The large colourful box displays the main roller coaster on the front with smaller images of the secondary builds, and all 3 builds are pictured in more detail on the back.

The contents (900+ pieces) come in several unnumbered bags which surprised me, I'm used to larger sets (such as Modular Buildings, which come under the Creator Expert Theme) having numbered bags matching each step of the build.

There is a single large instruction manual which covers all 3 builds, with advertising pages between builds for some of the other Creator Sets.

The parts in each of the unnumbered bags did not seem to be particularly grouped together, I'm pretty sure that different body parts for the 5 figures were mixed across bags - so the starting point is one big pile of pieces from all the bags. Pre-sorting the parts in whatever scheme suits you may reduce the amount of time you spend searching the pile for individual small parts, especially in the earlier stages where the pile of parts is larger.

Onto the builds - the main Pirate Themed Roller Coaster first:

The Pirate Roller Coaster

We start with the 5 minifigures. There is a pirate figure for the set who has an eye patch and a good beard (there being only 1 pirate was a little disappointing*), 2 adult figures and a child (short legs) with a ticket. The 5th figure is a skeleton, whose legs are more solid than I remember from pirate sets in days gone by, he can stand unsupported, and carries a golden goblet for this build.

The roller coaster has 1 separate mini-build, a balloon cart, with 2 balloons (1 red, 1 lime green) and a couple of gas canisters. This is a simple but effective build.

Now for the roller coaster itself. We start with the main Fort building, which is built up with a good variety of parts and colours, which look really very good and are quite reminiscent of the Imperial Guard Buildings from the Pirate Theme sets from the early 90's.

The Fort has a control room and 3 battlement sections, and there is a single cannon which can be moved to any of those battlements.

The use of a propeller blade as a turn style is quite clever, there is a palm tree, a parrot and pennants decorating the fort. There isn't really room for a minifig to stand behind the ticket booth window without getting themselves run over by the carriages though.

The build then proceeds counter clockwise around the track - the first part of which includes a water splash feature - with the brick block tipped up a small technic bar protrudes through the track, and the carriage knocks it down to lift 2 water splash pieces, which is kind of fun, though it might have been nice if the balance weight was enough to reset it automatically after the carriage has passed.

The track goes up to a rocky pillar and around, and at the top of the slope we build 2 halves of a wrecked pirate ship. The front and back sections are built separately and clipped at an angle to the support pillar. The builds are simple but quite detailed, and the resulting shipwreck is excellent.

The skeleton with his golden goblet, and a crate with some treasure is at the base of the half turn.

The track turns back around and goes up to a second pillar. This pillar has a brick built skull on technic pins allowing it to pivot out of the way as the carriages pass. It wasn't quite loose enough to consistently drop back down every time though.

The track base then completes its loop, but before we add the last of the track, there is one final mini-build, an orange octopus (albeit with only 3 visible legs) hangs from the pillar with the skull, positioned below the track once that is added.

The final part of the build is the 3 carriages, which are built to look like a shark (swimming around the track) - the front carriage has a snout, teeth and eyes, the middle carriage has an upward fin, and the rear carriage has a tail fin. The carriages clip together easily enough, but are solidly connected, and the whole 'shark' clips on the tracks easily but again quite solidly.

And the build is done. From the top of the slope, the carriages race down, through the water splash, up and through the fort to the back corner. The arches of the fort through which the carriages go are only just tall enough - a classic pirate captain with his taller hat was getting it knocked off as the carriage bounced up the rise after the water splash and through the arch - so definitely no standing for anyone but the kid!

The carriages have to be pushed up the back slope, through the skull and around the bend, before racing down the slope again, which is all part of the fun.

Overall this is an excellent roller coaster, and much more affordable than the big 10261 Roller Coaster. The pirate elements all look excellent, and the ride functions really well.

* For my build, the lone pirate was joined by some classic pirates and some Sky Pirates (from Ninjago season 6!)

Dismantling the roller coaster, and some basic sorting leaves us ready for the second build..

