small ski car, a helicopter, a 6-wheeled truck and a pneumatic helicopter base and were given 8600 series set numbers. From the 1986 Lego press release: "Imagine a Mountain Rescue Base with a pneumatic powered helicopter platform. Or Snow Ranger vehicles with snow ploughs, and the new action figures which can even wear skis. They all add up to a really exciting new build-and-play idea."

 


The Arctic Action theme

 

The Arctic Action theme was the first attempt to add play value to the sets beyond just their construction and technical functions. It was the only Technic theme until the Competition/Cyberslam theme of the late 1990's.

 

The Action Figure: Lego had been producing figures in some form since the early 1970's, but the action figure was the first to be fully articulated. The head, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and feet were all movable to some degree. The patent for a new ball and socket joint, originally filed in 1985, shows a hip joint that consists of a pin with a ball at the end. The ball fit into a hollow socket on the thigh, allowing rotation. But the thigh also squeezed against the pin with enough force that the joint could remain in any position by friction, allowing the figure to be posable. This joint formed the basis not just of the Technic figures, but also of several other Lego dolls.

 

DK patent 157,062

 

8620 Snow Scooter:
The smallest of the Arctic Action sets and the smallest Technic set to date, the 8620 was scaled for the new action figure. The model had only one real function-the rack and pinion steering. The steering used not only the typical toothed plates and steering arms but featured an angled steering wheel held in place by cross axles and toggle joints. This small buggy would form the prototype for an increasing number of smaller vehicles over the next several years.

 

There were eight Technic sets released in 1986, the most ever up to that point.  Two of these are universal sets, two are standard Technic sets, and four are something completely different.  These last four are the Arctic Action sets, which are so unique that they are covered separately on their own category page.  They represent a play theme and are all part of the same connected system.  One of the two new universal sets is motorized, and both feature a wide selection of fairly unorthodox models, which is a good thing.  The go cart features steering and a one cylinder engine.  The new tractor features a pendular front axle and a worm driven implement lift.

Interestingly enough, though this was the first year after the pneumatic system was introduced, there were no new pneumatic sets other than the Arctic Action base.  There were, however, some very important new parts including the worm gear and 2 and 3 blade rotor parts.  Most unexpectedly of all, new Technic figures were introduced which are much larger and more articulated than the standard LEGO® minifigs.  These figures would be used in many sets for many years, especially those which featured the "Tech Play" label.  There are 6 figures in the new Arctic Action sets alone.  Arctic Action is also the first place that white beams could be collected in large number.

Parts:

Worm Gear
The new worm gear made it possible to achieve very high gear reductions in a very small space.  The worm gear is single threaded, which means that it moves one tooth for each revolution.  Since each of the spur gears can mate with this screw, gear reduction of either 8, 16, 24, or 40 times can be achieved in a single stage.

The other advantage of the worm gear is that it cannot be backdriven.  To understand why, we need to use a little Statics.  When a spur gear tooth pushes on the worm gear, it produces a force in the axial direction, along the direction of the axle.  But the worm teeth are not perpendicular to this force because of the pitch angle of the screw, so the screw works like an inclined plane.  The force can be broken into two components.  The tangential component tends to try to rotate the screw.  The normal component tends to try to slide the screw along the axle, but it also produces a frictional resistance in the same direction as the tangential force.  If the friction is bigger than the tangential force, the screw cannot turn.  Since the tangent force and the friction both increase proportionally to the applied gear force, the gear can never turn no matter how hard you backdrive it.  If the pitch angle is big enough, or the friction coefficient low enough, some worm gears can be backdriven.  An example is a recirculating ballscrew such as are sometimes used for automobile steering or commercial aircraft horizontal stabilizer trim.

This worm gear has only ever been made in one size and, until recently, was only available in black.

Rotors
A pair of parts were introduced which are commonly used as rotors, with 2 and 3 blades respectively.  They both have a cruciform slot in the center to allow them to rotate with an axle.  They then have a stud which can be used to attach plates or other parts, and finally a hole on the tip.  These parts would end up getting used in lots of applications other than just helicopter or airplane blades.

Technic Figures and Accessories
Technic figures were introduced this year.  These are not only much bigger than the standard LEGO® minifig, they are vastly more posable:

  • Neck:  3 degrees of freedom (ball)
  • Shoulders:  2 degrees of freedom (front-back, up-down)
  • Elbows:  2 degrees of freedom (front-back, in-out)
  • Wrists:  1 degree of freedom (rotation)
  • Hips:  2 degrees of freedom (front-back, side-side)
  • Knees:  1 degree of freedom (front-back)
  • Ankles:  3 degrees of freedom (ball)

A number of accessories were also introduced for the figure.  A special seat (pictured) was specially made to fit the figures, although many sets later used it even without the figures.  There are helmets with transparent visors.  The Arctic Action sets also have skis and ski poles.

Wheel and Tires:

This year a new tire was released. From the name probably for the theme 'Model Team', because it is named tire '13 x 24 Model Team'. Including a new wheel 'Wheel 30mm D. x 13mm' in color white initially.

Source Isodomus and Technicopedia