Zeahl

A review is more of a discription of what the product is, what the good and bad parts of it are, and yes, your opinion of the product. this is more a unboxing/building/features video. quite well made, but not realy a review

Good looking set and great looking video but... That's not realy a review, now, is it.

REVIEW: 60014 - Coast Guard Patrol 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. This is, for now, the last set in this review series, as I haven't managed to obtain the last set, the plane, yet. I will add that set as soon as I have it though, but for now, here is my review of the largest set in the 2013 coast guard series. Let's see if it's up to the standards set by the rest of the sets so far, shall we? 60014 - Coast Guard Patrol Set Nr: 60014 Theme: City Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 449 Minifigs: 6 Price: US$79.99 / €69.99 / £59.99 The Box The front of the box features a nice scene which does a great job in showing all of the separate models that this set contains. A Speedboat is seen marooned on the cliffs next to a lighthouse, and while the sharks are circling, looking for food, the large coast guard ship comes in for the rescue, with a helicopter moving in on the victims of yet another boating trip gone wrong. In the top right corner is a small inset telling us that the boats really (REALLY!) float. Though I would not try so after applying the stickers, since i can't imagine water being good for the adhesives. On the back of the box we see the modular nature of this wet, as well as the play features, which for the most part are presented in comic-strip like fashion, which does a good job of setting up the premise of this set. On the side is a nice scene with all minifigs standing in line on the beach, while the sharks are moving in. the communications guy standing on the right hand side seems to be preoccupied with the strange floating 1:! scale pilot frame floating in mid-air. The instructions The first of three booklets shows the helicopter, mini submarine and three sharks on the front, doing a good job of telling us the models for which the instructions are lurking within. Inside we find the building instructions on a background which is supposed to represent water. The background is in no way distracting from the building process. The color differentiation is good, and each step comes with a clear parts callout. There are no adds in the first booklet, and the back is just the last page of the instructions. On the front of the second booklet we can see the small boat, stranded on the rocks near a lighthouse. While the people in the boat are holding their life jackets in their hands, like a pair of idiots who have no idea that you have to wear them to get the maximum effect of life saving they can provide. In the back of the second booklet we find the same coast guard add as in all the other sets, and the obligatory parts list. And on the back they shock us with the screaming survey kid, which they usually save for the last booklet, but I suspect has been moved to the second one for shock value. On the third booklet we see the coast guard boat. The biggest model of the set, and the reason most of us will buy it. (or at least, the reason I bought it, reasons may vary from person to person, obviously.) In the back of the booklet we find an add for the Wii U LEGO City Undercover game (which I can highly recommend playing) And on the backside is the add for the fire brigade sets. The parts When opening the box the first thing that comes out, along with the instruction booklets, are the stickers. Apart from being slightly curved, the stickers are in good condition. There aren't too many of them, and non of them will be placed across multiple LEGO pieces. The second part to come out is this impressive looking hull piece. The grey and white parts can be separated to get out any water that might get into the hull while using it in real water. The last two parts which are in the box unprotected are a 8x16 plate and the green boat. After that, when we turn the box upside down, four bags of LEGO goodness will come falling out, though the amount of parts feels a bit underwhelming for a set in this price range, it's a good thing to remember the large boat hulls help in driving up the price quite a bit. Shall we see what's in the bags? The contents of the first bag Do a good job of setting up the color scheme which runs through the coast guard sets, with a nice collection of white and orange parts, with a bit of blue thrown in there for detailing. Of course the usual blacks and grays can't be left out. Also included in the first bag are the parts for the sharks, 1 minifig, and an orange brick seperator, which is still a nice piece to have, but I'm starting to have trouble trying to store the large amount of those things that are building up in my house now that almost every decently sizes LEGO set comes with one of those things. In the second bag we find mostly white and grey parts, with a few red and transparent yellow parts mixed in. Also the parts for the boating tourist minifigs, and their dog. In the smaller sub-bag we find in bag 2, we find more grey and white pieces, along with a crab, an ice cream, and life jackets. In bag three we are back to the familiar coast guard color scheme, as this is the start of the large ship. Also we find the body parts of thee mini figs. In the fourth and last bag, we build the bridge for the large ship, and as such the color scheme doesn't change much. There are some large window pieces here, as well as the only two printed bricks in the set, which are a control panel and a radar screen. The minifigs The first minifig you get is the helicopter pilot, which has some nice torso printing and a very pilot-y pair of sunglasses on his one sided head. Then we have the male boating accident victim. He is wearing a very detailed water sports themed shirt, and a hat. His head, while nicely printed, is unfortunately only one sided, so there will be no looks of fear while the sharks are closing in. And here we have his counterpart, the female victim. She wears a nice summer-y looking top, though I don't quite like the color combination with the pants, which look to be too dark of color. She has shoulder length brown hair, and a happy looking face, again with no back print, so it looks like she will very much love the idea of sharks circling her boat, while waiting for her to fall into the water so they can eat her. Maybe they are just a very adventurous couple. Here we have the captain of the coast guard ship, as most captains recognizable by his very manly beard. The torso, while printed, is the same as the other coast guard figs, with no special way of differentiating his status as captain. The first crewman has the same outfit as the captain, though in this case it's covered up by a life jacket. His face is a very common looking smile. The second and last crewman looks to be some