The Skull Ride

The 5 minifigures get a few adjustments - the pirate has some kind of stick (not really sure exactly what it is), the skeleton gets a cutlass, and the kid gets the gold cup with probably some sugary dessert.

There are 2 separate mini builds for this model - a small island with the cannon and a palm tree (different design to that on the roller coaster); and a more substantial ticket booth and control room, with some nice decorative elements, including 2 mini birds, a lamp, and the skeleton.

The ride itself starts with a base piece, then we build the frame for the round track, with the half barrel as a sort of handle, and mini ball and socket joints as the pivot elements. The track is attached to the base with through the b&s joints allowing it to pivot left-right.

Next there is the central core, which has a base with an axle through the middle, and topped with flats. The upper section builds up a rocky block, which can rotate on the axle from the base. The rocky block has a rather good white skull face, but the instructions and construction have the face at the back, and building it up doesn't reveal the face until the end! Before we get to the reveal, there is an arm with a three fingered hand attached to one side of the head block, and a double hinged arm with a tow-bar-ball-clip on the end, attached to the other side - at first this just hangs down because we need to build the carriages to which the arm is attached. The front and back carriages have forward and backward facing seats for 1 person each, with fairly minimal decoration. The middle carriage has a small ball joint to which the hinged arm is attached once the carriages are mounted on the track. It is only here that the white skull face is revealed in the instructions!

The Skull Head centre rotates taking the carriages round and around. The track tips left and right as the carriages circle from side to side, but the ball and socket joint pivots are maybe a little tight, as the track frame generally needs a little extra nudge to tip from side to side.

Overall this is a pretty good second build, the ride is simple but fun - the skull head is excellent, the mini builds are also very good.

There are a fairly large number of pieces left over, after this build.

Dismantling the skull ride, and some basic sorting leaves us ready for the third and final build..

The Ship Ride

This time around, the pirate gets a cutlass, the skeleton gets a pink jewel and the kid gets a camera.

There are 3 separate mini builds for this model. First is the cannon mounted on a pair of wheels with a flag/banner. The second is what may be a small concessions stand with a parrot on top. The third is a combined ticket booth, control room, entry barrier and ballon stand - which is a fair bit to squeeze onto a 4x10 plate!

The ride itself is a thin wide frame, with an access platform with steps and railings, and backward support base with bars for clips (to be attached a little later!). Building further out either side we start a small pillar on each side and the frame extends beyond those with clips at the ends. The pillars on either side are built up further, and decorative elements added - (water plants, fish, and in this build the red crab has the bottle of rum).

Next we build a semi-circular arch frame using 2 of the quarter turn track pieces. This clips to the back of the frame, and supports 2 water splash/flame elements and the skeleton at the top of the arch.

Next comes the track, which is interesting - the base U of the track is simple enough, but the upper side track pieces do not attach directly to the base U pieces. We build 2 support frames with clips at either end, and one each is attached to either of the base frame. The right upper track piece has a pivoting mechanism (used to hold and release the carriages) at the top, and a round brick with clips, clipped onto a lower rung. This brick attaches to the top of the right support pillar, and the support frame is clipped near the top of the track piece - this leaves the upper track piece touching, but not directly connected to the lower track piece.The left upper track piece is similar but simpler - connecting but not attaching in the same way.

Finally we build the carriages, which for this ride form a mini pirate ship - with a small mast on the middle carriage (still with room for a minifig), and the steering wheel on the back carriage. Mounting the carriages on the track completes the build.

There is a final couple of instruction pages to show us how this ride works. Pushing the carriages up to the top of the right hand track, allows the back carriage to be loosely hooked by the pivot mechanism on the end of that track. This holds the carriages up the side. Pulling back the flag on this pivot, releases the carriages which shoot down the track and up the other side getting a decent way up the slope - then back and forth a few times before coming to rest at the bottom.

Even though the track pieces are not directly connected, the carriages run smoothly with no signs of catching at all.

Overall this is an excellent third build, better than the skull ride in my opinion. The mini builds are good, although the refreshment counter is a little ambiguous in exactly what it is.

