LEGO TECHNIC 42023: Construction Crew Review

 Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've done a review for Oz Brick Nation, I've been too busy building LEGO (well, too busy working, building has to wait until late at night when work's over and the kids are a sleep!). 

I've built some great sets over the last couple of months, including all of The LEGO Movie sets (except the Sea Cow, waiting for it to be stocked in retailers in Australia), as well as some of the new Legends of Chima and TECHNIC sets. And I can't forget the mighty 75059: Sandcrawler, which is an amazing model and worth purchasing if you get the opportunity. 

Speaking of TECHNIC, I think it gets overlooked a bit in the LEGO world, especially by the ever popular City and Star Wars sets. It was actually TECHNIC which brought me out of my LEGO dark ages, and I love building TECHNIC sets. They can be very challenging builds, and provide great functions, including Power Functions and pneumatics.

I've recently built one of the new 2014 TECHNIC sets, 42023, which is called "Construction Crew". It's actually made up of 3 separate models, a Dump Truck, Excavator and Front End Loader. I can't recall LEGO making a set like this in the past, and it's an interesting concept they've come up.

Set Number: 42023

Theme: TECHNIC

Set Name: Construction Crew

Part Count: 833

Australian RRP: $99.99

Featuring: 3 models! An excavator, dump truck and front-end loader.

In the box are 6 separate bags, numbered 1-3 for each of the 3 models, as well as an instruction manual for each build, and of course a sheet of stickers.

Bag 1 constructs a red excavator.

Building the excavator is fairly quick, and I completed it in about an hour. It has a small linear actuator that lifts the boom up and down, and a small lever on the side of the boom that tips the bucket. The body can also be rotated by the black pin sticking out the top of the body.

Bag 2 constructs a blue dump truck.

Building the dump truck took a bit longer than the excavator, probably 1.5 hours, as it has more pieces and is a bit more fiddly constructing the front chassis of the truck. It has a small linear actuator that drives the dump bucket up and down, and "hand of god" steering.

Bag 3 constructs a yellow front end loader.

Building the front end loader took a similar time to the excavator, just under an hour. It has a small linear actuator to drive the front bucket arm up and down, "hand of god" articulation to steer, and a small lever on the side of the bucket arm that tips the bucket. The front end loader contains new tyres as well, and they look fantastic on this model!

The simple builds of each model will appeal to those who are new to TECHNIC, as will the 2-3 functions each model contains. If you're a long term or hard core fan of TECHNIC, this set may not appeal to you as much due to this simplicity, but at the same time each model is a fun little build.

Overall, I'd rate this set a 7/10, being a huge fan of TECHNIC I typically enjoy larger, more complex builds, and models with more functionality.

I hope you've enjoyed our review of 42023: Construction Crew, please leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts on the set. 

Until next time, this is Chris signing off for Oz Brick Nation.