Go behind the scenes at LEGO to see how the Volvo L350F wheel loader Technic set was designed

Updated Oct 15, 2014

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One of the coolest construction machines to debut at the big ConExpo-Con/Agg show earlier this year was also one of the smallest. The LEGO Technic Volvo 350F wheel loader set went on sale earlier this year, but now the two companies have shed some light on how the diminutive loader came to be in a short behind-the-scenes film.

In the video below, LEGO design manager Jeppe Juul Jensen takes us through the design process of the LEGO Technic team from brainstorming sessions, to sketches, to all the work that goes into creating a LEGO set out of a real-world piece of equipment.

LEGO Technic head of marketing Niels Henrik Horsted, left, and design manager Jeppe Juul Jenson look at the Volvo L350F wheel loader set.LEGO Technic head of marketing Niels Henrik Horsted, left, and design manager Jeppe Juul Jenson look at the Volvo L350F wheel loader set.

“As soon as I saw the Volvo wheel loader, I just thought, ‘Perfect,'” Jensen says in the video. “It has a huge engine. It has massive hydraulics, really big wheels and—most importantly—it just looks awesome.”

When LEGO got in touch with Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo loved the idea of a remote-control Technic set featuring not just one of their machines. So, Volvo gave the LEGO designers access to its engineers and the factory where the L350F is made so the designers could fully understand how all the components come together.

The Volvo Construction Equipment and LEGO collaboration on the set lasted more than eight months. The set is made up of 1,600 bricks and involved a pretty meticulous design process that required LEGO designers to have a good amount of hands-on time with the real L350F and seeing it work on actual jobsites.

“We tried to make it as realistic as possible, so it drives, steers and lifts the load just like the real thing,” Jensen said. “You can also remove the oil filters, the radiator-door swings out, pistons move and the engine is painted green, just like in the real thing.”

The assembled LEGO L350F can lift up to 2.2 pounds in its bucket and can be disassembled and reassembled as an A25F articulated hauler.

Don’t miss the short film below. It not only details how the L350F came to be but also gives a cool glimpse into how all LEGO Technic sets are dreamed up.