Tamamono Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) Are you ready to sail the open seas looking for the tastiest fish? This youngster and his Dad are! Follow their fishing adventure as we build set 4642: Fishing Boat, but watch out for that shark! Review: 4642 Fishing Boat Name: Fishing Boat Number: 4642 Theme: City/Harbor Pieces: 64 Minifigures: 2 Price: 19.99 USD/13.99 GBP/14.95 EUR/24.99 AUD Brickset Peeron Bricklink LEGO.com Here's what Shop@Home has to say about it. Plan a deep sea expedition in the Fishing Boat! It’s a great day for a family fishing trip! Head out into the dawn for an early day of fishing fun. Grab your poles, fill your cup with hot java and be sure to put on your life jacket. Reel in the fish as you use those binoculars to keep an eye out for sharks! Includes 2 minifigures: sailor and fisherman Features shark, fish, fishing poles, coffee cup, life vests and binoculars Use the fishing role to reel in the fish or the shark! Snap the shark’s toothy jaws! Measures over 9” (22cm) long and 5” (12cm) tall Shark measures over 3” (7cm) long The Box: The front of the box features the 'Annabell' cruising along while a fish leaps out of the water into the jaws of a hungry shark. The box itself has the generic 'CITY' logo on the top, and there's a notice on the top right that says, "Modular Build: Easy Start". There seem to be a lot of 'Easy Start' CITY sets these days. (Box pic from Brickset) The Instructions: As always, the instructions feature the same art as the box. Sometimes I wish that the box/instruction booklet art was varied a little. Here's an obligatory random instruction page, which shows the start of the boat's 'observation deck'. There are no 'piece call-outs' in this set, and you have to judge which pieces to add each step by studying the example pictures, but it's not a problem, since there aren't many bricks added per step. The build progresses quite slowly in this set, and it's almost like LEGO is trying to make this set seem bigger than it really is... One of the last pages in the instruction booklet features a beautiful CITY Harbor/Beach scene (Although I'm not sure if it's safe to have 'people' swimming around where boats go... ). Now if only LEGO would release some of these buildings in the near future! The Pieces: 4642: Fishing Boat includes only 64 pieces for 20 USD, which is a poor deal in my humble opinion. However, I don't think people are going to be buying this as a parts pack, as the main appeal of this set is the model itself. Although dominated by <insert that tiresome argument> pieces (rather large, unshapely pieces that are looked down upon in the AFOL community), 4642: Fishing Boat includes several 'interesting' pieces, such as the lime cap, life preserver, printed 2x2 slope, mast piece, and shark. While none of these pieces are exclusive to the set, they're all welcome additions to my collection (especially the beautiful shark, ). Here's the boat's hull with stickers applied. As the box says, the hull actually floats (Although the completed set probably doesn't float as well because of the extra weight). I've always liked the Town/CITY boat hulls better than the Pirates boat hulls (cue angry mob), so I was pleased to get one in such a small set! The back of the boat hull. Here you can clearly see the ship's name, 'Annabell', on a sticker beneath the Dark Stone Grey plate. One thing I like about this set is that the stickers stay in pretty good condition even after they've been submerged in water. The Minifigures: The minifigures in 4642: Fishing Boat are a little boy (whom I have dubbed 'Junior') and his father. Junior sports a delicious bass (the fish, not the instrument!) he caught and a spiffy lime-green cap while his father holds a cup of 'joe' to aid him in his attempt to wake up. Both of them wear yellow life jackets for safety, and they seem to be fairly happy about it. Although, I'm not quite sure how well those jackets will hold up against sharks. The back of the figures. Junior is (unfortunately) the only one with back-printing in this set. Here are the 'figs without their accessories. The torsos and faces of both Junior and his father are pretty generic, and they appear in many sets these days. LEGO could have at least added a new (or rare) torso print in this set. The Accessories: The accessory selection in this set isn't bad, but it's not spectacular either. As well as the accessories mentioned above, there's also a male hairpiece in Dark Orange, a color that I've always thought perfect for this style of hair. The Build: The build in this set is an easy one, obviously directed towards small children. Here it is after step five. So far we've added a few white pieces along the inner part of hull. The build after step ten. Now we've added a yellow life preserver, modified slope bricks, and red and green 'lights' on the side. The design is pretty nice so far, and only gets better. The build after step fifteen. The windscreen, fishing rod, and floor of 'observation deck' are added this time. The red plate looks a bit out of place at this time, but it fits in nicely later. Here's a close-up of the fishing rod, which was built in a sub-step. The set comes with a lot of excess string, which needs to be trimmed down before threading it through the rod itself. I personally like the fishing rods from the Collectible Minifigures better, but the original fishing rod really does the job well here. After step twenty, the 'Annabell' is finished! Now we've added a radar system above the 