REVIEW: 7632 Crawler Crane

[snefroe]

INDEXED

Lego's been into the construction theme for a few years now. I believe it all started with the large mobile crane, a very popular and high quality set. this new set shows that lego still has the talent to produce large, but affordable construction vehicles.

meet the bricks:

Ashame we only get two guys and it seems Steven changed jobs again... i guess there's more money into construction than into ... making films? :D nice shirt though! ah yes, like the red helmets too! and a walkie talkie... hmmm... you'd expect poor old Steven to have a modern cell phone or blackberry...

we'll get to the new parts along the way, but onderneath the base of the crane, you can already see the large yellow crane sections. The base itself is a well known construction: some large technic squares, a few connector bricks and a couple of large plates...

The number of technic bricks in this set is fairly limited, thank God... except for these four yellow bricks there's hardly any in it... :)

the turntable goes on top of it...

yes, there are stickers in this set. but it's fine, they look really nice and they're not all that many...

looks really cool to me... :)

this is the "flying" mid section. pretty simple, but perfectly ok for the crane.

which is attached to the rotating base of the crane...

there's a tool box like this on either side of the crane. I'm not too sure about the brand new grey doors though... they look nice but... don't know... i just don't see why they really needed to create new doors...

the large crane section was a very big surprise; it's been created with large 6x6 yellow sections, you can them on plates, but technic axles also fit in them so you can build large, strong constructions, ideal for huge space ships... :D

the cockpit is fairly simple, pretty much like the one of the older small crane; it only has two levers inside and no chair! :( it seems Lego still hasn't learned to improve those poor cockpits... hmmmm... i think i should have added that comment in Jan's survey... damn!

i think it's a great addition to the theme. It's quite large, as usual with construction sets, so it doesn't fit the normal city scale, but i guess it's pretty acurate compared to the real thing. I got it for only 40 euro and it's defenitely worth that price, even though they could have added some tools for the figs... I also don't see any weak point in the structure. it's very stable thanks to the tracks, there's no real danger of thing collapsing due to weight or anything. the crane itself is quite leight, so there's no real risk of imbalance... still , i was kinda hoping for some more detailed parts. So even though it's most surely not a step back, i'd say the old mobile crane is still a bit better. another great thing about this model, however, is that almost every part in here can be used in mocs. For once, there's no need to get out the crappy parts bag :) :)

Edited December 27, 2009 by TheBrickster
link error

[Front]

the large crane section was a very big surprise; it's been created with large 6x6 yellow sections, you can them on plates, but technic axles also fit in them so you can build large, strong constructions, ideal for huge space ships... :D

Yes, two 2M cross axles (red are used in this set) fit into the ends of those yellow sections.

I've built this set too, and fully agree on it being stable and sturdy. But do not expext to be able to lift heavy things with it.

When I built it I thought, the way the grey "cable" (three connected axles) connect the beam and the back section was really not a secure build.

After completing it, I got wiser

Front

[xenologer]

Thanks for the review.

That crane is absolutely gorgeous.

I must get one, both for the space-y truss pieces, and the treads that I seem to keep missing out on.

Where did you find it? and how much did it cost?

[Siegfried]

That's a lot better than I thought; I expected the truss to be one piece. Darn, I might have to get this now!

Where did you find it? and how much did it cost?

He said he got it for 40 euros...

[Asuka]

Thanks for that good review, snefroe!

A very interesting set, neat in function and nice to look at, but the best part

seems to be these new parts indeed... I´m not sure about these new door hinges,

they look a little weak to me for long term use, perhaps... but these new crane pieces

are simply wonderful for a lot of things... bridges, pillars, buildings... and yes, for starships

too (that was actually the first thing I thought of when I saw the first pics of that set).

Now I really hope that we´ll see them in different colors too, somewhen.

Edited December 13, 2008 by Asuka

[Lt. Col. Thok]

Very much impressive! The abundance of new pieces excites me - especially those large 6x6 yellow pieces.

[theseasentinel]

Great review. Most informative.

Don't think we'll see this for some time in Australia however. New year perhaps?

These new yellow 6x6 pieces are certainly interesting. Very appealing .

They provide a more rugged industrial look to the set.

Cant wait to get my hands on them, might even replace my favourite piece

the 30518 Support 2 x 16 x 2 Girder Triangular Horizontal

[VBBN]

Great review!

At first I was a little iffy on whether or not to buy this set, mainly because I thought the crane arm was one huge piece, not those awesome 6x6 pieces. Now it is a definate buy (probably my last buy of the construction theme)

[Dr. Brick]

Thanks for the review. At one point in my life I said to myself 'no more construction sets!'. But then LEGO released the big crane and now this... can't wait for it!

