REVIEW: 60014 - Coast Guard Patrol

[Zeahl]

REVIEW: 60014 - Coast Guard Patrol

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.

This is, for now, the last set in this review series, as I haven't managed to obtain the last set, the plane, yet. I will add that set as soon as I have it though, but for now, here is my review of the largest set in the 2013 coast guard series. Let's see if it's up to the standards set by the rest of the sets so far, shall we?

60014 - Coast Guard Patrol

Set Nr: 60014

Theme: City

Year released: 2013

Nr of parts: 449

Minifigs: 6

Price: US$79.99 / €69.99 / £59.99

Call the Coast Guard Patrol boat to make the rescue with a helicopter and submarine, a dinghy, lighthouse, 6 minifigures and 3 sharks!

The Box

The front of the box features a nice scene which does a great job in showing all of the separate models that this set contains. A Speedboat is seen marooned on the cliffs next to a lighthouse, and while the sharks are circling, looking for food, the large coast guard ship comes in for the rescue, with a helicopter moving in on the victims of yet another boating trip gone wrong.

In the top right corner is a small inset telling us that the boats really (REALLY!) float. Though I would not try so after applying the stickers, since i can't imagine water being good for the adhesives.

On the back of the box we see the modular nature of this wet, as well as the play features, which for the most part are presented in comic-strip like fashion, which does a good job of setting up the premise of this set.

On the side is a nice scene with all minifigs standing in line on the beach, while the sharks are moving in. the communications guy standing on the right hand side seems to be preoccupied with the strange floating 1:! scale pilot frame floating in mid-air.

The instructions

The first of three booklets shows the helicopter, mini submarine and three sharks on the front, doing a good job of telling us the models for which the instructions are lurking within.

Inside we find the building instructions on a background which is supposed to represent water. The background is in no way distracting from the building process. The color differentiation is good, and each step comes with a clear parts callout. There are no adds in the first booklet, and the back is just the last page of the instructions.

On the front of the second booklet we can see the small boat, stranded on the rocks near a lighthouse. While the people in the boat are holding their life jackets in their hands, like a pair of idiots who have no idea that you have to wear them to get the maximum effect of life saving they can provide.

In the back of the second booklet we find the same coast guard add as in all the other sets, and the obligatory parts list.

And on the back they shock us with the screaming survey kid, which they usually save for the last booklet, but I suspect has been moved to the second one for shock value.

On the third booklet we see the coast guard boat. The biggest model of the set, and the reason most of us will buy it. (or at least, the reason I bought it, reasons may vary from person to person, obviously.)

In the back of the booklet we find an add for the Wii U LEGO City Undercover game (which I can highly recommend playing)

And on the backside is the add for the fire brigade sets.

The parts

When opening the box the first thing that comes out, along with the instruction booklets, are the stickers. Apart from being slightly curved, the stickers are in good condition. There aren't too many of them, and non of them will be placed across multiple LEGO pieces.

The second part to come out is this impressive looking hull piece. The grey and white parts can be separated to get out any water that might get into the hull while using it in real water.

The last two parts which are in the box unprotected are a 8x16 plate and the green boat.

After that, when we turn the box upside down, four bags of LEGO goodness will come falling out, though the amount of parts feels a bit underwhelming for a set in this price range, it's a good thing to remember the large boat hulls help in driving up the price quite a bit. Shall we see what's in the bags?

The contents of the first bag Do a good job of setting up the color scheme which runs through the coast guard sets, with a nice collection of white and orange parts, with a bit of blue thrown in there for detailing. Of course the usual blacks and grays can't be left out.

Also included in the first bag are the parts for the sharks, 1 minifig, and an orange brick seperator, which is still a nice piece to have, but I'm starting to have trouble trying to store the large amount of those things that are building up in my house now that almost every decently sizes LEGO set comes with one of those things.

In the second bag we find mostly white and grey parts, with a few red and transparent yellow parts mixed in. Also the parts for the boating tourist minifigs, and their dog.

In the smaller sub-bag we find in bag 2, we find more grey and white pieces, along with a crab, an ice cream, and life jackets.

In bag three we are back to the familiar coast guard color scheme, as this is the start of the large ship. Also we find the body parts of thee mini figs.

In the fourth and last bag, we build the bridge for the large ship, and as such the color scheme doesn't change much. There are some large window pieces here, as well as the only two printed bricks in the set, which are a control panel and a radar screen.

The minifigs

The first minifig you get is the helicopter pilot, which has some nice torso printing and a very pilot-y pair of sunglasses on his one sided head.

Then we have the male boating accident victim. He is wearing a very detailed water sports themed shirt, and a hat. His head, while nicely printed, is unfortunately only one sided, so there will be no looks of fear while the sharks are closing in.

