mostlytechnic

That's why we have bricklink (and crazy high prices there...) :)

There's no noise from the tire, but yes, the motor is pretty noisy. You can hear it in the video. The music is louder, but certainly not enough to completely cover the motor.

In early January, I was at the local Lego store with VIP rewards in pocket, looking for a new toy. On a bottom shelf I spotted one Grand Carousel set. I knew it shouldn't be there, so I quickly grabbed it, shocked that the crowd in the store was ignoring it just because the box was banged up. Name: Grand Carousel Set Number: 10196 Pieces: 3263 Price: $250 / £180 (originally) Ages: 16+ Minifigs: 9 Theme: Town Year of Release: 2009 Links: Bricklink Peeron Brickset The Box This set is out of production, and I assume they found it in the back because the box was pretty smashed up. The Price That's right, I got it for just $125 due to the box damage! At the time, sealed sets were selling for around $350 on Bricklink. The Back of the Box More damage is visible, but I love the photography here. The minifig group along the bottom is especially nice, with all the posing. Lego took good advantage of the huge box to show a lot on the back. There's a cutaway to show the mechanisms, the overall shot to show size, and several nice minifig's-eye-view action shots. The only thing missing is a camera in the hands of "dad" in the bottom-center photo. The Box Top Even though this is a huge set with over 3200 pieces, Lego had enough space on the top of the box to show the entire part selection. Look at the color array - there's all the usual white, grey, and blacks, plus two shades of blue, two greens, two reds, tan, yellow, gold, reddish brown, dark tan... and that's not even counting the trans parts! Many of these very large sets are pretty monochromatic (think of the grey Star Wars sets, or the mostly tan London Bridge, or the Taj Mahal...), but this one just explodes with color. The 1:1 Indicator This set is so huge that they didn't show an actual size part, they show an actual size portion. These decorations that go around the carousel run around 70 pieces each to build, so this really gives a sense of scale. And I love the smirk on the head... like he's saying just wait, you won't get to build me for many many hours... As a photographer, I find it interesting that they took this photo with it installed on a carousel. Above the jester head you can see the grey ball that the canvas hooks to. Why didn't they just remove it and take a photo on a white background for easier editing, rather than using a shot from an installed decoration and have to much more carefully cut it out for use on the box? The Baseplate The carousel is built on a plain green 48x48 plate. That's the largest plate Lego makes (there was a 50x50 back in the 70s, but no longer available) and this is the only place to get it in plain green. There was a green with soccer field paint version a few years back that came with two of these plates to make a field, but it obviously wasn't plain. Given the scarcity of this part (and since I'd think this is a very desirable baseplate for large scene builders), I'm surprised that it's only going for $15-$20 on Bricklink. It does have one issue though. It's VERY flimsy. Moving the carousel for these photos was always interesting, since the baseplate bends easily. The Parts There are 25 bags of parts, not counting the canvas and Power Functions parts. They're not numbered or organized in any way (except for that bag in the center with all 48 of the dark red inverted slopes), so I recommend that you begin by sorting them all out. There are several bags that are duplicates of each other, so you could just sort one if you need to save space. My wife and I built this on a card table without enough room to sort everything and it really slowed us down. The Sticker Sheet Although the sticker sheet was tucked into the manuals when I opened the box, it was still crinkled. It didn't actually end up mattering, since the stickers smoothed out nicely when applied. The gold circles along the top though are some of the worst stickers I've ever had to apply. I'd rather do the stickers on the curved Technic panels any day - those circles are supposed to go in the bottom of the gold bowls. My fingers are just too big for that. Any why so many stickers for a large set? I think those gold vertical decorations should have been printed. There are twelve of them per carousel. Even the Emerald Night (at a much lower price tag) had gold printed parts for the engine. The Manuals There are two of them, both large, nice manuals. Inside they're clear and easy to follow, but nothing interesting. Just standard Lego manuals. Just be ready to repeat things - they're full of "make 8 of these" and "make 12 of these" sections. It IS a round, symmetrical carousel after all. The PF and Canvas Parts The battery box and motor each are packed separately, and then there's the bag with one of only two unique parts in the set - the 8 canvas triangles that make the roof. (The other unique part is the sound box that plays carousel music.) They are very sturdy and nicely cut. The Minifigs The lineup: First is the operator. Nice beard. Then mom and dad. Strangely, dad is wearing the same shirt as the operator. Did they plan that? Is dad a ride operator at the park too? Next are two teens, I guess. Boring clothes; the second is completely plain! Finally there are 4 little kids. One boy has the same shirt as his big brother. And finally the twins on the end. I'm assuming they're twins since they're wearing the exact same clothes. Is this all supposed to be one family ? I'm guessing it's just random kids, in which case the two boys with matching shirts are probably siblings, the twins are obviously siblings, but I don't know who belongs to this mom and dad. Overally, the quantity is nice, but they're a bit boring. A few accessories would have been nice. A camera for dad, a Nintendo DS for the kids (because you know kids these days would be bored with a carousel), etc. Building the Carousel, Part 1: The Baseplate Construction begins on the baseplate immediately. First up are some white bricks in the back left corner (which are later removed - they're used only to get that one section of white fence in the correct spot!) The motor is built up as well, along with the plates that the carousel will rotate on. Building the Carousel, The Motor There was no good way to hide the battery box and motor for this set. Lego did the best they could, adding a fence and a control platform for the ride operator on top of the battery box. A real carousel would have the mechanisms inside the center of the ride, but plenty of other amusement park rides have exposed machinery like this, so it works alright in my opinion. Building the Carousel, Part 2: The Spinning Base This was the longest part of the build. That huge tan base took several hours to assemble (partly due to having all the parts still there to dig through, partly due to the wide array of pieces and colors needed, and partly due to watching tv while building). There are 8 wheels on the underside of this base that roll along the tiles underneath, and the log bricks in the center hold it nicely in place while it rotates. That's actually one unrealistic aspect of this set. Most real carousels don't have wheels under the floor. It's all hanging from the structure overhead, which is all supported by the central tower section. Lego however isn't designed to have hanging weight like that, so they cheated a bit by supporting the weight from underneath. The wheel driven by the motor just rubs the outside of this to spin it. It's all simple but so effective (and realistic - lots of amusement park rides use driven tires as the power source). Building the Carousel, Part 3: The Center Time to get out that bag of 48 dark red inverted slopes and all the white pieces you can find. This structure just builds level upon level up to the top. Here I've removed part of the top layer to show the structure. The panels with the gold stickers are on hinges at the bottom to achieve the nice slope. Behind the dark red slopes is a very sturdy structure of white arches and bricks. Hinged bricks are used at a couple levels to hold it in the circle. All in all, this is one solid piece of struture here, easily able to support the weight of the carousel roof. Building the Carousel, From Overhead Even though Lego