14 replies to this topic

[Erdbeereis]

Welcome to another sunny day in LEGO city! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, minifigs are drowning.... Wait? What?!
The Coast Guard rushes to the scene and deploys the Coast Guard 4WD & Jet Scooter to save the poor minifig from drowning.
Let's take a look at the Coast Guard's buggy!


7737 Coast Guard 4WD & Jet Scooter



Set Info
Set Name: 7737 Coast Guard 4WD & Jet Scooter
Theme: City-Coast Guard
Released: 2008
Price: 9.99 USD-9.95 EUR-7.99 GBP
Pieces: 130
Minifigs: 1
Price Per Piece: About 8 cents



Now, the review!



The Box
Here is the front. It shows a nice image of the buggy on the beach with the ocean in the background.


The Back
The back shows some of the features in the set, such as the extra equipment.


Manual
The picture on the manual is the same as on the box as usual.


The Parts
The set has great colors. I love how the orange, blue and white look together. The part selection is quite good, but unfortunately uses the large car base.


Coast Guard Minifig
This is a great fig. The torso print is very nice and matches the buggy's colors well.


New Tire Mold
Here are the new tires. They look very good.


In-Manual Shot
Color separation is not a problem here, and since it is a small set, the piece call out is not a necessity.


Extra Parts
It is always nice to get extra cheese slopes.


The Finished Set!
The design of the trailer and jetski is great. The jetski is very smooth looking and the color scheme is fantastic. The sticker on the roof is nice, but it's actually too big for the piece. The corners of the sticker flap where the piece curves.


Jetski Close-up
Here you can see how it attaches to the trailer. I didn't add the sticker that goes on the front which is a little sign that says BB-03 or something.


Attaching The Trailer
This is where the trailer connects to the main car. It attaches simply with a ball joint.


Car Front View
The license plate is a nice sticker, and the top lights look nice. Say cheese driver!


The Back
The back is very similar to the front, it has the same sticker.


The Equipment Rack
A very welcome addition to the set. It adds quite a bit of playability. The orange fins are great.


All Decked Out
He looks pretty spiffy in his diving suit doesn't he?



Brickshelf Folder



The Ratings!

Price: 10/10 (You can't get much more in here for $10)
Parts: 9/10 (Nice selection and great colors. The big car base is a bit annoying)
Design: 9/10 (The jetski is a prime example of something with a small amount of pieces that still looks amazing)
Playability: 9/10 (You can drive the car, go diving, and jetski across the bay)
Minifig: 7/10 (The one it comes with is great, but it could have come with one more. Perhaps a citizen of some sort)
Build: 8/10 (Simple, but looks great)


Overall: 42/50

LEGO S@H
Brickset
Peeron
Bricklink


Even in the face of danger, this member of the Coast Guard always has a smile on his face...




Summary
Simply put, for $10 you have to buy this set. It is one of the better sets in this price range you can buy, and one of the best small city sets.
The colors are great, the design is great, and the fig is great. I don't normally think small sets are worth heavy praise, but this one definitely deserves it.

Thanks, and happy building!

[TheBrickster]

What an outstanding review of a great set.  I esp. like your intro.  I have this set, but have not opened it yet.  It looks like a fun little beach set.

The new Coast Guard theme is very nice!  

EDIT:  This set could almost pass for Classic Town, except for the use of orange and the lack of opening doors on the car.  5 stars!

[WhiteFang]

Great job! I will want to get this set soon. It's a lovely set, with some coast guard saving on the jet ski. What I don't like about this set, is the lack of doors. Everything about this is nice, but I still have to give it a "4".

As for the entire flow of review, I agreed with Brickster that your introduction is very good. With the little amends I had added earlier, it turns out to be very good.  

Keep it up.

[KimT]

I am not a fan of City/Town/Train-stuff.
But this is a very good review, that almost makes me wish I had the time (read: money) to purchase some of the coast-guard sets.

