Review: 42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester
Posted by Huw,
The most interesting among the seven Technic sets being released tomorrow is 42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester, not least because it's been 17 years since a similar machine, 8274 Combine Harvester, was produced.
This one is a smaller scale, and looks to be a great model to accompany 42136 John Deere 9620R 4WD Tractor on your shelf.
Summary
42168 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester, 559 pieces.
£37.99 / $39.99 / €42.99 | 6.8p/7.2c/7.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A great-looking and reasonably accurate model with all the functions you'd expect
- Pretty much a perfect Technic model
- Doesn't take ages to build
- Approximately minifig scale
- Inaccurate tyres
The prototype
The John Deere product brochure provides this photo of the real machine. It's quite compact compared to similar machines normally seen in the UK countryside harvesting wheat or other crops. As its name suggests, this one is designed to harvest forage plants, which are mostly leaves and stems, used to make silage.
The completed model
The model resembles the real machine fairly well, although the use of road tyres is disappointing. System pieces have been used sparingly, most noticeably for the mudguards over the small wheels (I was going to say back wheels, but there isn't really a front and back to this type of vehicle!) and the output chute.
The business end of the machine certainly looks accurate and, as you'd expect, the cutting discs rotate as the vehicle is pushed along, facilitated by two small wheels underneath it which are linked to the gears.
The gear wheel on the left-hand side raises and lowers the cutting apparatus while that in front of the cab steers the vehicle.
Construction
As is always the case with licensed vehicles, there is a sticker sheet, mostly to embellish the model with the manufacturer's logo.
New Technic parts, particularly functional rather than aesthetic ones, are always a cause for celebration, so I was elated to find three of these in the set, further expanding the range of connectors with perpendicular holes.
Parts are divided among four plastic bags and construction starts with the steering assembly and engine cowling.
Several pieces are appearing in green for the first time in the set, including 71708 SHELL 3X1X2, W/ CROSS HOLE, NO. 1 and the 3x5 curved shells that form the back (or front!) of the engine cowling.
Alongside 42136 John Deere 9620R 4WD Tractor
The harvester looks to be the same scale as the tractor that was released in 2022 and the pair look great together.
There's a hitch on the back to which the trailer can be hooked.
Verdict
Farm machinery and plant are my favourite types of Technic model and I was not disappointed by this one. It looks good on display, and is fun to push along. It's size is also appealing: it doesn't take ages to build, and it's easy to find somewhere to put it once it's complete.
The designers have done a reasonable job of capturing the likeness of the real machine, within the limits of the Technic system, although the use of road tyres is particularly disappointing. Obviously, the budget did not stretch to creating new, more accurate, ones.
Price-wise, it's £37.99/$39.99/€42.99 for 559 pieces. That seems reasonable to me, and those of you in the USA are not getting shafted as you usually are for Technic sets.
It'll be available tomorrow, January 1st, at LEGO.com.
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33 comments on this article
Happy Bricktastic New Year @Huw.
Will John Deere brick it if you use unauthorised parts in a future rebuild??
If you'd swap out the green liftarms of the 'front' mudguards with system bricks as well as those on the cabin, it would look like a great City model I think? Or too big a scale? It's the minifig seat that got me thinking..
What I find oddly appealing to me as a City enthusiast is the inclusion of a normal system style steering wheel and seat. It looks like a truly Minifigure compatible technic set not seen since the technic Minifigures were discontinued.
Way too big for minifig scale...
@Huw said:
"Way too big for minifig scale..."
It's not.
@TatraLUG said:
" @Huw said:
"Way too big for minifig scale..."
It's not."
The machine is 4m high, and the model 10cm high which is a scale of 1:40. Minifigs are generally regarded to be 1:42 based on their height, so yes, you are right! I'll add that as a +.
@Huw said:
" @TatraLUG said:
" @Huw said:
"Way too big for minifig scale..."
It's not."
