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[liquidcross]

"Time to take a dump..."

My brother got me this set for Christmas (along with a few others), and my re-obsession with the Town/City theme has officially begun. We all loved watching construction vehicles as kids; c'mon, don't lie. That passion has continued through our adult lives in one way or another, otherwise we wouldn't be here talking about a building toy, now would we?

LEGO's made many dump trucks before, but this is really one of the latest and greatest, on par with 7344 released a few years back (though much smaller!). Utilizing quite a few new parts, this model has some very cool details, though there's also the dreaded stickers. While the minifig driver only comes with a single tool (a shovel), the set also includes two large rocks, two traffic cones, a "men at work" sign, and a hazard gate. That's quite a few accessories for a simple truck! Plus, as you'd expect, the bed of truck can be angled to dump out debris. (It also makes a handy storage area for all of the accessories.)

Anyway, the new Dump Truck is a fine addition to the Construction subtheme, and since you're building something that contributes to the act of building itself, it's got a very metadata quality to it. It's not the massive set that was 7344, but it'll make a fine part of your construction crew, without a doubt.

Ratings (on a scale of 1 to 10):

Parts: 8/10 A few cool newer pieces, like the angled grates on the cab, plus the curved panels on the truck bed. There's also a few stickers, unfortunately.
Minifigs: 5/10 You only get one minifig, a basic construction worker. Still, you wouldn't expect to get a slew of them with such a small set, and the minifig itself is unique to this set, even though his individual parts are not.
Detail: 7/10 The new design is great, and the robot arm rearview mirrors on the sides of the cab are a nice touch.
Playability: 10/10 This set comes with tons of accessories and action parts, and it meshes nicely with other sets in the Construction subtheme.
Price to parts: 9/10 At $19.99 MSRP, with 189 pieces, it's right on the mark. There's quite a few spare pieces, too!
Availability: 10/10 This is part of the first wave of new City sets, so you shouldn't have trouble finding it anywhere.
OVERALL RATING: 8/10 The Dump Truck is a perfect example of what a $20 set should be. If you're into the Town/City theme at all, you need it.
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