Random set of the day: Giant Truck
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 5571 Giant Truck, released during 1996. It was the only Model Team set released that year. It contains 1757 pieces, and its retail price was US$139.
It's owned by 1,510 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $1,650.00, or eBay.
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61 comments on this article
One of the all-time goats. Such an iconic set.
I love the hood ornament.
Is it REALLY that giant, though?
I wished I owned a sealed one of these!
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these! "
I wish I owned a gently used one of these. One of my most cherished possessions is a 10020 Super Chief that one of my friends played with as a kid, outside and in the dirt. I had to super glue a crack in the train base and the window still has some dirt in it but I love it anyways.
darn. I missed commenting on the golden palace and I found some more baseplates with the studless built-in stairs. 7739 & 9129 / 2834 (2914 has something similar...)
@BlackFalconBirdman said:
"darn. I missed commenting on the golden palace and I found some more baseplates with the studless built-in stairs. 7739 & 9129 / 2834 (2914 has something similar...)"
Thank you for this, answering my question from yesterday.
As for this Giant Truck set, I’m not a truck guy, but I like this set.
At one point there was an Lego outlet in Ontario. I got there and I saw 12 of them (5571). I bought them all. I think the staff there never saw anyone drop $2500(CAD) in Lego before. I did well on selling them but nothing like today's price. I did not even keep one for me (second dark age, changing country and all that jazz). Truly a lovely set (with quite a few chrome parts). The only negative I can think of is: 6 wheels.
I loved the homage in 70840.
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these! "
I'd rather have one that's been opened, but still has all the parts, which are in good shape. A sealed Lego set that's nearly thirty years old is no longer a plaything or a display piece, it's an investment.
Model Team!!! Bring back Model Team!!!
“Oh, go on. Play track three! It's the one where a group of truckers take down a corrupt police force using only their trucks and their saucy colloquialisms.”
@LuvsLEGO_Cool_J said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
"darn. I missed commenting on the golden palace and I found some more baseplates with the studless built-in stairs. 7739 & 9129 / 2834 (2914 has something similar...)"
Thank you for this, answering my question from yesterday.
As for this Giant Truck set, I’m not a truck guy, but I like this set. "
But how do you feel about giants?
@PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?"
Giant for a minifig, maybe around the right size for Homemaker figs, small for Bionicle. It's all about perspective, just ask Father Dougal...or maybe don't, he never did quite get the hang of it
Maybe I should see what the cost is of the separate parts, because as a set this one is usually around €500. That's too much for a set I just want to build.
@WokePope said:
"Model Team!!! Bring back Model Team!!!"
Creator Expert and Icons cars ARE Model Team. I will die on this hill.
One of my most desired sets as a kid!
@TheOtherMike said:
"I loved the homage in 70840.
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these! "
I'd rather have one that's been opened, but still has all the parts, which are in good shape. A sealed Lego set that's nearly thirty years old is no longer a plaything or a display piece, it's an investment."
Well, you can open the box and play with it.
One of the greatest sets ever!
It was a good day to wake up!
Definitely very high on the "if there's ever an opportunity" list.
I own all the Model Team sets except for this one and 5591. I think they are absolutely fantastic. Fun to build and they look great.
As @iwybs said: the Expert and Icons vehicles are essentially successors of Model Team.
Ah, the Black Cat as some catalogs called it.
This set was GIANT. Sure, today's sets dwarf it in piece count, height, width etc. But remember, this is 1996. The only sets that came close in size were other Model Team sets, of which this is the biggest, especially as a singular vehicle. And there was nothing quite like it. Even the Star Wars UCS theme wouldn't exist until 2000.
Being one of a limited few made this so much more special.
But being big is not it's only trait however. It packs in so much detail, and all with regular pieces. From what I can recall only the window and wheels were new. The build is interesting to read through in the instructions.
By the way, this set recently had a shoutout in a Creator set, 31146 Flatbed Truck and Trailer.
@PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?"
That's one small truck for a man, one giant truck for a minifig
A loved looking at the small details on the Model Team pictures. They look like Technic, but much more detailed and not just a skeleton of a vehicle, like many technic at that time.
If there was one Model Team set I could own, it would be this one.
This model is almost 30 years old, but it could be easily released today and it would fit great with current lineup. It's a timeless design made without all the fancy slopes and rounded plates of today. Amazing set, wish I had it.
I always thought this set was called " the black cat". It is the only set fron my youth that's always on display in my room.
@Brickbuilder0937 said:
"I love the hood ornament."
It's name in some countries was actually "The Black Cat".
Quite an impressive set, still today. Was also breaking the record for most pieces in a regular set, beating 8880 from 1994. And it had a lot of new/exclusive pieces (even including the cat, which was new in black).
Wheels, doors and front window first appeared in this set (sadly no windows were ever made for the doors).
Other highlights were the many chrome pieces (partly "inherited" from it's MT precursor Blue Fury), a semi-rare Fabuland shovel and the exclusive red version of part 6155.
The dawn of the grown up sets allowing you to buy what was previously only ever seen in exhibitions and magazines. Not sure how popular as seemed expensive at the time for a toy, but now appears good value with all that chrome.
Was this marketed in Europe, I do not remember it?
I received this as part of a collection being given to me. It truly is giant, it was a great build, and it was only missing one piece, and it wasn't crucial. Some of the chrome has chipped off, but that's the nature of such things, that's why LEGO has stopped chrome coating things. I wouldn't say go out and buy one today unless you intend to have it sit on a shelf, I parted it out after a short time, but it's a cool set.
@iwybs said:
" @WokePope said:
"Model Team!!! Bring back Model Team!!!"
Creator Expert and Icons cars ARE Model Team. I will die on this hill."
I think internally most of the Model Team staff got shifted towards SW UCS at the time, with a 1 year gap in 2000.
The first "non-Model Team Model Team" set would have been Sopwith Camel in 2001 (which wasn't really labelled anything officially, though I guess the most correct thing would be "Shop at Home > Sculptures").
With a few missing years in between this transition right into Creator Expert, so yes, you could argue Model Team was never really gone (it's just the "brand" name that got abandoned).
@TrailWing said:
"Was this marketed in Europe, I do not remember it?"
Yes, as a Black Cat.
My favorite set of all time. 10182 and 10185 would be in podium too.
@iwybs said:
" @WokePope said:
"Model Team!!! Bring back Model Team!!!"
Creator Expert and Icons cars ARE Model Team. I will die on this hill."
Right with you. Recently received 10330 and I can't help but see it as a sucessor to 5540. Even the colors are similar. Model Team was amazing back when it came out, though--we'd never seen anything like it.
@ra226 said:
" @iwybs said:
" @WokePope said:
"Model Team!!! Bring back Model Team!!!"
Creator Expert and Icons cars ARE Model Team. I will die on this hill."
Right with you. Recently received 10330 and I can't help but see it as a sucessor to 5540. Even the colors are similar. Model Team was amazing back when it came out, though--we'd never seen anything like it."
Same. Model Team is the OG.
I've not yet come across this one, but I have found 5550 a couple of times. Would have blown my little mind if I'd built it as a child.
@Binnekamp said:
"Ah, the Black Cat as some catalogs called it.
This set was GIANT. Sure, today's sets dwarf it in piece count, height, width etc. But remember, this is 1996. The only sets that came close in size were other Model Team sets, of which this is the biggest, especially as a singular vehicle. And there was nothing quite like it. Even the Star Wars UCS theme wouldn't exist until 2000.
Being one of a limited few made this so much more special.
But being big is not it's only trait however. It packs in so much detail, and all with regular pieces. From what I can recall only the window and wheels were new. The build is interesting to read through in the instructions.
