Review: 31103 Rocket Truck
Posted by Mr_Cross,
Okay petrolheads, this one is for you. We’re pedal to the metal, full throttle speed freaks! We’ve bolted a jet engine to our pantechnicon and we are gonna get some air under this thing!
I am personally picking up thematic similarities from 2018’s 31074 Rocket Rally Car. Whether the 31103 Rocket Truck ‘retreads’ old ground or not, this is an appealing looking set in its own right. It’s £19.99 for the 198 pieces which is significantly fewer than the Rally Car’s seemingly more generous 241 pieces for £17.99, but still just about hits the 10p average per part we all look for as a baseline for value.
I couldn’t find a real world equivalent to the ‘Rocket Truck’ LEGO has produced, the closest I got to was in a Google search for ‘jet engine pickup truck’.
I love the ludicrousness of the concept of using an engine usually found on aircraft to power a truck, and that’s in essence the humour and the fun of this set.
Box and instructions
The main model is depicted zooming around a speedway track at night and this is a good contrast for the white and lime green of the Rocket Truck. The usual insignia for the 3-in-1 sets nicely highlights the other two models and the classic yellow here is particularly striking.
The instructions are presented as a single perfect bound volume. Whilst I prefer individual books, the saving grace of the all in one books, has been that in my more recent experience, page number starting points are given for each model at the beginning.
Contents
All the parts are delivered in un-numbered bags (as is to be expected). Two main bags and one ‘inner bag’ that contains the smaller components. The tyres are supplied loose within the box.
I’ve knolled the parts again as I did with my recent review of the 31099 Propeller Plane. It’s a great way to see/find the parts and in my opinion, this is a fun way to ensure everything is present and correct before beginning building. As my dad used to say, measure twice, cut once.
The main build
This was a relatively quick build, which was enjoyable but not at all challenging. There are some interesting but familiar techniques employed but as this isn’t really trying to represent a real-world thing, I’m sure a very similar looking truck could be produced in a great number of ways.
There are no action features here either, nothing other than the wheels are really intended to move within regular play. It’s a fun looking thing though and definitely something I would have liked as a child.
However, the overall finished model bothers me in a way a toy should not bother a middle-aged man. To wit the jet engine. I think the jet would need to run through the entirety of the vehicle, if we are to assume the front is the air intake and the rear is the jet. This gives us the problem of the cab, which sits right in the middle of where the turbines and combustion chambers should be doing their business, before we get to the outgoing exhaust.
Please correct me if I’m wrong but the real world versions of this sort of thing seem to have the jet engine housed on the rear of the truck...
“This isn’t rocket science y’kno!”
“I know, I know, it’s not real!”
I’m not sure I really like this model overall, and I can’t help wanting it to be black, orange, red and yellow with hot-rod flames (as optional stickers?)
A final criticism is regarding the roof, which is a little fiddly to locate and has a tendency to pop off when you lift the model up as you would naturally do, holding the sides of the cab. Otherwise, this is a good strong construction with some pleasing shapes.
There are six spares in this set, it may be a mistake in my set alone, but a trans black/brown minifigure visor was a curious extra to find. My gut feel is that this was a simple packing/inventory error, and probably should have been a second lever instead. If, however, it’s not just an error in the review set, I wonder if a minifigure was almost included.
These thoughts led me to the conclusion that a minifigure was exactly what the set needed!
“Sick-truck!” “...it’s not just Lime though there’s some Mandarin in there too!”
(minifigure not included in set)
The second build
The second model is another off-road vehicle. Is it a beach buggy or a jeep? An open-top 4x4? An amphibious vehicle perhaps? Whatever it is, I think I prefer this model to the main one for some unquantifiable reasons. Another quick, enjoyable build with a solidly constructed end model. Whilst I like the lime, dark green and white colour combination, with this model too, I think I’d prefer it in alternative colours.
Again, my thoughts, upon finishing the model were, that here was a vehicle begging for a driver.
“Hi there! I’m Joy Ryder.”
(minifigure not included in set)
The final build
This quad bike is the final offering in the set and this is a great third build.
Something more
As I did with in my review of 31099 Propeller Plane, I wanted to try to produce a fourth alternative, to really ‘test drive’ the set. Something different, but within the theme of the set.
It’s some sort of futuristic rally car or a go-kart, whatever it is, I think it belongs on a track.
Creator sets have sometimes had fourth models available online from LEGO themselves. As they did with 31088 Deep Sea Creatures and a fourth model of a brilliant Sperm Whale. I love it when they do this. The extra value that it represents is great, and it also shows LEGO’s level of after sales commitment to their product.
I don’t know whether there will be an extra set of instructions, but it is something I hope that will continue to be done with Creator sets, if not ritually, then I can live with it being intermittently.
Conclusion
Despite my misgivings about the real world practicalities of the potentially unbearable heat in the cab of the main model (leading to melted minifigures) I actually really like this set.
The two alternative builds are very high quality and I think the quad bike (with a few minor alterations) could have been a set in its own right.
You probably have many if not all of these parts in your collection, so why should you buy this set? I’d say you could definitely waste you money in worse ways. I think the addition of a minifigure would have lifted this set to the next level and had it been a unique petrol-head or other suitable character it might even have been a must-buy.