bricks are rectangular, this set does an awesome job making large circles. The center is a dodecahedron (12 sided), and the base is a hexadecagon (16 sided). For this set, Lego basically built the biggest carousel that would fit on this massive baseplate. There's only 2 studs to spare on each side! Building the Carousel, Part 4: The Mechanism A carousel needs a way to have the horses move up and down. This is the Lego method. First, make several of each of these parts. Building the Carousel, Part 5: The Mechanism Combine all the pieces you just made into this ring. The wheels will ride on the edges of the central column, rotating the axles. The blue thin 2 liftarms will raise and lower the white 5 liftarms. Simple, effective, very Lego. However, what's up with all the colors here? None of this layer will be seen, so why the blue thin liftarms, red bushes, yellow thin bushes... not to mention the dark blue bricks and dark red bricks in the outer ring. It did make finding the parts easier though, so that was nice. You can also see in the center the light bluish gray sound brick (pointing towards the camera). There's a button on the side facing the middle that triggers it. Building the Carousel, Part 6: The Top Ring The ring just sits on the tower, attaching to the tan floor with 8 16 axles in white. Building the Carousel, Part 6: The Top Ring Detail A closeup of the mechanism here. This part does require you to pay attention to the symbol in most Lego manuals to NOT attach things too tightly on axles. There are so many connections here it's easy to get it bound up. Things (especially between the blue thin arms and the white 5 liftarms) need to be loose enough to spin very freely. Even with freely spinning axles, there's still so little friction between the tires and tiles that sometimes the horses will stop moving up and down for a moment. Building the Carousel, Part 7a: The Horses There are six total horses on the carousel, two of each color. Other than colors, they're all identical. The figs seem a little small on them compared to most carousel horses I've seen in real life. And the small kid on the dark grey horse - seriously, with the short (non-bending) legs, she has to stand! You can also see here the stickers for the eyes. The white and light grey look good, but the dark grey are too dark for the bricks. Building the Carousel, Part 7b: The Sleigh One daughter gets to ride this nice sleigh. It does go up and down like the horses (the real-life carousels I have been on usually have sleighs or similar that don't move). I actually think it looks a little plain. Everything else on the carousel is loaded with jewels, fruit, gold... this only has the two gems. Building the Carousel, Part 7c: The Thing? I have to say, I have no idea what this is supposed to be. A hot air balloon basket? A gondola from something? Anyway, like the sleigh, it's a bit plain. They did add a beard at the back for a little more decoration, but it's still simple compared to everything else. Building the Carousel, Part 8: The Decorations Carousels always have to be adorned with golden decorations and assorted colorful things. Here is how Lego does that. First, there's 8 heads with jester hats. The heads are in 4 different expressions for variety. Some clear gems and golden rocks give the required bling, and an upside down beard piece is used on top. The construction is some nice SNOT work, with studs actually facing 4 different directions. Building the Carousel, Part 8b: The Decorations The jester-head decoration looks like this, all assembled. There are two pins sticking out the back that will be used to attach 8 of these around the top of the carousel. There are also 8 slightly smaller, but similar, decorations built with gold bowls in the center instead of heads. Building the Carousel, Part 9: Adding the Canvas The last addition to the carousel is the canvas top and golden flag. The canvas triangles have holes in each corner - the lower two hook over the grey ball pins, while the top holes slide over the blue pins on the underside of the red stripes. Those red stripes actually only attach at the top - the lower end is just resting on the canvas. The Canvas Here all the lovely curves of the carousel fall apart. It's just not possible to get all the canvas sheets to lie nicely. It's not that bad in real life though. Most people are too busy looking at the details to even care about the wrinkles. Inside the Big Top If we pull back some of the canvas triangles of the roof, you can see the musical mechanism inside. That orange button starts the music. There's a cam on the center shaft (just visible sticking out to the left of the white column) that presses the button on each rotation. If you get sick of the music, you can just slide that cam up or down the axle so it doesn't hit the button any more - I did that while building since I kept rotating the carousel to attach various parts. The music gets very annoying when you're working for hours. The Spare Parts After assembling over 3200 pieces, this is the leftovers. It's quite the assortment of small pieces and shows just what variety of parts go into this set. There are 3 white cheese slopes shown here, but that's because my wife forgot to put two of them on one of the horses :) (my wife is making me add that she had a 104 degree fever and pneumonia at the time, so it wasn't really her fault...) The Abused Part One of my spare yellow half-bushes looked like this. What horrors must have befallen this poor lonely piece in the Lego factory to come out looking like this... Finished! After about 8 hours total build time (albeit while watching tv for most of it), the carousel is done. That is gorgeous. I love the tons of details crammed into this set. Decorations on the horses, faces on the jester heads, gold and red and white and dark blue and tan everywhere. And those gold stickers in the middle just make it. This set would lose so much without those. The Decorations Around the crown of the carousel are the decorations made earlier. Each clips on as a unit - 8 with jester heads and 8 with bowls. These add a lot of glamour to the design and hide the Lego structure behind them well. The Operator In the back corner is the operator's stand. Lego even added a pair of levers to the control switch of the battery box. One is a functional grey beam coming under the stairs to make controlling the ride easier for the real people. The second is the rods coming up for the minifig operator to control. Such a nice touch. And of course, all the mechanical bits have to be behind a fence to keep the kiddies safe. The Video You just can't have a review of a set like this (with both motion and annoying sound) without a video. PLEASE click through to youtube and watch at high quality - the standard resolution just doesn't cut it for this. The Conclusion This set defines how detailed and gorgeous a Lego set can be. The rich colors and attention to minute detail just make this set stand out. It's loaded with playability, staying with a nice minifig scale so you can include it in a town layout. Really, the only things I'd improve if I could would be: 1. a more rigid baseplate, 2. easier access to the cam to mute the music (perhaps sliding the flagpole on the top up and down to turn sound on and off?), 3. printed pieces. The Ratings Value: 10/10 - Assuming you get it at the original price, it's a great deal. Well under 10 cents a piece at just 7.7, and loaded with fun pieces in large quantities, it's a fantastic deal. Plus you get a motor and battery box! Design: 10/10 - Did you look at the pictures? Do I really need to explain a 10 rating here? Playability: 10/10 - It's motorized, musical, and minifig scale so you can fit it into whatever scene you have. It's got enough figs to fill it, and enough going on to keep a kid (or AFOL) busy for a long time. Parts: 10/10 - While not giving anything new, this set is practically a part pack of anything you could want. Slopes, arches, hinge bricks (in both directions), any color, it's just loaded. Even has a bunch of minifigs to get you started. Minifigs: 6/10 - Ok, there are a bunch of them, but they're boring. No accessories, repeated clothing, just nothing interesting to see here. They fill the seating on the carousel and that's about it. Overall: 10/10 - Really, what could they improve that's enough to merit docking a star? My Flickr set for this set (to see the images larger)

