LEGO Technic Volvo EC500 Hybrid Excavator - Building Set for Adults - Collectible Model Kit for Men & Women, Ages 18+ - Gift Idea for Those Who Enjoy 3D Puzzles, DIY Kits, or Engineering - 42215

I got the set for my 25th birthday and honestly I loved the build experience, it kept me occupied for a few hours and hits a seriously nice and cruisy build! Yes when it’s operating it is a bit slow but this is a great build and looks great on my shelf with the other Volvo sets! I’d highly recommend it.

The base idea is great, and the mechanics are mostly good. Some build steps are needlessly complex or unclear - many errors can be made during the build. There is a motor, cleverly hidden, poorly used. There is a 'clutch' mechanism to operate 4 functions, but only one at a time - but that is easy to mod with a different part. The attachment mechanics didn't need to be motorized and could of been used for the drill bit instead. With small improvements, this could of been much better

I was super excited to get another flagship excavator, but was discouraged by the low review ratings and price per piece. However, I decided to just buy it and decide for myself, and I’m glad I did because the build experience was well done and interesting along the way. It got my creativity going on how to improve it, make it move faster, motorize tracks, etc. so ended up being exciting. The way the movements are transferred to the arm is neat, and inspires new modifications (which is what makes Lego fun). Overall, it looks amazing, has new pieces, new build techniques, and was fun to build. The playability is not as high as the 8043, but it doesn’t take long to customize and increase speeds and functions. Plus, the new black linear actuators look great on my other cat excavator. Happy I looked past the early reviews and just bought it!

The final drive ratio kinda ruins anything that could potentially be enjoyable. Really not much you can do with one motor. Really expensive for what you get. Not sure why they'd even produce this one

For the price I paid, I was expecting more. While the functionality that is there is nicely situated in a control panel and the gearing is always fascinating to witness during the build, I must agree with other reviewers that the lack of mobility and no function for swinging the arm was a real minus. Just one medium sized motor?? And the functions are so slow as to make playing with the set meaningless. I love LEGO and until recently, LEGO'S ingenuity set it apart from the Chinese sets like Mould King, but they are catching up VERY fast. On top of all this, the set was missing a part that stopped construction until I found a similar piece in another set that I could borrow. I'm still waiting for the part from Denmark.

I bought this as a pre-order after passing over a few others options which had average reviews. Now, I wish I waited as my experience is much like others. I do like the excavator but the overall cost for the set troubles me. It was too easy and too quick to build with mediocre functionality. Perhaps Lego would consider a remote control function for an item at this value. I would also like Lego to consider using more black and grey connectors so that the end result may look a bit more authentic. I understand this could complicate the build for some but the use of the app can assist in offering clarity to piece selection.

Brilliant gear box with amazing electric features but little bit slow!!!…

I bought this because I thought it would be a cool build. Got to side panel opposite side of motor door and it was no where to be found. When I open packs I cut over and dump on a big cookie tray so nothing gets lost. Major disappointment considering money spent. Thought I would put parts for side panel in ziplock bag an continue. Put on what I could on that side after requesting part and continued building. Got to part that bucket and jack hammer mouth to and was missing 75% of those pieces 😠so I went thru everything left sort parts for rest of build and requested around 20 pieces in total. Received email this morning side panel was in mail now still need other parts to get sent. This is a failure on quality control in my opinion big time. Not what would be expected for money spent. As for operations as is..maybe 2 motors would make experience better. Overall not happy with this purchase. Have had others missing parts also but borrowed from this and ordered what I needed and extra. Might be the end of my run with legos.

My son said he loved building this Volvo Excavator. The only negative was for the buster to be motorized, but overall, 5 stars.

An enjoyable and easy build. Slightly disappointed that the movement of the arm is very slow - I would have expected the movements to have been slightly quicker. Also disappointed that the tracks were not powered. Still, a handsome model, though!