CITY

Set Review - #60223-1: Harvester Transport - LEGO CITY

Another LEGO CITY set to take a look at. LEGO has done a farm theme within CITY in the past. A quick search in Brickset found that there was a farm subtheme in 2009. I found it on Brickset here. This set does not seem to be a part of a larger subtheme. Instead, it is more of a one off like the Snow Groomer.

#60223-1: Harvester Transport was released in the US on 1 Jan 19. It contains 358 pieces and retails for $29.99 in the US. That brings it to $0.084 per piece. I picked it up on Amazon.com for 20% off or $23.99.

Here’s the box. It’s the standard presentation with the front showing the full set and the back showing some play features.

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The contents are 4 parts bags, 2 instruction booklets, and a small sticker sheet. Besides the instructions being jammed in, I found bags 1 and 3 stuck together by a piece of tape. I’ve never seen this before and I’m not quite sure why it’s like that. Someone within LEGO Quality Control needs to investigate this one. I don’t know how a piece of tape would even get inside of a package like this.

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Before I continue with the review, I will note that the box says that this set is for ages 5+. At the time I purchased this set, I had a newly turned 5 year-old kiddo so I had some help. I had help building and a photographer to take pictures of what we built.

Bag one builds the truck that pulls the trailer that carries the harvester. The truck isn’t anything too out of the ordinary. I like the use of the shield plates on the front to help create the front bumper. Bag one comes with a minifigure to drive the truck. He has sun glasses and like many LEGO CITY trucks, a coffee mug.

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The second bag completes the trailer that hooks to the truck. The build is fairly simple although my 5 year-old had trouble with anything that needed to clip on and had trouble installing any 1x1 plates or tiles. On the other hand, the wheels were not an issue and they got properly tested to ensure they spun appropriately prior to moving on.

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The third bag starts the harvester and has a farmer minifigure and scarecrow. The scarecrow looks more like a scarecrow that would be in a farmer’s field then some of the full up minifigure scarecrows of the past LEGO has made. The build for the harvester starts the main body of the vehicle in this bag.

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The fourth and final bag finishes the harvester. It has a fun design for the shoot to deposit the grain into a truck (not sure of the technical term here). The arm rotates back and forth as well as up and down. The rotating pieces in the front that would cut the plant are hooked in using Technic pins. That portion can rotate up and down and the outer blades also fold up. The whole front assembly can be removed and installed on the truck for transport. The cab top comes off so the driver can get in. My 5 year-old required a lot of help to put this together. Also, Dad is a perfectionist when it comes to stickers so I was the sticker placer. My 1 year-old ended up playing with the harvester for a bit. It actually held up pretty well. The only challenge was that he held it by the cab and the cab kept coming off. Other than that it’s pretty solid and 5+ seems like a good age range (with some help from a parent or another adult).

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Below is a final picture of the set with the harvester stored on the trailer for transport. Overall it is a fun build. Nothing too overly challenging, but a few Technic parts that can be challenging for a younger kid. The set has a lot of moving parts and pieces which are good for play. It also opens up the possibility of building more (a field to harvest, a farm, a barn, etc.). Being able to get the set on sale was an added bonus. I’d recommend this set to any LEGO CITY fan. Even if you don’t have a farm scene, it is a vehicle that can fit on a road or highway you’re building. Definitely pick it up on sale if you’re going to get it.

Happy building!

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Set Review - #60222-1: Snow Groomer - LEGO CITY

I tend to avoid some of the repeating CITY subthemes like police or fire, but I find some of the less repeating sets interesting sometimes. The last CITY set I reviewed was #60204: City Hospital (the previous City Hospital was 11 years prior). Today we’ll go through the smaller #60222-1: Snow Groomer. I’m not sure where this set fits in as it doesn’t really fall into the Arctic subtheme and there aren’t any other similar sets in the lineup and I don’t recall there being a skiing set out there unless I’m missing something. It’s an interesting concept nonetheless.

This one was released in the US on 1 January 2019. It contains 197 pieces and retails for $19.99 or $0.101 per piece. I got mine for this review from Amazon.com for 20% off or $15.99 ($0.089 per piece). It definitely pays to wait a few months to save a few dollars as the trend seems to be the Amazon.com, Walmart, and Target run sales soon after release these days versus having to wait for the end of a set’s life to catch it on clearance before it retires.

Here’s the box. The front shows the set with its snow cannon feature and the back shows the snow cannon again along with a minifigure happily building the set. It also shows that you can set up the snow cannon on the ground.

