Zeahl

REVIEW: 60012 - 4x4 & Diving Boat

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REVIEW: 60012 - 4x4 & Diving Boat

Coast guard review index:

60011 - Surfer Rescue

60012 - 4x4 & Diving Boat

60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter

60014 - Coast Guard Patrol

60015 - Coast Guard Plane

In the summer wave of 2013 Lego has release a number of sets related to the coast guard. The last time Lego used this theme was in 2008, which was when I was still in the dark ages so for me, someone who loves the sea and boats, this was quite an exciting announcement.

As soon as the sets hit the stores, I bought them, and build them, and boy did they deliver.

After reviewing the smallest set in the wave it is time to move up a step and take a look at the next set in this wave.

60012 - 4x4 & Diving Boat

Set Nr: 60012

Theme: City

Year released: 2013

Nr of parts: 128

Minifigs: 2

Price: US$19.99 / €12.99 / £9.99

Dive the waters of LEGO® City with the Coast Guard 4x4 and floating Diving Boat with 2 minifigures and lots of accessories!

The Box

60012-boxfront.jpg

On the front of the box we see the 4x4 parked on a small beach, while the two coast guards unload the motorboat from the trailer. In the bottom right corner we can see that the "boat really floats", though I would not recommend putting it in the water after applying the stickers, which are not exactly waterproof.

60012-boxback.jpg

On the back of the box the first thing you will notice is the diver in the top right corner yelling and waving at you, desperate to get some attention. The rest of the back is adorned with images which illustrate the play features of this set.

60012-boxspine.jpg

On the side of the box the coast guard and the diver have just come ashore with their little boat and are staring in amazement at the floating frame with a sideways 1:1 scale coast guard in it. The coast guard is using his radio to let the base know about this weird anomaly.

The instructions

60012-bookletfront.jpg

The front of the instruction booklet has the same scene as the front of the box.

60012-bookletbags.jpg

Inside we are first presented with the builds we will be getting out of each of the bags.

60012-bookletinstructions.jpg

Followed by instructions on how to build this set. the color differentiation is good and not once did I get colors confused (I'm looking at you, black and dark grey!).

Also, part callouts are available at each step.

60012-bookletadd1.jpg

In the back, the first advertisement is the same coast guard theme advertisement as in the smaller set, so for my opinions I will have to redirect you there. (yes, I'm too lazy to copy paste my own text.)

60012-bookletadd2.jpg

The second advertisement is for the latest fire fighters sets. With these two adds side by side I think I can safely assume that life in LEGO City is never safe. Be it on sea or on land, your life is always in peril.

60012-bookletadd3.jpg

The next spread has the LEGO City started set advertisement again, and a part list.

60012-bookletback.jpg

The back is screaming at us yet again to fill in some survey. As I don't like being told what to do by screaming kids, I'll just NOT fill out the survey. Ha!

The parts

Just as a reminder. Just like the last set, I was too impatient and build the whole thing before taking it apart again to take the review pics. Which means that all stickers have already been applied to the various parts.

60012-b0-boat.jpg

The first things to fall out of the box are a sheet of stickers and this boat. No, I have no idea why the sticker in the front looks so dirty in the bottom right corner. It does not look like that in real life.

60012-b1-parts.jpg

The parts for bag 1 make the 4x4 and the Coast Guard. There is a nice selection of colors, with the orange sticking out the most.

60012-b2-parts.jpg

The second bag has considerably less parts, and consists of the trailer, the boat buildup and the diver.

Both bags contain no printed parts except for the minifigs.

The minifigs

60012-b1-coastguard.jpg

The coast guard has a greatly detailed uniform printed on the torso, which unfortunately is mostly covered up by the life jacket. The head is printed on only one side, and is a very basic smiley face, which I really like, a great neutral exp<b></b>ression.

60012-b2-diver.jpg

The diver has a one sided face with some stubble, and a very well printer torso with a lot of belts. I asume the printed on life vest is not buoyant, seeing as that would severely limit his ability to do his job, he is, after all, a diver, not a floater.

The build

60012-b1-build1.jpg

The build starts with the underside of the 4x4. The axles are put at a reasonable distance from the frame, to simulate off road suspension.

60012-b1-build2.jpg

Next we start with the building of the car body. I must wonder about the use of the 1x2 grille bricks, which seem to serve no purpose other than part diversity. On a side note, I later discovered I forgot to put a blue 2x3 plate in the driver's pit. This mistake was rectified later on.

60012-b1-build3.jpg

All the orange parts are added to the car, and the body is starting to take shape.

60012-b1-build4.jpg

The back end of the car is finished off first. The single stud has a purpose we will get onto later.

60012-b1-donefront.jpg

Finale the driver's cabin is put into it's place and finishes off the car. On the sides of the cabin are connection points for the handheld transceiver and the megaphone. On the rook is a small search light, for those after dark missions.

