REVIEW: 4645 Harbour

[RubeusHagrid]

Sorry for the delay, I have been sidetracked an awful lot while writing this (to go and buy the Sun )

Following on from myReview of 4644 Marina I present to you:

4645 - Harbour

Reviewed By RubeusHagrid

(Sorry about the distraction on the photos)

Set name: Harbour

Set number: 4645

Theme: City

Subtheme: Harbour

Release date: 2011

Minifigs: 4

Pieces: 551

The Box - features the usual city landscape,with docks added to it now. On the back it shows 'Play Features', 'EasyBuilding and Instant play' and the 'HEY!' that we have now come to expect on the boxes of City sets.

The Box contents - 3 instruction booklets, a DSS (bent), 5 numbered bags, a 16x16dark bley plate, 3 16x16 dark bley driveway plates, the boat base and aconveyor belt.

It seems that yesterday's luck with having flat sticker sheets has now expired

Bag 1 -

Contents

Minifigure - not veryrare. but it does have back printing

Random Page

The Finished Truck - Therewas a theory that TLG would be introducing a new company, like Octan. I canconfirm that the letters in front of TRANSPORT on the roof are HA, thedesigners initials, like on the registration plate, so this is (unfortunately) not happening.

Verdict - I really like this truck, and will be using it a lot in Town layouts

Bag 2

Contents

Front page ofinstruction book

Pieces of note

I got 2 fishing rods, there is only meant to be (and only enough string for) one.

Minifigures - Both common, the crane operators face is quite new though, only been in 3221 and Maersk Train before. Neither of them have back printing.

The join between the baseplates - There is a gap, which really bugs me.

The Fishing Rod

Random Page

Finished (up to bag 3) model

Bag 3 - Sorry for the quality of the photos from here on. My camera packed up so I had to borrow one, (one of those compact ones...)

Contents

Pieces of note

Random Page

Spare Parts - I'm sure I must have left out that 1x4 light bley tile from somewhere, but I can't work out where, and I did get a spare fishing rod after all...

Finished Harbour

Back Page of instruction book

Bag 4

Contents

Front page of instruction book

Minifigure

I'll put the photo on in a bit, I forgot to take it! I must have been tired...

Random Page

Finished (Up to Bag 5)

I chose not to apply the 'Farm Line' stickers because A - it's a stupid name and B - I don't even have a Farm, so I will use it for carrying construction material probably.

Bag 5

Contents

Random Page

Finished!

Parts List

The leftover Farm Line Stickers

The whole set together

Again, I apologise about the quality of the later images. Please feel free to ask for any more pictures, which I will take when my camera is charged (in about 2 hours from now)

RATING

Design: 4/5 (The road should be raised, not on the same level as the water)

Pieces: 5/5 (Plenty of new/rare pieces)

Playability: 5/5 (It can't get much better for the 8 year old)

Price: 4/5 (I got it for 20% off at TRU, I think at most is should retail for £59.99)

Overall: 4/5

A nice set, not as big as 7994, but nicer for it. You can feel the Classic Town feeling oozing from the yellow and blue colour scheme. I would definitely recommend you pick it up, or you will later regret it and pay premiums for a used copy, (like I did with 7994, just before this was announced

)

I hope this review was helpful to you, This is only my second review, but I am already enjoying reviewing, so I will be doing it more often.

Matthew

Edited May 17, 2011 by Zorbas
Indexed

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Great review 'RH'. I can't wait to get this set but, I have no idea where to put it. Like you said, the road should be above sea level, as all the other harbor sets have been This one will be tricky but, I think I'll manage. Thanks for reviewing it!

[lightningtiger]

Thanks 'RH' for this review, yep straight on the buy list, but I didn't realise the conveyor belt is a complete assembly....dam I was looking forward to brick-building it like the 2005 construction site one !

Truck is very nice and the crane arrangement is a tilt-of-hat-to classic town era designs...sweet !

But the DSS....oh, well I'm getting good at applying stickers !

Brick On Everyone !

[RubeusHagrid]

Thanks 'RH' for this review, yep straight on the buy list, but I didn't realise the conveyor belt is a complete assembly....dam I was looking forward to brick-building it like the 2005 construction site one !

Truck is very nice and the crane arrangement is a tilt-of-hat-to classic town era designs...sweet !

But the DSS....oh, well I'm getting good at applying stickers !

Brick On Everyone !

It's all very well applying stickers on one brick, but I really hate it where, like on the crane you have to try and get it in the middle...

I don't suppose anyone has any idea why the conveyor belt tips backwards so it's just past vertical?

It baffled me.

Edited May 17, 2011 by RubeusHagrid

[lightningtiger]

It's all very well applying stickers on one brick, but I really hate it where, like on the crane you have to try and get it in the middle...