And here we have his counterpart, the female victim. She wears a nice summer-y looking top, though I don't quite like the color combination with the pants, which look to be too dark of color. She has shoulder length brown hair, and a happy looking face, again with no back print, so it looks like she will very much love the idea of sharks circling her boat, while waiting for her to fall into the water so they can eat her. Maybe they are just a very adventurous couple.

Here we have the captain of the coast guard ship, as most captains recognizable by his very manly beard. The torso, while printed, is the same as the other coast guard figs, with no special way of differentiating his status as captain.

The first crewman has the same outfit as the captain, though in this case it's covered up by a life jacket. His face is a very common looking smile.

The second and last crewman looks to be some sort of communications expert, with the walkie talkie and headset. He has some gruff looking 2-weeks-on-the-sea stubble and a mysterious looking half-smile. Of course his torse is same as the other crew member and the captain.

Aside from the humans we also get a mice looking brown dog with black markings on the head, as well as an orange crab...

...As well as not one, not two, but three (Yes! THREE!) sharks. Which, despite of not being of the new mold with gills yet, still look great and menacing circling the boats waiting for human sized snacks to fall into the water.

The build

The first thing to build is a small remote controlled submarine. Despite it's small size there is quite a bit of detailing going on here. I especially like what I think is supposed to be the camera dome on the front.

The only thing I dislike about this small build are the left open Technic holes in the center between the engines and the arms, which are best seen in the front shot. Maybe they are supposed to represented water balast intake holes, but they make the model look a bit.. leaky.

After the sub we start with the helicopter. First thing to build, as usual with these small helicopters, is the cockpit.

To which we will then add the flotation pontoons, which look the part quite nicely, but could have been positioned a bit lower for my taste. I don't really like the bottom cockpit to sit so close to the ground/water when set down.

A reel with a hook is attached to the back of the helicopter, which I suspect can be used to pull a stranded boat back into the water, of to a harbor for refueling.

As the final phase, the tail and the top are added. Finishing off this small but good looking helicopter. Of course it is a lot less detailed than it's bigger 60013 coast guard helicopter brother (..sister..?) but, this being only a small sub-part of a larger set, for this time I forgive it for that.

Moving on the the second bag, we start with adding a sundeck to the small boat.

Followed by a control panel with two seats, which are cleverly placed on jumper plates, so they are not too far apart, yet the minifigs can still sit on them without having their arms in the way. The 2x1 cheese slope panel is obviously (unfortunately) a sticker

Following that is a small amount of build up, along with placing the stickers along the sides of the hull.

After that the great looking outboard motor is added. I really like the bulky look of this thing. It looks quite powerful. Being places on a Technic pin also means the engine can swivel from side to side, allowing steering of the craft.

And lastly a spoiler is added to the back, containing an antenna and radar dome, as well as a fog horn. Despite the side limitations of the hull I think the model is very nicely filled, and it doesn't feel too empty or too full.

Next up is my least favorite part of the set, the "light house". I don't realy mind the looks of the rocks,or the lighthouse, but as you can see from the crab lurking in front, the scale is just wrong. I for one have never seen a light house that small. It's more a a light tower than a house. But the fact we get a place for the small boat to get stranded is a nice idea.. I guess..

Now we finally get to the main model of the set! The coast guard ship. The first thing we add to the hull are the helipad and a support structure upon which the bridge will later rest.

After that we make the rest of the supports for the bridge. As you can see by the jumper plates, there isn't much holding the bridge in place so, once it's placed it is easy to take it back off again the gain access the the space below it, whether you want to place something there, or to retrieve something that rolled under it and got stuck.

Also visible on this shot are the life preservers which are placed on the sides.

We now move to the stern of the ship, where we build a large rig for hoisting the mini submarine in and out of the water. The rig will attach to the submarine via the clip in the center.

The last part of the third bag is adding the fenders to the side of the ship and stickering the hull. I think the fenders are great detailing which I personally have not seen on LEGO ships before, which add a good amount of authenticity to the look of the ship.

We begin the fourth bag by building the base for the bridge. The screens and controls are all placed, with a steering wheel and radar screen for the control of the ship, and a backward facing control panel and control stick for, I assume, the mini sub.

From there the build up of the bridge is pretty straight forward. Two water cannons are added on the front and the windows make it look like every standard ship bridge, with good vision on the waters around the ship.

Still at the same step, but this time from the rear, there's a ladder which crew members can use to access the bridge once it's placed on the hull.

The top of the bridge is build and clipped on. It can be opened at any time to access the bridge and play around with minifigs inside.

After a few more small additions the bridge is ready. I like the design of the smoke stacks, which are simple but affective.

With the bridge placed on the hull, we finally have the finished model, which is looking very good. I love the color scheme and look of the ship. And while there are not too many play features in just the ship by itself, that is rectified by all the additional models you get in this set.

Now let's see how it all comes together.

The helicopter fits on the bow of the ship. It can be placed with the tail facing either front or back, but this is the way depicted in the instructions, and also the way I find personally more attractive looking.