Conclusion

This is a great set, and well worth the money at full price (readily available with good discounts too). All 3 rides are fun with multiple play features, and they are all relatively easy to build with very few complicated techniques. The Pirate theme is carried through the 3 builds very well, but more than 1 pirate figure would have been nice. It provides all the basics for further roller coaster and other fairground ride creations. I can easily see multiple copies of this set being bought in order to build extended roller coaster tracks, or just to have all of the rides built at the same time!

Highly Recommended!

Additional thoughts on the track connections from the Ship Ride

The way the track pieces are connected but not attached in the ship ride, and yet run perfectly smoothly leads to some interesting possibilities for connecting different track pieces in more unusual geometries. For example, connecting the quarter turn track piece to the bottom slope track piece would give a banked curve. I look forward to seeing peoples creative geometries for these new roller coaster tracks.

The last of the Arctic 2018 sets has 2 monster vehicles, 4 minifigures and a sabre-toothed tiger. As the 'Retail - limited' set for the theme it does not appear in most of the media for the theme, which is a shame - as it looks great.

The box contains 6 numbered bags, 1 book, and a sticker sheet of around 20 stickers.

Bag 1 provides a single minifig - the Driver, his Ice scooter, a couple of crates of gear and the sabre-toothed tiger in a snow/ice block. The crates have a computer, snow shoes, an ice saw, a radio and a couple of torches/lights. The scooter is a simple build and a simple model - nothing particularly interesting. The snow/ice block is moderately substantial, with 3 easily removable 'ice' panels to reveal the frozen sabre-toothed tiger inside. This beast is identical to the one in the Arctic Air Transport set.

Bag 2 gives us another minifig (the Expedition Leader), and with Bags 3 and 4, builds the giant tracked saw-blade machine. The saw machine vehicle has a fairly simple technic base, a brick built (with lots of snots) rear engine block. Bag 3 builds the 4 tracked wheels which are all identical but small builds so not really repetitive, although linking the 92 small track pieces into 4x 23 piece tracks is a little. Bag 4 builds the rotating cab, which fits a single minifig. The saw blade arm has 3 click-joint articulation points, with the saw blade itself mounted on a small technic frame with a gear wheel to spin the blade.

The 4x tracked wheels roll really well on hard and soft surfaces, and as the tracks can pivot, it rolls easily over small obstacles, including fingers. You need to lift the saw arm and remove the cab roof and front windscreen to get a minifig in and out, but its not too fiddly. The rotating cab and saw arm articulation makes it easy to position the saw blade to whatever it should be cutting, such as the ice block.

Bag 5 provides 2 minifigs, the pilot and an explorer, and with Bag 6 builds the Supply Plane itself. The plane is a fairly substantial construction, with an Earth Blue base, and Bright Orange Upper. Bag 5 builds the front of the plane, consisting of the cockpit section - accessible by removing the front section and a roof section behind, which has space for the pilot and co-pilot or passenger seat behind; and the cargo bay which is a reasonable size. Bag 6 builds the undercarriage (skiis), wings with engines, tail section and loading ramp.

The tail is mounted on click hinges so it can be full raised and the loading ramp folds down on clips, giving easy access to the cargo bay. The cargo bay will hold the ice scooter, tiger or gear crates - but not all together.

The plane is swoosh able and large enough to carry various gear and animals. The tracked saw-blade machine is an impressive monster which moves nicely in multiple ways.

This set has 10% fewer pieces than the Arctic Mobile Exploration Base, but a 30% lower price tag - which makes it very good value for money.

This is an excellent addition to the City Arctic 2018 theme.

This is the largest of this years Arctic sets, and it looks like a really cool set.

2 large wheeled vehicles, one with a crane arm the other with a large circular saw; a mobile lab on skis; a trailer with a snow bike and a load of gear; - all of which can be linked into a great long mobile vehicle chain. Plus 6 minifigs and a Mammoth frozen in a snow/ice block.

This set also has more pieces than any of the Arctic sets from 2014.

In the box there are 6 numbered bags, 4 instruction books and a sticker sheet.

