Sign in to follow this  
LuxorV

Review: 6665 River Runners

How do you rate this set?  

17 members have voted

  1. 1. On a scale of 1-5

    • Poor
      0
    • Below Average
      1
    • Average
      2
    • Above Average
      8
    • Outstanding
      6


Recommended Posts

index2.jpg

Set name: River Runners

Set Number: 6665

Price: 7.25 $, ? £, 8.00 Euro

Pieces: 74

Year of release: 1994

Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset

The Box

Front

6665-1.jpg

(Photo from Brickset, as I do not own the box anymore.)

The front of the box has a clean look, sporting the full set into a natural environment, representative of its purpose. A rubber ship afloat on a stream. Unfortunately, I find the quality of the background somewhat disappointing: despite the quite nice water flow effect, the rivers are too clearly flat and b-dimensional.

The LEGO and SYSTEM logos cover the upper left corner, but definitely do not stand in the way or drive the attention away from the set itself. The set number, in the upper right corner looks somewhat like it’s been added as an afterthought to me for some reason.

Back

6665-1.1241151758.jpg

(Photo from Peeron, as I do not own the box anymore.)

The back of the box shows some possible alternate models we can build from this set. I often wonder how many people long for the good old days when alternate/inspiration models were standard fare and not the exception on the LEGO boxes, just like I do.

Contents

Inside

6665_001.jpg

This set includes a fair number of parts in ten colours and 3 figs. Definitely not bad for its price tag.

My favourite parts in the lot are the floatation vests, the curved-top bricks and the grilled plate. I remember how much I like the plate at the time, being the first of its kind I got. My only concern was that, with a bottom so full of holes, the boat looked like it was about to sink any moment. Only some time later I understood that floatation was granted by the lateral ‘air tubes’.

Recoloured parts

6665_002.jpg

This set did not include any new molds and only a couple of recoloured parts. These are 4 Brick, Modified 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 with Curved Top in Yellow and 4 Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip also in Yellow.

Accessories

6665_017.jpg

As you can see from the photo above, there are a lot of very useful and interesting minifig accessories in this set. They include an axe, a pick-axe, a shovel, all used to build camp on the river banks; a trio of oars for manoeuvring and for when the engine won’t start; a trio of lifejackets and a torchlight; and finally, we have a backpack, supposedly full of food supplies, a tent, some blankets/sleeping bags, and more… truly a Mary Poppins styled bag!

These parts alone provide indeed reason enough to want to buy this set.

Instructions

6665_006.jpg

The front cover (remember that during these years instructions were not released in booklets, but in foldouts) shows the same shot as the front of the box, the set number, the LEGO and SYSTEM logos. The look is clean and appealing, so you may feel the urge to book a raft ride as soon as the season begins.

6665_007.jpg

The back cover shows our River Runners disembarking and getting ready for camping. It will be a fine night of bone fires and songs under the stars!

6665_008.jpg

Random ‘page’ – The instructions are simple and every step involves a very limited number of parts, which makes things easier since there are no call-outs in this kind of instructions.

Minifigures

6665_004.jpg

None of the figures is exclusive of this set, having all appeared in previous years in the Outback sub-theme. Nonetheless, they make for great addition to any City/Town collector.

The Woman’s torso is one of my favourite of all times. The hoodie is pretty nice and it was the first time we saw one in LEGO City. The recent version we saw last year (see the 3177 Small Car set) is an update of this classic part.

The two men seem to either be brothers or have both bought their sunglasses in the same shop (plus they must have forgotten to shave). We’ll call them Texas Man (for the hat) and Pilot (for the jacket and the fact he actually pilots the boat/raft).

Texas Man wears a nice green waistcoat over a long sleeves white Tee. Though this torso has been seen in 41 sets in LEGO history, the figure itself is less common, limited to the Outback sub-theme only (his relatives span other City/Town areas as well). He fits the man on vacation theme quite well, with the possible exception of the hat, which does not speak much of a river run to me.

Pilot, on the other hand, is a very common figure and I’m sure most people own at least a copy of him. Not much to say, apart for noting he does not wear his signature blue cap in this set.

6665_003.jpg

As expected from old times’ minifigures, there is no printing on the back of the heads or torsos.

6665_005.jpg

One last shot to see how the figs look with their floatation vests on.

Building

Start

6665_009.jpg

6665_010.jpg

We start with the central part of the raft. The build is simple and pretty straight forward, with some interesting solutions here and there. Thanks to the 4 round 2 x 2 with rounded bottom plates on the underside of the boat, the model is quite sturdy and swoosh-able, even if it’s not an air or space craft.

Adding accessories and motor

6665_011.jpg

We continue by adding the accessories our Outbacks will use to make camp or face any possible situation in the wild.

6665_012.jpg

Next comes the motor, a nice little thing with stripped colours to make it look shiny and easy to tell from the rest of the vessel.

6665_013.jpg

Finally, even if we do not see any evidence of a com system aboard, the raft sports a long antenna, plus a handy floodlight.

Finished set

6665_014.jpg

The finished set plus minifigures. We are ready to ride any river we may encounter and to set up camp when we’ll eventually get tired. What more could we ask from this neat little set?

