Small Digger
The Small Digger is a vehicle from the LEGO Rock Raiders theme. It is a small, four-wheeled motorized vehicle equipped with twin chainsaw blades for mining. It can cut through rock at a moderate speed and has a cargo hold for hauling back any minerals it excavates.
Small Diggers can be used in the video game LEGO Rock Raiders, but do not appear notably in any other Rock Raiders media. The Small Digger appears in the set 4980 Tunnel Transport, where it can be carried by the eponymous Tunnel Transport with a magnetic connection.
In LEGO Rock Raiders for Windows
In the Windows version of LEGO Rock Raiders, the Small Digger is classified as a small vehicle, and requires only one energy crystal for power. A Rock Raider must be trained as a driver to use a Small Digger.
The Small Digger can drill through all types of rock faster than a Rock Raider can, though nowhere near as quickly as the Chrome Crusher can. Without upgrades, it takes 2 seconds to drill dirt, 4 seconds to drill loose rock, 180 seconds (3 minutes) to drill Hard Rock, and 32 seconds to drill seams. It moves at a decent speed of 2 blocks per second. Though the Small Digger is poor at mining hard rock, its cheap cost, fast speed, and dedicated function can make it extremely useful early on in levels.
Despite the Small Digger having a cargo hold, it can't carry anything in-game.
Dependency
The Small Digger costs 1 energy crystal and requires the following for teleportation:
- Rock Raider
- Level 1 Tool Store
- Level 1 Teleport Pad
- Level 1 Power Station
- Support Station
Upon telelporting down a Small Digger for the first time, the help window will display this message:
You have just transported your first digging vehicle - the Small Digger. You can use this vehicle to dig through Dirt, Loose Rock and Hard Rock.
Upgrades
There are three upgrades available for the Small Digger:
- Drill: Costs 10 pieces of ore. Adds a third chainsaw to the vehicle. It now only takes 1 second to drill dirt, 2 seconds to drill loose rock, 150 seconds (2.5 minutes) to drill hard rock, and 16 seconds to drill seams.
- Engine: Costs 10 pieces of ore. Adds a third pair of wheels to the vehicle, doubling the vehicle's route speed from 2 blocks per second to 4 blocks per second.
- Scanner: Costs 5 pieces of ore. Installs a scanner aboard the vehicle, with a scanning radius of 4 blocks.
Appearances
- In 7. Drilling With Vehicles, a Small Digger is behind the first wall the player must drill, to demonstrate how it can drill faster than a Rock Raider.
- In Explosive Action, a Small Digger is trapped in an exposed cavern next to, but inaccessible from, the cavern containing the Tool Store. The objective of this level is for the player to use dynamite to blast through hard rock to reach the vehicle, and drive it back to Rock Raiders HQ.
- In Water Lot Of Fun, a Small Digger can be found in the winding cavern hidden on the other side of the river, near the destroyed Rock Raiders HQ.
- In Run The Gauntlet, a Small Digger can be found in the second hidden cavern, along with a Small Transport Truck. The player can use the Small Digger to move the Rock Raiders quickly through the tunnels without having to exit to drill walls. There is a second Small Digger in the penultimate cavern, which serves little purpose as only one wall between the player and the Tool Store remains to be drilled.
In LEGO Rock Raiders for PlayStation
The Small Digger is a very common vehicle in the PlayStation version of LEGO Rock Raiders, though it does not appear in any of the later levels of the North American version. It can usually be found near the start of any levels that it's in, and can't ever be teleported down. The Tunnel Transport can carry the Small Digger, and the level Express Delivery is even entirely based around this. Unlike in the Windows version, it can't drill through Hard Rock, essentially making it a faster Rock Raider with an extra health bar. The advantage to this is that, unlike with other mining vehicles, the player can afford to lose a Small Digger without causing the mission to instantly be marked as failed, though it may make levels with time limits harder.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Čeština | Malý kopáč | ||
| Dutch Nederlands | Kleine graafmachine | ||
| Finnish Suomi | Pieni kaivuria | ||
| French Français | Excavatrice légère | ||
| German Deutsch | Buddler (Windows) Kleine Buddler (PlayStation) |
||
| Hebrew עִבְרִית Ivrit |
חפרן קטן | ||
| Italian Italiano | Piccola scavatrice | ||
| Japanese 日本語 Nihongo |
スモールディガー | ||
| Norwegian Norsk | Liten drill (Windows) Lille drillen (PlayStation) |
||
| Polish Polski | Koparka | ||
| Russian Русский Russkiy |
Малая врубовая машина | ||
| Spanish Español | Excavadora pequeña | ||
| Danish and Swedish releases left this vehicle's name unchanged | |||