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The contents include two parts bags, a small sticker sheet, and an instruction booklet. I was happy to see that the instruction booklet was nicely placed inside and not jammed in with a massive crease in it when you take it out.

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The first bag builds the base. Some Technic pieces make up the main portion and then you attach on the treads. Then there’s a spot for you to attach the cab and the plow. But let’s focus on the wheel in the middle for a minute… I’m not a fan. It makes the set slightly off balance and a little unrealistic in my opinion. However, with an age range of 6+ for the set, I’m pretty sure the concern was that kids would be frustrated that the treads don’t move easily. The table surface I built on is a good example. With the wheel, the treads move great. To be fair, it is easy to build this without the wheel in the middle. It is there for the play factor and that makes sense to me.

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Bag one also comes with the two minifigures. One is a male in a bright orange jacket with a winter cap and gloves on. He has some long side burns and a mustache too. The other is a female skier. She’s got a helmet, goggles printed on versus attached to the helmet, a ski jacket, two poles, and two skis. Both have no designs on their pants. I remember growing up and playing with LEGO with my sister. We would argue over who got the limited number of female minifigues that we had. Most were male and it made for a pretty lopsided town. I’m thankful that LEGO has changed and we now have a very diverse crowd. My town today has a great mix of the two genders.

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The second bag assembles the cab on top and the snow cannon. It also adds the plow in front. The cab is pretty simple and comes with a coffee mug so the worker can drink and plow. The cannon feature has been seen before only this one shoots snow (white 1x1 round plates). I don’t think I’ve ever tested the feature before, but these things go pretty far when shot. I’m sure some parents will be vacuuming up some 1x1 round plates in the near future. You do get a few extras in the set though so a kid hopefully won’t lose them all right away.

The plow needs a redesign. I’m okay with how it looks, but the attachment is very awkward. You can see a lot of the Technic axles sticking out and the plow just slides in and is not held in place. My suggestion for a redesign would be to either modify the attachment of the plow or to cover it up somehow so it doesn’t look so awkward. I would also make it so that it stays on. If a kid is playing with the plow down and decides to back it up, the plow slides off. It needs to stay on. I would think the LEGO designers would have caught that when designing the set.

Overall it is a pretty neat set that we haven’t seen in the LEGO CITY range before. There are a few minor design flaws in my opinion, but an AFOL with a large parts stash could easily refine this set to make some improvements. The option to pick this set up on sale makes it a little easier to swallow so look for it at some of the big retailers at a discount. It may get discounted more closer to the Christmas season.

I think this one is a win. What are your thoughts?

Happy building!

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Set Review - #60204-1: City Hospital - LEGO City

The CITY theme has a bunch of re-release sub-themes every year. The Fire and Police sub-themes always seem to re-appear. Well the Hospital sub-theme (or is it medical?) is one theme that is not often repeated. The last version came out in 2007. It was #7892-1 and I actually have it. It’s not that great of a set, but I do like the sub-theme. Since then there have been a few other themes that have had hospitals to include Duplo and Friends. Thankfully it returned to CITY and on 2 June 2018, #60204-1 was released in the US. It retails for $99.99 and contains 861 pieces and 13 minifigures. At that price it is $0.116 per piece which is a bit high in my opinion. It does have some large pieces which drives up the cost of plastic and there is a light brick which adds onto the price as well. Onto the review…

The box is pretty big with the front showing the full set and the back showing some of the play features like usual. My container got a bit banged up on the way to my house, but I can’t complain. It was packaged well… just had a lot of opportunities to get beat up on the way to Germany.

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The contents include 9 parts bags, 5 8x16 light gray plates, the instruction books, and a sticker sheet. The instructions and stickers were in a separate bag. While it is extra packaging, I like that they are protected versus some of the cheaper sets where they get all folded up and jammed into the box during packaging. I was especially thankful given the damage the outer box received on the way to my house. At least the instructions and stickers didn’t take the brunt of any of it.

There are a bunch of stickers… 26 numbered in total to include some that have more than one per instruction number. There are quite a few, but in my opinion, they add to the detail of the set so I made sure to place them all.

There are 6 instruction books. One is for the helicopter and some minifigures. One is for the ambulance. Four of them are for the hospital structure itself. The picture on the outside matches what the build is as well.

