Although this is a 2009 set, it was actually released late in 2008. I got this set on Christmas Day in 2008, and I have many fond memories of this set, both playing with the construction site itself, as well as building many creations of my own from its pieces. 14 years later, is it still one of my favorites, and practically the cornerstone of my collection!

Box/Instructions

The box is the style with the lid you lift to reveal the contents of the set, which I am rather fond of. On the front, it shows the construction site in action, with the workers busy doing their jobs, the digger moving dirt, the crane hoisting a section of the building into place, etc. On the back, it shows the features of the set. There are 4 instruction books, one for the digger, another for the truck, a third that covers both the elevator and building, and a fourth one for the crane.

Parts

The set came with a boatload of useful pieces, many of which were new in my collection at the time. Notable mentions include the digger’s arm and bucket, roll cage, and tracks, the walls, doors, windows, awning, and roof pieces on the building, the boom/jib pieces on the crane, the winch on the crane, the, the tower/girder pieces on the elevator, the extra-long Technic axles, the low loader body piece on the truck, and the chain are only a few of the many interesting pieces in the set! Due to the many vehicles, there is a wide variety of wheels in this set. Not to mention there are plenty of regular bricks and roof bricks, a significant amount of large plates, and even some Technic elements! a wide variety of colors, including yellow, dark gray, light gray, green, red, etc. You also get a number of windshields and automotive type pieces. To top it off, this set has at least five significant colors! Examples include yellow, dark gray, light gray, green, red, and black! The diversity in the types of pieces in this set makes it an excellent set for parts as well as the set itself!

The build

It takes a couple of hours to build the set with the instructions. I won’t go into all the details on how the models are built.

Minifigs/Accessories

There are 5 mini-figures in the set, 4 construction workers and 1 truck driver. 3 of the workers all wear the same outfit: an orange safety vest, orange pants, and a red hard hat, but they all have different faces. The other worker has an orange safety vest, bluejeans, and a red hard hat. The truck driver has a blue cap, and blue overalls. The set also has 2 road barriers, 5 tools: a hammer, wrench, shovel, and 2 walkie-talkies, and a chain, which I will talk about later.

Digger: The digger has an arm that raises and lowers, bends and straightens, and the bucket tips, so it can scoop or empty its load. The arm has 5 joints, which is a little unrealistic, but gives it an impressive range of movement. The body swivels a full 360 degrees. The tracks roll around nicely, and get great traction. The roll cage opens, so you can fit a mini-figure inside. There is a control panel inside (though I would like control sticks better), and lots of lights on the outside. Something that would enhance this part of the set would be a bit of “rubble” to scoop up, but you can add that yourself.

Truck: The truck is a tractor-trailer, with a cab-over style semi tractor, and a tri-axle low loader. It has a very detailed cab with a realistic front grille, head and taillights, warning lights, movable mirrors, fuel tanks, and truck horns. The cab roof comes off, so that you can put a mini-figure inside. The wheels roll very nicely, and the tires get great traction. The low loader trailer has taillights with turn signals and reverse lights. There are also pop-out warning lights on the sides, (since this truck will likely be carrying wide loads) and 4 clips for storing some of the set’s tools I described earlier. The truck can haul the digger, the elevator (although that is tricky to transport), or sections of the building to the construction site.

Elevator: The elevator is a rather ingenious piece of the set. It is constructed of cool tower pieces, and it has 2 very long Technic axles. The elevator platform has a set of wheels that roll on the axles, which are mounted vertically inside the tower, so it can move up and down. The platform has room for mini-figures, and has bars at the sides to keep anyone from falling off. It even has aircraft warning lights! It is about the height of the building. It is great for getting up high to work on the building, or oversee the construction site.

Building: The building was definitely something Lego had to put in this set! The building can be divided into 5 sub-sections: one for the first floor, one for the second, two small ones for the third, and the roof. The sections can be carried on the truck, lifted by the crane via the included chain, and put together, making this set have a lot of building fun! When assembled, the building is 4 total stories; three main stories and the attic. The building has opening doors and windows, a chimney, an awning, front entrance lights, a ‘’SHOP’’ sign, and even has little window boxes! Inside, it is very plain and empty, but it is supposed to be under construction, so that is fine. Plus, it leaves it to the imagination of the builder to design his or her own interior. I believe I did that a couple of times. The sections can also be put together differently to make different configurations. If you have the pieces, you could make more sections so that you can add more floors and make it even taller!

