REVIEW: 60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter

[Zeahl]

REVIEW: 60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter

Coast guard review index:

60011 - Surfer Rescue

60012 - 4x4 & Diving Boat

60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter

60014 - Coast Guard Patrol

60015 - Coast Guard Plane

In the summer wave of 2013 LEGO has release a number of sets related to the coast guard. The last time Lego used this theme was in 2008, which was when I was still in the dark ages so for me, someone who loves the sea and boats, this was quite an exciting announcement.

As soon as the sets hit the stores, I bought them, and build them, and boy did they deliver.

Next up is the third set of the lot, containing a helicopter and a catamaran. Let's see how this set fares.

60013 - Coast Guard Helicopter

Set Nr: 60013

Theme: City

Year released: 2013

Nr of parts: 230

Minifigs: 4

Price: US$39.99 / €24.99 / £24.99

Fly to the rescue with the LEGO® City Coast Guard Helicopter with working winch, catamaran sailboat, 4 minifigures and a great white shark!

The Box

On the front of the box we see the diver heroically dangling from the helicopter, trying to rescue the sailor from a broken sail, a great white shark, and certain death.

The waves carrying the boat seem to gravitate to the rocks in the background, adding another peril for the poor sailor. In the bottom left corner is an illustration showing the wind-up motor which can reel in the hook and any body it might carry with just a push of the button. Also in tiny text is a notification that the boat does, in fact, not float.

On the back of the box the diver tries to get our attention, but let's just ignore him for now and look at all the pretty photo's. First on the left there's an illustration showing the phased build with mltiple bags hovering over the same image as the front of the box.

Moving on to the right is the sailor having fun on his catamaran, the sail breaking to show the play feature, the sailor being rescued, and finally the diver in the water with the great white shark, which to me seems one of the least smart ideas I've seen on the back of a LEGO box in..well..forever.

.

On the side of the box we have all 4 minifigs standing in a row on a pier, whist the shark comes in from the left, looking quite hungry. All the way to the right is the pilot for the second time, this time with a 1:1 annotation.

The instructions

The front of the booklet is the same as the image on the front of the box.

Inisde the booklet we find out how the parts for the models are separated into bags. In my opinion, if they´re gonna split the parts in numbered bags, why not just put the catamaran in a seperate bag aswell? As it stands the first bag is absolutely packed with parts, and the second bag is quite puny in comparison.

Now we get to the main part, the instructions. Like all sets in this series so far the background is a pleasing soft pastel watery pattern which in no way shape or form interferes with the building process. The color differentiation between the different parts is good, at no time did I have any doubt what color piece I was supposed to be looking for.

In the back of the booklet we have the usual advertisements and promotional material.

...Including the damn screaming kid..again..ugh..

The parts

Rattling around loose in the box is this sail, and a sticker sheet, which I already used at the time of writing this review, and thus have no pictures of.

I have separated the parts from the first bag in a few separate piles, as to keep the images a bit less cluttered.

This first lot of parts, together with the sail, make the catamaran. Looking at it I almost can't believe such a small number of parts make such a convincing little boat. Ah, the wonders of LEGO.

This mess of not very neatly ordered parts make the first half of the helicopter. A few of the dark grey parts are actually from the second bag, but accidentally got mixed in with this lot. The contents are mostly white, with some blue parts and a few big orange pieces. The white control panel in the center is printed, all other parts are stickered.

Lastly in the first bag, are the parts for all 4 minifigs, of which we will get into more detail in a moment.

The second bag contains some color, which is mostly used on the bottom of the helicopter, and of lot of black and grays, which are mostly for the engine build-up

This assemblage is a combination of parts from both bags, but as I don't feel like taking the whole thing apart for this review, I'll just photograph it separately.

The minifigs

The sailor comes with the same great wetsuit as the surfer from the water scooter set. He has a short dark brown haircut and comes equipped with a life jacket. Safety first!

