Review: 60505 Airplane, Service Truck & Hovercraft Remix
Posted by benbacardi,
LEGO City’s “Remix” concept returns for 2026, following on from last year’s 60462 Helicopter, Fire Truck & Submarine Remix. That set introduced the idea of deliberately modular vehicles, designed not just to be built once, but to be split apart, swapped around, and rebuilt into increasingly strange hybrid machines. It was a refreshing twist on the usual City formula, leaning heavily into creativity and playful imagination.
This year’s 60505 Airplane, Service Truck & Hovercraft Remix repeats that same formula—the connection system is unchanged, meaning everything remains fully compatible with last year’s models, expanding the number of possible combinations for anyone who already owns 60462. Three new models; are they different enough for interest on their own, or is their strength only in the remix concept?
Summary
60505 Airplane, Service Truck & Hovercraft Remix, 990 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 6.1p / 7.1c / 7.1c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Some good City vehicle builds, best if you embrace the silliness of the many combinations.
- Two of the three models are great even on their own
- Encourages creativity
- Fully compatible with last year’s Remix set
- Plane could be improved
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Service Truck
The first of the three models is a service truck for a power company. In colours of green and white, I initially thought it was a recycling vehicle as I started building, but the lifting platform at the rear and lightning bolt symbol on the sides quickly set me straight.
The front section is primarily a white cab, the roof of which can come off easily for access to the single seat interior. The middle section houses two stands that fold down to hold the vehicle steady while the cherry picker is in use. It's actually not a bad standalone City vehicle!
LEGO haven't changed the design of the way these vehicles' sections join together—a pair of clips and a Technic pin create a secure enough connection to hold them pretty solidly. In this case, the cab and cherry picker make for logical front and rear sections, though that does leave the middle rather narrow and without much interest.
The truck's driver is typical City minifigure fare—wearing a high visibility jacket and dark green trousers with reflection stripes running horizontally across them. Beneath the orange safety glasses is a small grin, and the white hard hat can be swapped for a mop of dark brown hair.
Coast Guard Hovercraft
Moving on from the land, this year's water-based offering is a small Coast Guard hovercraft in typical "safety orange". It's quite a short and squat model, though I think it looks pretty good. There's room in the bow for a single minifigure to sit, though no canopy is provided to protect the driver from the elements.
A pair of propellers are mounted at the rear, each topped with a light—red for port (left), green for starboard (right). On the roof of the hovercraft is a clip for a lifering, a recently new part that looks excellent in orange and white, and can also be held by a minifigure.
The hovercraft breaks apart in the same way the service truck does, and unfortunately also leaves a rather lacking middle section—unlike the truck, there's no moving parts at all in the central third.
The included member of the coast guard is a confident-looking chap, just the sort of person you'd like to see when needing to be rescued at sea! He's wearing a safety orange jacket with plenty of pockets, high visibility stripes, and the coast guard emblem on the rear. Most of that is hidden when he dons his life jacket, of course, as is his fuzzy hair beneath the white helmet.
Medical Plane
Finally, to the skies, with a medical transport plane. The eye-catching livery is a mixture of florescent yellow, medical blue, and black. Wings are mounted at the top of the fuselage, with a single prop engine on each.
The nose cone can be removed, revealing a single pilot's seat between a variety of aircraft controls. The tail also comes off to access a storage compartment with a clip holding a medical bag.
A pair of wheels sit either side of the rear fuselage, and a single central wheel beneath the nose. The overall shape of the plane is a little odd, with a much chunkier body than you would usually find on a small twin-prop plane.
Splitting in thirds, the central section houses the wings, with the nose and tail separated.
The plane is piloted by a female paramedic, wearing more high visibility clothing, this time in the medical blue/green colour with the snake and staff emblem on the rear. She's the only minifigure to have dual expressions, a small smile on one side and a confident grin on the other. I like the detailing around her eyes. Her ponytail can be swapped for a white pilot's helmet.
Combinations
The point of the set, however, is not the individual models themselves but rather how they can be combined. The box shows a couple of suggestions on the rear, and I'll let the photos below speak for some of the other wacky creations you can come up with.
Of course, the central sections can be omitted entirely, to make shorter dumpy versions of each vehicle, such as this wing-less plane:
Or this even smaller hovercraft:
And this adorable little power service vehicle!
Many of the combinations make very little sense, but they are fun to combine. Perhaps the cherry picker could do with the extra lift from a pair of wings?
