[REVIEW] 42128 - Heavy-duty Tow Truck

[Polarlicht]

This thing will fly off the shelves!

[Citromon]

3 hours ago, Scoar Sonander said:

This is almost as good as the Arocs set, apart from having no power functions or Control+ elements. This leads to another gripe. The only way of using the Control+ elements is making the set remote controlled, which isn't always wanted. Otherwise this is a great set with lots of functions for a reasonable price tag.

I was thinking about this too, if Lego will ever make a set like 42043 or 42082 with PU, it will cost a fortune! 

[dr_spock]

Thanks for the review.  It does look good without stickers.  Time to wait for a sale.  

[mpj]

4 hours ago, Scoar Sonander said:

The only way of using the Control+ elements is making the set remote controlled, which isn't always wanted.

The Osprey was Control+ (powered up) motorized and not remote controlled. The battery box with integrate controls of the Osprey is still present in the Lego Shop and I think it will be used in a future model 

[Maaboo the Witch]

17 minutes ago, mpj said:

The Osprey was Control+ (powered up) motorized and not remote controlled. The battery box with integrate controls of the Osprey is still present in the Lego Shop and I think it will be used in a future model 

I'm looking forward to that model...

[mostlytechnic]

8 hours ago, Jim said:

I'm not really sure why I didn't like it on this truck when I saw the first pictures.

I know why - you were actually recoiling from the POWER TOW stickers all over it. 

Can't wait to get one of these for myself. This is right up my alley, as you said. Lots of functions, good mechanical design, etc. 

Cosmetically, I love the overall look. I think the front end looks great. I am not a fan though of how high the main boom is mounted. I wish the pivot point for that was several studs lower. But alas...

I've owned the 8285 Tow truck, which looked fantastic but didn't do a ton (man were big vehicles hollow back in the day!). I've also owned the 42008 Service Truck, which also has pneumatics and a good amount of functions. I loved that truck when I reviewed it, and I think this one looks like a solid step up in size and features. 

[jorgeopesi]

This a set I would like to have, great work again.

[Erik Leppen]

I think the decision to leave out the stickers in the review is a good one. After all, lots of folks here on Eurobricks hate the stickers with a passion (at least I do, and I'm not alone), so it's actually valuable for us here to see how a set works without, even though that's technically not a "full" review, because it wasn't how the set was "meant" by TLC. But whatever. TLC took this whole sticker stuff way too far for years now. So it was about time more people take the techlug.fr route and leave them out :) so yeah, I hope the stickerless review is a keeper :)

It's good to see that the set is actually as good as I'd hoped. It was on my buy list already, but I'm only reassured by the review :)

I do wonder what's with the part list in the book though. It used to be sorted by color, it seems to in a rather random order right now. Also, the amount of orange parts seems to actually be quite low. Oh well. At least the new perpendicular beams are used in good quantities, and finally there's a pneumatic set again :)

[Bartybum]

2 hours ago, mostlytechnic said:

Cosmetically, I love the overall look. I think the front end looks great. I am not a fan though of how high the main boom is mounted. I wish the pivot point for that was several studs lower. But alas...

The good news is that its construction seems simple enough that lowering it should be trivial

[Johnny1360]

I am one of those that thinks the crane appears to stick up from the truck too far as well. Now that I study it a little more though, I think it's more because the sides of the bed are too low and feel like simply putting a couple more panels or lift arms, towards the front portion of the bed, would make the crane appear to be lower, or more enclosed. Of course you wouldn't want to interfere with the operation of the crane assembly. Cant wait to test my theory and will likely be one of my first mods.

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Johnny1360

[Johnny1360]

Also feel like this set may be a bit difficult to pick up at first, due to its inevitable popularity and the dreaded resellers trying to capitalize on that.

[Jim]

18 hours ago, Coolusername said:

Looks great without the stickers, but i would still apply the ones which show what knob is doing what function.

I was tempted to apply those. They are actually useful.

19 hours ago, Maaboo35 said:

This is definitely a most splendid set. 

It sure is!!

19 hours ago, howitzer said:

It appears that this set delivers on every expectation that I had. Going to buy as soon as it becomes available here.

Thanks for the review, great photos as always!

My pleasure! Enjoy the build.

18 hours ago, syclone said:

Feels really refreshing to see that much functionality in a set, and hoping to see more like it in the future.

Definitely, this is what Technic is all about.

18 hours ago, syclone said:

Also, in spite of your rebellious efforts to allign the bushes, you've forgotten to allign the slits on them as well  

Thanks for pointing that out. I will make sure to pay attention next time 

18 hours ago, 1974 said:

Recently I got a non-LEGO friend hooked on Technic (he build the Porsche GTR (the white one) as it was part of a special sale here). i'm going to forward this review to him and recommend it highly

He (or she) won't be disappointed. People who are not into LEGO as we are will be amazed, I'm sure of that.

