60081 Pickup Tow Truck

[Prezes]

Review 60081: Pickup Tow Truck

Details:

Series: City

Qty of bricks: 209pcs

Qty of minifigures: 2

Qty of bags with bricks: 3 big bags (1 smaller inside each big)

Bricklist: BrickLink

Price: ~16€ (Internet) ~23€ (in local shops)

Brickset

BrickLink

Tow truck(s) it's a well known topis in TLG. Example is not far away 60056: Tow Truck released last year. Looking at the first pictures and previews of 60081 I was not impresed. Not much as during with 60056 - I still consider it's one of the best Lego sets! Pickup is confusingly similar to a Jeep from 60045: Police Patrol[/ url]. Am I right? It is also oddly overgrown, as if swollen compared to "traditional" sets and vehicles. Broken blue car also is nothing spectacular. It seems to be an average set. TLG in 2015 series of City rather not charmed me like a year ago, while during premiere day I was one of the first customers waiting for his copies of 60056 and 60059! This year I saved some money waiting for good discounts.

BTW: Of course I was not wasting my time. I put much more effort to restore some classic sets and moste of the money I decided to spent buying separate bricks.

Box:

The traditional rectangle, quite high but thanks to the width and height can be significantly reduced. It looks neat. The dimensions and proportions are not stinging the eyes. As always, dominated by blue. Design has changed slightly, there were steel shells around photos and images cut lines are more angular reinforcing the feeling of "austerity" and industrialization.

FRONT & REAR

TOP & BOTTOM

LEFT & RIGHT

Instruction:

Two traditional books. The first describes on 20 pages construction of a blue car. The second is almost 70 pages describes the structure of a white pickup.

BTW: Inside the box we have three bags of parts, two booklets of instruction, template labels and pickup's chassis brick.

Minifigures:

The two men. I have a strange feeling that both look like two warm dumplings ;-) The Lord in a green sweater V-neck and service personnel. Mediocre in plain trousers.

BTW: In my opinion pickup driver should have clothes in white/green colours to be in line with the pickup.

Bricks:

I did not notice anything in spectacular. One caught my attention because somehow I had no occasion to hold it in your hand. I think about 30125]30125[/ url] but I can see that this is nothing new. In total set does not contain any "special" bricks, what I treat as an advantage!

Work in progress:

A: BLUE CAR

B: PICKUP

FINISHED SET:

BENEFITS:

+ pickup's construction is on a very high level;

+ it has a lot of details: antennas, hammer;

+ remarkable but simple design solutions (rearheel arches, front of the car, half-stud distance between front of the car with the lights and bumper);

+ perfect colours combination;

+ a lot of fun in kids hands;

+ simple construction of the tug "fork";

+ interesting labels, nice design;

WEAKNESESS:

- lack of doors in white pickup;

- oddly swollen and almost off the scale (see last photo with 60056) - seems to be in American style;

- tug "fork" is too loose;

- oversized and massive tug construction;

- too many labels (I really don't like them :-/);

Summary:

I admit that during building of a set it positive surprised me. At the beginning, my attitude fluctuated within the limits of desire shooting more than build. However, with time, and especially after opening the bags with numbers 2 and 3, my attitude was changing. Pushing the limits into a positive feelings. Finally, pickup looks like a monster truck and distorts the proportions of the Lego city, but as a model on your shelf it pleases the eye. For sure it won't be a star of anyone's collection, because it leaves unsatisfied. I wonder if instead of blue car could be something else in this set, something what more would increase the attractiveness set as of model, and not toy? Maybe this blue car pulls down a general assessment?

[Rail Co]

Nice small set review! Very good pictures, I would agree with you on the stickers it is kind of over done I didn't put all mine on.

-RailCo

[jfbat]

Had a chance to pick it up for 10 euro (really!), otherwise I wouldn't have bought this. I think these pick-ups are way out of scale compared to the trucks and indeed, that lack of doors bothers me too. On it's own, though, it kind of makes sense. And it's always nice to have a regular car for the city - with a roof!

[Lemon]

Nice review.

For the 4-wide cars with these of wheels, I don't understand why Lego makes the wheels stick out so much. They have been doing this for years... These cars are not off-road.

[THERIZE]

Nice review.

For the 4-wide cars with these of wheels, I don't understand why Lego makes the wheels stick out so much. They have been doing this for years... These cars are not off-road.

i think its about simplicity. They can use the same wheels as trucks or buses. And actually the wheels are not the problem! The wheel holders make the wheels stick out! Try the older ones, those will get the wheels not stick out. The only problem is that the wheels will be to high.

[MontyPython]

Quite nice set ... Thanks for great review!

[Brick Car]

Nice review !Strangely enough,I really liked this set when I first saw it!The design is attractive and the proportions of the model are good(I like the fact that it's bigger than the usual city vehicles)so good job Lego .The main drawback for me is the lack of doors,I regard my sets as models of real vehicles not toys,and all the real pickups have opening doors and opening hood(I expect opening hood from the city vehicles every year but Lego dissapoints me every time ... ).Anyway,I will make them myself.The other drawback is the seat.I want brick-built seats for city vehicles(as in Creator)but Lego is dissapointing me again...I also like the car(it also has opening doors...).

[Prezes]

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions. I do appreciate that! Regarding the pickup size, I really glad that TLG did not take this one as example ;-)

[GallardoLU]

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions. I do appreciate that! Regarding the pickup size, I really glad that TLG did not take this one as example ;-)

*SNIP*

looking at the images all the Lego model needs is to be stretched into a 6 door and its practically there (bed rails are above the workers head, just like the woman pictured) still with some mod work the truck could be down sized (smaller wheels for starters) and it wouldn't be near as bad.