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Name: Construction Site
Year: 2009
Pieces: 898
Minifigs: 5
Price: $AUD149.99, $US99.99, GBP 58.69; EUR 89.99-99.95
Resources: Brickset, Peeron, Lego Shop@Home
Introduction:
Construction Site is the largest of the 2009 January City releases - and indeed, one of the largest City releases we have seen that *isn't* a Police station since at least 2005
. The trend since 2006 has been to release medium to large sets at a slightly cheaper pricepoint, usually featuring large pieces and including one supersized vehicle (the 7894 Airport or 7994 City Harbour spring to mind). Construction Site is somewhat of a departure from this model in that it is largely brick-built using few large pieces, and rather than focussing on one or two large features, actually is comprised of 5 smaller models across 4 instruction books. The last construction site produced in 2005, 7243, seemed more focussed on mining operations, with a dump truck and grinding conveyor belt, but with the inclusion of quite a large civilian building in 7633, Lego's emphasis is firmly on everyday life. Glimpses of City sets arriving later this year seem to follow the pattern of large sets made up of small civilian submodels, so the question we should ask here is - is this trend any good?Part 1: Box, Parts, Instruction Manuals, DSS
Front of the box:
Back of the box:
One of the Lego designers has too much time on their hands. Notice how the bagged bricks are now colour matched to the submodels? Good to know that, like a celebrity starlet, the carpet matches the drapes.
Four instruction manuals for four sets. You can see clearly just from this how each of these could work as an individual release (except Lego may not think the lift and shopfront marketable enough). Indeed, the second model is basically a Cargo transporter with stickers to match:
The RIP (new acronym for Random Instruction Page):
Yay! Bonus DSS (Dreaded Sticker Sheet)! I love when this happens. It means I can totally stuff up the stickers without feeling guilty, knowing that I have a spare set to use in case of emergencies. Be still, my trembling hands!
Bagged Parts. Nine crinkly bundles of goodness with one bag of extra large pieces.
The graphic designer with too much time on their hands has been at work here too - notice how Bag 9 has a 'point' bottom right of the numeral so the kidz don't get it confused with Bag 6. A classy touch - the kind of clue that always appears in sub-par Agatha Christie TV mysteries when the murderer steals the wrong room key, blunders in and kills someone totally inappropriate.
Parts, beautiful parts! Bwahahaha!
Some interesting things to notice. Firstly, the classic windows last seen in 4996 Creator Beach House have been replaced with a new lipped version. Instead of this:
We now have this:
Why would they replace such a wonderful part with this strange foreshortened one, I wondered?
Then I looked at the glass. They seem to have changed the window mould so the new hideous glass with the pin-prick production marks all over it can fit in both the 3 x 4 window frames *and* the new sloping window roof pieces. I guess this saves them a few pennies here and there. A shame though as the old glass was actually transparent and the new piece produced last year looks like it's been riddled with gunfire. Additionally, there is room for 2 studs to connect under the middle of the top rim of the new frame for extra support.The moon is made of this, apparently:
I love these 4x4 expanded versions of the cut out plate. Flashback, baby! Also, trans-orange 1x2 plates, the wheel rim in yellow (not sure if I've seen this before) and the new cage piece.
Plus 2 of those 32 long technic axles. I used to hate these pieces! Juniorisation, blah blah blah. Now I love them
You will find out why!
Part 2: The build(s)
I won't go into too much detail about the build of each model, unless there is something particularly interesting for each one.
First up is the little dozer, variations of which never seem out of production. This would make a good $AUS10 set by itself.
The new cage piece is good-lookin' and versatile - much simpler and stronger than was used in the contrived brick-built version in the 2008 Truck & Forklift set 7733:
Rear view of the dozer/ digger:
The tracks attach via a simple and yet clever use of an old Space piece and simple 1x1 cylinders:
Second up is the large Cargo transport truck, which keeps the colour scheme of last year's themed sets and the same decal. It is a fairly simple build, with a cab attached to the large one-piece carriage section. The only thing I don't like about it is that the rear wheels sit slightly lower than the wheels on the cab, so the whole thing slopes downward slightly and is very close to the ground. Here we go:
Front view of the cab:
Rear view:
The transport bed:
With the dozer on board:
At this point my unimpressed-looking cat interrupted the build by sleeping on the instructions so I don't have many detail shots of the construction of the lift and the shopfront
The lift is of a simple an excellent design. Basically the friction of the small rubber wheels against the 32 stud long axle is sufficient to hold the small lift platform in place at an point up or down the shaft. It's genius
Lego has never done such a simple yet well designed lift! Yes, the ones in 10188 Death Star worked fairly well, but a complicated lift cable made of string doesn't quite cut it for me 
. The previous winner of 'Best Lift in a System Set' Award would go to the version in 7047 Coast Watch HQ but this one beats it in terms of greater range and smaller size. The principle could easily be adapted to make elevators in town houses, for example. 
