I have always loved sidecar motorcycles. Especially if it's from Lego. So apart from the fact that this machine has a very square shape, I love it! :) What I especially like is that we don’t get a piece of specialised frame like today, but it has to be assembled from traditional elements. As far as I know so far there are 4 lego sets that have a sidecar motorcycle. This set and the 6373, 6622, and 7620 sets. It’s sad, though, how many options would there be with today’s parts.

But let's get back to the title. Building experience:

The motorcycle in the picture is pretty nice, and I was right to expect that the end result would be like that, but it didn't happen that way. Namely, the instruction sheet is different from the photo, it has to be built completely different so it just resembles the picture from the final instruction. The end result is much uglier than the picture if we follow the instructions. The front of the motorcycle will be 1 brick high and the picture will be 1 plate high. Another layer of blue plates should be built between the wheel and the seat. By then, the designers could have replaced the two 2x4 plates with one 4x4s. I don't understand, seriously, wasn't the structure so strong enough? Thus, they only worsened the already boxed look. Respectively, it would have been better for 2 mini figures and the second figure to have a usable seat in the sidecar, because that way that black brick would always fall off the two yellow fence elements if we went faster than the speed limit. The seating position is too far, the guy doesn’t reach the handlebar. This makes it dangerous to drive.

Minifig

He even uses the old kind of helmet so his eyes tear at high speeds and the beetles go in easily. Poor guy. No painting, no stickers. Simple, but looks nice and honest. What could be in the black brick that he is so happy about? Can it be the same as in the Pulp Fiction in the briefcase?

Overall opinion

Good idea, we rarely see this, but te end result is very ugly. Once again lazy design work.

My rebuild

It looks pretty good with minimal modification. It annoyed me that the sidecar was too close to the motorbike. And the result is strong enough, it doesn't fall apart. The spare tire is from the 673 set. So now the minifigure reaches the handlebars and the two can fit comfortably side by side.

Box/Instructions

It is interesting that the set is made of 2 types of boxes. The early version is the traditional 60's and 70's white box, the later version gets the 80's yellow "legoland" box. It is noticeable on the box that the helicopter pylon is not installed according to the instructions. The instruction has a date of 1977, probably the date of the design, the release was in 1978. If it's already 1978, 1-2 items in the catalog don't fit with the final version. At least the cylinder pieces are not color-correct or transparent in the catalog.

The build

The biggest advantage of today's sets is that it is made of basic bricks and does not contain special pieces. Except for the flag, antenna and door. But these are not special, then that was the standard.

Building

As a child, it triggered my imagination and creativity, mainly because of the layout of the building. The location and levels of the pier are very appealing. I also like the color. Unfortunately, the door is too small to fit a minifigure. The wind wheel / propeller was a good idea. A turntable piece could also change the direction of the wind. The ladder is also smart. It just doesn't make much sense if you can't go upstairs. It has 2 easy-to-break pieces, an antenna and a flag. These two and the door that hasn't been manufactured for 30-40 years are hard to find. The radar is pretty flimsy. The 1x4 white modified ball-joint plate only sits on the black fence hinge, does not connect to it properly because the connection of the two parts is not compatible. Fortunately, the rest of the parts is made up of basic bricks, easy to rebuild. On the roof, I could have imagined a lighting tower or lighthouse, only a 2x2 transparent brick would be needed. Two stickers were added to the building, which is the Coast Guard's logo. I would have put the red C.G. logo on the flag, I think it would be nicer. I think this set inspired designers to create the 4210 (2008) and 60167 (2017) city themed coast guard headquarters sets. Many similarities can be recognized in the layout.

Vehicles

Their colors are beautiful and realistic. To my knowledge, only this set is made with the traditional white-red coastguard color and the Canadian version. They are as few parts as today's Junior sets. The smaller boat is very weak and easy to fall apart because it has only 2 studs on the front and the back. The transparent slope brick windshield is pushed down by the hand of the minifig and therefore falls off. A jetsky would have been better instead. The larger ship could have been fitted with a red and a green transparent cylinder for marker lights. The helicopter is very funny, but rather ugly. Transparent windshield slope bricks protect only the foot of the minifigure/pilot. No winch on it. How will people be saved from the sea? If a designer had designed a winch for it, for example from early technic parts, it would have been much more usable.