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The first bag includes a helicopter, helicopter pad, and 5 minifigures (4 full size and one baby. The minifigures are a man with flowers, a woman, a baby with a stroller, a figure who we assume is a painter or some sort of handyman who has a cast on his arm, and the helicopter pilot. There is also a wheelchair that can be used for the man who broke his arm I guess. Not a bad selection of figures to start. As for the helicopter, I am not a fan of CITY helicopters in general. If you’re going to do one right, it needs to be larger with a bit more detail. This one has a purpose of carrying a small container of important medicine or something in a bulky container that sits on one of the landing skids. Really? The main rotor is pretty unrealistic as well given that it’s just 2 1x8 plates. I’m sure it has to do with kids enjoying playing with helicopters built out of LEGO bricks and not at all for AFOLs who want details on all sets to include those designed for kids.

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Bag 2 starts off the ambulance build. It builds the frame and then the hood, doors, and some of the outer walls. It also includes a stretcher, a female EMT/driver, and what appears to be a miner who comes with hair, a helmet, and a bandage to put over his head. I guess he forget to wear the helmet so he has to wear the bandage due to his injury.

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The third bag completes the ambulance. It’s not a bad design. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but I think it looks a bit more realistic versus what some past versions have looked like. The only design change I would make would be to have 2 doors that open out versus one door that swings up. In terms of the play factor, I think this one is missing some EMT equipment. Maybe a few small bags of equipment or something for the EMT to use when going on a call. Could also be something to design later with your own parts.

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Bag 4 starts to build the hospital itself. The first floor includes a sliding glass door, a very small snack shop with a newspaper and LEGO set, a single seat waiting area, and what will end up as the Emergency Room entrance. I understand it is a CITY set meant for 6 to 12 year old kids, so instead of criticizing LEGO for poor design, I’m going to see it as an opportunity to make improvements. I see opportunity to add some floor tiles for decoration, expand the gift/snack shop, provide a true waiting area, and maybe even an information/check in desk.

This bag also includes 2 female medical personnel. They both have glasses on and blue scrubs for pants.

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The fifth bag completes the first floor. This includes the roof, the ambulance/Emergency Room entrance, a cart for the ER with some equipment, and a computer built into the wall. There’s a lot of potential here for expansion to include a built up ER with beds, monitors and medical equipment, a nurses station, a door for the ER entrance, maybe a covered entrance for the ambulance… lots of possibilities, not a lot of time.

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Bag six starts work on the second floor with an optometry section. There the… I don’t know what it is called… the optometrist gives you different lenses and always asks “1 or 2?” There is also a computer scan or some sorts and 2 eye charts. The charts are a kid version and then the adult version with letters. The adult eye chart cleverly reads “if you can read this, you have good vision.” I would have added in a chair for the patient to sit in versus the little lime green tile with studs on the floor for the minifigure to stand on.

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The seventh bag completes a lab of sorts for the second floor and the doctor or technician who works there. There is a microscope, a skeleton, a syringe, and then an x-ray viewer. The viewer isn’t super great, but it isn’t bad for a CITY set. There’s a red brick light that is set up on some pieces. You then have 3 stickered windows that you can slide in front to project the image on the wall. The one I show is of a broken minifigure arm. There is also one of a broken minifigure rib and one of a minifigure who swallowed a LEGO cherry whole. This section attaches to the second floor right next to the optometry section. It is oddly placed, but I think some work on the second floor on top of a re-designed first floor could provide much better detail.

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The eighth bag starts the third and final floor. This section is the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital. Bag 8 includes the start of the floor, and another medical staff minifigure, and a bassinet for the baby. The bassinet includes a baby bottle and at the end it has a picture and some sort of label scribbled on it.

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The last bag (#9) is the final bag and finishes up Labor and Delivery. It includes a delivery bed, a monitor of sorts, and a red and blue… I’m not sure what they are. Some sort of monitor attachment maybe. There is also a light attached to the ceiling. My favorite detail on the inside is actually the sticker on the wall. The fish design is fun and makes the room look very kid friendly (although that’s not what you are thinking when the kid is being born).

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Here are the minifigures. In my opinion, they help to make the set a bit more worth buying. Besides the sheer number, you get a good collection of city figures, another baby minifigure, the 4 medical staff members, and 2 EMTs.

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Here are the front and back of the building. It’s designed for play versus display or detail so in my opinion it’s lacking in some detail. The third floor only takes up part of the floor versus the second floor. There could have been some different choices in they types of clinics available. Or maybe they could have built some patient rooms? Or maybe we just need to expand it on our own?

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Overall, not a bad set. A bit pricey, but considering the number of minifigures and the length of time between hospital set releases in the CITY sub-theme, it might be worth it. Wait for double VIP points or a good free offer set before you get it from LEGO Shop @ Home. Or maybe Amazon.com, Walmart, or Target will have a sale?

If anyone has modified it or put additions onto the set, let me know. I’ll be happy to post your versions for people to see how you spruced it up.

