This review was a few weeks in the making as I had my helpers build this set with me. They don’t have the interest in cranking out a larger set and they want to play with everything as it is built (which is fine). So here is #60233-1: Donut Shop Opening. It was released on 2 August 2019 in the US. It contains 790 pieces and retails for $89.99. This works out to $0.114 per piece. A little steep… especially for a CITY set. I picked it up at Smyth’s here in Germany for around $55. So if you can be patient and wait for a better price, it’s worth it to wait to score a better price.
The box is pretty big for a CITY set. The front gives a picture of the assembled set, the set number, and the age range. The set was purchased in Germany and it does not have the standard US LEGO set markings like we are used to in the States. It just lists the age range and set number, but not piece count or set name.. It also highlights the police minifigure known as “Duke Detain.” I had never heard the name before, but the set is not meant for old people like me. The back shows some play features of the set.
The set contains eight numbered parts bags, a parts bag with some larger parts that is not numbered, and the instructions and stickers come sealed in plastic.
There are six instruction booklets and numerous stickers on a sheet. As mentioned, they come wrapped up so they were in good shape when I took them out of the box.
The first bag builds a police motorcycle with handcuffs and a paddle to direct traffic. Unlike the motorcycles I grew up with, this one requires some assembly versus being a one piece item. It also contains a few stickers.
I will say that I was horrible as a kid at applying stickers to sets and I’m still not that great at it. My 6 year old really wanted to put the stickers on so I agreed. I still have some of the sets from when I was a kid that have lopsided stickers on them. Well my kiddo showed me how it is done and they actually are pretty straight, mostly centered, and are probably placed better than I could ever do it. So after this part of the build, I sat back and watched.
Also in this bag is a taxi. The build of the car is very simple and there’s a 2x8 space for two minifigures in the car (driver and passenger). No ability to put bags or anything else in though.
My 6 year old asked why LEGO always has you assemble the minifigures first. I don’t know. Does anyone? Three minifigures in this bag. They include the taxi driver, “Duke Detain,” and your standard LEGO criminal minifigure. Duke has sun glasses and then eyes on the other side of his head. He also comes with a helmet for riding his motorcycle. The criminal comes with a standard issue crowbar.
The second bag builds a news van with two crew members. The van has some nice play features with a spot to place a minifigure by four different slope brick screens and you can raise the satellite dish on the back of the van. The roof raises up so you can easily access the bag. The two minifigures are a female news reporter with a microphone and a male camera operator. The camera is quite large and barely fits into the van with both minifigures inside. There is a storage box on the side of the van where you can store the microphone.
Bag three builds a small toy shop. It has minimal detail and is not fully walled, but it is a CITY set and is meant for play versus display. The opportunity is there to turn it into a much larger and fuller shop. This build is full of stickers and most of the front is just the clear plastic windows and doors, but it has some fun details. There is a small brick built train, a minifigure hat with a propeller, a bear, a net, and a guitar as options in the toy store. Two minifigures in this build. One is a female store worker and the other is a boy with a skate board.
The build includes a sticker sign to advertise a sale, a green bin to place the net in, and two brick balloons on top of the building. It’s all very simple, but could easily be incorporated into a larger scene and expanded upon.
Bags four and five build the CITY Coffee shop and the associated bike coffee cart. Bag four builds the two minifigures, the cart, and starts the Coffee shop. Bag five completes the shop. The shop is small, but has a decent number of details to include the use of textured 1x2 bricks, a dark blue Technic wheel cover piece (I’m sure there is a technical term), and some sticker signage.
Outside the shop is a small ATM which comes with some 1x2 cash tiles. On top is a small Technic build where you can tip over the donut once you install it into place. We have not tried it out yet as my 2 year old has absconded all of the vehicles to drive around and particularly enjoys the crane and donut it can raise up.
Something not often seen are errors in the instructions. We actually found two in this section. My 6 year old caught one and I caught the other.
My kiddo built the assembly as it shows, but didn’t check the number of pieces on the top. When she went to install it on the shop, it was one brick short as shown. The next page shows the correct height of bricks and uses for of the textured 1x2s as listed. You just have to figure that out because the instructions don’t do it for you. Not a major problem… more of an annoyance.
My kiddo caught this one that happened earlier in the build. It says there is only one gray slope brick, but the picture on the bottom shows two. The set comes with two and we went with two as well. Maybe someone at LEGO had trouble counting?
Bags six, seven, and eight build the truck, crane, and donut. Bag six builds the truck part with the cab and minifigure. There isn’t anything too special about this other than the front includes the fairly new triangle tiles which allow for a fun design that is not all at 90 degree angles. The minifigure comes with a coffee mug which I guess you need to drive a big truck.
Bags seven and eight build the trailer, crane, and donut. The trailer includes some supports that rotate out and fold down to stabilize the truck when you move the crane around. There are also some tools to attach the donut with and then the build to hold the donut. The crane part is fairly simple to assemble, but my six year old had me do it. You use a few Technic pieces and attach some bricks and then you can spin a piece to have it rotate up or down. The arm of the crane moves in and out, but there is nothing to stop it from coming all the way out. This isn’t a big problem as it can easily be placed back in. The crane comes with a brick chain versus having string and a hook. This works pretty well for the donut.
The crane has become my 2 year old’s new favorite thing to play with and he enjoys that he can lift, lower, and swing around something with the crane like he sees at construction sites nearby where we live.
The donut is a simple build for an adult, but my 6 year old had a bit of trouble lining it all up and following the SNOT build. Nothing she couldn’t tackle with a bit of help. Glad to see the pink side of the donut has printed sprinkles versus stickers. I’m also a fan of the use of SNOT to get both sides of the donut. It definitely makes it seem more realistic.
Overall, this set has a lot you can do with it and includes some great play features. While it could easily be integrated into a CITY scene, it doesn’t need to be as there is a lot you can do just within this set. The build isn’t anything special, but that is expected for a 6+ CITY set. The price is too much in my opinion. I recommend waiting for a sale on this set versus getting it at full retail. I found a good one in Germany and hopefully the same can be done in the US as well. This set will be a year old soon and I’m sure retailers will want it off their shelves.
My 6 year old had trouble with some of the build, but she was able to do most of it by herself. It was a good opportunity to build together. My 2 year old took anything we finished with wheels once we were done and tested it out to make sure it would fit with all of his other vehicles.
I’m not a MOC builder, but I enjoy trying to take simple CITY sets and making them better. I think this one has a lot of potential to improve on the buildings. Now I just need to get my brick collection back…
What are your thoughts on this set?
Happy building!