Crane: The mobile crane is the most complex, and probably the most exciting part of the set! It has many details, including lights with turn signals and reversing lights, control panels, warning lights, engine cooling vents, and even little tool compartments that really open! It has a massive boom (or jib) which raises and lowers, and can actually extend and shorten. There is a part that holds the boom up, and it folds up when you need to lower it. The winch is operated by a crank to raise and lower the hook. The rear body swivels almost 300 degrees (but not a full 360 degrees). There is a Technic axle that can be inserted into the corresponding holes to lock the body still when driving, so that it doesn’t swing around. There are 4 outriggers (stabilizers) to keep it sturdy. These do not retract like on a real crane. What you do instead is remove the outriggers, detach the feet from the axles, store the axles in the back, and place the feet on a set of holders behind the cab. The wheels roll nicely and smoothly, and the 6 big rubber tires get great traction. The front cab seats 2 mini-figures nicely, and the rear crane cab seats one mini-figure. Only problem is the winch pops off sometimes, and the boom is a little unstable, but it is still fun.

Another fun factor about the set is that while it was intended to be used as a construction site, the models in the set could be used individually for other purposes. For example, the building could be furnished and used by itself, the truck could carry other loads, the crane could be used on other construction jobs or even at the docks, the digger could be used for road repair or in the quarry, etc. I did this sometimes as a little kid myself!

Overall opinion

Overall, this is one of the best sets I have ever owned, even after 14 years! It provides hour and hours of fun play, looks good in any city scene, and has a vast array of useful pieces! In my opinion, it is the best construction set, maybe even the best City set that Lego has ever produced! Lego has still not produced any City sets in recent years that can top it! It is literally the City set to end all City sets! Unfortunately, it is getting harder to find at an affordable price these days! If you can find one of these for a reasonable price, go for it!

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Minifigs:

Great choice of construction uniform for the guy supposed to be on the elevator and the guy driving the truck the other 3 are pretty standard nothing to special

Backhoe:

Its like somewhat a polybag set but its so good to me let me explain:its just a few pieces above a polybag But BUT it can turn,moving rubber tracks lights and lever,somewhat detailed cockpit with seat and control panel,and simple but cool moving bucket,its so simple but i like the play value although from a upwards angle it looks ugly but still great i prefer it better than the backhoe from 60152 2017.

Truck:

Honestly Great build but bad heres what i am saying with out the trailer it looks like something weird now your saying BUT 2007-2009 WAS THE STYLE FOR THIS CAB i know i know its just the look of it with green and 6 studs wide is bad with the trailer its WAY better but alone it can be studs are exposed on the back

Trailer for the Truck:

A very good Trailer honestly it makes the truck look better it has 4 tools on the back and can hold the elevator backhoe traffic barriers and Building parts in place not moving so overall simple but great like the backhoe.

Elevator:

this Elevator is simple......but...Outstanding i mean Very very few pieces but the bottem stickers give the detail 2 pieces look like stables and it can lift up a Worker honestly i think this was insperation for elevator in set 3368 detail playabilty Almost perfect.

House/Shop

Its great they finally added something to build and easy to disasemble and transport the roof is detailed with a chimney and 3 windows the 3rd floor is divided into 2 sections and is great the 2nd floor is identical to the 3rd floor but is 1 whole floor not divided and the 1st floor has a sign saying SHOP a door in the middle {Unfortanute i wish it was to the right} 2 lights and windows also at the end of the construction theres flowers for stories 2 and 3 overall i love the house and i added it to my mini city

Mobil Crane:

Heres where things get serious i will tell you though that this crane is better from the one in 60026 but worse than 7249 its a 8 stud wide build average for Mobil cranes in Lego city and the cab has 1 stirring wheel 2 chairs and a coffee mug on the front some lights with a piece for the hook to rest and you have stables so you can place those so the crane wont fall from lifting heavy items also theres a simple peice with locks the crane from turning very smart stableizers are kept behind the cab and when turned the crane the other part of them the crane has a control cab with can lift up for minifigs to sit in and can rig Easily the crane also it has a boomarm and this crane can extend from 16-17 inches it has a whinch on the back to make the object the hook is hooking on to lift up with chain it lifts up easily with the whinch and can drive on the road easily and wont take up much road space like set 7249 mobil crane would.