sort of communications expert, with the walkie talkie and headset. He has some gruff looking 2-weeks-on-the-sea stubble and a mysterious looking half-smile. Of course his torse is same as the other crew member and the captain. Aside from the humans we also get a mice looking brown dog with black markings on the head, as well as an orange crab... ...As well as not one, not two, but three (Yes! THREE!) sharks. Which, despite of not being of the new mold with gills yet, still look great and menacing circling the boats waiting for human sized snacks to fall into the water. The build The first thing to build is a small remote controlled submarine. Despite it's small size there is quite a bit of detailing going on here. I especially like what I think is supposed to be the camera dome on the front. The only thing I dislike about this small build are the left open Technic holes in the center between the engines and the arms, which are best seen in the front shot. Maybe they are supposed to represented water balast intake holes, but they make the model look a bit.. leaky. After the sub we start with the helicopter. First thing to build, as usual with these small helicopters, is the cockpit. To which we will then add the flotation pontoons, which look the part quite nicely, but could have been positioned a bit lower for my taste. I don't really like the bottom cockpit to sit so close to the ground/water when set down. A reel with a hook is attached to the back of the helicopter, which I suspect can be used to pull a stranded boat back into the water, of to a harbor for refueling. As the final phase, the tail and the top are added. Finishing off this small but good looking helicopter. Of course it is a lot less detailed than it's bigger 60013 coast guard helicopter brother (..sister..?) but, this being only a small sub-part of a larger set, for this time I forgive it for that. Moving on the the second bag, we start with adding a sundeck to the small boat. Followed by a control panel with two seats, which are cleverly placed on jumper plates, so they are not too far apart, yet the minifigs can still sit on them without having their arms in the way. The 2x1 cheese slope panel is obviously (unfortunately) a sticker Following that is a small amount of build up, along with placing the stickers along the sides of the hull. After that the great looking outboard motor is added. I really like the bulky look of this thing. It looks quite powerful. Being places on a Technic pin also means the engine can swivel from side to side, allowing steering of the craft. And lastly a spoiler is added to the back, containing an antenna and radar dome, as well as a fog horn. Despite the side limitations of the hull I think the model is very nicely filled, and it doesn't feel too empty or too full. Next up is my least favorite part of the set, the "light house". I don't realy mind the looks of the rocks,or the lighthouse, but as you can see from the crab lurking in front, the scale is just wrong. I for one have never seen a light house that small. It's more a a light tower than a house. But the fact we get a place for the small boat to get stranded is a nice idea.. I guess.. Now we finally get to the main model of the set! The coast guard ship. The first thing we add to the hull are the helipad and a support structure upon which the bridge will later rest. After that we make the rest of the supports for the bridge. As you can see by the jumper plates, there isn't much holding the bridge in place so, once it's placed it is easy to take it back off again the gain access the the space below it, whether you want to place something there, or to retrieve something that rolled under it and got stuck. Also visible on this shot are the life preservers which are placed on the sides. We now move to the stern of the ship, where we build a large rig for hoisting the mini submarine in and out of the water. The rig will attach to the submarine via the clip in the center. The last part of the third bag is adding the fenders to the side of the ship and stickering the hull. I think the fenders are great detailing which I personally have not seen on LEGO ships before, which add a good amount of authenticity to the look of the ship. We begin the fourth bag by building the base for the bridge. The screens and controls are all placed, with a steering wheel and radar screen for the control of the ship, and a backward facing control panel and control stick for, I assume, the mini sub. From there the build up of the bridge is pretty straight forward. Two water cannons are added on the front and the windows make it look like every standard ship bridge, with good vision on the waters around the ship. Still at the same step, but this time from the rear, there's a ladder which crew members can use to access the bridge once it's placed on the hull. The top of the bridge is build and clipped on. It can be opened at any time to access the bridge and play around with minifigs inside. After a few more small additions the bridge is ready. I like the design of the smoke stacks, which are simple but affective. With the bridge placed on the hull, we finally have the finished model, which is looking very good. I love the color scheme and look of the ship. And while there are not too many play features in just the ship by itself, that is rectified by all the additional models you get in this set. Now let's see how it all comes together. The helicopter fits on the bow of the ship. It can be placed with the tail facing either front or back, but this is the way depicted in the instructions, and also the way I find personally more attractive looking. The mini sub fits neatly on the stern of the ship, attached to the rig so it can't fall over board. And when the need arrises the sub can quickly be put in the water with the outward swinging rig. After all is build, these are the parts that are left over. While most are not that special it's nice to have a spare head set and hook. 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: A nice number of minifigs. While the coast guard are mostly wearing the same clothes, there is still some variety in clothing with the "victims" of the set. Also, besides a dog and a crab you get THREE (I can't emphasize this enough I feel) sharks! build/design: The ship is build great, and has good docking capabilities for the good looking helicopter and mini sub. The small boat is also quite good looking. The mini lighthouse... not so much, but still a nice addition to this set. Playability: There's a lot of playability with this set. Not only does is come with a coast guard ship, helicopter and mini sub, but also a private boat and people to be rescued, a place for them to get stranded, and (there's that number again) three sharks to rescue them from. Overall this is a great set, both to look at and to play with. I can highly recommend it, if not for this price then certainly when it's discounted.

