On 1st January 2021, fans of the LEGO CITY theme will be treated to the release of five new sets to help them develop their LEGO metropolis, which I have received to review, namely 60290 Skate Park, 60291 Family Home, 60292 Town Centre, 60306 Shopping Street and 60304 Road Plates.
Of course, the first thing I did was build all five sets and put them together into a City layout to see what could be made from them.
This is only one of thousands of combinations, no doubt. I think they fit together very nicely and the road plates were easy to lay down and fix to each other. They covered an area of approximately 1.5m x 1.0m (60” x 40”); quickly covering most of my tabletop with roads or buildings.
New and rare parts common to 2021 CITY Sets
I have already covered the new Road Plate system in great depth in my review of 60304 Road Plates, so I will only mention these elements briefly here, but they do also appear in these other sets.
The elements are all new for 2021 apart from the yellow double slopes, which have not been seen since 1997.
- Brick Special 8 x 16 with Six Recessed Edges with 1 x 4 Studs and Recessed Center with 2 x 4 Studs in Dark Stone Gray / Dark Bluish Gray (6325431 | 71772)
- Brick Special 8 x 16 with Six Recessed Edges with 1 x 4 Studs and Recessed Center with 2 x 4 Studs, Six White Stripes (Pedestrian Crossing) Print in Dark Bluish Gray (6238358 | 71772)
- Brick Special 16 x 16 x 2/3 with Eight Recessed Edges with 1 x 4 Studs and Four Recessed Centers with 2 x 4 Studs in Dark Bluish Gray (6325635 | 69958)
- Slope 33° 2 x 4 Double in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6334233 | 3299)
- Slope Curved 5 x 8 x 2/3 with No Studs on Top in Dark Bluish Gray (6325420 | 71771)
- Tile 2 x 4 with Groove and White Stripe Print (6329624)
Let’s take a closer look at each of the sets in the series, starting with two of them today.
Noteworthy parts in 60290 Skate Park
The Skate Park comes with one of the large road plate elements, three end ramps and two 2x4 tiles printed with the white line from the common element selection. We are also treated to a unique print and other rare recolours of existing parts.
Unique recolours and prints in this set are:
- 1 x Minifig Helmet with Hair, Long with Dark Purple Bike Helmet - Bright Light Yellow (6327670 | 54647) - only previously available as a lime/dark brown variant which came with the 2019 Mountain Biker Collectible Minifigure.
- 3 x Bar 1 x 8 x 2 in Orange (6334534 | 2486)
- 2 x Flag 2 x 2 Trapezoid with 'VITA RUSH' logo in White (6239602 | 44676) - adding more printed promotional material for the fictitious Vita Rush brand
- 1 x Equipment Medical Wheelchair with Clips for Wheels in Red (6334202 | 24312) - a part previously only available in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray
- 2 x Wheel Wheelchair with Fixed Bright Green Hard Rubber Tire in Trans Bright Green (6334175 | 24314) - the second colour combination for this part, after the more conservative trans clear and black version
- 1 x Wheel Skateboard / Trolley in Bright Green (6334178 | 2496) - the sixth colour variant for this part
- 1 x Minifig Helmet Dirt Bike in Bright Green (6334181 | 35458) - previously only available in Dark Blue or Dark Azure
The set includes a number of uncommon elements:
- 1 x Wedge Curved 3 x 4 x 2/3 Cutout in Dark Azure (6231941 | 31584) - only seen before in the the Creator Expert Roller Coaster (10261)
- 1 x Brick Round 1 x 1 Open Stud with Vita Rush Logo print in White (6310230) - making its second appearance
- 1 x Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 with 'VITA RUSH' and Orange Slice Print in White (6288047 | 66222) - previously unique to 60255 Stunt Team released in 2020
- 4 x Wheel 11 x 12 with Hole Notched for Wheels Holder Pin in Orange (6334180 | 6014b) - appears to be a new Element ID for 6115259 which had only appeared in 1 set previously, in 2015
- 1 x Bicycle Frame in Dark Blue (6331573 | 36934) is the fourth colour for the mountain bike frame, which additionally appears in the Town Centre release
The rare minifigure components included are as follows:
- 1 x Minifig Torso Racing Suit X-TREME' Logo in White (6290548) - has only been seen in 3 other sets
- 1 x Minifig Head, Girl, Eyelashes, Eyebrows, and Smile with Teeth / Surprised Print in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6312495) - which debuted in 2020, and this is its third appearance
- 1 x Minifig Torso Dark Turquoise Jacket, Dark Purple Shirt, Zipper in Bright Bluish Green/ Dark Turquoise (6310580) - making its third appearance
- 1 x Legs Short [without Hole] in Bright Purple/ Dark Pink (6289402) - previously only seen in the Trolls World Tour theme from 2020
Skate Park - the build
The first instruction manual gives details of how to build the truck and the rest of the builds are in the second. Four minifigures are included - a Vita Rush lady driving the truck, a girl riding a skateboard, a boy on a mountain bike and a man in his funky-coloured wheelchair.
