TLCB newcomer Wave Noiz is making his debut here with a pair of stunningly realistic Town excavators. Wave’s work is some of the most detailed we’ve ever come across in our time blogging – you can see more of Wave’s incredible Town-scale creations at his photostream via the link above. You can also read our reviews of LEGO’s own excavator sets by visiting the Set Review Library –click here to make the jump.
It’s rare that we come across a Technic creation that genuinely surprises us. This is because a) our workforce of smelly little Elves appreciate quite a narrow range of models, mostly those with racing stripes and/or those of a transforming robotical nature, and b) because Technic builders themselves seem to mirror this approach.
It therefore makes a very welcome change to post a pair of Technic models like these, from MOCpages newcomer Desert752. Desert has built a complete mining set-up, with a huge bucket-wheel excavator and – even more unusually – a working Technic train. It’s all controlled remotely via LEGO’s Power Functions system, including the train’s movement, the emptying of the hopper cars, the rotating excavation bucket and the loading conveyer.
You can see how it all works via the link to MOCpages above where there are more images as well as a video of the set-up in action, and you can also be the first to leave Desert752 a comment welcoming him into our online Lego community.
This lovely Lego Liebherr L556 Loader was discovered on Flickr today. Lego Junkie is the builder and you can see more of his creation here.
Doc Brown’s dinky bucket excavator proves that size really doesn’t matter when it comes to Technic creations – it’s as functional and playable as models three times its size! See all the photos on at Doc’s Flickr page via the link.
This smooth looking rig was built by drdesignz on MOCpages. Its builder cites the 7347 “Highway Pickup” as an influence on his design, though the lowboy trailer is rather more stylish than the back of the Creator set. On top of looking good, the model has plenty of playable functions, which always excites the Elves. The trailer detaches, the digger is playable and the truck steers. As its builder notes, the steering works in the same way as the Model Team 5580 “Highway Rig”. The Elves were also excited because this MOC reminded them of when they helped us build the 31005 “Construction Hauler”, plus it features another digger with which they can smush their colleagues.
You can see more of the truck, trailer and digger by clicking the link to MOCpages or Cuusoo.
This enormous Caterpillar 7495 HF bucket excavator was uncovered by a group of very excitable Elves on Flickr (a few weeks ago actually, when it wasn’t quite finished, so this is an updated post). It’s the work of LEGO-building genius Konajra, a man who’s featured here on TLCB a few times in the past with his incredible ships and Town scenes, and he’s now added technical-brilliance to his already expansive building skill-set.
Contained inside the Caterpillar’s wonderfully realistic body is an extensive range of Power Functions components which are used to control all the major aspects of the excavator’s movements. The Elves thought this functionality was great fun (at least the ones at the controls did), but with several of their colleagues smushed into the office carpet and others deposited on high shelves from which they had no hope of descending, the controls were swiftly taken away and returned to Konajra.
You can see more details of the Caterpillar, including an insightful ‘naked chassis’ shot by clicking the link to Flickr above.
The Elves, buoyed by their recent scoop of 2014’s Technic 42029, are feeling quite Technic-y at present. They don’t understand how Technic works most of the time, but they do have enormous fun playing with it. Especially when it’s something as big as this; a monster Terex RH400 mining excavator by Russian builder Sheo.
Powered by a total of nine Power Functions motors Sheo’s magnificent mining creation can drive, steer, rotate, raise and lower the boom, open and close the bucket, and – if you’re a Lego Car Blog Elf – run down a colleague and squash them into the office carpet. All this and it’s only mini-figure scale! You can see all the photos, videos and technical details of the Terex on Eurobricks via the link above.
We’re only three days into the new year and the Elves have already found possibly the best vehicular MOC we’re likely to see. This astonishing build is the work of Dennis Bosman aka LegoTrucks, and it’s taken him over two years to complete.
Up front is a beautiful Scania R500 8×4/4 tractor unit, behind which is a Faymonville Megamax low loader trailer, giving a total vehicle length of an incredible 2.5 meters. The Megamax’s load is just as spectacular as the rig carrying it; an enormous vintage Menck M154 bucket excavator complete with boom extension.
Each model is a work of brilliance in its own right, and put them all together and you have one of the most realistic creations we’ve ever featured. To see all the photos of the Scania, the Megamax steered-trailer and the Menck excavator make sure you visit Dennis’ Flickr photostream via the link above, where you’ll also find images of the real truck, trailer and load combination that inspired this amazing build.