Combining Both Sets
As LEGO didn't change anything about the way the vehicles combine compared to last year's 60462 Helicopter, Fire Truck & Submarine Remix, they can be mixed and matched across all six models from both sets. Here, last year's fire truck has been augmented with stabilisers and a lifting platform (both useful additions, perhaps):
Or the hovercraft could make use of the submarine's robotic arms and different propulsion mechanism:
Perhaps combining a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft is not the most sensible of ideas?
Of course, you can go all out and use all six central sections for a completely wacky and entirely impractical vehicle!
Verdict
If we take the set as three individual models, I really like both the service truck and the hovercraft—they are great little models in their own right, and would each do well as a smaller standalone City set. The plane, however, doesn't quite sit right—odd proportions leading to an inelegant design, not helped by the abrupt changes in colour between the black and yellow.
However, that's not the purpose of the set—it is intentionally designed for the vehicles to be broken up, rearranged, and repurposed into new and often bizarre ways. It's certainly fun, and while you can create some designs that make sense, most of them are completely ridiculous and that is part of the appeal.
If you already own last year's 60462 Helicopter, Fire Truck & Submarine Remix, then this is an excellent way to extend the family of vehicles and add even more possible combinations. I'm interested to see what next year brings!
60505 Airplane, Service Truck & Hovercraft Remix is available at LEGO.com for £59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99.
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36 comments on this article
Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff.
I wish they would do sets like this with Modular castle builds
This set is ridiculous, in a good way. Love the shortened hovercraft and truck.
As someone who has bought 60227, 60349 and 60433 specifically to mix and match the various components and modules I heartily approve of this kind of set, I think child-me would have absolutely loved them and the constant swapping you can do
@Crux said:
"Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff."
You might be thinking of Matchbox "con-nect-ables"?
"the connection system is unchanged, meaning everything remains fully compatible with last year’s models"
That's all I needed to know!
I gotta say, this is one of the wackiest sets I've ever even seen.
Kids of all ages should love this.
It's probably been mentioned before but this strongly reminds me of something Matchbox used to make when I was a kid. If you grew up in the 90s you might remember that, it was called Matchbox Connectables and it was basically the same concept just with small car models.
It's something different but I think the gimmick takes away from the models. For example there's nothing inside that plane because you need to be able to use the parts to connect them to other vehicles. And quite frankly none of the configurations looks particularly good.
I like the concept but I can't help but feel like it would be better suited with a set of three of one type of vehicle (air, land, sea)?
Like one with a helicopter, a jet plane, and a propeller plane.
Another with a speed boat, pontoon boat, and a hovercraft.
Another with the construction vehicle, a semi truck, a fire truck.
Etc . . .
The vehicles on their own are fine, but mixing them up makes very little sense. Honestly, most kids I know would lose interest pretty quickly. You could question how much the designs were hampered by this gimmick, and what could have been done without it.
As a whole a pretty decent set at a pretty decent price, but it could just as well have been three separate sets.
Why stop here? This line concept could be used for animals, Speed Champions, Creator animals, BrickHeadz, and hopefully a future Galidor tribute set.
Returns in 2025? I love that Utility Truck alone to be honest.
@classicstylecastle said:
" @Crux said:
"Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff."
You might be thinking of Matchbox "con-nect-ables"?
"
Ah yeah, thanks. Dang man, I loved those things.
I like the concept because it is fun and different, even if wacky. I realize that I am not the target audience, but I would like each of these better if the center sections were a bit longer. At the same time, I appreciate the need to keep the already high prices as low as possible.
@Schmopiesdad said:
"I like the concept because it is fun and different, even if wacky. I realize that I am not the target audience, but I would like each of these better if the center sections were a bit longer. At the same time, I appreciate the need to keep the already high prices as low as possible. "
Yeah if the center sections had room for a minifigure in a separate cockpit or control room, it’d be more interesting
If we ever get a Wacky Races x Speed Champions theme, they should reuse this modular / swappable component concept for Professor Pat Pending's convert-a-car.
This was the set I was most looking forward to in January for the cute hovercraft alone, and it didn't disappoint.
I would have bought that hovercraft on its own in a heartbeat, but cannot justify buying the whole set.. it's a great concept tho, just like last year's !
Love this set! The hovercraft is a super nice design. Well done Lego!
Neat!
