Live Your Wildest Dreams with These Lego Trucks
Hands up if you had one of those giant Lego blue brick cases with Legos inside as a kid. Kid or adult, Legos are awesome. Especially the company’s Technic line. These are complex building sets that feature things like working gearboxes and electric motors. Car enthusiasts can rejoice in owning a Bugatti Chiron, or turning the wheels of a Porsche 911 RSR. Into construction? Here’s a 4108-piece Liebherr excavator. And now, there are some Lego trucks to build.
4×4 Xtreme Off-Roader
It won’t conquer Baja, but this Lego truck definitely draws inspiration from the Mexican peninsula. Ridiculous suspension travel? Check. Big off-road tires? Yup. Rad paint job? Yessir. Powerful motor? Actually, yeah.
The Xtreme Off-Roader comes with three electric motors, linked to a working, geared transmission, and steering system. Legos have also evolved quite a bit since I was a kid because you can actually steer this truck. The motors are linked with something Lego calls the ‘Smart Hub’. This communicates through Bluetooth to the Technic Control+ app. And it does more than just remote control. There are six sensors—accelerometer and gyro—that feed speed and tilt data to the app in real-time.
At $250, and with 958 pieces, it may be a bit pricey. But it’s still cheaper—and easier—than trying to fund a Mint 400 racing team.
Land Rover Defender
The Land Rover Defender enjoys a devoted following like few other trucks on the market. The newest one hasn’t reached dealers yet, but if you can’t wait, Lego’s here for you.
While the Off-Roader Lego truck has modern electronics, the 2573-piece Defender is a perfect example of how far Lego brick engineering can go. Under the bonnet (it’s British, so ‘hood’ isn’t classy enough) there’s a model of the inline-six engine—the pistons move. It’s also got an independent suspension, a winch, and all-wheel drive with three differentials. It all works. Even the four-speed sequential transmission and high/low selector for the all-wheel drive.
And just like the new Defender, the Lego one is proving extremely popular. Shipping won’t start until October 17th, and it’s already on backorder. But at $200, it’s an extremely good bargain where Land Rovers are concerned.
6×6 All Terrain Tow Truck
Adding axles adds awesome, and that’s a certified fact. Which makes this 1,862-piece 6×6 Lego truck ridiculously awesome, and we haven’t even gotten to the details yet.
As you can tell, it’s remote-controlled. But you can do more than just steer it. The crane is fully operational, as are the extendable outriggers and the winch. You can even rebuild it into a rescue vehicle. So when your Lego workers get trapped beneath your brick factory, you can help save them. What? I can have a hobby.
At $290, it is the most expensive of the three, but that is a significant savings over Hennessey’s Goliath 6×6. And Lego will be making more than 24 trucks.
Happy building.