In the meantime, happy building!

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Set Review - #60202-1 - People Pack - Outdoor Adventures - LEGO CITY

One of the things that LEGO has gotten right over the past couple of years is listening to fans. The People Packs associated with the CITY line seem to be a direct response to fans asking for more minifigures to be in their city scenes. The first one released in 2016 was #60134-1 - Fun at the Park and then they had #60153-1 - Fun at the Beach in 2017. 2018’s version is #60202-1 - Outdoor Adventures. Released on 2 June 2018 in the US, it is the third set in a line of CITY sets that includes minifigures for your CITY scenes. This set cost $39.99 in the US, but I waited for it to hit 20% off at Amazon.com before spending anything on it. If you are willing to wait even longer, right now (November 2018), #60153-1 - Fun at the Beach is 35% off at Amazon.com in the US. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Back to the set at hand, Outdoor Adventures is 164 pieces and 15 minifigures. It works out to $0.244 per piece if you get it at full retail in the US, but it’s misleading since you are also getting 15 minifigures. If you look at it by minifigure, that’s $2.67 per minifigure which isn’t too bad if you compare it to the Collectible Minifigures that run at $3.99 each.

Onto the set… The box is similar to most boxes. The front interestingly mentions that the boat floats. I’m wondering if the designed the raft intentionally to float or if it just happened that way and they decided to advertise it on the box that way. Is it just the boat? Do the minifigs add too much weight? Have these questions already been answered and I’m wasting your time?

The back shows all of the minifigures to include each piece of the minifigures that can be interchanged. It even shows how you can interchange them to make different combinations. With 14 options, I’m sure the math is out there to say how many zillions of combinations there are. The baby minifigure cannot be interchanged for obvious reasons.

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The contents are 2 numbered parts bags, 2 instruction booklets, and a plastic sheet which is part of the camping tent. LEGO probably could have done this all at once, but looking at the age range, a 5 year-old probably needs it broken up. Also included is a small bag with an eagle in it.

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Bag 1 starts off with a female minifigure with a camera (left of picture). She has a small bag around her neck that sits on her side. Her face has 2 sides. One side is both eyes open and the other is with one eye open as if she’s looking through the lens of the camera. Is that a first for LEGO? A character who is looking through one eye? The box shows this minifigure taking a picture of the eagle which caught a fish. It is the standard LEGO fish and the fish’s mouth attaches to the eagle’s claw area so it looks like the eagle caught the fish.

Moving to the right in the picture is a rock climber scaling a mini rock formation. The rock formation itself isn’t that great, but considering the size of the set you can’t complain. Build a bigger rock face for the minifig to scale on your own. The minifig itself has sunglasses on his face and a helmet.

Next up in my picture (center front) is a hiker with 2 hiking poles. The set comes with an extra pole just in case you lose one I guess. The minifig has a green outer shirt on with what looks like a wolf face on the shirt printed underneath.

Moving on is a boy with a back pack cooking over a portable gas cooker. He has a pot and is frying an egg. He also has a plate and a mug. The set comes with 2 fried egg 1x1 round tiles so you can put one on his plate and one in the pan or however you want to set them up.

Next up is a male minifigure with a baby carrier who is carrying a baby minifigure. As a Dad who has carried his kids in a carrier in front, I thought this minifigure was great. You have to tilt him back a bit so he does tip over due to the weight in front, but that’s what I do when I have my kid strapped to me anyways so it is realistic.

Finally is a female minifigure in racing gear and a helmet with goggles on a mountain bike. Unlike some of the bikes of the past, her legs don’t go down too far on the bike so it looks like she’s riding it pretty high up. It comes with a small jump for her to ride up and over a log. The log comes with a 2x2 round tile with the print of a log on it to make it look like it was sawed down.

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The second bag starts on the left in the picture with a minifigure with a hammer who is supposedly setting up the tent. I have her standing by a lantern. Next up in the back are 3 minifigures posing for a selfie. There is an adult female with a portable lantern, the male in his Hawaiian shirt and the selfie stick (his face can be a posing face or a relaxed look), and then a girl wearing shorts who also has a portable lantern. Behind them is a sign with arrows pointing to attractions. One is to LEGO CITY and the other is to MOUNT CLUTCHMORE. A nice touch to the set I think.

In front of the picture is the raft (that supposedly really floats) and 2 minifigures with oars, life vests, and helmets.

Next up is child minifigure wearing a jacket. She has glasses on and is holding a pair of binoculars.