Called TRU today and asked if it was instock. Said no, but shows "pending at warehouse" which means should be available in store in a week or so. Hoping it's in next week during the rumored buy 1 get one half price sale :)

I'd buy that.

Saw a shelf tag at Toys R Us today. $119, but no date. Actually had about 4 feet wide space w/ multiple tags, so I assume this store is getting a LOT of these.

Can you just power one axle and let the gears transfer to the other side? For example, put a gear on the red axle, outside the beam. Get power to that gear. The gears you already show should them make the black axle coming out to the left rotate as well.

Technic Reviewer with a lingering silver aroma - I was given this after earning my silver in the Reviewer's Academy

Love the AWD/RWD switch. Using the teeth on the top of the idle gear is brilliant (and something lego has never done for some reason, AFAIK). Are you using one of the hockey springs for the steering centering, or something else?

We took my 5 year old son to see the World's Greatest Hobby tour in Jan when it was in Columbus since he loves trains. Looking at the WGH site, I was thrilled to see that a lego club would be there with a large display. Here's a couple photos - see my flickr set for more. My Flickr Set for more (large!) photos World's Greatest Hobby tour site COLTC site

This is an easy set to assemble from parts if you've got much technic at all. The small panels (which are merely decorative) are the only things I didn't already have. And I agree, I wouldn't have bought this at $25 except that I had gift cards to spend :) And yes, you must get the big black tow truck (8285) - both the main and b-model are excellent. I actually bought 2 of them so I can have both versions.

