ImLost

REVIEW: 7642 Garage

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INDEXED

This hasn't been reviewed yet so....

7642 Garage

Pieces: 942

Build Time: Who knows

Price: $99.99 (US)

Why I bought it: It was on sale for $89.95 and I like orange!

Front of the box:

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Back:

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Three instruction manuals. The set has nine bags and three baseplates (I accidently deleted the photo).

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Sticker sheet: OMG finally I get one that is not crumbled!!

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BAG 1:

Bag 1 builds three of the set's four minifigs. As you can see, I got the trucker's and the mechnaic's pants mixed up. I really like the red hairpiece! Their backs are not printed.

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Bag 1 also builds the little blue truck. As you can see, there's a big hole on the back of the cab, where cargo can fall into! The reason this exists is so a yellow chair can fit inside.

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I don't know why the truckbed walls are resting on two 1x4 plates. The vehicle looks so much better without them.

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An overview of everything that Bag 1 builds, as well as the extra pieces.

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Verdict: I'm disappointed that the set only contains four minifigs, and non of them are very original. As for the blue truck, I feel the only reason they included it in the set is so the auto shop''s lift have something you can put on. The truck is just way too tiny to look realistic. The mudguards are too big for its wheels and the big hole on the back of the cab is really annoying. It is kind of cute though and looks like something a kid would drive in the back yard.

Bag 2:

This bag builds a tractor unit. Here it is along with extra pieces:

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Verdict: This truck is very similiar to the one found in 7633 Construction Site. I like the color scheme a lot, although I'm bothered that the stripe pattern ends abruptly towards the back of the cab instead of continuing along. There's nothing special about this truck, other than being an accessory for the set's main vehicle: the orange wrecker.

Bag 3:

Bag 3 builds the bottom half of the orange wrecker as well as adding another minifig. Here they are, along with extra pieces.

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Bag 4:

Bag 4 completes the wrecker truck. Here it is along with its extra pieces.

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The side cabinet doors do not lead to storage areas. Instead, they allow access to the boom's hydralics.

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This is the maximum height that the boom can be risen to. White crate not included.

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The wrecker truck in action.

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This is how the wrecker tows another vehicle. The wheellift has two projections that fit into a gap underneath the red tractor's front bumper.

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Because the blue truck does not have the gap that the red tractor has, it cannot be effectively towed. With that in mind, I tried hooking the wrecker's wheellift onto the blue truck's rear bumper, as seen below. However, this was a very flimsy attachment and the blue truck frequently fell off.

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The wrecker's boom is surprisingly robust and stays in place quite well. It is able to lift my 8-wide fire quint, which is twice the wrecker's size!

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Here are all three vehicles and all minifigs together.

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Verdict: The wrecker truck is very cool. It looks really rugged and the boom is very robust and functional. The only thing I'm bothered about are the mudguards- I just hate how round they are! :tongue:

Bag 5:

Bag 5 builds the small office of the garage. Here are all the printed pieces that the office contains.

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The office also has three tiles with stickers that are supposed to represent mechanic's manuals (I think). They don't really look like manuals though. Anyways, those "manuals" fit on a shelf next to the computer. I think this is a nice detail.

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Here is the completed office with extra parts.

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Closer angle:

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Verdict: I kind of like the office- it has enough detail and isn't too cramped. The one thng I don't like is the giant sticker that is supposed to represent a map of LEGO city. If TLG had instead printed the map on a tranparent piece, I would be a lot happier.

Bag 6:

This bag builds the first half of the auto shop, shown below with extra pieces.

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Bag 7:

Bag 7 completes the autoshop, shown below with extra pieces

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The office is attached to the auto shop via a single technic pin on the bottom and a 2x2 plate on top. The connection is surprisingly sturdy.

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Bag 8:

This bag builds the first half of the wrecker truck garage.

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Bag 9:

This bag completes the wrecker truck garage, shown below with extra pieces.

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The truck garage is connected to the auto shop by two techinic pins and two 2x2 plates. The picture below shows that the connection is solid and the entire building can be lifted without anything falling apart. (Don't do it with vehicles inside!)

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Here are the extra pieces from all the bags together. They look quite useful.

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Below shows how the lift in the auto shop works. I like the lift's mechanism because it feels very smooth yet solid.

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You can put the red tractor unit on the lift as well, although doing so will restrict the overhead crane's movement, because the vehicle is too tall.

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The auto shop also contains various tools seen below. I love the table drill and saw!

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The photo below shows how the overhead crane is attached. It can move north, east, south, and west, as well as go up and down. The crane can cover the entire area of the auto shop and slides quite well from east to west and vise versa. However, it does not slide well from north to south and vise versa.

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The wrecker truck will only fit in the garage if its rear view mirrors are folded all the way in!

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Here are pictures of everything from the set together.