Rap Up:

Overall it was a great set 9/10 because of the truck and i wish this set gets re-released because it was the best construction site ever in Lego City MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH better than set 7243 Thanks for reading!

Well I had been waiting for this set to be in stores from mexico and finally it was there.

Well I'll begin with the little excavator: It's a nice detail but I can't find anything to do with it, Lego's are not made to play in the ground or outsides.

The low-boy hauler: It's awesome, I think that with out it the set wouldn't be the same. You can play with it other things, not only the construction. It has many tools with it.

The building: It's a shop, I like it because is easy to build with the crane and you can use it as a compliment to your city, like me, I use it as my airport's control tower or as a lego shop(I also have the lego city truck).

The elevator: I liked it because it really works, it's easy to elevate and lower it and it has lights on the top for airplanes.

The crane: I think this is the best part of the set, you can use it for anything, you can build other lego sets with it and you'll have fun! The design is awesome, it fits two minifigs on the cabin, the arm is a little bit hard to move but it's okay.

The minifigs and accesories: There are five minifigs three have the same bodies(orange construction jackets, red helmet and orange pants) with different faces, one has a cap and the body is blue, and the last has orange construction jacket, red helmet and blue pants. It comes with many tools and barriers(nice detail).

All in all, I'll give this set a 5 out of 5. about the building experience I'm not sure, I just built the crane and the low-boy hauler and it was awesome the other things were built by a friend but i think they were as awesome as the crane and the low-boy hauler.

We got this kit for the sheer number of usable features. It's a great looking City structure, but has some excellent construction elements, too!

First, the building. It's a "Shop" downstairs and two empty floors upstairs. It's built in 4 subsections, including the roof. The back is open, so the minifigs have to be careful around the edge of the floor. The floors are completely unadorned. Since it's supposedly under construction, it's ok.

Second, the crane. Excellent addition to City. It's sturdy, heavy-duty and the outriggers allow it to be stable under heavy load, too. Very cool. This would have done really well as a standalone kit, but I am glad it was included with other elements to complete the kit.

Third, the low-boy hauler is awesome! For a 6-lug wide truck, it's massive. The colors are great and it truly looks like a low-boy hauler. The building sections store nicely on it, and there are some great accessories (barricades, tools, chain, etc...). I am glad they kept it to 6 lugs. It goes nicely with my Wind Turbine Transport hauler and City Garage wrecker, so the scale works.

The excavator looks tiny until you put it on the trailer. Then, it's perfect scale. Cool! The rubber tracks are the first in my set and I love 'em! They really do allow it to roll smoothly on my tile floors. The bucket and boom are nearly identical to the Level Crossing kit for the railroad, but it's great to have another construction vehicle.

The platform elevator was unexpected and was a very welcome surprise (I missed it on the box). THe lift uses a combination of very long axle pieces and tires, but the implementation and use of the elements was brilliant. It stays put where you leave it, looks phenomenal next to the building and adds a lot of heavy-construction realism to the City. It's even got aircraft warning lights!

Minifigs are great! Nice choice of body parts on them all. They really work well in a construction scene.

Pros

• Lots of individual units (Building, crane, tractor-trailer, excavator, platform lift)
• Great minifigs
• Clever use of components on the platform lift
• Building compatible with City House and City Corner
• Crane actually functions and lifts heavy loads smoothly
• Rubber treads on the excavator
• Fairly minimal use of stickers (compared to other sets)
• Adds tremendous impact to your city by making the appearance of growth
• Great price (about US$40 in Taiwan)

Cons

• Winch mechanism on crane not secured really well
• Lever on winch mechanism bangs into back of crane
• So many good pros that I want to spend money on a second kit

This is one of the few sets that is a must have for a city collection. It also works really well as a standalone kit with a lot of playability. My 3 and 5yo daughters both play with all of the elements and it stands up to their abuse. So many scenarios and options. The building compatiblity with other kits means you can vary the building structures really easily and change the look of your cityscape quickly.