Finally is another female minifigure who has either sunglasses or her normal smiling face. She is holding a smart phone. My daughter helped me put this set together and insisted that we put her in the tent. Speaking of the tent, it is a simple build with 2 sleeping spaces. The plastic tent sets up nicely around the bricks and you can have both flaps open or closed as you wish.

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Here are all the minifigures in a picture. I didn’t have anything to lift up the eagle and probably could have used some more bricks to stage these minifigures, but you’ll live. Bottom line, it’s a great set if you are a CITY fan and you want more minifigures to add to your CITY. Every time I get one of these People Packs, it makes me want to create a scene with all of these characters. I don’t seem to ever have the time to do that, but maybe some day. In the meantime I have the minifigures to add to the scene I’ll create. Has anyone built a scene with these minifigs?

If you want to buy this set, it is 20% off at Amazon.com in the US and Walmart too (as of November 2018). If you wait longer, the sets seem to discount further. Definitely don’t pay full price on this one.

Happy building!

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Set Review - #60153-1 - People Pack - Fun at the Beach

This is the second set in what will hopefully become a trend for LEGO City.  The first was Fun in the Park - City People Pack #60134.  This one is Fun at the Beach.  It was released on 29 May 2017 for $39.99 in the US.  With 169 pieces it works out to $0.237 per piece.  That's a bit high, but when you consider that it's a minifig set it's not as bad.  It includes 15 minifigs so that works out to $2.67 per minifig which is cheaper than any of the Collectible Minifigure Series sets offered.  I picked my set up on Amazon.com for 20% off or $31.99 ($0.189 per piece and $2.13 per minifig).  Onto the set...  The box front shows all of the set and the back shows all of the 15 minifigs with their hair, faces, torsos, and legs.

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Here are the contents:
-2 parts bags
-a kayak
-2 sails
-2 folded up instruction booklets

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Bag 1 is half of the set.  It includes the following:

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First up is a kayaker with a red kayak.  It also includes a wind surfer and a dolphin.  The wind surfer comes with 2 sails.  It doesn't seem like a part that would break easily, but it can't hurt to have 2.

It also includes a sun bather in a recliner with an umbrella.  She has a camera, but I think it needs a beverage for her to sip on.  It also includes a male and female with a volleyball and a volleyball net.  

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This bag also includes a girl who has built a sand castle.  She has a shovel and pail and the sand castle has a red flag on it.  Also there's a man with a metal detector who has some gold pieces he can find.  As a kid, I remember the metal detectors from Classic Space, M-Tron and others.  The old versions had a stud and hole in the middle of the sensor part.  So this one is somewhat the same except for that part.  The original version can be seen here.

Onto bag 2...

First up is a boy/teenager on a hammock.  He has a smart phone which I think is a new piece for the LEGO universe.  It also has some plants where the hammock is hung up on for shade.

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Next up the beach cleaner with his broom, trash can, and obligatory banana to clean up.

Next up is a kid in a tank top and shorts.  He has an old school boom box with a cassette tape player.  Do kids these days even know what that is?

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And then there's the mean lifeguard.  Come on... I know you've been to the beach or a public pool and the lifeguard was some pissed off teenager or 20-something who just yelled all day long.  No running!  No diving!  No having any fun at all!  Well here he is with a parrot, megaphone, and binoculars to spot kids having too much fun.

Here we have a girl, her dog, her Mom/Grandma/Aunt/cool older neighbor/LEGO woman carrying a $100 bill buying some ice cream from the vendor on the beach.  Only one flavor... white balls of iced plastic.  Looks yummy!

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Last up, the scuba diver (tank-less) with a helmet, mask, and flippers.  He has a fish and lobster to dive with too.

If you're looking to build a beach scene, this is a great set to help populate your scenario.  I recommend it... especially if you can pick it up at a discount from Amazon.com or elsewhere.  I'm a fan of having people packs for LEGO City.  They've done it for Star Wars and Ninjago and I'm glad to see it for City.  Back in the day, I recall that they used to do City people packs with fire fighters, policemen, and workers.  I'm hoping this becomes a yearly trend.  What would you like to see them do next year?

Set Review - #60150 - Pizza Van

It's been a while since I've reviewed a LEGO CITY set.  If you've read some of my past posts, I have mentioned before that I am a CITY and TRAIN fan at heart.  It's been a while since I've had the space and time to build a large setup with trains going around a city, but that's where my LEGO passion lies.  Someday I plan to have a large space where I can build a big display.  In the meantime, I will pick up sets here and there to expand my scene-to-be.  

