LEGO City Crawler Crane

5 Comments

1. Redkelt says:

   September 2, 2010 at 3:06 pm

   The LEGO Crawler crane is a must have for any LEGO fan. It has lots of realism, a crank to work the crane, and the tracks move like the real deal. Crane can also inspire young builders on how to build constuction tools and how to counter balance loads in the way they construct models.
   
   Was a fun build, not to easy but not frustrating, I woudl describe as challenging-but-rewarding for the appropriate age group.
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. amanooensis says:

   September 2, 2010 at 5:45 pm

   Lego should probably not label this kit as being appropriate for age 5; our 9-year-old was able to build it mostly independently, but required help a couple of times. For instance, it is especially tricky to attach the “cable” (thread supplied with kit) to the take-up reel, thread it through the pulley, and anchor it on the crane arm. As with most Lego toys, it’s important that every assembly point be pressed tightly together, and for little hands that can be tricky sometimes.

   We’ve only had it assembled for a day so far, and although the pulley works as advertised to lift things, and the crawler treads do move as expected, the whole thing is not quite as solid as some other Lego toys. It’s obvious that hand-cranking a pulley will put an unusually high amount of torque on the unit, and eventually the operator will end up with a handful of Lego pieces needing to be reassembled.

   To some extent, that goes with the territory with Lego toys, of course. You have to decide whether you’re more interested seeing a big complex thing come together out of many small parts, which is educational and fun; or in actually trying to play with it as a genuine building and construction toy. For the latter purpose, most kids are better off with prebuilt trucks, cranes, or whatever. For instance, we still have old “Bob the Builder” (non-Lego!) toys that work just fine despite being tossed around, kicked, stepped on, etc. Smaller kids might be better off with that kind of toy for everyday play.

   Once it is completely built, the crawler crane is a pretty imposing size, larger than most of the other vehicles and toys in the “City” series. And when you’re done playing for the day, where do you put it? Ha. We had bought a few small storage bins (similar in size to a typical Lego tub) to store other assembled Lego toys, and found that to be really valuable for a front-end loader, dump truck, etc.

   Well, this crane is way bigger than that. We also got a bigger plastic box (intended for storing shirts) — but discovered that the crane is bigger than that, too. Finally we figured out that one can take the big crane arm apart without undoing the cable or anything else, and carefully store it in the box next to the main body of the toy. Next time it is wanted, the arm will simply snap onto four little pegs and it’ll be ready to go.

   We haven’t put this to the test of time of course, but in the first bit of play we noticed that the cab is fairly easy to knock off, for instance. Also, the crawler treads, being hard plastic, are slick and will not move if you’re playing on any kind of slick surface — and that includes the large Lego base plates which are also hard plastic. On a rug or towel or other rough surface, the treads can grip and will turn around their sprockets when you move the vehicle, just as they would on a real crawler crane. So, good design for those treads, but probably wasted in most play environments.

   The top part swivels easily, so you can use the crane and pulley to lift an item from one spot, turn and drop it somewhere else. However, note that the crane arm itself can NOT be raised or lowered by any user control (unlike the pulley handle). The arm is mounted on parts that *look like* pneumatic lifts, but they aren’t functional.

   Still, overall it’s a pretty neat toy, and if you want a somewhat complex assembly project without having to go to space (Star Wars) or some other esoteric setting, this fits the bill. Now that it’s done, I think we’re going to shift now to buying more sets of bricks and letting the kid invent stuff from scratch. As another reviewer noted, it’ll be interesting to see if this crane gets modified with other parts by our young designer, after the initial exhilaration wears off.

   We paid slightly less than the “list” price on the Lego website, and that is quite a bit less than it’s selling for today here on Amazon. When I looked at the finished toy and thought about the cost out-of-pocket, I felt that it was a just barely acceptable deal at list price or less. Beyond that, I’d think twice.
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. S. P. Guay says:

   September 2, 2010 at 6:59 pm

   I was a little concerned when I purchased the Crawler Crane. Some of the Lego City stuff doesn’t stay together that well. (i.e. tow truck)

   The crane however is very well thought out. My 4 yr old loves is. We took ~3 hrs to put it together. So far it’s stayed in it’s intended form. Additionally it’s a great tool to explain mechanical advantage, pulleys and how cranes work.

   In a couple of weeks he will take it apart and invent new stuff.

   Great product, I highly recommend it.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Micusera says:

   September 2, 2010 at 7:22 pm

   My 2 boys (5 and 7) love it and play with it a lot. They have the whole construction set and I couldn’t be more happier with the choice.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. mommyto4boyswyo says:

   September 2, 2010 at 8:50 pm

   This Lego crane set is a complicated set & not very durablele. My boys were 6 & 4 when they got this and Daddy did a lot of it to finish it. Then after it was together they wanted to play with it so they did and it took nothing for it to come apart. So if you are buying this for an older child who won’t want to play with it just add to a Lego collection or something then I think it would be ok…maybe.
   Rating: 3 / 5