Granite Grinder

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Art of the Granite Grinder from the LEGO Rock Raiders video game

The Granite Grinder is a fictional mining vehicle in the LEGO Rock Raiders theme. It is depicted as a large but speedy walker vehicle with a powerful drill. The Granite Grinder was released as its own LEGO construction set in the summer of 1999. It appears in LEGO Rock Raiders books and comics and can be used in the theme's tie-in computer game.

Design and origin

Early prototype model

The Granite Grinder is a bipedal walker vehicle. Its pivoting legs consist of two large feet connected to each other by Technic liftarm pieces, which the vehicle body connects into the middle of. Attached to its front is a chrome-coloured Rock Raiders drill, exclusive to it and the Chrome Crusher.[1] Its body largely consists of a large cab and brown roll cage, which are also used by other large Rock Raiders vehicles.[2] On its back are two dark turquoise wheels meant to represent turbines.[3]: 47  The rear end is topped by a large arch piece, also found on other large Rock Raiders vehicles,[4] which widens the vehicle's profile. It seats one minifigure, and it has two clips on each of its feet at minifigure height for holding tools.[5][6][7]

The Granite Grinder was designed by Jens Kronvold Frederiksen at LEGO Futura.[8] Frederiksen joined Futura as a model designer in January 1998.[9] The Granite Grinder was one of the first two LEGO models Frederiksen designed, the other being the Rock Raiders HQ. Following the development of Rock Raiders and six months after initially joining LEGO, Frederiksen began designing for the LEGO Star Wars theme, which would release in 1999 alongside Rock Raiders; Frederiksen would go on to become the Creative Director for LEGO Star Wars.[8]

The Granite Grinder's pivoting technic liftarm leg design was previously used in the 1997 Roboforce sets Robo Raider (set 2151, designed by Henrik Rubin Saaby)[10] and Robo Raptor (set 2152).[5] Prior to Roboforce, brick-build walker legs had been used in LEGOLAND Space sets going back to the 1985 set Xenon 2 Walking Machine (set 6882).[11]

Later prototype model

Two earlier prototypes of the Granite Grinder are shown in The Ultimate LEGO Book. One photograph shows an early prototype featuring a design with a blockier build, smaller legs, a narrow roll cage, and tubes on either side like the Chrome Crusher has; an early Rock Raiders minifigure is also shown with it. A later Granite Grinder design with two drills and legs closer to the final version's can also be seen on a table in another photograph. Two earlier versions of the Rock Raiders drill used by the Granite Grinder and Chrome Crusher are also shown in the book. The drill piece was originally much smaller and had a regular plastic appearance to it. Later, it was made larger and given a chrome look, but had a sharper point and a Technic pin on its rear end: the final version replaces the sharp point with a LEGO stud, and the pin with a hole for a pin to be inserted into.[12] Two other prototypes are known and will be added later. While the final model uses only one drill, the upgraded version in the video game uses two, positioned on each side of the front, similar to some prototype designs.

Set information

The Granite Grinder was released as LEGO set #4940 The Granite Grinder in 1999.[13] It was advertised as containing 108 pieces and includes a minifigure of Axle[14] and three tools. It is the only main Rock Raiders set to not contain a power crystal.[5] It was released in the United States as Granite Grinder on 1 July 1999 with a retail price of $16.50 and a recommended age range of 7–12.[15][14] In the United Kingdom it was released in August 1999.[13] In Russia it released in September 1999.[16]

Depiction

In the story of the LEGO Rock Raiders theme, the Granite Grinder is one of the mining vehicles used by the spacefaring Rock Raiders to drill for power crystals. It is referred to as the "big brother" of the Small Digger.[17]: 79  Its robotic pivoting feet can traverse rocky debris and rough terrain safely and with ease.[3]: 47 [17]: 79  The vehicle is powered by its two turbines.[3]: 47  Its large chrome drill can quickly cut through hard rock and large boulders.[18] While the physical model has no storage capabilities besides its tool clips, one book describes it as having some kind of space in its back that can carry small objects,[19]: 20  and another states that it has an emergency grappling line.[3]: 39  Both of these books show it as being able to increase its speed, and in one of them it uses this ability to leap across a small river (though it sustains damage from doing this).[3]: 37–38 

In games

The Granite Grinder is one of the vehicles that can be used in the LEGO Rock Raiders video game. It is portrayed as being halfway between the Small Digger and Chrome Crusher in power. While it does not appear in any of the game's FMV sequences, it does appear in the extended Intro sequence found on some demo discs.

