I have to say that I am first a Technic Fan! I started with mini Creator sets because it seemed to me easier. The 8065 was my first attempt with the Technic. It takes a lot a time to build big creations! The 8065 was perfect for me to begin.
Quoting Nathanael Kuipers
It looks like you have given yourself a new challenge now; creating Technic alternates, instead of Creator alternates. Not so easy in my opinion to create interesting alternates with just a few Technic parts. This one turned out pretty good!