A quiet forty-five minutes were had whilst my son (8) built this set. He constructed it without a hitch, and he thought it was cool too. My little girl (6) liked the flames, so ratings were pretty high with the JFOLs (Juvenile Fans Of LEGO) in my house.
Personally, I’d wait for an inevitable discount on this set.
Thanks for LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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23 comments on this article
My recently purchased Speed Champions Audi Quattro S1 had a spare visor, so it’s probably intentional. I don’t have enough sets with visors to know if this is historically the case.
Sets with visors always have spares, but this set is not supposed to have any visor right?
your 4th build is the best of the lot!
@Jobbo & @Proteasome - There isn't a minifigure provided in the set and no visor features as part of the build of any of the three models. I was just curious whether this was a mistake, or a late change in production.
Usually if a standard visor appears in a set, you get a spare, the one in my review set, just shouldn't be there. You don't normally get extras of parts not included in the inventory!
I'd be interested to hear if anyone who owns the set had the visor as extra too.
@jdm you are too kind :-)
I do like this set, but at full price of €25 it seems a bit overpriced, especially next to 2019 Sunset Track Racer.
For 2020, the 31100 red car set seems the best value for purely getting some road vehicle at €10.
Love those overview pics with all the pieces laid out.
Also, great review and cool set. Thank you.
And that opener image looks awesome. Would make a great wallpaper.
This set by the way screams "Top Gear" far more than the actual Top Gear Rallye Car set imho.
@Mr_Cross, jet engines do not have to have straight-through airflow in order to function, although it helps. There are plenty of aircraft that don't - the famous Hawker Hunter, for example, has air intakes in the wings while the engine itself is in the centre of the fuselage.
And there's another famous fictional car which has a very similar engine arrangement to this set (and which has been proven to work) - the 1989 Batmobile! The engine's all the way up the front, and the airflow is then routed around the sides of the passenger compartment before coming back together to exhaust at the rear.
Every Speed Champions set came with one extra clear visor piece.
@yacoub said:
"Every Speed Champions set came with one extra clear visor piece."
Yup, but it also came with a non-extra visor piece...
A great review.
Interesting inclusion on the visor. I recently built the Diamond Heist set which has 3 minifigures with visors. I got zero spares. curious.
This article has a great photo at the top
@Mr_Cross nice photography! overall, great review
Great review. Loved the fourth build and can't tell you how much the knolling is appreciated (it's the simple things in life).
Knolling should be a new standard in every review! ;-)
@ChocolateCrisps indeed and agreed, those vehicles and others have a cockpit where the intakes or outlets are routed around, but in the design of those vehicles it clearly looks like that is what is happening. In this model, it looks to me as if the engine would run through the cab.
If there were external pipes or widened sides as there is with the Batmobile, or the cab was clearly offset, if there was visually enough space for each section of the engine, if the cab was mounted fore or aft, I think it would look more realistic. Not cooler necessarily, but more convincing.
Thanks for all the positive comments.
Gimme fuel! Gimme fire! Gimme datwhichidesiyah!
The quad bike would be good for Technic figures! This set reminds me of some of the weird Creator and Technic vehicles showing up as the random set of the day.
Gotta say, I really like the review style, @Mr_Cross
And that cover pic is beyond excellent.
@Jobbo said:
"My recently purchased Speed Champions Audi Quattro S1 had a spare visor, so it’s probably intentional. I don’t have enough sets with visors to know if this is historically the case. "
I'm opening mine this weekend, I will check if I have one too.
@Mr_Cross said:
" @Jobbo & @Proteasome - There isn't a minifigure provided in the set and no visor features as part of the build of any of the three models. I was just curious whether this was a mistake, or a late change in production.
Usually if a standard visor appears in a set, you get a spare, the one in my review set, just shouldn't be there. You don't normally get extras of parts not included in the inventory!
I'd be interested to hear if anyone who owns the set had the visor as extra too.
@jdm you are too kind :-)"
Yea, the Audi doesn't have a figure either, going to check mine if I got one as a spare and report back to both of ya for laughs
Also, your 4th is good as @jdm said. Looks like it could be a Star Wars ish car, you have a droid just behind the driver :D
@CarolinaOnMyMind & @bue_car thanks for the supportive comments :-)
@Panchox1 said:
"Interesting inclusion on the visor. I recently built the Diamond Heist set which has 3 minifigures with visors. I got zero spares. curious. "
Diamond Heist set has those different Sky Police airforce visors which don't come as spares at all, neither do the Space visors from 2019 City.
@ChocolateCrisps said:
" @Mr_Cross, jet engines do not have to have straight-through airflow in order to function, although it helps. There are plenty of aircraft that don't - the famous Hawker Hunter, for example, has air intakes in the wings while the engine itself is in the centre of the fuselage.
And there's another famous fictional car which has a very similar engine arrangement to this set (and which has been proven to work) - the 1989 Batmobile! The engine's all the way up the front, and the airflow is then routed around the sides of the passenger compartment before coming back together to exhaust at the rear."
Ah, so this is almost like a Batmotruck!