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Fire-themed sets have been a staple of the LEGO Town and CITY themes (along with the Police subtheme), recurring in a few years interval in the past several years with updated versions of the Fire set ‘regulars’ (i.e. Fire Station, Fire Trucks, etc.). 2013 marks another year where we get a new line-up of Fire-themed sets. So how do these new sets look like? How do they compare with previous releases from the past years? Let’s take a closer look as I review three sets from this 2013 line-up in this Triple Review Special. In the final installment of this three-part review, I'll be reviewing the 60002 Fire Truck. Usually fire trucks have always been part of fire station sets (like this years' 60004, 2010's 7208, and 2007's 7945), but this year there is a stand-alone Fire Truck set, whose design I must admit really piqued my interest. Normally fire trucks don't interest me much, but there's something about this particular fire truck design that made me want to purchase it (and this is actually the primary reason for this Triple Review Special ). Name: Fire Truck Number: 60002 Theme: CITY | Subtheme: Fire Year: 2013 Pieces: 209 Minifigs: 2 Price: $19.99 | £14.99 Links: Brickset | Bricklink | Peeron (not yet inventoried) | LEGO Shop@Home The Box The whole set is lively presented in the boxart, with the full-blown image of the fire truck prominently displayed while our two fire-fighting heroes are getting ready for action! In fact, the fire-fighter in the left corner is already suited-up and ready to extinguishing any fire with his handy yellow fire extinguisher! And look at those water splashes – quite a nice touch I must say! The city outline background, standard blue LEGO CITY template, and set details complete the front of the box. “Hey!”, says the cartoonish Fire Fighter, who I assume is trying to get our attention to look at the various features of the set, which are nicely organized in separate panels. We are also reminded of the easy modular style of building for this set, as well as the other Fire-themed sets of this line-up. Is it just me, but I can’t help but find this image on top of the box ‘playfully naughty’. “Wet surprise coming up!”, I’m imagining this running in Mr. Bearded Fireman’s thought as he has about to unleash a splashy prank to his fellow worker. The Contents Surprised to see loose parts once again conveniently excluded from the rest of the bagged pieces… not! Two numbered bags of precious LEGO, an instruction booklet, a sticker sheet, and the two loose fire hose reel pieces are what we get from this set. The Instruction Booklet The single instruction booklet came in relatively pristine condition without any folds or creases (unlike those of 60000 and 60001). I like the fact that the cover art image is different from the boxart, something most Licensed sets don't follow. Sticker Sheet The stickers in this set are quite minimal and IMO adequately serve its purpose in giving the truck the proper details. They're of the same transparent waterslide decal material like most stickers in sets nowadays. The LEGO parts Bag #1 Contents: A mixture of bleys, black, and the standard red+white motif of the Fire subtheme. The two yellow plates are in-line with TLG’s habit of including odd-colored pieces in sets. Nothing to really to be excited about the piece selection in this bag. Bag #2 Contents: The same colors can be found in the assortment of pieces in the second bag. The contents in this bag are less but bigger (vehicle roofs, windwhield, ladders, etc.)... Pieces of Interest: Speaking of ladders, the ladder piece with side supports is a new element introduced this year and can only be found in two other Fire-themed sets. I have mixed feelings about this new ladder piece: for one it's always nice to get new pieces like this, but on the other hand I see it as a large specialized part that is borderline <insert that tiresome argument>. The 6x6 round plate looks like a ‘common’ piece, but surprisingly it is also a new element, with only four sets having this piece. Two new pieces for a small set – not bad. The Minifigures Meet our ever reliable fire-fighting duo operating Fire Engine 60002: Frank “the Prank” Fireman and Fred the Fire-Fighter (corny fictional names made up for the purposes of this review ). Frank "the Prank" the Fireman Frank is the designated fire engine operator/fire truck driver who has been in the service for 15 years. He sports a brown mustache and generally has light-hearted disposition. He wears a black overall, an orange safety vest with light-green reflectorized strip. He never leaves the station without his two-way radio strapped on his torso. And why Frank “the Prank”? Just look at his "water splash prank" attempt above. Fred the Fire-fighter Fred is one of the top fire-fighters in the service. He’s strong, brave, and dedicated to his vocation, the scratches in his face is a testament of a hard day’s work of rescue service. He wears a black overall with light green and silver reflectorized strips. A safety carabiner for dangerous high-level rescue and gas tank gauge dial is always attached in his outfit. Overall, I am quite satisfied with both of these minifigures. The fact