Random set of the day: Service Station
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 7993 Service Station, released during 2007. It's one of 28 City sets produced that year. It contains 402 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$39.99/£29.35.
It's owned by 5,224 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $160.00, or eBay.
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32 comments on this article
Those late 2000's City sets are so nostalgic to me. It was the golden era of City, and perhaps all of Lego too!
If only prices were still that low. Even in 2007, that was probably low.
*Gasp* So THAT'S where that baseplate comes from! I've been pushing that double-lane two-arrow baseplate around for years when trying to access my old Lego bins. Nice to finally know what set it's from!
EDIT: I recognize that motorbike from the full box image too! Just reconstructed it from my parts bin this weekend in fact.
This is easily my all time favorite City set! I bought it when it was released, I've taken it apart and rebuilt it a couple times, and it's here to stay.
A couple years ago I found a second copy that was about 95% complete. I fixed it, but built it mirrored, then stuck the two side by side. You can mostly see the result here: https://pirateslife.thecomicseries.com/comics/722content-start
Just add three dollars to the gas prices and that set can be from current times.
The car must be from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Notice how it's squeezed in tight on the sides to pass through a narrow space where cars don't normally fit.
@PurpleDave said:
"The car must be from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Notice how it's squeezed in tight on the sides to pass through a narrow space where cars don't normally fit."
The red brackets swivel the brushes to allow the vehicle to pass. Great set, one of our family’s early acquisitions. Still have it.
@MeisterDad said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"The car must be from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Notice how it's squeezed in tight on the sides to pass through a narrow space where cars don't normally fit."
The red brackets swivel the brushes to allow the vehicle to pass. Great set, one of our family’s early acquisitions. Still have it."
Witchcraft! You admit it!
City's first gas station! One of its first 'civilian' sets too that isn't construction.
I like this one. It seems quite complete despie its relatively compact size. Not too detailed in places, but that just made it affordable. And a baseplate!
One of my favorite sets and a highlight of my Lego City. It was gifted to me by my aunt on my birthday. At the time my city was lacking civilians, it was mostly firefighters, police and medical staff, but this set has given some depth and life to it all and I could stage emergencies where those firefighters, police and medical staff were needed.
Contains three minifigs...two of whom seem to have gone on break given its just that one guy doing all the work
What's happened to RPOTD?
Not 6397, but probably still the best gas station that came after it. I really like the many transparent light blue windows here.
<3 baseplate! They added environment to buildings!
@jkb said:
"<3 baseplate! They added environment to buildings!"
That particular baseplate is quite "out of the system", it's stud arrangement and colour means it doesn't work well with other street baseplates.
What does 2+3+4 on the box mean?
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Those late 2000's City sets are so nostalgic to me. It was the golden era of City, and perhaps all of Lego too!"
weeell... no! It was the silver age!
Golden age: town '80-mid '90
Dark age: late '90 (Town Jr.)
Silver age: World City and City until about 2010... now we are in a bronze age, IMHO
@thor96 said:
" @jkb said:
"<3 baseplate! They added environment to buildings!"
That particular baseplate is quite "out of the system", it's stud arrangement and colour means it doesn't work well with other street baseplates. "
Yes and no, depending on what you want to build. While not your standard street baseplate, you can add a central isle here, or a guarding booth or you can build a tunnel with (a) central supporting structure(s) and the like...
@MrKoshka said:
"What does 2+3+4 on the box mean?"
Pretty sure it's the bag numbers.
@jkb said:
" @thor96 said:
" @jkb said:
"<3 baseplate! They added environment to buildings!"
That particular baseplate is quite "out of the system", it's stud arrangement and colour means it doesn't work well with other street baseplates. "
Yes and no, depending on what you want to build. While not your standard street baseplate, you can add a central isle here, or a guarding booth or you can build a tunnel with (a) central supporting structure(s) and the like..."
The weird thing is, this is basically 4 of an older type of baseplate fused together (or more likely: left uncut). The specific one was 16x16 and introduced in 1998 for Juniorized Town. The part number for both was reported to be 30225 (matching 1998 parts), so it's very likely they produced these as 32x32 (or even larger?), which then got cut to 16x16 quarters.