REVIEW: 60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter 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. Next up is the third set of the lot, containing a helicopter and a catamaran. Let's see how this set fares. 60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter Set Nr: 60013 Theme: City Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 230 Minifigs: 4 Price: US$39.99 / €24.99 / £24.99 The Box On the front of the box we see the diver heroically dangling from the helicopter, trying to rescue the sailor from a broken sail, a great white shark, and certain death. The waves carrying the boat seem to gravitate to the rocks in the background, adding another peril for the poor sailor. In the bottom left corner is an illustration showing the wind-up motor which can reel in the hook and any body it might carry with just a push of the button. Also in tiny text is a notification that the boat does, in fact, not float. On the back of the box the diver tries to get our attention, but let's just ignore him for now and look at all the pretty photo's. First on the left there's an illustration showing the phased build with mltiple bags hovering over the same image as the front of the box. Moving on to the right is the sailor having fun on his catamaran, the sail breaking to show the play feature, the sailor being rescued, and finally the diver in the water with the great white shark, which to me seems one of the least smart ideas I've seen on the back of a LEGO box in..well..forever. . On the side of the box we have all 4 minifigs standing in a row on a pier, whist the shark comes in from the left, looking quite hungry. All the way to the right is the pilot for the second time, this time with a 1:1 annotation. The instructions The front of the booklet is the same as the image on the front of the box. Inisde the booklet we find out how the parts for the models are separated into bags. In my opinion, if they´re gonna split the parts in numbered bags, why not just put the catamaran in a seperate bag aswell? As it stands the first bag is absolutely packed with parts, and the second bag is quite puny in comparison. Now we get to the main part, the instructions. Like all sets in this series so far the background is a pleasing soft pastel watery pattern which in no way shape or form interferes with the building process. The color differentiation between the different parts is good, at no time did I have any doubt what color piece I was supposed to be looking for. In the back of the booklet we have the usual advertisements and promotional material. ...Including the damn screaming kid..again..ugh.. The parts Rattling around loose in the box is this sail, and a sticker sheet, which I already used at the time of writing this review, and thus have no pictures of. I have separated the parts from the first bag in a few separate piles, as to keep the images a bit less cluttered. This first lot of parts, together with the sail, make the catamaran. Looking at it I almost can't believe such a small number of parts make such a convincing little boat. Ah, the wonders of LEGO. This mess of not very neatly ordered parts make the first half of the helicopter. A few of the dark grey parts are actually from the second bag, but accidentally got mixed in with this lot. The contents are mostly white, with some blue parts and a few big orange pieces. The white control panel in the center is printed, all other parts are stickered. Lastly in the first bag, are the parts for all 4 minifigs, of which we will get into more detail in a moment. The second bag contains some color, which is mostly used on the bottom of the helicopter, and of lot of black and grays, which are mostly for the engine build-up This assemblage is a combination of parts from both bags, but as I don't feel like taking the whole thing apart for this review, I'll just photograph it separately. The minifigs The sailor comes with the same great wetsuit as the surfer from the water scooter set. He has a short dark brown haircut and comes equipped with a life jacket. Safety first! The pilot is wearing an orange uniform with lots of safety gear on it. Looking at the photo, i suddenly notice how great the grey parts of the legs connects with the torso printing, completing the geared up look. He comes with a white helmet to cover up his unnervingly smirking face. Man, he looks like he REALLY REALLY likes flying and rescuing people! The diver has the same outfit as the pilot, but comes with the basic diving gear we've all come to know and expect from LEGO. His face is a bit more heroic looking. In fact, I totaly take back my comment about him swimming with the shark from the back of the box. He totally looks like someone who would wrestle a shark..and win. The last member of the coast guard is what looks like a communications officer. It's also the only female coast guard so far. Her uniform is the same as coast guards from the cheaper sets, with non of the usual female curves added. The comes with a life jacket, a walkie talkie, and a hat with headphones. The headphones are a separate piece which connect to the hat via a hole on the top. Finaly there's the great white shark. It's basicly the same as the shark from the water scooter set, but in a nice white color. The only downside is that, while the shark on the box is a new mold with gills, somehow mine has a gill-less body. Though the new shark with gills is being produced, somehow the early sets have the older shark bodies, so if you want the newer body, wait a while before buying the coastguard sets. (extra info added thank to LEGO Guy Bri and Aanchir) The build The first thing to be build is the catamaran, which, for it's simplicity, simply looks great. The red/white color scheme really looks great, just too bad the sail is in a different color scheme. Would it have been too much trouble to print a red/white sail, i wonder? The sail is connected quite ingeniously with clamps, with the top one holding it in place, and the bottom one allowing rotation to simulate sail failure.... ...Like this. When the sail is "broken" it is still quite firmly attached to the boat. Next up we start with the helicopter. We begin by building the base upon which the rest can be build. Then the "hoisting" system is put into place. Which, as you can see, is actually quite simple. In the next few steps the cockpit is build up and added to the base of the model. And finally the "top" is put on the whole thing, finally making it look somewhat like a helicopter. Time to move on to the second bag of parts! Firstly a few small parts are added on the top of the helicopter before... ...Turning it over and adding the bottom and wheel assembly. I really like that front wheel piece. No I don't care that it's been around since 2008, it's new to me! The helicopter is put back onto it's wheels and the hook assembly is finished. A start is made on the very detailed engine. Here we have the engine, mostly done except for a few finishing plates on the back. I really REALLY love the amount of detailing they have managed to put into this engine. It's easily my favorite parts of the model. After the engine is done, the tail is added, along with those last finishing pieces for the engine, which also hold the tail in place. And finally the model is finished off with a huge set of rotors. Looking at the model, it's a lot larger than I has initially expected it to be when looking at the box. It is quite amazing to look at. A great model with lots of detailing. The rappelling function works just as advertised and adds a lot of play value to this already great set. One downside to the model is that, when you turn both the top and the tail rotor, while you hold the helicopter at certain angles with the tail pointed downwards, they can collide with each other, it's not a really big deal, but worth mentioning nonetheless. (info added thanks to paul_delahaye) 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: Not only do the figures look great, you get four of them with this set! As an added bonus, you also get a great white shark.. Build/design: The catamaran looks very cool for the small amount of pieces used, and I'm simply in love with the engine on the helicopter! (Not that the rest of the helicopter isn't worth mentioning, that's great looking as well.) Playability: With the 4 minifigs, the shark, the rappelling feature and the catamaran the can break, this set has a lot of search and rescue potential. Overall I quite like this set, especialy for the pricepoint at which I bought it (25 euros). For the noted (by brickset) price of 40 US dollars, it might be a it on the expensive side though.