By the way, this set recently had a shoutout in a Creator set, 31146 Flatbed Truck and Trailer."
31146 Flatbed Truck and Trailer feels like a hybrid of 5571 Giant Truck and 5590 Whirl and Wheel Super Truck, while also quite similar to 5591 Mach II Red Bird Rig. Overall, just a great hommage to the Model Team theme.
This set is one of my white whales! One of the most desired sets I wanted in the 90s. I would stare at it endlessly in every catalog! I still want it today!
@Brickalili said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?"
Giant for a minifig, maybe around the right size for Homemaker figs, small for Bionicle. It's all about perspective, just ask Father Dougal...or maybe don't, he never did quite get the hang of it"
I can say from personal experience that 5510 scales to a Technic fig pretty nicely. I used to put one in the driver's seat of that all the time.
@jenanjenan1980 said:" @TheOtherMike said:
"I loved the homage in 70840.
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these!"
I'd rather have one that's been opened, but still has all the parts, which are in good shape. A sealed Lego set that's nearly thirty years old is no longer a plaything or a display piece, it's an investment."
Well, you can open the box and play with it."
And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around.
This was a real holy grail to those who were kids in the 90s and loved LEGO vehicles, just as I did. One could stare at it in the catalogues for hours, trying to find out all the little details and mechanims of the truck, and yes, it was a real giant in 1996. I remember seeing it in person once at the local toy store, and I opened the lid of the box just like a treasure chest. By that time I already had the perfect 5580 and the 5550, but of course wanted 5571 so much as well. Not happened in my childhood, because it simply costed a half salary back then. I managed to purchase an excellent, one-time-built copy with box, instructions and stickers years later for a moderate price thanks to a friend of mine in Germany. I have to say, it lived up to the expectations, it is a jewel of my Model Team collection, and the only minor criticism is that it should have had dual wheels at the back.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Brickalili said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?"
Giant for a minifig, maybe around the right size for Homemaker figs, small for Bionicle. It's all about perspective, just ask Father Dougal...or maybe don't, he never did quite get the hang of it"
I can say from personal experience that 5510 scales to a Technic fig pretty nicely. I used to put one in the driver's seat of that all the time.
@jenanjenan1980 said:" @TheOtherMike said:
"I loved the homage in 70840.
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these!"
I'd rather have one that's been opened, but still has all the parts, which are in good shape. A sealed Lego set that's nearly thirty years old is no longer a plaything or a display piece, it's an investment."
Well, you can open the box and play with it."
And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around."
I always wonder about these prices claimed for MISB old sets - do any actually ever sell? Something is only worth what somebody will pay for it and if its only purpose is to be kept in a box out of the daylight to supposedly appreciate in value to a possibly non existent market, it doesn't seem a good buy so I'm with the 'buy a good used one' camp and get some enjoyment from the set...
@danieltheo said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Brickalili said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?"
Giant for a minifig, maybe around the right size for Homemaker figs, small for Bionicle. It's all about perspective, just ask Father Dougal...or maybe don't, he never did quite get the hang of it"
I can say from personal experience that 5510 scales to a Technic fig pretty nicely. I used to put one in the driver's seat of that all the time.
@jenanjenan1980 said:" @TheOtherMike said:
"I loved the homage in 70840.
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these!"
I'd rather have one that's been opened, but still has all the parts, which are in good shape. A sealed Lego set that's nearly thirty years old is no longer a plaything or a display piece, it's an investment."
Well, you can open the box and play with it."
And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around."
I always wonder about these prices claimed for MISB old sets - do any actually ever sell? Something is only worth what somebody will pay for it and if its only purpose is to be kept in a box out of the daylight to supposedly appreciate in value to a possibly non existent market, it doesn't seem a good buy so I'm with the 'buy a good used one' camp and get some enjoyment from the set..."
