LEGO Technic Mobile Crane 42108 Construction Toy Building Kit (1,292 pieces)

Okay, this is one of the tougher builds I have done. I will readily admit I had a mini meltdown about 3/4 of the way through as suddenly the boom arm did not work. Cue the other half checking online builds and going through the remainder of the instruction book. His advice "have faith". Fortunately I did and carried on with the build and suddenly the boom arm is working. He then decided to advise that it has a split differential built in and because I was only halfway through that mechanism that is why it wasn't working all of a sudden. So, if you are like me and check your mechanisms in a Technic build as you go be warned you will have a moment of panic when it suddenly stops operating as expected. This is definitely one item that would benefit from Instructions Plus but it doesn't have them. I also had an issue early in the build where I had flipped the chassis plates and had to take a few steps back and dismantle pieces to rectify my mistake. So, lots of issues in the build but they were all of my own making and not a problem with the product or the instructions. This was a challenging build but I REALLY enjoyed it. The finished crane is great looking and is operationally fabulous. It even has the bracing legs that you wind up and down for when then crane is in use or being transported. STICKER ALERT! Yes, there are an awful lot of stickers on this build and, as we know, I loathe stickers. I did put them on but most are ever so slightly out of true but I can live with it. Number Of Pieces: 1292 Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07 Build Time: 6.25 Hours

Cranes have been a part of the Technic range since the introduction of the first mobile crane (set 855) in 1978. Start with what could well be the only downside to those familiar with previous cranes; much that unlike all the other cranes from the original set (mentioned) to the recent Rough Terrain Crane (set 42082) and new Compact Crawler Crane (set 42097) this is only a one model set. Yes, there are other one model Technic sets, yet they tend to be the bigger, licenced sets such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (set 42056), Bugatti (set 42083) and Liebherr 9800 Excavator (set 42100), combined with the size/price point of this set. However, that said, and it is a big however, those familiar, and grew up with the previous sets, not just cranes, will enjoy this set. As with the Compact Crawler Crane launched in August 2019, it is back to the heart of what Technic sets are. And that is where the appeal lays; it is Technic through and through. The build took about no more than 9 hours, on and off, over several days. It is not an overly complicated build when compared to some of the newer bigger sets. It is still a sizable model, particularly when fully extended. Anyone familiar with the previous sets, will recognise the build, and that is where the enjoyment is, yet not so easy that it won't offer an enjoyable challenge to those who are new to or wanting to get into Technic looking for something more.

I found it pretty easy, I like it because it has many functions. I recommend this to people who like Technic sets.

I admit I bought this for my 5 year old grandson, thinking that he would have fun with it once built, and I wanted to try building something a bit more challenging. The challenge was increased by the enthusiastic assistance of my grandson, who frequently decided to put pieces together to make his own creations, after which he didn't want to give them up for the actual build. I tried working on it in the evening after he was in bed, but by then I was too tired to concentrate and twice found myself cursing Lego for errors in the instructions before realizing I was just reading them incorrectly. Sigh. Once complete however, my expectations were realized. He greatly enjoys it and all the little features built in (he loves that he can steer it!), and I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment once it was all together and working properly (much to my surprise - and my wife). A great toy and worth the price. Now.... if only the excavator was the same price!

My son is 5 y/o and he received this as a birthday gift. He is a LEGO monster and he loved the set. It is so much fun to build and geniously designed. By the way, I think there is a typo in the instructions on page 216 at step 356. The blue piece should have been 2x but there it says 1x.

It's such a cleverly designed set. It caught my eye more than anything else in the store, I couldn't leave without it. And it's even more impressive having it in front of me.

This was my first Technic set in a long long time. The last set I bought was 8653 Enzo Ferrari from 2005! I have to say the design and quality has come a long way. This is a delayed review, as I got it last year in the middle of the pandemic and only get to write the review now. The building experience was thoroughly enjoyable. There are quite a few stickers to apply which add necessary detail. I did research a bit before on how to correctly apply the stickers as I want them to be perfect. They were easy enough to apply but do take away some of the joy of the building. The functions all work great. The 4 wheel steering system is something which I like a lot. The turning radius is among the best of all the technic sets I got (Car Transporter, Land Rover, Cement Truck etc). The playability is immense. The only issue I could see was the crane is prone to flip when the boom is extended and is turned to either side, as the outriggers are not strong/big enough. I would highly recommend this set, which brought me back into the joyride that is lego building.

This is an amazing set, took me 4.5 hours to build, it would consider this a little more chanlenging than usual, some connection are hard to make, but the final product is absolutly fantastic and at this price point! If you are considering this set you should buy it!

This model features so many functions. 8-wheel steering, independent outriggers capable of lifting the entire crane off the ground, raising the crane arm, extending the boom and lowering the hook, and 360 degree twist on the crane. All of these work smoothly and the crane has surprisingly long reach. The model also looks very good, with interior details and well built truck. I'm happy with the amount of stickers as it provides extra detail, the provided weight is a nice touch, and it looks great on display

As one of the other reviewers has remarked, the operating features of this crane reveal themselves at the end of the build. It's fun to put together, but not obvious how the crane operates while building it. The steering is what I wanted to see, and it works well, controlled by either of two light on the cab. The three-knob operation of the crane itself is excellent, and the functioning stabilizers are totally necessary when the crane is fully extended. One of my favourites.