8292 Cherry Picker Review

[ZO6]

Set Name: Cherry Picker

Set Number: 8292

Year Released: 2008

Number of Pieces: 726

Price: $84.99 CAD, $59.99 USD

Front of the box - letting the buyer know of the included motor and battery box, as well as some of the functions of the set

Back of the box - showing the alternate dump truck model

In the box are four instruction manuals. Two for the main model (48 pages each) and two for the secondary model (48 pages each)

The functions of the set are explained

Random manual page. Once again the instructions are nicely laid out and easy to follow.

The completed model. (Note: This set includes a sticker sheet with about 14 stickers- all of which I applied)

In my opinion, this is a pretty nice looking Technic set. The cab has some nice detailing and features a bit of SNOT construction. The doors can open and close, though they slightly catch on the very bare side mirrors.

Back view

The heart of the cherry picker. The set features a single driving ring which is used to control the two main functions.

The opposite side hosts the motor - logically there is also a 24-tooth clutch gear not far away. The battery box is attached to the back of the cab (Note: it requires 6AA batteries).

This 16-tooth gear is located directly under one of the 16-tooth clutch gears, which when engaged by the driving ring will work towards raising or lowering the boom. Just out of sight is a 12-tooth bevel gear redirecting the motion of travel to a 36-tooth double bevel gear... (Note: The green line indicates the transmission path for this function)

...powering the worm gear, turning the 24-tooth gear which is attached to the lift arms and allows the boom to be raised or lowered.

Slightly different angle

Tah - dah! Boom fully raised - this takes about 14 seconds, and when everything is extended it measures approx. 19" (48cm) high.

Transmission path resulting in the rotation of the turntable.

The boom can rotate 360 degrees in either direction and takes approx. 30 seconds for a full rotation.

Bucket extension (this sadly is done manually)

Hand of god steering

One last look at the completed cherry picker.

Final thoughts:

Build - Straight forward but quite enjoyable, taking a few hours with short breaks. The model looks nice (the cab is fantastic IMO), however due to it's size and weight there is some flex. It's not an incredibly complex model (structurally or mechanically), but for it's size it's about just right. It includes a nice selection of pieces and gears etc.

Playability - Thanks to the inclusion of the motor, and smooth and satisfying functions, the cherry picker is a lot of fun to play around with. I really must emphasize that the speed at which the boom rotates and raises/lowers as well as the smoothness in which it does so is excellent. Having to manually extend the bucket is a bit of a letdown, but it hardly brings down the whole experience. The model also features working steering and opening doors.

Price - 726 pieces including power functions for $85 CAD/$60 USD is quite reasonable. If the set did not include the motor and battery box, it still would not be all that horrible of a price, but thankfully it does - making the cherry picker a pretty good value. An easy comparison would be the 8264 Hauler- which is very similar in price but includes a couple hundred less pieces as well as making far less satisfying use of the motor.

Overall I think the cherry picker is a great set and highly recommend it to both those who are new to Technic and those already well familiar with the line.

I give it a 9/10

Comments, questions, suggestions are more than welcome!

Cheers!

Edited July 17, 2009 by ZO6

[furious]

Nice review mate. It was good to see all the functions shown in detail.

[Siegfried]

Great review! I bought this set (on slight sale) for parts, but I liked it more that I thought I would. The transmission really makes this model. It's a quite good looking technic truck, and I think one of the best mid-sized Technic sets.

[tomacwhite]

I just started building this model today (it arrived at work, yay) and I am really enjoying the building process. It's interesting as at home I am rebuilding the 8865 Test Car which of course uses the old style of building, so its cool playing with both.

I love the transmission on this, it looks like it will work very well and be incredibly smooth (the gearing is very nicely done). I am in the early stages of construction at the moment but so far its a cool model and a nice intro for me back into model day largeish Lego Technic building.

[Milan]

Great review.

I lust enjoy to read this reviews, really a pleasure for me.

This is one of my favorites mid size set, it has good functionality and greatly designed cab. Pretty good set. Good value for money, too!

[Mortymore]

I fell in love with this set as soon as I saw it, and it was responsible for taking me out of a Dark Age of around 15 years . So it really means something to me.

When I bought it at S@H, I bought also some extra power functions because my intention from the beginning was to motorize the Cherry Pick even further, and remote control it.

If you're interested,

is my first attempt to fully motorize the basket, and

a MOD for the B version.

I also bought recently the 8264 Hauler, and for my country, at S@H it costs more €10 than the 8292, but to me it worth less €10 than the Cherry Picker and it is far less technical.

Thanks for the great review.

Regards

Edited August 12, 2009 by Mortymore

[tomacwhite]

This lunch time I completed the first manual which is building the chassis. It was really enjoyable and (so far) it feels very rigid.

Can't wait to start on the cab tomorrow :)

Edit: I've cheekily built loads more at work, and I now have a model that is pretty near completion. I need to add batteries to check everything is running ok before continuing with the boom construction. The cab looks ace though and is really nicely detailed. What's cooler is that it uses some normal Lego bricks for its construction. Not many mind, but a few :)

Edited August 12, 2009 by tomacwhite

[tomacwhite]

Just finished building the model and its awesome! Really love the design, and the gearing system is very interesting to watch and build up.

There loads of spare parts with the model which I guess will be used with the B model. I might give that a build at some point, although it doesn't look as interesting. If it could of had a tailgate that opened too (like the old Power Crane B model with pneumatics) then it would be way cooler, but I guess that would be very hard to do with gearing.

[Big Cam]

Great pics, If I was a technic guy, I'd pick up this set!