Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 06/30/09 at 21:47:00 AST by Chris
I was in Toys R Us tonight in Mic Mac Mall, and look what I found for $79.99, The 7747 Lego Wind Turbine Transport!  I have been waiting for this set since we found out the 4999 Vesta’s Wind Turbine would not be released to the public.  On to the review!

How about some shots of the box to get things started:

Front:

 

Back

 

And of course, the DSS (Dreaded Sticker Sheet):

  

Alright, on to the bags of goodies:

 

First up, the small yellow safety truck:

 

Lots of stickers on this one, but look, yellow doors:

 

On to the heavy hauler of the set, the tractor trailer:

 

Here is a random instruction shot that shows how the trailer connects and can extend:



On to the “Power” of the set, the Wind Turbine:

First off, a couple of things:

Light green and normal green, a very nice touch:

 

And a mod of an old piece (also used in 7749 Lego Star Wars Echo Base):




Here is the completed tower:

 

The Tower with Turbine housing:



Completed windmill:

 



The whole set:



Spare parts:

 

How about some trailer configurations:

Turbine Housing:

 

Turbine Blades:



And the big daddy, the tower:

 


And here, just because of the conversations around the new hats, are the two minifigs and their hats, to show they are the old ones:

 

Well I hope you have enjoyed my first real review.  I could not have picked a better set to start off with.  I highly recommend it to any city lovers out there.  I know I plan on picking up a couple of more to make a Wind Turbine farm with to go with my big turbine.

Check out my MOClug Gallery for all the pics or my Brickshelf Gallery (when modded).
Other messages in this Thread:
 
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/01/09 at 04:54:22 AST by Marc
Awesome, Chris! I know this is 'the' LEGO set you've been waiting for, and it's pretty cool it arrived as a complete surprise!

Great pics and review! The little escort truck is pretty cool looking. I like how the trailer extends to carry the various sized pieces of the windmill too.

So... do you think a small power functions motor can be crammed inside the windmill? Is the windmill itself 'impressive' enough on its own... it's sorta the little brother to the Vestas.
 Re: LeGo 7747 Wind Turbine Transport ieview
Written on 07/01/09 at 08:48:29 AST by BrickPoor
Hey, false advertising!... where's my review?

I gather you liked it enough to buy more.

Good points? Bad points? Things you liked and disliked.

The job's only half done
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/01/09 at 09:30:16 AST by BlueFiddle
Nice set.  Given the price, I'm still a bit on the fence with this one.  It would be fantastic to be able to motorize it.

You'll need about a dozen for a proper display.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/01/09 at 09:44:37 AST by Chris
Don't tempt me BlueFiddle!  My wallet hurts enough already lol.  Yeah definitly a little brother to the Vesta's and was a definite surprise.  I am toying with the idea of motorizing it and will post pics when I get it figured out.  TRU usually has 20% off of city sets so keep an eye open for that sale...that should make it more worth while...its what I am waiting for to get a couple more.  And remember if you buy it 2 weeks before or less when the sale starts you can take your reciept in and get the refund.  This is a great way to get the set you want before the sale starts and so you dont have to fight with the crowds.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/01/09 at 12:09:29 AST by Marc
Buy a dozen? LOL. Why don't we each buy 3 sets, motorize them all, and the next display the club has we can blow everybody away? Sorry... the temptation was too obvious.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/01/09 at 12:57:03 AST by Chris
Sounds good to me! lol
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/01/09 at 21:34:40 AST by BlueFiddle
[quoted=city--172-0-4]Marc said:
Buy a dozen? LOL. Why don't we each buy 3 sets, motorize them all, and the next display the club has we can blow everybody away? Sorry... the temptation was too obvious.


I liked the idea better when I didn't have to spend money.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/02/09 at 07:51:58 AST by Marc
Ah yes, but why let Chris take all the glory? Besides... I don't have any of the propellers in white, only black.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/02/09 at 22:04:08 AST by Chris
Well observed BP.  Seems I did not do a good enough job on my first review.

Likes: 2 different greens in the Wind Turbine green, yellow doors on the small truck, awesomeness of the windmill, extending trailer, and the ability to put the windmill in its three sections on the trailer (hence why I would like 2 more)

Dislikes: Its not the Vesta's set, no nice dark blue Vesta's stickers, windmill is  not motorized, or easily motorized without major modification.

Again I appologize for leaving the review empty of these details.  I was very excited to get the set and was just trying to share it with everyone that I could.  Thank you for picking up on this though as no one else has brought it to my attention
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/03/09 at 13:12:32 AST by legomotive
Nice review for a great set!
I like the trailer very much, great idea to build an extended one.
I wonder if TLC will sell the windmill only???
It looks easy to motorize, but yet I haven't seen it close enough to play with the tweek idea.
I don't have a half piece for the mast, but I guess it is too short to put a PF motor vertically inside?
The other possibility, would be to power from the ground and relay all the tower on only one motor or a couple of them...
Each tower would sit on a 32x32, then relay them with tech axles. if we all have one or more to display them in a show... food for thought
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/03/09 at 14:33:05 AST by BrickPoor
Seems I did not do a good enough job on my first review.


I'm sure I wouldn't have put it that way at all. More like....
I see how I can improve on a good review to make it even better, next time I won't rush as much.