In print

The Granite Grinder jumping over a river

In the comic book Rock Raiders: High Adventure Deep Underground, the Granite Grinder is among the vehicles seen mining at the start of chapter two.[3]: 14–15  It is shown being driven by Sparks both here and on the front cover of the book, although Sparks is also shown remaining on the LMS Explorer for the entire book.[3]: 6  Later in the chapter, the Granite Grinder is toppled over by a rock monster when several attack the Ore Processing Plant.[3]: 19  In chapter 3, Bandit and Jet take two Granite Grinders on an expedition underground to find Docs, who has gone missing. After finding some power crystals, the two Granite Grinders are attacked by a lava monster and an ice monster, which they escape from with a "turbo boost".[3]: 34–35  Upon finding Docs on the other side of an underground river, Jet runs her Granite Grinder towards the river at full power and leaps over it into a group of lava monsters. Jet's Granite Grinder is damaged from the jump, so she takes its emergency grappling line out and uses it to carry herself and Docs back across the river while the lava monsters salvage the power crystals from the wrecked vehicle.[3]: 37–39 

At the back of the book is a collection of LEGO models resembling some of the LEGO Rock Raiders sets but constructed out of different pieces, shown to give inspiration to readers who do not own the sets but want to build the Rock Raiders models out of the LEGO pieces they have. The Granite Grinder model shown uses several Insectoids elements, including the theme's electric stinger as the vehicle's drill and two transparent neon green domes as its turbines.[3]: 46–47 

In Race for Survival, Sparks drives a Granite Grinder into the winding tunnels under a mountain in Quadrant 14 to find Axle, who is trapped behind a rockfall two miles underground. Axle hears the Granite Grinder's engines and communicates through the boulder pile with Morse code.[19]: 14–17  Sparks and Jet (who had followed him on a Hover Scout) use a blue 1×12 LEGO plate that the Granite Grinder had been carrying in its back to (unsuccessfully) try to clear the boulders.[19]: 20  After later rescuing Axle, Sparks drives the Granite Grinder at its top speed back to the surface while outrunning an impending volcanic eruption.[19]: 40–41 

Game information

The Granite Grinder drilling in-game

In the Windows version of LEGO Rock Raiders, the Granite Grinder is classified as a Large Vehicle.[20] It costs three Energy Crystals to transport down one Granite Grinder.[17]: 79  It transports down at the Super Teleport.[17]: 70  Rock Raiders must be trained as drivers to use this vehicle.[17]: 79 

The Granite Grinder can travel across land and moves at a speed of 0.5 blocks per second.[20] This speed is equal to that of the Loader Dozer and Small Mobile Laser Cutter and faster than only the Chrome Crusher and Large Mobile Laser Cutter. It can strafe[20] by pressing Z or X, an ability shared only with the Rock Raider, Hover Scout, and Tunnel Scout. It takes the Granite Grinder 0.8 seconds to drill Dirt, 2 seconds to drill Loose Rock, 180 seconds (3 minutes) to drill Hard Rock, and 4 seconds to drill Energy Crystal and Ore Seams.[20] While its speeds for drilling most rock types are between those of the Small Digger and Chrome Crusher, its Hard Rock drill time is identical to that of the Small Digger, and far slower than the Chrome Crusher's 1 second.

The Granite Grinder has the following dependency required before it can be transported down:[17]: 79 [21]

Art of the Granite Grinder with Engine and Drill upgrades

Once an Upgrade Station has been constructed, the Granite Grinder can be upgraded. It has the following upgrades:[17]: 79 

  • Engine: Costs 20 pieces of Ore (4 Building Studs). This upgrade increases the vehicle's speed to 0.8 blocks per second, a 60% increase.[20] Two extra turbines are attached to the bottoms of the arch piece.
  • Drill: Costs 20 pieces of Ore (4 Building Studs). This upgrade increases the vehicle's drilling speed to 0.4 seconds for Dirt, 1 second for Loose Rock, 150 seconds (2.5 minutes) for Hard Rock, and 2 seconds for Seams.[20] This doubles the speed for most rock types, but is only a 16.67% increase for Hard Rock, still identical to the Small Digger's drilling speed. The vehicle's chrome drill is removed and replaced by two drills positioned on each side of the original, held in place by two 2×10 plates (the top plate appears to clip through the cab piece).
  • Scanner: Costs 5 pieces of Ore (1 Building Stud). This upgrade gives the vehicle a scanning radius of 5 blocks.[20] A large scanner, identical to the one that the Chrome Crusher has, is attached to the top of the vehicle.

The Granite Grinder does not appear in the PlayStation version of LEGO Rock Raiders.

Game files

In the game's configuration file, the Granite Grinder is defined as WalkerDigger[20] under the VehicleTypes {} section.[22] It is uniquely made of two objects: WalkerLegs and WalkerBody.[22] WalkerLegs serves as the main object, with WalkerBody and all upgrades mounted to it.[23][24]

Pre-release

An unused NERPs message for the mission "Erode Works" congratulates the player for rescuing a Granite Grinder.[25] No Granite Grinder is located in the final version of the mission.

