REVIEW: 7685 Bulldozer

[RetroBrick]

Its good to see lego pulling its finger out and making sets with the 'classic' impact probably last seen during the first gulf war!

I think 2009 marks the beginning of some kind of nostalgia movement.

I think bigger in this case is better. You can clear so space with this dozer! And when was the last time lego made a minifig dozer? back in the 80s? Why hold back all these years?!

Lets hope lego can promise this same level of detail and playability with the summer 09 city sets.

[Monki]

Nice review Sveltey!

I especially love the little comic towards the end of your review, a good sense of humor never goes astray.

The dozer is huge! But while it may be a little big for some town layouts, I agree that it is accurate. These things are meant to be huge, especially any construction vehicles that work in the mining industry.

Im not sure if I'll get it though, at $59.99AUD its very pricey... I kind of like the 7991 and 7990 approach of 200 odd pieces for around the $20 mark. Set 7733 has roughly the same amount of pieces for $39.99.

[Svelte]

Im not sure if I'll get it though, at $59.99AUD its very pricey... I kind of like the 7991 and 7990 approach of 200 odd pieces for around the $20 mark. Set 7733 has roughly the same amount of pieces for $39.99.

Your expensive addiction just got more expensive!

I too like the Recycle/ Garbage Truck size and price, but as pointed out in the 7631 Dump Truck review, the set is the same size as those two 07 sets but in Aus is listed at $29.99 - $10 more expensive than the earlier releases.

The large Construction Site set is interesting too as it is essentially 4 different small to medium sets bundled together.

[YavinBase]

Here is a pictures of a real life dozer with an operator near it which assists in showing how close to scale 7685 actually is.

Lego receives a 100% for design and accuracy on this set in my opinion. I can't wait to tackle large cuts of Lego bricks with this monster machine!!

[Monki]

Your expensive addiction just got more expensive!

I too like the Recycle/ Garbage Truck size and price, but as pointed out in the 7631 Dump Truck review, the set is the same size as those two 07 sets but in Aus is listed at $29.99 - $10 more expensive than the earlier releases.

The large Construction Site set is interesting too as it is essentially 4 different small to medium sets bundled together.

Well I guess if this is what Lego has to do to keep afloat and maintain a high quality standard, Im happy to support them, if it means paying a little extra then so be it. Probably means that I buy less sets though.

[mania3]

Hahah, great and humorous review. I intend on picking this set up soon, especially for more of those treads. Nice to see where you avatar comes from now. Hilarious.

[sens1992]

Very accurate review. This is a great set. I got it a few weeks ago and I love it. I have to say that I was the victim of the cabin explosion too! :-)

[Asuka]

Thanks svelte_corps for that excellent review!

A very cool and smooth looking set with pretty fine details.

But indeed, most of all I love TLC´s brilliant humorous approach on socialist

realism with that picture on back of the box where the worker stands in the cab:

"Look ma, finally... car doors!!"

[Loganwan]

This is a really nice set. I have had one problem with it though. Where the hydraulics attach to the blade, it comes apart easily. If you push down on the blade, the small tab has a tendency to slip out.

Even though the set is HUGE, it can fit in well with the other new construction sets. It actually fits really well onto the back of the flatbed truck from the new set 7633, and doesn't look too far off from reality, though I am sure it is far from the reality of how these things are delivered. I am sure they are probably built on-site as they would be way too big to be transported in one piece.

This is a great set other than the one problem. It is so funny to look at it and see a little tiny guy sitting inside of it. It is even better now that there have been postings to show just how big these really are in real life.

[Darth Legolas]

As you can tell, I'm more of a Star Wars guy, but this set is just plain amazing! The detail, the use of pieces, the size, I love it!

[UserNameInvalid]

Thanks for your great and accurate review!

I now have the Dozer aswell and I think its a great design.

I love it!

Looking at the pictures posted in replies it is a very accurate replication of the real thing. Well done LEGO!

A part from the cabin, its a very solid build.

You mentioned the delicate cabin and having difficulty swooshing the model.

Try holding the model by the two stickered bulges at the cabin and stabilising the rear with the rest of the free fingers.

Bit worrying: I had a spare yellow 1x4 brick. Was it a spare or ....?

I got it for £15 and is well worth the money.

[Talin Agasan]

This is a wonderful set. There's loads of great pieces, and the dozerblade works really well. I also noticed that it did tend to slip off its pistons if pushed downwards too far though. But this is only possible if it is hovering in mid air or on the edge of a cliff. On ground, the front doesn't move down that far.