Now that the 2011 Technic sets are finally available in local stores, I just had to get several of them. I used some gift cards at Toys R Us to get both the 8065 Mini Container Truck and this set, the 8067 Mini Mobile Crane. Name: Mini Mobile Crane Set Number: 8067 Pieces: 282 Price: $24.99 / £20.99 / 19.99 Euro Ages: 8-14 Minifigs: 0 Theme: Technic Year of Release: 2011 Links: Bricklink Peeron Brickset The Box Front It's a very standard Technic box. The inset shows the functions, although there's so many you can't tell for sure what knob is connected to which function (and they didn't even mark the knobs that control the outriggers.) The Box Side This box does have one unique feature on the cover - the beam being lifted wraps around to the side of the box. I can't remember this being done on any other Technic box - if I'm wrong, please let me know in the discussion! The Box Back As usual, the back shows the alternate model with an inset of the functions. For once, the B-model seems to have almost as much to do as the main model! The "Actual Size" Part On top, there's the standard "actual size" part. I was surprised they used this panel. I actually had to look back at the front to see where it's used to get an idea of scale. Using something like the wheel would be more intuitive in my opinion. The Manuals Two books are included, one for each design. They both use the pictures from the box and even are the exact same number of pages. The Parts The liftarm selection is fairly small, but look at that - 24 axle connector perpendiculars in black, plus a pair of blue, plus some DBG (Dark Bluish Grey) double ones. The Other Parts Sorry, but I'm not OCD enough to neatly organize all the small bits. Lots of axles, a pair of the ever-popular 8-axle with stops, and the usual assortment of small trans studs for "lights". Building the Crane, 1 The crane build starts like this. For someone experienced in Technic building, there's lots to see here. First, the blue axle connectors at the front are the seats. Blue is a common color for seats in Technic vehicles, so this is a nice nod to the past. Second, the steering is in place. Turning the vertical axle steers the front wheels. The back wheels look almost like a pendular suspension setup, but there's no movement. Building the Crane, 2 Now the yellow makes an appearance. The outriggers are in place and functional (the two knobs at the back each control one outrigger). The front is shaping as well, with the headlights in place. Building the Crane, 3 All that is left for the body of the truck is wheels and the cab. There are so many nice touches here. In addition to the blue seats, there's a small steering wheel and even thin liftarms as side mirrors. Personally, I'd like to see larger lights on the roof though. Perhaps just a second stud added, since I think a full-height cylinder would be too big. Building the Crane, 4 The crane is built as a separate module, just like on many other crane or claw trucks in the past. It's a simple mechanism, but still a lot of nice touches. The cab is about the right size. There's even a pair of 8 tooth gears on the side of the cable reel with no immediately obvious purpose. I finally figured out why they're there though - it's not just to pad the part count. The blue axlepin of the lower gear is a friction pin - so they are providing enough resistance to hold the load in the air as long as it's light. There is a second knob at the back, turning an axle coming forward with a worm gear on it. It turns the 8 tooth gear in the middle of the module, which raises the boom. The Finished Crane And it's done. Attaching the crane to the truck body is just a single pin connection, so it's easily done (and undone if you wish). For a small set, there's a lot of action here. The outriggers lift the front wheels off the ground. The crane rotates and elevates with a knob. The HOG (Hand of God knob) handles the steering and another knob raises and lowers the hook. The boom can extend manually as well. The Rear At the back of the crane are the main control knobs. The lower two work the outriggers. The center one raises the crane boom, and the knob on the right winds the cable. The Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Split At the end of the boom is the only new part. This connector is found only in this set and the new 8069 Backhoe (where a pair are used as the outrigger feet). The Family There are now three mobile cranes in my Lego collection. I love the similarities... the two newest have similar side mirrors. All three have the same bumper bars to hook too. I actually prefer the orange lights of the center crane. The ones on the large 8241 are too tall in my opinion, and the ones on the mini mobile crane are too small. All three have blue seats, but they're inconsistent. The two bigger cranes have matching seat sizes, but the smaller two use the same steering wheel. Overhead An overhead picture really emphasizes just how small this set is compared to the other two mobile cranes. Building the B-Model, 1 The alternate tow truck model starts by building the frame of the truck. You can already see the wormgear that will eventually move the boom. The steering is also installed - it's a bit more complex than the steering of the main model in order to move the HOG further back. Building the B-Model, 2 Now the crane is installed. There's a simple direct control knob for the string spool, and an axle coming out the side that operates the boom (the knob isn't installed just yet). You can also see the lifter on the back for vehicle wheels. Building the B-Model, done Here's the finished tow truck. You can see that there are no details inside the cab, since that space is taken up with the steering linkage. There is some decent (for this size set) detailing around the front end though, with headlights, bumper, and a grill. The B-Model From the Front The designer managed to get a fair amount of detailing into a small vehicle. The headlights are obvious (though I don't like the blue pins they're mounted with). There's also no interior of the truck since that's the steering mechanism. The Back End I'm sure this had to annoy the designer on this set. The 1x2 dark bley liftarms here are the kind with one pin and one axle hole. That's needed to make the structure here work. But there weren't enough in this set, so they had to use yellow 1x2 liftarms as well. The Back End, Folded This is the reason for all the structure coming down the middle of the truck - it's all just to have that one axle connector sticking up so that the lifter is kept from hitting the wheels. In most sets, there would be more structure between the wheels that could be used, but since this model had to be built from what they had, this was the only way to do it. B-Model Duo Both the 8067 Mini Mobile Crane and the 8065 Mini Container Truck this year have tow trucks as the alternate models. You can see the large size and detail difference in a $25, 300 piece set vs a $11, 100 piece set. Big Daddy The big tow truck is of course the famous 8285 set. The yellow 8067 really stands out, although it's not a very realistic color for a tow truck, at least in the US. The Conclusion I like this set. It's just crammed full of features and knobs, although they're all quite simple and direct. They do have a couple nice linkages (the outriggers and the steering of the alternate model) but otherwise it's actually all very basic. For that reason, I prefer the smaller Mini Container Truck since it just strikes me as more interesting. This crane works but there's nothing really attention-grabbing to me about it. The Ratings Value: 9/10 - It's well under 10 cents a part and at just $25 it's a good deal. There's not much new or unusual, but it's a great intro set for someone new to Technic. Design: 6/10 - I wrestled with this rating - There's nothing wrong with this set, but there's also just nothing to give it that cool factor that I want to see in a new set. Playability: 9/10 - There is a lot to do with this set, in both builds. Parts: 6/10 - It's a typical Technic assortment with almost nothing unusual or interesting. Overall: 7/10 - I'd give this another point or two for someone who's new to Technic. It's ideal for them as an introduction to Technic design techniques. But for anyone who has built other Technic sets, it's not a must-buy. My Flickr set for this set (to see the images larger) Towing a tow truck 8067 is giving 8065 a lift, but not really. The wheels don't fit into the lifter, so the 8065 falls off if you try to move.

