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[dunamis]

8285 Technic Tow Truck reviewed by Dunamis

Set 8285
1877 Pieces
$119.95 at the LEGO store
Build time 10.5 hours



The Box:

The box is quite large but pretty standard.  It has the flip up display top that opens up to show a gigantic picture of the truck and all the features of it.  



To open the box, you must break the two seals and open the top of the box which lifts up when you pull out the perforated tabs on the side.  For some reason, I can never get those perforated tabs to work right and I always wind up destroying the box to get it open.

The back of the box shows more features and the alternate model which is a flatbed truck with a crane on the end.




Inside the box, the parts are in the two types of standard LEGO packaging; perforated bags and standard sealed bags. There were some larger pieces free in the box along with the ten rubber tires, dreaded sticker sheet and the SIX instruction manuals!



The bags were not numbered, so as you can imagine in a set this size I recommend some kind of “parts management.”  No doubt everyone has their favorite method.  I personally have several plastic bins of various size that I sort everything in to.  As usual, your mileage may vary…

The Manuals:

I’ve mentioned before in my previous reviews that I think LEGO has raised the bar in terms of manual quality.  I still think that is the case, but I did see some oddness that I will elaborate in the build section of the review.  As mentioned above, there were six instruction manuals; three for each model.




LEGO did a good job with the manuals for this set as the build is definitely not trivial yet they managed to break it down into very manageable steps.  Colors were mostly distinguished with only the occasional question of “now is that dark stone or black?”  For the most part, it turns out these issues are dealt with by LEGO only having the piece be in one color so you really can’t get it wrong.  Hopefully, that is someone at LEGO putting some thought into this and not just dumb luck.  I really think LEGO had a color problem with the manuals about a year ago and made some changes to address it.  Good move on their part.

As we have seen recently, all steps have the parts callout and I don’t remember a single error in any of the steps.  Back again by popular demand is the parts inventory at the end of the third manual.  Way to listen to your customers, LEGO!  All the manuals have page numbers (unlike the 10176 set.)




The Pieces:

Standard Technic assortment of goodies.  Mostly red and black with some light and dark stone mixed in for good measure.  We’ve also got (and you have to look close) four stone and six silver colored wheel rims.  I thought they were all the same until the manual called them out differently (the four stone colored go on the inside wheels of the four dual wheels on the back of the truck.)  Of course, you have ten 62.4 x 20 tires (or tyre according to peeron) to go on your ten wheels.

There is a heavy assortment of various sized gears, axles and liftarms.  You do have the pneumatic accessories although not as much as you would think (or like.)  Interestingly, the pneumatic hoses are already pre-cut (there are only three.)

Also found is the Technic gear rack, differential, flexible double joiner, cam and engine block.  Of course, how could we not have the ubiquitous Technic pin?  There are 296 of those in black (plus two in stone) to keep you happy.

It is also worth noting that we get two of the super-long Technic axle 32. Last seen in the 8421 Mobile Crane (or the Lightsaber duel for you Star Wars junkies out there.)  



Also, notable was that all but two of the Technic beams were studless.  Not sure why I noticed that, but I thought I would pass it along.

Finally, I must say that in this set I have noticed a difference in the quality of the axles.  Many times I found myself really struggling to get a Technic bush, joiner or gear on an axle.  Sometimes the piece would start to slide on and then stop because the axle was not smooth or had plastic debris in it.  I wouldn’t mention this if it was on one or two axles.  I probably found this on 30-40% of the axles in the set.  I’ve built a fair number of Technic sets and this is the first time I have had this problem.  I hope it gets corrected.

The Build:

This was a fun build. While I tend to take my time (especially when building for a review) I really enjoyed myself.  I worked on this model 1-2 hours at night over the course of a week.  During the day, I would look forward to working on the set that evening.  It never seemed boring or repetitive.

