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Klaus is a class II Corporal in the maintenance unit for the substation,
Hephaestus' Forge.
This morning his duties call him to a lower tunnel where water pipes keep
bursting (affecting pressure for lower excavation areas). He parks his vehicle
in the main byway and works his way a half kilometer down a narrow passage to
the obvious spurting pipe.
The tunnel walls are a sloppy mess of curdling, cascading mud and clay while
the floor is a watery mess at least five centimeters deep. Corporal Trofobe
wastes no time shutting of the main valve and preparing a new section of pipe,
but he doesn't notice that a giant hand the size of his entire body slowly
emerges through the melting wall behind him. With surprisingly stillness, the
gigantic, rock-like hand slowly extends toward Klaus with outstretched fingers!
This is actually my second Rock Raiders purchase (my first being the 4980
Tunnel Transport) so I'm already a bit used to the simplicity of the
sub-theme's designs which has perhaps tempered my attitude (that would have
been much more agitated) toward this model.
The Loader Dozer is a nice, medium-size four-wheel vehicle with a large loading
scoop in the front (that can be raised and lowered by a switch located in the
rear) and a cage- protected cockpit. The scoop for the car is raised and
lowered by a chain that is connected to the scoop, the chain then runs through
the mid-section of the car to a hinged piece in the rear of the vehicle. As
the rear hinged piece is turned down, the chain tightens and the scoop is
lifted. This very same (and unexciting) feature was used in the 2161-Aqua
Dozer. I didn't originally like the large, one-piece cockpit used in this and
other Rock Raiders vehicles, but a plus to them is that they are rather roomy
and easily fit two figures.
The vehicle comes with a rock creature. This figure is a one-piece element
positioned in a crouching position. His right arm (the only moving piece on
him) rotates near the shoulder. There is a hole in the palm of the creature's
grasping right hand that allows him to hold a crystal (though the gap between
thumb and fingers necessitates putting the crystal at an angle so the crystal
isn't truly snug). There are two studs located on the creature's lower back
and again just below where is neck would be so you could mount a minifig,
boulder, or other small object to ride on his back. The creature isn't painted
with any sort of face or features, but there is a certain character to him.
An additional accessory to the vehicle and rock creature is a break-apart
boulder and crystal that fits inside the boulder.
New/unique pieces in this set include the large undercarriage piece (measuring
12x18x1) that tapers at each end. I'm not fond of "jr." elements that could
have easily been made with a few standard bricks and I absolutely hated this
piece when I first saw it, but I'm getting used to it now and I can see how a
couple of these bricks (placed end on end) could make the nice beginnings to a
large trackless tank. Other interesting pieces include the new brown, visored
helmet, 6x8 cockpit and cage/canopy, the new 2x2 control panel with a cave
readout, a light gray monkey wrench (this was one reason I picked up this set),
new odd-tread wheels and the rock creature (only appearing in this and the 4990
Rock Raiders HQ set so far).
One flaw with the construction of the model is that the canopy for the car only
lifts a few notches and then comes apart from the rest of the vehicle because
it isn't secured very well (only two 1x2 tiles hold the canopy's hinges in
place).
I enjoyed the Loader Dozer as a model (more than as a collection of pieces) but
I can't honestly endorse paying the full $20 for it (it feels closer to
$15.00).
!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating: Three out of eight studs.
Thumbs at half-mast for: A medicore model that could have been made with more,
less-specialized pieces (though the inclusion of a few new teal bricks was
nice).
Wallet-Wise: $20.00 suggested U.S. retail for 87 pieces.
Date: 9/29/1999
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: 4x2ReVu: 4950 Loader Dozer
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| I bought this set recently too and I liked it better than I expected. Not having seen the aqua-set with the same loading scoop mechanism it was new to me and I think it works well, especially for younger kids. The canopy hinges on mine did not pop (...) (25 years ago, 7-Oct-99, to lugnet.reviews, lugnet.underground)
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