This is probably one of, if not the best Lego creator set of the year 2012 in my opinion. It makes for a great display piece as any of the 3 main builds and, from afar, it doesn't even look like a lego build. But it also doubles as a great toy that’s easy to play with, it’s sturdy enough to be played around with, and it’s even compatible with older and newer creator cars like the 5867 Super Speedster and the 31089 Sunset Track Racer, and even some most 8 stud wide Speed champions cars.

The build is surprisingly easy to follow, the yellow car is easy enough to build and some of the techniques used are quite interesting. The truck itself is expectedly more complicated to build, but at the same time, the building flows nicely, and it takes shape rather quickly. However, the part where you assemble the functional flatbed is a big step-up in difficulty, and some of the techniques used feel rather unconventional, like sliding the bed into the technic beams and using them as the rails themselves, or using the rear axle as a support for the entire assembly. After that you have to assemble the winch mechanism, which is not necessarily difficult because of the set itself, but it is inherently annoying because of the whole “passing the thread through the spool and hook and tying it” process. But after all that, the rest of the building is smooth, and even relaxing since you get to add all the small, yet impressive details like the gear shifter, the pedals, the small spaces behind the doors, and even the rear-view mirror inside the cab, which is a detail that i very rarely see in creator sets.

This set comes with parts that are quite useful for a lot of possible alternative builds or even MOCs. Such parts include: the gear rack, the steering mechanism joints, the spool, thread and hook, and the 2 light bricks that come with it.

The functions really surprised me for a non-technic set, especially since it can do a lot of stuff that most creator sets before this one count do. The steering is surprisingly smooth and easy to operate. However, the turning radius is not great, which is something that can be fixed by removing the 2 technical ball elements behind each wheel. The 2 light bricks are a very cool detail on the top, and the button is surprisingly well installed, using the HOG steering axle as a guide, the doors are very nicely built and the engine. And obviously, the working flatbed, which, needless to say, is easily the best and most important function of this set. It can be operated using only one knob and its tasks almost flawlessly each time. Even the smaller yellow truck is packed with functions, like opening doors, engine bay, boot, and even an adjustable steering wheel (which may or may not be an intended function, but I'm counting it anyway).

Like I mentioned earlier, it can be a great display piece, and it can also be a great toy.

However, this set does come with a few drawbacks. For example, the side mirrors and the exhaust tips are really fragile and easy to knock out and lose if you're not careful when you're using this set. Also, the red truck does fit minifigures, but it is greatly oversized in comparison. You can also fit 1 minifigure inside the yellow truck if you remove the 4 blue tiles that make the seats and relocate the steering wheel to the middle, which is not too hard to accomplish.

Overall, this set is a fantastic addition to any collection, and it’s a must-have if you’re a fan of classic American-style trucks

I received this set as a Christmas gift in 2012 from close relatives.

The build took between and an hour and a half and two hours and provided a straight forward but very interesting build with little use of repetition throughout the process. The bags aren't numbered which makes the building process more complex.

The set when finished comprises of two objects in the set. The small car and the pickup truck itself.

The car

The yellow car is the first object to be built in the set and appears to take the form of a small off road vehicle with what looks like an open back and curved spike piece on the top. The doors and the boot of the car can open and close easily without breaking and there is also a steering wheel in the front. Unfortunately, the car is incompatible for regular mini-figures as there is not enough room.

There is simple but basic touches at the front which the way the head lights have been designed with that over flowing orange shine adding as a great technique to the car while the boot has orange, red and translucent tiles piled up posing as lights at the back.

The Truck

The tuck is the centre piece of the model and features tons of detail with a giant white bumper at the front with the new cleat stud-less circle pieces used as headlights. There is also a grill at the front as well on the truck built by shiny metallic silver pieces giving the truck a nice touch as well as rather large wing mirrors which swing up and down. There are also numerous funnels and canister looking objects at the front of the truck making it look more articulated.

While the truck looks excellent from the front and sides of the model, it is sadly the back of the model where it lacks. Like many reviews of this set before me have said, the back of the model is very plain and could do with more detail to make it more interesting and as display friendly as the model is from the front and sides as there is nothing to see really other than lots of grey and a pair of brake lights.

However the model regains a lot of points due to it's excellent [and surprise] selection of play features as the front of the truck can be lifted up revealing a simple but nicely built engine for the truck featuring a fan. The car's front also lifts showing a simpler engine too. The flatbed of the model can be detached and roll out further from the truck to help the small car climb on board as well as there being a wind up winch which can hook to the bumper of the car and push it up. By using these features almost simultaneously , you have a very exciting play function.

The final play features include the use of the altering of the wheel directions which seem to be better designed than older models and giving more accessibility to manoeuvring of the vehicle which every large lego truck appears to have in recent times. The final [and perhaps best play feature] is the lighting on the truck. By pressing the button in front of the gear knob on the top of the truck, this makes the top emergency lights illuminate which are made of orange and translucent pieces. There are not one, but two light bricks included in the set making it only the second ever set to have several [the other the Sonic Boom].

Other models [that can be built]

The other models in the set include a crane truck with light up front lights and a sports car with a light up exhaust feature. As I haven't built those sets, I can't really say much more but they are smaller models the Pick Up truck, use fewer pieces and are also more simple to construct.

Summary

Overall, this set is certainly surprisingly better than what I expected and contains a wide range of details and play functions too. Though it has similarities with the larger 2009 Highway Transporter, this set in it's way does stand it's own ground and is a definitive example of what a Lego truck should be.

The size of the set surprised me a little as it was smaller than I expected and though it's still quite big, it's certainly not massive however is quite a nice size as it doesn't require 'too' much space. At £59.99, I do find the set to be quite pricey for what's included especially considering the Highway Transporter started off at the same price and yet is over a third bigger and could perhaps do with being £10 cheaper.