Minifigures

5 minifigures are added to the set. The torso was not painted yet, but a sticker was used instead. All 5 are the same except for the diver and the pilot. They have white old style helmets and the diver has an airtank. At least 1 of the 5 minifugs could have been civilian to save the crew. The white sailor's trousers look funny to the pilot and the diver. It would have been better for them to have a simple dress, such as a diver black, and a pilot blue. At least one yellow life jacket could have been added to the set, for example the one used in the visibility vest in contemporary sets.

Overall opinion

The biggest problem with this set is that this 369 set, only has a different color and new minifigures. But the 369 set was not designed for traditional minifigures, but for its predecessor, which did not require large vehicles and buildings. Sadly, the new minifigures have not built buildings and vehicles that fit them in size. The figures on the vehicles look creepy and funny. Not at all realistic like the later Coast Guard sets. Unfortunately, there are few things to play with, and minifigures can't be put inside the building. It is a pity that they have saved the design work. Otherwise, due to the large amount of bricks, there is a lot of remodeling potential.

My mod

These parts already existed in 1977-1978. Let's start with the minifigures. I changed his pants for the pilot and the diver because the sailor’s uniform is not waterproof. 1 life jacket is also needed, especially for the person driving the jet ski. I took this from the 605 set, I just replaced the sticker that comes from the original 369 set. I also put this sticker on the diver, because they don't usually dive in jackets. And as a sign, I also put a sticker on the pilot’s helmet.

The vehicles. There were a lot of problems here. I threw out the little hovercraft, specifically useless, easily falling apart, and leaning back. And even ugly. I built a 1974 Kawasaki JS 400 Jet Ski instead. With 2 parts still less than the original watercraft. And much more usable. The handlebar also comes from the 605 set.

The original yellow helicopter was not scaled up, it was 2 bricks higher than its predecessor to fit the minifigure head from the propeller, but did not change over the length of the fuselage. First I took off the unnecessary parts from it, it got a slightly cleaner look. I put the top of a 2x2 turntable plate under the pylons so that if someone stepped on it, it wouldn’t break. I put a black 1x1 round brick into a white 1x2 technic brick to make a engine detail. But unfortunately, even so, the windshield isn't high enough, the pilot is comically big compared to a helicopter, as it wasn't originally designed for that either.

However, a helicopter that is too large cannot be built either because there is not enough space on the small helipad. I built a small UH1 and a Sea King type helicopter, that is only 2 bricks wide but at least fits on the helipad and has a winch! And now the minifigure fits comfortably in any vehicle. I also used the stickers of the original 369 set for the vehicles.

There wasn't much trouble with the larger hovercraft. I put 2 marker lights on it, (green, red) and took two 2x4 white plates out of it because the pylon was high.

The building was not left out of the minimal renovation either. Most importantly, I replaced the door with a larger one that is at least 5 bricks high to fit the minifigure in the building as well.

To do this, I put an extra 1 row of red bricks on the bottom of the building to be high enough. The door comes from the 590 set. Since there is not much space inside, I could only place a small yellow desk and a transceiver. The sticker on the 1x2 black brick is the torso sticker of the minifigure in the set, I just put it laid on the brick. So it's like having channel buttons.

I put the same sticker in the cockpit of the helicopter.

I placed a reflector made of 2x2 transparent bricks on top of the tower like that at the lighthouses. I put it under a 2x2 turntable plate. On the 2nd floor, two red arches were not on the same level. If the Coast Guard sticker is missing, all that remains is a red boring ghostly building. So I put the sticker on the back of the building, which is also boring, and put a light in place at the front and a marker strip of white brick. I replaced the second step of the front staircase with a black inverted slope brick instead of a 2x4 black brick so it is not as square.