Book 1 and Bag 1 provide 3 minifigs, the snow bike, a couple of crates of gear and the mammoth in the snow/ice block. The first minifig is an explorer/climber with 2 ice axes. This figure has excellent printing on legs, torso and head with climbing harness, rope and radio. The second figure is in full arctic gear with a pneumatic drill, and the third is a driver/rider for the snow bike wearing the new helmet and visor.The mammoth uses several preformed pieces, but looks pretty good with a turning head. The ice bike is the same as the one in 60193 Arctic Scout Truck - with a new body, with a mini chain drive at the back and ski at the front - it looks pretty good and the chain moves nicely on hard and soft surfaces. The crates of gear are simple enough, with a small hook attachment for use with the crane, also from the box pictures the hook attachment is used to lift and move the mammoth. The ice/snow block which contains the mammoth is moderately substantial, with 4 easily detached encasing pieces (intended to be 'cut' from the block by the saw bladed vehicle.)

Book 2 and Bags 2 and 3 build the saw bladed vehicle and the snow trailer, and provide 1 minifig. The minifig has a printed torso with what appears to be arctic standard explorer, and is wearing the new furry hat. The saw bladed vehicle is solidly built, the cab has a removable roof to get the driver in and out, a tow bar which folds up at the back, and a connection point at the front to take a tow bar connection. The big saw blade is new for these sets, appearing here and in the bigger saw machine in 60196 Arctic Supply Plane. It is attached by 2 sets of click hinges giving it good articulation. The only minor point is that the first section of the saw arm cannot fold flat onto the vehicle body as it is a little too high. The blade spins well from the side gears if they're not squeezed in too tightly. The snow trailer is simple but solid with 4 sets of double skis for it to slide around on, and multiple anchor points for the various gear, snow bike or mammoth to be carried.

Book 3 provides instructions for bags 4 and 5. Bag 4 builds the mobile lab and provides 1 minifig. Bag 5 builds the body of the crane vehicle and provides a second minifig.

The first minifig has printing on the torso, is wearing a thermal hat and has a radio - he may well be the expedition leader. The mobile lab has lots of windows, a door straight to the outside (the sticker on the door says "Please Keep Door CLOSED!"). The lab is equipped with a work bench with a camera on which there is a bone under examination. There is also a small coffee machine, a wall mounted display screen and a bench or maybe a bed up on high opposite the door. The lab has a folding tow bar at one end, and a connection point at the other.

The second minifig has a printed torso and wears a thermal hat. The body of the crane vehicle has a substantial solid base with axles for the 6 wheels, a large cab with driving seat with steering wheel and control seat for the crane operator. There is a turntable mount at the back (where the crane arm will be located).

Book 4 and Bag 6 complete the crane vehicle and the build. This starts with the orange cab body, which includes an interesting but simple construction for the rear window, mounting the same sloped window piece as on the front on its side. The cab has lots of windows for good visibility, a hinged roof for easy access, and there is a folding tow bar at the back. The final construction is the crane arm. This uses a Worm Gear Block (Element 4142824) which has been used in several sets, although this is the first I've seen of it - it connects a worm gear and a gear wheel in a single block providing the simple mechanism to raise and lower the crane arm with the turn of a gear wheel, while providing the resistance to keep the arm in position when carrying a load. Lastly the wheels are mounted on the axles.

Overall a substantial and varied build, with lots of interesting parts. The build is easy enough, but did not over simplified. The set is centred around cutting the mammoth from its block, and then lifting it onto the trailer with the crane, and then hooking all the vehicles together and driving the frozen prize back to home base - but with multiple vehicles, the trailer, the lab and the snow bike, 6 minifigures and the mammoth in its ice block - there is a lot of play value in this set.

An excellent set, and worth the price (at least here in the UK - the US price seems a bit high!)

The City Arctic sets for 2018 provide a wide ranch of vehicles. This Arctic Scout Truck is a mixed tracked/wheeled vehicle, and comes with a rather cool snow bike.

This set comes with 3 mini figures, a husky and a polar bear (not prehistoric or frozen in ice!).