It's that time of the year again! A new series of the friends animals has arrived and I have acquired them all to bring you another review (and to complete my collection, of course). If you haven't read my reviews of the last 2 series, click on the links and start reading (but don't forget to come back here when you're done!) Series 1 review Series 2 review Let's get started and see if this series still holds up. The bags The design of the bags hasn't changed a bit from the last series. On the front is still a picture of the set that's included, with a cutesy picture of the animal in the top right corner and the Friends girls holding the animals of this series in the bottom left. On the back the new animals are also represented and it makes clear it's series 3 in a number of different languages. Inside the bags we find a smaller transparent bag with the parts in it, and a small booklet which contains the instructions for the main set, and a link to the website where you're supposed to find the instructions for the alternative set and the combined set you can make when you've got all 3 sets of the wave. I say supposed because, no matter how hard I looked, on the site I could only find the instructions for the normal and combined sets, the instructions for the alternative build where nowhere to be found. (no worries, I still got them build, I just had to use the small sample image in the manual as a reference, which provided a welcome challenge). The inside of the booklet is basically the same as it was for the previous sets. clear instructions, with no part callouts (not that you would need them for these sets). 41023 - Fawn's Forest Set Nr: 41023 Theme: Friends Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 35 Price: £2.99 / US$4.99 / €4.99 The part collection for this set is quite nice. You get the expected collection of brown, green and pink pieces, but for me the best parts are the magenta cherries and the printed mushroom head. Oh deer... This animal takes some getting used to. When I first saw pictures of it I hated it. When I first got it out of the bag I disliked it. After looking at it for a while longer I.... Kind of started to like it. By the time you're reading this it will probably be impossible to get me to part with it. I am still convinced the snout is too short, but dammit, I can't stop myself from liking it all the same. All I can say is, reserve your judgement of this piece until you've got to hold it in your own hands. It really does look better in real life then on any of the pictures. It's got a hole in it's back for attaching accessories. When you've completed the model, it should look like this. It's a nice little tree, with colorful blossoms on the leaves, a small hole (probably made by a woodpecker), and a classic mushroom. On the ground is another leaf with a feeding bowl placed on top for the fawn to eat cherries out of. I like it, it's a nice little spring scene (which we get in the autumn, but who cares, right?). The alternative model is also quite nice, for a change. It created some nice undergrowth for the fawn to frolic around in. I just don't know how I feel about feeding it decorative bows... 41024 - Parrot's Perch Set Nr: 41024 Theme: Friends Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 32 Price: £2.99 / US$4.99 / €4.99 Some nice white fences, a couple of bright light blue round bricks and a dark pink basket make up for the most recognizable parts in this collection, but for me the biggest surprise was the Technic pins (I know you can see them on the front of the bag, I just didn't really look at the picture all that well before opening the bag). And then we come onto my biggest disappointment for this series, the "parrot". It's just a normal friends bird, painted green. It doesn't even look like a parrot. In my oppinion they should've either used on of the existing parrot molds (which may not be cute and detailed enough for this series), or made a new mold. Or, as a third option, just call it anything but a bloody parrot! Anyway, it's got a small hole on the top of the head to attach an accessory. And the molding is of good quality and detail. With the build done you get a small perch for the "parrot" to sit on and feed, and a bird house which has some characteristics of a roman temple. I quite like both of them, the perch for it's simplicity, and the birdhouse for it's great architectural design. The alternative model I am less excited about. It just looks like some blocks jumbled together by a 5 year old. 41025 - Puppy's Playhouse Set Nr: 41025 Theme: Friends Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 39 Price: £2.99 / US$4.99 / €4.99 This set has some nice medium lavender slopes and medium dark flesh masonry bricks, among a collection of white and tan parts. And we get another dog, are they running out of animal types to use? I wonder. Well, at least it's not another poodle. The dog actually looks kinda cute, with it's little cocked head (including hole for accessories). Everything considered it's a pretty nice mold. The dog gets a nice looking doghouse to sleep in, complete with a bowl containing a bone, which is the only sustenance LEGO dogs apparently need. Additionally there's a see-saw for the dog to play on (or a catapult to launch him with, depending on your mood). For the alternative build the dog get's a shittier doghouse, which offers much less protection, and the feeding bowl gets better protection from the rain. Wouldn't want that bone to get soggy! The combined build The combined build makes yet another protective alcove for the bone (still don't want it to get wet), a place for the deer to stand, with what I assume is supposed to be a faucet to fill the bowl with water. And a great looking house for the "parrot". The models all look well enough, but unlike the previous series, they don't really form a larger scene, which I found to be the best part about the combined models. 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: Like before, the animals are all made very well, but they may be a bit too cute for some. Though I still can't get over that damn "parrot". Parts: A nice collection of parts, for the small price you pay. build/design: No real complaints here. What you get is pretty nice, especially the main models. Playability: Still the same, some playability, but adding a minidoll of you own makes the possibilities endless. I am still very much in love with these sets, and hope this isn't the last we will see of them.

