For me, Technic is machinery. As a child I didn’t have LEGO Technic but I had Fisher-Technic (awesome stuff, but I digress), so my real first encounters with LEGO Technic were after I got out of my dark ages and the machines that resonated most with me were bulldozers, bucket wheel loaders, front end loaders or a tipping truck. These systems have something ‘Technic’ about them; they can drive, sure, but they can also do something else! These sets came in Yellow and Black, I think you see where I’m going here. This new Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader has this exact colour scheme and the same functionality of sets that I hold dear in my memory so I am excited!
The 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader is a new set containing 973 pieces retailing for AU$149.99/£89.99/$119.99/€99.99 and was provided by LEGO for review. All opinions are my own.
Memories
My previous copy of a front loader (8056 seen above) contained 1061 pieces so I am keen to see how the same number of pieces translates to a new set 15 years later.
About the L120 electric
Having worked on a few electrification projects I am happy to see the main reasons for electrifying these heavy machines so clearly laid out in the description of Volvo’s website: They are cheaper to run, and cheaper to maintain (because they are simpler with fewer parts that can break). The environmental benefits are, for good or bad, secondary to businesses, but the bottom line of saving money is very clear. An extra item I did not encounter before is that, according to this website, the low noise allows these machines to operate in other environments where it would otherwise not be possible.
Turning our focus to the LEGO model of this machine: there is very little visual difference between the electric and diesel variant of the L120 loader so we can disregard this going forward and just focus on the thing that is important to us right now: is this a good set?
In the box
The box is entirely clear what you’re getting and I struggled to hold myself back form ripping in to the box, so that I could take photos. The rear shows a bunch of arrows of things moving, making it clear this is a working machine! My excitement might explain why I’m a Mechanical engineer, after all.
In the box are 9 plastic bags, loose tires, a bucket scoop and a modest sticker sheet. I have this odd sense of nostalgia with regards to the large amount of black & yellow pieces for building this machine and when taking this photo I was also struck with the potential mistake with my backdrop; black. I thought the yellow would pop nicely against the black but I forgot the black bits a bit, my apologies.
Assembly
The assembly immediately starts with a stack of flexible joints (loving this already). The loader is hinged in the middle and these joints will allow rotations from the read go to the front.
Next we build a nice big differential for the rear wheels. The size of this shows you it means business and I appreciate the big yellow gears used for this. I feel a bit like ‘Tim the toolman Taylor‘ (if you know…) writing this.
the differential and the flex joints are put together and the front are rear are starting to take shape. Notice that the entire construction is very dense with gears, a bit like the gearboxes found in the higher end Technic cars and motorbikes.
Next the rear gets a set of three cylinders that I suspect represent part of the hydraulic system (I don’t think those are the batteries).
The next part wraps up the internals of the rear end of the vehicle (let’s call it the engine housing). Note the short cardan axle (only 2nd time in a set), used to keep all the moving parts inside the compact shape of the loader.
We then wrap up the rear engine bay with the engine hood before moving on to the middle.
In the middle we find the driver cabin. You can see that a minifig sits quite confortably in the luxurious chair during assembly, but it turns out that space on the inside is not actually sufficient for a whole minifig once the roof is on.
The only way a minifigure can take seat inside the cab of the final machine is if the chair and the minifig legs are removed, or if the minifig removes their head (yes that’s what I said) but it still seems the minifig is a bit undersized for the controls.
Returning to the rear we add the battery box to the rear, with the only indication of electrification given by a small charging port. Don’t let anyone say you cannot refuel this vehicle with Quantum Flux Gel Pebbles or hopes-and-dreams; I’m telling you, you can run this one on anything you like!
Next the wheels come out, indicating things are getting serious. The front assembly for the bucket is assembled in much the same way as the version from 15 years ago, but the linear actuators (and the entire build) is just a lot smaller and compact!
All that remains is to add the bucket and the machine is complete!
The minifigure next to the Wheel Loader shows that they are a bit undersized, but, despite that, there isn’t enough space to give a proper seat up in the cabin. It’s a pity but it would look a bit silly to have a too-small minifigure in this big machine. In reality the legs of the driver sit far lower, roughly at the top of the ladder, where in this LEGO version they sit where the bottle is located.
As mentioned earlier, there is little to indicate that this represents an electric vehicle. The rear bulge happens to be a bit bigger than the diesel variant, and there is the word “electric” on the front liftarms, but other than that it is just a wheel loader.
I am pleased that the model does not come with motors and all mechanisms are controlled by hand; I feel this makes you appreciate and understand the systems more.
This model has 4 wheel differential so that all 4 wheels are connected; I cannot remember if this was the case 15 years ago, but it is a good feature to have in this model.
Parts
See below the parts included in each of the bags. Note the overwhelming presence of yellow, and black, but also note the nice variation in colours of the gears; this really helps during assembly.
A few notable parts shown below. Most are not new, but I just like how these parts fill some gaps in the Technic palette. For the ANGLE ELEMENT, 4 BRANCH, 60 DEG. we should probably take bets how long it will take before they show up in botanical sets.
Conclusion
I love to have built another ‘old-fashioned’ wheel loader in yellow. I didn’t realize it was possible, but this hit me right in the post-dark-ages-nostalgia, not quite childhood nostalgia, but nostalgia nonetheless.
This new version is significantly smaller than the previous rendition from 15 years ago and I like it, it feels compact and elegant, although less impressive. The price is about 20% more than the same set was 15 years ago, which seems pretty decent, although ‘shrinkflation’ has caused the entire loader to be smaller.
I am bluntly going to give this set 4.5 out of 5 arbitrary praise units, because it is a relatively small and easy build resulting in a cool playable bit of equipment at a decent price point. The last half point I’m holding back because regular LEGO bricks just give me a bit more building joy than Technic.
The 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader is a new set containing 973 pieces retailing for AU$149.99/£89.99/$119.99/€99.99 and was provided by LEGO for review. All opinions are my own.
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Until Next Time,
Play Well!