So, my city layout is slowly starting to come together, and so i found myself in the position of needing civilian homes, and the city line is not exactly overflowing with civilian sets, especially not houses and homes. I looked at this set, and i thought that it had most everything i need. I did not buy the set for the house alone, there are a few reasons.

First of all, as i said, i need houses, second of all, i am starting to collect the trucks in the city theme, and the one in this set is awesome, more on this later!, and finally, i also own the 7747 wind turbine transport, and that is all well and good, being able to transport a great big windmill, but what about setting it up? And the crane in this set, fits the wanted description of that job nicely. :) So as a result, i bought this set for its individual elements, and not as a contruction site, and it worked out really well.

You get 4 workers, all fairly standart, well designed minifigs, and then you get a driver for the truck, also a nicely designed minifig, nothing special here. Only thing is, i wish Lego would print the back of the minifig torso to, instead of just the front.

Now, the set itself, you get some kind of an elevator/lift, a nice little addition, and well designed, not much to say about it. Looks good, works well. I use the truck to transport this, to the windmill sight.

Then there's the digger. Now, seeing that i do not use the set for the intended purpose of being a construction site, i have little to no use for this. Nonetheless it is a nice little digger, well designed, and well built. The whole rollcage opens up, so you can easily place a minifig inside.

So now we come to my personal favourite, the truck. I am very very fond of the truck line, well, the six-stud wide part of it, anyway, and i am working on getting them all, including ones not sold seperatly, but included in bigger sets. As i mentioned earlier, i think that this one is excellent, i really really like the color scheme. I read someone complaining about the roof being hard to remove, but i think that this person missed the point. The roof is attached with 2 studs in the back, and 6 studs in the front, to the windshield, so he suggested removing mirrors and so on, and replacing them with a flat tile. Under no surcomstance should you do this! It detracts much from the looks and realism of the truck. The point is, that the windshield, is also only attached by 2 studs, so you not only remove the roof, but the windshield aswell, making it easy to gain acces to the cabin inside. The trailer is good, lego has used this frame several times, and it works well. There's not much detail, but it serves its purpose well. I think that almost all lego trucks must come from the same manifacturer, there's not much variaty on the cabin design, hehe. With the exception of the 7686 helicopter transport, wich has a longnosed cab (I also highly recommend that set, by the way), oh well, getting on a sidetrack here.

As the last vehicle we have the crane itself. While it looks completely awesome, i have a few complaints with this. First of all, the stearing wheel. It is placed so high that the driver can't see out the windshield for it. Now this is understandable, since there is not much room in the cabin. BUT, could they at least not have chosen a color, that doesn't stick out like a soar thumb, as the blue one does? I also think they could have done a better job with the supporting legs, they would be much bigger in real life, and they would just fold into the structure of the truck. These have to manually disassembled, and put into a compartment, hidden underneath the crane part. But then again, this is not real life, this is Lego. My biggest problem with this set, is that the pulley for the crane falls of, constantly. You litterally have to use both you hands when raising or lowering the crane hook. One to work the pulley, and one to hold it in place, sp that it does not snap of. This limits the playability severely. Other than that i like the crane, as i said, it looks awesome, and the idea behind it is sound.

The final part of the set, is the buildings. I tend to think of it, as an appartment building, with a small shop on the bottom. There's really not much to say about it. There's absolutely no interior, but i can see the reasoning behind this, since it is supposed to be under constrution, there would be no furniture. I'm not really fond of the grey colored walls, but i am theorising that this also, is because it's under construction. Maybe the walls just haven't been painted yet? Maybe it's just supposed to resemble bare concrete. So, considering this, it actually works well. :)

You get a variaty of tools for the truck, a lose shovel, and some road barriers. That should be all.

Anyway, in conclusion (yes yes i know, fiiiinally he's done rambling), this set works excellent on sooo many levels, i just have to give it a top 5/5.

Best regards.