REVIEW: 8398 BBQ Stand

[Svelte]

Name: BBQ Stand

Theme: City

Year: 2009

Pieces: 22

Minifigs: 1

Price: $AUD4.99, GBP 1.95; EUR 2.99

The introduction:

I'm amazed no-one's reviewed this so far. In the absence of competitors, I shall nobly take up the challenge. Indeed, this shall be my finest, most detailed and highly elaborate review ever, with over 200+ detailed pics and 1,000 words of enriching and wise commentary. As my sweet praise fills the air, EB members will rush to their nearest retail outlets and in a great stampede clear the shelves of all 8398s in existence. Hymns will be written to commemorate the occasion of this enormous and magnificent work, and TLG will release a special chrome-plated City Impulse Svelte_Corps Statue in honour of my corporate promotion...

Actually, no This will be a little quicky review with about 5 bad pics taken at night with too much glare from my flash and some snarky comments

The review:

I definitely applaud a more civilian approach to the Impulse line instead of the usual police and firemen. Since we have no official Lego retail stores in Australia and things like the City Advent calendars don't make it into ordinary shops, 99% of the Lego-buying public (ie kids and their parents) have probably never seen the classic chef minifig, period (or at least since 2003 when the World City train station was released, but 6 years is practically a lifetime for the casual Lego purchaser). I have a soft spot for the Chef fig as it was one my first ever, in the then more common civilian sets of the early 80s like 6683 Hamburger Stand and 6601 Ice Cream Cart. As such, 8398 will be a surprising novelty to the casual browser and hopefully it and its companion 8401 Lego City Minifigure Collection will fly off shelves; I think many of us would like to see more everyday-life based sets in the future.

The box is the usual Impulse size:

Ever wanted to know how to say 'Choking Hazard' in 20 different languages? Now you can learn!

Contents - one small bag and instruction flyer.

Random instruction page - sorry, they *are* the instructions . The back of the flyer has ads for the previous City Impulse releases and the new Pirates pair.

De-bagged parts:

The set itself - one minifig and the small BBQ stand. This is a nice, simple design - rotating the container 90 degrees was a technique used in the 2008 Advent Calendar. The white umbrella is also a bit boring; it would have been nice to see a brighter, different colour.

Top view, showing the BBQ grill and the contents of the container:

One extra piece!

And for those that read my 7685 Dozer review, a bonus pic :

Thoughts:

This is a cute set, but to be honest it's a little weird. Firstly, in how many countries is it common for small vendors to stand around BBQing *chicken* legs? It would make more sense if this stand belonged to a hotdog seller - just look at the condiments - classic tomato sauce/ ketchup and mustard! It's as if the Lego designers couldn't afford to use the hotdog piece found in Belville sets and used the cheapest alternative. Either that, or this is some sneaky dude who has stolen a cart from a real hotdog vendor and in the absence of supplies is knocking off the pigeons in the local park and selling them as snacks. Seriously. Look at that creepy bearded face. Would you buy a chicken leg from *that* man?

Secondly, why does the extra tomato sauce container need to be refrigerated? The other one seems to be doing OK actually sitting exposed to heat right next to the grill. It would make more sense to have such a big cool container if creepy chef here was actually stocking extra pigeon wings or even ice-creams or other frozen desserts. But if the latter was the case maybe Agent Trace wouldn't be able to freelance on the side as seen in this set:

(Please note that is image is not a individual set release; just part 2 of the instructions from the promo 7643 Airplane Show set)

All in all, a good set at a nice price (Impulse sets are now $1 cheaper in Australia than they were last year ) and hopefully a sign of civilian things to come. Now next year, if they want to be really contemporary, Lego should release an Impulse Juice Bar featuring bright-eyed teenagers in tight shirts and a gym-built guy always on his mobile...

Edited October 24, 2011 by Rick

[Natman8000]

Nice review! This is a very cute set.

[WhiteFang]

Another fine review from you, and it's has been featured in Classic-Town.net This is a very useful set, which can be used in parks, fairs, beaches and outdoor activites purposes. I do like this set, but it will be nice if this set includes another drumstick that is stored in the chiller at the side. Your thoughts are well written especially on the 7643, ice cream stand in this promo set. I think both stands compliment each other pretty well.

[kidcharm]

Great review!

...Man, that beard is really making the rounds.

[WesternOutlaw]

It's the BBQ stand! Everyone loves BBQ! Great little review. I could relate to a hotdog stand better with the ketchup and mustard, but BBQ is good too.

Thanks for sharing the review, and WF: thanks for blogging!

[smiley905]

hmm i havnt seen that set yet.. weird it comes with chicken thats the only thing

[Erdbeereis]

Great review Svelte! I loved your comments about the oddities of the set.

Like you said, I think this is a very nice set, but the idea of it is rather strange. But, if you need a chef and a turkey leg, this is a perfect set!