The CITY theme is geared towards kids.  The boxes say for ages 5 to 12 so clearly I am not the appropriate audience, but #60150 - Pizza Van is a set outside of the ordinary.  Typically CITY goes through sub-themes to include Police, Fire Fighters, Airport, and a few others that change out every now and then.  #60150 was released on 27 November 2016 at a retail price of $19.99 from LEGO (in the USA).  It contains 249 pieces so that makes it $0.08 per piece.  I picked the set up at 20% off for $15.99 at Amazon.com so $0.064 per piece (WOOHOO!).

Here is the box.  Nothing special or out of the ordinary here.

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Here are the contents.  It contains 2 bags of parts, 2 instruction booklets, and a sticker sheet (that were shoved into the box).

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Bag 1 contains the minifigures.  It has a male figure who is the chef and a female figure who could be a customer or the delivery driver or a customer who stores the pizza on their scooter.  The female figure has hair and then a helmet for riding the scooter.

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Bag one comes with a table and umbrella for figs to stand and eat in the shade, the scooter with a pizza box, and the pizza.  There is one full pizza and then 2 pieces of pizza.  I'm not sure if this is the first set with the pizza pieces, but I think it's a great addition to LEGO's stash of bricks.  I remember growing up as a kid and having almost no options for food.  LEGO has come a long way with the various food options.  Pizza was one of the first that I can recall and now we have individual slices besides the entire pie.  

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Onto the build.  Nothing extraordinary here.  It's a simple build of a vehicle without a ton of intricate parts.  The instructions are obviously not meant for AFOLs, but for kids as it goes one piece at a time.  I had it assembled quickly.

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Bag 2 finishes up the set.  

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Should you get the set?  If you're a CITY and TRAIN nerd like me, then it is definitely a different piece to add to your display.  With some of the recent park themed sets, it could be good to have a food truck at your park.  In my opinion it's not a bad set to give to kids either.  A lot of play options with the set alone between the scooter, truck, and food serving options.  As always with some of the simple CITY sets, they left a lot of options for making changes to include swapping pieces to adjust the color scheme or maybe changing up the front of the truck which to me isn't that impressive.

What do you think?

Happy building!

Set Review - Airport Passenger Terminal #60104 - LEGO CITY

LEGO CITY has some recurring themes that can get old after a while and obviously are meant for younger LEGO fans.  The Fire and Police themes within CITY quickly come to mind as it seems like they have a new run each year.  The Airport theme is one of those that doesn't quite occur every year.  The last airport set was released in 2010 and was set #3182.  This year (2016) another airport was released.  #60104, Airport Passenger Terminal, was released on 1 August 2016 in the US.  It costs $99.99 in the US and contains 694 pieces or $0.144 per piece.  I picked the set up from Amazon at 20% off or $80 ($0.115 per piece).  Yay sales!  Onto the review...

HEY!  Here is what the box looks like.  It's the standard LEGO CITY box with the whole set on the front and then some details on the back with a minifigure saying "hey!"

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Set contents were 8 numbered bags, a bag of BURP pieces, a bag of random parts (not sure why they weren't in the numbered bags), and an instruction package with 4 booklets and stickers.

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Here are the instruction booklets.  #1 is for the workers, baggage cart, fuel cart, and stairs.  #2 and #3 is for the passenger jet.  #4 is for the terminal.  Not a ton of stickers, but a bunch nonetheless.  

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Onto the build... Bags 1 and 2 are the workers and the tractor to pull the baggage cart, fuel cart, and stairs.  Bag 1 also includes a brick separator.  

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Bag 3 starts the aircraft and includes 3 minifigures (2 passengers and a pilot)  The aircraft has the standard wings and fuselage sections.  I am not a fan of the giant wing piece as it limits the number of seats.  It does however help to make the aircraft more realistic.  Given the size of the aircraft, there are only 5 seats for passengers which is rather disappointing.

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Bag 4 finishes the fuselage and all that is left are the engines and tail section.  You'll notice that this aircraft has a bathroom on board as well as some storage for a non-existent flight attendant.  I think this is the first time that LEGO has put some additional details into aircraft besides just seats.  Also there is only one pilot for a 2 seat cockpit in the set.  

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Bag 5 has the landing gear, tail, winglets, and engines.  This is the first larger aircraft where the engines are built up versus just a big piece to strap on.  It's not really streamlined, but I like the design and how it is built.  

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Bag 6 starts the airport terminal.  Like most CITY builds, they are meant for play so it's really only half a building.  It includes one minifigure and the revolving door entrance.  While the entrance is cool looking, it's about twice the height of a minifigure and there isn't enough physical space for one actually to fit through the door.  I'm not a fan of the design.