The machine is 4m high, and the model 10cm high which is a scale of 1:40. Minifigs are generally regarded to be 1:42 based on their height, so yes, you are right! I'll add that as a +."
Regardless of scale, when was the last time a technic set included system seats (intended as real seats and not mudguards) Huw? I can't recall...
Sorry, @Huw, but this puppy definitely has a front and back end. The header is located at the front of the vehicle; the trailer hitch is at the rear.
@Huw said:
"The harvester looks to be the same scale as the tractor that was released in 2022 and the pair look great together."
How does the scale compare to the Skidder 42157
On the topic of parts - what are those claw-like pieces on the outside of the cutting part? I don't recall seeing those before.
@sjr60 said:
" @Huw said:
"The harvester looks to be the same scale as the tractor that was released in 2022 and the pair look great together."
How does the scale compare to the Skidder 42157"
The skidder is waaaaay bigger!
@LegoFrancis said:
" @Huw said:
" @TatraLUG said:
" @Huw said:
"Way too big for minifig scale..."
It's not."
The machine is 4m high, and the model 10cm high which is a scale of 1:40. Minifigs are generally regarded to be 1:42 based on their height, so yes, you are right! I'll add that as a +."
Regardless of scale, when was the last time a technic set included system seats (intended as real seats and not mudguards) Huw? I can't recall..."
Probably 8480…
@Rendier said:
" @LegoFrancis said:
" @Huw said:
" @TatraLUG said:
" @Huw said:
"Way too big for minifig scale..."
It's not."
The machine is 4m high, and the model 10cm high which is a scale of 1:40. Minifigs are generally regarded to be 1:42 based on their height, so yes, you are right! I'll add that as a +."
Regardless of scale, when was the last time a technic set included system seats (intended as real seats and not mudguards) Huw? I can't recall..."
Probably 8480…"
Assuming the database is complete and not hiding anything due to categorization quirks (neither of which is something I'd necessarily bet on), it looks like it was 8217.
@TheNameWasTaken said:
"On the topic of parts - what are those claw-like pieces on the outside of the cutting part? I don't recall seeing those before."
Looks like https://brickset.com/parts/design-15362
The first minifig compatible technic set in 25 years, wow!
Good set at a decent price! A bit heavy on the System pieces, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. And way more interesting than that boring tractor from last year!
It's a bit of a shame that it uses cheater wheels though instead of being powered by the main wheels. I do get that because of this the discs stop spinning when you lift the thing, but it would have been so much cooler if they had some kind of (un)coupling mechanism for that. That would have been truly next-level.
This wasn’t on my radar, thanks for the review @Huw! I’ll definitely pick it up, and it will also nicely fit into the current City
Nice model and nice review.
I would have preferred that the cutting thingey was powered by the front wheels, and not by the (probably inaccurate) ancillary small wheels. But this would have been more complex and perhaps even unreliable.
Also nice to see actual rack-and-pinion steering, as opposed to the simple solutions we mostly see these days.
@WizardOfOss, I did think to mention about the 'cheater wheels' being not accurate, but then it would have been no more accurate if the driving wheels were powering it, although it would be cooler.
I'm glad we're getting new John Deere sets, because the green and yellow color scheme is really cool
...BUT after the building nightmare that was 42134, I don't think I'll be buying any Technic sets for a LOOOOONG time
@Huw said:
" @WizardOfOss, I did think to mention about the 'cheater wheels' being not accurate, but then it would have been no more accurate if the driving wheels were powering it, although it would be cooler."
Kinda true, though I assume in the real thing the whole mechanism will be driven by a PTO from the main engine/transmission. So I'd say it would still be more accurate than cheater wheels.
And besides, in Technic there's nothing wrong with making interesting mechanism just for the sake of it being interesting :-)
I like it, it looks cool. I have the other JD to go with it so it would fit in my collection.
I'm just not sure it looks like a £38 set to me.
What kind of wheels would you like to see on this one for it to be more accurate? Genuine question as I'm not up to speed on combine harvesters...