Interestingly, the model got easier as I went along.  I suppose this might seem obvious but it really did seem to get much easier and faster.  Intuitively, you could attribute this to having fewer pieces to hunt through, but I really didn’t feel like that was an issue.  At any rate, here were my times per manual:

Manual 1 = ~5.0 hours
Manual 2 = ~3.5 hours
Manual 3 = ~2.0 hours

I have no idea if I am the slowest builder in the world (I have nothing to compare  too), but I think the pacing was about right.

I found a few things that seemed worth noting:

- in many cases, there are multiple Technic pins or those long Technic pins (sometimes both) are used to connect beams and liftarms.  This gets tricky since you have to line up multiple pieces and work the pins to get everything to connect.
- Watch the routing of the blue pneumatic hose (in the 3rd manual.)  It gets quietly routed and if you aren’t paying attention, you will be five steps too late.
- This could be my failure to notice, but you have to watch out for sticker placement.  Stickers get put on pieces and it shows up as a subtle change.  I went about ten steps before I realized they called out for stickers to be applied two hours ago.
- In Step 71, look for the green arrow.  It looks like the instructions were wrong when it tells you the part call-out for the step, but look for the green arrow to place the 13L studless beam.

A few random build photos:









Another comment I have is this thing is not coming apart.  First of all, it is pretty sturdy.  Secondly, the way it is put together, it will probably take another ten hours to disassemble.  They take these axle joiners (with the double split) and put a cross beam through it with an axle to lock it into place.  There are several of those buried deep within the truck.  I’d like to build the alternate model but it would probably be easier to just go buy another set than to take this thing apart.  I’m considering using dynamite to aid in the process.

There was a lot of Technic gears, liftarms, axles, etc. to keep my attention.  Some of the design was quite clever and educational.

At the beginning of the year, when the sets were first shown at a toy fair I heard the comment that this year would have the most difficult Technic build ever.  It was never revealed what set that was and I always assumed it was this one.  Now, I have not built the dune buggy/tractor or the crawler crane yet (they’re in the build queue right now) but I can’t imagine one of those two being harder than this.  The fact is, I didn’t think this was difficult at all.  To me, the 8868 Airtech Claw Rig was much more difficult of a build than this.

The final product:


The Design:

Alright, here is where the wheels come off (so to speak.)  The design of the truck is really very good in a lot of ways.  However, I get the sense that the designers went about 80% of the way and left the last 20% out.  For example:

- This set should have been motorized.  There is no reason we have to manually pump the lines to run the pneumatic cylinder.
- The way the controls are laid out lends itself to easily automatic the deploying of the rear stabilizer, raising and lowering of the crane arm, extending the crane arm, and controlling the winch.  Why didn’t the designers include a motor with a gearbox to switch between each of these functions?
- Deploying of the tow lift is pretty lame.  It has a shock absorber to keep it from crashing down, but it has to be manually lifted.  Why couldn’t this have been pneumatic?
- I found myself wanting a lot more under the hood.  The engine is almost identical to the 14 year old Airtech Claw Rig except for a few updated parts.  Yes, I realize there is only so much variation in an engine but still I wanted more.
- I question some of the pieces selected.  The biggest head scratcher is the 5L axle used on the front tire – it sticks out!

All these things can be addressed (as usual) with a bit of modification.  Granted, adding motors and pneumatics is not for the faint of heart as it inherently invites an escalating level of frustration when it doesn’t all work (at least for me), but it can be very rewarding.  I’m looking forward to see what some of the experts can come up with when they modify this set.

I will say this, the two lift really does work!  Check out the photo when I picked up the Airtech Claw Rig.  That was all done with the pneumatic lift and the Airtech Rig is not exactly light.




Personally, I think it is a very nice looking model when completed.  I plan to keep it built (possibly mod it) and keep it on display for some time.  There are some large stickers and I suppose the population will immediately split into two factions regarding the stickers.  For now, (and I’ve only had the thing built for about five hours now so I reserve the right to change my mind later) I like the look and the stickers don’t bother me.  Ask me again in a week and my opinion might be different.

