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  1. 1. What do you think of this set?



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The Lego 42029 Customized Pickup truck is a Lego Technic set that was released in the second half of 2014. The set has 1063 pieces and retails for about 100 USD which seems a bit high. When the first images were leaked, the reactions were very mixed. Some people liked it others didn’t and the main complaint was that the set’s front end looks quite ugly. Honestly I wasn’t a fan of the whole second half of 2014 line up, but I decided to buy this set for the parts and do a review of it as I quite enjoy making reviews. Anyway lets get on to the actual review.

The Box

I apologize for the glare on the box, I'm not sure how to avoid that.

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The box is weirdly shaped as it is long and short in height. It feels full and has a pleasant weight to it which makes you think that the price was worth it.

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Here's what I mean about the shape. Compared to a model with similar parts, the box is not really square.

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Here's the back of the box. It displays the model's various functions, the possibility to motorize it, and the B model. The B model honestly looks terrible to me as it looks like a mess.

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Here's the contents of the box. There are 11 bags and once opened, the parts barely fit on my temporary, tiny table that I was using to build. The box also contains two instruction manuals( and no instructions for the B model as always) and an unsecured sticker sheet.

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Since the sheet wasn't secured, mine arrived with a large bend in it. This picture is after 5-10 minutes of trying to flatten it.

The Build

The build starts with the rear axle and the mini linear acuator for dumping. Not much is really going on right now.

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Some beams are placed diagonally to make a sort of truss which is kinda interesting.

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The other interesting thing is how the dump function works. Normally in Lego vehicles the linear acuator pushes the dump bed up as shown in this photo by Blakbird.

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Instead of using this basic pushing mechanism, the acuator in 42029 is mounted facing downward and fully opened in closed form. When you want it to dump, the acuator pulls the bed up instead of pushing. I'm not sure what benefit this gives, but it is an interesting way to make a mechanism. Anyway back to the build.

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The build then goes to the front of the chassis. At this stage, you get a feel for the size of the model, and to me it seemed a bit small at first.

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After that the build takes an odd step. In a model it makes more sense to build a complete chassis and then build the bodywork, but in this model the build ignores that the chassis is not finished, and moves on to the cab section. The cab looks alright, but the interior looks very half baked. The seats are too small for this model and they're blue... again :thumbdown: . I'm really getting tired of seeing blue seats in models. It doesn't look realistic, and is it really that hard to make different colored seats? This trend has been used sparingly for many years, but then in 2009 it started to get used for most models. It's been 6 years of that now and I think its time for change. Anyway on to another overused Technic mechanic- the gearbox.

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The 42029 follows the time honored tradition of a function splitting gearbox. This iteration of it is quite simple with only two functions- a winch(again :thumbdown: ), and a dump bed. The functions are controlled by the black bevel gear on the bottom, or from the 8 tooth gear on the right as that's where the M motor can be placed.

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The cab is attached and the model starts to resemble its final form.

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Next the engine is added. This was also a source of controversy as it was a V6. Most pickup trucks use a V8 so this was a bit odd. It's also not that hard to squeeze in 2 extra cylinders as evidenced by Sariel's motorization of it, so this seems to be laziness on TLG's part

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Another interesting thing I found was that the instructions displayed the old mold for engine blocks while my set included the new blocks. The odd thing is that my 42009 also has the newer style blocks and its from 2013, so I would think the 42029 instructions would include these new blocks as the set came out a full year after 42009.

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Next you have to build the front axle. I'm not a huge fan of these new hubs as there has to be so much space between the suspension arms. Also an interesting technique is used to limit the suspension. The white pieces, which are normally used in studded sets, block the arms from sagging under weight.

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Front axle mounted. At this point the steering also works and you could have a rolling chassis if you wanted to.