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Bag 7 finished off the front facade adds in a metal detector and the baggage check-in station.  I guess you enter from the right and then maybe the revolving doors are where you can walk out to the plane.  I'm not really sure anymore.  The conveyor belt is a nice addition to the set for playability and is set up so you can pull the baggage cart right next to it.  

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Bag 8 is the final bag with the roof being completed and then the control tower.  The control tower is unmanned... or maybe the one worker does everything?  I'm also not sure how a worker would actually get up to the tower.

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So that's it... It's the first passenger airport set released in 6 years.  It comes with a jet, 6 minifigures, a terminal, and some equipment for servicing the aircraft.  Should you get it?  After getting it, I'm glad I got it on sale, but I'm still not sure it was worth what I paid.  I think it needs at least another terminal worker and then a pilot and flight attendant.  Also you're paying for a lot of BURPs to help smooth the aircraft out. The age range listed is 6-12 years old so clearly it is not meant for old farts like me looking for a good building experience.  However, if you're a LEGO CITY fan and you build your own MOCs to go with your city, it has some good additions.  If you're looking to build an airport terminal of your own, you'll find some useful parts to make it realistic.  We'll see if it takes another 6 years for an upgrade.

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Set Review - Fountain - #40221

The Fountain is was a free set with purchases of $75 or more from 1 to 15 June 2016.  It also goes great with the Fun in the Park - City People Pack #60134.  The set contains 105 pieces with 2 minifigs (one minifig is a statue).  If you want to get the set, you'll have to look on the secondary market.  As of late June 2016, the set is going for around $15.  Should you spend that money?  

Here's the set.  It's the standard box front with the graphically designed background.

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The back the different elements of the set along with the alternative build of the statue with a female hair piece and a flag. 

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The contents are simple to include 2 parts bags and an instruction book.

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The build is pretty simple.  The female minifigure has a different torso and hair piece.  The basic head design with 2 dots for eyes and the smile could have been better, but we'll take it.  The statue is done well and it includes a second sword.  The wings match those of the Flying Warrior from Series 15 Collectible Minifigures.  The dog is a nice addition to the set.  The design of the fountain and the benches aren't anything too special, but I'm sure they would fit into a park MOC.  The bike doesn't include a reflective light or anything which I thought LEGO could have included.  The good part is that they give lots of extras in other sets so finding a piece is easier.  

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If you're interested, here is the hair piece and flag that can be used on the statue.

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Overall, it's a great free set.  Having planned to purchase items anyways, it's always great to get more LEGO sets at no additional charge.  Would I buy this one on the secondary market?  No thanks!  There isn't really anything that makes this set stand out as one worth investing in.  I'd recommend making up your own fountain MOC instead.  What are your thoughts?

Set Review - Fun in the Park - City People Pack - #60134

There was some media hype about this one well before it came out (but not before the LEGO Blogs caught it).  The main reason was the minifigure in a wheel chair.  I found a number of articles and friends sent me links to articles about this one.  There was a lot of anticipation about this set, but is it worth all the hype?

I'm going to switch things up this time and give the final recommendation first and then follow it with the review.  Should you buy this set?  If you are a LEGO CITY fan or a minifigure fan, YES!  Besides the wheel chair and the baby minifigure, there are some new hair styles, torsos, and pants.  It's a great addition to any City build that you're working on.  I highly recommend it.  Did I mention LEGO's first hot dog bun?   Let's get into the details...

This set was released in the US on 22 May 2016.  The cost is $39.99 for 157 pieces which works out to $0.255 per piece.  Is this high?  You betcha!  Compared to most sets definitely.  The key thing for this one, there are 15 minifigures.  That works out to $2.67 per minifigure.  Is that a good deal?  Yes!

So here's the box.  The front is similar to most showing all of the contents in a park with a Photoshopped scene.

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The back shows the different minifigures in action and the different minifigure parts.

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The contents are 3 bags with 3 instruction books.  

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The first bag includes the much talked about wheel chair with minifigure.  The chair rolls quite well which surprised me.  It's also done to scale quite well in my opinion.  Not a lot special about the hot dog cart other than it includes a bun that a hot dog actually fits into.  The hot dog has been in the inventory for a while, but this is the first bun.  The bicycle isn't new, but the biker suit is new to the inventory. They've done a smaller version of the merry-go-round before.  The kid minifigure has some new parts to include the blond short hair.  Also there haven't been too many businesswomen types in minifigure land either.   The bus stop sign and tree are nice additions too.

