"Okay, this is one of the tougher builds I have done. I will readily admit I had a mini meltdown about 3/4 of the way through as suddenly the boom arm did not work. Cue the other half checking online builds and going through the remainder of the instruction book. His advice "have faith". Fortunately I did and carried on with the build and suddenly the boom arm is working. He then decided to advise that it has a split differential built in and because I was only halfway through that mechanism that is why it wasn't working all of a sudden. So, if you are like me and check your mechanisms in a Technic build as you go be warned you will have a moment of panic when it suddenly stops operating as expected.
This is definitely one item that would benefit from Instructions Plus but it doesn't have them. I also had an issue early in the build where I had flipped the chassis plates and had to take a few steps back and dismantle pieces to rectify my mistake.
So, lots of issues in the build but they were all of my own making and not a problem with the product or the instructions. This was a challenging build but I REALLY enjoyed it. The finished crane is great looking and is operationally fabulous. It even has the bracing legs that you wind up and down for when then crane is in use or being transported.
STICKER ALERT! Yes, there are an awful lot of stickers on this build and, as we know, I loathe stickers. I did put them on but most are ever so slightly out of true but I can live with it.
"I am a little bit torn with this kit. Whilst it was an enjoyable build and has a lot of play value it did feel a lot smaller than I anticipated and there is a tinge of disappointment there. Not sure why I thought it would be quite a large completed piece but I definitely did and it is actually pretty small.
There is a lot going on in the kit though and I like the fact that you get a little jet ski and a drone. The Fire Truck that comes with it is a great build and looks great completed and is really the saviour of this kit. Whilst the building gives you a garage and a couple of offices it is fairly basic but does have play value. The garage roller door does work properly and the fire truck does fit nicely through it.
The play value is great with this one and you can even run training sessions for your firefighters as it comes with a little fenced off area for that purpose.
"This is such a high playability sets I was really suprised. The flames behind the burger sign are fitted on hinges so you can flip them up, get the fire truck close and put them out. The water pump extends out so you can knock the flames down. Yes, I may be an adult but I had a lot of fun playing with this.
The downside to the build for me was all the stickers on the burger bar building. I have done my best but they are all a little on the skew, fortunately it doesn't spoil the overall look of the completed building. I really do like the completed building and can't wait to add it to a City Street - just have to find room to set my City Block up.
The Fire Bike is a neat addition, I can't get it to stand up on it's own but there are ways and means (it's blue and putty like!). The Fire Truck is maybe the best bit but I am a bit of a vehicle nut so could be biased.
Overall a great build with a lot of elements that keeps you really engaged. Even better the play options are many and a LOT of fun.
"The one thing I really liked on this completed set is that the pull "cord" for the helicopter has it's own little storage place within the flatbed of the transporter. It tucks flat and snug and the helicopter sits on top of it and it looks really neat and tidy.
The problem is that I could not get the helicopter to fly correctly. It seems to be front heavy when you have the minifigure in and constantly just nosedives in to the floor. Fortunately, the helicopter build is really sturdy so it did not break apart - even though I kept trying to fly it.
The vehicles themselves are really fun builds and will make a great addition to my Lego City when I finally get around to setting aside space for one. I really like the transporter and the police bike (even if the bike will not stand up on it's own). The little buggy is pretty cool as well and the red really pops against the white and blue of the rest of the kit.
Overall this is a decent police set, just a pity the helicopter would not fly for me.
"STICKER ALERT: There are a LOT of stickers in this little kit and I felt compelled to fit them as they are, in my opinion, necessary to get the finished look. Sadly, my sticker game is not the greatest (as you can see from my pictures they are invariably wonky).
Other than the sticker issue I really enjoyed this build and loved the little details. You get a couple of ice cream cones and ice lollies to put in the truck. Add in the minifigures (love the skateboard and the dog in particular) with their goodies and it is a great little kit.