REVIEW: 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. It's been quite a while since my last review in this series, but I've finale gotten my hands on the LEGO store exclusive Coast Guard Plane. Now let's see if that exclusiveness made the set more awesome or not. Coast guard review index: 60011 - Surfer Rescue 60012 - 4x4 & Diving Boat 60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter 60014 - Coast Guard Patrol 60015 - Coast Guard Plane 60015 - Coast Guard Plane Set Nr: 60015 Theme: City Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 279 Minifigs: 3 Price: US$44.99 / €44.99 / £34.99 The box On the front of the box we get a scene that reeks of danger, as the fishing boat is making a lot of water and the coast guard plane comes in way to low and will probably ram the boat. Yep, those fishermen are in a heap of trouble! In the bottom right corner we are reminded that the fishing boat really floats, which I, once again, don't recommend trying after applying the stickers to the sides of the craft. On the side of the box we see that the fishermen have made it to shore safely and continue their craft from a pier, while the pilot of the plane walk up to them, presumably to apologize for his reckless flying earlier on. On the back of the box we are reminded of the modular building method and the other sets in the coast guard series. on the right hand side we get some images to steer kids in the right direction, giving them a LEGO approved scenario to play out with the set. The instructions The set comes with two booklets. the first one detailing how to build the boat, and the second one for the plane. The building instructions are very clear, with a nice watery background that in no way interferes with the build. I think by now we all know what's on the back of these booklets (and are desperately trying to forget that same information), so I'll refrain from putting those here. If, for whatever reason, you are still curious about the backs, just look at any of my other coastguard reviews, since it's basically the same. The contents Appart from the booklets, you will be getting 4 bags with the stuff it's all about: LEGO's. You will also find a couple of stickers... ...and a ship's hull and "Orange Aircraft Fuselage Curved Aft Section 6 x 10 Bottom" which didn't fit into the bags. The build In the first bag we find the parts for the ship, which are predominantly blacks and grays, with some green thrown in for good measure. Also in the bag are two cartons with string. The first order of business is assembling the two fishermen. They both have nice looking front print, but no back printing. The guy on the left has a pair of scissors and a pencil in his front pocket, which I doubt have a great usability while fishing (okay, maybe the scissors can be useful). The fig on the right has a very basic look to him. To be honest, they don't really look at home on a fishing boat, I would've liked the figs to have some more appropriate clothing. Let the building start! To start off we assemble the back part of the boat. After which the powerful looking engine is added. We then build up the sides and front of the ship and put a base in the center for the cabin. The cabin is added, with a great use of the lances as antennas (antennae?). And then we add some more details and the boat is done!. I like the aesthetic of this small fishing boat. The only thing I'n not so sure about is the 2 water spouts signifying leakage, but I guess they can be removed easily enough. In the second bag we find the parts to build the base of the plane. We get a wide variety of colors, with the orange, blue and yellow parts, as well as the usual blacks, grays and whites. The console is a printed part. Here we have the pilot of the plane, wearing the same safety harness as most of his colleagues from the other sets, as well as some bitchin' sunglasses. We start by building the base of the plane. which, I must say, at this point looked quite unimpressive to me. The center of the plane is build up, and that's it for the second bag. Nice detail: In the cockpit are a wrench and fire extinguisher. In the third bad we find a lot of white and grays, with a bit of blue and yellow sprinkled in for good measure. The wings are added and we finally get a better feel for the size of this thing. It may not be so bad after all. The top is added, making it look like some weir cocoon with wings attached to it. Next up is the tail section. Now it's starting to look like a plane! A few details are added to the top of the plane, and the props are attached. Damn, those look like some powerful engines. In the fourth bag we get a lot of duplicate parts, which is to be expected when building two identical pontoons. The pontoons are build simple but effective. The have a nice sleek look to them. And when we add them to the plane we are... ...Done! Despite some doubts in the start this turned out to be a very nice looking plane. One complaint however is the internal space. There is enough space for the pilot in the cabin, but there is no way he can rescue those fishermen with that plane, unless they have to sit on the pontoons and hold on for dear life. The plane has a very good look about it, both from the front and from the back. 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 fishermen don't really look the part, but I guess they are sufficient. build/design: The plane would've been nicer with some more internal space, but the overall designs of both the plane and the boat are great. Playability: You get people to be rescued, and someone to rescue them. What more could you want? Overall I think this is a nice set, but maybe a little bit overpriced. Nevertheless I'm glad to add it to my collection. Now, since there isn't enough space for them to fit in the plane, the fishermen better start scooping the water out using their tiny bucket!

