Alan takes on the Heavy Duty Forklift
Alan is one of our most consistent Brick Club builders and the Heavy Duty Forklift (42079) landed in his hands as part of a run through the working vehicle section of the library. At 592 pieces it is one of the more compact kits in the Technic range, which makes it a decent change of pace after something bigger.
This is a 2018 set and you feel that slightly in the build, but the working forks are the whole point and they deliver. The gear mechanism raises and lowers the forks with a satisfying positive action. Steerable rear wheels, orange and grey colour scheme at roughly 1:20 scale. It builds well and displays well on a desk.
The fork raise mechanism is the reason to build this. It works via a gear on the side and there is a proper mechanical feel to it, forks going up and down with control rather than flopping around. For a set this size that is a decent trick. The rear wheel steer also feels right in proportion. It is not as showy as one of the flagship models but it is a complete little machine and the build time is accessible for an evening session.
The library carries older sets alongside the current range and the 42079 is one of those. Not in production now, but it builds without issues. The instructions are clear, the parts are all there, and the end result is a model that actually does something. Alan has built through quite a few working vehicles from the fleet now, the Bulldozer 42028 being another one in the same category, and the forklift sits alongside it as one of the more approachable builds in that group.
Alan has worked through enough of the library now that his photos are useful in a different way to product shots. They show the kit as a builder actually sees it: on a table, built in normal light, with the little mechanical details doing the talking.
If you have built Heavy Duty Forklift and spotted something I have missed, send it over. The member posts are better when they feel like a record of what people are actually building, not just a list of sets we happen to stock.
Rent LEGO Technic by subscription
A new set arrives each month. Build it, send it back, get the next one. Access to the full library including working vehicles, supercars, and the big engineering builds.