Welcome to the Lego Car Blog review of set 42023 – Construction Crew, one of the latest additions to the Technic range. We’ve got our finger on the pulse here at TLCB towers…
So, there I was in the Lego store, staring at the Technic range and torn between buying this and the Skip Lorry. I’ve seen women choose shoes faster. We’ll see if I made the right choice soon enough…
First impressions are good. The three vehicles do look cute on the box, and they all seem to do stuff. The box is quite elegantly designed as well. There is, however, precious little sign of any B-models shown on it; just one tiny picture of a laptop with a road grader model that looks like the alternate for the front end loader. Said laptop won’t help either, for as I write this, the instructions aren’t up on Lego’s website yet.
There are three instruction books and 3 pairs of numbered bags of pieces – one for each model – and a small sticker sheet that managed to survive the onslaught of not being protected by cardboard. Taking each of the three models individually, I’ll start with the blue one.
It’s a rather fetching looking tipper lorry, 9 studs wide and it features working steering and a tipping box, the latter raised and lowered by a small linear actuator. It’s not a difficult build, by any means, but it’s an enjoyable thing to put together. You build the front end first, then the box and the chassis rails that hold it all together come last. The resulting model does look nice, especially as attention has been paid to the colour of the fixings and blue ones have been used on the cab where possible.
So, it’s pretty, but is it clever ? In a word, no. The steering is rather vague and imprecise with a very limited lock, and the tipper bed has a few too many holes in the bottom – a shame as it did seem from the pictures that they might have designed this properly for once. It does work OK, though, and the hinged flap at the rear opens as it goes up. It’ll open before it goes up as well, unfortunately; there’s no means to lock it shut. So, an aesthetic success but not a technical one. Next!
A little red excavator, which wears stickers on the side that somewhat redundantly say ‘Excavator’, just in case we weren’t sure… this features another little linear actuator to lift the arm and it’s extended manually via a set of simple crossed levers. This aspect works well, and it’s got a control to rotate the body on the base. This is completely pointless as the thing will swivel around of it’s own free will anyway. If it was geared down it might have worked.
It’s got a pair of caterpillar tracks, using the older, small black chain link type – 40 per side so get clicking! – and I always like seeing these, although they appear to be made of a softer plastic than used to be the case. These need gears at each end to act as sprockets, and this model doesn’t have that – the chains simply slide over the ‘sprocket’ provided by pairs of bevel gears that don’t mesh with them, meaning the tracks have some free side-to-side movement, and will slip over the sprockets. They won’t slip right off, though. So, a partial success and, like the truck, it does look good.
The best of the three is undoubtedly the yellow front end loader. This looks very purposeful with it’s big yellow wheels, with new squarer tyres that’ll suit most of your truck mocs very well – and it features articulated steering and a lifting, tilting bucket at the front. The joint in the middle is very sturdy, it steers nice and smoothly and the bucket’s lifting mechanism is fine, although the bucket itself tips back as it goes up. The tilting action is a bit sloppy, however, and could not be more basic. That aside, this is a good model.
The three models are also provided with a small pile of round 2×2 bricks to dig up/load/carry. All great fun, although they had to be this big lest they fall through the holes in the truck’s floor…
If all this sounds a bit.. lukewarm, blame the reason I chose this set:
I already had 42004, the little JCB, and it’s a complete delight: the thought of three more like that in one set was extremely tempting. That wouldn’t be too much to ask either, as the 42004 costs £18 to 42023’s £50, and it has less than a third of the pieces. IT’S GOT AN INSTRUCTION BOOK FOR THE B MODEL AS WELL. If I shout maybe someone at Lego will hear me…
Whereas each of 42023’s models have 2 or 3 functions/moving parts, 42004 has 6 on it’s own, in a model that’s the same size. These functions are not perfect, but they’re at least as good as any similar systems on 42023. All this and cuteness; can’t ask for more.
So, to sum up, I should probably have bought the Skip Lorry… 42023 is a nice enough set, and it would make a very good starter kit for someone new to Technic, but there’s not really enough here for the seasoned builder at this price. 6/10. 42004 on the other hand, is an outstanding little model that looks even better value now. 9/10.
This is the Lego Car Blog. We make these mistakes so you don’t have to!