Oh wow! That looks amazing! love the amount of detailing on that thing!

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 The Box 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. 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. 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 The front of the instruction booklet has the same scene as the front of the box. Inside we are first presented with the builds we will be getting out of each of the bags. 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. 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.) 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. The next spread has the LEGO City started set advertisement again, and a part list. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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. All the orange parts are added to the car, and the body is starting to take shape. The back end of the car is finished off first. The single stud has a purpose we will get onto later. 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. 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. Next up is a mini build for a stand to put the diving gear on. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. From the back you can see the elegant engine, which really looks the part. 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. 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.

This looks amazing. I love all the little details!

It's the same for me. Maybe it's down because of store maintenance? Just a wild guess though...

They're supposed to be out and about already, but I couldn't find them in any store either, so I had to order them from the online LEGO store.

that...is..amazing!

Incredible looking work of art, great job!

That's an amazing looking ship! Wish I had the pieces and skill to build something like that.

Look great. Though if I have to venture a guess I don't believe those are inverted cheese slopes, but rather upside down builds with normal cheese slopes on the bottom and on of these: on top. Edit: oh, you edited the inverted cheese-slopes part out of your post, making me look like I'm mumbling in myself -_-;

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

Holy crap, that's impressive!

Looking back through the review, all pics are in the exact spots I meant them to be. Se, which pics look to be in the wrong spot? Please tell me so I can keep that in mind for a next review.

After having tried it out for myself I found that it can happen, under certain circumstances, when it's held in a position that causes the top rotor to slightly bend backwards, mostly when tilting the tail downwards. Though it's not as big of an issue as paul_delahaye makes it seem to be.

Thanks for the info. I'll add it to the review.

The winchbrick (Light Bluish Gray Windup Motor 2 x 4 x 2 1/3 with Orange Release Button)has been used before, as early as in 2008 in another coast guard set, but including this set has only appeared in 5 sets, so it appears it's not that common of a part. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=61100c01&colorID=86&in=A

