Lego 9397 Snow Plough and Tipper Truck
The Lego 9397 has a set of alternative instructions on-line at the Lego website for a Snow Plough and Tipper Truck. This took me a good four hours to assemble and probably contains over 1200 Lego elements.
The design incorporates a 4 selection gearbox that powers the opening and closing of the cab, the raising and lowering of the snow plough and the rear tipper and also the rear wheels that can be raised and lowered to turn the truck into a 4 or 6 wheel vehicle.
The front snow plough can be rotated to tilt to the left or right via a worm gear assembly; it is a little bit wobbly but is a fairly sturdy design.
Construction of this truck was a little more enjoyable than the default logging lorry design, my only complaint is that the instructions for this second model could have come with the kit rather than having to download it as a PDF.
The design incorporates a 4 selection gearbox that powers the opening and closing of the cab, the raising and lowering of the snow plough and the rear tipper and also the rear wheels that can be raised and lowered to turn the truck into a 4 or 6 wheel vehicle.
The front snow plough can be rotated to tilt to the left or right via a worm gear assembly; it is a little bit wobbly but is a fairly sturdy design.
Construction of this truck was a little more enjoyable than the default logging lorry design, my only complaint is that the instructions for this second model could have come with the kit rather than having to download it as a PDF.
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| Tipping in action |
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| The underside, showing gearbox and differential gears |
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| Powered opening and closing of the cab to reveal the engine |
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| Rear wheels can be raised and lowered by the gearbox |
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| A rather realistic looking vehicle |
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.
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.
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| The completed truck |
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| Looks rather realistic |
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| Not exactly a small truck |
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| Engine hood down reveals the 4 cylinder engine |
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| Engine hood, engine and cab |
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| Differential gearing to first set of real wheels |
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| Four selectable power controls |
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| The electric motor is hidden inside a fuel tank |
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| Powered outriggers stabilize the vehicle |
Lego 4204 Mining Set
The set comes with four mining mini figures to help keep the mine busy. Any gold that is found is placed in a secure safe room to be safe from criminals. Also included in the set was a wheel barrow, some sticks of dynamite, a sign, some suitable mining tools and some large rocks that can be opened up and filled with small rock and gold elements.
The set was easy to assemble and came with some large rock elements to enable the cave and mine to be quickly built. Combined with the Lego 4201 tipper and loader set my son now has a fun active mine with plenty of play potential.
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| Mining machine spinning up for action |
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| Tipper lorry taking away some rock debris.. |
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| ..and tipping out the rocks at the destination. |
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| The completed mining set. |
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| Drilling into the rock face with the mining machine. |
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| A busy day at the mine. |
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| Train bringing some rock to the surface. |
Lego 4201 Loader and Tipper Set
My son received a Lego 4201 Loader and Tipper Set for his birthday from his Grandparents to complement the Lego 4204 Gold Mine Set. This set comprises of a loader to pick up rock and a tipping lorry that carries and dumps the rock. Also incorporated with the set are two miners with tin hats and also a large rock, some gold nuggets, a stick of dynamite and a warning sign.
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| Loading up the lorry with some rocks |
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| Miners with their golden bounty |
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| So much rock to shift with the loader |
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| Watch out for explosives! |
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| Dumping some rock and picking them up with the loader. |
Lego 850 Fork Lift Truck
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| My original 850 kit. |
I purchased this original kit when I was 10 years old for £7.50 which seemed quite a reasonable price over thirty years ago. Ironically, I nearly spent that much on all the spare parts to resurrect this set as quite a few pieces were broken or missing.
The 850 sports plans for three models: A fork lift truck, a road leveller/grader and a wheeled platform lift.
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| Fort lift truck with forks lowered |
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| ..and with the forks elevated |
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| Road leveller/grader |
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| Wheeled platform lift. |
All the kits make good use of the rack and pinion to convert rotatory movement into linear movement for the lifting mechanisms as well as for the steering.
