[REVIEW] 42024 - Container Truck

[Jim]

REVIEW - 42024 - CONTAINER TRUCK

One of the first images of the 1H 2014 sets which appeared was the 42024 Container Truck. It's is what you'd call a skip truck. A skip is a large open-topped waste container designed for loading onto a special type of lorry. Instead of being emptied into a garbage truck on site, a skip is removed, or replaced by an empty skip, and then tipped at a landfill site or transfer station.

As usual the first opinions where very divided, varying from great looking truck to looks unfinished and ranging from color vomit to I love the colors. My first thought was that the cab indeed looked a bit unfinished, but the color scheme, although having a lot of primary colors, did appeal to me. Luckily I had the opportunity of reviewing this set, so let's find out what it's all about!

Note: Pictures where taken with a Canon EOS 600D (18-55mm kit lens). Every image can be clicked to show a high resolution version.

360 DEGREE VIEW

For this review there is a 360 degree view available. Unfortunately I cannot embed it here on Eurobricks, so I've created a support page for this. Please note that this 360 view is experimental and not yet as I would like it to be. First I tried a big rotating home made turntable, but the results weren't fantastic. Then I came up with the idea to make a Technic PF stand, which works better. The bottom of the stand needs to be upgraded, probably using white studded Lego (with SNOT, studs not on top) to make it look better. And I am contemplating making an NXT version, so I can hook it up to a computer. When I manage to get my own software communicating with the camera, I can fully automate the process. There's even the possibility to do multi-row, so you can rotate up and down to change the vertical view angle. Anyway, check it out further in this review!

Loading can take a while since it's 42 images, totalling 16MB of data.

SET INFORMATION

Set Number: 42024

Title of Set: Container Truck

Theme: Technic

Released: 1H 2014

Part Count: 948

Box Weight: 800 gr

Set Price (MSRP): DE 69.99 EUR / UK 59.99 GBP / USA 79.99 USD

Price per Part: DE 0.074 EUR / UK 0.063 GBP / USA 0.084 USD

THE BOX

The box measures 48cm x 28cm x 9cm. It's the same width and height as the 42023 Construction Crew box, but slightly thicker, 9cm instead of 7cm. The set does have more parts, so it makes sense.

FRONT SIDE

The front side shows the truck, loaded with the container and in the upper right corner it's shows some functions, like extending the outriggers and tipping the container to empty it.

BACK SIDE

The back side shows that the container can be emptied or it can be removed to replace it with an empty one. It also shows the optional Power Functions setup.

B-MODEL ROAD GRADER

The back side also shows a fairly detailed image of the B-model, a Road Grader. There's a 2-in-1 sign and a reference to the building instructions, which can be found online.

CONTENTS OF THE BOX

Opening the box reveals seven unnumbered bags, a sticker sheet and two booklets.

The set doesn't contain a card board back for the instructions, like the flagship sets do.

The booklets and sticker sheet are in near mint condition.

The instructions are divided over two booklets.

Opening the bags and collecting the liftarms provides the color vomit people have refered to.

Luckily things where sorted out pretty quickly. This set contains a nice collection of liftarms, perfect for young or starting builders.

HIGHLIGHTED PARTS

The set contains some new 2014 parts and some existing parts in new colors.

49.5 x 20 TIRE

Already mentioned in my Construction Crew review, which has these tires as well, and I quote:

2014 would be a year in which new tires would be released. Well, here they are. These tires are perfectly suited for smaller scale vehicles. They use the same rims as the Tire 43.2 x 22 ZR, but as you can see the diameter is 49.5mm instead of 43.2mm. This provides a more realistic proportion, especially suitable for trucks and construction vehicles. Basically they are small Unimog like tires. Big thumbs up for TLG!

 

5L Axle with Stop

One of the new parts for 2014 is the 5L Axle with Stop (or Axle 5 With Stop), basically the same part as the 4L Axle with Stop only one unit longer and in dark tan (looks like normal tan in this picture) color.

BIONICLE CHAIN LINK SECTION

Not a new part, but never seen in a Technic set before, is this very nice looking Bionicle Chain Link. My guess is that these will sell a lot more on Bricklink, starting today.