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And now the cliche winch piece is built. On a side note, I have 2 shelves of Legos. One shelf contains supercars and the rest is ordinary sets. Every single set I have built on that shelf has a winch or thread of some kind. They're all done differently, of course, but i just find winches boring. As a function they're quite boring unless its absolutely necessary such as the 42009 or 8258.

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Now here's another source of disappointment- the ugly front end. When you look at modern pickup trucks( especially American ones), they all have a feeling of power. The grilles are massive and are covered in chrome and the lights are large and boxy. Just look at the new Ford F-150.

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The 42029 looks so weak compared to these trucks. Instead of large boxy headlights it has bug eyed lights which are made from gearbox extenders. The grille also looks terrible. Its a mashup of red and grey parts which does anything but evoke a sense of power. I think they could have made it look a little better if they had replaced the red bushes in the grille with grey. Also look at those #3 connectors in grey. There was also some controversy about this as they look very out of place, and this was the perfect opportunity to bring back the rare #3 connectors in red. They brought back the red 5x11 panels in this set, so why couldn't they do they same for these connectors? I replaced mine just to see how it would look and it looks a lot cleaner. Overall the whole front area looks quite disappointing and feels sloppy.

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Anyway on to the rest of the build and there's not much left of it.

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The dumping bed is attached and a few other details are added and bam you're done. The dumping bed is an uncommon feature for a pickup truck, but it works well, and gives it a second function thus giving TLG an excuse to use another function splitting gearbox

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Here are the spare parts

Completed model

Here's a few pics of the finished model.

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I think the rear is simple and pretty well done

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Here's a side shot.

With the high suspension, it feels more like a crawler to me than a pickup truck. The suspension is one of the best things about this model. It feels neither too soft or hard and is nice and bouncy. It also has amazing travel.

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The model's winch also works smoothly as with every other model with a winch.

The set can also be motorized with the 8293 power functions set. All you need is an M motor, LEDs, a battery box, and a clutch gear.

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Motorizing it is quite easy and only takes a few minutes, but one should manage their cables properly, as I didn't pay much attention to the placement and it they stopped the bed from fully closing. I didn't care much for the motorization as it just put lights on the roof and motorized 2 functions. Unlike the 42024, this set doesn't really need the motorizing as the functions work at a reasonable speed, so I decided to not keep the motorization and advise you not to waste your money on the extra parts required to do the motorizing.

I decided to take the set outside in order to match its rugged looks.

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Nice view of the V6 and its turbochargers? Not sure what the things are on top of the engine.

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Everything opened

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I also decided to give the dumping bed a practical test with birdseed and it worked well although the bed and parts of the chassis got quite dusty :laugh:

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One flaw with the dumping is that the tailgate has to be opened manually. It doesn't make much sense to put a dumping function yet not have an easily opening tailgate. Personally I would have liked to see the tailgate use frictionless pins and some sort of manual locking mechanism. It would feel a bit more realistic at least to me.

Final Thoughts

The model doesn't have the greatest looks or the most realistic functions, but it has a great assortment of parts. Personally even though this set claims to be for older ages, I feel that it would appeal to younger children more due to its high ride height and quirky looks. It is also one of the most durable models that I have built. The suspension absorbs drops and it can be rolled over multiple times with no or minimal damage. At one point it accidentally fell off a sofa and it survived with only the roof lights and one steering link breaking. With all this sturdiness, its an interesting build as there is so much reinforcement and it is fun to see how they achieve this. The model is easy to break into chunks and has a lot of possibility for modification, so that's always good.

Overall

Build- 8/10 It's a fairly standard build, nothing too surprising, but it is fun to see how sturdiness can be achieved. Also there are a few interesting parts

Looks- 4/10 Really TLG? This looks nothing like a modern pickup truck. I get that its "customized" but that gives no excuse to how half baked the looks are. The front end looks sloppy and the rear is just simple

Parts 10/10 Steering arms, suspension, CV joints, ton of red parts, beams in black, dark bluish grey, etc. Its a great parts selection to build your own model.