The 32x32 version was mimicking the similar (but slightly more in system) divided two-lane baseplate found in sets like 6399 and 6397. The later version was probably first seen in the 2004 Legends reissue of Century Skyway, where it replaced the out of production older one. So probably this was either just cost-cutting or an attempt to make it more similar to existing elements.
@MrKoshka said:
"What does 2+3+4 on the box mean?"
It's for 9 year olds.
My first city set, love to see it here
I love the cheap price of gas in this set
@BaconKing said:
"I love the cheap price of gas in this set"
I like the cheap price of the set. We got 60257 in 2020 for the same price. Compare. (Infaltion excuse inc. ...)
@MrKoshka said:
"What does 2+3+4 on the box mean?"
It's not the box, but an instruction manual, and the numbers mean this particular manual uses pieces from bags 2, 3, and 4.
(Bag 1 has parts for the car, which is also pictured here in defiance of how this usually works, and one of those weirdly wide motorcycles that were semi-common in this era of City).
@Waksplat said:
"What's happened to RPOTD? "
@Huw explained why it was suspended on the last RPoyD article: https://brickset.com/article/111392/random-part-of-the-day-lattice-3x6-w-3-2-shaft-no-1 You been away for a while? N=one's asked about it for a good while.
@jkb said:
" @BaconKing said:
"I love the cheap price of gas in this set"
I like the cheap price of the set. We got 60257 in 2020 for the same price. Compare. (Infaltion excuse inc. ...)"
I can immediately tell that vehicles have much more complicated builds than the RSotD, and that comes at the cost of less elaborate service station. I much prefer the bigger station (and with a baseplate!) and simpler vehicles over this.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Waksplat said:
"What's happened to RPOTD? "
@Huw explained why it was suspended on the last RPoyD article: https://brickset.com/article/111392/random-part-of-the-day-lattice-3x6-w-3-2-shaft-no-1 You been away for a while? N=one's asked about it for a good while."
Saw the original RPOTD post, completely missed the comment from Huw on it. Cheers
While TLG does still make 'baseplates', I miss 'roadplates'...and no; not these abomination; 2-plate high, 'modular' monstrosities...But then again; I thought it as weird hearing that Lego didn't even make their own baseplates, they contracted them out and hence/why the difference in height between a base/roadplate and a standard plate...oh well:|
As to the set: Looks good, I think better then the last service station Lego made (at least the one with the lattice roof). Funny; I don't have a gas station, yet I have the service vehicles...have to fix that someday.:)
@brick_r said:
"While TLG does still make 'baseplates', I miss 'roadplates'...and no; not these abomination; 2-plate high, 'modular' monstrosities...But then again; I thought it as weird hearing that Lego didn't even make their own baseplates, they contracted them out and hence/why the difference in height between a base/roadplate and a standard plate...oh well:|"
Height difference is caused by the fact that the vacuuforming process can’t create reinforcement ridges through the underside without creating crevasses in the top. They don’t make their own baseplates for the same reason they don’t make their own electronics. Both are fundamentally different processes than injection molding, which is their speciality.
However, if you take a plate or baseplate, and you press a plate down onto the studs, and set a baseplate on top of the studs next to that plate, they’ll sit at roughly the same height. It’s not the most precise match, but it’s close enough that you can build across the two surfaces.
I really miss roadplates. They're still a big part of the city my son and I have in the basement. There are various roads from the 80s up through the 2010s. When I heard they'd be discontinued, I bought out the stock from the local Lego store.
...and I still have some Classic Space landing plates shrinkwrapped in the original packaging with a red Toys R Us discount sticker on them. They were $2.99 each, so I bought every single one...and the box they displayed them in.
@PDelahanty said:
"...and I still have some Classic Space landing plates shrinkwrapped in the original packaging with a red Toys R Us discount sticker on them. They were $2.99 each, so I bought every single one...and the box they displayed them in."
Now I know why the 10th commandment is there.