I sold a MISB 6097 for $500, and that was at a discount. TBF, I think the buyer was planning on opening and building it, but I knew they'd appreciate it since they'd bought more Fright Knights from me.
@danieltheo said:
"I always wonder about these prices claimed for MISB old sets - do any actually ever sell? Something is only worth what somebody will pay for it and if its only purpose is to be kept in a box out of the daylight to supposedly appreciate in value to a possibly non existent market, it doesn't seem a good buy so I'm with the 'buy a good used one' camp and get some enjoyment from the set..."
Depends. Shortly before the current version was released, I looked up 10179 and found a MISB copy listed for $10,000. It obviously never sold for that price, but there was at least one record of a MISB copy selling for $5000. There’s still one listed for $9100, but since you can still buy 75192 for $850, the highest listed sold price for the original in the last 6 months is $1,679.36. If that set had never released, maybe someone would have actually paid $10k for a MISB 1st Edition Falcon by now. I mean, it’s been 18 years since that released, and a lot of new fans have joined the hobby in that time.
@Kynareth said:
" @LuvsLEGO_Cool_J said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
"darn. I missed commenting on the golden palace and I found some more baseplates with the studless built-in stairs. 7739 & 9129 / 2834 (2914 has something similar...)"
Thank you for this, answering my question from yesterday.
As for this Giant Truck set, I’m not a truck guy, but I like this set. "
But how do you feel about giants?"
I love giants! My grandfather was one.
You know, it occurs to me that I've never really been sure what the name "Model Team" actually meant. Is it referring to Lego's set designers in general, suggesting the theme is "this is just the model team showing off" or perhaps "we left the model team unsupervised and they made all this nonsense, anyone want it?" Is it suggesting that these particular sets are "models" rather than the usual "toys" (in defiance of Lego's usual terminology choices) and this is the output of a team specifically dedicated to that approach (which I guess isn't *wrong* but feels like a weird basis for the name)? Is everything in the theme actually the personal vehicles of an elite squad of adventuring supermodels? Is it just placeholder text that never got replaced?
@LuvsLEGO_Cool_J said:
" @Kynareth said:
" @LuvsLEGO_Cool_J said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
"darn. I missed commenting on the golden palace and I found some more baseplates with the studless built-in stairs. 7739 & 9129 / 2834 (2914 has something similar...)"
Thank you for this, answering my question from yesterday.
As for this Giant Truck set, I’m not a truck guy, but I like this set. "
But how do you feel about giants?"
I love giants! My grandfather was one."
LOL, nice. giants are great. Jack will fit better in the model team truck with those long legs.
This, but in purple with a yellow and orange stripe. Yes please!
@MusiMus said:
" @TrailWing said:
"Was this marketed in Europe, I do not remember it?"
Yes, as a Black Cat."
Indeed. Hence the hood ornament.
This set is one of my all-time favourites - it sits behind me on my office shelves as I type this. I found it new in a TK MAXX in Glasgow while I was there for university. Probably about 1997 or 1998, and it must have been on a decent discount for me to afford it as a student. It sat on my desk at work for years when I was working on truck engine oils for Castrol (My boss once accidentally knocked it on to the floor, and we filled out a joke incident form in the HSSE system for it!)
The set holds up very well today, with it's mostly 'conventional' build techniques, dressed up with a smattering of SNOT techniques.
I actually prefer the alternate build. It's not assembled right now, but when I build it again, it will be the alternate.
@PurpleDave said:
" @danieltheo said:
"I always wonder about these prices claimed for MISB old sets - do any actually ever sell? Something is only worth what somebody will pay for it and if its only purpose is to be kept in a box out of the daylight to supposedly appreciate in value to a possibly non existent market, it doesn't seem a good buy so I'm with the 'buy a good used one' camp and get some enjoyment from the set..."