Bonus images

Getting ready

6665_016.jpg

So, are we ready to sail? Get your backpack on board and let’s get moving!

Final comments

As we said, this is a small-ish set. Its building is pretty simple and it includes only a few recoloured parts an no new molds. Nonetheless, this model conveys a great sense of adventure, a deep feeling of riding in the middle of the wild, which means its aim was fully accomplished.

Colors scheme - 10/10 (The rubber part of the raft looks very realistic and the strips on the motor make it stand out as different and more metallic.)

Minifigures - 8/10 (None of the figure parts is new to this set, but they were all brilliantly used here and make for some great additions to any City/Town collection.)

Parts - 8/10 (Not many new or recoloured parts, but everything can come in handy for MOCs. I do not see any part in this model which could be difficult to use in an average City/Town creation.)

Design - 10/10 (Again, it looks very realistic and does not have any major flaw.)

Quality - 10/10 (All the parts are of the good old LEGO quality.)

Overall: 46/50 Excellent

As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome!

Edited by Zorbas
Indexed

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Another great review! As I said in your other recent review, I'd love to see sets like these more, instead of what we get nowadays.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Another great review. Thanks for including the box images too, I found the paddle-fight model on the back of the box quite amusing. This set fit in very well with the 6552 Rocky River Retreat because of their similar colors and theme. I remember stuffing styrofoam bits into the bottoms of the curved slopes in an effort to make my model float when I was younger, but I also did not understand the mechanics of floatation. What always baffled me was the inclusion of a large antenna without any other radio piece.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great review of a beautiful classic town set LuxorV! :sweet:

This was released the year I entered my dark ages and I remember looking at it in the LEGO catalogue thinking "Am I ever gonna get this?" :cry_sad: The raft looks very nice and the minifigs (three minifigs in a set of this size - oh, what an era...) are great. I too agree that the female's torso stands out. I really miss the use of the cowboy hat in city sets, a common thing back then.

The back of the box picture made me feel nostalgic btw. :cry_happy:

Thanks for the beautiful and detailed review!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I love this type of set. Especially this "modern adventures" ones form the 90s. Thanks for the review! :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Even though this set came out before I entered my dark ages, I have no recollection of it, so thanks for the review, LuxorV.

This set, in my mind, is what a good entry-level set should be like. Cheap price, three different minifigs, nice assortment of accessories and good design (minus the grate piece used for the hull). Even the alternate builds for this set are especially good (I miss these too). I may go pick one up off Bricklink!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks 'LuxorV' for another great review, interesting brick-built boat....ah, the good old days eh ? :wink:

The outboard motor looks interesting too, Russian is it ! :grin:

I'm a little worried about having a pick-ax and regular ax on board....perfect to punch a hole in the boat and sink.....ah, well.....such is life ! :wink:

Brick On Everyone ! :grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have this set still fully assembled (though the female and "pilot" minifigs are missing somewhere!) at my parents' house. I loved it, one of my favourite sets :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This was my first LEGO set... :wub:

Of course, I don't feel the same nostalgia as you do about alternate models on the backs of boxes. Nowadays, when we get alternate models, they're usually in LEGO magazines and other publications, and having fewer alternate models seems to lead to much higher quality for each one. When the alternate models on the backs of boxes were any good, then it was almost like a punch in the face because without instructions I couldn't possibly replicate said models! I've actually heard this is part of the reason they don't have these any more-- they'd get a lot of flak from parents over providing pictures of these models and then not providing instructions.

Those alternate models look kinda cute-- not particularly attractive execution, but the ideas themselves are hilarious.

The set was indeed fun, but in retrospect I kind of prefer the set my twin brother got at the same time: 6537 Hydro Racer. Hard to say which of the sets was cooler back then.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Another great review LuxorV :thumbup: This set I really like. I'm an avid outdoorsman and bought one of these because I love 90's sets and white water rafting! :classic:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice review, LuxorV! Great to see a detailed Classic Town review! :thumbup:

I miss this set and I bought it again from eBay last year since it was very affordable and given the amount of minifigures and accessories included, I could not want to miss it again. Furthermore, among the 3 minifigures, 1 of them is actually a female and back in those days, it is very hard to acquire a female town citizen and during that period, getting Paradisa sets is the better method. Then again, when you are a child at that era, you will not think and going in-depth to the details and what you will see is a fun river adventure! :sweet:

This review is now blogged in,

See it on Classic-Town.net

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the feedback people :sweet:

I'm glad I could convey my love for this set in the review and to see so many other people like it just as much!

This review is now blogged in,

See it on Classic-Town.net

Thanks :wub::blush:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you for this review! I'm currently going through a Classic Town bender, and reading your current reviews is just adding fuel to the fire!

I voted outstanding- the bright yellow really stands out and three great Mini-figures. The antenna with no receiver is strange, but I think there is a 1x2 tile with a CB radio print that could be used.

Although I've never officially owned this set, I recently assembled one out of my spare parts- it's interesting putting together a 17 year old set for the first time.

Looking forward to more reviews-thanks again!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.