The pilot is wearing an orange uniform with lots of safety gear on it. Looking at the photo, i suddenly notice how great the grey parts of the legs connects with the torso printing, completing the geared up look. He comes with a white helmet to cover up his unnervingly smirking face. Man, he looks like he REALLY REALLY likes flying and rescuing people!

The diver has the same outfit as the pilot, but comes with the basic diving gear we've all come to know and expect from LEGO. His face is a bit more heroic looking. In fact, I totaly take back my comment about him swimming with the shark from the back of the box. He totally looks like someone who would wrestle a shark..and win.

The last member of the coast guard is what looks like a communications officer. It's also the only female coast guard so far. Her uniform is the same as coast guards from the cheaper sets, with non of the usual female curves added. The comes with a life jacket, a walkie talkie, and a hat with headphones.

The headphones are a separate piece which connect to the hat via a hole on the top.

Finaly there's the great white shark. It's basicly the same as the shark from the water scooter set, but in a nice white color. The only downside is that, while the shark on the box is a new mold with gills, somehow mine has a gill-less body. Though the new shark with gills is being produced, somehow the early sets have the older shark bodies, so if you want the newer body, wait a while before buying the coastguard sets. (extra info added thank to LEGO Guy Bri and Aanchir)

The build

The first thing to be build is the catamaran, which, for it's simplicity, simply looks great. The red/white color scheme really looks great, just too bad the sail is in a different color scheme. Would it have been too much trouble to print a red/white sail, i wonder?

The sail is connected quite ingeniously with clamps, with the top one holding it in place, and the bottom one allowing rotation to simulate sail failure....

...Like this. When the sail is "broken" it is still quite firmly attached to the boat.

Next up we start with the helicopter. We begin by building the base upon which the rest can be build.

Then the "hoisting" system is put into place. Which, as you can see, is actually quite simple.

In the next few steps the cockpit is build up and added to the base of the model.

And finally the "top" is put on the whole thing, finally making it look somewhat like a helicopter. Time to move on to the second bag of parts!

Firstly a few small parts are added on the top of the helicopter before...

...Turning it over and adding the bottom and wheel assembly. I really like that front wheel piece. No I don't care that it's been around since 2008, it's new to me!

The helicopter is put back onto it's wheels and the hook assembly is finished. A start is made on the very detailed engine.

Here we have the engine, mostly done except for a few finishing plates on the back. I really REALLY love the amount of detailing they have managed to put into this engine. It's easily my favorite parts of the model.

After the engine is done, the tail is added, along with those last finishing pieces for the engine, which also hold the tail in place.

And finally the model is finished off with a huge set of rotors. Looking at the model, it's a lot larger than I has initially expected it to be when looking at the box. It is quite amazing to look at. A great model with lots of detailing. The rappelling function works just as advertised and adds a lot of play value to this already great set.

One downside to the model is that, when you turn both the top and the tail rotor, while you hold the helicopter at certain angles with the tail pointed downwards, they can collide with each other, it's not a really big deal, but worth mentioning nonetheless. (info added thanks to paul_delahaye)

Conclusions

(Disclaimer: I don't believe in giving numerical scores. It is up to the reader to decide what they think of any given model, and I believe mandatory scores detract from this notion.)

minifigs: Not only do the figures look great, you get four of them with this set! As an added bonus, you also get a great white shark..

Build/design: The catamaran looks very cool for the small amount of pieces used, and I'm simply in love with the engine on the helicopter! (Not that the rest of the helicopter isn't worth mentioning, that's great looking as well.)

Playability: With the 4 minifigs, the shark, the rappelling feature and the catamaran the can break, this set has a lot of search and rescue potential.

Overall I quite like this set, especialy for the pricepoint at which I bought it (25 euros). For the noted (by brickset) price of 40 US dollars, it might be a it on the expensive side though.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Zeahl

[t-brick]

Great review of a really nice looking set! Thank you!

[scottwb2010]

Nice review Zeahl. I bought this set a the Glasgow store Grand opening but not had time to build it yet. I notice from the Coatguard line up picture in the instructions that 60015 Coastguard plane isn't included so guess this is a store exclusive to just Lego store and someone like TRU?