Legacy

The 1999 visual encyclopedia The Ultimate LEGO Book prominently features the Granite Grinder in its entry on how the LEGO Rock Raiders theme was developed. The section contains a photograph of a prototype model of the vehicle, and a later Granite Grinder design can also be seen in a different photograph. Two earlier versions of the Rock Raiders drill used by the Granite Grinder and Chrome Crusher are also shown, detailing the piece's evolution.[12] The Granite Grinder is also one of the LEGO models featured on the front cover of the book.

The 2023 LEGO Creator set Cozy House (31139) features a miniature Granite Grinder model. Designed by Marin Stipkovic and released on 1 March, the set contains a number of "micro builds"; seven of these represent toys of the set's child minifigure and are based on previously-released LEGO sets. Six other toy builds are featured besides the Granite Grinder, representing themes ranging from 1979's LEGOLAND Space to 2010's LEGO Atlantis.[26][27]

References

  1. ↑ "Sets which Contain Part 71612cx1". BrickLink Reference Catalog. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Sets which Contain Part 30298". BrickLink Reference Catalog. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Grant, Alan (2000). Rock Raiders: High Adventure Deep Underground. LEGO Systems, Inc. ISBN 1-903276-05-5.
  4. ↑ "Sets which Contain Part 30296px1". BrickLink Reference Catalog. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 R.R. Slugger (3 September 2021). "LEGO 4940 Granite Grinder ~ R.R. Slugger's Rock Raiders Retrospective!". YouTube.
  6. ↑ LEGO Group (1999). LEGO System 4940 instructions. LEGO A/S.
  7. ↑ "Inventory of Set 4940-1". BrickLink Reference Catalog. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jones, Richard (5 May 2019). "May the Fourth Be With You: An interview with Jens Kronvold Frederiksen". Rambling Brick. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Davies, Rachael (18 January 2023). "LEGO Star Wars Design Lead gets a Force-ful surprise for 25th work-iversary". Brick Fanatics. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023.
  10. ↑ Saaby, Henrik Rubin [HSaaby] (11 November 2022). "Sets designed by Henrik Rubin Saaby". Brickset. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023.
  11. ↑ LEGO Group (1985). "The most exciting universe on earth!". LEGO and DUPLO Catalogue '85. LEGO UK Ltd. p. 25.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Pickering, David; Turpin, Nick; Jenner, Caryn (eds.) (1999). "The Design Concept". The Ultimate LEGO Book. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 30–31. ISBN 0-7513-5948-3.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 LEGO Group (1999). "Rock Raiders". LEGO catalogue "New for 99". LEGO UK Ltd. pp. 6–7.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 LEGO Shop At Home Services (1999). "Get the Brickonium Before the Rock Monster Gets You!". LEGO Shop-At-Home. Summer 1999 "Rockin' Adventures". LEGO Systems, Inc. pp. 4–5.
  15. ↑ LEGO Group (1999). "Rock Raiders". LEGO System catalogue (Americas). LEGO Systems, Inc. pp. 6–8. Item no. 4127017.
  16. ↑ LEGO Group (1999). "Rock Raiders". LEGO catalogue "1999" (Russia). LEGO Russia Ltd. pp. 42–43. Item no. 4321375-SNG.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 McPhail, Jim (13 December 1999). LEGO Rock Raiders Instruction Manual (UK FRONT, BACK, I/F & I/B COVER). LEGO Media International. Serial no. IB2G-ROC3 2299598.
  18. ↑ Staff (September 1999). "The Rock Raiders Really Rock!". LEGO Mania Magazine (US). Issue 30. LEGO Systems, Inc. pp. 2–4.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Birkinshaw, Marie (2000) Race for Survival. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7894-5458-0.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 Main Lego Config File, line 2670–2697. WalkerDigger {} section.
  21. ↑ Main Lego Config File, lines 3237–3265. Dependencies {} section.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Main Lego Config File, line 2016–2031. VehicleTypes {} section.
  23. ↑ Data Design Interactive (25 September 1999). WalkerLegs AE file. LEGO Rock Raiders (Windows). LEGO Media International. File path: Rock Raiders\LegoRR0.wad\Vehicles\WalkerLegs\WalkerLegs.ae.
  24. ↑ Data Design Interactive (25 September 1999). WalkerBody AE file. LEGO Rock Raiders (Windows). LEGO Media International. File path: Rock Raiders\LegoRR0.wad\Vehicles\WalkerBody\WalkerBody.ae.
  25. ↑ Harrison, Jon (1999). "Erode Works" in-game message. LEGO Rock Raiders (Windows). LEGO Media International. File path: Data\Sounds\Streamed\InGame\Ins1002.wav. "Congratulations, you have rescued your Granite Grinder."
  26. ↑ Stipkovic, Marin [Marin_S_] (10 July 2023). "Models Marin Stipkovic worked on". Brickset. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023.
  27. ↑ JESmamamaakt (9 May 2023). "Review: 31139-1 - Cozy House". Rebrickable. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023.
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