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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. Up next for review is the 60002 Fire Chief Car. Normally, minifigs with relatively high positions in the service, like the Fire Chief of a Fire Department or a Police Chief of a Police Department, are exclusive to large sets such as Fire Stations or Police Stations. But this year, no other than the Fire Chief himself is included in the second smallest set in the 2013 CITY Fire product line - along with his personal Fire Chief Car! Now how exciting is that? Name: Fire Chief Car Number: 60001 Theme: CITY | Subtheme: Fire Year: 2013 Pieces: 80 Minifigs: 2 Price: $11.99 Links: Brickset | Bricklink | Peeron (not yet inventoried) | LEGO Shop@Home The Box Even if the car is clearly the 'star of the set' and is even prominently placed in front of the boxart for maximum exposure, I can't help but enjoy the sight of the Head of the Fire Department helping a poor lady get his attention-craving pussy cat from the tree using a fish... Whew, can you just count the weird things I said in that sentence? Weird but True Story (with Barney Stinson impersonation). The laugh trip continues at the back of the box, since it seems the boxart designers really had a hard time putting the 'interesting features' of this set at the back that it had to resort to a three-panel silent comics, showcasing how the 'Knight in Shining Gold Helmet' 1) arrived, 2) saved the Damsel in Distress's poor kitty, and 3) had to leave Milady as duty calls and destiny will tell if they shall meet another day... Enough of the making fun of the boxart alright. Mr. Fire Chief is featured in the 1:1 minifig panel, and looks like his dashing debonaire looks not only works for the ladies but for felines as well... (sorry can't help it! ). The Contents (Yes, thank heavens no more boxart to joke about!) We get three un-numbered bags of LEGO, an instruction booklet, sticker sheet, and the car chassis as the loose piece. For a set with such a small piece count, it's head-scratching why the parts had to be bagged separately. Seriously, less plastic usage/consumption = more environment-friendly right? The Instruction Booklet The instruction booklet came in folded condition, but not really an issue for me. Same boxart-instruction cover art = nothing new. Sample Page I'm trying to remember if the blue background with white streaks is new or is it just been a while since I puschased some CITY sets? Anyways, the instructions are legibly printed, color differentiation is easy and the overal progress of the build was easy to follow. Sticker Sheet The sticker sheet contains five decorative decals for the Fire Chief Car. The LEGO parts Quite a colorful selection parts - all the primary LEGO colors (red, blue, yellow, green, white, black, grey, brown) are interestingly represented among the parts of this set. Pieces of Interest: There are three interesting pieces in this 80-piece selection: (1) Quad Curved Wedge roof piece which was only introduced last year and the red variant being exclusive to this set; (2) "Wedge 3 x 4 x 2/3 Cutout" which can only be found in two sets; with this set being the only regular set where it can be found (the other is the 2012 Luke Skywalker's Chibi-Landspeeder ComiCon giveaway) (3) Metallic Gold fireman's helmet which is exclusive to only three sets (previously found only in the Fire Brigade modular building). The Minifigures Technically, there are only two minifigures in this set, but I decided to include Ms. Pussy Cat Pants since she's an integral part of the presentation of this set's storyline. Fire Chief The Fire Chief wears the new 2013 Fire outfit, which seems to be the common get-up as the Fire Motorcyclist from 60000 also wears the same. Judging by his expression, Mr. Fire Chief seems to be an approachable good-natured person, something you rarely see in persons of high positions (TRUTH!). But the main star of this minifig is none other than the shinin' shimmerin' metallic gold fireman's helmet. Note that the Fire Chief appears in another set, in the larger 60004 Fire Station, in his office attire - which, honestly, is a better-looking variant of the Fire Chief (hence, the reason it's exclusive to that big set ). Ms. Cat-lover While the parts of this minifig aren't something new, it is always a welcome addition when female civilians are included in regular sets. Honestly, I simply love the overall look of this female minifig - from the the blonde hair to the medium blue torso, even the pairing with plain white legs - it all works for me, even if she's just a 'supporting minifig' in this set. Pussy Cat As one great dragon said, "Animals are people too!". Hence Ms. Pussy Cat is part of the cast. Meow! Purr.... The cat is just the usual standard white faceless printless feline we're all familiar with. The Build For all intents and purposes, excluding the minifigs and the highly-creative 3-part tree, all the build is focused on the Fire Chief Car. In about 23 elementary steps you'll be finished building the vehicle. Let's take a closer look at the finished product: Gotta admit the car has some nice sleek overall look made possible by the effective combination of curved and sloped parts. The only questionable part is the uneven finish of the hood. I assume the designers were trying to replicate the slightly elevated portions of the hoods of modern cars, though it doesn't translate to LEGO well. It's actually not that bad, just noticeable - but still passable. This is probably the closest real-life Fire Chief car I've seen in the web, a Dodge Chysler Fire Chief car, that is similar to the 60001 model. Though the 60001 Fire Chief car clearly isn't patterned from a Chrysler, it still resembles the overall smooth finish, and even the two-level white body strips seem to be identical. Different Views of the Fire Car One minor detail I like about this car is the use of the hinge plate finger as the side mirrors - not a new technique but still gets a star on my book. The side view is also my favorite as it shows the overall sleekness of the car. The set number is also stickered at the sides and acts as the Car Unit Number. For some reason the car loses its sleekness and suddenly looks stubby when viewed quarterly at the back. Despite the car's sleekness when viewed at other angles, such trait is absolutely absent in the front and back views, as the car looks like painfully squarish (but not blocky). Interestingly, the set number is also inlcuded in the license plate together with the set designer's initials "CL". Set Features Left: The stickered control panel located in front of the steering wheel - with gauges, buttons and a two-way radio prints - is a pretty neat detail that I did not expect but was pleasant surprise. Right: A small storage rack is located at the back of the driver's seat, where a fire extinguisher and radio can be stored. Left: The quad curved wedge roof allows for the Fire Chief to wear his precious golden helmet even when inside the car. Right: One gripe I have about this car (or for almost any vehicle that don't have this), is the lack of functional doors! Poor Fire Chief have to squeeze his way through the windows just to get inside! Ok we're back to where we started, poking fun once again at the pussy cat-saving scenario "playability feature" of this set. Surely, even a kid would get tired saving the woman's cat over and over again. But then again let's not kid ourselves, the main play feature of this set is the car, so everything else is just icing on the cake so to speak. One last thing, I shall recite a short poem in honor of the award-winning design of the majestic tree: I think I shall never see A thing as oversimpified as this tree A tree with trunk as straight as Big Ben And as smooth as bald old men. The Completed Set Rating the Set: Design – 8/10 The car is nice but would've been better with doors (-1). The tree is also hilariously oversimplified (-1). 8/10 is a decent overall score for the design of this set. Build – 6/10 If not for the car this would have been a Perfect 10 if I judged the intricacies of the complexity of the tree's building techniques. Parts – 9/10 Three relatively new and uncommon parts in a small set notches a high score on my grading system. Minifigures – 9/10 Loved the Fire Chief's golden helmet, while the female civilian minifig is even more lovable. Playability – 6/10 The set designer probably struggled mightily justifying saving a cat as a playability feature. At least there's always the car to rely on as the main play feature of the set. Price – 7/10 A $0.15/piece ratio is less than ideal, but I guess having two minifgures kinda justifies the price. Overall: 75% Thanks for taking the time to read this review! Next up is the final part of this Three-Part Review Series, the 60002 - Fire Truck Review. You could also look at the previous 60000 - Fire Motorcycle Review if you haven't seen it yet. 60000 - Fire Motorcycle Review 60002 - Fire Truck Review
