Minifigure

The painting of the figure comes from The Mandalorian Season 2, and the book of Boba Fett. Very detailed. Unfortunately, the rangefinder is missing from the helmet, but then Boba's head would not have fit in the cabin.

Slave 1

I have seen a very similar size and structure slave 1 spaceship before with moc builders around 2014-2015, they used the same cabin windshield. But the angularity of the spacecraft reminds me of the first official Slave 1.

The best thing is that the cabin is designed like the larger sets, meaning that the minifigure can fit in both seating positions. I didn't expect that from a $10 set. Love it!

1 thing is missing, the kenner toy mechanism. Unfortunately, the wings do not turn automatically as a result of garavitation. And the flaps are too small and square. A 3x3 curved plate would have been better for the flap. Fortunately, this can be easily repaired, and in addition, it takes 2 less parts to move the wing. I'll show you how at the bottom of the article.

Overall

So far, this is the best microfighter that Lego has released. I actually bought this set just for the minifigure. It's a very good value set, as for $10 you get a good quality minifigure and a small but practical spaceship. Plus, the laser cannons also work.

My modification

So, first I replaced the wing with a larger 3x3 curved plate. It's more realistic that way.

I replaced the technic brick with a traditional pin connector.

So now, wherever I tilt the spaceship, the gravity mechanism works, the wings automatically turn horizontal.

Someday I might change the tail part to make it more proportional, but the set is still cute.

This was my first police set I received from my parents on Christmas 1994 or 1995. My younger brother helped put it together, but because his nails were small, he couldn’t separate the plates, so the bricks were full of tooth marks. Of course, I have already replaced chewed parts.

We played a lot with this set because the police big rig truck was a novelty, there was no such vehicle before. It had at least as many game functions as a police station.

Parts

All parts are easy to obtain, not special except for two pieces: the 1x4x3 window-shaped panel and the old small hinges.I think there is only one set of 1x4x3 panel pieces in this set that also has a window on it. If this is true, then this panel piece is quite rare. That means it can be expensive. This is the era for Lego when special parts were overused, from which individual pieces were developed for each set. This increased the cost of production. Which led directly to the malaise era (1997-2003).

Fortunately, almost every brick or tile with graphics is printed. Except for two black 1x4x3 panels with police insignia. I don't understand why they couldn't print these already. By the way, even the famously dangerous "Crazy Charlie" face is also on the mugshot on the gray printed tile next to the radar monitor.

Minifigs

The set includes 3 minifigures, a biker cop, a detective and a police chief. At that time, police sets did not include bad guys and criminals, they were only for police stations so that the jail cell would not be empty. Back then, the crime rate in Lego Town was even lower.

The police chief's face appeared in quite a few sets. But the detective's face was also a car thief before.

Truck

The vehicle looks great! Especially with that grille at the front. The look of the cab section looked aggressive because of the grille. Although this design solution became quite trite in the 1990s, Lego released too many trucks with the same front. I also like that the wheel tracks are not the same width. The sleeping cabin is also a good idea, but I don't like the fact that it is walled with 2x3 white bricks. This can be easily fixed, I replaced it with 1x3 bricks and there is already more space here.

At that time, other sets put a 2x3 container here, like the Indy Transport. Interestingly, the chimney must be built from minifigure glasses.

Trailer

Finally 6 studs wide! The trailer is full of 1990s computers and surveillance equipment, like the FBI truck in the movie The Rock. Even a tape recorder! The undercarriage was solved so that one of the wheels does not hang in the air if the trailer is not horizontal. There is an unnecessarily complex support made of rare and expensive hinge elements. There is a traffic cone and a barricade at the front of the trailer. On the roof is a retractable satellite antenna and a hinge from also rare train sets that holds the reflector lamp.

Unfortunately, the use of space inside is not very good, but if we put the dispatcher part forward with the radar and the swivel chairs, there will be enough space in the back to fit the police motorcycle. If you remove the white tile from the top of the 1x2 gray hinge, then the second chair can also be completely turned around, because it gets stuck in the tile anyway.

Overall

I am absolutely satisfied with the set, despite the fact that I was never that interested in the police theme. I would have been more happy with a fire station or a coast guard set, I was more interested in rescue sets. But hey! It's a Christmas gift, and it's free, with lots of game features and alternative builds on the back of the box. And it's even special because it's the first police big rig truck. A good memory from the 90s and childhood Christmas gift openings.

4 years ago, I bought the predecessor of this set, the 60177 Airshow Jet set. Because I love airplanes and this set was even cheaper than its predecessor, I bought it right away. At the time, I had no idea it was much better than the previous version.

Let’s start the story a little older and go back to 1999. I think the back wings of this plane are from the Red Tiger plane.

And here the rear wings were finally printed instead of the stickers. The engine is also much more ingenious if you spin the wheel, the flame piece is really like if the afterburner were working. The nose and wings of the plane are also cleaner. The wings here are at least larger and consist of only 1 part. So the designer did a very good job! It’s hard to make a good toy out of so few parts, especially at the entry level.