The snow bike rider has Earth Blue legs, an Earth Blue printed torso, a cheesy grin, and a biker helmet with goggles. He comes equipped with a mini brick built ice corer tool (more below), and a printed 'triangulation' tile.

The figure with the black legs, red printed torso, dark azur gloves and a lovely red fur lined hat is apparently a biologist (and cameraman). He comes with a video camera

The third figure has Earth Blue legs, a Dark Azur printed torso, and a dark azur thermal hat. She is the truck driver, and is equipped with a radio.

The husk is I believe the same as in the previous Arctic sub theme from 4 years ago - and is carrying a pair of binoculars 'slung' on its side.

The snow bike uses a new bike base, with a front clipped ski and a mini chain around the back, with a standard bike faring in Bright Orange on top. The chain runs smoothly and the bike drives along on various surfaces just fine.

The feature vehicle is the Scout Truck. The front tracks and double rear big tyres raises it up high for good terrain clearance, although it has no suspension mechanism for climbing over obstacles. It follows the same basic colour scheme as the other vehicles in the sub-theme being Bright Orange on top, a stripe of Dark Azur in the middle, and Earth Blue on the bottom. A large Transparent Light Blue windscreen gives the driver a good view out front. The roof section is removable, giving access to the drivers seat and a rear control station, with (stickered) keyboard and display.

The onboard display matches up with the printed 'triangulation' tile (carried by the snow bike rider), and the 2 transparent orange cones on the first ice structure - locating and identifying something in the ice. These 'triangulation' pieces are also present in 60190 'Arctic Ice Glider', making a nice combination of these 2 sets.

The truck has space in the open back to carry the snow bike, the rear folds down to give easier access, and there is a clip and a bar to carry gear, and space to store the orange 'triangulation' cones and ice corer too.

The polar bear comes with a small ice structure which looks like the entrance way to an ice cave, presumably the bear's lair/den. The polar bear is a live native animal, and not a frozen prehistoric sample the explorers are looking for.

The second ice formation houses a neat little play feature. Behind the 2 transparent light blue windows are 1x1 brick 'holes' into which small round brick/plate 'cores' are placed. One is just snow/ice, the other includes a round transparent light blue brick 1x1 with a frozen (printed) insect. This is presumably what the triangulation beacons have located. A mini figure with the ice corer tool can put it onto the core and extract it from the hole in the ice structure.

There are 8 stickers, all for the truck - including the new Arctic symbol and set number on the each side, and the keyboard and display for inside.

This is a pretty cool set, the price is slightly high for the piece count, but that is offset by several larger pieces (including the polar bear). The truck and the ice bike are great vehicles and both drive around smoothly.

It also combines well with the 2 smallest sets (60190 Ice Glider and 60191 Exploration Team) which provide an additional set of 'triangulation' pieces and an addition frozen insect.

The smallest of the new City Arctic sets for 2018, revisiting the sub theme from 4 years ago.

This new edition has the same predominately Bright Orange colour but with the addition of Earth Blue and Dark Azur parts which complement the orange very nicely.

The set has a single minifig with earth blue legs, a dark azur torso with great printing front and back. The head has printed blue goggles/visor over the eyes, and he is wearing a dark azur hat.

To accessorise there is a walkie talkie, an ice saw and Flame Yellowish Orange snowshoes.

The Ice Gliders itself is a simple but satisfying build with 4 earth blue runners, a fan at the back to drive the vehicle over the ice, a Transparent Light Blue canopy piece on a clip so it can open and close, a steering wheel (rather than handle bars), and a printed 2x2 bow piece with the new City Arctic 2018 symbol which is reminiscent of the previous 2014 city arctic symbol.

The glider has 2 clips and a vertical bar to store the figures gear when not in use.

While the overall theme for this years Arctic sets looks to be animals frozen in the ice - this set does not have anything in that line. Instead it has 2x transparent orange mini cones and a printed 1x2 flat tile which look to be some kind of navigation or triangulation 'thing' which seems like a simple and fun play feature.

Overall a great little set and well worth the £5 price tag. An excellent start to the theme I think.