18 hours ago, 1974 said:

All in all, nice review of a very nice set with a nice price for once

Great value for money. No doubt about that.

18 hours ago, I_Igor said:

Impressive photos again, nice review. About this set - it is packed with functions (and parts - bunch ifframes and 11 alternate pin beams) for  reasonable amount if money.

This set is hard to skip 

18 hours ago, Maaboo35 said:

It needs a B-model.

Usually, I would agree, but given the price and what you get, I do think the value of A-model offers enough without B-model.

18 hours ago, Touc4nx said:

One thing I'm not sure to have understood is how the stabilizer works. Are they all operated by one gear ?

Yup, they all are operated by one of the gears on the side.

[Jim]

18 hours ago, Maaboo35 said:

Huw's done that in the Brickset review.

Huw did a nice job there! Great solution. I would lose the blue thin liftarms too btw.

[Polarlicht]

5 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Also feel like this set may be a bit difficult to pick up at first, due to its inevitable popularity and the dreaded resellers trying to capitalize on that.

It will sell like hotcakes. Once out of production prices will skyrocket. But till then, they make an absolute million of these sets. It's just a normal production Technic set for now, so there will be one for everyone.

[Jim]

17 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

@Jim And how do the functions of this set compare with those of other pneumatic Technic sets, like, say, 42053? 

I have no knowledge of such a set. It's the Arocs, right?! 

(Now, I really do regret breaking down the partially built 42053)

[Polarlicht]

1 minute ago, Jim said:

Huw did a nice job there! Great solution. I would lose the blue thin liftarms too btw.

How would it look with the thin blue liftarms in white up front? Any maybe different colored wheels?

[Jim]

17 hours ago, LvdH said:

This is the best set of the year (so far) imo. Great looks, great functionality, pneumatics (always a plus in my book) and fair pricing. The set looks much better without stickers imo. The leaked photos had different stickers, which did look better. The ones that come with the set look too “toy-ish”. 

Agreed!

17 hours ago, Scoar Sonander said:

This is almost as good as the Arocs set, apart from having no power functions or Control+ elements. This leads to another gripe. The only way of using the Control+ elements is making the set remote controlled, which isn't always wanted. Otherwise this is a great set with lots of functions for a reasonable price tag.

The Arocs is a class apart, but I do agree that this set packs enough functionality to compete. Adding PoweredUp will be difficult given the tight space. Maybe someone is up to the challenge.

17 hours ago, 1974 said:

It is. First one to come up with an integrated electric powered pneumatic pump that doesn't destroy the looks/build is a real true modern hero (cape not needed)

Who's first?

This 

15 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Thanks for the great review Jim, really glad you showed it with no stickers, as that is what I will be doing. Looks just fine without them, unlike so many other sets. Since I have only glossed over the review, for now, I was wondering how hard would it be to motorize the pneumatics. Great to hear they work smoothly, as that is always my biggest gripe with pneumatics, herky jerky movement or not moving at all them suddenly moving through full range in the blink of an eye.

Anyway big thanks for taking the time to review this set, you are one of the best in my eyes.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I really enjoyed reviewing again, so expect more to come  

The lift at the end is a bit jerky, but the crane operates very smoothly. I should have included a video, but I was a bit pressed for time at the end.

15 hours ago, Citromon said:

This is one of the best Technic sets in years! 

Great review! 

Absolutely and thank you!

15 hours ago, Coolusername said:

This thing will fly off the shelves!

Yup, they probably will.

13 hours ago, Citromon said:

I was thinking about this too, if Lego will ever make a set like 42043 or 42082 with PU, it will cost a fortune! 

Liebherr like fortune.

12 hours ago, dr_spock said:

Thanks for the review.  It does look good without stickers.  Time to wait for a sale.  

For around 120 euro it's definitely a no-brainer.

12 hours ago, mpj said:

The Osprey was Control+ (powered up) motorized and not remote controlled. The battery box with integrate controls of the Osprey is still present in the Lego Shop and I think it will be used in a future model 

I hope to see it make an official appearance some day (the hub).

11 hours ago, mostlytechnic said:

I've owned the 8285 Tow truck, which looked fantastic but didn't do a ton (man were big vehicles hollow back in the day!). I've also owned the 42008 Service Truck, which also has pneumatics and a good amount of functions. I loved that truck when I reviewed it, and I think this one looks like a solid step up in size and features. 

It sure was hollow. Great display piece, but not a fantastic set. This one is in a different league.

11 hours ago, jorgeopesi said:

This a set I would like to have, great work again.

Thank you!