'observation deck', which looks great. LEGO really elongated the build a lot more than it usually does by only adding one or two bricks at a time, therefore making this set seem larger (piece-wise) than it is in reality. Anyway, on to some close-ups! Here's the 'observation deck' of the 'Annabell', complete with a printed 2x2 simulating sonar! It's rather cramped in there, but it's not like Junior's dad will be hosting a party on the 'observation deck'. This is where Junior sits, drinking his dad's 'joe' and manning the fishing rod. I like that they included red chairs instead of the ever-persistent yellow chairs, but the white 2x4 just doesn't look 'professional' there. Unfortunately, there is no interior to the 'Annabell'. LEGO could've at least included a table or a small kitchenette! Here's the finished model with minifigures added. Pay attention, Junior, you caught a fish! Final Verdict: 4642: Fishing Boat is a nice addition to any town's harbor, and it's not too expensive. Now let's go onto the scores, shall we? SCORES: Design: 7/10 The boat looks really nice from the exterior, but the interior definitely leaves something to be desired. The 'observation deck' could use a few more levers and whatnot, and the real interior of the boat could use a little bed, a cabinet, a rack of fishing knifes, etc. Parts: 8/10 Although a good number of the pieces in this set are <insert that tiresome argument>, there are also some great parts such as the shark, the hull piece, and several others mentioned before that make this set worthwhile. Figures: 7/10 You only get two minifigures in this set (not counting that fabulous shark), but frankly, that's all this set really needs. However, the minifigures you do get are a bit generic, especially the torsos. Playability: 9/10 Despite not having a 'real' 'play feature', 4642 has a lot of potential for imaginative play. Two minifigures, a shark, and a spiffy looking boat are more than enough to keep a child busy at play for a while, and to top it all off, the boat actually floats! Value for Money: 8/10 Piece-wise, this set isn't a great deal, but as I said earlier, 4642: Fishing Boat works much better as a model than as a parts pack. You also get some pretty interesting parts and a boat hull for your $20 USD, and that's always welcome too. Overall: 39/50 Despite some of the lower scores I gave this set, I think it's a great boat and and a must-have for fans of the CITY/Town Harbor subtheme! Parting Shot: Careless fishermen are a shark's best friends. Thanks for reading! Edited July 11, 2011 by Captain Tamamono RA Approved (Rufus) / Indexed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted July 11, 2011 The Box: The front of the box features the 'Annabell' cruising along while a fish leaps out of the water into the jaws of a hungry shark. The box itself has the generic 'CITY' logo on the top, and there's a notice on the top right that says, "Modular Build: Easy Start". There seem to be a lot of 'Easy Start' CITY sets these days. (Box pic from Brickset) I think the whole "Modular Build: Easy Start" thing probably is just meant as an incentive for younger kids to start buying the City theme. City sets on the whole aren't too much simpler than sets in other themes (besides having fewer Technic characteristics a lot of the time). But City is one of the themes most popular with younger kids, and thus likely many of those kids' first foray into System. It's easy to buy a LEGO set if you're already a fan, but perhaps it takes some extra convincing to assure parents that their kids are ready for LEGO. Some people older than me gape in astonishment that I'm so good at building sets according to the instructions, even if it seems so inherently simple to someone who's been building for a long time! The Instructions:As always, the instructions feature the same art as the box. Sometimes I wish that the box/instruction booklet art was varied a little. Here's an obligatory random instruction page, which shows the start of the boat's 'observation deck'. There are no 'piece call-outs' in this set, and you have to judge which pieces to add each step by studying the example pictures, but it's not a problem, since there aren't many bricks added per step. The build progresses quite slowly in this set, and it's almost like LEGO is trying to make this set seem bigger than it really is... Again, I think this is just one of those things to help beginning builders get used to building sets. It might seem simple to an experienced builder who has the "knack" for following pictorial instructions, but some kids have a lot of difficulty with that when they're just starting out. The Pieces:4642: Fishing Boat includes only 64 pieces for 20 USD, which is a poor deal in my humble opinion. However, I don't think people are going to be buying this as a parts pack, as the main appeal of this set is the model itself. Although dominated by <insert that tiresome argument> pieces (rather large, unshapely pieces that are looked down upon in the AFOL community), 4642: Fishing Boat includes several 'interesting' pieces, such as the lime cap, life preserver, printed 2x2 slope, mast piece, and shark. While none of these pieces are exclusive to the set, they're all welcome additions to my collection (especially the beautiful shark, ). The shark actually has a new mold for his nose I believe, different than the classic shark nose. Not sure if it has appeared in any other sets, but I think it's currently exclusive to this set since it's new this