Functions 7/10 Lets see, it has great suspension, steering, a V6 :thumbdown: , yet another winch :thumbdown: , and a function splitter which really wasn't necessary.

Price 7/10 At first glance the price looks alright, and you get the .10 cents per part ratio, however, it feels like it should have been priced a bit cheaper. Just look at the 42024- over 900 parts for 70.99. Now I understand that this model uses some more expensive parts and such, but i think it should really be priced at $85. That sounds like a more fair price since you have to pay an extra 30 to buy the kit that motorizes it.

Final score 36/50

The set is a big pile of 'meh'. It could have been better, but its just average, and doesn't have much realism. It provides a ton of modification possibilities(Perhaps this was TLG's intent with this set hence the "Customized" name) and I would love to sit for hours and modify it into something better, but it also fills the function of expensive parts pack, and that's what I will probably be using mine for. In a perfect world where I had more money, I'd love to buy 2 of these and use one as a parts pack and modify the other one, but I guess I'll just have to modify this one and then break it for its parts. For now though its staying on my shelf just beckoning me to go and try to make it even more of a customized pickup truck.

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Thanks for reading my review. As always constructive feedback is appreciated and please voice how you feel about this set too. :classic:

Edited by Rishab N

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I bought this set also for parts... I have never built it, although the truck is not so nice but is also not so ugly... It has got shapes of the truck... Who will more, he has to modify it... It is a good entry model with interesting parts including complete steering, hubs, suspension, differential, motor, panels and off road wheels...

Thanx for a good review... ;)

Max...

Edited by MaxSupercars

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Great review! Hope to see more of these in the future :)

Me personally, I hate this set. The functions are pretty useless because the set isn't motorized. Like I really don't understand how a manual winch is a useful/fun thing to play with. But worst of all, it looks incredibly hideous. It's almost as if they tried to make it as ugly as possible.. what in gods name is going on at the front? and why mount the LA downward and have those two LBG L beams sticking out at the back?

Even though it's great set for parts, I would most definitely buy 42038 Arctic truck ( which is a terrible parts pack) over this abomination. :sick:

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I would most definitely buy 42038 Arctic truck ( which is a terrible parts pack) over this abomination. :sick:

I was actually considering 42038 as a parts pack :laugh: . I may have to reconsider...

Thanks for the review. Real shame about those #3 connectors.

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Nice review :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: I bought three set of these at price 80 euros for set :grin: One for modified A model, one for nice Yoshinys C-model Jeep and one for parts. I totaly agree with your comment:

"Now here's another source of disappointment- the ugly front end. When you look at modern pickup trucks( especially American ones), they all have a feeling of power. The grilles are massive and are covered in chrome and the lights are large and boxy."

I personally changed front end quite a lot:

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I also made a customized V8 engine under the bonnet:

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All and all, my opinion is that this set is really good base for modifying/mocing and quite a good set for parts :wink:

Edited by MacKaiwer

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Thank you everyone

Great review! Hope to see more of these in the future :)

Me personally, I hate this set. The functions are pretty useless because the set isn't motorized. Like I really don't understand how a manual winch is a useful/fun thing to play with. But worst of all, it looks incredibly hideous. It's almost as if they tried to make it as ugly as possible.. what in gods name is going on at the front? and why mount the LA downward and have those two LBG L beams sticking out at the back?

Even though it's great set for parts, I would most definitely buy 42038 Arctic truck ( which is a terrible parts pack) over this abomination. :sick:

Yea I think TLG really lost some quality with this set. I still think that it's a better buy than the 42038. The 42038 seems to be ok but all those orange pieces aren't really of much use

Nice review :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: I bought three set of these at price 80 euros for set :grin: One for modified A model, one for nice Yoshinys C-model Jeep and one for parts. I totaly agree with your comment:

"Now here's another source of disappointment- the ugly front end. When you look at modern pickup trucks( especially American ones), they all have a feeling of power. The grilles are massive and are covered in chrome and the lights are large and boxy."