REVIEW: 60011 - Surfer Rescue 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. I'll start with the smallest of the sets here, and try to review my way up from there. 60011 - Surfer Rescue Set Nr: 60011 Theme: City Year released: 2013 Nr of parts: 32 Minifigs: 2 Price: US$6.99 / €6.99 / £4.99 The Box On the front of the box we see a surfer in peril of being eaten by a large grey shark, while in the distance the coast guard on his water scooter rushes to the rescue. The water on which the scene takes place looks nice and rough and splashes out of the frame, and far in the distance we can see Lego City. On the bottom left we are reminded, in no less than 6 different languages, that the boat does not float. On the back of the box we are reminded that small children might choke one the Lego in more languages than I'm willing to count. ...Really... Oh alright...It's 29. On the side of the box is the same scene as on the front of the box. And on the spine the shark look to get ready to come ashore, but is blocked by a huge frame with a 1:1 scale minifigure. The instructions The front of the booklet has the same scene once again, as well as a nice fold right through the middle, which is necessary due to the size of the box in which it had to fit. Inside the book we find (quite unexpectedly) the instruction on how to construct the model. There are part call outs and the color differentiation is very good. The watery background fits well with the theme and never obstructs the building instructions. The first add we find in the back of the booklet is for the whole coast guard set line, which is missing one set, 60015, which seems to be exclusive to the online Lego store. (And maybe the physical Lego stores) The add creates a good looking and busy water scene, with rescuing happening all over the place. Looking at that I have to come to the conclusion that the waters around Lego City have to be the most perilous waters in the whole world. The second add is for a Lego City starter set. I will leave it at that, seeing as this has nothing to do with the coast guard. Gah! ..The back...No words....Moving on! The parts The first thing you might note is that, for the small amount of parts in this set, Lego has been quite generous with the figures. There are two minifigs and a grey shark in this set, which gives this set insane playability for it's price, but more on that later. The parts are a combination of white, blue and orange, with some grays and blacks thrown in the mix. Due to me having no patience and building the set prior to reviewing it the stickers have already been applied. No printed parts here, except for the minifigs. The minifigs Let's start with the most important minifig of the set: The coast guard. The torso is printed on both sides with great detail. The one sided head is somewhat generic with silvery sunglasses. He comes with a helmet and life jacket to protect him when he's out and about on his water scooter. The surfer has printing on both sides of the torso as well which, when combined with the legs, makes a believable wet suit. He has a smug face, unfortunately with no alternative expression, a scared face would be nice for when the shark is about to take a bite out of him. The hair is a stereotypical surfer dude haircut, which fits nicely with the fig. The shark is.. Well.. A shark. Not much new here as far as I can tell. It still looks the same as it always has, which is fine. I love these guys this way and don't think there's much they can do to improve them anyway. The build The build for the water scooter is, predictably, over very quickly. It's an easy but ultimately rewarding build. The front of the water scooter has some very attractive curves to it. I really like the part usage to create this look. The stickers on the front and sides blend in with the overall design nicely and compliment the color scheme. I also really like the idea of the life preserver on the front of the vehicle, ready to be thrown to someone in need. On the back end of the water scooter is space for the coast guard to stand while controlling the craft. When everything is put together (the tribal thingy on the surfboard is also a sticker) the set presents a nice little aquatic scene for it's buyers to play around with. The inclusion of the surfer and the shark makes sure the coast guard has someone to rescue and something to rescue him from. For a set of this size and price that's not something I'm used to. It would have been a great set with just the water scooter and coast guard, the addition of the surfer and the shark just makes it phenomenal. 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 coast guard looks the part, and the surfer's wet suit look great. And while not realy a mini fig, an extra shark to infest the waters around Lego City is always welcome in my home. build/design: While quite simple to build, the water scooter just looks great. Playability: for a set of this size and price, the playability is insane. I foresee a lot of surfers being rescued from sharks this summer. Overall this is a great set, and for this price I can recommend it to absolutely everybody. Well...? What are you waiting for? Go out and buy it!

For me that would have been Galaxy Squad set #70700: Space Swarmer. Up untill that point I sometimes bought a small set, just for old times, but when I saw this little beauty I knew I had to have the whole Galaxy Squad series. My wallet still hasn't forgiven me for going back into Lego that day...