year. Meanwhile, I think that in the case of this set juniorization and price-per-piece have to be largely ignored, primarily because of the boat structure itself. LEGO boats that actually float have always been <insert that tiresome argument>, and as much as people clamor for brick-built boats, floating one-piece molds aren't really replaceable if you want a boat set to have the one primary asset that most kids will expect of it. Here's the boat's hull with stickers applied. As the box says, the hull actually floats (Although the completed set probably doesn't float as well because of the extra weight). I've always liked the Town/CITY boat hulls better than the Pirates boat hulls (cue angry mob), so I was pleased to get one in such a small set! How well does it float for you? In another topic someone posted pictures of it, and it sits far lower in the water than I would like even if it doesn't have any other pieces built onto it. So this was a real disappointment for me, and if that just happens to be an isolated incident rather than an inherent flaw of this hull mold I'd be a lot more appreciative of this set. The back of the boat hull. Here you can clearly see the ship's name, 'Annabell', on a sticker beneath the medium-stone gray plate. One thing I like about this set is that the stickers stay in pretty good condition even after they've been submerged in water. The plate in question is actually Dark Stone Grey. Medium Stone Grey is the official name for Light Bluish Gray. The Accessories:The accessory selection in this set isn't bad, but it's not spectacular either. As well as the accessories mentioned above, there's also a male hairpiece in earth orange, a color that I've always thought perfect for this style of hair. Hate to be so nitpicky, but Dark Orange is the color name you're probably looking for (whether you're using official TLG names or Bricklink names). The Bricklink color Earth Orange (LEGO's awkwardly-named Light Orange Brown) is lighter than this, and is the color used for Ron Weasley's hair in the first few years of Harry Potter sets, while the LEGO color Earth Orange is what most AFOLs call Brown or Old Brown. Both colors have been discontinued for several years. Anyway, thanks for the review! I really like this set as it feels a lot like a modernized version of 4011 Cabin Cruiser, as another reviewer also observed. My brother and I each had a Cabin Cruiser in our childhood, and so this set brings back good memories. At the same time, I don't expect to buy this set since I'm not too into LEGO City anymore these days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamamono Posted July 11, 2011 I think the whole "Modular Build: Easy Start" thing probably is just meant as an incentive for younger kids to start buying the City theme. City sets on the whole aren't too much simpler than sets in other themes (besides having fewer Technic characteristics a lot of the time). But City is one of the themes most popular with younger kids, and thus likely many of those kids' first foray into System. It's easy to buy a LEGO set if you're already a fan, but perhaps it takes some extra convincing to assure parents that their kids are ready for LEGO. Some people older than me gape in astonishment that I'm so good at building sets according to the instructions, even if it seems so inherently simple to someone who's been building for a long time! Again, I think this is just one of those things to help beginning builders get used to building sets. It might seem simple to an experienced builder who has the "knack" for following pictorial instructions, but some kids have a lot of difficulty with that when they're just starting out. Yeah, this set (among many others released recently) are obviously directed towards kids first starting out with LEGO. The shark actually has a new mold for his nose I believe, different than the classic shark nose. Not sure if it has appeared in any other sets, but I think it's currently exclusive to this set since it's new this year. According to Bricklink, no it's not. Meanwhile, I think that in the case of this set juniorization and price-per-piece have to be largely ignored, primarily because of the boat structure itself. LEGO boats that actually float have always been <insert that tiresome argument>, and as much as people clamor for brick-built boats, floating one-piece molds aren't really replaceable if you want a boat set to have the one primary asset that most kids will expect of it. No, I'm much happier with the single piece hull than I would've been with a brick-built hull; I was mainly talking about these pieces and pieces similar to them. How well does it float for you? In another topic someone posted pictures of it, and it sits far lower in the water than I would like even if it doesn't have any other pieces built onto it. So this was a real disappointment for me, and if that just happens to be an isolated incident rather than an inherent flaw of this hull mold I'd be a lot more appreciative of this set. It floats pretty low in the water for me too; the water gets up to about half of the 'Annabell' sticker. The plate in question is actually Dark Stone Grey. Medium Stone Grey is the official name for Light Bluish Gray. Hate to be so nitpicky, but Dark Orange is the color name you're probably looking for (whether you're using official TLG names or Bricklink names). The Bricklink color Earth Orange (LEGO's awkwardly-named Light Orange Brown) is lighter than this, and is the color used for Ron Weasley's hair