I personally changed front end quite a lot:

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All and all, my opinion is that this set is really good base for modifying/mocing and quite a good set for parts :wink:

Yea its modification possibilities are great. Little OT but what tires did you use on your mod? They don't look like the normal crawler tires so did you force the ones on the A model?.

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They look as normal tires from the set... only the rims are black... and bigger 56x34 version? I have never tried to use bigger rims on this tires...

Max...

Edited by MaxSupercars

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Your review is pretty accurate. It's a great parts pack or starting point for modifications, but little else. What I noticed most about this set are the unorthodox instructions. Most Technic sets have a certain flow and style to the instructions (which you touched on in your review) but this one had a bunch of uncommon building techniques and connections that will never be used in a great MOC. I felt like learned something new from this truck, but it was in the what-to-avoid category.

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Overall nice review! I did enjoy the final photos a lot!

i do own and I built this set and surprisingly I felt like the all process on how the model is assembled was absolutely nice! I really enjoyed the building phase! The model itself looks ok, not too special not too bad! But I'm sure a full RC version would be fun to play with!

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Your review is pretty accurate. It's a great parts pack or starting point for modifications, but little else. What I noticed most about this set are the unorthodox instructions. Most Technic sets have a certain flow and style to the instructions (which you touched on in your review) but this one had a bunch of uncommon building techniques and connections that will never be used in a great MOC. I felt like learned something new from this truck, but it was in the what-to-avoid category.

I had the same experience when building this set. The whole chassis is just not clean/elegant. There are no continuous beams going back to front, instead they make a step below the cabin to get some space for the gearbox, which breaks my mechanical heart. I found the whole building experience very unfulfilling. It is just so thrown together as a bunch of pieces... No flow on the inside, no flow on the outside. I had better saved myself the time building this thing (which is a first for me...)

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I bought this set when it came out as it appealed to me and I enjoyed building it as part of my learning. Looking back it could have had four seats and the front end could be more attractive. The suspension is great and the clearance is excellent. I don't think it resembles any American pick up. I would have preferred a Trophy Truck set (Lego, please note). However, glad I bought it as I got a great set of parts.

H

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Thanks for review. I'm still thinking about buying or not buying this set, and it's useful info) Now i'm still thinking...

It really depends what you're looking for. Do you want it for parts or for being a shelf model?

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Little OT but what tires did you use on your mod? They don't look like the normal crawler tires so did you force the ones on the A model?.

They look as normal tires from the set... only the rims are black... and bigger 56x34 version? I have never tried to use bigger rims on this tires...

Max...

Yes Rishab N and Max, rims are from 42000 set and tires are original from this set. Little warning though, tires will stretch and will be unusable for original rims after they are forced to these rims...

Edited by MacKaiwer

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It really depends what you're looking for. Do you want it for parts or for being a shelf model?

For parts and learning something new from instructions. But i got 42037 yesterday... for lime and medium blue panels and beams) And was surprised, when i found same suspension/steering parts.

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@Victor

Yes 42037 is another good set for basic important parts for sttering and suspension and costs only the half of 42038... And I love the lime rims !!! I bought 2 of this sets... :)

Yes Rishab N and Max, rims are from 42000 set and tires are original from this set. Little warning though, tires will stretch and will be unusable for original rims after they are forced to these rims...

Thax for info... Good Idea for pimped trucks... :)

Max...

Edited by MaxSupercars

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I really like this set, I bought mine last year and installed Unimog tires over black rims. I felt the grille is weak so I redid mine with Humvee style grille and also redid the headlights. It has a different vibe to it, the trucks seems to have been inspired by Power Wagons from the 1950's but it lacks a proper 4x4 setup, the 6-cylinder is nice but most heavy duty American trucks (Class-3 above - correct me if I'm wrong - uses Inline setup not Vee setup, but hey Ford and Ram are now championing V-6 for their trucks, which I still find disturbing). A V-8 would really have helped this set and I feel this set is underrated because of it's awkward setup but for me it's more appealing than the 42030.