I would recommend this set to lego fans who love lorries/trucks, those who enjoy building with lego, any one interested in light bricks, those who missed out on the Highway Transporter and any one after a truck with high playability. A fantastic lego truck.

I really liked the looks of the truck model so I decided to get it. What struck me when I opened the box was how full it was. The bags are not numbered. Instructions are in a separate bag with a piece of cardboard to keep them straight.

Building the main model took about 3 hours. The build starts with the yellow car, the design is average, which is ok considering that it is not really what this set is about. The doors and the open, as does hood. The car looks a bit weird from the side and is a bit off scale compared to the truck.

The truck itself is a really nice model that looks stunning when finished. There are a few Technic-beams used to create the chassis. There is a quite good looking engine under the hood, the doors open, the lights on the roof function and the winch can be used to pull the car on the truck. The front and the cabin are beautifully constructed, the white and black lines are all brick, the rear lacks a bit of detail to be honest. As with many of the Creator-models, the steering doesn't go as far as it should go to be useful.

Pros

• Quite a big set, takes a while to build.
• Really awesome truck model
• Interesting parts: red curves, lots of wheels
• Good parts for people who are into building cars!

Cons

• Yellow jeep is too small
• Rear of the truck is rather crude compared to the front and the cabin.
• As with most Creator-sets, the steering goes not far enough to be really useful.
• A license plate on the white bumper would have been nice!

Overall I think this set is pretty good value. The build is fun, the model is good, parts are alright. Some might complain that the colors used are rather traditional Lego-colors, but I think the red with white and black suits the truck very well.

If you read my previous reviews you will know I like my American trucks. Although this set has been available since July, I did not really consider it until recently. The previous Creator American truck set 4955 Big Rig was as I said in my review a major disappointment – it just did not cut the mustard – it did not look right and the chassis was very flimsy. Before I bought this, I read the previous reviewer’s comments and I agree with what he says.

There are 3 models that can be made here, but I was only ever interested in the set for the main model which uses 2 of the 4 booklets. The other models have one each. There are no numbered bags and (mercifully) no stickers. The set instantly looks better than the previous offering – looking like a Peterbilt product. The front part of the model is indeed good, with its black and white stripes and the chassis is made up using Technic parts making it quite sturdy. I like the use of narrow front wheels here (unlike 4955), and unlike the previous offering there is a working steering mechanism – which needs the Technic connectors with balls on the end replacing with a couple of 1 x 1 round tiles if you are not to retain the very restricted turning circle, whilst not rubbing the tyres on the wheel arches/fenders. The fuel tanks look much better now having rounded ends, but these have to be held on using a hammer brick with the head sticking out of the end. It looks silly so I cut the heads off the hammers. I also changed the black stripe for a blue one so it is now Red White and Blue (Toby Keith please note) – highly appropriate for an American Truck. Now I have nicknamed her “Old Glory”.

Once again the hood opens (without the fenders going with it like they should) to reveal an engine with a jet engine turbine blades brick as a fan. There are also 2 light bricks that sit on the cab roof as part of the emergency vehicle strobe lights which when pressed by the switch you build light up– although these do not flash – they are on or off. These are a bit of a gimmick to me and you can take them or leave them, I have actually left mine on and modified the switch mechanism so you can lock it in place to leave them permanently it up. I use this sparingly though as I am not sure how long the batteries last.

I agree with the previous reviewer that the back of the truck is a disappointment – it is under scale compared to the front as is the car. I confess I did not even bother to make the car – the parts going straight to the spares box. The rear flat bed is designed to slide backwards using Technic beams etc and tilt downwards to form a ramp so the on board winch can wind the car up and the flat bed can then be moved forward and locked into place – it works quite well, but...

Overall, I was pleased with the set. I enjoyed the build, and it looks much better than the previous attempt at a Creator American truck – so long as you concentrate on the front. I know Creator sets are supposed to allow other things to be built, but the main model should really be done well in my opinion, and then you can see what else you can make from the bits if you break it up.

Finally, I have to mention the price – the old truck which is of a similar size was 20 GBP – this set is 60 – and in my opinion for a non franchise set is well overpriced. If adding the light bricks has caused this I would rather not have them. 40 GBP would have been more like it, but the current Creator sets for 20 GBP contain much less than 4955 which was released in 2007 pre recession – are we being taken advantage of – we are all worse off now than then – so relatively it is even more expensive!

Overall I think the set merits 4/5 as the price is way too high and the back/car is not as good as the front, but it has good playability, and I don’t think it is bad enough for a 3.

My review of the set really ends there, but after a week, the rear end disappointed me so much, it just had to go. I began wondering if it might be possible to graft the rear of the 4955 set onto the front of this set, but in the end decided not as it was too flimsy and actually doesn’t look that good either. So it was I set about adding my own customisations to turn it into a tractor unit for an articulated set up or semi truck to use the American name. I dismantled the back end down to the bottom Technic beams and added a MOC extended chassis from Technic beams/bricks and normal bricks with a 5th wheel and rear light clusters and mudflaps. I also removed the winch and added a small sleeper behind the cab. I moved the fuel tanks backwards and added steps in front of them under the cab doors. The engine was also enhanced with the addition of a small 3 blade fan (like 4955) to replace the jet engine turbine blades and a radiator added. There are some other tweaks too, such as replacing plates with tiles to give a smoother look, and a sun visor. The finishing touch was MOC stickers for Peterbilt Logos, dealer/logo mudflaps and licence plates. I think it now looks superb, as a Peterbilt 359, but the front end remains basically as per the set. It is now on Brickshelf - just search on 7347.

STOP PRESS 04.12.12 Just Noticed for UK customers set is HALF PRICE in Argos Stores a BARGAIN!