LEGO® Set Review: 4525 Road and Rail Repair
4525
![[4525 Set Photo]](../pix/4525.jpg)
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Road N' Rail Repair (us)
Refection voies-et-railes (fr)
Reparavias (es)
Gravemaskine (da)
Schaufelbagger (de)
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Trains / 9v
Ages 8-12 / 81 Pcs
15 page manual. 1 models. Booklet. Model 1: 10+10 steps.
©1994
Price Range: $13 CDN Per Element: 6.23 cents per piece
Review Written: 6 July 1995 by Calum Tsang
Special Features / Compatibility
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Extra Elements
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Decals: Yes
Scale: Mini-Figure, Trains
Errors: None
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Ratings:
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Set: Must-Have
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Models: Good
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Playability: Must-Have
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Description
4525 is a really cool set, it's a landrail vehicle, which has a
car/truck chassis and rubber tires, but also a set of train wheels/axles
allowing it to get onto the rail line from the road and travel along. It's
a backhoe/digger thing, with four big (well, bigger than the usual car
tires) tires and four small train wheels (not the same as the usual
Metroliner wheels). The top part, which swivels, is mostly yellow, with a
Train Company insignia on each side. The little minifigure sits in the top
part, and has a set of control sticks. The digger arm is kinda thin, but
it's okay. A small black dig bucket is at the end of this arm.
The chassis is red, and has smooth tiles on the top (for the yellow
part to rotate easily on) It has a magnetic coupler to attach to the end
of a train and four support jacks to keep it steady (more for show,
really). Four tires, of a design I'm new to, have a nice spring
suspension. At each end are train wheels which swing up to allow the
rubber tires touch ground.
It comes with one minifigure, a train worker in blue, with the
requisite giant warning stripes on his front and a white hardhat.
Impression
After ten years of having virtually NO accessories for LEGO trains
in the old 4.5V battery era (North Americans only got 7710, 7720, 7722 and
7715 trains) it's a welcome addition to my Metroliner, even if it doesn't
really fit into the train's looks. It would certainly fit better with a
4563 Load and Haul or 4564 Freight Rail Runner, but no matter what train you own, it's a low-cost amusing set to pick up.
Ratings
Set Rating:Must-Have
It's a must have for train owners, because any car is important for
a train system. Sorta like the Club Car. However, what I really enjoy
about it is that it's an interesting model, heck every train has cars, but
this is a landrail vehicle, half truck, half digger, half train car.
While there are quite a few old ones (swivel plate, usual basic pieces)
the tires, suspensions, and smaller train axles, plus two strange
technic like
1x1 with a hole in it pieces are all new to me. Some pieces, such as those
technic pieces and the half pins are used ineffectively, but the others are
used quite well. I think the major component that makes this set great is
the small train axles.
Model Rating:Good
It's a nice looking model. However, there's nothing that is
breathtaking or incredible about it. It certainly is innovative and
interesting, but it's not enough to warrant a "superwickedawesomenifty-oid"
description or something.
The colour scheme fits nicely into other train sets and looks good.
Playability Rating:Must-Have
Why is it a must-have? Because it's a train set. In my opinion,
something like the MetroStation isn't an absolute must have, because you
can easily build a train station. But this, well, for thirteen bucks, it's
a nice addition to your set. My six year old cousin got a kick out of
placing it on the track, backing up the Metroliner to it, then slowly
moving the train till the 4525 was attached. He would then slam the
acceleration and pull the entire train away.
I got a kick out of putting it around the town, digging pieces of
stray LEGO. The little supports are pretty useless and get annoying after
a while. They do hold the thing onto the track so it won't tip, but that's
more for looks and less for actually play value.
Elements
Special/Unusual Elements:
Two tire suspension axles (2)
Bulbous truck tires (2)
Miniature train wheels/axles (2)
Magnetic coupler, train type
1x1 with technic pin sized hole in it (2)
Technic half pin (2)
New
The 1x1 technic pieces look new
Non-Plastic Elements
Magnetic coupler
Decals
Small Train Company insignia (2)
Large Train Company insignia (2)
The small ones go on each side of the top part. The large ones,
well, I suspect this label sheet is also for the little landrail truck that
the LEGO Group also makes (with the trashcan in the back).
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