Love the colours used for the truck and it really does emulate an ice cream truck really well. The build was straightforward and even though it is small there are lots of fun detailing and gave me cause to make excited squeaks whilst building.
Definitely a great addition to any City set up or display shelf. Sadly mine is shelf bound for the time being but one day there WILL be a City, yes, there will
"In the interest of full disclosure I didn't complete this build - The Boy built it and it was his first big build. He definitely enjoyed the build but found certain bits of it quite challenging (particularly fitting the central lift) and I think it may have burnt him out as he hasn't lifted a brick since finishing it nearly 2 weeks ago.
The finished Death Star is surprisingly heavy. I had the joy of locating it to it's final home and picking it up the sheer weight of the finished unit surprised me. It is also BIG so it has had to go on top of the display unit which is fortunately deep enough to accept it. The real problem I have with that is that you can't see in to it too easily and all the detailing is lost for casual observation. There are LOTS of little details included and I really enjoyed helping him place the mini figures which was my only input to this build.
His favourite bit is Vader's fighter, he has been after one for so long and this is the nearest he has gotten to one. I think mine is the destruction ray as it just really pops when on display, even if I did manage to knock it off when first positioning it.
Tons of details from the films and they are covered in the product description so I'm not going to waffel on - except TRASH COMPACTOR!
"I was really impressed with this vehicle. As per usual I didn't really look at the box too closley before I purchased it so the little dumpster it comes with was a nice little build surprise. Even better the fact that it connects to the back of the truck and actually tips in to the truck bed is a wonderful playability feature.
Nice quick build but it has a major pay off in the finished look of the vehicle and it's functionality. Admittedly I was tempted to put the "trash" bricks in my stash rather than in the dumpster but I have been good and put them in the bin - for now anyways.
Depending on how large my planned City turns in to I may buy another couple of these just to populate it.
"I have a vague notion of creating my own Lego City and have got as far as purchasing a base to build it on but I currently have nowhere to locate it but figured why let that stop me start creating the things I want in it.
I had heard good things about this little build and when I saw it on the shelf I just had to grab it. I am really glad that I did as it was a surprisingly fun little build and comes with some neat little accessories. I particularly like the banana in the green dustbin - it's the little things that can make you smile.
Looks great on the temporary storage shelf and I am really looking forward to getting a city together for it to zip about in.
"Having built the Star Wars Helmet 2020 Range I was really excited about getting my hands on this one and building it. So much so I built it the same day I purchased it. This may have coloured my judgement on the build as I was so excited to get started that I probably built it up in my expectations far more than it could ever meet. Safe to say I felt completely disappointed in the end product.
The build technique was familiar from the Star Wars Helmets but somehow it felt like it was a really scaled down version of them. Size wise it feels to be smaller than the approximate 1/3 scale of the others and yet when put on the shelf they do seem to be fairly similar in size.
I think the worst thing for me is that the stickers used for the eyes are decidedly odd. They throw the whole thing off for me and really spoil the finished look of the Helmet. So much so he has gone a low shelf tucked in with the Mech Suits as I'm not going to be doing much gloating over this finished piece. The shaping and colouring are good so it is a real shame that those eyes spoil it.
"First off, I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the Marvel range but I had the mech suits and figured this would look good on the display shelf next to them. To be honest it looks okay but somehow it seems lesser than the Iron Man and Thanos Mech Suits. Certainly not a favourite.
The build itself was uninspiring. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right head space for building that day or if it was the fact I was building on the couch instead of my usual location but it felt more like a chore than the fun it usually is. Some repetition in the build but I expected that because you know going in that building physical features is going to result in some repeating of steps.
Fairly fragile when built so how it will stand up to play I'm not too sure. The limbs are ball jointed so do have flexibility and should stay in place fairly well.
Good range of mini figures included which is the only saving grace for the kit for me. I'm sure if you really like the Marvel Avengers range that you will enjoy this far more than I did.