60012-b1-doneback.jpg

From the back angle you can see the hitching point for the trailer, as well as a third break light near the roof of the car.

60012-b1-standempty.jpg

Next up is a mini build for a stand to put the diving gear on.

60012-b1-standuse.jpg

The gear fits on the stand quite well, and at no time did I have the feeling any of the parts where about to fall off.

60012-b1-standoncar.jpg

When driving around the stand can be attached to the single stud on the rear of the car. It's very well secured, though still easy to remove.

60012-b2-underside.jpg

Moving on to the second bag, we start with building the trailer. I have to give special mention to the way the suspension is made. The addition of the sloped surfaces makes it look more organic than just a single axle plate sticking out of the bottom.

60012-b2-trailerfront.jpg

The trailer is completed quite quickly. One big drawback i have to point out here is the lack of any kind of stand. The trailer just can't stand up straight without being attached to the car.

60012-b2-boatfront.jpg

The last build of this set is the boat. It's simple but effective, though I have to wonder about the interior space. there's only really room for one fig inside, so either the coast guard or the diver can take the boat out to sea, not both at the same time, which would be more logical, as the coast guard can drop off the diver at the diving point, and then use the boat to cruise around searching for signs of people in need. But then again, that's just me nitpicking.

60012-boatback.jpg

From the back you can see the elegant engine, which really looks the part.

60012-b2-traileroncar.jpg

Everything attached. The trailer hitches to the car very easily, and the boat sits very well on top of the trailer, with just enough connections to keep it in place, but not so much as to make it difficult to remove the boat from the trailer.

60012-b2-driving.jpg

Another small annoyance, however, can be found at this time, which is that to transport both minifigs, one has to sit in the boat while driving around, which hardly seems safe.

Conclusions

(Disclaimer: I don't believe in giving numerical scores. It is up to the reader to decide what they think of any given model, and I believe mandatory scores detract from this notion.)

minifigs: The torso and head printing is of good quality and detail, overall I quite like these figs.

build/design: The car is nice and sturdy, and even though they're quite simple in design, the trailer and boat still look the part. I still would've liked to see more seats in the car and boat.

Playability: You can drive around and do some diving, but with no body to rescue, the play features are somewhat underwhelming.

Overall the set looks nice enough, but is somewhat underwhelming in it's features. It really has to be combined with other coastguard sets for the best experience.

60012-b2-alldone.jpg

Edited by Zeahl

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Thanks for the review 'Zeahl', neat little 4x4 and trailer.....I can't wait for this to pop up in Oz.

Brick On Review On 'Zeahl' ! :grin:

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Thanks for the review!

Another great 2013 Town set! I love the Coast Guard line.The boat, the 4x4, the minifigs, the design, the colors... Everything screams "Cool!" about it!

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IMO this is one of the most boring sets Lego made lately. Boring pieces, old faces on minifigs (and you can get the torsos in other- better sets)

Instead of this set they could make a small beach set like Beach patrol.

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Hey Zeahl, do you have the Lego 4200 Mining 4x4? If you have, can you post an image of it along the 60012 4x4? Thanks.

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Hey Zeahl, do you have the Lego 4200 Mining 4x4? If you have, can you post an image of it along the 60012 4x4? Thanks.

unfotunately, no, I don't have that set.

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Hey Zeahl, do you have the Lego 4200 Mining 4x4? If you have, can you post an image of it along the 60012 4x4? Thanks.

Is this what you want?

p1040981.jpg

p1040982.jpg

p1040984.jpg

Photography not my strong point!

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unfotunately, no, I don't have that set.

No problem Zeahl...

Is this what you want?

p1040981.jpg

p1040982.jpg

p1040984.jpg

Photography not my strong point!

Thanks paul_dehaye! Pick-ups are really cool! I already have the 4200 but I'm still undecided on 60012. Is the Coast Guard 4x4 higher than the Mining 4x4? Thanks!

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Pick-ups are really cool! I already have the 4200 but I'm still undecided on 60012. Is the Coast Guard 4x4 higher than the Mining 4x4? Thanks!

Only because of the larger size of tyres

Edited by paul_delahaye

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Hello, I'm back! I bought this set yesterday. After building it, I compared it with the Mining 4x4; and in my opinion, that one is better than the Coast Guard 4x4. :sadnew: The driver's seat of the Coast Guard 4x4 is smaller than the other one. If your minifig is a claustrophobic one, he would surely jump out of it in no time! :laugh: I think a little MOC will improve that "defect", and that's the best thing about LEGO! :thumbup:

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Is it because the raft floats that this is a USD20 set? I can't justify it at that cost. Too bad, because my son really wants this set. Good review, by the way!

It is not because the raft floats. It is because of the coast to make the mold for the raft.

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Thanks for the review but this just guaranteed my refusal to buy it. I really don't like the huge gap above the wheels and the other faults don't help this set's cause.

I pronounce it GUILTY of being a BAD PURCHASE

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