The cones and barriers can be used to add more obstacles for the minifigures to negotiate, while there are two sizes of ramp and a small section of graffiti wall to balance along the top of.
It’s great to see LEGO being more representative with their minifigures, and the daredevil wheelchair user is definitely a highlight of the set here. It is aimed at the 5+ age bracket and I feel the pricing is about right here - £24.99 / $29.99 / 29.99€ for 195 parts.
Buying 60290 Skate Park when it is released on 1 January? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home|UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission.
Noteworthy parts in 60291 Family House
The Family House includes one 16x16 road plate, one unprinted 8x16 road plate and four end ramps from the common elements list.
We are treated to a single new mould in this set with 1 x Animal, Dog, with Eyes and Nose Print in Tan (6329603 | 69962), a colour unique to this set. There is also 1 x Minifig Hat with Hair, Two Braids and Beanie, Red Pattern in Bright Red/ Red (6336203 | 52686) which is a new colour combination for this mould, exclusive to this set. Introduced in the Hidden Side theme, it was previously only available as Medium Lavender with Bright Light Yellow or Sand Blue with Orange.
There are three lovely printed elements included which are worth mentioning:
- 1 x Torso Jacket Over Light Blue Undershirt Print, Bright Light Orange Arms, Yellow Hands (6335285) - unique to this set
- Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 in Light Bluish Gray with new gauges print (6329152 | 85984) - not seen anywhere else as yet
- 1 x Torso Hoodie with Ninjago Lloyd Head Print, Bright Green Arms, Yellow Hands in Green (6312492) - previously exclusive to 40429 Ninjago World which is only available from LEGOLAND parks
I really like the new gauge print, the bright light orange torso provides a stylish addition to any minifigure’s wardrobe and fans of Lloyd will be delighted that they can now obtain this cool Ninja-print hoodie in a more accessible set. I’m sure canine collectors will also be delighted by the new Retriever mould.
There are also a handful of rare elements which are worth noting:
- 4 x Tile Special 2 x 3 with 2 Clips [Thick Open O Clips] with Solar Panel print in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6331694 | 69038) - previously only appeared in 21321 International Space Station
- 4 x Wheel 14mm D. x 9.9mm with Centre Groove, Fake Bolts and 6 Spokes in Dark Azure (6289310 | 11208) - its second outing after 60255 Stunt Team
- 1 x Brick 1 x 4 x 3 in Medium Stone Gray/ Light Bluish Gray (6272132 | 49311) - previously in 75810 The Upside Down and 60271 Main Square
- 1 x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with Four Studs on One Side in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6313592 | 22885) - its third appearance after 43179 Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse Buildable Characters and 75978 Diagon Alley
- 1 x Brick 2 x 2 in Bright Bluish Green/ Dark Turquoise (6314091 | 3003) - making a welcome return after an absence of 15 years, and only previously in six sets during the early 2000s.
- 2 x Plate 2 x 4 in Dark Azure (6210675 | 3020) - making its third outing here
- 1 x Game Controller with Silver D-Pad and Joysticks, and Red and Blue Buttons in Black (6275176 | 61668) - its third appearance
Family House - the build
Costing £44.99 / $49.99 / 49.99€ with 388 pieces, the Family House has three floors, a substantial roadway at the front where the family can play street hockey, a modest garden to one side and a balcony at the front. Once again this is a 5+ set, which means some of the parts are quite large but the house itself goes together quickly. The first small instruction booklet covers the family car while the much more substantial booklet shows the remainder of the build. The finished house has some interesting external details, fun accessories and various items of furniture inside, with an open back at the rear for ease of access.
The family of four minifigures is completed by a dog. I can see there will be plenty of play scenarios for the characters with all of the accessories which are included. Dad and the small boy also have their own hair pieces available for when they are not playing street hockey, which is a nice touch.
I feel that the price tag is perhaps a bit high for the piece count, especially when compared to other sets at the same price point, but this is often the case for sets aimed at a younger audience which tend to have fewer small parts included. Buying your City sets from LEGO.com? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission..
Now continue to my final review: 60292 Town Centre and 60306 Shopping Street.
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For the Dark Purple/ Bright Light Yellow bicycle helmet, besides the Lime/ Dark Brown variant, there's also a White/ Dark Orange variant that's been distributed through official Lego Stores' BAM bins. I guess in these Corona times, Bricklink might be a better option.
ReplyDeleteEINSTEIN! I've been waiting over seven years for them to make that dog...
ReplyDeleteI love the new sets, but the price tags are way too high. When i was 8 (2012) the average cost of a single brick in any given set was 10 cents. Now it is more commonly 12 or 13 with some going as high as 20 cents a piece. Either inflation is the cause or LEGO is having us pay more for less using large wall plates and premade car chassis.
ReplyDeleteI mean, you're talking about over four decades without much change in price. Consider how much the cost of a gallon of gas has risen in that time. They were able to largely stave off price increases by massively streamlining a terribly inefficient operation, and by shifting some of their production to regions with lower wages (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Mexico, and China). Eventually, they run out of ways to trim costs, and they have to raise prices to cover increased wages, utility prices, transportation costs, and raw materials.
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