Depends. Shortly before the current version was released, I looked up 10179 and found a MISB copy listed for $10,000. It obviously never sold for that price, but there was at least one record of a MISB copy selling for $5000. There’s still one listed for $9100, but since you can still buy 75192 for $850, the highest listed sold price for the original in the last 6 months is $1,679.36. If that set had never released, maybe someone would have actually paid $10k for a MISB 1st Edition Falcon by now. I mean, it’s been 18 years since that released, and a lot of new fans have joined the hobby in that time."
There have been two occasions when 10179 from the first edition with autographs has sold for around $10,000 on Catawiki.
@danieltheo said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Brickalili said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Depends. Are you a minifig?"
Giant for a minifig, maybe around the right size for Homemaker figs, small for Bionicle. It's all about perspective, just ask Father Dougal...or maybe don't, he never did quite get the hang of it"
I can say from personal experience that 5510 scales to a Technic fig pretty nicely. I used to put one in the driver's seat of that all the time.
@jenanjenan1980 said:" @TheOtherMike said:
"I loved the homage in 70840.
@BrickClones said:
"I wished I owned a sealed one of these!"
I'd rather have one that's been opened, but still has all the parts, which are in good shape. A sealed Lego set that's nearly thirty years old is no longer a plaything or a display piece, it's an investment."
Well, you can open the box and play with it."
And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around."
I always wonder about these prices claimed for MISB old sets - do any actually ever sell? Something is only worth what somebody will pay for it and if its only purpose is to be kept in a box out of the daylight to supposedly appreciate in value to a possibly non existent market, it doesn't seem a good buy so I'm with the 'buy a good used one' camp and get some enjoyment from the set..."
Check out the ones sold on Bricklink. They often sell in large quantities.
Rhinoooo !!!
Every time I see this, I get it confused with 5590
@zyberteq said:
"Maybe I should see what the cost is of the separate parts, because as a set this one is usually around €500. That's too much for a set I just want to build."
Some parts are VERY pricey. I am in the process of re-gathering my copy from bulk and I am cringing at the prices (and general rarity) of some of the parts that need to be replaced.
I kinda wish LEGO would produce sets like this again. I like when LEGO looks like LEGO.
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Is it REALLY that giant, though?"
Yes it is (i have it) i bought the race truck that followed it just for the tyres so i could "Fix" the rear with proper Dual tyres
(Its about the scale of a technic figure)
@TheOtherMike said:
"And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around."
And that's exactly why if I would ever start buying sets as investment, I would *always* buy multiples....
Imagine owning one of the coolest sets Lego has ever made, but never actualy build it and see it IRL. There's just no way....
@WizardOfOss said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around."
And that's exactly why if I would ever start buying sets as investment, I would *always* buy multiples....
Imagine owning one of the coolest sets Lego has ever made, but never actualy build it and see it IRL. There's just no way...."
When the discussion of keeping sets sealed or open I always think of this Saturday Night Live sketch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYyuo7gm-aQ
@MusiMus said:
"There have been two occasions when 10179 from the first edition with autographs has sold for around $10,000 on Catawiki."
Depending on the autograph, a crumpled napkin could potentially fetch the same price. Harrison Ford reportedly flat out refuses to do any SW-related autographs, and I'm not sure if he does autographs in general. Several SW actors have passed away, so that of course causes the value of any existing copies to go up. And of course if you've done all the work to get a massive cluster of autographs grouped on a single piece, the value can be shocking. Plus, if you auction it for a charitable cause, people are frequently willing to overpay.
@Blockwork_Orange said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"And thus significantly lower the value of my investment, while slightly raising the value of other's investments. There are only so many sealed ones to go around."
And that's exactly why if I would ever start buying sets as investment, I would *always* buy multiples....
Imagine owning one of the coolest sets Lego has ever made, but never actualy build it and see it IRL. There's just no way...."
When the discussion of keeping sets sealed or open I always think of this Saturday Night Live sketch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYyuo7gm-aQ"
"Does your wife like toys, too?" Love it.