Just got this set and built it over the weekend. I already have the new mini mobile crane as well as the 8421 Mobile Crane, so I've got both extremes to compare to. Have to say, a little disappointed in the main model here. The outriggers are pure decoration. There's so much wobble in them it's ridiculous. It IS a very ingenious mechanism though... so just depends on if you like the workings or if you want it to actually work. Also, it's as long as the 8421 but not as tall. It was actually bigger than I expected. The wheels are smaller and more off-road style, which seems counter-productive to me. If you wanted something with more rugged ability, you'd want big wheels, not smaller. Some oddities in the details too. For example, the 8053 and 8421 have the same size seats in the cabin, but 8053 uses the small steering wheel from the mini instead of the larger wheel from the 8421. Playing with it by hand (I have the parts to motorize it, but haven't installed them yet) is a pain. Takes SO long to extend the boom or raise it. I do like the gearbox to control everything about the crane from one axle though, and having knobs on both sides is a great benefit. All three models are built the same way. A truck base with a separate crane module that attaches. Weirdly, the 8053 has the most complex connection between the two parts. The 8421 uses just 4 pins to hold the crane to the truck. The 8053 has 4 axles sticking up plus SIX pins to connect. I think that's because the 8053 truck portion is too flexible in the middle (due to having the outriggers mounted in there with all their mechanisms) and so relies on the crane to give the whole truck strength. Price-wise, 8053 is the best deal. It's about the same price per part as the 8421 was, but I think 8421 used a lot of that part count in small studded parts. And obviously, you can't get 8421 for retail price anymore ;) On the other hand, 8421 DID include motor and battery box... I'd have to say though, considering retail price of 8053 is only 4x the cost of 8067 mini, it's way more than 4x the set. I plan however, to take 8053 apart and build the B-model. I think it looks far more interesting.

It's roughly minifig - the dumper has been used on older minifig-scale trucks:

At the Lego store last week, found a Grand Carousel in the box. Damaged box, so marked 50% off, making it $125! Snagged that off the shelf so fast... and then paid for it with VIP points :)