So, I’m disappointed that there is not more especially for the 2006 flagship Technic set.  I think the designers were rushed and couldn’t add everything they wanted or it was an economic decision not to include motors and more pneumatics to keep the price down.  Either way, we lose and it is a disappointment to an otherwise really nice set.

I would have much rather waited until Christmas and got more in this set or paid $160 and got a motor and more functionality.  

Some photos:

Stabilizers deployed:



Pneumatic controls (hidden behind flip up panel)



Pneumatic tow lift



Standard Engine



Size comparison to the 8688:



Extended Crane:



Leftover parts:



The Stickers:

Unless you are napping (which is possible when reading one of my reviews) you no doubt have realized that we have stickers in this set.  Big stickers that go on funky panel fairings that are (according to peeon) numbered 20-23.  



We also have what I have now named “magic stickers.”  These magic stickers materialize out of thin air on pieces ten steps (and two hours later) in the manual.  Unfortunately, their magic properties do not carry over to real life and thus you have to apply them yourself.  How many you ask?  23 if I counted properly.



As usual, we have two types of people in this world; those who are expertly adept in applying large stickers onto panel fairings and those who hate those who are expertly adept in applying large stickers onto panel fairings.  In my case, the stars lined up today and I was able to apply my stickers without incident.

Finally, the burning question that must be answered: Yes, there are stickers that must be applied across multiple pieces.  Four in all and they go across pretty common pieces so no harm no foul if you screw it up.  STAMPS (STickers Across Multiple PieceS) as they have come to be known.  I think the ISO committee is finally going to approve that acronym this fall.

Overall Thoughts:

I guess this is one of those sets where you like the process of building it more than the set when it is done (if that makes sense.)  Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a nice looking set and it is cool to show people what it can do.  I’m just thinking it could have had a much higher “wow” factor had it been motorized instead of having to crank multiple knobs several times to show off all the features.

Pure speculation on my part, but I think the poor sales from the 8421 mobile crane cane at $150 caused LEGO to scale back on this set to lower the price.  While that decision may help the sales numbers of the Tow Truck, it lowers the enjoyment value of the set and leaves you wanting for more.

There are some 50 photos in my brickshelf gallery if you want to see more:

Brickshelf when public

As usual, your comments, obervations and complaints about my review are welcome.

Final Rating: 68%

Build 10/10 (I really had a fun time building it.  It was not near as tedious as the 8868)
Functionality 6/10 (nothing earth-shattering but has some cool features)
Design 5/10 (was clearly rushed or scaled back due to price issues)
Parts 7/10 (Cool tires, lots of red and black Technic, 32L axles, but could have had a lot more)
Price 6/10 (The price ratio is good, but I expected more pneumatic or at least a motor)

[JINZONINGEN73]

Great review!
I'd never build the actual model, but the parts are RIPE for mocing.

Quote

It is also worth noting that we get two of the super-long Technic axle 32.

:-)

Quote

Finally, I must say that in this set I have noticed a difference in the quality of the axles. Many times I found myself really struggling to get a Technic bush, joiner or gear on an axle. Sometimes the piece would start to slide on and then stop because the axle was not smooth or had plastic debris in it. I wouldn’t mention this if it was on one or two axles. I probably found this on 30-40% of the axles in the set. I’ve built a fair number of Technic sets and this is the first time I have had this problem. I hope it gets corrected.

I noticed a mild decline in axle quality as well.
From the Bionicle Toa Inika sets, I have axles with the stop towards the end in dark blay. Their particular problem is they're "bendy". Where I'd normally just quickly jam an axle in somewhere, these would bend real quick, scaring the bejeezus out of me that they'd snap.

Quote

Also, notable was that all but two of the Technic beams were studless.

?


Anyway, great review. ... ... ...Any idea why they toss in extra parts like that?
Or are those used for the alternate models?
I see extra parts in sets that don't even HAVE alternate models.

