I bought this set a while back, but have only gotten around to building it now. I bought it for parts to use in my custom project for the summer. I plan to build a modular police station for my LEGO city. While I still plan to re-purpose the pieces, I actually quite like this set. Let’s have a closer look at why.
Set Summary
Name: Mobile Command Center
Set #: 60139
Theme: City
Cost: $59.99 CAD
Brick Count: 374
Minifigures: 4
Of Interest: A dog and a motorcycle
Release Date: January 2, 2017
Summary Review: 81%
VALUE: 70% (Good value for a City set, but ok value overall.)
BUILD: 90% (Nice design with fun play features.)
MINIFIGURES: 82% (Decent Minifigs with an excellent brick-to-fig score.)
ENTERTAINMENT: 80% (Not so great build-time value, but I like it.)
Review
VALUE: 70%
With a price tag of $59.99 in Canada, and 374 bricks, this set clocks in at $0.16 per piece. For a City set, that is not bad. City is generally one of the pricier themes when looking at the cost of each brick. The sets advertised in the Summer 2017 catalog have an average cost of $0.19 per brick. However, while this set is a decent value for the theme, it is still two cents above the average for all sets in the catalog. I give this set 3.5/5 for value (70%).
BUILD: 90%
This set has a lot to like. The hinged design to access the interior of the trailer is pretty neat. The trailer itself is divided into three sections. The first is the jail cell. It has barred doors on either side. Both doors are very loosely attached as part of a play feature. They are meant to be pulled off easily to simulate a jailbreak. There is not much to the interior of the cell, just a sort of bench in the middle. It is only a temporary holding facility for criminals though, so no big deal there.
The second compartment is the actual command center. There is a computer terminal and side table with a coffee mug. I like the design of the terminal, but I would have liked a third screen to make it a little more symmetrical. It also has evidence boards, which was one of the reasons why I wanted this set. They are stickers, but they will be useful in my custom police station.
The third section of the trailer is a storage room for the motorbike that comes with the set. There is not much to this compartment, just a little stand with a walkie-talkie and a wrench attached to it. Maybe a toolbox or an oil can would have been nice.
The front of the truck is nicely designed. It has steps leading up to cab, and the designers did not forget to include doors. The interior of the cab is a little bland, but the outside has a fair amount of detail. I included the extra antenna piece that came with the set as a stick shift.
The final little build is the criminal’s ATV. It comes with a chain and grapple for yanking off the jail cell doors that I mentioned earlier. Is there anything that I don’t like about the build of this set? Not really. It is a fun set. Maybe a little more detail in places, like the cab and the final compartment of the trailer would have been nice. I give it 9/10.
MINIFIGURES: 82%
There are four Minifigures included in this set. You get two police officers, one male and one female. The female officer is actually identical to the one that came in the Police Helicopter freebie offered at the LEGO Store in March (click here for a look). She even wears the same helmet. This officer is sporting some reflective shades, but does not have a double-sided face. She has front and back print on her torso, but no printing on her legs. The motorbike is her accessory, and it comes with two smaller accessories attached. I give her 7/10.
The male officer also does not have a double-sided face. He wears a police hat, and has the same shirt as the officer from the Money Transporter set (click here to read my review). Again, no printing on the legs. I suppose the dog is his accessory. I give him 6/10. Don’t get me wrong, these are both fine police Minifigures that will help fill my police station. They just are not as completely detailed as some other Minifigures I have seen.
The other two Minifigures are crooks. The first is a female criminal. She has a neat striped shirt that I have not seen before. It looks like a striped version of the female store clerk torso. Her legs are just plain black. Her face has a domino mask, and is not double-sided. She has the same flip hairstyle as the mother from Fun in the Park. She doesn’t really have any accessories, and earns 5/10.
The male criminal has an interesting top. It looks like one of the orange tops seen on the public servants and construction workers in the City theme, only it has a striped criminal’s shirt underneath. Perhaps he was on a prisoner’s road crew. Whatever his story, I like this look. He wears un-printed grey pants. As an accessory, he comes with a backpack stuffed with some $100 bills. His face is not double-sided, but sports a moustache. In lieu of hair he wears a beanie. He earns 7/10.
Four Minifigures in a set containing 374 bricks translates into a brick-to-Minifigure ratio of about 94:1. That is a really good ratio that earns this set a full 5/5. The combined design score of these Minifigures is 63%. Coupled with the awesome brick-to-Minfig ration score, this set earns a total Minifigure score of 82%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 80%
This set took me 75 minutes to build. With a price tag of $59.99, that means that each minute I spent building this set cost me $0.80. That is not the best, but not the worst value I have ever seen. It earns this set a build-time score of 3/5.
Will I keep this set as is? No, but keeping it was never my intent. I bought it specifically for parts that would be useful in my custom police station. I do really like it though. Perhaps if my city was bigger, I would keep it. I am happy with the look of this set, so I will still give it 5/5. Combining this score with the build-time score gives this set an overall entertainment rating of 80%.
Overall: 81%
This set does not have a phenomenal per brick or build time value. Neither one is terrible, just not very good either. Where this set gains a lot of points in my opinion is in design and its brick-to-Minifigure ratio. This is a fun set that I would probably keep built as is if I had more space and did not already have need of the individual pieces. I do recommend this set, but if you are on the fence, waiting for a 20% off sale will actually bring the per brick cost down to $0.13, bringing the value score up to 80%. It also brings the build time score up to 90%. Those grades would bring the overall score up to 87%.
Do you have this set? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
-Tom