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Set 856 Bulldozer
Expert Builder

Bulldozer

Bulldozer 856 is a 1979 set from the Expert Builder years, when Technic was still a young line. It contains 367 pieces and no minifigures.

Set number
856
Year
1979
Pieces
367
Minifigures
0
Theme
Expert Builder
Different parts
51
What can I build with it?

Parts list 51

As BrickLink list (XML)

Import on BrickLink: Wanted → Upload, upload the file (or paste its content), pick a Wanted List and add the parts.

Spare parts (1)

These extra parts come with the set in case one gets lost.

Description

The Expert Builder name

When the line launched in 1977, it was sold in North America as Expert Builder, and the catalogue files this bulldozer under that label. Construction machines were an obvious subject from the start, because they show off gears, axles and moving parts in a way anyone can follow. A bulldozer, with its heavy blade and squat body, fits that idea well. Built entirely in the studded style of the time, with Technic bricks rather than beams, it gives a clear picture of what the system looked like in its first years.

Old grey versus new

The catalogue lists black, yellow, light grey and trans-red as the main colours. The light grey here is the older shade used until the mid-2000s, noticeably warmer than the bluish grey that replaced it. That matters if you are filling gaps with modern parts: a mix of the two tones is easy to see on the finished model, especially on larger surfaces. Yellow, meanwhile, was the signature colour of early Technic vehicles, and it gives this machine the look of equipment you would expect to see on a real building site.

A lean inventory

There are only 51 different part types among the 367 pieces, which works out at more than seven copies of each on average. That is a sign of the period. The late-1970s range had fewer specialised parts, so bricks with holes, plates, axles, gears and connectors did most of the work. For anyone completing a used copy, this is good news, because the majority of the pieces are standard elements that turned up in many sets of the era and are still easy to find individually today.

Worth building again

A second-hand copy is the only option now, and older sets are rarely complete. Checking a listing against the parts list on this page tells you quickly what is missing. If you kept your own Technic from the late 1970s or early 1980s, the What can I build? feature compares that collection with the set's inventory and shows how close you are. Even without the instructions, the yellow bricks and gears are a handy base for your own vintage-style machines.

FAQ

Does Bulldozer 856 include any figures?
No, the set has no minifigures. It consists of 367 pieces.
Is it a Technic set?
Yes, it belongs to the early Technic range, catalogued under the Expert Builder name used in North America at the time.
How many different parts does it use?
The inventory has 51 distinct part types, a small number for a set of this size.

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