Better view of the mechanism, as Mr Foreman descends to ground level:
Mr Foreman is pleased to note a construction minion awaiting him with lunch*:
*Note: lunch not included, BBQ chicken sold separately
BY THIS CREEPY BEARDED DUDE!The lift apparatus next to the smart-looking shopfront building:
I am really pleased to see the inclusion of this building in 7633, and to me it is what elevates this set from the usual bog standard construction set and makes it a bit special. So often in Lego City we have seen vehicles with nowhere to go and no way to use their amazing functions. Building cranes with nothing to lift; police command centres with noone to arrest; emergency vehicles with not a soul to rescue. The idea of actually combining a set and the object of its play function in one package is simple and obvious, and yet we haven't seen anything this detailed like it in a City set since Main Street. Even better, it's been designed as a modular system to allow endless recombination and play and to encourage kids to make their own shoppes and suchlike. Let's have a look.
The front:
Angled side view:
The back. For once Lego has an excuse not to provide an interior!
The modules, which attach via the 1x2 red plates:
Different combinations of the modular bits'n'bobs:
OK, so architecturally this thing isn't going to win any awards, but there's a fair amount of useful bricks in here. As you can see, each end section is the large panel piece but the rest is all small bricks. Really, the only thing I'm not happy about is the new window piece and that's mainly because of the nasty glass:
Mr Foreman inspects the work for defects: "You appear to be missing a floor, although the tulips you planted on the window sill are coming along nicely."
Finally, the mobile crane. This isn't so much a 7249 XXL Mobile Crane as it is a M or even S Mobile Crane. I think it got shrunk in the wash
It's worth posting the image of the earlier set (which was sold up until last year) because the similarities and differences are immediate:
After so many years of everything getting bigger, I still can't look at these two pics and fully comprehend that Lego made a conscious decision to go *smaller*
. It's visually disconcerting after so many years of looking at pics of Classic Town sets where everything was teeny and then to see the 2009 equivalent! There are obvious differences in appearance, but in terms of functionality the main one is that the new crane can't bend in the middle. The crane can rotate, but the vehicle doesn't bend. Otherwise the new designers have done a good job of keeping it playable. The movable columns which supported the body of the crane are now technic axles which can be propped against studs:
The side control cabin is there, if teensy:
The barrel still extends:
The crane moves, but via turntable rather than a hinged truck body:
This pin holds it in the straight position:
There's classic greebles and stickers!
The side support legs which used to be push back into the truck body now detach, with the foot pieces hooking onto the back of the cab and the technic axles sliding into a nook underneath the crane itself. This is very economical design
The main weaknesses of the new crane are that (a) it is difficult to extend the barrel without first unwinding the string attached to the hook; (b) the handle which controls releasing the string is terribly weak and breaks off unless you wind from the yellow piece right next to the winch rather than the handle itself:
And finally, another overview of all the submodels together:
Part 3: In conclusion
I'm still unsure about the crane. After saying quite strongly in my review of the 7685 Dozer that scale doesn't matter
I find myself wishing they'd made it slightly bigger - somewhere in between the shrunken version and the massive Godzilla version that knocks down buildings with its tail when it turns in the street! But then I realise how much easier it is to move around a crane that isn't larger than an average minifig house and remember that it still does its job pretty well So, yes, I'm a little conflicted. Indeed, this concern about the aesthetics of the vehicle and the shop could be applied to *all* of the submodels (apart from the small digger which is pretty much perfect
) None of them - cargo truck, bley and red building, crane - would be must-have sets in their own right. If I saw them on a shelf in individual boxes along with beautiful designs like the 7632 Crawler Crane or even the little 7630 Loader I know which ones I'd pick up first So I'm forced to conclude that 7633 is a little bit less than the sum of its parts. It's a great concept, well-executed, but no must-have - especially if you already have an abundance of diggers and the XXL crane. Most people would already have the pieces; you can still look up the instructions and build that cool lift today! My reservations as an adult aside, if I was a kid I would be in awe of its breadth of play and great, versatile pieces. To conclude, I give this set 7/10 overall!STAY TUNED tomorrow for a special visual demonstration of this set in action!
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MultiQuote
Posted 12 January 2009 - 08:24 AM
. But the house itself is 
). The petunias are an interesting addition, but I can't see them staying on the windowsill when the building's being hoisted into the air, instead just plummeting to the ground (oh no, not again). And if it's more of an after-construction detail, then why not add a separate interior to be installed as well? 
