I got this boat for my kids to build and play with, the older child (6) has been enjoying Lego star wars kits while the younger (3) has been looking longingly at brothers growing collection. She wanted some Lego's too. Many of the movie themed sets are both expensive and complicated so I decided to get her (well them) the fireboat since it could double as a bath toy.
Overview
This was my first "Lego city" kit and I was drawing from memories of a late 70's fire boat kit (which I still have the hull). Things have changed a lot sense then.
From a build perspective this kit is a lot less complicated than the Star Wars kits (its rated for age 5-12 rather than 8+). It was beyond the ability of the 3 year old, she could follow and complete about 1/3 of it with direction. The 6 year old had no problem at all. Building it was an excellent family activity.
The directions are pretty standard, they go from back to front, layer after layer. Layout and build is fairly straightforward. It's easy to understand what and where the parts you are building are for.
The packing was also well organized. The project was divided into three sections, each with their own labeled bag. The first section was the hull, the second the control room, the third the water cannons. No one section had too many pieces. Building it was manageable in several sessions over a couple of days. Actual build time was a few hours but there was a bit of fighting over who got to do what part.
Unlike the Star wars ships this boat had a much higher percentage of standard bricks and plates rather than super special parts that you have little hope of replacing if they get lost.
It was a lot of fun and the finished product was a very functional toy. A number of the "appendages" like the crane and smaller water cannons probably need to be stripped of (because they will come off in play). But even without those it's a very neat boat.
Features
This boat is loaded with features. What interested me the most was the hull. It's made of two pieces, the hull and the deck. The boat DOES float but it will take on water. The instructions indicate your able to remove the deck to dump the water but I found that it all comes out of the gap between the hull and the deck up front.
I compared it to my 70's era fireboat hull, big difference. That hull came in 4 pieces (which was nice because you could break it down for storage). This hull is a lot longer and much wider. Another feature is that it has an outer flanges that look similar to Torpedo blisters. These are stabilizers. They expand the width of the boat and when in water trap pockets of air on each side to give it side to side stability. My old boat came with weights that you had to attach to the bottom or it would flip over because it was top heavy. The beauty of these is you don't have to change anything for in and out of water play. The deck has a recessed section in the middle to allow for more 3 dimensional building than a flat deck would.
There is the buildup on the hull, major play items include the boat deck (which you can attach the included zodiac mini-boat to. The galley which has some sensor blocks and flip up sleeping compartment. The forward deck has a water cannon on it.
The control room is built as a separate assembly and attached to the ship over the galley. It is configured in such a way that it is easy to pull on and off to access the Galley. It has a steering wheel and cool inverted windows.
On the back is a water canon on a crane. It rotates 360 and goes up and down. There are also half a dozen other water cannons scattered across the ship on small mounts.
It comes with 4 mini figures, a small zodiac boat and a cute buoy (doesn't float upright).
Everything can fit in or on the boat for storage.
Playability
This boat has excellent playability. As I mentioned some of the protruding accessories will probably quickly be lost. But aside from that it's pretty solid. The control room can be removed and is well enough built to handle a bit of abuse. When the kids tire of fire adventures the hull has a lot of possibility for being reconfigured to a variety of tasks. The basic design of the structures on it are pretty good and would work for a variety of boat uses (Police boat, fishing boat, cargo boat, Patrol Boat). Just reconfigure the front and back areas.
It got its baptism pretty early on after completion and it worked great in the tub and didn't retain too much water after being drained. Works well as a bath toy. You do have to remove the back crane assembly or it is a little bit top heavy and tends to roll in the water.
So In Summary
Pro's
Good Hull
Lots of playability
Well organized packing
Con's
Some pieces easily come off.
Conclusion
An excellent boat and toy if your kids like Legos. You'll have fun building it with them and they'll have fun playing with it for years to come.
Get more detail about LEGO City Fire Ship (7207).
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