Final Thoughts
As this was my first set since emerging from my dark ages, naturally I had a blast building this set. What distinguishes modular sets from regular Lego City sets to me are that they feature unusual brick techniques, full building design (unlike Lego sets which are usually facades with nothing at the back usually), bigger enclosed space compared to other building sets. Also their piece count are quite high due to their details and make the build longer that most sets similar to UCS. Finally they can be connected to each other to create a street of them.
Lego always regularly features City Police and City Fire sets in their yearly line up so I am somewhat not surprised to see a Fire Brigade in their modular series. Now I am waiting for when they will release a police station and look forward to it. For me, as a kid I did want to be come a fireman and this set really encompasses in my mind what a traditional colonial looking fire station ought to look like and combine many elements found in the Singapore Central Fire Station
Shall end of the review with a few more pictures of the set fully assembled.
Added some Collectable Miniatures to liven up the front street
Back: Roof Level
The build - Roof Level
Last but not least we have the rooftop which features unique builds as well like the roof access door, water tank, bell tower and the 1932 signage. The bell is cleverly built from a plate and some flat tiles. It has a bat hidden in it. The 1932 signage is done using bricks as well and is really done in a very clever way. Uses a lot of plates and tiles to achieve the effect. Not easy to do and must have required some brain power on the designer's part. The again Jamie Berard is almost like a legend in terms of using bricks in very unusual ways.
This set includes a dog which I have put a red cheese slope to make it SuperDog! Also the roof access door is built using SNOT techniques featuring a standard door but mounted horizontally.
From this back view the water tank can be seen more clearly and uses 2 tubs, a car cage among other bricks to fix together. It is completed off with round bricks acting as a pipe down into the roof floor.
Next would be my final thoughts on the overall build and the set itself.
Next: Final Thoughts
Back: 2nd Level
The build - Second Level
The second level is the living quarters of the firemen. It features some very nice appliances and furniture that are brick built and look fantastic. The pictures further down will illustrate them.
First up is the fireman's pole. It is nice to see there is a barrier at one side to prevent any fireman from accidentally falling into the gap and a nice warning strip as a safety feature.
Nice couch can be found nearby for any fireman to rest on.
A mini kitchen that surely will come useful to any fireman who is working the red eye shift to fix meals up at a moment's notice (and then sleep on the couch above after a good meal).
A refrigerator is just next to the kitchen and stores drinks and food inside it. It is entirely brick built using standard Lego bricks.
Finally for recreational purposes there is a ping pong table for people to entertain themselves. Next to is a cupboard which is built using 2 square crates as the lower cabinets.
The facade on the 2nd level design is fantastic. It feature dark red and light bluish grey tiles to create the brick wall effect. One nice touch the designer did was to use an inverted engine front (see fire truck) as part of the window design. The attachment technique is quite well done as well.
Overall the 2nd level offers quite a good build experience with the appliances and furniture being brick built which are not normal found in the Lego City sets. Or at least not to this extent.
Next: Roof Level
Back: 1st Level
The build - first level
In
front of the garage door pavement is the number "3" on it which
represents the 3rd build done by the designer Jamie Berard. It is
partially covered by the fire truck. Another unique feature are the windows above the garage. It is not built with 3 narrow windows but instead is built SNOT by the use of a large frame mounted on its long side lying down.
Taking
a look at the back of the first level. There is back door big enough
for the fire truck to reverse out from. There is a back door at the left
side and very nice tall windows at the back of the first level as well.
Here is the view of the fire truck from the back door
There is a fireman's pole is a nice bright yellow and next to it are the fire extinguishers and helmets. The helmets are actually hung onto upturned Lego frogs that function as hangar hooks.
Here we can see the flag (of America perhaps?) is brick built and is quite sturdy in design.
But the highlight of the frontage of the fire brigade must surely be the brick built fire brigade's logo on either side of the building. It consists of a pearl gold fireman's helmet resting on a paddle with a hammer and axe flanking either side of it. Very nicely done.
Next up is the 2nd level of the fire brigade
Next: 2nd Level
Back: Prologue
Prologue
My
first Lego set after emerging from the the dark ages. From the modular
series, this is a fantastic set to get. This is 4th in the series and is
the first of the modulars that has only 2 levels and features a vehicle
in the set. Without procrastinating any further let is dive into the
build and the features that are unique or unusual before doing a
summary on how I find this set.
The build - the fire truck
The
fire truck has the old school design feel to it. On the right side of
the vehicle is a brick built ladder hanging off it. Also the front
bumper is made up of 2 rods and 2 binoculars.
On the left side we have the fire hoses.
Finally we have the rear view of the vehicle where the fire extinguishers are placed.
Overall
other than the mentioned parts of the fire truck build, the rest is
very much normal as one would expect from a Lego City vehicle. Let us
move on to the fire brigade building itself.
Next: First Level
