Lego Maker: Lego 9397 Logging Truck

I've recently been assembling the Lego Technic 9397 Logging Truck which turns out to be a monster of a kit. This set contains 1308 Lego elements and no less than 3 instruction books, so be prepared for a lengthy build!

This set comes with a Lego motor to drive a rather complex gearbox that provides power to the mechanical grabber arm and the extendible outriggers. Three gear shifts provide control the rotation and arm lift motion; controlling the arm is a little tricky as one has to also combine the motor forward/reverse power switch with the gear shifts. The grabber claw can be rotated on its axis as well as opened and closed, so one has full control to pick up and drop the thickest of logs.

The engine has 4 working pistons that send power down the chassis to the back wheels via a differential gearing. The engine cover opens up to allow easy access to the engine.

The cab has working doors however the steering inside the cab is just for decoration and the rack and pinion steering is controlled using a small wheel on the top of the cab.

One has to go online to fetch the plans for the container truck and snow plough as these plans are not provided with this set.

I took a leisurely 5-6 hours to build the trick over Christmas and it was a fairly challenging build. Recommended for the more advanced Technic Lego builder.