And here’s how to build that model in 28 easy steps 
:
But seriously, it’s mighty generous of them to provide the assembly instructions for their (old) sets for free. Though if there’s one thing I preserved, it’s the manuals. The bricks OTOH got all mingled up, and some possibly lost or broken as well.
We could argue cloth sails work better and are more realistic, but those brick variants (398 and 31109) look both great!
(And for a Creator set like 31109 only bricks are useful.)
Yes that’s great, for instance the 8480 Space Shuttle from 1994: Building Instructions - Customer Service - LEGO.com US
But a lot of old instructions are missing.
When they have a ship they probably need islands to sail from and to…
BlueBrixx recently started a modular series with a Governors Island and Pirates Island: BlueBrixx
It started with Governors Island: Tavern:
Modules:
Example combination:
And Pirates Island modules will look like this, e.g. Pirates Island: Island with Hideout:
Modules:
As someone who has cloth (?) sails, I can tell you they have some disadvantages after a while. Specifically, they tend to fall inwards.
Pirates, Space, … Are no Technic fans here? 
I think by the time I might have had a bigger interest in the Technic sets, Lego didn’t really go onto my Christmas or Birthday wishlists any more. And I assume the really interesting Technic sets were more on the pricey side.
That said, aside from the plane set I mentioned above (8855), I remember having also this smaller, older one:
It certainly didn’t look as life-like as the castle or pirate ship, but the moving parts and gears were also nice. I remember building gearboxes to test how fast I could make stuff spin. Broke a number of gears in the process, too.
I’m now wondering if I had a third (8865), but that might be wishful thinking .
A friend did have a large farm equipment set (possibly 8862?) and I sure did envy him for that.
Yeah, I built a bunch of stuff with servos and gears etc. Didn’t seem very apropos to derail the topic with though. 
I had the t-rex one which I built into a wing-flapping pteranodon wing thing.
In @Nor_Treblig’s special lego slang, I guess that was a moc?
I’m afraid this is by design but can be fixed by putting one of these into your living room:
It’s more of a legal term. If you build a MOC but accidentally say it’s Lego you might unleash a horde of Lego lawyers upon you.
Technic and City are probably those topics Lego is currently messing up the most…
But let’s not talk about the present, let’s talk about GOB (Good Old Bricks):
This is my oldest Technic model: 8860 Car Chassis (1980)
https://cache.willhaben.at/mmo/6/604/786/466_469095359.jpg
As said before this was my last model I bought when I was young: 8480 Space Shuttle (1996)
This is the last model I bought when I wasn’t that young anymore:
42130 BMW M 1000 RR (2022)
I had the other Control Center version as @Frenzie! 8094 Control Center (1990)
In any case, I just mean I designed it myself. 
Yes, but some sets are really great. For example this one (or does it count as GOB? ):
The German computer magazine “c’t” did several real crash tests with this model:
As a kid this was on my wish list. But never got it… 
They started making a lot of such sets with licenses from car manufacturers which just don’t have a lot to do with what Technic should be about.
I remember the news back then on heise.de!
I disagree on what you disagree.
At least the Porsche has a motor, a working steering wheel, AFAIR a differential, and other interesting parts. And this is what Technic was about: to rebuild real machines/vehicles and show how they work. The only drawback is the price …
Can’t wait! 
Hehe, is this how new toys gets chosen?
Strange catalogue though: doesn’t it show prices because they are fluctuating a lot?
I just discovered a Kickstarter campaign for a customisable, mechanical keyboard: Pixel by MelGeek
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mojo68/pixel-worlds-first-brick-compatible-mechanical-keyboard
It does show price indications and I don’t think they fluctuate that much (at least for Lego), but yeah, I suppose they don’t want to say it’s 20 euros when next month it’s 21 or 19.
[Edit: @Nor_Treblig you can read it here: https://folder.wepublish.com/fixed/speelgoedboek ]
There was a review here: Melgeek Pixel- en Keysme Lunar 01-toetsenborden Review - Tweakers
You’re never too old to enjoy Legos!
This artist recreated all of the Beatles album covers with Lego bricks. The Revolver one is especially insane!
…and then there’s this one:
Quite spectacular, especially in how varied they are in their design.
And that reminds me of some neat space ship builds I’ve seen on that channel. That one’s got to be my favorite, with honorable mentions to this and this and this.
You guys just made me buy my first Lego in probably more than 20 years.
Birthday gift for my wife:
Impulse purchase for me:
Love that painting, just not so much the Lego rendition. Though it’s way better than some of the mosaic “art” pieces they also sell.
I’ve set my eye on that as well (actually playing Horizon: Zero Dawn at the moment). However, to test the waters I’ve opted for
It’ll be interesting to see how it compares to our real orchids, and it will make a nice decoration for the guest room (where a real orchid will probably not survive for long).