1x6 THIN LIFTARM

This is a very rare part since it has only be released in one set, the 8457 Power Puller from 2000. No more 3 to 6 bucks a pop for a new one on Bricklink.

1x5 THIN LIFTARM WITH AXLE HOLES

Already present in some of the 2013 sets, but still this fairly new part is worth to mention.

5x11 PANEL PATE IN BLUE

The 5x11 Panel Plate has been around for a while, but never in Blue! It seems blue is getting special attention this year, so here it is. Next to it is a picture of all the panels included in this set.

PART LIST

This set contains 948 parts and then some.

THE BUILD

The build starts with the front of the truck. A 1x7 Gear Rack is used for steering the front wheels, much like the 8109 Flatbed Truck.

The front part of the truck, located below the cab, is starting to take shape. The axle for HoG steering is clearly visible.

After the front section, the gear box will be built. This gear box is not used to drive a fake engine, but it's used for driving the two main functions (besides steering), and switching between them. The two functions are operating the boom and extending the outriggers.

Here you can clearly see the two new 5L Axles with Stop which will be connected to the Linear Actuator in one of the next steps. The LA's are used to operate the boom, for raising/lowering and emptying the bucket. The Technic Cam is connected to the Technic Changeover Catch which will switch between operating the boom and operating the outriggers. Building the gearbox almost takes up every gear in this set.

At the rear (which is on the left side in this picture) the Mini Linear Actuator is visible. This is used to operate the outriggers.

Switching between functions is done at the front of the truck, near the cab. To transfer controls from the gearbox to the front, the mechanism shown below is used. Movement of the lever is limited by the 18x8mm wheels with fake bolts.

This image shows the end of the first booklet. Stickers are applied on each side, to explain the functions and switching between them. The functions are activated by turning the Black 12T Double Bevel Gear at the right side of the truck. It's not the easiest way to operate, since turning the gear is quite cumbersome. And you need to turn it a lot to fully extend the boom.

The second booklet starts with building the cab. The picture below shows the finished grill. It's your average joe truck grill, nothing out of the ordinary, but it looks okay. The license plate reads CU11014. As far as I know there aren't any designers with the initials CU, so it remains a mystery what this plate means. Some have suggested it might be the release date, See You in 2014 10th of January. If anyone knows the actual meaning, let me know!

With the grill attached the cab, the truck is almost done. The seats are grey for a change, not the commonly used blue seats.

The doors of the truck can be opened manually. This picture shows the steering wheel in a vertical position. Obviously it needs to be tilted a bit to have some angle. Otherwise, steering this truck would be quite a challenge.

The next two pictures show the finished model, without the container. I must admit that the truck looks way better, than in the first box image. The cab doesn't look that unfinished anymore. It is a very simple can though. For starters, an extra liftarm could have been used to fill the gaps at the back sides of the truck, behind the doors, like in the 42008 Service Truck. So the cab is not bad, yet relatively simple.

There is indeed a (yellow) 5x11 Panel Plate at the back of the cab, as some suggested. And there are two 4L Thin Liftarms which will be used to hold the battery box, when operated by Power Functions.

MISCELLANEOUS BUILDING STEPS

CONTAINER

After finishing the truck, the skip (container) is left to build. Liftarm galore, if you will. The build is pretty straightforward, connecting pins to liftarms....and more liftarms.

The back of the container shows two 3x3 L-Shape Thin Liftarms which are used to tilt the skip, when emptying.

Here you can see the Bionicle Chain Links attached to the sides of the container. The chains are attached to an axle which is attached to the boom. That way the container can freely rotate when emptying or replacing it.

The color combination of blue and grey, combined with the stickers, does make this container look very realistic. I like it!!

PARTS LEFT

I am still wondering whether I missed using two friction pins and two 3/4 pins.

FINISHED MODEL

Like most Technic models, this one looks better in real life than in pictures. The colors are very vibrant and having three different colors for the cab, loading bed and the skip is pretty common on a skip truck. The use of different primary colors actually improves this model. Otherwise it might look a bit dull.

The yellow Axle Connector with Axle Hole is used to switch between operating the boom and operating the outriggers. The stickers show the corresponding action for the position of the lever.

Looking at this picture, reminds me of a movie quote from Falling Down (1993) with Michael Douglas: "Can anybody tell me what's wrong with this picture?". Well, can you?