[dunamis]

JINZONINGEN 73, on Aug 21 2006, 06:36 PM, said:

Great review!
I'd never build the actual model, but the parts are RIPE for mocing.

Thank you!

Quote

Also, notable was that all but two of the Technic beams were studless.

Sorry, my incoherent ramblings sometime don’t make much sense.

What I am referring to is all but two of the beams look like this


Instead of the old style which look like this (and have studs)

[Hobbes]

Excellent review - again *y*

If you need someone to compare your building speed to: I'm probably the slowest builder even when I'm not doing a review. The Mobile Crane took me about 20 hours (over four days), not including two evenings of sorting before I started building ;-)

Although you're review makes the truck look pretty good I'm still not sure if i'll get it. I think I'll try the Crawler Crane and most definitely the Tractor first.

I've thought about doing a review of my (not yet built) 8455 but since I haven't built it yet and seeing how many technical terms I need I'll have to think about it again. I think reading about "that black thingy with the two thingies sticking out of it" or the like could be a bit... weird... ;-)

So, I'm rather looking forward to more of your reviews *sweet*


PS:

Quote

Also, notable was that all but two of the Technic beams were studless.

I understood that!  :'-)

[gylman]

Thank you for all this work Dunamis.   First class review.

My impression from all I read was that given the cost and the hype ("the hardest build ever!") this set is something of a disappointment. The build is good, not great compared to the classics it seems, but the end product is not great looking and does not do all that much. It's big, but not clever in the way of Airtech or even 8455.  Even 8421 looks to have been a better model - certainly it looks better on the shelf, and has better parts. Argh, and the stickers.  

With major body work I suppose it could be made to look good, better wheelwells, more solid body (I hate fairings!), but I can't see myself going to the trouble.

Oh well. I have one, and it will likely stay on the shelf a while longer.

The news about poor quality axles is disturbing, but I guess they eventually "wear in".  If they are softer than before, like Jinzo suggests, THAT'S A PROBLEM!

Quote

Deploying of the tow lift is pretty lame. It has a shock absorber to keep it from crashing down, but it has to be manually lifted. Why couldn’t this have been pneumatic?

I hear you!  Like last year, when the boom on the 8421 crane woudl crash down upon release of the switch instead of some elegant gliding solution.  It's these little details that used to be present in technic sets, but now are presumably considered not worth the money in terms of set cost, because you don't see them unless you have built and fiddled with the set.

[Ickelpete]

Great Review *y*  
I was planning a review of this one now Im back from holiday I am just building the alternative model.

I do agree with some points I was left slightly disapointed with the lack of pneumatics. The damper arrangement on the tow lift should have been pneumatic aswell.

One thing that did dissapoint me was that there was no thought given to adding the motor to the main model the instructions only include  for adding the motor set to the alternative model.
TLC have gone to the trouble of producing a motor accessory set and have not included it in the flagship model I do not understand the logic behind this.

I think you did well for time it took me about 12 hours to build over 5 evenings but I do get lots of interuptions from the kids wanting to help :-D and as for taking it apart I think it took about 1 hour.

Quote

At the beginning of the year, when the sets were first shown at a toy fair I heard the comment that this year would have the most difficult Technic build ever. It was never revealed what set that was and I always assumed it was this one. Now, I have not built the dune buggy/tractor or the crawler crane yet (they’re in the build queue right now) but I can’t imagine one of those two being harder than this. The fact is, I didn’t think this was difficult at all. To me, the 8868 Airtech Claw Rig was much more difficult of a build than this.

I agree I dont think this was a hard build I think last years mobile crane was more challenging, the dune buggy/tractor and crawler crane are easy to build.

Quote

I guess this is one of those sets where you like the process of building it more than the set when it is done (if that makes sense.) Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a nice looking set and it is cool to show people what it can do. I’m just thinking it could have had a much higher “wow” factor had it been motorized instead of having to crank multiple knobs several times to show off all the features.