[Asuka]

A very good review of an especially charming and lovely set, thanks!  
The whole CG theme looks very nice to me with a good and detailed set design,
and this one´s no exception. Although it would be nice to see more car doors
and some new MF faces, though.

[rriggs]

Thanks for this review.  I was thinking of getting this set and having read your review went out today and got it.  What a great little set.  What I particularly like:

• Very sturdy build.  Feels very solid as you build the pickup (compared to the Fire pickup & trailer I also have)
  
• The orange pieces (my first pieces in this colour!)
  
• The tyres which give the smoothest ride of any Lego Town/City vehicle I've ever built
  
• The raised suspension and side runners
  
• The Coast Guard dude (again a first for me) and his mega-cool flippers and aqualung
  
• The jetski controls - The handlebars actually move left to right which is a great detail
  
• Little details that Lego didn't have to do (the grey handle by the ball joint; moving handlebars; the new tyres)

As you can probably guess, I have voted Outstanding for this set!

Erdbeereis1, on Aug 29 2008, 06:02 AM, said:

Color separation is not a problem here, and since it is a small set, the piece call out is not a necessity.

You do get a piece call out with this set (I did anyway). It's on the back of the small poster that is included in the set!  

Thanks again

Cheers

Rog

Edited by rriggs, 02 September 2008 - 02:53 PM.

[Cardinal Brick]

Thanls for the review, I was looking at this set last time I went to the Lego store, but in the end decided not to get it. Now you’ve made me really doubt my decision. One question though do you think the jet ski is as good as previous ones?

[Erdbeereis]

rriggs, on Sep 2 2008, 08:50 AM, said:

You do get a piece call out with this set (I did anyway). It's on the back of the small poster that is included in the set!  

I meant the piece call outs during the build that show which pieces you need for that step.
And Cardinal Brick, I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I cetainly think that this jetski is wonderful.

[rriggs]

Erdbeereis1, on Sep 2 2008, 09:15 PM, said:

I meant the piece call outs during the build that show which pieces you need for that step.

Oh!  

Cardinal Brick, on Sep 2 2008, 09:05 PM, said:

One question though do you think the jet ski is as good as previous ones?

I have to agree that the jetski is an awesome little piece of design.  Apart from the handle bars it has a really cool orange piece on the front (a piece I've never seen before) - the 4x3 wheelarch sort of thing...

Cheers

Rog

[saturncoupe1999]

I agree that this is a very good looking set. I just finished building mine yesterday, and I love it. But here is one suggestion. Trim the large sticker that goes on the roof of the vehicle by cutting along the angles at the front of the sticker. If you use it as it is, it will extend beyond the "flat" surface of the roof and will overlap the lower sections. Past experience with stickers has suggested that this sticker will "lift" at the front corners.

Lego stickers are probably the best that there are, but sometimes modifications must be made.

Now I want that large Coast Guard helicopter, #7738!!!

[JopieK]

Nice set, nice review, I already have one coastguard set (that truck) but I like the idea very much. However, the Rigid Inflatables could be much improved (see the real ones at www.rnli.co.uk or www.knrm.nl)

[DJ Force]

Great review of a great set!
One question: How does the robot-arm-piece connect to the jetski?

[Erdbeereis]

It gets placed on top of This piece.

[Skorpius47]

The Coast Guard sets are very eye catching.  The color scheme is making me want to pick up the entire line, although the off-shore platform hasn't been released State-side yet.  I've had my eye on this particular set for a few weeks now and is near the top of my To Buy list.  With instructions provided on LEGO.com, I build a Dr. Infero version of the jet ski to replace the one used in Mission 2: Swamp Raid.  It's a very sturdy design, bulky enough to make it feel like a real vehicle.

Great review, too.  Thank-you for the closer look at the set.

[DJ Force]

Erdbeereis1, on Sep 3 2008, 04:36 PM, said:

It gets placed on top of This piece.

I thought so, so thanks for confirming!