that they have different fire-fighting outfit (torso) is a plus, and the level of detailing is quite impressive if you take a closer look at the print details (luminiscent green strips, silver reflectorized strips, pants pockets, even stitches!) The Build The 54-step modular build is divided into two main parts: Bag #1 Build At the halfway point of the build, the fire truck's chassis, driver/passenger area, and equipment storage compartment in the middle are constructed from the first bag of pieces. The build is fairly straightforward and is easily done in 28 steps. Bag #2 Build The second bag contents make up the fire truck's roof, windshield, wheels, and ladder set-up, completing the whole set as pictured above. Quite a solid-looking set I must say. Let's take a closer look at the 'star of the set', the Fire Truck... Different Views of the Fire Truck Front Quarter View This is considered as the "main view" as it features almost all of the primary features of the fire truck at one glance. The set number is also emblazoned atthe front side as FIRE 60002, cleverly assuming the designated truck number of real-life fire trucks Side View This is probably my most favorite view of the truck, as it effectively shows the length of the truck - 20 studs long to be exact - resembling the long dimensions of real fire trucks. Right Rear Quarter View The fire hose reel is located in the right rear corner and is prominently seen in this view. The stickered dial gauges give also a nice touch of realism. Left Rear Quarter View The left side is a bit 'less busy' than the other side and though not as 'sexy' as the right it still offers the same features (storage compartment entry, water inlet, equipment attachments) minus the fire hose reel. Front and Rear Views Front: Somehow the large windscreen makes the truck look more like a bus than a fire truck when viewed up front. While this windwhield piece ain't that bad, I still prefer the old 2x2x4 angled windshields used in previous fire trucks (or for most truck for that matter). Also, the set number is once again displayed as a license plate number together with the letters "JC", which is most likely the set designer's initials. Back: The back really gives an impression of a workhorse fire truck - with the white-red warning stripes, fire-fighting tools, and ladder entry. And please, do not laught at my "impeccable sticker-positioning expertise". Set Features Passenger Area and Exterior Handle Bars Left: The truck comfortably seats the two minifigures inside, with the driver in front (obviously), while the fire-fighter can sit on the passenger seat at the back. Right: Alternatively, the fire-fighter can ride the truck outside using the external handle bars (four of them, two on each side). This is one of my most favorite details in this truck, since I've seen real firemen do this kind of fire truck riding which is more 'macho' and 'adrenaline pumping' (yeah, leave the sissies sitting inside the truck ). Water Inlet-Hydrant Connection Located at both bottom corners at the back are water inlet which allows attachment of a water tube to transfer water from the hydrant to the fire truck's water hose (and thereby justifying the presence of the fire hydrant in this set). IIRC, this is the fire time this particular feature is included in LEGO fire trucks (pls. correct me if I'm wrong) [EDIT: 6593 Blaze Battler was the first fire vehicle to have this water inlet feature. Thanks to Marv for the info.] Equipment Storage Compartment and Fire Hose Reel Left: A compartment in the middle of the truck allows for storage of the fire-fighting gear (helmet, oxygen mask) and the 'water-splash' add-on for the water hose, using the yellow crate. the compartment is conveniently accessible on both sides. Right: After suiting-up with his fire-fighting gear, Fred is ready to extinguish some fire with the dedicated water hose! An observation though, it takes some efforto to completely roll out the water hose (string) as the reel is quite tight to rotate. Fire-Fighting Equipment The set gives us a generous amount of essential fire fighting equipment: fire helmet gear with oxygen tank, electric hand saw, ax, wrench (for opening hydrants), communicatin radio (which seems to be redundant with the two-way radio printed on the fireman's torso), and a fire extinguisher. It seems everything is covered except for one minor add-on I would've wanted - a simple flash light. Extendable Ladder The ladder has five angles of elevation by virtue of the pre-set angles of the click hinges. The sturdiness of the click hinge angles, though, make up for this limitation. Of course, the ladder is extendable, with a maximum height of 7-and-a-half superheores standard minifigs ~ 37 bricks high. For any modular city set-up, this fire truck can adequately attend to any multi-level fire-fighting needs of your modular buildings. The ladder can also be rotated on either direction afforded by the turntable mechanism. However, I found it surprising that it cannot be rotated a full 360-degrees as there are two door rail pieces acting as stop mechanisms. Though after second thought this set-up does make sense as real life fire trucks always situate in front or at the side of the fire area, and