I think you summed it up perfectly this is a good model and was fun to build but it could have been better it needs some modifications to make it great!

Once again great review :'-)

[JINZONINGEN73]

gylman, on Aug 21 2006, 05:10 PM, said:

The news about poor quality axles is disturbing, but I guess they eventually "wear in".  If they are softer than before, like Jinzo suggests, THAT'S A PROBLEM!

Luckily, I've only seen the bendiness in non-black axles.

Quote

What I am referring to is all but two of the beams look like this

Ah. That's what I thought. The reason I asked is because I can't remember the last time I saw a set with (long) studded ones.

[gylman]

JINZONINGEN 73, on Aug 21 2006, 11:33 PM, said:

Ah. That's what I thought. The reason I asked is because I can't remember the last time I saw a set with (long) studded ones.

8421 was a bonanza for those:  18 of the 16x1 and 7 of the rare 14x1
http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/8421-1

It was one of the reasons I preferred that set of this one. Technic bricks just have a more solid look than technic beams.

[brickzone]

I hope bumping up a review this old isn't a complete no-no, but having received a secondhand one of these for Christmas, I'd like to give my opinions on the set! I entirely agree with the OP's remarks about the sturdiness and dissassembly time, as the truck was pretty much built (few minor appendages broken off) when purchased (hence disassembly required to have a cool model to build on Christmas day). The set doesn't disassemble trivially - in retrospect there are crucial axles that you should push out (with a longer axle) to aid in disassembly, and even then, you'll have to remove some parts that are attached to two different areas in different ways (indeed there is at least one step in building it where a liftarm is attached in a way requiring double attachment at an odd angle and flexing things slightly).

This is my first technic set, but I found it very nice the array of functions available when built - even if the OP's comments about it deserving to be automated with motor are fairly accurate (you have to do a lot of turning on multiple manual controls, although it is neat the way they are hidden by the hinged stickered panels on the sides). I think I will have to deliberately create a large scale MOC (possibly even "technic-ish") just to have a vehicle to use the functions on - the OP's display of it towing that other technic model is great - and even just looking at the mechanisms the tow-truck is evidently up to the job for which it is designed.

As regards the stickering - unfortunately the previous owner wasn't too exact. I was able to fix some minor stickers, but the ones on the fairings unfortunately seem to suffer from that issue where different inks affect the sticker - so black pulls off and red stays on, splitting the stickers. The stickers do add to the cool look of the model, and I like even the simple effect of the opening doors (panels attached to just a simple pin/axle mechanism to hold them in place and allow hinging).

The metallic silver is awesome - I did notice the wheels immediately. Unfortunately I have to replace some missing silver connector tubes, but the metallic parts do add striking detail to the model. Even if it was cut-down as the OP suggests, Lego haven't held back on the metallic silver here, with those huge wheels in it, and the sheer amount of silver radiator plates.

That blue tube in the instructions caught me out too - but in fact you don't actually "miss" a step - the instructions just don't really detail where the tube goes (in fact really to achieve the arrangement evident by the time you see the tube coming out the other side of the truck, you need to wrap the blue tube directly back into the mechanism when attaching the switch (it's awkward to neatly arrange otherwise). From the other side of the model later in the instructions it's evident how the blue tube goes behind the vertical axle in the innards, and how it is arranged on that side of the model.

Anyway, in my uneducated (technic-wise) opinion, this is an awesome model. I look forward to building the alternate model. If I am reading the box properly, it is only the alternate that can be motorised. I'm tempted even so to pick up the motor set displayed, although it is €35 here (but in a shop where I have a €20 voucher) - of course perhaps the motor set doesn't include a battery pack?

[Bricktrain]

This set is great, it is the one which brought me back to Lego also. I have several versions of it built and displayed, mostly the alternate model.

I have modified mine slightly, filled in a few of the gaps, like in the front guards and bonnet and changed its colour to mostly black.

