What do you get what you cross a burger truck and a monster truck? Well, there’s no mystery and that’s not a trick question: you’d get a Burger Monster Truck. Today we get hands-on with the 499-piece 31104 Burger Monster Truck and share our thoughts. The set will be available starting in January, comes with 499 pieces, 2 minifigures and will retail for US $49.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £44.99

My preconceived notions about the simpler themes and designs from Creator series, especially vehicles, are drawn from the building experience of Super Heroes sets, which is to say they’re simple builds and not extremely exciting. Right off the bat, I’m proven wrong here and learned that the larger piece count in this set does a decent job of both a build and play experience. While the Creator series do have 3 different builds to enjoy with instructions included for a tractor pull rig and 4×4 vehicle, we’re only looking at the primary build in this review, which is the Burger Monster Truck.

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The box and build

The set’s parts come in 3 bags, along with a thick manual to accommodate the 3 designs and 4 monster truck wheels, plus a separate sticker sheet.

I was pretty impressed right off the bat with the construction of the chassis, with a unique arched design using flexible rod connected to Technic pins. The takeaway is that you still can learn new tips and tricks for your own creations from building Creator sets.

A pull-out staircase is integrated into the early stages of the build, another interesting sliding mechanism with a stowaway function that delights me. The staircase is made of slopes which rest at a perfect angle when deployed.

The build continues upwards as the details of the truck are fleshed out. A bright light orange pinstripe separates the top half from the bottom.

As the windshields come up and the various side windows are put in place, the monster truck really begins to take shape. The roof of the truck is built similar to the floors of the Creator Expert Modular sets, in that a few studs hold together the upper section for easy removal. The tyre rims in orange (also perhaps an inspiration to this year’s truck) are rather new and was a colour re-introduced in last year’s City 60180 Monster Truck, which previously hadn’t been seen since 2008. The bright colours fit the theme for this playful vehicle.

The build is complete with the rooftop and burger for display. With a burger that large and a vehicle that tall, there’s no way one can miss this truck while it makes its round in LEGO City.

This build is accompanied by a few other side creations to add to the play value of the set. These a patio styled table with 2 chairs, a dog, a mini burger and two minifigures. The first minifigure features a man in a sweatshirt with a cap and the other figure dons a moustache, shades, goggles and a pilots cap, very much so looking like a monster truck driver. I guess driving monster trucks doesn’t pay the bills enough, and selling burgers helps supplement the income. Or wait a minute, is it the other way round?

I must admit, the tiny advent calendar-sized dog is one of my favourites from this build. In terms of scale to the minifigure, it is a pretty large-sized breed.

One thing I did particularly enjoy is building an official LEGO burger. It’s a simple build but I’m sure kids would have hours of fun with a play burger scene. It’s not the first LEGO burger, though, as half a burger was featured recently in the LEGO City 60216 Burger Bar Fire Rescue

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Play value

If I step into the shoes of a tiny human, this is quite an interesting combination. Who would have thought packaging a monster truck with a burger joint combined into one could have a good outcome? It certainly breaks the mould of play and imagination. This is what we need to inspire the younger generation that there are no logical boundaries needed. It has enough “swoosh” play factor considering it’s a vehicle that can be launched to travel distances. There’s the rooftop opening for access to imaginary play scenes, and the retractable ladder for access to the window for order and side builds to create a storyline.

The stickers add a bit more liveliness to the burger truck theme. A total of $5.50 in LEGO currency buys you a full meal of a monster burger, fries and a soda. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

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Summary

As an adult fan of LEGO, this wouldn’t necessarily be in my shopping cart for purchase of my own. Is this then worth for parts for any custom build? I would say your mileage may vary indeed. I did spot some parts that I would love to add to my collection but I doubt I’d purchase the whole set just for those specific parts. Having said that, if it’s a gift for a niece or nephew or a Christmas present for a young one, it’s now given me something to consider.

Let’s not forget the additional play value of the 3-in-1 for kids that just like to follow the instruction booklets to discover something new. Though they’re still instructions, it does ingrain and encourage the reusability of bricks to create something different altogether. Small steps towards becoming a future Brothers Brick featured custom-built creation artist perhaps?

31104 Burger Monster Truck has 499 pieces and two minifigures. The set will be available starting in January and will retail for 49.99€.

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The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Sending The Brothers Brick products for review does not guarantee coverage or a positive review.

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