@Brick_Master said:
"What kind of wheels would you like to see on this one for it to be more accurate? Genuine question as I'm not up to speed on combine harvesters... "
The rear tyres are fine, but the front tyres really should have been the ones from 42122, which were also used in 42136.
@EtudeTheBadger said:
" @Brick_Master said:
"What kind of wheels would you like to see on this one for it to be more accurate? Genuine question as I'm not up to speed on combine harvesters... "
The rear tyres are fine, but the front tyres really should have been the ones from 42122, which were also used in 42136."
Problem is, I think their radius is about 0.5M larger, so I don't think they'll fit under the fairings.
@WizardOfOss said:
"It's a bit of a shame that it uses cheater wheels though instead of being powered by the main wheels. I do get that because of this the discs stop spinning when you lift the thing, but it would have been so much cooler if they had some kind of (un)coupling mechanism for that. That would have been truly next-level."
Yeah, that would have been cool. Hope someone smarter than me figures out how to make that happen and puts it up on rebrickable!
So the wheels are wrong, which we already knew from the pics, but otherwise the set looks pretty solid. Nice to see it at minifig scale, it's been a long time indeed! @Rendier reckoned 8480 and I can't think of any others since then, but then I had a pretty long dark age in the 2000s.
Slightly surprised that the re-coloured Z28 gears aren't mentioned, but more than that, the Z28 is very rare and there are 6 of them in this set which makes it a great parts pack. I'll certainly be picking it up at some point. My only real disappointment is that the drive train uses cheat wheels - it's easy to drive a lifting arm from the main wheels such that when it's lifted it simply doesn't drive by lifting the relevant gear out of the train. Why wasn't this used here, it's such a straightforward solution!
I used to love Technic but at the moment there isn't much that interest me in the theme. I think they are hitting the wrong kind of middle ground at the moment, for my taste.
I have always been fine with mixing Technic and regular System parts, which some seem to dislike. But for me they either need to focus heavily on the functionality OR the exterior esthetics. This one doesn't really seem to hit any of the two in my view.
It would have looked better with more system and less technic, and it would have had more functionality (and showed off that functionality) better with more pure technic and less exterior paneling.
@DoonsterBuildsLego said:
" @EtudeTheBadger said:
" @Brick_Master said:
"What kind of wheels would you like to see on this one for it to be more accurate? Genuine question as I'm not up to speed on combine harvesters... "
The rear tyres are fine, but the front tyres really should have been the ones from 42122 , which were also used in 42136 ."
Problem is, I think their radius is about 0.5M larger, so I don't think they'll fit under the fairings."
Yes, that is true. I checked it in my Studio model and can confirm, but then they should have made a different kind of mudguard built out of system bricks to make it fit the small tractor tyres. This solution is just lazy. Same goes for the same direction spinning on the gears (cutters). And it's easy to change rotation direction with crossed rubber bands or chain links.
And just so you don't think I talk nonsense, here's how to easily mod the harvesting unit:
https://brickshelf.com/gallery/R0Sch/42168/42168_rubber_band_mod.png
https://brickshelf.com/gallery/R0Sch/42168/42168_rubber_band_mod2.png
Took me 10 min to design what LEGO didn't think was important enough to showcase in a licensed JD Rotary Harvester.
>quite compact
Farmer here: We don't run a SP forage harvester anymore (or any forage harvester) since getting rid of the dairy cows, but this 9700 and other new machines are absolutely massive compared to the models from a generation ago, like this 5400: https://d323w7klwy72q3.cloudfront.net/i/a/2023/20230920ag/hires/DP2368.JPG
The addition of a kernel processor in the late '80s meant the harvesters had to be an order of magnitude larger and more powerful, and the custom chopping teams keep asking for more row capacity, higher speeds, etc. They're almost as large as combine harvesters now, and the 9700 in particular uses the largest engine Deere has ever put in a SP farm equipment, an 18.0L unit making over 800 peak HP. No more chopping two rows at 2 MPH!