LEGO Service Station [Review]

LEGO city is full of cars, so it only makes sense that there should be a place to fuel up as well. This is the first service station that has been released since I returned to LEGO as an adult fan. Naturally, I had to pick it up to add some more authenticity to my city. Normally I try to get my LEGO on sale, but I picked this one up at full price for two reasons. First, I was really excited about this set and have been waiting to get my hands on it since it was first announced. Second, I wanted to take advantage of a LEGO Store freebie. So, did this set live up to my expectations? Let’s have a look…

Set Summary

Name: City – Service Station
Set #: 60132
Cost: $109.99 CAD
Brick Count: 515
Minifigure Count: 4
Other Figs: None
Of Interest: Comes with a bicycle & two possible builds
Manuals: 2 (326 pages total)
Release Date: May 22, 2016

Summary Review: 68%

Value: 60% ($0.21 per brick is pretty expensive)
Build: 86% (very nice build, but has an open back and lacks detailing in places)
Minifigs: 77% (good value, nice but generic Minifigs)
Enjoyment: 50% (really high price for build time, I will also modify it for my city)

Review

Value: 60%
At $109.99 with 515 bricks, this set rolls in at $0.21 CAD per piece. This is a hefty price tag, landing $0.10 above the average cost per brick according to the Summer 2016 LEGO catalogue. This set earns 3/5 for value. You should probably wait for this set to go on sale if you plan to pick one up.

Build: 86%
Starting with the main building, let’s get the bad out of the way first. As with most City sets, this one is open in back to allow access to the interior. I am not a fan of that design. It limits where I can place a set in my LEGO city. I also would have liked if the raised platform extended all the way under the awning, on both sides of the pump. Also of concern is the eating area inside. The window has a sticker advertising “City Pizza”, and there is a table and chairs inside, with a pizza on the table. But, there is nowhere to order the pizza or cook it. That would have been a nice detail.

Otherwise, I love the gas pump, and the fact that there is a charging station as well for electric cars. The exterior design of building is sharp, and the awning looks really nice. There is a great little sign outside advertising that newspapers and LEGO are sold inside. You can actually find a LEGO box on the shelf behind the cash, but no newspapers.

Inside, the cash area is okay, but not spectacular. Given the three major flaws I listed at the start, I would give the building itself 7/10. However, the road side sign for the gas station will bump that up to an 8/10. The sign is actually a separate mini-build, but I feel it is too small for me to review on its own. I really like it though. It is a nice, authentic touch.

The first vehicle is a burgundy family car. It has a similar design to those that came with City Square (click here to read my review). There is enough room for two Minifigs inside. It is not a terribly exciting car, but I suppose not everyone drives a fancy car (myself included). I like the sleek design, the fact that two Minifigures fit inside, and that it has towing hitches on the front and back. This car is also electric, having a place on the hood to attach the charging cable at the service station. I don’t like that it is monochromatic with nothing to spice it up a little, and it has no car doors. I give this car 7/10.

Next up is the tow truck. The one that came with City Square was nicer. I have not decided if I will keep this one or not for that reason. This one is cute though. I am pleased with the exterior design, and it has doors unlike the family car. I really don’t have any issues with it, I just like the one from City Square more, and for that reason it gets 9.5/10.

The last vehicle is the sidewalk sweeper. I love this build. The sweeper swivels on a ball joint, so it has nice mobility and can handle the step up from the street to the sidewalk. Also, if the sweeper is in contact with the ground, it will rotate as you push the vehicle forward.There is a shovel and broom attached to side. The back compartment opens up to reveal a waste bin, so the worker can collect the trash from the sidewalk bins as he goes. This build gets 10/10.

The overall build score for this set averages out to 86%. Again, my biggest issues are the open-back concept and the unfinished fueling platform. The rest of the set is very nice, just lacking some finishing details in places.

Minifigures: 77%
You get four Minifigures in this set, and I am thrilled that none of them are ape-children. With a total of 515 pieces, you are getting one Minifig for every 129 bricks. That is pretty good in my opinion, so I give this set 90% for Minifigure value.

None of the Minifigures come with double sided faces, or printing on their legs. They all have front and back printed torsos though. The service station employee and the tow truck driver have the same torso. They all come with faces that I have seen before in other sets except for the city worker/sidewalk cleaner. He has a face that I have gotten from the Build-A-Minifigure station at the LEGO Store, but that I have not personally seen in a set before. They all come with some form of accessory, except for the female customer. I give the service station employee 6/10, the tow truck driver 7/10, the city worker 7/10, and the female customer 5/10. They are all nice Minifigs to add to a city, but they are not particularly stand-outish.

The overall average for Minifigure design comes out to 63%. When we factor in the Minifigure value score, the total grade for the Minifigs in this set is 77%.

Entertainment: 50%
This set took me two hours and forty minutes to build (160 minutes). This means that each minute of building cost me $0.69. That is pretty bad. We can compare this with a set of similar size, the T. rex Tracker (520 pieces), which costs $89.99, and took me about the same amount of time to build. It had an entertainment value of $0.59 at full price. This set was $20 more expensive overall, and actually has five less pieces. I give it 20% for entertainment value.

Do I like this set? Yes, I do. Will I keep it unchanged in my LEGO city? Mostly. I like the overall design, but, as I mentioned before, I don’t like the open back concept. I will modify this set to have a removable roof and complete rear wall. So, in terms of enjoyment, it gets 80% from me. When we combine this score with the entertainment value, it gets 50% for overall entertainment.

Overall: 68%

I really do like this set, but it is too expensive for what you actually get. You are paying $0.21 per brick. If you divide the total cost by the amount of time it takes to build, you are paying $0.69 per minute of fun. These numbers are high when comparing this with other sets. The build is nice, the main drawbacks for me being the open rear wall, the incomplete fueling area, and a questionable pizza parlour. The Minifigures are nothing special, but are nice, normal additions to a LEGO city. Do I recommend this set? Not at full price. Wait for at least a 20% off sale.