But you know, I also use to describe what I don't like. For example, there is no engine intake. Where does the air go in? The second is the landing gear. The rear wheels are lower, looking pretty sad. The 2 x 8 bottom connecting plate would have been better in black instead of gray. I didn’t even put it on, I used the wheel fork instead as a connection. The cockpit is very empty, no seats and no HUD as in the previous set. Rather, they put a 2x2 blue tile in it that isn’t visible and you’ll never take it out again. And this set also has the usual construction nonsense of Lego, that what could be built from traditional parts is made into a new special part, see below.

Parts

There are two parts I haven't met yet. One is a mixture of a gray plate and a brick with a technic hole in it. The other is a dual molded front wheel. I think it's cheaper to make than the old tire, but unfortunately I can't put off-road tire on it that way. I'm not happy about it. This new material from which the windshield is made is of very poor quality, easily scratched, and has even been scratched together in the package.

Minifig

For me, the innovation was just the new helmet. Since this is a starter set, unfortunately there is no oxygen mask for the helmet. But it doesn't bother me.

Overall

The whole set consists of far fewer parts than its predecessor, yet is much more imaginative, beautiful and usable. I absolutely recommend it, so you have to buy it for the price!

My Mod

I just wanted to change what makes the plane simpler and cheaper, yet more beautiful. This only applies to the cockpit and landing gear.

I disappeared for the ugly 2x8 gray plate, put a 2x2 brick in its place, and replaced the rear wheels with smaller ones to match the size of the front wheel. So it's completely level.

I put a seat in the cockpit. For this, I changed the 2x3 slope brick to 2x2. There are also 2 options for the HUD. It is easier if there are 2 pieces of green 2x3 bricks. And not green, it's gray. And we will put one in advance. We put the printed cheese slope on it.

This leaves room for two 1x2 jumped pieces. One for the joystick, the other for the HUD.

The other solution is nicer, I like it better. Instead of a 2x3 brick, I used a 1x2 jumper plate. More realistic.

Dear Lego, you don't have to develop new parts for every set, you can also fix the afterburner with traditional technic bricks.

I know this sounds like a pinch, but it’s because of such little things that a lego set will be expensive. Fortunately, it was cheap, exceptionally. I hope there will be more ingenious entry-level sets.

I find these train themed sets, released in 1978, interesting and special. For several reasons. First, its box is different from other town sets. Very nice green paint. And those backgrounds reminiscent of an old storybook. I love it! The second curiosity: minifigs!

Minifigs

In 1978, no minifigure with a printed torso was issued. A sticker was used instead. But one of the guys here already has a printed torso. Would this be the first printed torso minifigure? Another curiosity is the yellow safety helmet. Very rare, it was only in this single set for a long time. Unless only one exists in this set.

Track

Or anyone who was a kid at this time used to get the minifigures issued with the gray 12-volt rail tracks. Compared to that, it’s pretty weird to see the old 4.5-volt blue track in this set. Not a very common sight. It's like a glitch in the matrix.

The flat wagon is the same as the other blue-track railroad cars of the 1970s.

Car

The yellow car is quite a disappointment. On the one hand, you can't put a minifigure in it, which spoils the gameplay. On the other hand, it was in 1978 that the car chassis part and the steering wheel appeared. But even without a chassis, a simple convertible could have been built from a couple of bricks and plates. If you have the box, there is a version on the back of the box between the alternative builds where you can put the minifigure on the vehicle.

My mod

I quickly built another car that also consists of a few parts. The point is to be able to put the minifigure in it.

Something from the late 1970s angular sports car like the Lotus Esprit or the Triumph TR7.

And I didn’t even need a chassis part for that. These parts were also available in 1978.

Exceptionally, there is no US version of this set. It was only marketed in Europe. From then on, until the Octan brand gas station appeared, completely different gas stations were sold in Europe and America. The Dutch Shell remained in Europe and Exxon in North America.

How simple, yet how cool this set is! I’m not a petrol head, but I’ve always liked sets that are accessories for cars. The good thing about these early sets is that they use regular bricks, there are plenty of rebuilding options. Therefore, parts are also readily available.

There are no special parts. There’s the baseplate, for example: a smooth, straight road.

Minifigs

The hair and cap of the figures are still from the "statue figure" era. There is still a sticker on the torso of the figures, the logo is not printed.

Shop building

It's pretty simple, but the color combination is good. The color of the brand fits exactly into the basic colors of the lego, they didn't have to mix a new color. The extra wall at the back I didn't get it, it doesn't have many functions, for fencing is good maybe. However, there is a spare tire and cash register. And there are a few items on the shelf that you can buy.

Car

I have mixed feelings about the car. On the one hand, I like the roof rack, a good idea! On the other hand, unfortunately it is not possible to include minifigures, which is a pity, especially since minifigures were added to the set. This reduces the gaming experience.

My mod

I rebuild the car a bit to fit at least 1 minifigure. It reminds me of the VW Golf / Rabbit with sunroof, which was quite common in the late 1970s.

But only from parts available in 1978. I didn't even have to use a chassis for it.