Although being a simple compact cab, it does look good on this truck.

At the back you can see the mechanism used to tilt the container when emptying it. The 4L axle between the two 3x3 L-Shape Thin Liftarms on the truck will be stuck behind the Perpendicular Double Split Axle and Pin Connector which will tilt the container when operating the boom.

With the outriggers fully extented, the skip won't tilt when operating the boom. Instead the container can move freely and therefor be put on the ground behind the truck. Replacing the container takes a lot of manual turns. It's nice to have optional Power Functions, but I would almost say it's mandatory for having some playability in this set.

This picture shows the bottom of the truck, where you can see most of the functionality in place, switch lever, operating gear, mini LA, part of the gear box and steering rack.

Chck out this cool 360 degree view of this model. You can swipe from left to right to rotate. Loading can take a while since it's 42 images, totalling 16MB of data.

MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES OF FINISHED MODEL

SUMMARY

So what do I think of this model. I am halted between two opinions. First of all this set does look great. It's vibrant colors do this model justice. Compared to the 8109 Flatbed Truck and the 42008 Service Truck the new tires are way better for building in this scale.

Secondly, the new tires and some new parts are introduced. In my opinion these parts are not as interesting as the ones in the 42023 Construction Crew set. Unless your name is Conchas and you really need those blue panels for your Dunechaser. So it all depends on your needs.

Besided opening the doors and HoG steering, this set offers two main functions:

• Operating the boom
• Extending the outriggers

Operating both functions by hand is very cumbersome. It takes a lot of turning until the boom is fully extended and the container is on the ground. For having actual playability using Power Functions seems mandatory. I hate to start a Linear Actuator vs Pneumatics discussion again, but Pneumatics might have enhanced the playability. Obviously this would have been hard, since both functions use LA's but when emptying the container, the LA's aren't fully extended. So I do understand why LA's have been used. Somehow it feels that this set might have been better with pneumatics instead of LA's.

So I do like this set, but it is missing a clever mechanism, like the 8109 Flatbed Truck to make it a great set.

PROS

• Authentic looks
• New tires
• Lots of liftarms in different colors (great for starting builders)
• Power Functions optional (which reduces the price)

CONS

• Operating the outriggers and boom is cumbersome without Power Functions
• Cab design is very simple
• New parts have very specific use
• No wow factor anywhere in the build

SCORE

Design 8: When fully built, it does look great.

Build 7: Nothing spectacular. No wow factor.

Functionality 7: Besides HoG steering, two main functions, which is okay.

Playability 7: Operating the outriggers and boom needs Power Functions.

Parts 7: Some new, yet very specific, parts. Does have new tires.

Value for Money 7: Average value for money. Might be valuable, depending on your needs.

7,2 A Bit Too Average For Greatness

Thank you for reading! And special thanks to Bonaparte and TLG for giving me the opportunity of reviewing this set

Please rate this set at the top of this topic!

All review images can be found on my Flickr page.

[jantjeuh]

Again a nice review with very good photography. Thanks Ted! Might buy this set, it's not that bad looking after all. Will obviously apply PF. Not a big fan of the huge gap between the cab and the skip though, in profile view.

Edited December 1, 2013 by jantjeuh

[Jim]

Again a nice review with very good photography. Thanks Ted! Might buy this set, it's not that bad looking after all. Will obivously apply PF. Not a big fan of the huge gap between the can and the skip though, in profile view.

Thanks Jantjeuh!

I'm still having a though time deciding whether this set is Average or Above Average. Reading my own review, I decided it is just Average

[Jody Meyer]

I am not sure i am a fan of this model, but the review was great thanks, kudos on the 360 view, which software did you end up using, Photoshop?

[Jim]

I am not sure i am a fan of this model, but the review was great thanks, kudos on the 360 view, which software did you end up using, Photoshop?

Thanks!

I haven't used any special software, just a Javascript (jQuery) file which does the magic.

[mashsladies]

This provides a more realistic proportion, especially suitable for trucks and construction vehicles. Basically they are small Unimog like tires. Big thumbs up for TLG!

[NevynPA]

Are those 1x6 thin liftarms rare in yellow, or all colors? I don't have the power puller, but I have a pair of 1x6's in black, and I have no idea where the came from now...

