dunamis

Photo Review of Technic 8285 Tow Truck

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8285 Technic Tow Truck reviewed by Dunamis

Set 8285

1877 Pieces

$119.95 at the LEGO store

Build time 10.5 hours

8285_001m.jpg

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.

8285_002m.jpg

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.

8285_003m.jpg

8285_004m.jpg

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!

8285_005m.jpg

The bags were not numbered, so as you can imagine in a set this size I recommend some kind of

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Great review!

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

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

:-)

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

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Great review!

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

Thank you!

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

Sorry, my incoherent ramblings sometime don

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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:

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

I understood that! :'-)

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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!

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

41239.1100154437.jpg

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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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.

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...

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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!

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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.

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M4X1994 just posted this 2-minute

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

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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

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Strange rates... @_@

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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....

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

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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

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

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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.

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

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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 :hmpf_bad:

Brickshelf - mods of 8285

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

Edited by andythenorth

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

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

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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...

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