I parted about 8 of these sets and was dissapointed that the last one had only bley wheels, fortunately most of them were totally metallic silver, some got a mixture of both. I wish the silver were still produced, hopefully someone will start chroming some of the yellow ones.

While it is nice to have fully motorized models, I feel it is wasted on most as they are mostly displayed rather than played with, and being able to show the working functions is more important than being able to drive it in my opinion.  I have been building less models lately with motorised drive and concentrating on the other functions. (Though my crane is fully motorised, soon to be rebuilt again with a new chassis)

I think in some ways it is good that factory models are not perfect, it gives builders a chance to improve them themselves, otherwise we would all have the same identical sets.

[Sinner]

brickzone, on Dec 27 2009, 11:21 PM, said:

Anyway, in my uneducated (technic-wise) opinion, this is an awesome model. I look forward to building the alternate model. If I am reading the box properly, it is only the alternate that can be motorised. I'm tempted even so to pick up the motor set displayed, although it is €35 here (but in a shop where I have a €20 voucher) - of course perhaps the motor set doesn't include a battery pack?

The alt model is pretty good actually and the motor set comes with the battery box as well as a few other good parts.

dunamis, on Aug 22 2006, 02:58 AM, said:

I question some of the pieces selected.  The biggest head scratcher is the 5L axle used on the front tire � it sticks out!

I think this is because the 4L axel is (was?) more expensive than the 5 due to it being an older part.

dunamis, on Aug 22 2006, 02:58 AM, said:

Pure speculation on my part, but I think the poor sales from the 8421 mobile crane cane at $150 caused LEGO to scale back on this set to lower the price.

I agree. There are big spaces inside that would fit a gear box nicely...

[brickzone]

Yay! I managed to pick up the motor set. I'll disassemble the Tow Truck maybe this weekend and build the alternate - I only just realised that the motor is used to motorise the crane rather than the lorry's drive. Maybe will get a chance to stick up a few photos of the alternate model build and/or finished. I just polished off my Tow Truck with the few missing parts, and it looks magnificent - it's an amazing set. I also now have a working pneumatic pump, and the lifting function of the rear platform is nice - I'm guessing with some more pneumatic equipment and technic building one could link up a second pump to unfold the platform using pneumatics rather than manual lever?

I might try motorising the drive of the tow truck after that - if anyone has any advice I'd be glad to hear it (mainly on gearing - I'll figure out myself how to fit the equipment in and link it to the drive). I'm guessing if I hook things up wrong/directly I could drive things too fast and damage some parts.

This set seems to be selling for quite a bit - I've seen a few on ebay in recent days. Nevertheless, I'd certainly highly recommend it!

Incidentally, the crane doesn't seem to handle too much weight - just because it was there, I tried lifting my brother's Christmas present, an 8145 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Result - quite obviously far too large a model to lift. I think it's unlikely the platform holds too a large model either - the Airtech Rig displayed by the original reviewer must be on the upper edge of what can be lifted. However, perhaps the platform lifts more weight than the crane.

I feel like such a Technic noob though :) Hopefully building and motorising the alternate model will contribute to my education!

[Enilder]

brickzone, on Jan 6 2010, 11:38 AM, said:

Yay! I managed to pick up the motor set. I'll disassemble the Tow Truck maybe this weekend and build the alternate - I only just realised that the motor is used to motorise the crane rather than the lorry's drive. Maybe will get a chance to stick up a few photos of the alternate model build and/or finished. I just polished off my Tow Truck with the few missing parts, and it looks magnificent - it's an amazing set. I also now have a working pneumatic pump, and the lifting function of the rear platform is nice - I'm guessing with some more pneumatic equipment and technic building one could link up a second pump to unfold the platform using pneumatics rather than manual lever?

I might try motorising the drive of the tow truck after that - if anyone has any advice I'd be glad to hear it (mainly on gearing - I'll figure out myself how to fit the equipment in and link it to the drive). I'm guessing if I hook things up wrong/directly I could drive things too fast and damage some parts.

