Found this set on Kijiji for only $10, with box and sticker sheet with unused stickers only the license plate stickers were applied. Didn't find out that it was a hard to find set until after I had bought it. I'm located in Canada and the description says the set was only sold in the US, in which I thought was very cool! for $10 bucks it was worth it. I am just starting to collect Lego and this was a great addition.

The build overall is decent. Easy and simple. Not overly great with reviews. Hoped this helped.

The 3442 LEGOLAND California Truck brings back a lot of nostalgic memories. I had just started receiving the LEGO Club magazine/catalog, which was my first exposure to what I guess were exclusive sets. The LEGOLAND California Truck was an alternate color scheme to the 2148 Lego Truck released the previous year (1997).

I don't know if limited run exclusives are financially practical for LEGO, I can tell you from personal experience, they can produce a more active LEGO collector. This model ratcheted up my interest a notch.

Overall rating:
It was difficult to decide whether to rate this model by more demanding current LEGO standards or for it's release time. A retroactive review seems best. It was really impressive for the time, just seemed to have more detail, realism and more "neat parts" than previous sets.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I think the LEGOLAND California Truck, LEGO Truck and 2149 Color Line Container Lorry sets represent an evolutionary step toward the more modern LEGO vehicle designs we have today. During this era, many vehicles' grills were nothing more than 4x2 slope pieces with lights and a grill painted on. The LEGOLAND California Truck's designer seemed determined to depart from the mundane and sculpt a more convincing truck, with real world details using vehicle new vehicle specific parts.

With the exception of being a little narrower, this 12 year old model holds up well with current truck sets.

Overall, good colors.

I considered it a prized and rare acquisition.

Building experience:
12 years! I can barely remember anything about the build. Fairly simple and easy. A more interesting and rewarding build than simply snapping on one of the painted sloped grills. The truck roof is made from a the hinged cockpit windshield, but in black.

Parts:
Numerous chrome vehicle related parts, exhaust pipes, horns, bars, tubes and grill/vent pieces. Several unique sloping parts and doors.

Playability:
Mixed feelings regarding playability. A detailed truck was great addition, but it seemed incomplete without something to haul or even a dedicated design for attaching a trailer. In fairness, there was an era in the states when driving a cab around without a trailer seemed to be a popular trend.

Adequately durable for play, with one exception. I don't like chrome plastic parts as the coating typically corrodes away to the dull base plastic over time. Handling the chrome plastic pieces seems to hasten the process. So, it's a set that I can never casually handle. Always having to cautiously avoid touching the chrome parts limits the fun factor. However, the chrome parts have held up well so far.

Value for Money:
Seemed reasonable for the time.

Areas for improvement:
The both the fenders and the hood stick out as dated. And the fenders seem undersized, even for the time.Highly skeptical that a trucker who has customized his truck with all these chrome parts would have white wheels. Perhaps grey? Maybe some brake lights and lights on the roof. But other than that a wonderful model.

THis truck stands out from the crowd.THe color scheme is really cool.Once my brother and I built a trailer fro this truck from our collection based off of the model lego did in one of there magazines.It would have been cool if it had had a LEGO maniac instead of the guy that they had.

I really enjoyed this truck. I saw it a long time ago when I was subscribing to the lego magazine but I wasn't able to get it until now and it is cool and fits nicely with my little trucking collection. Hard to find but worth it!