in the first few years of Harry Potter sets, while the LEGO color Earth Orange is what most AFOLs call Brown or Old Brown. Both colors have been discontinued for several years. Okay, thank you! I've fixed the color problems; I really need to check Bricklink's color chart before adding anything about color to my reviews! Anyway, thanks for the review! I really like this set as it feels a lot like a modernized version of 4011 Cabin Cruiser, as another reviewer also observed. My brother and I each had a Cabin Cruiser in our childhood, and so this set brings back good memories. At the same time, I don't expect to buy this set since I'm not too into LEGO City anymore these days. You're welcome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted July 11, 2011 Yeah, this set (among many others released recently) are obviously directed towards kids first starting out with LEGO. According to Bricklink, no it's not. Hmmm... I may have been mistaken, or Bricklink may be mistaken. It's certainly not the classic shark, because the inside of the upper jaw is hollow and the nose is less pointed (For reference, I'm comparing it to the older version 2548 that appeared in Divers sets in 1997). Since the part number for the new upper jaw is 87587 rather than 2548, I know it was new some time in the past two years, and was assuming that since I hadn't seen any comparison pictures until this year that it debuted this year. But perhaps it debuted previously and nobody noticed it until this set. No, I'm much happier with the single piece hull than I would've been with a brick-built hull; I was mainly talking about these pieces and pieces similar to them. I wouldn't call those parts <insert that tiresome argument>. They might be used in a <insert that tiresome argument> way, but in general that part is no more <insert that tiresome argument> than its older counterpart that's been appearing in sets since 1980. It floats pretty low in the water for me too; the water gets up to about half of the 'Annabell' sticker. Yeah... I'm really not happy with that. I seem to remember the one in Cabin Cruiser floating a lot better. My memory may be playing tricks on me, though. But since this boat mold is almost brand new I would have hoped for it to be better engineered than that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamamono Posted July 11, 2011 Hmmm... I may have been mistaken, or Bricklink may be mistaken. It's certainly not the classic shark, because the inside of the upper jaw is hollow and the nose is less pointed (For reference, I'm comparing it to the older version 2548 that appeared in Divers sets in 1997). Since the part number for the new upper jaw is 87587 rather than 2548, I know it was new some time in the past two years, and was assuming that since I hadn't seen any comparison pictures until this year that it debuted this year. But perhaps it debuted previously and nobody noticed it until this set. It's probably considered the same piece, but this stuff if made in a factory, and even machines make mistakes. You should compare it to one of the original Pirates sharks and one of the World Racers sharks to see if they're all the same. Yeah... I'm really not happy with that. I seem to remember the one in Cabin Cruiser floating a lot better. My memory may be playing tricks on me, though. But since this boat mold is almost brand new I would have hoped for it to be better engineered than that. Well, we always remember things differently than they really are, especially if we're sentimental about them, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cabin Cruiser does float better. It's not as long of a mold as in 4642, so the weight might be a little more balanced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted July 12, 2011 It's probably considered the same piece, but this stuff if made in a factory, and even machines make mistakes. You should compare it to one of the original Pirates sharks and one of the World Racers sharks to see if they're all the same.I don't have either shark. However, LDD has both versions with separate Part ID numbers. Not a machine error by any chance, there are considerable differences between the two-- the old shark head points upward, while the newer one has a more realistic curved shape. And, as I mentioned, 2548 is completely solid while 87587 is hollow. Since it's assigned a new piece number we know that it is a new design, even if Bricklink hasn't yet recognized any difference. I don't have any recent sets with sharks in them, unfortunately, so I can't make any comparisons on my own to find when exactly the new head made its debut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamamono Posted July 12, 2011 I don't have either shark. However, LDD has both versions with separate Part ID numbers. Not a machine error by any chance, there are considerable differences between the two-- the old shark head points upward, while the newer one has a more realistic curved shape. And, as I mentioned, 2548 is completely solid while 87587 is hollow. Since it's assigned a new piece number we know that it is a new design, even if Bricklink hasn't yet recognized any difference. I don't have any recent sets with sharks in them, unfortunately, so I can't make any comparisons on my own to find when exactly the new head made its debut. Ah, so that settles that, then! I suppose the old shark head mold was unavailable to them, so they re-made it in a slightly different way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
