[REVIEW] 8274 Combine Harvester

[dunamis]

Combine Harvester Reviewed by Dunamis

Set 8274

1025 Pieces

$69.95 from LEGO Downtown Disney

Build time 5.5 hours

The Combine/Harvester is one of three recently released Technic sets. I picked this one up at the Downtown Disney LEGO store back in July. Having grown up on the wheat fields of central Kansas, I am quite familiar with Combines and have ridden on one many times. Admittedly, I was hoping for the motorized bulldozer so this guy had to take its place.

The Box:

Fairly large box with the usual trimmings. The back of the box mostly shows the alternate model which is a dragster.

The box design is back to the two seals in the front and the perforated top that flips up (that you may recall I had so much trouble with in the past.) Here is what you get inside:

Once you get everything dumped out, you have 15 bags and four tires in addition to the four manuals.

They do a pretty nice job of sorting everything out for you:

The Manuals:

Pretty straightforward manuals here and up to the usual LEGO standard and are 64,63,53 and 23 pages in length. The usual features are included:

- Piece call outs for each step

- Parts inventory at the end of the primary model build

- Page numbers

Color separation in these manuals were fine for the most part although I did mistake a dark gray for black a couple of times.

Random manual photos:

Parts list:

The Pieces:

Well, this IS a Technic set after all so you get a TON of Technic parts. There are some old-school parts. It was kind of a flashback to my earlier days of the expert builder sets (early Technic) back in the 1980s. For those of you youngsters, that was BEFORE cable TV (at least in Kansas)!

The universal joint:

And the gear rack:

There are LOTS of studless beams, pins, lift arms, axles, connectors and a few panel fairings. Note for those of you who like studs in your LEGO sets, they are few and far between here. Probably less than 1% of the parts in this set even have studs.

As far as color goes, mostly light and dark gray, lime green and black are your primary colors here.

The Build:

The build was pretty ordinary. Again, this is a Technic fan

[Siegfried]

Thanks very much for the review. I call the new Technic sets "Pego"! :-P This set doesn't excite me much though. I am currently building 8288 and I think that is much better. Still, it is nice to see the universal joint again. I have 4 of those, and they are all in my (modified) Slave 1. :'-( I'm not going to buy the set for one universal joint though! :-|

[Shadows]

Informative review, thanks!

I've been curious about the latest Technic sets. I remember sitting down at the coffee table to build the old Expert Builder sets (while watching cartoons on cable, we had it here :-P) and this looks nothing like those. I'm not impressed with this direction in the line.

I don't follow the colour scheme either and have almost no use for studless parts and hundreds of pins.

Guess now I know what the inside of the UCS Falcon will look like. Maybe I'll need some of these parts to attempt to restructure it enough to build some interior. Think I'll just stick to Bricklink orders, this doesn't look like $70 worth of parts to me.

Still, an excellent review *y*

Shame it isn't a better set.

[Siegfried]

Guess now I know what the inside of the UCS Falcon will look like.

If you want to see inside the Falcon look here!

[simonwillems]

You know you are building a Technic set when you thumbs are aching when it is done.

Ah, yes, that magic feeling. I just finished building my 8421 and experienced it once again.

Thanks for the review of this new set!

I am not sure wether it appeals to me, it looks good, like a real combined harvester and it has many many parts (over a thousand).

The colorscheme looks a bit strange, but I think it fits the model, after all harvesters come in weird colors in real life as well.

Lego never made a combined harvester before (a part from the second model of the 8862, but that doesn't count...) and I think they did a good job.

:-)

[TroyTMoore]

I don't follow the colour scheme either

The colour scheme is that of Claas farm equipment, which no doubt the design team responsible for this is familiar with given their proximity to mainland Europe.

[dunamis]

The colour scheme is that of Claas farm equipment, which no doubt the design team responsible for this is familiar with given their proximity to mainland Europe.

Yup, I checked it out on wiki (there is some good information on Combine Harvesters if you are interested). Here is a photo of the Claas Harvester:

That color scheme looks familiar ;-)

[5150 Lego]

Sigh.... Well, i was trying to get some pics up last night for my review of this set, but it looks like Dunamis beat me to it. :-( Dunamis covered preety much everything i was going to cover, and his pics are 10x better quality than mine are :-P .

Great review Dunamis! If i may, here's a couple action shots....

Here's a shot with 8284 tractor of last year. They go quite well toeghter.

[dunamis]

Those do look good together. I should build the tractor as well.

Nice lawn. I need to hire your gardener...

[Ickelpete]

Great Review Dunamis *y*

It is a pity the functionality is a little limited :-(

I will still put it on my birthday list :-D

[paul_delahaye]

Thank you for the review, I think you are all right, it does lack some functions and a way of incorporating a motor would have been good add on. I think I will still have to purchase one to go with the tractor of last year.

Paul . . .

[Siegfried]

Great review Dunamis! If i may, here's a couple action shots....

Great pictures! :-D I makes me want to buy both! 8-|

[julencin2000]

Nice review, thank you!!

[Some guy]

Good review,it isn't as bad as i expected! 8-

[dunamis]

Good review,it isn't as bad as i expected! 8-

[Asuka]

A very good review of a very neat set. A combine harvester.... that

[gylman]

Thanks Dunamis - very informative review.

It's good to see these, even if they are for sets that I am not going to buy unless it's 50% off. It's a sad day for Technic when we get excited about the fact that a set has a universal joint. As far as I could tell, NOT a single classic technic brick ... just liftarms, axles and pins. And crazy colours.

Not for me, but certainly it makes a nice combo with the tractor from last year if you have them both.

I'll look forward to your bulldozer review... Of course I'll be getting that one eventually. I'm really curious how useful the motors will be.

[dunamis]

As far as I could tell, NOT a single classic technic brick ... just liftarms, axles and pins. And crazy colours.

Pretty much, Gylman. Here are the only Technic bricks in the set and there are four of them.

[agrotic]

yeah !

mine arrived today ! 2,5 hours to build !

it's marvelous. I'm very happy with that set. I'll bring it at the office (some poeple at job are studying combine harvesters sold in France ;)

Nico.

[agrotic]

here, some pics in the fieldyard ;)

click here to see the pics !

[5150 Lego]

Here's a couple more action shots, and a couple pics of the combine next to thetractor of last year. I Apoligize for the bad pics. My camera doesn't seem to like close ups.

Pick of the lader to access the cab, it can swing forward, or to the side

alittle cramped, but you can even fit a techinc figure in the cab!

Loaded up, ready to go to the next field..

rest of the gallery can be seen here.

http://www.maj.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=154708

[john cleese]

great review dunamis. I should really buy a technic set, havent had one since i was 5. Maybe ill pick this one up, not sure.

[Asuka]

Very nice pics, 5150 Lego, now all it needs is a trailer for the tractor.... X-D *y*

[DarkShadow73]

Here's one from way back...in 2007. I never bought this set, but I found an elusive one for sale. Didn't get the greatest review here, Brickset was a bit better, but still think I might round out an abnormally high amount of yellow and red construction equipment and cars/trucks. Had the 8284 lime-clad tractor but sold it a long time ago, wish I hadn't now, only have the nearly identical red/black color 8063 Tractor. Guess that freaky looking green trailer might come in useful now though for the harvested grain...

Edited October 29, 2015 by DarkShadow73

[Jim]

Please don't revive an 8 year (!!) old topic, without adding some useful information!