Seeing that I also live in belgium, where did you get? (for only €40?! )

Dr. Brick

[timbutnice]

Thanks for the great review - I'll be getting me one of those. I'm with Sinner on the Crane Arm - great to see its not one big pice of bendy plastic!

The XXL crane a few years back got me into City (always been a space and castle boy), so this one will join my construction firm.

cheers,

timbutnice

[kidcharm]

Great Review!

I love those trusses, and you look to get a decent amount with the set. Sticks are always a yuck! ...and i'm curious to try out those long gray axles that connect the lifting arm to the back of the crane. All in all, an attractive set.

[Still Raindrop]

Thanks for the review, snefroe! I probably won't end up getting this set (both my budget and the amount of space in my town layout are rather tight at the moment), but I'm glad to see that it's a quality set.

[WesternOutlaw]

Thanks for sharing a review Sne. It looks like this has some great new construction-type pieces. They'll work great for building other construction vehicles.

Blogged!

[Tohst]

Thank you for the great review.

This set just went from my 'avoid' list (which really doesn't have many sets in it) to my 'must buy' list (which has rather a lot).

Its the truss pieces that the initial pictures of had me swearing it was one stupid useless piece that you've shown is a bunch of rather useful pieces that made me turn the corner.

-Tohst

[Snake...SNAKE...SNAAAAKE?!]

When I saw the large yellow frame, I thought it was the ungodly return of ZNAP!

Thankfully, it turned out to be a well reviewed set.

[Legoking]

Very nice review. But I would add the price and piece amount.

[snefroe]

Thanks for the review. At one point in my life I said to myself 'no more construction sets!'. But then LEGO released the big crane and now this... can't wait for it!

Seeing that I also live in belgium, where did you get? (for only €40?! )

Dr. Brick

Dreamland has a few copies, for 39 euro but the official price in, for instance, Intertoys, is 49 euro.

Don't know about the piece count though. i left the box at the office on Thursday so there's no way to check

[Holodoc]

Thank you very much for your nice review, Sne!

Actually I wanted to pass on the complete construction sets. Your review didn´t change my mind.

I own the mentioned larger mobile crane, so I really don´t see a need for a second one.

And I don´t like the big new yellow parts neither.

The price point seems to be very fair.

[Corvus]

Sne buys Town stuff? I thought he sits around and swooshes Classic Space. Surely this is too low tech...

Anyway, good review. I like those treads, and those doors are quite nice.

[Zarkan]

Thanks for the nice review, Sne.

Man, until this review, I thought I was certain that this was the weakest of the 2009 construction lineup. Now that I see that the boom is made up of lots of smaller new pieces instead of one giant POOP, however, this set looks really nice! It seems to also have a fairly detailed and complex design, which is contrary to my original thoughts as well.

Well, I guess I just have to give more kudos to TLC for this set, as it's the second time I've completely changed my opinion on a 2009 lego product.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Grevious

[snefroe]

some close up of the doors. yes, the doors need some getting used to, but i think they have great potential. first of all, they're using ordinary clips so you can use the door in combination with the clips for any kind of creation, it doesn't have to be a door., it can, for instance, be a roof. This part in brown could be really great for roofs of market stands or anything...

the doors are also 6 wide, which seems to be the current standard for most city cars/trucks/... there's more space in there and it's easier to reach. i guess the old builders just need to get used to it, that's all...

also, a more detailed shot of the yellow 6x6 section

ah yes, and a shot of the other city sets of the farm industry... loooove the dark red cylinders... and the yellow antenas

[5150 Lego]

Thanks for the nice review, Sne.

Man, until this review, I thought I was certain that this was the weakest of the 2009 construction lineup. Now that I see that the boom is made up of lots of smaller new pieces instead of one giant POOP, however, this set looks really nice! It seems to also have a fairly detailed and complex design, which is contrary to my original thoughts as well.

Well, I guess I just have to give more kudos to TLC for this set, as it's the second time I've completely changed my opinion on a 2009 lego product.

Its funny how many post like this you see. So many people are very quick to pass off a new set that they'

ve only seen a couple pics of cause they asume that its built a certain way,or has large parts that don't offer much flexability when it comes to mocing. Then they see a review of the set and add it to there must buy list! Goes to show you you can't judge everything right away!

Thanks for the great review. This will defenatly be on my buy list!

[LEGO Maniac JEM]

I love all of the yellow pieces that make up the crane. I hope that TLC also makes them in different colours such as grey, dark grey, pearl silver or black.

[Norro]

Cheers fpr pointing out the new pieces in a set I would probably have overlooked!

God Bless,

Nathan

[Monki]

Thanks very much, thats an awesome review! Looks like a really good build, and although it probably looks enormous next to regular city sets, it would be to scale. I think Lego has done an excellent job with the construction sets in recent years. I'd love to get this, will have to wait and see how much it will cost down here in Australia.