REVIEW: 7631 Dump Truck

[Still Raindrop]

I picked up the 7631 Dump Truck today, and I figured I would post an unofficial review, until Badsneaker's Academy-approved one was ready. So, here we go. (Sorry about the lighting-- it's difficult to find bright lights in the afternoon here)

Box Front--Nothing we haven't seen before:

Box Back--The usual demonstrations of modularity and action shots:

Contents--Two numbered bags, instruction sheet (bent and crumpled, in my case), and small sticker sheet:

Random instruction page:

The minifig and miscellany. These are all very useful for a construction scene. I am, however, disappointed (though not surprised) that the sign is a sticker. The fence I can understand, but haven't there been printed signs with that same symbol before?

I've not seen these hinges before, but I don't really have a lot of town/city sets, so I doubt they're new:

SNOT we got. How much SNOT? Quite a lot!

The dumping mechanism is this construction done twice:

The completed truck:

You can see that the 1x1 piece with arms (don't know the official name) keeps the truck from turning too drastically. Also, note the neat little SNOT piece on the back of the cab:

The back:

In action:

Extra parts:

This is a wonderful set, which really captures the feel of an articulated dump truck. My one beef is the back of the bed--there is no lip of any sort! Even a row if yellow cheese slopes facing outward would have been better; as it is, the rocks could spill out of the back quite easily, which isn't good for an off-road dump truck (that is, not a transporting tipper).

However, the cab more than makes up for it. That thing is wonderfully done! Not only was it a fun build, it looks very much like an actual heavy construction vehicle. The pictures don't even fully capture it. The new tires look good, and they run very smoothly. Overall, I am extremely impressed with this set, and would recommend it highly!

EDIT:

Here are a few photos showing how the sides of the bed connect.

Side of the bed, with technic pins circled. The large piece is clipped onto these pins.

The side piece, with all the little technic pins in place:

Being clipped into place:

All that's left is to attach a few more pieces:

Also, here are a few comparison shots. I originally put them in a separate post, but I'll try to keep all the images together:

Edited November 26, 2008 by TheBrickster

[Derek]

Nice review. Is that main structure of the bed one new piece, or two?

-darthperson

[Still Raindrop]

It's two pieces; they clip into the sides. I think the pieces might originally have been used on Bionicle vehicles.

[metalandi]

Thank you, your pictures are actually very good! Maybe you would also want to join the acadamy.

[Siegfried]

Thanks for the review! (The pictures are very good.) The sets a lot smaller that I thought it was.

I've not seen these hinges before, but I don't really have a lot of town/city sets, so I doubt they're new:

They are an old piece. Many of the space sets used them.

[Hewman]

Sinner beat me to it with the hinges, they date back to the late 1970s that I know of, when I got my first classic space sets.

Thanks for the review. I'd taken this set off my wanted list but might have to change my mind, it doesn't look as <insert that tiresome argument> as I was fearing and not too many stickers is good, but I"ll have to try to track down a proper printed road sign of similar style. I get the feeling I may have one from one of my advent calendars.

[Skelotic]

Good to see this set. Might have to pick it up due to it having SNOT in an official set.

[Still Raindrop]

Thanks for the review. I'd taken this set off my wanted list but might have to change my mind, it doesn't look as <insert that tiresome argument> as I was fearing and not too many stickers is good, but I"ll have to try to track down a proper printed road sign of similar style. I get the feeling I may have one from one of my advent calendars.

Indeed, the only thing that really resembles juniorisation is the Bionicle pieces. In fact, I would say that this is probably the least <insert that tiresome argument> dump truck LEGO has put out in well over ten years.

The road sign was indeed a disappointment, especially considering that the speed limit sign was printed in the police impulse.

Edited November 24, 2008 by Mariko

[metalandi]

Thanks for the review! (The pictures are very good.) The sets a lot smaller that I thought it was.

I'm actually glad it is. I also thought it was quite monstreous, but it is not, i think it's just got the right size. It actually comes pretty near a real dump truck when it comes to size proportions.

[Yeow]

Are the orange lights on the top of the cab and in the cones a new piece? It looks like one of those LED covers from the UFO's and such..

[Still Raindrop]

The orange lights are this piece, a variation on the old colored domes.

And yes, metalandi, the truck really is a perfect size.

Edited November 24, 2008 by Mariko

[Still Raindrop]

In fact . . . here are a couple comparison shots to give you a better feel for the size of the truck:

[Sammael]

Thanks very much!

[Hewman]

Now that you've put it with the cement and garbage trucks, I must have it, it goes with those two brilliant sets beautifully.

[legotrainfan]

Thanks for this nice review!

I won't buy this vehicle since it doesn't go well with all my 4-stud-wide vehicles. However, it's interesting to notice that those old hinges have made a comeback! That's good news, I find.

[Guss]

that's a really nice review^^ I like the look of this truck, maybe I'm going to buy one^^

[Still Raindrop]

I added a few more pictures to the first post demonstrating the construction of the bed. I hope this clears up any questions, and confirms my view that this is the best system dump truck that LEGO has ever made.

[Svelte]

Now that you've put it with the cement and garbage trucks, I must have it, it goes with those two brilliant sets beautifully.

Ditto! And I wasn't planning on getting this at all - I thought it was bigger from the pics. I am glad they kept it in scale with the two '07 vehicles - they were probably my favourite City sets from last year.

Thanks for the review, Mariko.

[5150 Lego]

Good thing i checked, cause i was going to do a review of this set once the pics became public. Nice review! I have to agree, this is without a doubt the best dump truck TLC has ever made! The detail is exellent!

[Tomahawker]

Very nice review with excellent pictures. Thanks for adding the photos showing how the bed is constructed.

While I agree with your review and the quality of this set, I wish they had made one additional change. If they could have modified one of the articulated joint pieces to have a technic pin instead of the 2x4 plate, the cab would be allowed to rotate as well as swivel, just like the turning plate in a real articulated dump truck. That would have made this set near perfect!

Oh well, it's still a nice set and fits in well with the other Town construction sets that have come out recently. Let's hope the rest of the 2009 sets are as good as this one.

- Tomahawker