All three models contain some rather fiddly steps; the forklift and the road leveller/grader need some special care to ensure the rack and pinion align on the 8 tooth cog to cover the full sweep of the steering. The wheeled platform lift required some careful placement of the small cogs and bushes that keep the lift vertically aligned.
The box also contains a few photos of some additional models that an inspiring Lego builder can construct - a rather neat looking dumper truck as well as a small truck with a articulated arm lift mechanism.
As kits go, this was probably my most used kit as it contained enough interesting pieces to make many different wheeled vehicles that could use working steering and some form of mechanical geared movement with the rack and pinion. So it worked out as excellent value for money!
Lego 7696 Commuter Jet
This year I was on a long haul flight with British Airways and my entertainment system failed to work so I put in a formal complaint and was given some gift vouchers at the BA shop. I had just enough to purchase the Lego 7696 Commuter Jet which is a rare promotional kit that sell for around £30 on Ebay.Here are some photos:
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| Passenger Businessman |
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| Captain/Pilot |
Lego Mindstorm NXT kits + ARM Smartphone = Fast Rubik's Cube Solver
Mike Dobson and David Gilday have worked hard to create an improved Rubik's Cube solving machine. The Lego CubeStormer II is capable of solving the cube faster than any human being and is made from 4 Lego Mindstorm NXT kits as well as an ARM powered Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone. Watch and be amazed!
Lego Advent Calendar 7553
Well, Christmas is approaching, so Lego has produced this seasonally themed Lego Advent Calendar. A little more pricey than the normal card versions we get for the kids, but perhaps a lot more fun. Who knows...
Anyhow, it looks like a lot of fun, but it is too late to try this kit for this year...
Anyhow, it looks like a lot of fun, but it is too late to try this kit for this year...
Red Cargo Train 3677
Well Christmas is approaching fast and I was able to get hold of the Lego Red Cargo Train Set 3677 for my son for a joint birthday and Christmas present. Looking at the comprehensive instruction manuals I believe this set should keep him busy, it contains a locomotive, 3 freight trucks (tipping, hazardous waste and flatbed), a railway repair van and 40 pieces of track. Rocks can be loaded into the tipping truck with a conveyor belt and to add to the action the locomotive has remote control power functions.
To complement this set there are also 4 railway mini-figures. At over 830 pieces this kit looks like it is a Lego model railway winner.
To complement this set there are also 4 railway mini-figures. At over 830 pieces this kit looks like it is a Lego model railway winner.
Chris Shepherd's Lego Quad Delta Robot
Chris Shepherd has managed to make an awesome Lego Quad Delta Robot System - it is a fully working model of an industrial robotics line in a factory and can move 48 items a minute.
Lego Escher Models
Andrew Lipson Lego ® Page contains some excellent photo graphs of Lego Escher models, ranging from Escher's Waterfall, Escher's Balcony, Escher's Ascending and Descending and many more beside. Well worth checking out, these are quality constructions with excellent building explanations.
Lego 10193 Medieval Market Village
Lego 10193 Medieval Market Village is an incredibly detailed model. It has over 1600 brick elements and kept my 10 year old daughter busy over 4 days to construct. It sports two houses and 8 mini figures: a blacksmith, two soldiers, two male peasants, two female peasants and a boy mini figure.The first house comes with a blacksmith's workshop with a water wheel powered anvil hammer. It also includes a stable for the horse.
The second combines a Village Inn and brewery. Sounds like the villagers will have some fun recreation time!
Houses can be opened out to allow easy access to the rooms which contain a lot of fascinating detail.
The kit also comes with a very busy open market, with a market stall and baskets of produce, a table full of food (chicken, cheese and tomatoes) and daggers from the blacksmith's forge. Also walking by are two soldiers carrying a treasure box containing coins and gems. A horse and cart, chickens and two cows compliment the market scene.
The construction was relatively straight forward, if not time consuming. The roof was a little tricky to assemble and the only downside is that the tree is rather fragile and keeps on losing it's foliage. Apart from that, this is a great kit and almost gets 10 out of 10. A quality kit! Well done Lego!
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| The house opens up to allow access to the rooms. |
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| The completed village scene. Very busy! |
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