The mini sub fits neatly on the stern of the ship, attached to the rig so it can't fall over board.

And when the need arrises the sub can quickly be put in the water with the outward swinging rig.

After all is build, these are the parts that are left over. While most are not that special it's nice to have a spare head set and hook.

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: A nice number of minifigs. While the coast guard are mostly wearing the same clothes, there is still some variety in clothing with the "victims" of the set. Also, besides a dog and a crab you get THREE (I can't emphasize this enough I feel) sharks!

build/design: The ship is build great, and has good docking capabilities for the good looking helicopter and mini sub. The small boat is also quite good looking. The mini lighthouse... not so much, but still a nice addition to this set.

Playability: There's a lot of playability with this set. Not only does is come with a coast guard ship, helicopter and mini sub, but also a private boat and people to be rescued, a place for them to get stranded, and (there's that number again) three sharks to rescue them from.

Overall this is a great set, both to look at and to play with. I can highly recommend it, if not for this price then certainly when it's discounted.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Zeahl

[The Ghost Racer]

Wonderful set and great review.

[ManInATopHat]

Good review!

[Ham17]

Great Review but some of the pics are in the wrong spot =(

[eurotrash]

I saw this in the Lego Store in Kansas City and was very nearly tempted. If I'd read your review beforehand then I would have got it....

Thanks for the review!

[Laura Beinbrech]

Thanks for the review! I also bought this set recently, mainly for the patrol boat (or more specifically, the hull and bridge windows) so I could convert it to a Corvette (light warship, somewhere in between the size of a Patrol Boat and a Frigate). I also really like the Coast Guard uniforms: They LOOK like proper Navy/Coast Guard working uniforms (they are almost exactly like the US Coast Guard's working uniforms, except that the USCG shirt is the same color blue as their pants), and finally give me the perfect uniforms for an additional faction's Navy.

Some observations/thoughts I've had regarding this set: While I was kind of disappointed that there is nothing distinguishing the captain, aside from his hat and epic beard, although most modern Navy and Coast Guards make no distinction between enlisted and officer's working uninforms... One thing I was thinking about doing, though is using the Sea Captain from Series 10 as the officers, and it seems that they designed him with this possibly in mind (especially since he has the Royal Navy-style stripe rank designator on his sleeves indicating he has the rank of Commander).

I also notice that LEGO seems to have discontinued the other version of the 51x12 Boat hull: In favor of this wider version that first appeared, apropriately enough, in the PREVIOUS coast guard patrol boat set in 2008. I'm willing to bet it's because, due to the wider beam, this version should be MUCH more stable in the water.

If I can pick up two additional hulls from this set on Brick Link for a good price, I'm going to see about re-doing my Kestrel and John Gotti Class frigates (which currently use the blue hull from the 2011 City police boat)....

[Galaxy Explorer]

Very nice review! I just picked this up last week- I got fifty bonus points at the LEGO Store so I couldn't say no. It seems all the larger CITY sets this year are just packed with stuff. You get two boats, a copter, a "lighthouse" six minifigures and five animals- Outstanding!!

I really like the ship. It looks sleeker and more modern than the 2008 version. I think the all-white hull looks much better than the orange one, and I like the inclusion of a small helicopter. It's perfect for a re-enactment of Jaws 2.

[lightningtiger]

Excellent review 'Zeahl', in a way this ship is far better than the last one in 2008 though that mini robot sub still makes me wonder why not just a rescue inflatable raft on the back of the ship ?

A big DSS....oh, well either you apply them and don't put it in water or not so then it can go sailing.

I'll buy it when it becomes available and of course have the cash.

[Zeahl]

Great Review but some of the pics are in the wrong spot =(

Looking back through the review, all pics are in the exact spots I meant them to be. Se, which pics look to be in the wrong spot? Please tell me so I can keep that in mind for a next review.

[Chocolatecake]

Thank you for the review.

The set is growing on me after reading your review.

[Esurient]

Great review! 3 sharks! Really looking forward to this set!

[Shushen]

The set looks great, but probably a bit to simple a build for my tastes.

As for the lighhouse its probably not intended as an oldfashioned live-in lighthouse but more of an automated one. There are loads of those at that aproximate size up and down the coast of Norway. In fact i doubt you can find an oldfashioned large lighthouse that is still manned anywhere. Those that remain are probably all sold as vacation homes.

[Only Sinner]

Right, those smaller ones are really more of a light beacon. Those smaller ones are often seen on the breakwaters and inlets to places like harbors and marinas. That's what I've seen on lake Michigan anyway.

Great review! I really like that patrol boat.

[schermvlieger]

Great review! I've been eyeing this set ever since you posted this review and it convinced me to buy it today :-)

Can't wait to put it together with my son and see him play with it in the bath!

[P3_Super_Bee]

Almost bought this today. Had a chance to pick it up for $36 USD, but took 60069 Swamp Police Station at the same price of $36. Maybe will pick it up next week if still on the shelf.