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Nice review!

I think this is a typical set for under the christmas tree. Parents will look at the box and think "that's a cool pickup, our boy will like this a lot". And he probably will. The functionality is very simple, but youngsters will love the tough look.

I haven't bought it yet, but I was planning to do so in the near future.

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Nice review!

I think this is a typical set for under the christmas tree. Parents will look at the box and think "that's a cool pickup, our boy will like this a lot". And he probably will. The functionality is very simple, but youngsters will love the tough look.

I haven't bought it yet, but I was planning to do so in the near future.

Thanks. Means a lot from an official reviewer. Yea i totally agree with your view. Again I can't help but think this is a set that is more for younger children even though the age says 11-16. I feel that this type of vehicle(sorry I'm going to stereotype a bit) would appeal to a boy under 10 as it has the looks. Every boy that age has probably liked monster trucks or pickup trucks at some point and this set hits that desire.

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Good review! I personally think this set is pretty dang cool; it's fun to build and to play about with. :sweet: I agree with you on the PF side of things; it's better to leave this thing on manual. Plus, the roof needs to come off it you do shove in the motor, which I'm not keen on.

As for the B-model, the Forest Skidder is quite great as well. Doesn't use as many panels as the A, which makes it look a bit holey in places, but otherwise it's a good model. It's the most complete and fully equipped skidder to date, with bulldozer blade, claw and winch, and like the A-model is easy to build and use. Wish the set came with the instructions... :hmpf_bad:

So, yeah, as I said before, good review! You have a good critical technique. :thumbup:

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Very nice review!

I kind of liked this set, in the sense that I enjoyed building it (but I enjoy building just about anything :grin: ), and playing around with it on the dining table was fun for a while. As I'm still trying to get some more studless technic to complement my 80s and 90s collection, I thought this was quite a good part selection. I agree though that it isn't the best looking set ever. Also, the gearbox was not really needed, as motorizing this set is not particularly useful.

Edited by Ludo Visser

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I'm sorry for reviving such an old thread but I have a problem that I have never had with any other set and didn't find better place to do that here. The tires that came in the box are really soft. They come off extremely easy, there isn't the usual "pop" sound when you fit the tire to the rims, they are so soft. Is it normal with this type of tires? This is my first set of 45982 tires so I have no comparison.

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I gotta say, it's crazy how much reviews impact my opinions of sets. I watch Sariel's review, and think "Wow, this is a really nice truck! I'd love to have it" and now I read this review and think it's still a nice truck, but isn't nearly as great as I previously though. 

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3 hours ago, Goldenmasamune said:

I gotta say, it's crazy how much reviews impact my opinions of sets. I watch Sariel's review, and think "Wow, this is a really nice truck! I'd love to have it" and now I read this review and think it's still a nice truck, but isn't nearly as great as I previously though. 

I get it, I guess that is why I tend to buy a set then read the reviews, gives me a chance to form my own opinion. I must say though apparently I missed this review the fist time around and even though I don't have this set after reading the review I want it. 

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On 10/3/2018 at 5:17 PM, Mestari said:

I'm sorry for reviving such an old thread but I have a problem that I have never had with any other set and didn't find better place to do that here. The tires that came in the box are really soft. They come off extremely easy, there isn't the usual "pop" sound when you fit the tire to the rims, they are so soft. Is it normal with this type of tires? This is my first set of 45982 tires so I have no comparison.

This is my only studless set so I don't have any comparison regarding their softness but, in my case they sit on the rim pretty firmly and don't come easily. There is some kind of sound when fitting/taking off the rim.

Out of curiosity, how are yours Technic-beam-2-x-4-l-shape-thick (red) colour wise? Mine are less vivid than any other red part in this set.

 

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