I was impressed by the way it's made and the quantity of interesting bricks involved. The tracks are awesome!! I'm quite sure my nephew would love it if he saw it (does Bob the Builder even have a bulldozer?).

However, despite my fondness for such a marvellous yellow ground clearing vehicle, the potential for new never envisaged before MOC's is too tempting. I will most likely scavenge it to construct a tank very soon.

Finally, I would like to reiterate that it is wholly impossible for a bulldozer to be "too big"! Stuff and nonsense. The bigger, the better, as far as bulldozing is concerned. If it wasn't this big, I almost certainly wouldn't have even thought about getting the set. What good is a small dozer? REAL men use bulldozers that can sweep both lanes of traffic off the road at the same time...

Edited April 15, 2009 by Talin Agasan

[jeffjcc]

Amazing review, great pics.

I'm a city/town lover, and always have been.

I have to say tho, I'm not impressed with this one at all. After the build, I had a cabin explosion as well, then the blade fell off. Tracks rolled smoothly on the bed, but not so nice on a hard surface.

Guess I should have bought the farm instead!

[mikey]

I'm not impressed with this one at all. After the build, I had a cabin explosion as well, then the blade fell off.

I have to agree with this, I had the same problems. The review is spot on, and I was aware of the size when I bought it (the reason for my purchase was the reduction in RRP really). I think that it sat unopened for 2/ 3 weeks showed my lack of interest in it.

Whilst I agree that CAT do make machines of this size, they are rare and only used in large scale open cast workings. I doubt you find these often on normal construction projects. I think the scale makes it look silly.

But if you look at it as a parts pack it is worthwhile, in the UK they are going for under £20, and you do get a lot of usefull pieces I think. My plans are to use the basic design and modify it much smaller, whilst investigating Bricklink to find what pieces I need to do the Crawler Crane.

[Talin Agasan]

After spending some further time with this set, I have to agree that the cabin explosions (PLURAL!!!) are annoying. I will probably modify it to make it better. I wonder how they released this with such a design flaw. I'm assuming they rigourously test their sets.

In fact, when we were younger, we would frequently test the structural stability of our own created Lego vehicles - the "down-the-stairs" test. A good design only lost a few pieces on the way down. After that we would slam the vehicles against each other to see which broke first. My brother built a van that was so sturdy that my own car (which was also incredibly sturdy) was shattered, and one the 2x4 bricks was even dented!

Sadly, that bulldozer would not survive the "down-the-stairs" test at all. And I wouldn't even try. And it doesn't have enough vroom-ability to be tested against other vehicles either...

[mikey]

Sadly, that bulldozer would not survive the "down-the-stairs" test at all. And I wouldn't even try. And it doesn't have enough vroom-ability to be tested against other vehicles either...

I think you have hit the point there mate, this "rugged & giant" bulldozer, in fact would explode if you look at it the wrong way, never mind give the threat of a 'stair test'!

But those tracks have excellent potential, in addition to loads of other interesting bits (i'm quite happy with the supply of 'yellow tiles with studs on one end' bits, and lots of greble potential provided by fans + turbine pieces).

As an out of the box model = 2 or 3 at best!

lots of parts, reasonably cheap = 10!

Edited April 29, 2009 by mikey

[Svelte]

I think you have hit the point there mate, this "rugged & giant" bulldozer, in fact would explode if you look at it the wrong way, never mind give the threat of a 'stair test'!

Poor design choice is a problem with a few of the Construction sets.

The dumper truck mechanism is really annoying and barely stays on. Compare the design of that with the hingeing mechanism of the tractor in the large Farm set which is far superior and much stronger.

[mikey]

The dumper truck mechanism is really annoying and barely stays on.

I have no problems yet, although I do think the hinge could be stronger and was surprised by their choice of design for that. Saying that I have 3 so far, and plan to get another one!

It was the the Front End Loader and Dump Truck that pushed me back towards Lego, so I may be highly prejudiced towards their nice design and looks really. To be fair they havn't had much 'swoshing' yet, more like being built then put on display, with many smug smiles from me as they multiply!

I have only kept up one Front End Loader, the others have been modded (or are in the process of been butchered!). All my dump trucks are siting on the shelf in there yellow glory though, I don't think I could ever take them apart, alongside the Roller (a little over scale maybe and over priced perhaps?). This has turned into bit of rant now, but, I would defend that big yellow truck untill the end!

[Dodger]

Spotted this at the local Asda for £15, and may well have to pick it up now :) Nice review.

[Lister]

I have the set built and currently in my cabinet and I'm trying to work on adding a "Ripper" on the back, just need to figure attachment then Ripper design, anyone tried

 

Edited September 11, 2018 by Lister
Added image for clarity