[REVIEW] LEGO Technic 42000 B-Model (Race Truck)

[Paul B Technic]

[Review] LEGO Technic Set 42000 B model (Race Truck)

Background:

Earlier this year I purchased LEGO Technic set 42000, I built the A model and this became a major piece of my Technic setup and display. I found the building process to be quite enjoyable and the features and functions of this model I felt had been really well thought out and implemented. Back when I was a TFOL (Teen Fan of LEGO) set 8440 (http://www.technicopedia.com/8440.html) was one of my all time favourite sets and I saw 42000 as the “big brother” of this set.

Around the same time as I purchased and built 42000 as the A model a good friend of mine also purchased this set however he built the B model (Race Truck) instead. Not long after this he decided to sell it and I grabbed it with the intention of pulling it down and using the pieces to build a MOC. I kept it built as the B model (Race Truck) for a few days but I was not that keen on it so it was broken down in to pieces to add to my collection. A couple of months after this I ended up selling most of my Technic collection including both of these sets.

Recently with my new focus on Technic and as part of this trying to stick to a sub theme as much as possible I decided to buy this set to build the B model, I don’t think I gave it enough of a chance the first time. Worse case I could always turn it back in to the A model or use it for parts.

Pieces:

Without going back over too much of previous reviews of the A model, I can say that I have found the piece collection of this set to be excellent with a lot of panels which are useful for adding detail to a MOC and a good section of engine, drive line, steering and suspension components and general beams, pins and gears. Even if you don’t like the A or B models it would be a good base for building your own car or truck, I know that some people have designed C models using the pieces in this set and the results are nothing short of amazing.

While this set does not have Power Functions included, the A model has the ability to have this added which can drive the two functions of moving the rear wing and opening the engine cover, the B model (Race Truck) does not have any allowance made for the use of Power Functions at all. I do think with some small changes that Power Functions could be added, as I don’t have any of these spare I have not tried this as yet.

Building process:

I am not sure if I am like most adult Technic builders or not but I don’t pre sort much with a set this size (1141 pieces), the closest I do is to put all the beams in one container, all the panels in another and everything else in to another container, this gives me three containers which I find is easily manageable.

This set was also a new experience for me as it was the first time I had built a B model straight from my computer screen without printing out the PDF instructions. I decided to do my bit and save the trees. At 206 pages this is quite a saving in paper and ink.

The building process begins with construction of the front chassis and steering / suspension system. Next the V8 engine is built and added. The rest of the chassis is added and some details like the exhaust pipes / hoses and the frame of the cabin are added. The next step is to add the two function gear box which controls the movement of the rear wing and front bonnet opening / closing. Following this you move on to the rear drive line / suspension assembly and this takes you to about half way through the building guide. At this point you have the basic shape of the truck but it still needs to be filled in and have the details added. This was where I left this set after day one of building.

The second half of the building guide is mostly about adding the functions and details. This begins with adding the rest of the chassis and also the rear wing assembly. Next you add the cabin doors, front bonnet and front body / bumper bar assembly. Finally you add some panels to the side of the body and the wheels; the race truck is now completed.

I spent 4.5 hours over two days building the race truck; while I was not rushing flat out I was building at a fairly consistent pace during this time. In a couple of places I had to go back and check where I had made mistakes, this was using the wrong length beam in one step and missing another step totally. I must say that being the first time I have built this set I found it quite enjoyable and the way that is has been designed gives you a good understanding of how it works. I also found building directly off the computer screen to not be as hard as I had been expecting and this is something I will do more of in the future.

Left over pieces:

At the end of the process to build the race truck I had 6 stickers and 135 pieces left over, this means that this model is just over 1000 pieces in size, I think given what you end up with they have designed this set quite well and have used most of the parts in the best possible way.

Detailed look at set:

The race truck is 43cm long, 22cm wide and 20cm high, it is a medium - large set and looks good on display.Beginning at the front we have the front bumper bar which is very hollow in the middle with some beams and panels used on the sides to add some detail. The small clear lights mounted on these I think would look better as yellow ones and this is something I will be changing in my “improved version”.

Above the front bumper bar we have the hood, this has some pieces which are used to form a grill, I think these actually look quite good and add to the overall look of the set, it gives the set a more aggressive look. On the sides of the hood are some small panels which are used to make mounting points for the head lights. The front wheel arches are also mounted to the side of the hood which means they move when the hood is opened.

From the outside both sides of the truck look much the same. Beside the front wheels are two panels which have been joined to form some of the body work. Above these are twin exhaust pipes. Above the exhaust pipes is the side of the cabin with the non opening doors.

Moving towards the back section you have the control wheel for the hand of god steering which is mounted on the top of the rear body section and not on the roof as is common to most Technic sets. Beside this control wheel is the switch to control the two function gear box. I think it would be good to have a sticker which shows which of these functions each switch position is used for.

Finally we have the rear of the race truck which has the movable wing and the control wheel for the two functions which are driven via the gear box.

