14.4.10

LEGO City Crawler Crane (7632)

Cheap LEGO City Crawler Crane (7632) On Sale




Lego should probably not label this kit as being appropriate for age 5; our 9-year-old was able to build it mostly independently, but required help a couple of times. For instance, it is especially tricky to attach the "cable" (thread supplied with kit) to the take-up reel, thread it through the pulley, and anchor it on the crane arm. As with most Lego toys, it's important that every assembly point be pressed tightly together, and for little hands that can be tricky sometimes.

We've only had it assembled for a day so far, and although the pulley works as advertised to lift things, and the crawler treads do move as expected, the whole thing is not quite as solid as some other Lego toys. It's obvious that hand-cranking a pulley will put an unusually high amount of torque on the unit, and eventually the operator will end up with a handful of Lego pieces needing to be reassembled.

To some extent, that goes with the territory with Lego toys, of course. You have to decide whether you're more interested seeing a big complex thing come together out of many small parts, which is educational and fun; or in actually trying to play with it as a genuine building and construction toy. For the latter purpose, most kids are better off with prebuilt trucks, cranes, or whatever. For instance, we still have old "Bob the Builder" (non-Lego!) toys that work just fine despite being tossed around, kicked, stepped on, etc. Smaller kids might be better off with that kind of toy for everyday play.

Once it is completely built, the crawler crane is a pretty imposing size, larger than most of the other vehicles and toys in the "City" series. And when you're done playing for the day, where do you put it? Ha. We had bought a few small storage bins (similar in size to a typical Lego tub) to store other assembled Lego toys, and found that to be really valuable for a front-end loader, dump truck, etc.

Well, this crane is way bigger than that. We also got a bigger plastic box (intended for storing shirts) -- but discovered that the crane is bigger than that, too. Finally we figured out that one can take the big crane arm apart without undoing the cable or anything else, and carefully store it in the box next to the main body of the toy. Next time it is wanted, the arm will simply snap onto four little pegs and it'll be ready to go.

We haven't put this to the test of time of course, but in the first bit of play we noticed that the cab is fairly easy to knock off, for instance. Also, the crawler treads, being hard plastic, are slick and will not move if you're playing on any kind of slick surface -- and that includes the large Lego base plates which are also hard plastic. On a rug or towel or other rough surface, the treads can grip and will turn around their sprockets when you move the vehicle, just as they would on a real crawler crane. So, good design for those treads, but probably wasted in most play environments.

The top part swivels easily, so you can use the crane and pulley to lift an item from one spot, turn and drop it somewhere else. However, note that the crane arm itself can NOT be raised or lowered by any user control (unlike the pulley handle). The arm is mounted on parts that *look like* pneumatic lifts, but they aren't functional.

Still, overall it's a pretty neat toy, and if you want a somewhat complex assembly project without having to go to space (Star Wars) or some other esoteric setting, this fits the bill. Now that it's done, I think we're going to shift now to buying more sets of bricks and letting the kid invent stuff from scratch. As another reviewer noted, it'll be interesting to see if this crane gets modified with other parts by our young designer, after the initial exhilaration wears off.

We paid slightly less than the "list" price on the Lego website, and that is quite a bit less than it's selling for today here on Amazon. When I looked at the finished toy and thought about the cost out-of-pocket, I felt that it was a just barely acceptable deal at list price or less. Beyond that, I'd think twice.




LEGO City Crawler Crane (7632) Feature


  • Built with authentic construction vehicle details
  • Features moving tracks, lifting mechanism, crane rotates 360 degrees
  • Measures 17.7”tall
  • Includes 2 minifigures, house section and barrier
  • 479 pieces




LEGO City Crawler Crane (7632) Overview


No job is too big for the Crawler Crane! With its rugged working treads and massive rotating boom, this big crane can go just about anywhere and lift just about anything high into the air! Standing 17.7 inches (45 cm) high and built with authentic construction vehicle details, it's ready for all the heavy-duty lifting your construction site needs. Features moving tracks, lifting mechanism, crane rotates 360 degrees Includes 2 minifigures, house section and barrier! Measures 17.7 inches (45cm) tall! Components made in Denmark, China, Hungary, Mexico and the Czech Republic.

Available at Amazon





*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Apr 14, 2010 07:31:13

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