This set seems to be selling for quite a bit - I've seen a few on ebay in recent days. Nevertheless, I'd certainly highly recommend it!

Incidentally, the crane doesn't seem to handle too much weight - just because it was there, I tried lifting my brother's Christmas present, an 8145 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Result - quite obviously far too large a model to lift. I think it's unlikely the platform holds too a large model either - the Airtech Rig displayed by the original reviewer must be on the upper edge of what can be lifted. However, perhaps the platform lifts more weight than the crane.

I feel like such a Technic noob though :) Hopefully building and motorising the alternate model will contribute to my education!

nice! i wish i was into LEGO back in 2006. it costs a lot now :(
this is definitely one of my "need" set.

[DLuders]

M4X1994 just posted this 2-minute YouTube video of the 8285 Tow Truck ("King of the Road") set being built in a quick, stop-action sequence.  It covers "Building the Lego Technic Tow Truck (King of the Road) Step by Step.  No. of Pieces - 1877.  Year of Release - 2006."

Edited by DLuders, 24 October 2010 - 03:41 PM.

[dolittle]

Thank you for the review, it really makes me want to wait on buying this set .. as other sets appear to have better reviews, especially in the playability part - which I feel is important :) I am not buying sculptures here :D

[Anio]

Strange rates... @_@

[dhc6twinotter]

This is one of three sets that I really kick myself for not getting.  This was released during my dark ages while I was in school, and I'm bummed for not picking it up.  It's an awesome set.  

Now if only I could find one cheap at a garage sale or something....

[jantjeuh]

I would love to have this set as well.. along with 8421, 8275, 8868, 8880, etc.. damn those dark ages :-(

[TechnicFreak]

Unlike a lot of sets, both the tow truck and the 'b' model tractor/trailer w/ crane are equally as good, I managed to get both on a buy 1 get 1 50% off event at TRU back in 2006.  Only bad part about the 'b' model is when motorizing it w/ the 8287 Motor Kit, it doesn't have an attachment point for the battery box, but I modified my trailer so the battery box fits just under the crane raising arm.  It just barely touches the crane arm on full lowering of the arm, but doesn't affect the playability one bit.

edit: no need to quote the entire review, that's actually a little annoying to the rest of us

Edited by KimT, 30 October 2010 - 09:09 AM.

[efferman]

is it neccessary to quote the full post, when the post has so much pics? not everyone has a broadband internet connection.

[TechnicFreak]

Sorry efferman and others - I did receive quite a few complaints in my e-mail inbox today about this.  I am new to this, but now I know how to reply without putting the entire post on that reply.  

efferman, on 25 October 2010 - 03:26 PM, said:

is it neccessary to quote the full post, when the post has so much pics? not everyone has a broadband internet connection.

[andythenorth]

This is absolutely my favourite Technic set.  The power functions bulldozer has more play value, but I just prefer this set.  I have three of them with various mods...not all finished  
Brickshelf - mods of 8285

If Lego released a similar set again (large US conventional truck) I'd probably buy three more  

Edited by andythenorth, 25 October 2010 - 08:58 PM.

[dhc6twinotter]

Well, if any of you guys with multiple sets want to let go of one cheap, let me know.    

Edited by dhc6twinotter, 25 October 2010 - 11:45 PM.

[TechnicFreak]

Had 1 unopened at my BL store, sold it to a guy in California a few weeks ago...

dhc6twinotter, on 25 October 2010 - 11:44 PM, said:

Well, if any of you guys with multiple sets want to let go of one cheap, let me know.    

[bricklab]

I have 2 of the 8285 tow trucks, but they seem to be different versions.

1 has the silver metallic wheels and exhaust tips, and the other has all bluish grey wheels and exhaust tips. I checked each set of instructions and the set inventory list in the back is different, calling for the variations in part colors.

Not sure why Lego changed it, but they are different. The all-grey wheels version still has the other parts being metallic, but not the wheels and tips...