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First off, I feel this set is too tiny to cost $100. Sure it has a lot of pieces (942) but most of them are tiny. And only four minifigs! With that said, I think the set overall looks quite nice. I am usually not a fan of lego buildings (with the exception of the modular series) becasue they look too childish and unrealistic. But the 7642 Garage actually looks quite real. Still, I plan to tear everyting down for MOCing purposes.

One of the big negatives of this set are the vehicles. Other than the wrecker truck, the rest are unoriginal and uninspired. I feel that with a flagship city set like this, TLG should have included trucks that are more unique and interesting.

In terms of playability, um I'm an AFOL. I don't play with my models- I display them! :tongue: But I guess this set offers a fair amount of playability to its target demographic. I can see how a 10 year old would line up his entire collection of city vehicles to be repaired at the auto shop. Plus, the wrecker truck is very functional.

At first glance, this set does not seem to have many useful parts because the building seems to be composed mainly of white bricks and pillars. But upon closer inspection, the set does have many useful pieces. The three trucks contain a lot of nice elements for MOCing vehicles. Also, the auto shop itself provides a solid foundation of building a bigger and more detailed version.

Overall, I give this set a grade of average. I think the building looks pretty realistic but other than the wrecker truck, the other vehicles seemed like an afterthought. Plus this set just does not have enough features to warrant a $100 price tag.

Btw, I have a newfound respect for all you regular reviewers out there. Making a review was more painful than I had thought! :laugh:

Edited by TheBrickster

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Thank you very much for doing this fantastic in-depth review!

This set seems to be disliked by many and generally overlooked. I admit that I find this set quite appealing and have been extremely temped to pick it up on multiple occasions. Being someone that likes to both display their LEGO and play with it (yes, playability is a big selling point for me), this set suits my needs quite well. I find it bright and attractive looking - despite it's openness - which of course makes it easier to access everything inside the garage and play around with stuff. The large orange tow-truck is detailed enough that I can overlook the shortcoming of the other vehicles and instead just accept them as fillers for more play possibilities.

Thanks again for this review, and for reminding me that I'd still like to acquire this set :tongue:

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Thanks 'ImLost' for this review of a set that was okay, but could have been better. :wink:

You are right about the little blue pick up and the 1x4 plates being removed.

You know it has features I have seen elsewhere.......I wonder where ?

My mind has to SELECT something. :grin:

The tyre rack and vehicle lift are real firsts for Lego, in the past hinge plates or the classic use the chair on hinge with handles, plus use handles to hold tyres was the norm.

The office......yeah that's an odd one, a reception area with this would have been better, as too a ROOF or some frontage to the workshop even if it swung open to give access for play.

Anyway it was a great review 'ImLost' and I'm a conformist! ! :sweet:

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Thanks for the extensive review of such a large set!

I have mixed feelings about this set... Didnt know whether to keep it for myself or to let it go.. the overall design of the trucks and the garage couldnt really appeal to me..

However, after reading your wonderful review, i've decided to keep it! I love the orange wrecker truck!

Thanks for the review and helping me to come to a desicion for this set! Cheers!

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I love this set as a parts pack (and picked up a copy recently for just that purpose), all that orange and white is great and will help with some MOCs I am working on)

I love the stickers including the green "recycle bin" (although the trashcan piece in green is just as good)

As a model its not so good IMO, doesn't really match with any garage I have ever seen. Plus its hard to fit 6-wide vehicles into the repair hoist area.

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The auto shop also contains various tools seen below. I love the table drill and saw!

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I think the one thing you are calling a "saw" is spouse to be a grinder.

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Thank you for the review of one of the best sets of 2009. I posted a review of the same set in August for a Russian forum.

Firsly, I should say that the set is worth $100. Yeah, when assembled.it is not as huge or impressive as the Police station 774 but still it is very well thought out. And I really like the red truck, it's nice. I can't say it is very similar to that from 7633 or we have to admit that almost all city trucks since 2005 are the same.

You have also forgotten to mention that the blue pickup can't get lifted as its clearance is not sufficient and it touches the lift with its bottom.

And I'd also add, that the wrecker has 5-level front part, not a 4-level one as most trucks have.

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I built this set a couple of days back,it looks good as part of our new town build but i had to do something about the roof,or lack there of.I thought a garage without a roof looked odd so i added one to the main work area,looks much better now i think.I did have to remove the crane thing but whos gonna use that anyhoo?

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Nice review. The set is okay, but the only reason I'd buy this set is for the trucks.

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Excellent review! I got this set shortly after its release in US but I was just too lazy to post a review... :tongue:

This set is appealing to me because I think a garage is unique and necessary for the city theme. Yup the price is unfair compared to the police station but nowadays many sets are increasing their prices so you can no longer compare them to the previous ones.