[just2good]

Great review, 'Zeahl'!

This is a cool set, but one I'm going to skip. I haven't seen much on it, but it just comes off as bland to me. There are some nice pieces here, though.

[eurotrash]

It's a decent looking helicopter - with, I suspect, plenty of playability. There's some interesting pieces in there for sure, but I'm not convinced I could use them in my building MOCs so I think I'll pass.

Good review, thanks!

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the great review 'Zeahl', impressive copter and in a way better than the monster copter from 2008 series of coast guard sets. This with easily go with the coast guard plane which I enjoyed building last week .......and yes, that set is an exclusive which oddly enough is listed in that German catalogue.

My only issue with this set and a few other city sets is that if Lego make a female torso for the forest police chief then why not for female fire fighters, workers and yes, coast guard personal ?

Anyway, the tiger will be adding this to his collection when it becomes available in Aussie shops and of course, if the tiger has the cash to buy it.

Brick On Review On 'Zeahl' !

[Artifex]

Thanks a lot for the review! I'm in love with this set! I think it's one of the best -- if not THE best -- helicopters of the past few years.

[Dat Lego]

Great review 'Zeahl'! Looks like I have good feelings about this set. Really underestimated it, it's amazing! . If I have the money I would definitely try to buy it.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Dat Lego

[UberlegoTV]

cool review

[Gryphon Ink]

I saw this one on Target the other day. It looks like a great set - the nicest helicopter i've seen in a while, plus a shark and some decent minifigs you can use ina lot of different settings. Most of the smaller City sets don't excite me and I'm mostly all about LOTR and Friends, but I'll make an exception for this one.

I haven't seen the winchbrick before. Is that a new part?

Oh, and I love what you did with the rope on the last section. Great review!

Edited July 1, 2013 by Gryphon Ink

[Zeahl]

I saw this one on Target the other day. It looks like a great set - the nicest helicopter i've seen in a while, plus a shark and some decent minifigs you can use ina lot of different settings. Most of the smaller City sets don't excite me and I'm mostly all about LOTR and Friends, but I'll make an exception for this one.

I haven't seen the winchbrick before. Is that a new part?

Oh, and I love what you did with the rope on the last section. Great review!

The winchbrick (Light Bluish Gray Windup Motor 2 x 4 x 2 1/3 with Orange Release Button)has been used before, as early as in 2008 in another coast guard set, but including this set has only appeared in 5 sets, so it appears it's not that common of a part.

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=61100c01&colorID=86&in=A

[LEGO Guy Bri]

So, the shark on the box has gills, but the one in the set does not? I was hoping TLG would add a bit more detail to the old shark

[Aanchir]

So, the shark on the box has gills, but the one in the set does not? I was hoping TLG would add a bit more detail to the old shark

Someone on Brickset inquired at a LEGO store and learned that the new shark (which has gills and some other differences) IS being produced, but it was not produced in time to be packed into the first batch of Coast Guard sets. I'm certain if sharks appear in any 2014 sets they will be the new variety, and chances are later production runs of the Coast Guard sets may have the new sharks as well. Currently, though, the new shark is not available in any sets.

[Gryphon Ink]

I just noticed the insane number of sharks in the "City scene" picture. No less than five sharks there, all of them going after people. And people are still going swimming!! WTF, Lego City? Did you know there were massive swarms of sharks in the area when you were heavily promoting water sports last year? Reckless irresponsibility, I say. I'm calling for a change of leadership.

[paul_delahaye]

So my 2013 purchased Coast Guard Helicopter from the Lego Shop Watford has the new shark mold with the gills.

My only disappointment with the set, which I can't believe anyone has mentioned is the main rotor hits the tail rotar when they are both spun together. This is a flaw which does not seem to happen on any of the other 10 helicopters in this years set release.