I have left the cabin to last, the first thing I noticed is that the non turning steering wheel is on the wrong side (for us here in Australia), this is something I will change and fix when I make some improvements to this model. The seat is quite loose as it is only held in position by two pins; again I will change and improve this in the future. The rear of the cabin is very open, this is also something I would like to change and improve when I do an upgrade to it.

Overall the model feels quite solid and nothing appears to be able to fall off easily.

Features:

This set has a number of features, these include:

- Front mounted V8 engine which is connected to the rear dif via a drive line that runs in to the cabin at an angle.

- Hand of God (HOG) steering via the control wheel on the back section of the chassis.

- Four wheel suspension

- Opening hood and movable rear wing which are controlled via the two function gear box and control wheel on the back of the truck.

From my testing of these features they all seem to work as designed. The V8 engine does have a fairly slow rotation speed and this is something I will be trying to improve. The steering works very well when the set is moving or the front wheels are lifted up but is quite hard to turn if the set is not moving. The steering also has a good turning range; unlike some other sets I have built of late. The suspension is fairly stiff and has a good range of movement.

The two function gear box works well and is easy to switch between the two options, hood control or wing adjustment. The hood opens almost 90 degrees and allows good viewing access to the engine bay. Personally I feel the rear wing adjustment is a bit of a letdown and it does not move very much.

My Overall Thoughts:

When I first saw this set online it jumped to the top of my “must buy” list, after getting it the first time and building the A model I was very pleased with my decision. When I first got the B model (Race Truck) I was not a huge fan of it and this is why I broke it down for parts.

Now I have given the race truck a second chance and this time I built it myself I am glad I did. I agree that it is not the best looking set ever (mostly when looked at from behind) and some parts such as the rear of the cabin could be better. What it does have is a unique look due to the red and white colour scheme and some well thought out features. Looking at it from any angle except from behind and it looks great, the rear of the cabin is all that I think really lets it down.

Would I recommend this set? Having built both the A model (F1 Car) and B model (Race Truck) now they each are unique and I would even go as far as to say that in some ways I prefer the B model. I say this as it fits in my collection better and I think it gives you more opportunities for modifications and making improvements which is something I really enjoy doing. I also think that this model has a unique look about it and is quite different to anything else which LEGO have designed, the closest I could find is 8041 http://www.brickset....ail/?Set=8041-1.

I would give this set built as the B model (Race Truck) a solid 8 out of 10. While it is not to everybody’s taste and it will never be a classic set it does offer you a good looking model which would be worth adding to any LEGO Technic collection.

Improvements:

I do have some ideas for ways in which this set can be improved; some of these are simple changes just using the left over pieces while others are more major. Once I have some time to develop these I will post my progress.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Paul B

[Jim]

Fixed the font size.

Nice review btw!! I will take some time soon the read it all

[Paul B Technic]

Thanks for that :)

[Junpei]

Nice review! But something on that truck seems...off.

[Paul B Technic]

Nice review! But something on that truck seems...off.

Thanks for the feedback, in what area do you think the truck is off?

[Freekysch]

Ok, i am sorry guys if i will be to honest, but this trucks is plain ugly ! It looks just like a bad MOC done by a 5 years old. The A model is more then ok, but the B model is rather dissapointing.

Congrats on the review Paul B

[Lighti]

blarg... this is one of the most ugly b-models ever! thanks for the review anways.

the lego guys should hire nathanael to make some b-models for them.

look what he made out of those parts: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=84635

[Junpei]

Thanks for the feedback, in what area do you think the truck is off?

I think it's the cab, bull bar, and wheels. It just looks kind of sloppy IMO.

[Paul B Technic]

Thanks everybody for the feedback on the review.

I can understand that some people don't like this model and that is ok, not everybody likes everything :)

[Paul B Technic]

I have now finally got this review up on my blog:

http://paulstechnic....00-b-model.html

I also have some ideas on how I am going to improve it and once I get my backlog of sets built it will be my next project :)

Edited December 11, 2013 by Paul B

[Paul B Technic]

I have now pulled this down and built Nathanaels Kuipers street rod C model.

http://paulstechnic.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/nathanael-kuipers-street-rod-c-model-of.html

[DarkShadow73]

@Paul B:

Excellent review of the Race Truck. I, too, think it's a great model with a few tweaks, one of which I don't know how to resolve. The space between the spoiler and the back of the cabin seems rather empty. I do realize the spoiler is there for a reason, but its kind of a large assembly that needs something in front of it to cover or fill the void on the chassis. I usually angle it where it's sitting on display, and that solves the problem. The front is real mean looking, and the build was a lot of fun. It's sort of on par with the 8041/42041 Race Truck, but that model lacked a spoiler. Funny thing, the 'b' model of the 8041 was a race car, sort of in reverse to this set, albeit quite a bit smaller and about 400 less pieces.

I was mainly looking for a review of it, since you don't always find reviews on 'b' models.