Now that the 2011 Technic sets are finally available in local stores, I just had to get several of them. First on the reviewing table is the smallest. Name: Mini Container Truck Set Number: 8065 Pieces: 119 Price: $10.99 / £8.99 / 9.99 Euro Ages: 7-14 Minifigs: 0 Theme: Technic Year of Release: 2011 Links: Bricklink Peeron Brickset The Box Front It has a very standard Technic box front. The truck is shown with an inset revealing the functions of the set. The Box Back The back of the box is also very standard. It has the thumb punch to open the box along with images of the B-model. I'm not sure about calling this a Pick-Up Truck though - at least in the U.S. a "pickup" is not this. This is closer to a tow truck with its ability to pick up the wheels of a car. Google seems to agree with me, since doing image searches on the French and Spanish names don't show any vehicles like this at all. The Manuals Lego kindly includes printed manuals for both models in the box. Unfortunately, they're all folded. And strangely, the B-model is a single large booklet while the main model takes up two small booklets. The Parts Here are all of the parts in the set. There's nothing new or particularly unusual. If anything, this set is notable for the LACK of standard liftarms. There's only 5 total - two longer ones, a 5, and two of the 3x5 L shaped ones. It is nice to see quite a few thin liftarms and 5 of the 4 axle with stops though. Building the Truck - Part 1 This is half-way through the first booket. You can see the frame being built as well as the worm gear in place for the mechanism. At this stage, the front wheels seem very weakly mounted, but that improves as we keep building. Building the Truck - Part 2 At the end of the first book, we find the only difficult step in the build. You have to slide the long 7-axle all the way through, spearing the small gear in the process. Perhaps this would actually be easier for children, but with my large hands, it was hard to hold the gear in place in that slot. Building the Truck - Part 3 Now we've added the arms to lift the container as well as the lower front of the truck. Just the cab to go. Building the Truck - Part 4 The cab is built as a separate module. I like how they used the thin blue liftarms for seats, matching the standard Technic blue seats. It's hard to cram much detail into this small of a set. Building the Truck - Finished Here's the finished truck. The cab is mounted on the body, and a small rail is added to the container so the arms can grab it. The HOG knob controls the arms. Lowering the Container The container moves smoothly on and off of the truck. I did discover one trick though. If you push the crankshaft pieces into the end of the arms all the way, it snags on the axle and doesn't lift the container smoothly. Pulling them out a bit makes it much nicer. The Cab The instructions say to use a blue axlepin to connect the two light grey perpendicular axle connectors here. That locks the cab down nicely - but why not leave that out and have a tilting cab? I suspect the reason Lego used the pin is to ensure that the gears mesh, preventing frustrated kids from having the cab tilted just enough for the mechanism not to work. The Truck Although this is a small set, it really looks great. The B-Model The alternate model is this tow truck. It again has a single mechanism with a HOG turning a worm gear to move the arm. The Tow Lift The lifter can rest flat on the ground to get a vehicle on it. The Tow Lift At the other extreme, the arm goes unrealistically high. For a small set though, it's forgiveable since a realistic range of motion would be so small. The Hood The hood of the truck tilts, although there's no engine to see underneath. That half-bushing is there to tilt the hood slightly when it's closed, making it look much nicer. The Leftovers The B-model for this set uses most of the parts. There's only a few leftovers, besides the container itself. The Conclusion This is a great little set. It's very Technic - only a few studs in the whole set - but nicely designed and fantastically functional. The Ratings Value: 9/10 - It's just under 10 cents a part and at just $11 it's a decent deal. There's nothing new or unusual, but it's a great intro set for someone new to Technic. Design: 10/10 - The mechanism is fantastic in its simplicity, and Lego gave a small set a nice design. Playability: 8/10 - You can't actually put anything IN the container or it'll fall out, and it's too small to have much functionality. On the other hand, both designs are nice for the size. Parts: 6/10 - It's a typical Technic assortment with nothing unusual or interesting. Overall: 9/10 - For the target audience of kids, it's a decent set and inexpensive. It's especially well suited as a "transition" set for someone new to Technic. My Flickr set for this set (to see the images larger)

Just posted my review of the Lava Dragon game here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=50426 Please add to the index (and note that the index incorrectly calls it the Larva Dragon ;) )