Yesterday, when pulling into our local Shell station for some gas, I discovered they had small Lego Ferrari promotional cars for sale. Obviously, I bought them all. (Can't have an incomplete collection now, can we?) After doing some research I found these have been sold at various Shell gas stations around the world, starting in 2012, The bags There are 6 poly bags in total: 30190: Ferrari 150° Italia 30191: Scunderia Ferrari Truck 30192: F40 30193: 250 GT Berlinetta 30194: 458 Italia 30195: FXX On the front is a nice image of the Lego car surrounded by the Lego logo in the top left corner, the Shell V-Power logo in the top right corner, the Ferrari logo in the bottom left corner, and a small picture showing of the pull-back action of the models in the bottom right corner. On the back are some more logo's, a small picture of all 6 cars and some warnings in most languages currently in existence. Inside each bag are (obviously) the bricks needed to build the model, a small single-sheet manual and some stickers. The stickers come inside a small cardboard box to prevent them from getting damaged in the small bags. This piece, which is in every bag and functions as the base of every vehicle is a small pull-back engine. After testing a finished model to see how far it went, I was amazed to find out the small car easily went 4 meters (about 13 feet, for you infidels that don't use the metric system), and would've gone on farther, if there wasn't a wall that stopped it dead in it's track. Like said before, the manual is a single-sheet paper with fairly easy to follow instructions. On the back of each manual is more promotional material for the other sets in this small series. The models: 30190: Ferrari 150° Italia This car, formerly known as the Ferrari F150, is a formula one motor racing car build by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro to compete in the 2011 Formula one season. This model hasn't got too many interesting parts, mostly in red and black, with a splash of white. The blue and green 1x1 round plates are used to simulate the driver's helmet, and allow you to choose from one color or the other, depending on which driver you prefer (Fernando Alonso or Felipe Massa, if my research is correct) The car comes with small sheet of stickers, again presenting a choice to the builder to which number they want on the nose. The choice of driver is nicely handled in the last step op the instructions, and is, I believe, very nice for formula one fans, who may have a preference for one driver or the other. (Me not being one of them, I just picked the color I liked best) When you've completed the build, the result is a nice formula one car, with just the right amount of sponsor stickers applied. The overall shape is easily identifiable as a formula one car, even though the spoiler is a bit simple. For it's scale it is a very nice model, which is vaguely reminiscent of the original. 30191: Scuderia Ferrari Truck The Scuderia Ferrari Truck is used to move the team's racing cars and equipment to and from racing events. Again an asortment of red and black bricks, this time with some grey added to the mix. The sticker sheet, with stickers for the sides and front of the truck, as well as a sticker for the coupling mechanism on the back, which I though is a nice detail. From the front the finished model looks quite nice, even though the sharp angled edges of the windscreen look a bit out of place above the nicely angled bumper. The back, however, is a bit of a mess. There are spaces underneath the cabin that look like the person who build it forgot to place some bricks during the building process, and back of the cabin is was too open for my taste, this could have easily been filled in with 2 or three more Lego pieces. Overall, it's not the best out of the bunch, but it's still kinda nice, and a truck breaks up the monotony of only fast racing cars quite nicely. 30192: F40 The Ferrari Model F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door sports carthat was built to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary from 1987 to 1992. At the time it was the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car that Ferrari sold to the public. There's a bit more color in the parts selection for this model. most of it is white and black, with a nice amount of yellow, a bit of red, a dark grey plate, and an oddly out of place blue plate. The hood piece is printed. The sticker sheet contains some sponsor stickers as well as some black fields, that will represent the windows on the model. The finished model is nice enough, with some nice color variations (a welcome change from the usual Ferrari red). The use of stickers for windows is not that great however, and I would have preferred the slope they are on to be printed instead. The spoiler is a bit bulky, but it seems like it is the best one could do on this scale. 30193: 250 GT Berlinetta The 250 Granturismo Berlinetta, nicknamed the "Long Wheelbase Berlinetta", was also called the "Tour de France" after successfully competing in the 10-day Tour de France automobile race. There were 77 Tour de Frances built. A number of 250 GT "Tour de France" Berlinettas were sold for GT races from 1956 through 1959. Not too many parts here. The hood, roof and rear are all molded pieces, which I guess would be necessary to get the distinctive shape of the car, which would be quite hard to achieve with bricks on this scale. The roof and rear have been printer, and the rims have a nice chrome finish. Only four stickers for this model, two for the sides and two for the hood. Nothing too bad here. The finished model looks amazing! I really like the look of this little car.I know some of the angles aren't correct when compared to the real thing, but I just love it so much, I don't care. 30194: 458 Italia The Ferrari 458 Italia is a mid-engined sports car produced by the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari. The 458 Italia replaces the Ferrari F430. The 458 Italia was officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show on 15 September 2009. Again, not too many parts, mostly yellow this time. the hood and roof are printed, and the rims are finished with chrome. Again only a few stickers. My only complaint here is the sticker for the hood, which could have been much smaller and only contain the logo, instead of the large yellow field. But I guess they chose to do it this was to make sure you can't position the sticker incorrectly. The finished model looks nice and sleek. The yellow color makes it stand out among the rest of the models, and the printing of the distinctive headlights make sure you can't confuse this car with a different model easily. 30195: FXX The Ferrari FXX is a high performance race car and prototype built by automobile manufacturer Ferrari in Maranello, Italy. The FXX is based on the street-legal Enzo. Production of the FXX began in 2005. As one look at the model on the bag might suggest, this set has a LOT of black parts. the blue, grey and red parts are all invisible in the finished model. No printed parts here, though the rims are chromed. The main purpose of the stickers on this model is to add white stripes to break up the blackness. I really wish they had printed the racing stripes on the parts here, but once the stickers are applied, it's not too bad. The finished model looks quite nice, but a bit too black for my taste. It's hard to see much detail unless you point a bright lamp straight at it. Overall conclusion 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.) Parts: The sets are quite small, and as a result the number of parts isn't that great. The parts you do get are mostly quite generic, with a few more special molded bricks. build/design: The overall design on these tiny cars is great, especially if you take the scale into account Playability: A big thumbs up on this one. the cars are very fun to drive around the floor (and walls, if you are so inclined). On top of that the pull-back engines are quite powerful and make it fun to race the cars against each other. Overall: For the asking price (5 euro's each, 2 euro's if you put some gas in your car) these are very nice sets. They are very collectible, are fun to play with, and look great on a shelf. I am quite satisfied with my purchase, and suggest you go and see if they are being sold at a gas station near you.

I'd suggest the Emporium, Seeing as that's the oldest of those three and will probably be harder to get in the future, while you still have some time left to get the other two if you liked building the first one.