I didn't think there'd be much people to rescue in Antarctica!! unless its during the golden age of adventure.

So...They're 'rescuing' a 'base', in the 'arctic'??? Leave it there...you might need it someday...:D

Also...what the H E Double-Hockey-Sticks is going on with that second/lower build...look like either 'ARK II' (look it up kids) or the 'Landmaster' from "Damnation Alley"...but more...naked...:)

Looking at the technic figures got me thinking what it would be like if they overtook minifigures in popularity. It's really weird to think about, because some things like Star Wars, a Technic figure would just be worse than a real action figure, there's not that kind of comparison with a regular minifigure.

And no one is complaining about the panels covering up the functions?

@PurpleDave said:
"You're going to need a bigger base, if you plan to rescue the entire Arctic in that thing."

And possibly some doors and proper solid walls

When I was 12 I was so amazed with this set that I jumped on the opportunity when I gathered enough allowance to buy it. I kept it built for some time, but after the magic wore off I saw the set for what it was, a giant Technic box, dare I say useless. Functions were ok, I guess. The chopper was nothing to talk about also. The smaller sets on the other hand, like 8640 and 8660, were excellent in size and functions.

That was a fun set but the trouble was there was no-one to rescue because all the sets were more rescuers and no victims. And the funny thing I was just thinking about these sets and that I want to put them back together.

After looking pictures, i really don't get the use of the front piston.

Today I learned that Technic figures had accessories other than the helmet

@FireFox31 said:
"Imagine their heating bills."

Especially that insulation is nonexistent.

Never knew Techninc had such subthemes. Looks like great fun with a lot of play functions for an imaginative kid.

@cm5878 said:
"Aged 8 I wanted this more than I wanted (to pick something entirely at random) a Galaxy Explorer. Never got 8680 or the two smallest sets from this theme, but somehow ended up with two copies of 8660.

Being primarily white, they are disappointingly prone to parts having become yellowed by now."

Never fear! using the power of hydrogen peroxide and a star near you, you can bleach yellowed pieces back to their former glory! For more info, please watch jang's video on it!

Love this set! one of my favs for sure as a child. bit gutted they discontinued technic figs. I loved their superior articulation to minifigs.

This was my "big" Christmas present in 1986 and, after the initial "wow" factor of unwrapping the present and building the set, I remember being completely disappointed and wishing that I'd asked for something else. As other's have said, the other 3 sets in the series were great, especially 8660 (with its 4 wheel steering), but this set was just awful. Also, I could never understand why TLG never expanded the Arctic range in later years, and made it an ongoing theme (like a Technic version of Classic Space).

I liked this one a lot -- both models were fun, and it was also a useful source of parts (like all those 1x4x5 windows and 1x16 beams).

There was also the option to motorise the ramp, but then you had to work out where to put the battery box.

@CaptainMoore said:
"After looking pictures, i really don't get the use of the front piston."

The front piston is the compressor - you set the switch to 'up' or 'down' and then pump that piston to operate the pneumatic platform.

@NotProfessorWhymzi said:
" @darthmar said:
"...the trouble was there was no-one to rescue because all the sets were more rescuers and no victims."

does the name John Carpenter mean anything to you?"

The Thing

I've never seen this before, but both models look wild. At the same though, the Arctic Bus looks like it would just be putting these guys on Struggle Bus. There's hardly any room to do anything inside!

@CaptainMoore said:
"After looking pictures, i really don't get the use of the front piston.

Today I learned that Technic figures had accessories other than the helmet"

Oh, yeah man. Usually they were limited to skis, ski-poles and sometimes the Fabuland-wrench stuck in a technic pin. The wrench did scale very well for Technic-figures - because for almost all other figures, that thing was pretty much a two-handed mace.

