[REVIEW] 42128 - Heavy-duty Tow Truck

[Mr Jos]

5 hours ago, Void_S said:

You can take my Studio file with all parts made for this set (yes, including the vakvvalves 2.0): https://bricksafe.com/pages/Void_s/studio-models (there are also other sets with parts were missing in Studio). 

Oh man awesome! That's why I love this community! On we go with the MOC moddeling + instructions! Will later try to see Youtube how to do the pneumatic pipes like you did, they are very difficult in my model as I can not cut them and some are waaay to long.

[howitzer]

11 hours ago, Mr Jos said:

I really liked the original set internals, very good use of the items, and had a big smile a few times, as I should remember that. I'ld rate the set 9.5/10 If they would give a few extra hoses it would be 10/10, then I could cut those up.

The hose thing is something I've been wondering about too. Why go to the trouble of pre-cutting and sorting hoses when they could just provide uncut hose and let the builders do it themselves? The obvious problem here is of course that some builders will botch the cutting and end up with too short pieces, but I think that too could be alleviated by providing generous extra, like if a set needs a total of 1m of hoses, pack it with 2m. That way there's room for errors while providing material for MOC making. And I find it hard to believe that the extra hose would be more expensive than all the costs involved in pre-cutting and sorting the dozen or more of hoses.

I'm done with the first part of the building, going back to it now.

[Jim]

On 8/7/2021 at 2:15 AM, Void_S said:

Besides all the advantages, I still cannot get rid of idea that the model is excessively big for its set of functions. Maybe, because it replicates an American truck? 😁

I am not sure how this set is "excessively big"? The set is actually quite compact and the list with functions goes on and on. Care to elaborate? Are you sure you were posting in the right topic  

[pleegwat]

2 hours ago, howitzer said:

The hose thing is something I've been wondering about too. Why go to the trouble of pre-cutting and sorting hoses when they could just provide uncut hose and let the builders do it themselves? The obvious problem here is of course that some builders will botch the cutting and end up with too short pieces, but I think that too could be alleviated by providing generous extra, like if a set needs a total of 1m of hoses, pack it with 2m. That way there's room for errors while providing material for MOC making. And I find it hard to believe that the extra hose would be more expensive than all the costs involved in pre-cutting and sorting the dozen or more of hoses.

I'm done with the first part of the building, going back to it now.

They did that back in the 90s. There's not just the risk of cutting too short, but sloppy cuts can also cause the hose to tear, requiring you to re-cut a stretch. And there's no telling young you will do it right the second time around.

Really, I'd say the problem with hose is that it's nowhere near as easy to find substitute as it is for thread.

[howitzer]

2 hours ago, pleegwat said:

They did that back in the 90s. There's not just the risk of cutting too short, but sloppy cuts can also cause the hose to tear, requiring you to re-cut a stretch. And there's no telling young you will do it right the second time around.

Really, I'd say the problem with hose is that it's nowhere near as easy to find substitute as it is for thread.

That's why I'd include a generous extra length, like enough to fail once at every cut and still have enough left to do them all over again. I, personally, had no problem cutting the hoses correctly at the age of 9 when I build the 8868, and generally the recommended age is higher than that for sets with pneumatics.

Some time ago I bought 25m of clear silicone tubing from a local dealer which specializes in all kinds of plastic and rubber products but yeah, you can't find those easily unless there happens to be a correct kind of shop nearby. They're easily available online though.

[Mr Jos]

15 hours ago, Void_S said:

You can take my Studio file with all parts made for this set (yes, including the vakvvalves 2.0): https://bricksafe.com/pages/Void_s/studio-models (there are also other sets with parts were missing in Studio). 

Thanks to your parts I've been able to finish my 3D Model, couldn't make all pneumatic lines in Studio, small ones I did manage to add, and bend nicely, but the long ones, they go through the body and pin holes, impossible to do with Studio. Guess that's why you also didn't add the long ones in the 42128 model.

And a little teaser as what will be coming soon in a new topic if I've finished this instruction book.

(I haven't started yet with step 1 etc, just frontpage, but I'm not a very good graphic designer..)

I think many more people will be able to make MOC's/MODs with this set, hope Lego has made enough 1x11 cylinders to keep new sets coming.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Mr Jos

[Johnny1360]

Other that cutting the hoses the wrong lengths, I think the biggest reason for having pre-cut hoses is so little kids don't have to actually use a sharp cutting tool. People specifically kids tend to do the most ridiculous things, that most would never imagine doing.

