Race Truck

I liked the race car from the 2nd build, but not the truck from the 1st build. I liked the overhead stand from the 1st build, but not the side stand from the 2nd build. I love the big fat tires in the back. This thing really travels when wound up. The stickers make no sense in the 2nd build because the number 22 is upside-down. Decals are so important in pro race car driving. The other stickers were cool. There's a mistake in the 2nd build's instructions on step 16. It says you need 5 black pegs when you really need 6. It also ignores an entire orange pin that's needed on the same page (page 11). It's a lot harder to take Technic apart to go back a step than it is to take Lego bricks apart. I do think that more arrows are needed sometimes in the instructions as to where exactly an assembly needs to go. It takes more focus to build Technic, so when there are two mistakes on the page it takes a long time to squint to see what went wrong. Also, an ongoing problem with Lego is the depiction of the color dark grey, as it appears black in the instructions whether it's the digital or printed version. It's even more confusing the smaller the piece is because of the black outlines used. Maybe Lego can just spell it out in the instructions: "dark grey piece, not black" or something along those lines. Almost every set has this problem and it's been like that for at least 20 years. There's also confusion between white and light grey pieces sometimes. Overall, I really liked the 2nd build version of this Technic set. I'm glad the connector pins are different colors. Never change that. There needed to be a 2nd sticker option for the 2nd build. Also, I hate orange sets. They never look good. For that reason I'm staying away from the orange Technic Corvette ZR1 and orange Technic Porsche. They might be great sets technically but they look ugly to me. more less

The truck has a good acceleration, but it is important to adjust the spacing well and place the tyres correctly on the front hubs to ensure that it really moves in a straight line. With a width of 9 studs, the truck is robust and fits perfectly in a child's hand. more less

I think it's pretty self explanatory that this set has a limited audience. If you are a fan of Technic pull-backs, this could be a good one to pick up; Orange is a great color, it's a unique design that we haven't gotten before, and as I somewhat demonstrated in the video above, it works as well as you could hope. But for those who are not a fan of pull-backs, I struggle to recommend this one. There really aren't any actual functions to the set, the proportions are very exaggerated, and there isn't much in the way of an interior nor too many interesting parts worth the $20 price tag. Of the sets to get in this wave, I think this one is on the lower end of the scale. more less

Both this set and 42103 Dragster are fun little Technic builds, and would be a great starting point to the theme. I'm glad that they have stopped providing a combined model for the two sets, and inside allowed you to choose from two alternative models in each set to race against each other. The pullback motors are simple but effective, and the fact that they don't require batteries should be a breath of fresh air for parents who are constantly hunting for spare AAAs in their kitchen drawers! more less