I don't suppose anyone has any idea why the conveyor belt tips backwards so it's just past vertical?

It baffled me.

I have no problem stickering now after three years of practice !

And you mean the front of the belt tips up, design flaw or is it meant move into that position when not in use ?

[RubeusHagrid]

I have no problem stickering now after three years of practice !

And you mean the front of the belt tips up, design flaw or is it meant move into that position when not in use ?

I'll get a picture. Bear with me

[roamingstop]

I'll get a picture. Bear with me

Is it going to be used in reverse in other models? (like 3677 Cargo Train?)

Edited May 17, 2011 by roamingstudio

[Fuzzylegobricks]

Great review! I will get this.

[RubeusHagrid]

Sorry, I should have mentioned earlier, my space bar isn't working properly at the moment, that's why loads of words are joined together.

[paanjang16]

When I first heard about this set I was excited that I will have another harbor to add to my collection. I already have the 6542 Launch and Load seaport, so it is inevitable that I will start making comparisons with the old set.

After looking at this review, my disappointment with this set is pretty much confirmed. Some comments:

1) The dock does not look like a dock at all. At least the 2007 harbor have a raised dock. Of course I do not expect it to use the old railway raised platforms like 6542 but the least they could do is to raise the platform in 1 way or another.

2) The ship is not brick built. Again the priority is to have it float like the old one. Not a big problem but the boats looks bare compared to even the 2007 version. Even the fire and coast guard boat is better

3) Under populated; If you noticed, the captain runs the ship all on his own. The captain does not even have a first mate to help him with running of the ship. Then the poor harbor operator have to control the crane, control the loading conveyor and the house-keeping of the dock. It would help if there is more minifigures.

Below is the dock for the 6542 for comparison. Truly a few steps backwards from the old harbor set!

Of course there are some good points:-

1) Instead of the usual container terminal, we have a grain transport terminal with a bulk cargo ship.

2) Dockside facilities to cater for grain and bulk cargo3

3) The truck is a nice design

But to me this new set pales in comparison to the old harbor sets.

[RubeusHagrid]

I'll get a picture. Bear with me

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

I used the crane clamped on one of the 2x2 round bricks that you turn to move the conveyor to demonstrate how it moves backwards so my hand wasn't in the way.

The video should be deeplinked

Edited May 17, 2011 by RubeusHagrid

[vader11]

It would be nice if someone can put this ship next to the 2007 ship for a comparison.

[RubeusHagrid]

It would be nice if someone can put this ship next to the 2007 ship for a comparison.

Here you go

I hope you liked the speedy service, that's faster than most cafes

Edited May 17, 2011 by RubeusHagrid

[Nightshroud99]

Nice review and I want this set, but after seeing the size comparison to the 2007 one I REALLY wish I had gotten the previous one

The boat is Small!!

[Pugsly]

Something just doesn't seem right in this picture......... the dock extending out is unlevel (or an optical illusion) needs something under the black 2x's to level it out.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Pugsly

[Aeturnus]

It looks like Lego is going through another round of juniorisation.I think

the port really needs the raised wharf platforms like the older ports.

Still a nice set but a bit simple looking.The belt conveyer is cool though.

The truck is really nice and would make a great standalone town set.

[Marckeyh]

Thanks for the nice review.

The building reminds me much of this set:

[Aanchir]

Ironically, the 2007 harbor is preferred over this one by a lot of people, despite this one adhering more to a number of AFOL preferences (for instance, baseplates and smaller boats). I suppose this merely reinforces what I always try to emphasize-- small vehicles and baseplates are preferable to the alternatives sometimes, but not all the time. It also demonstrates another point I often try to make, which is that big does not equal <insert that tiresome argument>. Sure, the older set's road pieces, crane pieces, and boat were far larger than this set's, but overall they take the place of tedious and less-attractive constructions made from smaller pieces. In this set, on the other hand, the juniorization is not related to the size of the pieces at all, but rather to the building techniques. The structures are flat and boring, the cab of the crane is simple, and the specialized conveyor belt piece takes the place of what could have been a more advanced structure.

I have to say I'm part of the crowd that's disappointed by this set. For starters, the conveyor belt being just one piece doesn't strike me as something that's necessary. Sure, attaching a tread piece to wheels can be hard sometimes, especially for kids, but since I imagine TLG is going to be doing that in the City theme for construction sets anyway, I don't see how it would have been too advanced for this set. The fact that the dock is unlevel as observed in a previous post is also a problem, although that can easily be fixed by anyone with a good supply of blue baseplates. Unfortunately, aside from baseplates there is no obvious solution that doesn't require the small pier to be supported by a SNOT-based structure.