[Zerobricks]

Are those 1x6 thin liftarms rare in yellow, or all colors? I don't have the power puller, but I have a pair of 1x6's in black, and I have no idea where the came from now...

Didnt you read the review....

I think this set was clearly designed to be motorized, like the other simillar trucks in previous years. I'd give it a 3/5 because while it has some great new parts and colors, its not THAT unique unlike the cargo plane.

[Jim]

Are those 1x6 thin liftarms rare in yellow, or all colors? I don't have the power puller, but I have a pair of 1x6's in black, and I have no idea where the came from now...

Check them out on Bricklink:

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=32063

Here are the set its in:

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=32063&in=S

[rm8]

Very nice and detailed review.

Clean and sharp photos! Like them.

P.s.: how you made photos? Did you used any professional light?

[Jim]

Very nice and detailed review.

Clean and sharp photos! Like them.

P.s.: how you made photos? Did you used any professional light?

Thanks!!

I have posted my setup in the other review topic:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89088entry1752497

Not very professional, but I indeed did use special lighting.

[Seasider]

Answering your question ... Is the yellow selector in the wrong position in the photo?

think I'll get this and PF it.

but the cargo plane will take priority

[allanp]

Great review , great pictures , poor set tho .

[Lakop]

For a truck I don't think you can beat 8258 and 8109 for looks and functions (note: I own neither of these sets). This looks simple, there is less detail hence less parts. We could have a had a skip truck based on 8109 or 8258 which, in my opinion, would be much better.

Still, it's lego.

H

[Rishab N]

Nice review! Made me like this set more and those new tires look great, but think I'm going to save my money for the Cargo Plane and the flagship

[Alasdair Ryan]

A good review again Jim,I look forward to getting this set.

[Jim]

Answering your question ... Is the yellow selector in the wrong position in the photo?

Nope. The outriggers should not be extended when emptying the container. When the outriggers are extended, the container doesn't hook behind the double split axle pin connector.

[JGW3000]

Thank you for the informative review. Looks like no clutch gears were involved? Maybe with the PFs added?

I'd might get one as this looks like a great 'parts box', more than 200 parts more than the identically priced 42006 excavator (including all of the tread links the 42006 comes with).

[mobi]

Very good pictures.

I like sets without PF motors bundled in. Keeps the price down.

Can't see any differential in rear axles. Would have been good it it were provided.

B model is rubbish.

[Blakbird]

Excellent review and amazing photography! I'm glad you got the set early and could share it with all of us.

[MrTekneex]

For a truck I don't think you can beat 8258 and 8109 for looks and functions (note: I own neither of these sets). This looks simple, there is less detail hence less parts. We could have a had a skip truck based on 8109 or 8258 which, in my opinion, would be much better.

Still, it's lego.

H

There is not a comparison with the set 8258. Only the set 42009 may have it, but it lose anyway. Of course, in my opinion :)

[captainmib]

Fantastic review jed/tim!

I like the wheels very much, since i don't own any of the ones in 8109 scale.

Still, the new parts in the construction crew are lots better. To bad this set doesnt even have the new pin+axle connector.A very usefull part for building in small scale. One you miss if you build in 5 wide.

Will wait for a plane review to see what it has to offer...

[Erik Leppen]

Thanks for the great review and the superb pictures, but I still thin kthe set is very average. I'm from the "the colors are disgusting" camp. These colors are from Technic from the year 1977. Any other combination of three colors would have been better. For the rest I feel this set falls in the same league as 8052 - too few functions for its size. It's nice to see a new subject matter though, and the tyres look great (I want those for mobile cranes).

Also the return of yellow 1x6es is very welcome :)

[mobi]

For a truck I don't think you can beat 8258 and 8109 for looks and functions (note: I own neither of these sets). This looks simple, there is less detail hence less parts. We could have a had a skip truck based on 8109 or 8258 which, in my opinion, would be much better.

Still, it's lego.

H

I think you stil can't beat 8479 Barcode truck keeping in mind it was a set from 1997.

[Paul B Technic]

Thanks for the review. After reading it I am 50/50 on if I will buy this or not, it does not really fit in my "theme" but I could justify it under the "just a cool set" rule :)

I really think that it needs PF and if I do buy it I will make sure to also get this with it.