[syclone]

2 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Other that cutting the hoses the wrong lengths, I think the biggest reason for having pre-cut hoses is so little kids don't have to actually use a sharp cutting tool. People specifically kids tend to do the most ridiculous things, that most would never imagine doing.

Considering sets with pneumatics tend to be at least 12+ and kids use scissors in class since pre-school... that'd be quite an overkill protective measure. Although considering how they massacred Technic to be kiddo-suitable, quite likely.
I guess including 3 rolls of tubing (thanks to the colour coding ¬_¬) with extra length just in case isn't the best idea anyway. If it were black as in 80's, 90s... we'd have a chance of it being that way. albeit very low. Besides we don't know how they add the tubing into sets - perhaps they have rolls of tube and just tell the machines to cut x length directly into the bag on request? Sounds more efficient than having a roll, cutting it up into pieces to then store them in a container in some warehouse to later place into set bags.

[pleegwat]

2 minutes ago, syclone said:

perhaps they have rolls of tube and just tell the machines to cut x length directly into the bag on request?

definitely possible - and they do ship the hoses in a separate bag for this set.

[Void_S]

11 hours ago, Jim said:

I am not sure how this set is "excessively big"? The set is actually quite compact and the list with functions goes on and on. Care to elaborate? Are you sure you were posting in the right topic  

Yes, for sure. It was not a critic or even some negative pun. I just noticed that the front part (engine-cabin-sleeper) is quite "empty" inside in comparison with rear one which nice and tight packed. Like if can add any other cabin here, another American longnosed one (maybe without a sleeper), or even a much shorter cabover one.

Keeping myself following my own words, I see I have to try and make these variations. Daycab looks like a nice mod with no extra parts used, and cabover might fit into the limited inventory too. 

[-_-Husky-_-]

Here is my slightly modded 42128

 

 

 

Changes include:

- Changed all visible coloured axles and pins for black or grey ones

- Attached the 1x2 special grille tiles vertically instead of horizontally

- Rim covers on axle #2

- Changed the clear-blue roof lights for clear-orange ones

- Completed the dark grey rear covers

- Added some wedge plates to the front fenders

- Changed the blue thin 1x7 liftarms for white ones

- Filled the holes when looking at the model from the side

- Added a liftarm to prevent the gear on the turntable from detaching 

[toxic_rebel]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, and just registered to post this. I don't want to read the entire thread, but maybe this wasn't adressed.

42128 isn't complete.

I finished 42128, and it was fun to build. But it can't pick up anything.

At the back of the truck you have the horizontal black piece, with the blue pins with grey spacers to keep them in place.

The horizontal black piece should be the width of the truck, and should have 2 upside down U's on it. So you should have something like this

|-------------|                                         |-------------|  

|                |                                         |                |

|________| ____________________|________|

                                   |    |

                                   |    |

                                   |    |

Those are the pieces where the tires go, from the vehicle you're picking up.

That's not included but should be, to complete a rescue truck.

 

 

 

 

[allanp]

5 hours ago, toxic_rebel said:

Hi everyone, I'm new here, and just registered to post this. I don't want to read the entire thread, but maybe this wasn't adressed.

42128 isn't complete.

I finished 42128, and it was fun to build. But it can't pick up anything.

At the back of the truck you have the horizontal black piece, with the blue pins with grey spacers to keep them in place.

The horizontal black piece should be the width of the truck, and should have 2 upside down U's on it. So you should have something like this

|-------------|                                         |-------------|  

|                |                                         |                |

|________| ____________________|________|

                                   |    |

                                   |    |

                                   |    |

Those are the pieces where the tires go, from the vehicle you're picking up.

That's not included but should be, to complete a rescue truck.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the forum.

Many trucks designed to tow smaller vehicles have the loops to hold the wheels, but many much larger trucks, designed to tow other much larger trucks, don't. 

But as the piece used for the cross bar has a few holes in all directions it should be fairly easy to add the hoops if you want them.

[toxic_rebel]

Thanks :)

Right, the smaller ones are the ones you usually see.

Looks like the big one take trucks by the axle. That's interesting.

If I can find a few big truck pictures with the loops, I might add them. It would be a nice addition if some have them irl

 

Thought it might be the easiest to put it here, as it is somewhat related. I only see Lego, so no Mould King? Asking for a friend 

I loved building this truck, but MK also have some great looking models.