never with their backs facing the area with fire. Comparison with Real-life Fire Trucks I've scoured through hundreds of fire truck images on the internetz trying to find the closest real life fire truck resembling this 60002 Fire Truck model, and this is the closest match I've seen: "Ladder Truck 13" from Air Force Fire Protection, MacDill AFB Florida - from the four-wheels, ladder type, storage compartments, and just the overall length, size, and look. Though I understand the designer most probably didn't base the 60002 Fire Trucks' design on a single reference model but rather got inspiration from various real-life fire truck models. Comparison with previous LEGO Fire Trucks Over the years, TLG has released various fire trucks/fire engines mostly as part of fire station sets (7208, 7945, 60004), but there has been also stand-alone Fire Truck sets like 7239 (with a life boat set-up attachment) and this year's 60002 Fire Truck. Below is the comparison image of these fire trucks (though in my hast forgot the fire truck from 60004 Fire Station ). From Left to Right: 7945 - 7239 - 7208 - 60002 (LXF Sources: BrickWild - 7945, roamingstudio - 7239, Costy - 7208) I think for the most part I like the overall design of 60002 better than the previous fire truck models. For me, this year's version closely resembles the general look of real-life fire trucks on top of the essential fire-fighting features.The other previous models have their own positives (7239 & 7945's ground stabilizers and safety box), but this year's model has the 'most complete' fire-fighting features compared to the other previous fire trucks. Though this is not to say that 60002 is perfect, I actually have a couple of constructive criticisms about it: The windscreen, like I previously mentioned, could have been better with the standard truck windshields; and I wish the truck could have been longer, probably 3-4 studs longer to accomodate another pair of wheels at the back which will give it a monster fire truck look. The good thing though is that these perceived minor shortcomings of this model are easily addressed through simple modifications (that's the beauty of LEGO afterall ), so it's not really a huge issue at all. Comparison with other LEGO CITY Trucks Here is a comparison of the 60002 Fire Truck with other recent CITY trucks: (LXF Sources: PsyKater - 60016, 60018, Sjuip - 4434, Costy - 4432) My initial concern that this fire truck 'could've been longer' seems to be justified in this comparison pic - as it is clearly shorter than most of the other CITY trucks - which is a bit disappointing since I consider fire trucks (like the reference image above) as 'monster workhorses'. Here is another view comparing the lengths of the trucks: (LXF Sources: PsyKater - 60016, 60018, Sjuip - 4434, Costy - 4432) Rating the Set: Design – 9/10 Except for a few missed minor personal preferences, the design is very well thought-of and executed and this fire truck is probably the 'most complete' (functionality) and 'best-looking' (aesthetics) fire truck LEGO has ever released. Build – 7/10 There really was no overwhelmingly clever technique nor a new building style to be admired in this set. Everything was just the standard straightforward building process we've all been accustomed to. Parts – 8/10 The two new pieces are always welcome, but the rest are relatively common. The reds will definitely be useful in MOCs for other themes. Minifigures – 8/10 Gotta give credit to the surprisngly good detailing of the figs, even for a non-Licensed theme such as CITY (just goes to show the consistency of high quality of minifigs across all LEGO themes ). Also loved the fact that both figs have distinctly different roles (outfit) and personalities (facial differences). Playability – 9/10 Compared to trucks of similar price point (Dump Truck, Ambulance, Garbage Truck, Cement Truck), this has more playability features that would keep a young'n busy playing for hours imagining himself as a fire-fighter. Price – 9/10 The price is consistent with the other truck set releases of years past, so the price is not an issue. (Actually I got this at even lower price than the SRP here in Singapore ) Overall: 83% TRIPLE REVIEW CONCLUSION: We've come to the end of our Triple Review Special, and after reviewing three sets of this year's new Fire sets, I feel that TLG did quite a good job at reinventing the CITY Fire product line, giving us fresh takes of the Fire set regulars that are significant improvements over previous releases. IMO, it was a good idea for them to release three small sets featuring three different Fire-themed vehicles that would work as stand-alones or as a combined group, like this batch I got! For a decent price of $39, you'd be able to assemble a 'Fire Squad' or a 'Fire Task Force' having a fire truck, a fire car, and a fire motorcycle ready for action, ably manned by a competent group of firefighters with their unique capabilities and strengths. What more could you ask for? Thank you very much for taking the time to read and take a look at this series of reviews. 'til next time! You could also look at my previous reviews if you haven't seen it yet. 60000 - Fire Motorcycle Review 60001 - Fire Chief Car Review