The (updated) wrench lasted all the way til 2006, the enormous skis were finally retired in 2007, but the ski-pole (or at least an updated mold) is still in use to this day: https://brickset.com/parts/6361934/technic-stick

Probably to be combined with 8660: Arctic Rescue Unit

I've just looked further into the functions. The forward ramp can lower through a crank and it looks semi-closed with it up (although there's a horrible STAMP over multiple 2x2 tiles at the front!). The back red platform is raised and lowered by hydraulics, meaning the helicopter and figures can reach the roof in case they need to launch from there.

The alternate build actually has a raising platform in the middle, allowing a helicopter to lauch as well! It even has beds in the front.

Didn't have this one but 8660 was one of my favourite sets as a kid. Those technic figures had a great balance between articulation and connectivity, I wish there was some equivalent to them available now.

This set is significant for its inclusion of the classic single-acting pneumatics, which have some advantages over their modern double-acting counterparts (though overall more disadvantages). I still use the distribution block part semi-regularly in MOCs, where it allows a lot of interesting possibilities!

@Brickalili said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"You're going to need a bigger base, if you plan to rescue the entire Arctic in that thing."

And possibly some doors and proper solid walls"

Nah. Put a door on it, and it just becomes that much harder to shove the entire Arctic onboard.

@Ideenvulkan:
They’ll just yellow again.

@Ridgeheart:
My dad owns a pipe wrench that’s about 3’ long, and I’ve seen at least one that was bigger.

I must admit when I first saw this set as a kid I found it extremely ugly. Still think it's one of the worst Technic sets from that era.
Then again it has the awesome Technic figs, so at least one redeeming feature.
And pneumatics. So that's two.
Come to think of it, other than the looks, what's not to like? :-)

@PurpleDave said:
" @Ridgeheart :
My dad owns a pipe wrench that’s about 3’ long, and I’ve seen at least one that was bigger."

This has the makings of a playground-argument ("Oh, you've seen a bigger dad, have you? Well, I've seen the BIGGEST dad!"), except that - I know. I have one of those big pipe-wrenches too, although it's kind of a novelty at this point. I know they exist, but you do need a Greathammer-proficiency to use it effectively.

I also love that as a Lego-piece, because many of my super-scientist minifigs DO have their Greathammer-license.

@Ridgeheart:
To use it as a weapon, or as a wrench? My dad also has a steel tube that’s about the same length as the large pipe wrench, and the right diameter to fit over the handle like a sleeve. If you only stick it down about 8” or so, you can get an incredible amount of leverage on whatever is just stubbornly refusing to break loose.

As for the LEGO part, I gave one to my 1st Appearance Batman. In the very first Batman story ever published, he doesn’t use a batarang, or any of his famous gadgets. He does pick up a pipe wrench to break something and save a person’s life.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Ridgeheart:
To use it as a weapon, or as a wrench?"

I think we can agree that a wrench is a very fitting weapon.

I regret nothing. NOTHING!

@PurpleDave said:
"My dad also has a steel tube that’s about the same length as the large pipe wrench, and the right diameter to fit over the handle like a sleeve. If you only stick it down about 8” or so, you can get an incredible amount of leverage on whatever is just stubbornly refusing to break loose."

So, a pole-wrench. Polearmwrench? Nah, pole-wrench.
For in case you need to whack someone from atop your horse

@Binnekamp:
Not so much. The metal tube doesn’t actually attach to the wrench. Best you might do is a really inaccurate atlatl.

I wish I'd been able to get the whole Arctic subtheme. I only got 8640, but between my love of Technic figures and my love of ice-themed sets, I think the other three must have been among the first Technic sets to go on my wanted list.

@MrGurt: I actually used a couple of Technic figures to make a lightsaber duel scene once. I used a regular Technic pin for the hilt of the single-bladed one, and a three-ong one for the double-bladed saber's hilt. The blades had to be opaque colors, since I used five-long bars with stops for them.

@Ridgeheart: I was unaware of the existence of Fabuland until the Internet came along, so thought that wrench had been created for Technic, because I first encountered it in 8712 (I also wondered what was with the shovel in 5510)

Ridgeheart said:
"I think we can agree that a wrench is a very fitting weapon."
I can't be the only one who though of Winry Rockbell upon reading that.