10 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

I think the decision to leave out the stickers in the review is a good one. After all, lots of folks here on Eurobricks hate the stickers with a passion (at least I do, and I'm not alone), so it's actually valuable for us here to see how a set works without, even though that's technically not a "full" review, because it wasn't how the set was "meant" by TLC. But whatever. TLC took this whole sticker stuff way too far for years now. So it was about time more people take the techlug.fr route and leave them out :) so yeah, I hope the stickerless review is a keeper :)

I might continue the stickerless route, but I will probably do an inquiry at TLG on their stance regarding stickerless reviews. I do think they are beneficial, because lots of AFOLs don't like stickers, so the stickerless reviews are a way to show how the set will look without them.

Of course, I can apply most of the stickers afterwards, but that will be a PITA. I need to think about it. Both these models gave me the stickerless vibe, because they simply don't need them.

10 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

I do wonder what's with the part list in the book though. It used to be sorted by color, it seems to in a rather random order right now. Also, the amount of orange parts seems to actually be quite low. Oh well. At least the new perpendicular beams are used in good quantities, and finally there's a pneumatic set again :)

I do see the pneumatic switch in a strange position, but other than that it's still sorted by color, right?

Funny thing is that there is no 3x7 orange panel in this set, which did appear in the promo pics.

[Jim]

5 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Cant wait to test my theory and will likely be one of my first mods.

Looking forward to seeing your mod!

5 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Also feel like this set may be a bit difficult to pick up at first, due to its inevitable popularity and the dreaded resellers trying to capitalize on that.

Not sure about that. Not exactly a cheap set and lots of people will probably wait for a nice discount. Time will tell 

17 minutes ago, Coolusername said:

How would it look with the thin blue liftarms in white up front? Any maybe different colored wheels?

Interesting. Which options do we have for the rims?

[m00se]

Thanks for the great review Jim.

I'm really impressed by the functions of this models. You do mention the lack of a gearbox as a con plus, but I do consider it a positive: There are more than enough gearboxes out there and to me it's just a bunch of gears that make the pistons move slower or faster without adding real functionality. By not focusing on these kind of functions they kept room for al these original functions that you haven't build multiple times before.

 

Added this set to my watchlist.

 

On 7/16/2021 at 3:00 PM, Jim said:

MODIFIED LIFTARM PERPENDICULAR HOLES THICK 1 x 11

I was pretty sure that these parts already showed up in another set, but since I haven't built last year's sets, I wasn't entirely sure. Apparently, the 15L variant appears in the 42124 - Off-Road Buggy. These are the liftarms that completely mess up your storage solution. Especially if they start appearing in different colors and lengths....

:) I think you're right that a lot of builders probably thought about there storage first before they started thinking about the potential applications of the piece.

 

Even though you get a lot for your money, as self proclaimed president of the "B-model fan club" I think we should not tolerate the move towards A-model only in bigger sets which seems to have become the norm.

Edited July 18, 2021 by m00se

[Polarlicht]

1 hour ago, Jim said:

 

Interesting. Which options do we have for the rims?

 

I would go for white, orange, blue (if these exist) or silver, and once the new 49.5x14 wheels are out i will try these...

[Lira_Bricks]

Nice review and a really nice truck. I disagree with the people saying it should have electronics. The lack of them is what makes this set stand out to me even more :D

21 hours ago, Jim said:

Step 27 shows me something which cannot be unseen. I sure hope I can catch some sleep tonight, because this is messing up my brain. The two bushes pointing in the same direction?! This can't be real! ;-) The person in charge of the instructions probably doesn't care, because it happens on numerous occasions.

The picture below shows I was a rebel and simply ignored the dubious orientation of the bushes. This set implements a double differential. "Why are my rear axles turning in a different direction and blocking my drive train" questions incoming. This time I paid attention and placed them correctly right off the bat.

While they are now both oriented to the center, the little slots (through which you can see the grey bar going through it) are not aligned the same way! :o Same with the beige pins x)

[howitzer]

Just now, Lira_Bricks said:

Nice review and a really nice truck. I disagree with the people saying it should have electronics. The lack of them is what makes this set stand out to me even more :D

<snip>

Indeed. Not every set, even in larger scale, needs to have tons of electronics.

[agrof]

Excellent review of an excellent set! What else left to say: 

Absolutely agree with this:

28 minutes ago, Lira_Bricks said:

I disagree with the people saying it should have electronics. The lack of them is what makes this set stand out to me even more :D

Edited July 17, 2021 by agrof

[Polarlicht]

I do orientate pins correctly as well!

[Jim]

1 hour ago, Lira_Bricks said:

Nice review and a really nice truck. I disagree with the people saying it should have electronics. The lack of them is what makes this set stand out to me even more :D

I love that all of these functions are manually operated. Adding the pneumatic airtanks is a nice addition, instead of a compressor.

1 hour ago, Lira_Bricks said:

While they are now both oriented to the center, the little slots (through which you can see the grey bar going through it) are not aligned the same way! :o Same with the beige pins x)

That is where I draw the line hehe 

55 minutes ago, agrof said:

Excellent review of an excellent set! What else left to say: 

 

34 minutes ago, Coolusername said:

I do orientate pins correctly as well!