Because this is, apparently, a Hitachi Zaxis 170W. Although that could be a fax machine name for all we know. So over to you to come up with an appropriate title. Steve 5010 is the builder of this great mini-fig machine, and you can check out all the details on Flickr.
Another day, another Elf returns to The Lego Car Blog office clutching its find. One meal token and a yellow Smartie later and we can bring you this incredible working Liebherr A928 excavator by Flickr’s Tobias. It’s fully Power Functions controlled and features probably the most complicated pneumatics system we’ve ever seen. Check it out at Tobias’ Flickr page via the link above, and to read TLCB’s reviews of LEGO’s own excavator sets, click the ‘Reviews’ tab in the main menu.
Welcome to The Lego Car Blog’s latest comparison of old and new Technic models; this time, excavators. Some genres of Technic model age better than others – a 1977 tractor is every bit as good as a 2012 one, and better than those in between – whereas others, I guess, just need a bigger parts palette to look and work right.
There’s a reason why excavator models were very rare from Lego until very recently, but it can be done with the old stuff. The blue machine in the picture above is built from instructions in the (completely wonderful) 8888 ideas book, published in 1980, and using only parts from that era. It’s movements are cunningly controlled using only racks and gears (lots of gears..) and it works OK, if not brilliantly. Cute, though. If it was a set from 1980, it would merit at least a 6/10.
Lego didn’t attempt an actual excavator set until the advent of pneumatics in 1984, with the 8851.
It’s the red beast on the left, and it looks like a step up from the blue one.
It isn’t. The problem was the early single-outlet pneumatic pumps. These extended under pressure, but returned via vacuum, controlled by a block of one way valves plumbed in between pumps and switches. This tortuous system had to be crammed in to 8851’s compact body, and unless you were VERY careful, there would be kinks in the pipework. (TLCB Top Tip: instead of using 8cm and 6cm grey tubes between the 3rd switch and the valve block, use 6cm and 4cm. They’ll be crushed a bit less.) It also made it that rare thing; a Technic model that’s not fun to build. Continue reading
Insert dirt for twice the awesome.
This engineering marvel is the work of pipasseyoyo on Brickshelf. Featuring ten separate functions, this Technic Caterpillar backhoe can do everything its real-life counterpart can, thanks to eight Power Functions motors and two gearboxes. See it in action below!
A big extension. We’re childish.
YouTube video:
New for 2013; LEGO Technic 42004
The penultimate set* in our search for LEGO’s 2013 Technic releases arrived today, scooped from deep within The LEGO Group’s fortified labs. And at first glance 42004 might not look particularly impressive. However, we think this may be one of the best sets of 2013.
Firstly, 42004 has two lovely one-piece buckets. People will buy this set for these parts alone. The design, like most modern Technic, is almost all studless beams, but unlike a lot of modern Technic (see our review of 42010 and 42011) this set has no Power Functions / Pull-Back Motor / Linear Actuator gimmickry.
Instead, it features lots of proper mechanical functions. It steers via articulation in the middle, the front bucket can be raised / lowered and tipped, whilst the rear bucket can swing, extend and tip. All of this is accomplished by simple levers and mechanics, making it one of the most functional, and yet cheapest, LEGO Technic sets in ages.
LEGO Technic 42004 will go on sale in early 2013.
*Actually we previewed LEGO’s 42000 F1 Racer some months ago, because we’re awesome, but we’ll be posting an updated Preview (as soon as the slovenly Elf looking for new pictures returns) in order to complete the 2013 set. Plus it gets loads of hits…
New for 2013, the LEGO Technic Excavator Claw
Welcome to No.3 in our 2013 Technic Previews series, and this is the Big One. LEGO’s recent line in construction equipment has been excellent, and it looks set to continue with the 2013 release of 42006, the Tracked Claw Excavator.
Like many of LEGO’s previous offerings, the functions of the new model are enabled by LEGO’s linear actuators. This time there is no motor to power them (so expect lots of handle winding!), and as such this set should be cheaper than the preceding motorized models. It will be easily modified to take Power Functions parts though, so don’t worry if you’re winding hand is weak!
Sought-after parts include a new design for the four fingers for the grab, grey tracks and the return of the large Technic turn-table. Expect 42006 to be released towards the start of 2013, sitting mid to top of the pricing structure. Stay tuned for the final 2013 Technic set previews here on The Lego Car Blog, and to view the other 2013 sets posted so far, use the search function at the bottom of this page, or click ‘News’.