Personally I don't have a lot of interest in this set even though I really like the vesta set.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/03/09 at 17:34:36 AST by Chris
[quoted=city--172-0-10]legomotive said:
I don't have a half piece for the mast, but I guess it is too short to put a PF motor vertically inside?
The other possibility, would be to power from the ground and relay all the tower on only one motor or a couple of them...
 


Motor is too big to go vertically....tried that....also tried powering it from the ground with technic axles.  Not as easy as I had thought it would be.  Will wait for someone with more technic skills to attempt it.  I am not very good with gears.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/03/09 at 20:44:13 AST by BlueFiddle
My initial thought of motorizing this set was similar to what Legomotive said relative to the motor on the ground and the Technic axles up the middle.  It seems to be the most logical way, and there is probably a simple solution to it, but I'm like you Chris - I would have to let someone else figure it out.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/03/09 at 23:17:36 AST by Chris
Yeah I spent most of the day wednesday tinkering with it trying to get it to work.  The portion in the motor housing was easy to convert, it was the gear on the bottem of the tower, and then gearing the motor down enough to make the windmill go slow was what was giving me fits...that and it is not very secure once you stop using the tecnic axle for support in the middle.  I am sure someone will come up with a solution once the set is out for a bit longer.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/04/09 at 14:08:16 AST by powerpig
Hmm, it'll definitely be interesting to see if you can get the motor working properly. As I mentioned on BrickBrothers, the set didn't look all that compelling to me, but I suppose part of that reason is because it didn't have a motor— and I have no motors lying around!
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/04/09 at 17:40:27 AST by Marc
I'll pick up a set next week, and give the technic side of things a good stab... when coming out of the darkages I went straight to technic so there's a fair bit of it in the parts farm... will try and stick to more common parts too. Who will be the first to solve the puzzle?? :)
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/04/09 at 19:16:36 AST by Chris
Have at it....I made it work....just not very well...had a hard time with the gears at the bottom of the tower, and getting the speed right....lol
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/04/09 at 19:20:52 AST by legomotive
I would love to do it but
A) I don't have the set...
B) All my legos are still packed in boxes
C) I'm heading to NJ tomorrow

I wonder if I can stop in TrU in NH just off the 95 (no tax in NH)
I'm afraid to stop because of the temptation for more...
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/04/09 at 19:23:15 AST by Chris
Yeah but think of how nice the tractor trailer in the set is JM, plus you get the litte truck and the windmill! lol Plus it will be much cheaper in the states, plus tax free...its a win win situation!
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/08/09 at 11:23:50 AST by PepeLepew
Thanks for the review.  It looks like a great set.

MEB
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/09/09 at 16:25:58 AST by Chris
No prob!  It was the one set this year that really intrigued me.  I am not dissapointed.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/12/09 at 16:35:26 AST by legomotive
[quoted=city--172-20-19]Chris said:
Yeah but think of how nice the tractor trailer in the set is JM, plus you get the litte truck and the windmill! lol Plus it will be much cheaper in the states, plus tax free...its a win win situation!


I guess you wanna know...
I did go to the TrU in Newington, NH
I bought.....
nothing, They didn't have what I'm looking for neither the 7747

Oh well, next time if they have more inventories.

If one of you wants me to shop there for you, let me know.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/12/09 at 19:30:13 AST by Chris
Ahh too bad...keep looking!  I have read that they are avail in some TRU's in the states and most of the ones in Canada.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/13/09 at 23:22:13 AST by legomotive
I thought a bit more about motorizing the windmills, and I have a few points to mention
Here are my suggestions:
1) motorize from the ground
2) each unit should be able to attach 1 to 2 more and only one should have a motor
3) Saves on motors
4) save on wires

There are also week points like placement on tables, (requires symmetrical square baseplate)
Not easily placeable on landscape (different heights)

What are your point of views on that?
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/13/09 at 23:40:51 AST by Chris
the windmill itself is pretty weak.  May need some sort of support system to hold it together from the inside.  It should definitly be doable...just need a gear head to do it lol.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/24/09 at 15:40:49 AST by Marc
Alright.... I made up my mind and picked one up. Now we'll have at least 2 for the public displays. I'll see if I can't figure out getting it motorized and share the results.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 07/24/09 at 22:56:03 AST by Chris
Perfect!  Still waiting on a city sale to get 2 more.
 Re: Lego 7747 Wind Turbine Transport Review
Written on 09/26/09 at 07:33:00 AST by Marc
And finally... 2 months later and I finally built the set. It's been a busy couple of months here and this is the biggest set I've built since then.

The build was very good. The truck is solid - very solid. I was quite surprised at the weight once completed. The trailer has it's strong points too... but could use a little reinforcment. The wind turbine itself was quick and easy... but could use one more section of 2x4x4 half mooon containers to raise it up a little more. Converting this to be motorized will be very simple... there is loads of room inside it for gears especially since the generator housing is SNOTed. I do plan on putting a clutch in there to prevent any jams. Also, I'll be modifying the base of the wind turbine as well - mounting it on a 32x32 baseplate, adding a transformer shack, and some ground details.

I know Chris has been waiting for me to figure it all out... and I will post the mods next week.

If you didn't pick up the set yet... do it. It's worth it.
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