Edited April 23, 2023 by toxic_rebel
Question added

[allanp]

14 hours ago, toxic_rebel said:

Thanks :)

Right, the smaller ones are the ones you usually see.

Looks like the big one take trucks by the axle. That's interesting.

If I can find a few big truck pictures with the loops, I might add them. It would be a nice addition if some have them irl

 

Thought it might be the easiest to put it here, as it is somewhat related. I only see Lego, so no Mould King? Asking for a friend 

I loved building this truck, but MK also have some great looking models.

Regarding clone brands, you'll have to check with forum moderators such as @Jim first (I am not a moderator). I wouldn't think they are allowed in a forum topic discussing a Lego set.

[jacabias]

23 hours ago, toxic_rebel said:

Right, the smaller ones are the ones you usually see.

Looks like the big one take trucks by the axle. That's interesting.

If I can find a few big truck pictures with the loops, I might add them. It would be a nice addition if some have them irl

Yes, the cross-bar has to be narrower than the width of the truck so it can fit between the wheels of the truck it's towing. Typically they use hooks to secure the axle on the bar and then chains to secure it. My understanding is that this is a more secure and robust way of towing something that can weigh upwards of 50,000 pounds depending on the load as the weight is supported by the truck's axle rather than the tires. You also don't have to worry about locking the steering when towing like this. The set-up you are thinking about is more common on smaller tow-trucks for cars, but in my area they are not as common as a flatbed tow-truck these days.

[toxic_rebel]

I wanted to send this to @Jim but I'm not allowed. And I looked at the other threads, but have no clue where to put this. So admins, feel free to re-thread this.

I just finished the Lego 42128 Heavy-duty Tow Truck.
That was the first Lego I've build, and I'm 51. It's really fun, and with the clear instructions, it's hard to get it wrong. I did manage to get a few things wrong tho, where the instructions weren't that clear where a part you just build, fits on another part, or a cog on the wrong side, so things spun backwards on one side. But nothing that couldn't be fixed easely.

When shopping for another build, I came across the MOULD KING 13107 Crane.
The Lego version costs 589.95, the MK version 270.99.
I decided to see what the MK version looks like, and ordered it.

Because I just finished the Tow Truck I figured it would be a nice comparison. Both trucks, but not identical because I wanted another model.

I see the forum is all about Lego, but is that because no one bothered with other brands, or because the website is only interested in Lego? The url didn't give me a clear answer about that.

If it is because no one bothered, I'd be happy to post my progress with the MK 13107 Crane. I'm sure others here have build the Lego 42009 Crane, so they could help to compare both models.

I don't have any affiliation with MK, but the price got me interested.
And resale value doesn't mean a thing once you open the box, so I'm giving it a try.

I'm not allowed to upload a pic either, so you have to look it up yourselfs.

 

 

[Jim]

Hi. We typically only discuss LEGO. Sometimes we make an exception, but we haven’t made one for Mouldking. So let’s stick to discussing the original model here.

As for uploading pictures; we can’t host images so you need to host them on Bricksafe or Flickr. Or another image hosting service.

[toxic_rebel]

Ok, no problem.

I think it's a shame, because I got it in a factory box, and it looks like a great set, and it would be nice to compare it to the Lego version.

 

As for the tow truck, I'm waiting on metal wire to replace the wire it came with. I'm thinking that what I ordered (0.3mm) will be to small. If it is I'll order 0.5 or 1mm.

[toxic_rebel]

I tried different types of metal wire, but so far nothing worked. All versions are to stiff. If I do find a suitable one, I'll post it.

 

I did find something else I like alot better than what's provided, and it's this "90 mtr. Graphite - Nano Paracord" https://www.paracord.eu/90mtr-graphite-paracord

No affiliation, and you'll have to look at pictures on their website. It's dark grey, and the cables on real trucks are also dark grey, from the dirt and greese used, so I think it looks better.

I wanted to post pictures from the cord on the tow truck, but my phone doesn't want connect to my desktop anymore. My windows phone's from 2014 (seriously), I can still text, call, and play games, but I guess it had its best years 

 

If this isn't already here somewhere, here's a tip, it's near impossible to find this here.

If pieces don't fit tightly enough, and get loose, go get Rizla Blue. That's very thin sigaret paper, and one or two small squares of it on a stub, is enough to make the pieces fit snuggly together.

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by toxic_rebel
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