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Bag 2 is also full of some new figures as well.  The 2 children playing soccer are new.  I wouldn't mind a LEGO SPACE shirt like that!  There's an older couple and a park bench for them to sit on.  The woman's hair is new and I don't recall seeing sweaters like that before.  The woman painting is new too.  There's been a few painters in the inventory, but I think this is the first female one.

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Bag 3 has the family having a picnic or maybe based on the amount of food they have (a hot dog and a biscuit) they are just having a snack.  It includes a mother (the picture shows her with shades, but the head is dual sided), a father figure, a girl figure, and then the baby in the stroller.  The stroller is very simple, but definitely works for the new baby minifigure.  The baby bottle is also a new and interesting design.  I'm curious to see if they will add more in the future or not.  The set also includes a dog and a female minifigure mowing the lawn.  The lawn mower has appeared in other sets.  I'm not sure if it's the same design or not, but it's pretty similar.  It also includes a small tree and a picnic table.

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I haven't been able to put a town scene together in a while, but am hoping to do so soon.  These will definitely be a great addition.  The last city minifigure set that I'm aware of was 9348 - Community Minifigures.  While it was another great addition to the collection, the diversity of figures and parts was pretty basic.  It included fire, police, and some other basics, but not the creative figures in this set.  At LEGO Shop at Home it's currently listed as out of stock with an expected ship date of 3 July.  The good part is that it's not going away anytime soon as it's brand new so be patient and place your order when it's back.

 

What do I buy my 4 Year Old Nephew?

I received a question and I figured I'd answer it on the blog.  What LEGO sets do you buy a boy aged 4?  Given the numerous amounts of sets out there with different themes, this is actually quite a challenging question.  I'll share my thoughts and I'm curious to hear if there are others.

The first place to start with LEGO in terms of age is the DUPLO line.  You can view LEGO's current DUPLO line here.   The age range listed on most of the sets is listed as between 2 and 5.  The DUPLO line has come a long way.  It now has sub-themes and a variety of sets to include Super Heroes and  Disney characters.  Should you get them for a 4 year old?  I think if he has DUPLO sets and enjoys playing with them still, then more DUPLOs wouldn't be a bad thing.  If he doesn't have them or already is into LEGO sets, then stick to LEGO.  If you're looking for a deal, Amazon's DUPLO sales are here.  You can also change it to view sales at Target and Walmart.

Next up in terms of age is LEGO Juniors.  This theme was started 2014 and the age range listed is between 4 and 7.  LEGO's current line can be found here.  What's good about this theme?  It uses standard LEGO elements and minifigures, but the sets typically have fewer parts.  Currently there are City, Super Hero, Disney Princess, and some pink sets geared towards girls, but still within the City line.  The sets are marketed as "easy to build."  This line could be a good place to start for a 4 year old boy who is just starting in LEGO.  Amazon has a few sales on Juniors sets which can be found here.  You can switch it to see Target and Walmart sales too.

Another option is one of my favorites.  The LEGO Classic line has an age range listed of 4 to 99.  Why centennials can't use them, I'm not quite sure.  You can view LEGO's Classic line here. Why is the LEGO Classic line good?  They are just boxes of bricks.  There are some examples of what you can build on the box and sometimes they come with idea books, but beyond that you can build whatever you want.  They come with some vehicle elements, elements to make animals, elements to build houses, and numerous others to encourage imagination.  Plus you never grow out of them.  You can use them to build whatever you want or connect them with other themes as you want.  Classic sales at Amazon are here.  As listed before you can see Target and Walmart sales too.  Also, you can read a post that I did on one of the Classic Sets here.  

The last theme I'd recommend is LEGO City (view the line here).  The age range listed is 5 to 12 so a year more, but that could be okay.  It could be a good set to build with him as a 4 year old or perhaps have a parent or guardian build with him.  As he gets older (if not already), he should be able to put it together pretty easily on his own.  Most of the City sets are not too challenging to build and there is a wide range of smaller, cheaper sets to larger, more expensive sets.  LEGO City always seems to have police and fire fighters.  There are usually others too such as space, construction, transportation, and a few others.  They tend to be pretty easy to find a retail stores like Target and Walmart.  As mentioned before, you can see Amazon discounts here (and switch to see Target and Walmart sales).  

LEGO has a bunch of other themes and all could be good options.  Not knowing what he is into, I went for the safer bets.  He could be a Super Hero or Star Wars fan and LEGO has numerous options for both. The age ranges listed on those sets vary based on the set so you'll have to take a look.  A quick view showed some Star Wars sets at ages 6-12 and others at 8-14.

I hope this post was useful and answers the question.  Good luck and happy building!