Outdoors02

Everything you're saying makes sense. Basically any toy that isn't a die-cast model will be off to some extent, and even some of those lack details. On the topic of who pays who, I also think that JD pays Lego as a partnership with them (with Lego) is an excellent source of advertising. That's what Fender said when they partnered with Lego to create the Lego Ideas Stratocaster (set 21329) (I'm only speculating though, my statement may be false).

To me this set offers a good balance of price and piece count while having great playability.

You're correct, but knowing Lego I know that they have their reasons as to why it looks that way. That's why I said that if you're interested, don't hesitate to contact them.

Thank you for taking more time to explain and for writing a (seemingly) calmer response than some of your earlier posts. In this case, yes, the discussion may continue. On the topic of design decisions, I'd honestly recommend you reach out to Lego. I have friends who have noticed interesting or unusual design decisions in sets before and by writing to them, they actually got to hear from the designers themselves and were given (often) surprising answers. In my opinion it is worth the try.

Most kids might care about looks enough to notice that it's the same color and general shape as the real machine, but I doubt that they'll start to compare it side by side with the actual machine and start bashing it for every detail that's off. That's because even children know that this is a small toy, so it's normal that it's not identical and what's more, as a Technic set, this toy is meant to be playable more than to be displayable. This discussion may go on, but frankly I think that it's immature (from all of us) to have such a prolonged and animated discussion about a toy that's marketed to children and that unlike Creator/Icons sets, is meant to be played with.

Looking at this through the eyes of an adult, I see what you mean. But as Racing Bricks and Bartybum have said, this set is meant to be looked at through the eyes of a child. I'm 21, so that's easy for me to do. I remember getting the 9390 Mini Tow Truck at the age of 10 and despite its size, I was thrilled to get a toy vehicle that had steerable wheels. Compared to sets I had before, it was obviously more playable. I didn't give the slightest attention to how it looked because I had so much fun playing with it. Also, steering was one of its only 2 functions, the other being the tow cable, but that one is so obvious and expected in a tow truck that many don't even consider it a "function". All that to say that in my opinion, the target audience of this set (children who like Technic are often naturally curious and interested by everything around them) will most likely be so intrigued by its functions all they'll want to do is play with it (with a minifigure inside) and not give the slightest attention to anything else, including, but not limited to, how this set looks relative to an actual John Deere 9700. Once again, if this were a set meant for display, I'd agree with you.

Thanks for the rendering and thanks for including a headpiece. I agree with kbalage on this - I think that the target audience will be delighted. One thing is for certain, a 9-year-old me would've been. That's what I thought, I figured that the steering system would take up quite a bit of space.

Also, I think that having a moving header (to be put and "drive" and "work" mode") that still spins when it's down would be difficult from a mechanical standpoint if it were connected to the wheels.

Intriguing, do you have an image(s) ?

Always on the lookout for something negative to say aren't you? If you don't like this set, don't buy it and keep your negative thoughts to yourself. Doing so will only save you money. As my late grandmother (who just lost a grueling 10-year bout with cancer) always told me, try and see the positive things around you and if you fail, keep your thoughts to yourself. I don't want to go on about my life, but I'm only trying to honor her memory by practicing the principle that she lived by and instilled into her children and grandchildren's minds. I apologize for the angry response (particularly to you Jundis), my only goal was to state that this set has, in my mind, positive attributes. Thank you.

Fair enough. At the end of the day, even though it's marketed as being a model of a specific machine, it's still a small set that's part of a theme where functions are more important than looks. Frieden my friend.

I wouldn't get too worried about those wheels. I'm sure that the only thing that the average builder will notice is that the front wheels are bigger than those in the back, but that's also the case on the real machine.

I agree with you brother (or should I say mate ). If it were a set meant for display that contained thousands of pieces (and that would cost hundreds of dollars) then I'd be willing to nitpick it. But this is an approximately 40$ toy that's mostly marketed towards children and most importantly, that's meant to be used for play, not display. In other words, all the criticisms that it has received so far in this thread are, in my opinion, totally unreasonable. As a toy that is meant to be played with, aka not a display piece meant to gather dust, this set is great since it has clever functions that make it very playable. The same is true about the 42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck. And remember, functions, which enable playability, will always be the single most important characteristic of Technic sets, especially small Technic sets that are typically popular among children who use them as toys. I genuinely can't believe all the hatred that this set has received in just this thread. It's absolutely disgusting. It's as if people expected this set to have a bunch of new parts molded specifically for it so that it's an exact replica of a 9700 in the slightest detail, inside and out. I for one like this set, I think that it makes good use of existing parts and it has interesting mechanisms. As a display piece, it's not my favorite, but as a small toy that's meant to be played with, I like it.

Thanks! The Mack seems quite playable, with steering, a loading system (and the included recycling bin) and a dumping bed.

Where ?