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6661 Mobile TV Studio (1989)
Every day, a hundred things happen in Lego City. Now, all inhabitants can be informed of the latest events, whether it's a daring police chase, the opening of a new store, or the local soccer match. All thanks to the Mobile TV Studio!
In this review, we'll be looking at the little blue truck that provides all of Lego City with news. It's a set that's 20 years old already and one of the first 10 sets I ever got. Time for another trip down memory lane...
The box, courtesy of Peeron.
Item #: 6661
Name: Mobile TV Studio
Theme: LEGO System / Town / Classic
Year: 1989
Pieces: 71
Minifigs: 1
Price: Fl. 12.50
A note on the price: None of the links below have a price listing, but luckily the 1989 Dutch catalogue still featured prices. Peeron has a scan of it listing the original price.
Bricklink
Brickset
Peeron
The Box
It's just a small set with a truck in it, so the box it comes in isn't all that large.
The sports field in the background instantly gives you an idea for where to place this, although our cameraman could easily work all over town
Alternate models on the back
Parts & Pieces
According to Peeron, there's 71 pieces. According to Brickset, there's 78. Since Peeron actually has an inventory list, I'll assume they have the right number. I hope you'll forgive me for not having counted everything myself, but if you're up to the challenge, here's a picture of the whole shebang:
Not surprisingly, blue dominates, but there's some grey for the chassis and camera as well
Apart from the minifig torso, there's 4 printed parts. The big TV panels are pretty neat. The inverted computer screen is cool as well. I have several with this screen on a regular slope, but this is the only one I own that's inverted.
Rather than having the more regular 2x4 mudguards, this car has 2 4x5 car bases. It also has two nifty blue doors.
Instructions
The instructions came folded in a teeny tiny shape, judging by the folds in the paper. Unfolded, it's a single A4-sized sheet.
This is how I've kept it stored all the time:
The print size makes for perfect readable storage
This is then put in a large folder with all my other instructions. I've taken it out for this review. I've also taken the paper out of the plastic for the first time in many years, just for you guys to get a better shot.
Minifigs
Just one this time.
All dressed in white with a blue cap, this guy doesn't get any sort of identifying TV outfit. It's just the zipper print we've seen so many times, mostly on racers. I don't quite understand why a cameraman is wearing this. Sure, it's better than just some striped sweater or a blank body, but would it really have hurt to give him a neat little TV jacket or something?
The Build
This small set will take you around 10 minutes to build. It's a decent size car with few complex parts.
We start off with the camera. A combination of round 1x1 bricks and plates makes up the base, and the cam itself is a 1x2x2/3 brick with studs on the side with some tiles put on. There's also a little lever for operating. A very nice little model.
Apparently, this is camera 2. But where's camera 1?
The car has no solid base, but its chassis is made up of a simple 2x8 plate and the two car bases.
As you build, you can see this is a pretty sweet truck. The driver even gets an actual seat; something not very common at the time if I'm not mistaken. He also has the luxury of two working doors. The two small windows behind him serve to make the space look bigger, even though they're technically part of the van's rear storage space.
For live broadcasts, the van also has a nifty sattellite dish and a color-coordinated antenna. After 12 steps, your van is finished.
All done!
When you're done, you have yourself a lovely little classic 4-wide van.
Your cameraman has the opportunity to view his feed from the back of his truck
Also, when disassembled the camera fits nicely in the back
Bringing news City-wide!
The van is simple looking enough, but it also has a few nice touches like the satellite dish and the monitor in the back of the van. It's a perfect little design for the 4-wide classic era. It will fit into any town and fit especially well into a classic town from the era. My only quibble is that there's no accompanying set at all, but that's a teeny tiny minor thing that doesn't hurt the set itself at all. It's not a raving, you-must-get-this-now sort of conclusion to a review, but then this isn't so much a town essential as it is a nice little detail to drop into your town somewhere. Decent on its own, fun to integrate in a larger city.
The Final Tally
Design: 7/10 The truck is good enough and fits in very well with all the other cars from the era. It's not sleek or anything, but then again - it's a truck. The camera looks pretty neat.
Parts: 7/10 Inverted screen, big printed TV logos and actual working doors. Special for its time? Don't really think so. But very nice if you're just getting it now.
Minifigs: 5/10 I know Lego didn't have torso prints as elaborate 20 years ago as they do now, but why does this guy look like a race car driver wearing a baseball cap?
Playability: 7/10 It's a lot of fun driving around Lego City reporting on events happening. Then again, you'll probably be more preoccupied with making the events happening than filming them. On its own, it has its charms as well. It's quite nice that this car doesn't just have the sole function of driving around. If you don't have a big city yet, you could always pester your relatives by having your Lego man do in-depth reports on them.
Price: 6/10 Fl. 12.50 for a little truck with some added playability. Judging by the other prices, it's about what you'd expect.
Overall: 7/10 On average, we come to a 6.4 But this set scores some extra points in the final rating because it offers possibilities within your town not found in any other set. For that, I bump up the final score half a point.
Edited by Rapseflaps, 05 August 2011 - 10:20 AM.
My brother must've had that set....it certainly looks like it from the parts in it....
That's the kinf of sets the City theme still need 