I replaced the 1x1 black bricks between the yellow fence elements, with round bricks. I placed 2 fixed beacons on the helipad, replacing the many 1x2 white tiles with seven 2x2 yellow tiles in an H shape. I replaced the 4 black bricks of the pillars of the helipad with white as a water level indicator. To make the back of the building not so boring, I replaced the black 1x6 pillar at the bottom with two 1x2 brick pillars. I changed back the windows to original white ones.

I mentioned earlier that the radar is constantly falling out of place because it just sits on the black gate hinge, not connected, so I put a cylinder brick on a 2x2 turntable, put a technic brick and a 1x4 white plate on it.

I love the classic town maintenance vehicles, except for this one. This is practically a duplo-like vehicle, just made of system parts. At least the chassis could have been in 2 parts, plus the axles. Say a 4x12 plate and a 2x10 brick. Even a 5-year-old can easily put this together.

This way, however, you can build it in 30 seconds, you don't have the lego experience, and the end result is not pretty either. There is no hinge or mechanism to dump the garbage. Thus, the game function is quite limited.

Even then, when I was a child, I thought it was stupid that there was no separation between the driver's cab and the waste container. And children don't like to be seen as stupid. The poor driver gets the smell of garbage and it's not very hygienic.

Minifig

Regular 90's town guy. This face print and torso print have been used in many sets, quite common.

Overall

Compared to how few parts the set consists of, it cost quite a lot. The piece/price ratio was not very good at that time, between 1997 and 2003. The two previous garbage trucks (6693, 6668) were much more realistic and detailed, with more play functions.

I recommend it more for children between 3 and 5 years old who just want to pushing and rolling the vehicles.

My mod

If the goal was to build a garbage truck from a few basic parts and easy build, I would have done this:

At least at the back, you can empty the bin with a simple hinged brick.

And the truck has headlights and a roof.

This is a very important set in the history of Lego. From then on, sets were terribly simplified, and that was the first of these. The company reacted badly to the downturn in demand, and this determined the design of the toys for years.

The assessment of the set would have improved a lot if it has been categorized as appropriate. It ran under a Town theme (and later "City Center" theme) but it didn’t turn out to be a junior set. Previously, other more detailed Town sets were already available for 5-year-olds.

Had the theme been called "Junior City Center", everyone would have been more understanding (except for the price of the set)

There wouldn’t have been anything wrong with (which makes me specifically annoyed) that there aren’t normal-sized garages for vehicles if the sets name is "Mountain firefighters" or "Volunteer firefighters." Because sometimes even in real life, firefighting vehicles are stored outdoors, such as in bushfires in California, Greece, or Australia.

So just by clarifying the theme and the name of the set, the Lego marketing department could have avoided a lot of misunderstandings.

There would have been fewer frustrated children. Like me at 8 years old.

As the 1994 fire department set ran out, only this set could be purchased, there was no higher age range fire station set.

What’s most annoying is the large built in vehicle chassis. It could have been solved with a 4x12 plate and a 2x10 brick. It would not have been more expensive, but how much more elegant, and even the wheelbase of the wheels could be changed. This is unfortunately typical of the entire late 1990s era. And the printed headlights, of course. :)

But that's only 50% of the problem. The other is the price. Lego sold this set for almost as much money as another set of many parts and more detail. We only get a few large parts for this set, with very few rebuilding options and no alternative construction.

This will unfortunately happen even in 2020. The 2020 police headquarters will cost the same at Lego as the 2017 version, in every market/region. While the 2020 police set consists of far fewer components and is also smaller. In January 2020, all 2 sets were available (Lego store and lego.com) at the same time, at the same price. Funny. No, it’s not funny, it’s really sad, especially since Lego isn’t in as much financial trouble now as it was in 1997.

I hope Lego does not make this mistake again. But in 2020, Lego took the name of the Junior theme again and put the junior sets under the city theme, called 4+. I hope they know how they do it.