Thanks for the review!

[mania3]

Is this set going to be available in the U.S.? Either way, thanks for the review!

[Darth_Legois]

Another great review Svelte!

I think I will have to get...atleast 4 of these

Well I only have one chef minifig and could use those container & chicken pieces.

So i'll probable get 2 for parts and 2 for around my town.

[CP5670]

This review had me laughing quite a bit, especially this bit:

Either that, or this is some sneaky dude who has stolen a cart from a real hotdog vendor and in the absence of supplies is knocking off the pigeons in the local park and selling them as snacks. Seriously. Look at that creepy bearded face. Would you buy a chicken leg from *that* man?

It's the bulldozer driver. Indy took his dozer, so he needs a new job.

[iamded]

This set always struck me as strange. I was constantly wondering why a hot-dog vendor was selling chicken legs. Constantly being the 10 seconds after first seeing this set.

Anyway, a sweet little review, packed with humour and great, detailed pics. Nice job.

On a side note, Impulse sets have dropped in NZ too, from $6.99 to $5.50. Hooray!

~Peace

[Jvvv]

I thought that "extra ketchup" was a can of Coke, or something... Nice review!

[I Scream Clone]

The introduction:

I'm amazed no-one's reviewed this so far. In the absence of competitors, I shall nobly take up the challenge. Indeed, this shall be my finest, most detailed and highly elaborate review ever, with over 200+ detailed pics and 1,000 words of enriching and wise commentary. As my sweet praise fills the air, EB members will rush to their nearest retail outlets and in a great stampede clear the shelves of all 8398s in existence. Hymns will be written to commemorate the occasion of this enormous and magnificent work, and TLG will release a special chrome-plated City Impulse Svelte_Corps Statue in honour of my corporate promotion...

All hail svelte_corps! Best intro ever! If the chrome plated svelte figure is your current avatar I will be both disturbed and want to own one

I can't wait to get this when it comes out retail in Aus along with the Pirate impulses.

Great review packed full of exceptional humour.

Cheers

[Brickthing]

This set always struck me as strange. I was constantly wondering why a hot-dog vendor was selling chicken legs. Constantly being the 10 seconds after first seeing this set.

Anyway, a sweet little review, packed with humour and great, detailed pics. Nice job.

On a side note, Impulse sets have dropped in NZ too, from $6.99 to $5.50. Hooray!

~Peace

You've seen it in NZ? Please tell where. I've only found the new BIONICLE small sets, the Star Wars battle packs and the awesomely priced $15 civilian battle pack.

Thanks for the review, and I'm personally planning to buy 2-4 of these guys because I sadly don't have any of my own chef hats, pigeon legs or refrigerators yet.

Also, your third picture has convinced me to bag-build the chefs that I get! I'd like to see them sell food to the public then!

[salty tbone]

Isn't it a turkey leg? Cause if so, those vendors are all over downtown near me.

[Ralph]

Nice review, the dozer pic was a nice add To bad the set is still not in the USA.

Ralph

[RetroBrick]

Wow! what a cool little set! The impulse line is getting better as the years tick on. Lego have hit the mark with this one!

Now all we need are disgruntled New Yorker's to pass him by...

Failing that this would look nice with the cafe corner...fianly some fresh BBQ produce in the land of Lego!

[Eilif]

Great job! A detailed, humorous, and eminiently readable review. This really seems to be one of the better Town/City impulse sets that LEGO has come up with in recent years. A usefull minifig that most folks probably don't have yet, and some very usefull parts and accessories. Well done LEGO.

[kaka1987]

wondering review,

great and clear pcitures.

although i m not a great fan of City, i still grab this little impulse after work

glad to hear that the price in AU drop coz i still have half year to go to finish the degree in AU.

4.99 is a very great price...my country need 6.5 au...in general..

cant wait anymore to buy more pirate ones...

But...i have to say...

it is quite common to find grill chicken legs/wings from those vendering cars in east / south east Aisa countries.

[BlueBard]

Nice review!

I think I'll take one or two if I find this set. They're the perfect complement for a City street...

[DarthPineapple]

Good review, at first glance I didn't really like it but I do now.

[Yeow]

I must agree.. the chef's face is rather creepy.

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for that great review, svelte corps!

Altough I would have prefered a hot dog stand I really like this set - it's so lovely with the stand with al its details! so I voted for Outstanding.

I can't wait to buy one, too.

Klaus-Dieter

[Motti]

Good review. This would be one of those sets you build if you're bored. It would also be fun to do inside-bag building, eh?

[Batbrick]

Thanks for the awesome review svelte-corps!

I love this little BBQ set, I really hope it comes here to me soon in Tas. I haven't had a chaf minifig before so this is great for me, I'll most likely get two so one can go in my Iceberg Lounge as the chef.

Batbrick is Back!