I love the orange bricks and the uniform :sweet: . The garage itself is neat which is the main selling point to me. The truck is the best one in 2009 and makes the set more worthy. The other two vehicles are definitely designed to push the price up though.

Overall this is a good set if you can grab it at 90 :laugh:

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Great review, I really love the in depth overview. You take really good pictures!

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Great review. I really have to get one of these.

I picked up one of these today and love it. The only thing I don't like is the abnormal size of it. Most sets when constructed make good use of a 32x32 square, but this one measures 56x42. I can't see how this will interlock with other sets without leaving space in between road plates. If anyone has this and has it set up with road plates, please let me know and please show some pics.

Edited by Friction

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Just thought it was worth sharing with all my friends at EB... I've just seen the TOYS R US 2010 BLACK FRIDAY U.S. ad, and this set is listed at 33% OFF from the list price of $104.99, putting it down to a comfy $70 US. Not bad for a set that's been far too overpriced in the past anyway... Good luck, as it's only on sale from Thurs. (Thanksgiving night) from 10pm to Fri at 1pm, and will likely be sold out before then. Happy Hunting!

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Great, indepth review with high quality, well thought out pictures! :thumbup:

I like the set, especially the trucks, altough there is room for improvement in parts of the set.

Well done on the review. :classic:

~buddy~

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I really think the tow truck is oversized, though perhaps realistic for that kink,

I'd really like both this set and the other tower to be replaced with the kind that can tow and have a car loaded at once.

Here is my take using parts from the 7642 truck:

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Unfortunately the car is about 1 brick too high up because of the parts to hinge and lower it...

Technic's is a pain to model in LDD and I will not get this set unless it's 50% off.

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I really think the tow truck is oversized, though perhaps realistic for that kink,

I'd really like both this set and the other tower to be replaced with the kind that can tow and have a car loaded at once.

Here is my take using parts from the 7642 truck:

7642_garage_moc.jpg

Unfortunately the car is about 1 brick too high up because of the parts to hinge and lower it...

Technic's is a pain to model in LDD and I will not get this set unless it's 50% off.

I think the tow truck is no way oversized. Some will say it is even small, especially compared to Range Rover from 7635...

The blue car from 7642 doesn't appeal to me much as it has very low clearance and it is not even able to run onto the hoist.

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I think the tow truck is no way oversized. Some will say it is even small, especially compared to Range Rover from 7635...

The blue car from 7642 doesn't appeal to me much as it has very low clearance and it is not even able to run onto the hoist.

Personally, I like the classic 4-stud cars and absolutely loves how they look along with the 6-stud trucks.

I only think the original truck, even if it is accurate, does not have the functionality of a normal tow-truck for cars.

The new mudguards effectively makes cars 5-wide so I can buy it for SUV's and delivery trucks, but the range-rover is a bit out of scale.

Edited by pacc

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I love this set! I got it from an Official LEGO store in the US. It really fit into my lego town. I think that town and city are the best LEGO. Star Wars is a close second.

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I was not going to get this set for $100 dollars but last week walked into my LEGO Store and picked it up for $35 Dollars I hate the way LEGO did the layout of this building so I redesigned mine. It's really a great set I love the Red Truck and even though the tow truck is more of a Big Rig tow truck and is over sized it's still great.

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I was not going to get this set for $100 dollars but last week walked into my LEGO Store and picked it up for $35 Dollars I hate the way LEGO did the layout of this building so I redesigned mine with Two garage doors and it still can fit the tow truck parked in there. It's really a great set I love the Red Truck and even though the tow truck is more of a Big Rig tow truck and is over sized it's still great.

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I was not going to get this set for $100 dollars but last week walked into my LEGO Store and picked it up for $35 Dollars

$35!!! Man will send you the cash to pick me up one too! Nice grab for the price.

I like the way you configured the layout as well. Looks a lot more like a mechanics shop.

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I was not going to get this set for $100 dollars but last week walked into my LEGO Store and picked it up for $35 Dollars I hate the way LEGO did the layout of this building so I redesigned mine.

I noticed your pictures the other day when I was looking at your police station. You really should have posted your own thread to show off your MOD. What I found most amazing is that your design is almost the exact layout of the Amoco station where my dad always brought his cars for service when I was a kid. You aren't somewhere in Wisconsin, are you?

I'm very jealous that you found this set for $35. I was watching a local store that had a few of these for $79, had they dropped just a bit more I would have picked one up, but I'm not a huge fan of the tow truck and what I wanted most out of this set was the garage door, but I could get two in some other sets for less money (like the fire station), so I've held off on picking this one up. If I find it for $60, much less $35, it would be mine.

Edited by meyerc13

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Nice chanegs 'jth781', but why didn't you start your own topic with your creation eh ?

Still needs a little adjustment, but the double roller door entrance is fantastic.

Brick On ! :grin:

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