Sunday, February 7, 2016

Lego Creator No. 31005 Construction Hauler Part 3

Too small for a trailer?

The final assembly for the three components that make up the main model of Lego Creator No. 31005 Construction Hauler set: ^^



The truck and trailer completed in the previous posting and the digger in Part 1.



The trailer is easily the biggest of the three components, but its assembly is the simplest and most straightforward in my opinion. ^^


A peg behind the truck connects to the trailer hitch.


The completed construction hauler. ^^







The wide opening beneath the trailer hitch means that there's ample room for the trailer to be turned from side to side behind the truck.


The digger is "parked" on top the trailer.


(Left) The backhoe boom is adjusted so that the scoop can be positioned between the construction cones.
(Right) The front-loading bucket needs to be lifted to give enough room for the ramp to be retracted.


With the back wheels held inside the designated compartments, the digger gets to "relax" quite firmly on the trailer even when the rounded parts really don't provide any firm support to the front wheels. ^^


As a matter of fact, the digger remains firm in position even when the trailer is not placed on a flat surface - as long as the position isn't outrageously unstable that is. ^^
Given that there's no special part that's actually holding the digger in place, the firmness of the vehicle on top the trailer is quite impressive and can be considered as one of the model's gimmicks. ^^

More images of the entire model:




















Closeups on the details:














Using the trailer hitch swivel shown earlier on, the model can be shown in a few different configurations:





A bit of clear tape has to be used to hold the digger from sliding down the ramp for the above picture to be taken. ^^;



As mentioned in Part 1, the bright color scheme of the construction hauler is my favorite feature of this Lego set, and it's certainly great to be able to see it on the completed model. ^^

As a smaller-sized model, the details are pretty basic. However, that simplicity also means that the bright color scheme gets to be shown more prominently as well, so it's definitely a feature (or lack thereof ^^) that I like and appreciate. Also, due to the fewer part count, which is also related to the model's size, the rigid shape of the truck can be observed very easily. As a result of that, there's an obvious contrast between the sharp edges and some of the smoother curvy areas, which is just as interesting a feature as the color scheme in my view. ^^

The playability enabled by the gimmicks are meant for the younger builder group this Lego set is meant for, so they are not exactly amazing per se for old, unappreciative and picky folks like me, XD but it's still very impressive to see the realization of the gimmicks given the model's size and part count. ^^

Comparison between the construction hauler and Gundam Mk-II from MS Gundam Assault Kingdom 2 reviewed in early January: ^^





Too small for even a Gundam shokugan figure, it looks like the trailer is designated only for the digger and cannot cross over into the Gundam universe as a MS trailer. ^^

Will be assembling the first alternate model, the cherry picker when I return to this Lego set in the near future. ^^

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