Apart from this, I quite like the new canopy, I think it looks quite realistic, nice set of minifigs, although when you add the ear defenders to the minifigs, they are becoming quite tall to fit inside vehicles.......

[Zeahl]

So, the shark on the box has gills, but the one in the set does not? I was hoping TLG would add a bit more detail to the old shark

Someone on Brickset inquired at a LEGO store and learned that the new shark (which has gills and some other differences) IS being produced, but it was not produced in time to be packed into the first batch of Coast Guard sets. I'm certain if sharks appear in any 2014 sets they will be the new variety, and chances are later production runs of the Coast Guard sets may have the new sharks as well. Currently, though, the new shark is not available in any sets.

So my 2013 purchased Coast Guard Helicopter from the Lego Shop Watford has the new shark mold with the gills.

My only disappointment with the set, which I can't believe anyone has mentioned is the main rotor hits the tail rotar when they are both spun together. This is a flaw which does not seem to happen on any of the other 10 helicopters in this years set release.

Apart from this, I quite like the new canopy, I think it looks quite realistic, nice set of minifigs, although when you add the ear defenders to the minifigs, they are becoming quite tall to fit inside vehicles.......

Thanks for the info. I'll add it to the review.

[Esurient]

Great review! And thank you for the pictures! I actually like the design of the helicopter! Now to wait for its release...

[Tomahawker]

So my 2013 purchased Coast Guard Helicopter from the Lego Shop Watford has the new shark mold with the gills.

Can you post a picture of this piece? I want to contact S@H but want to be sure the part is available.

My only disappointment with the set, which I can't believe anyone has mentioned is the main rotor hits the tail rotar when they are both spun together. This is a flaw which does not seem to happen on any of the other 10 helicopters in this years set release.

I'm not having that problem with mine, and I have spun both rotors quite aggressively. Can you give more details on when or how this happens?

[Zeahl]

I'm not having that problem with mine, and I have spun both rotors quite aggressively. Can you give more details on when or how this happens?

After having tried it out for myself I found that it can happen, under certain circumstances, when it's held in a position that causes the top rotor to slightly bend backwards, mostly when tilting the tail downwards. Though it's not as big of an issue as paul_delahaye makes it seem to be.

[paul_delahaye]

Can you post a picture of this piece? I want to contact S@H but want to be sure the part is available.

As requested, here is the new shark which came with this set

[Jargo]

That's a vast improvement on the old one. The cartoon face shark from the Agents theme could have worked if given a less cartoon-ish face but this one seems close enough to the original and detailed enough to add some oomph to play and display.

I'm totally in love with the helicopter nose section. Really hope the lower piece comes in white some time soon. Or the nose comes in orange.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Nice set and dangerous situation for that guy in the water!

[Aanchir]

That's a vast improvement on the old one. The cartoon face shark from the Agents theme could have worked if given a less cartoon-ish face but this one seems close enough to the original and detailed enough to add some oomph to play and display.

I'm totally in love with the helicopter nose section. Really hope the lower piece comes in white some time soon. Or the nose comes in orange.

I didn't mind the Agents shark's face because frankly, all LEGO animals and minifigures are slightly cartoony. It would have been nice if a slightly less cartoony version were created for use in more down-to-earth themes like LEGO City, but I liked the fact that it had printed eyes.

With that said, this new shark is excellent. It is detailed, but still slightly angular and geometric like we've come to expect of LEGO animals. Furthermore, its connection points are much more useful than those of the old shark. Observe:

2547 is on the left, 14518 on the right. I used the classic jaw 2548 on the left and the newer jaw 87587 on the right, though today either variety of shark would use 87587.

It's good to know that the new shark is now actually appearing in sets!

[Stinky]

My son who is 6 years and 2 months old just got this set and we built it together. He's not very patient or an experienced LEGO builder (yet) but I think the

advertised ages of 5 - 12 are a bit commercial. There are lots of very small pieces and without any help there's no way he could've built it all by himself.

Ofcourse I was happy to assist and I really like this set. Lots of playability, good construction and great parts. Great review, thanks!