Random set of the day: Aeroplane
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 3505 Aeroplane, released in 1999. It's one of 8 Znap sets produced that year. It contains 23 pieces.
It's owned by 80 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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Am I missing something... or is this set...
WHERE ARE THE BRICKS???
It doesn’t even really look like technic. It looks like a Knex designer infiltrated the Lego design team. I’d even go so far as to say it looks like a McDonald’s happy meal toy. Znap was a sad day for Lego...
I think my favorite thing about Znap is the logo, which looks like it belongs on a tour T-shirt for a metal band. Come to think of it, the mulleted rocker in the 60234 in the new People Pack is a missed opportunity. If only the front of his shirt was emblazoned with ZNAP! instead of the guitar graphic!
I bought a big bucket of Knex when our local Sam's Club had a big kit in a Sterlite tub--I liked that it was American made, but really nothing other than that. I found it a lot more fiddly than LEGO, and it took a lot longer to build certain structures/structural elements than LEGO. Especially fooling with the angle pieces.
In terms with Znap; it's another case where LEGO tried to not be LEGO, and failed miserably.
I still can't believe LEGO once took this route...
None of the things in this picture resembles a) an aeroplane, nor b) something compatible with the LEGO System...
1999 was a tough time for Lego. Duplo was crap, City was crap, Space Port was crap, train was borderline crap - ok it was crap, technic was mostly crap except for 8448, there was ZNAP, there was Scala and Belleville, there was Slizer. The company was in financial difficulties. The carton on the boxes was very thin and cheap. Thank god for some good sets in Ninja, Adventurers and the beginning of Star Wars and Mindstorms.
Znap is "BARF" spelled backwards.
Clickits? Or worse?
...what are those two alternate models supposed to be? why is one so flat?
Well, there's probably a very good reason why I had never even heard of ZNAP (it was never in stores or catalogs where I live so I genuinely had no idea it ever existed) before coming to Brickset.
@HOBBES: And, of course, Rock Raiders!
Shame ZNAP likely won’t ever get rereleased. A one-off anniversary set would be cool. Thought the elements silly and much preferred K’nex. Lego experiments are an enjoyable part of growing up.
Instant trauma just from looking...
I'm actually more intrigued by the two alternate models, as well. What the heck are either of them supposed to be?
The alternate builds are a dino-robot-hatstand and a rocket-fish, obviously!
By 1999 we had great Technic sets, I wonder why Lego felt the need to invent an inferior line of Technic-wanna-be sets.
We are getting back on track with more GREAT sets.
Has Huwbot lost his taste for Clickits? Znap is the new Clickits. All hail Huwbot!
So, a helicopter with wings instead of blades, a hat stand with arms, and a throwing dart with a broken tail.
And THIS is the reason Lego nearly went broke.
Okay, not this set specifically, but Znap was part of the problem.
I find it funny that the main "build" is called an aeroplane.
To me it is like with clouds in the sky. You look at them and everybody sees something else in them.
This "aeroplane" to me looks like a duck on waterskis, looking up while having a sh**.
The tailfin is the duck's head, the cockpit is its derrière.
Now that I have this image in my head, I can't unsee it. ;-)
God, was that an aweful theme. Apart from the Logo on the Box, nothing about this looks anything like LEGO or what I would associate with it.
@AustinPowers I see it! It looks like it's in the middle of laying an egg.
Even when the Eiffel tower was built everyone hated it and it was meant to be dismantled...
Ah ZNAP, I bought one of each set on deep clearance in 2000 knowing One Day I would have a use for it. It's still in the blue bin where I unboxed it all, and I still haven't used any of it.
But I will.
'Znap' backwards is 'panZ', which is almost 'pants'. So maybe the clue was in the name all along.
:/
I think I need a shower now. I may burn my laptop as well.
ZNAP was when LEGO consequently used odd-number length 'bricks' for the first time.
Now music is my aeroplane... it's my aeroplane...
I used to love this stuff; I bought a fair bit of it on clearance in 2000 and it was hours of fun when I fancied a bit of a change from the usual Lego, particularly since I bounced off Knex really hard, finding it very difficult physically to join and separate the pieces. I'm not sure if the Znap will stay in my collection forever, but on balance the difficulty of rehoming it suggests it'll be around for a while...
Znapset 2020. Spread the word.