A few months ago it finally got cold here in Ohio. When I got out my coat, I found several gift cards to Toys R Us in the pocket. Time to go shopping! The cards were actually significant value, so I ordered Emerald Night and this game. Name: Lava Dragon Set Number: 3838 Pieces: 131 Price: $14.99 / £9.99 / €12.99 Ages: 7+ Minifigs: 4 (microfigs) Theme: Games Year of Release: 2009 Links: Bricklink Peeron Brickset The Box The front of Lego Games 3838 Lava Dragon - it's attractive to kids, but a bit overkill. Sorry, but there's not actually any flames in the game. Also, the box shows regular minifigs playing the game, but it only comes with microfigs. Oh, and my box is a little squashed thanks to Toys R Us deciding to ship it in just an envelope rather than a box. The Box Back The back of the box shows the actual game realistically, but like all the Lego games the description is minimal. As a buyer, I'd really like more information about the gameplay when deciding what to buy. The Contents Inside the box are two books, two bags, and the die. One book is the build instructions and the other is the game instructions. I assume they separate them so that the instructions can remain free of words. The game instructions have many languages in that one book, since the rules only take a couple pages. The Inside of the Box Inside the box on both long sides is this diagram, showing how to take the pyramid apart partially to fit it back into the box. The Rulebook The rules have a page of the standard rules for the game, plus a page of modifications you can use depending on the ability and desire of the players. The Manual Here's a sample page from the manual. Even though there are no partlists given for each step, it's still easy to follow since there's so few parts in the set. The Interesting Parts In this set you get 10 each of the 1x1 tiles in red, yellow, white, and blue. There are also a pair of wrenches, a pair of the smaller wrench-like "bar with clip" parts, some small red horns, some trans-orange cones, a pair of 1x1 blocks with studs on 4 sides, a pair of the 1x1 tiles with tooth, and of course, a Lego die. More Interesting Parts This game also comes with a black lance, a black tail, and a pair of black wings. The knight microfigs are the only parts unique to this set. Building - The Dragon Head First you get to build the dragon. It begins with the head. Building - The Dragon Body Next you add the body of the dragon. It's simple but effective, since it's hardly noticeable in the finished dragon. Building - The Dragon Here is the finished dragon. The wings are positionable, and it is quite a decent looking dragon for such a small part count. Building - The Pyramid Building the pyramid is so simple it doesn't deserve to be shown. It's just stacking bricks up in alternating brown and grey layers. Add the orange cones - sorry, lava - and a dragon on top and you're ready to play. The Leftover Parts After building the game, you have these left. Like normal for Lego, there are spares of the small pieces. That's especially appreciated here since kids will be likely to lose the colored tiles from the die (when removing them, they tend to fly off). The 1x2 brown tile is for an alternate rule in the game, and the two wrenches are included to help you pry the tiles off the die. The Gameplay A game in progress... On each roll you add your color tile to the top of the die (if there's space left) and every color shown gets to move. Rolling the orange lets you move one of the orange "lava cones" to block an opponent. As an alternate rule, the orange tile lets you use the axle with red handle to knock a player off the other side. Here, yellow is about to get sent back to start. The Conclusion This is a pretty simple game - the play is as basic as the build. In a nutshell, when your color comes up on the die, you get to move towards the top of the pyramid. Rolls showing the orange tile let the roller move the "lava" cone to block opponents. First to the top wins. That makes it easy enough for kids, but a little dull for adults. Also, the parts are pretty small for adults to handle. There's a big improvement they should have made. A baseplate would have helped a ton - in playing, we kept knocking off the bottom bricks when we took off figs or cones. That would also have made a nice compartment in the bottom of the pyramid for storing the pieces. The Ratings Value: 9/10 - It's under 10 cents a part and at just $15 it's a decent deal, especially if you want the dragon parts. Outside the US, where the cost is higher, I wouldn't think it as good of a deal. Design: 6/10 - The dragon is nice, but the pyramid is boring. Playability: 8/10 - As a game for kids, it's decent. I think the 7+ is a bit high on the age though - it seems more fitting (difficulty-wise) for my 4 and 6 year old kids. This is a game for the Candy Land players, not the Monopoly players. Parts: 6/10 - A few nice dragon parts, but most of the set is boring grey and brown bricks. Overall: 7/10 - For the target audience of kids, it's a decent set and inexpensive. For adults, the only attraction is the dragon. My Flickr set for this set (to see the images larger)

thanks - gonna have to try building this cool little truck

Sorry, I don't have the other Lotso to compare. And the stickers, well, I mentioned in the beginning that my son (4 years old) insisted on putting them on himself. So that's what you get :)

You can see the rubber beam vertically in the center above the front wheel in the "Adding the Front Wheel" and "Finished Bike" photos. Basically, the way they attach the two front black panels doesn't quite line up right, so they use the rubber beam to give just enough flex to fit.

I added a review of 8371 Extreme Power Bike here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=47689

I posted a review of the Trash Compactor Escape here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=47691