On the other hand, there are many ways in which this set is totally all right. It's as colorful as one would expect of a City set, while still organizing the colors logically. Functionally, it's amazing: there are lots of built-in play features and enough minifigures and settings for plenty of free role-play. I love the crane's simple but effective design and the truck's intricate and advanced design. The boat is even cooler than the old one, with its covered cargo hold and attractively-built bridge.

Overall, I would probably be giving this set a pass whether or not I liked the design-- as I emphasize often, I am not a City collector, and mainly follow the emergence of City sets because they set the standard for all other themes (as well as the way I visualize the world around me and its possibilities for LEGO building). If LEGO City represents the modern, real-life world in which we live, then other themes should be variations on those designs, even if they end up being far more intricate and complex. In many ways this set strikes me as the weakest set of this year's harbor sub-theme, but it's a necessary component of that sub-theme and I certainly wouldn't have liked if LEGO just repeated the 2007 version without trying to innovate new ideas.

[Enpaz]

I kind of like these bigger sets of the new harbour theme but the pricing is upright ridiculous. 294 parts equal 50 (!) euros, 550 are coming down to 80 (!!!) euros. And that with CITY sets! City's not becoming Star Wars, is it?

[ZO6]

I really want to like this set, but it just fails to impress on so many different levels.

I guess for people who have the 2007 City Harbour, this new one would be a nice change of pace. However for people who don't have much of a harbour up and running yet this is pretty disappointing. I want to like the green farm boat, but that hull has been used on so many sets that it just doesn't stand out. The dock and pier really need to be raised more, it's ridiculous to have the road at the same level as the water. While the 2007 version featured lots of primary colours, it didn't seem forced. This new one just screams "LOOK AT HOW MANY DIFFERENT COLOURS I AM!", and the set is borderline an eyesore. Perhaps this could be remedied if there was more road and dock so that the blue structure and yellow crane didn't seem so overwhelming. What bothers me most is that it seems like TLC shrunk the 2007 version by 2 sizes but then slapped the same price sticker on it (I can usually look past price tags, but this time I'm too rattled)

I am satisfied with the amount of playability offered by the set though. And despite my seemingly complete lack of enthusiasm for this set, I would still like to pick it up at some point when it is discounted to a price I see fitting.

[L@go]

*snip*

After looking at this review, my disappointment with this set is pretty much confirmed. Some comments:

1) The dock does not look like a dock at all. At least the 2007 harbor have a raised dock. Of course I do not expect it to use the old railway raised platforms like 6542 but the least they could do is to raise the platform in 1 way or another.

2) The ship is not brick built. Again the priority is to have it float like the old one. Not a big problem but the boats looks bare compared to even the 2007 version. Even the fire and coast guard boat is better

3) Under populated; If you noticed, the captain runs the ship all on his own. The captain does not even have a first mate to help him with running of the ship. Then the poor harbor operator have to control the crane, control the loading conveyor and the house-keeping of the dock. It would help if there is more minifigures.

*snip*

But to me this new set pales in comparison to the old harbor sets.

I completely agree. Of the new Harbour sets this is the one I like the most, but again I feel it's a missed opportunity. I would also have liked a) a raised dock and b) a brick-built ship.

Apart from that, I'm wondering why the cargo bays on the ship can only be accessed by detaching the plate above them. What happened to the old-fashioned solution with hinged access? And one final thing, which is just plain stupid: The sides of the ship's deckhouse (or whatever it's called) are all open. What's the deal with that? How's that supposed to work at sea?

Sorry, Lego. I'll skip this one. But you're still churning out enough interesting sets for me to spend my money on :)

[medib]

Actually when I seen this set, it reminded me more of this set for the 80's:

At least the blue crane system... it would have been nice if Lego would have included a terminal with it as well....

Comparing ships.... looks like we got a raw deal in 2011.

[Duq]

It's a nice set. A brick built boat would be nice but also expensive - remember the target audience! I think it's good to have a different size hull. The previous ship was the large freight ship, this year we're getting a little coaster. The only thing I don't get are those bulges on the sides...

It's nice to see a new version of this childhood favourite:

The truck looks good too. I'm with the other reviewers on the raised quayside though, that's a real bummer.

[The Yellow Brick]

Thanks for another great review , I must say I prefer this version to the 2007 set. It's probably because of the size and it is able to fit into city's a lot better as it's on a baseplate. I never brought the 2007 version but I have seen it on display at shops and I'm not too keep on the size of the ship.

But anyway great review and nice pictures.

[Piranha]

Thanks for another review!

I actually like this set, sure it has some negatives but it looks good to me. I am happy that we get a new harbor as the last one is quite pricey now. The smaller boat is dwarfed by the cargo ship from 07 (which I don't really mind since it is a grain/other materials ship) The dock could have been raised to above the water line though?? The little truck is really nice. Again this set matches the upcoming Cargo Train very nicely. However I am saving this for TRU BOGO Day.

is it 20% off at TRU USA right now?