My LEGO city does not have a beach yet. It doesn’t even have water (with the exception of the little waterway in Ninjago City). But, when I got and built The Old Fishing Store (click here for my review), I decided that I had to get a boat. The reason for this is that there is a sign on The Old Fishing Store that advertises boat rentals. I didn’t want my Minifigures to be accused of false advertising. I found the Fishing Boat on liquidation at Walmart, it was 30% off. It is actually a retired product already, hence why it was on liquidation. But, 30% off is a good deal, and I needed a boat, so here I am…
SET SUMMARY
NAME: Fishing Boat
SET #: 60147
THEME: City
COST: $24.99 CAD
BRICK COUNT: 144
MINIFIGURES: 2
OF INTEREST: 1 shark, 3 fish
RELEASE DATE: November 23, 2016
SUMMARY REVIEW: 80%
VALUE: 70% ($0.17 is expensive, but in line with the City theme.)
BUILD: 95% (Nice design, no major complaints.)
MINIFIGURES: 95% (Nice Minifigs, accessories, and brick:fig ratio.)
ENTERTAINMENT: 60% (Great set, but really crappy build-time value.)
REVIEW
VALUE: 70%
With 144 pieces and a price tag of $24.99 in Canada, this set had a cost per brick of $0.17 at full price. That is fairly expensive, a full $0.05 above the average price of a brick in the last LEGO catalog that I got in the mail. That is fairly usual for a City theme set though. Thankfully for me, Walmart liquidated these sets at 30% off, so I paid $17.49 for this set. That means that each brick cost me $0.12, which is right on the current average. At full price, I would rate this set at 3.5/5 (70%) for value. You might still be able to find it on liquidation as I write this, in which case I give it 4.5/5 (90%).
BUILD: 95%
I have not purchased a LEGO boat in any way, shape, or form since the Cross Bone Clipper in 1997. So, I was a little surprised to find the hull of this boat came all in one piece, which feels a little un-LEGO to me. Thinking that might mean that the boat floats, I placed it in the water. It did not float, which makes me question the hull design. Overall, I quite like the look of this boat though. It ended up being narrower than I thought it would be from the picture on the box. But, other than that, there isn’t anything that I found off about it. Despite being stickers, the side design on the boat is fun. There is another sticker on the dashboard serving as the sonar fish detecting equipment on board the boat. The double motors on the back can also be raised and lowered into the water, and the fishing chair swivels 360 degrees. This is a fun build. I give it 9.5/10 (95%).
MINIFIGURES: 95%
There are two Minifigures in this kit. One comes with a hat, the other with hair. Neither one has a double sided face, but both have front and back print on their torsos. Both have plain legs. They get 20/30 for design, but they also come with accessories. You get three fish, a shark, two life vests, and a fishing rod. Those bring the score up to 27/30 (90%). They are pretty generic City theme folks though.
With 144 pieces, the brick-to-Minifigure ratio in this set is 71:1. That is excellent, and earns a full 5/5 (100%) for its ratio score. Averaging the ratio and design scores gives LEGO’s Fishing Boat an overall Minifigure rating of 95%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 60%
The LEGO Fishing Boat took me 25 minutes to build. At $24.99, that would mean that each minute of build time costs $1.00. That is a horrible build-time value, and earns 1/5 (20%). Thankfully, I did not buy this at full price. At 30% off ($17.50), each minute of build time cost me $0.70. That would earn a score of 4/5 (80%) on my rating scale.
In terms of my enjoyment of this set, I will be keeping it built, and in my LEGO city (once I finally put together a beach). So, I give it 5/5 for enjoyment. Averaging this with the build time score at full price means the Fishing Boat earns 60%. But again, at 30% off, I would give it 90%.
OVERALL: 80%
At full price, LEGO’s Fishing Boat is a worthwhile purchase. It is expensive in terms of each brick and in terms of the amount of build time that you get. But, you get some nice Minifigures and accessories. The boat itself is also nicely designed, and makes a nice addition to any beach scene (especially if you need a boat for the Old Fishing Store to rent out). Sadly, this set has been retired already by the time I am publishing this, but I am sure there are still retailers out there with leftovers on their shelves. Who knows, maybe you will score one on liquidation too. In that case, you are getting a great buy, and a set that I would rate at 93%. Even if you get the Fishing Boat at full price, it is a solid purchase that I would rate at 80%.
Do you have LEGO’s Fishing Boat? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
-Tom