My 4 year old son loves Lego, so for his birthday some relatives gave him the Toy Story 3 Trash Compactor Escape set. He actually got several other sets as well, and since he was entranced with them, I was able to build this first. He did insist on being the one to put the stickers on, so apologies in advance for crooked sticker placement :) Name: Trash Compactor Escape Set Number: 7596 Pieces: 370 Price: $49.99 / £49.99 Ages: 7-12 Minifigs: 3 (or 5, depending on what you count as a fig vs a part) Theme: Toy Story 3 Year of Release: 2010 The Box The box (image from Brickset since my son's box was thrown away) is a great ad for the set in my opinion. The Manuals There are two manuals (image from Bricklink since my son managed to lose them already!). One book builds the crane and control tower, while the other builds the dumper, conveyor, and incinerator. They're bright and colorful with only a few parts being added per step like other modern Lego manuals. Very easy to follow. The Parts There may only be 370 parts in this set, but they're big. It fills an entire drawer in my son's storage box by itself. The Interesting Parts Some of the more interesting parts - a turntable that clicks through its rotation, a pair of tall flames, some bricks with grooves (one side of the bricks have vertical grooves and the other has horizontal, so you can use either direction in your own builds), and a small rubber band. Well, apparently that brick with grooves has been around for ages, but it's the first time I've seen one. They sure didn't make that back when I was a kid! The Panels This set has a good assortment of girder and panel parts. We don't have many of these in our collection yet, so this is a very welcome array for building our own structures. The Belt As you can see, our conveyor belt isn't nicely round. It's actually pretty stiffly stuck in this position, so it doesn't work smoothly. I suspect the belt was just squished in the box during shipping and in the store. Not a big deal, but it'd be nice if it wasn't like this. The Claw The most interesting part of the set - the crane claw. There is a center pivot and 4 claw blades. When clipped together, the blades interlock so that they all move in unison. Adding the rubber band makes a very nice and easy to play with claw - this is Lego engineering at its best. Anyone wanting a claw crane for their own MOC will want this set just for this part (or get them on Bricklink of course, where you can get the whole unit for a few dollars currently) The Minifigs! Many online sites like Bricklink say this set has 3 figs, counting just Woody and the aliens since they're the only standard minifigs with legs. However, I'd count all of these. Lotso has movable arms. Hamm has no poseable parts, but he does has a plug in his belly so you can get the gold coins out. The dirty Woody and Hamm and stained Aliens are unique to this set. The Woody Fig The dirty Woods from this set is on the left, compared to the standard Woody from other sets. He's got dirt all over and a great frown - but is just a frown enough for the peril in this scene? The Hamm Fig Hamm has a rubber plug in his belly so you can remove the gold coins. The Control Tower Now we start building. First up is the control platform. It's a simple, easy build to get started on this set. The Crane Beginning The crane build starts like the control tower, but then you put the bottom half of the turn table on the base and start building the crane booth. The Crane Booth Here's the inside of the crane, before you add the actual crane arm and mount it on the base. It's too small for adult fingers to work the lever inside, but perfect for sticking a minifig into. The Crane Completed This is one stage where a child would need adult help. I'm pretty sure most kids couldn't get the string attached at both ends. Also, the winch on top of the booth is very flimsy and easy to knock off. I really don't get the trans blue bricks they put the winch on either. Why not either white or green? One last quibble with the crane... there's a yellow half-bush on this side of the tip of the boom. The other side doesn't have one, even though they include a spare yellow half-bush in the set. No, the other side doesn't NEED one (the axle is a 5.5 with stop), but it would look nicer. The Dumper Tower Here is the mechanism for the dumper, without the bed of course. I appreciate that they used a couple extra pins and gears to make it more interesting. The Beams Beams like this one are used to connect the dumper, conveyor, and incinerator to keep all the spacing correct. The Conveyor Base First the instructions walk you through building the base for the conveyor belt. You can also see the connections on each end for the beams to link the set together. The Conveyor Belt Next is the belt itself. Again, I like the knob on the side to make it functional. Even though there's quite a gap between the belt and the edges, there's not much problem with figs or larger blocks getting stuck there. It works well. The Conveyor, Finished Here's another spot kids might need help. Attaching the conveyor module to the base is a little tricky, getting all four of those girder panels to line up just right to fit together. Once done though it works well. The Incinerator The last part of the set... is also one of the easiest. This goes together quickly (especially since there aren't many parts left to root through!) and completes the scene. I was a little disappointed with having just 2 flames though - the movie has this much more intimidating and fiery. The flames also get knocked off so easily when you are retrieving something from inside. The stickers for this need improved too - they are light grey on dark grey parts, so they really stand out. The Complete Set Time to play! Dump the toys and the tan "trash" bricks onto the conveyor and then to the incinerator. Oh no, will they survive?!? The Fall Now they've fallen in the incinerator! How will they ever escape? The Rescue They're safe... but who saved them? The Rescuer How'd they get out? Oh, of course... the alien ran the claw! The Conclusion Before seeing the movie or owning this set, I saw a short article on it on Gizmodo of all places, where they declared it to be perhaps the saddest toy ever. At a glance, it could be. After all, it's a toy about toys being sent through the trash and into an incinerator. And more than that, they're living, talking, intelligent toys! Of course, this IS a Disney movie, so we all know the toys will be alright. The Gizmodo commenters complained the the box was a huge spoiler to the movie. Sorry, but again, you know they're gonna get in trouble and yet survive. The exact form of peril isn't a big spoiler. The Ratings Value: 6/10 - This set is almost 14 cents a part, unless you can find it on sale (I've seen it on Amazon for $35, which makes it then a great deal). There ARE some unique parts though that you can only find here - the claw of the crane, the dark bluish grey 6x5 girder panels, dark green triangular girders, the dark green panels, and the dirty Woody, aliens, and Hamm figures. It's also a good source for larger panels and girders in general, so quite useful if you need those parts. Design: 9/10 - I really like the visual design of this set. It doesn't really match the movie very well, but it's a reasonable layout for a Lego set. They had to invent the crane since you can't really see it in the movie (at least that I remember) other than the claw. I am curious about the title though - there's no compactor here, just an incinerator... Playability: 9/10 - Great playable set! Working crane and conveyor belt, extra gears on the dump mechanism just to make it interesting, and nice figures to recreate the scene give this set a lot of playability. Just too bad they don't include a B model of another scene, but that's common for these licensed sets. Parts: 9/10 - This set has a nice mix of studded and studless parts. As noted above, there are unique parts here - the claw in particular is fantastic and only found here. My son loves all the girder and larger parts to build his own structures. There's also a great variety of colors. Overall: 7/10 - This is a nice set that has a lengthy build time without being too hard. The design and playability are great, but I think it's overpriced. If it were around $35 I'd give it a 9/10. Links: My Flickr set for this set (to see the images larger) Bricklink Peeron Brickset