The 2kg remote controlled loader not only drives, steers and lifts but also loads just like its 55 tonne equivalent
Toy giant LEGO and Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) have joined forces to create a motorised LEGO Technic L350F Volvo Wheel Loader.
Comprising over 1,600 parts and measuring 23cm in height and 59cm in length, the Wheel Loader is the latest flagship motorised model from the LEGO Technic line.
Powered by six-cylinder engine pistons, the model’s loader arm can lift approximately 1kg and the attached bucket is the largest part ever engineered for a LEGO Technic model in its 37-year history.
Technic design manager with the Wheel Loader
The LEGO Technic L350F Volvo model is the result of eight months collaboration between the LEGO Technic team and Volvo CE after a joint project, in which LEGO Technic elements had been used to create a production line concept demonstrator at Volvo.
During the project a friendship struck up between Volvo engineer Johan Sahlström and LEGO engineer Anders Gaasedal Christensen, who together hatched the idea to co-operate on an actual Volvo model.
In order to capture a true likeness of the L350F Wheel Loader, the LEGO Technic designers studied the Volvo machines in great detail, taking the time to visit a construction site and even had a go at operating them.
Back view of the Technic Wheel Loader
“Volvo CE and the LEGO Group together create a perfect match, both culturally and in what we try to achieve in our products,” says Mats Bredborg, global director of brand management for Volvo CE.
“We are extremely happy with the outcome, both from a functional and design point of view. LEGO Technic has captured the profile, expression and power of the machines in an incredible way, as well as including lots of cool features like a heavy lift boom and high dump height.”
The LEGO Technic Wheel Loader will go on sale in the UK from 1st August 2014 retailing at RRP of £169.99. It is aimed at children between the ages of 11 and 16, but no doubt some ‘grown up’ children will want to get their hands on this model too.
To see both the Lego and real-life Wheel Loaders in action, watch this video:
//www.youtube.com/embed/GPIQTx8yTT0