Honestly, turning the plane into a gyrodyne actually improved it quite a bit; it's less stubby and the tiny wings make more sense. Also, that little baby cherry picker truck is absolutely adorable!
proper Lego. Well done them. Hope it sells.
I’d never get this myself - I want too many sets already.
However, when I was younger, LEGO did a similar thing to this with 3-in-1, and I really wanted all the sets in the theme so I could do the wacky remix stuff. I’m really glad that LEGO are putting this in a single set as opposed to a theme-wide collection, and I’m sure it will be a hit with younger kids!
@Crux said:
"Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff."
In the last year of G1 Transformers they had the Micromaster Combiners, where each figure would form the front or back of a two-part vehicle.
I look at that hovercraft and my brain goes:
“PAW Patrol, PAW Patrol, whenever you’re in trouble…”
That hovercraft looks like it would make a more stylish shoe than the LEGO Crocs.
Interesting concept but my OCD doesn't allow me to mix and match various colors of vehicle parts together. I'm already struggling with sticker applications, I don't need this. But, it looks like a nice play set for the younger fans.
So many otherwise interesting vehicle sets I won't get, simply 'cause I can't stand those big specialized aircraft parts.
Love this. I didn't get the first set last year but seeing more options getting released really makes me want both.
@WizardOfOss said:"The vehicles on their own are fine, but mixing them up makes very little sense. Honestly, most kids I know would lose interest pretty quickly."
It depends on the kid. Some kids would be all over these.
@DefaultOption said:
" @Crux said:
"Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff."
In the last year of G1 Transformers they had the Micromaster Combiners, where each figure would form the front or back of a two-part vehicle."
You could also attach the fronts of two vehicles or the backs of two vehicles together: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Micromastercombiners-fronttofront.jpg
@TheOtherMike said:
" @WizardOfOss said:"The vehicles on their own are fine, but mixing them up makes very little sense. Honestly, most kids I know would lose interest pretty quickly."
It depends on the kid. Some kids would be all over these.
@DefaultOption said:
" @Crux said:
"Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff."
In the last year of G1 Transformers they had the Micromaster Combiners, where each figure would form the front or back of a two-part vehicle."
You could also attach the fronts of two vehicles or the backs of two vehicles together: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Micromastercombiners-fronttofront.jpg"
I guess you could sort of do that with these models as well, you dangerous reprobate.
@Crux said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @WizardOfOss said:"The vehicles on their own are fine, but mixing them up makes very little sense. Honestly, most kids I know would lose interest pretty quickly."
It depends on the kid. Some kids would be all over these.
@DefaultOption said:
" @Crux said:
"Yeah, this is fine. The mashed-up vehicles don't look great, but in and of themselves, the actual builds - and their stubbier versions - look pretty good. Plus, the modular mix-and-match was always one of the things I liked most about classic Space, Blacktron, and... I want to say, Micro Machines? Maybe?
This is good stuff."
In the last year of G1 Transformers they had the Micromaster Combiners, where each figure would form the front or back of a two-part vehicle."
You could also attach the fronts of two vehicles or the backs of two vehicles together: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Micromastercombiners-fronttofront.jpg"
I guess you could sort of do that with these models as well, you dangerous reprobate."
Not without rebuilding the sections. The connections wouldn't allow it otherwise.
This also reminds me of the Matchbox Connectibles from 1989... back then, I built something similar with my 4w town verhicles and 1x4 technic bricks.. unfortunately, I cannot add pictures here.
I really like these, even though it makes the most sense to ignore the mix-and-match feature and just add these vehicles to your city as they are.
Fun concept, but those builds look very parts dense to accomodate the connectors in the middle. And these midsections don't do much, most of all the hovercraft's. Storage containers wuld have helped that feel more useul to 'equip'.
I miss Space. This sort of stuff was a staple of it. At least we got 60446 Galactic Spaceship last year. And the Renegade.
IMHO this play pattern is a bit forced on City as it's inherently a more grounded theme. I welcome it though.
This most of all reminds me f Life on Mars, which was all about wacky combinations. 7312 T3 trike in particular has the same layout as these vehicles with the middle section between a front and back. It was compatible with almost all of the sets from the range save the two smallest.
@Elrond said:
"It's probably been mentioned before but this strongly reminds me of something Matchbox used to make when I was a kid. If you grew up in the 90s you might remember that, it was called Matchbox Connectables and it was basically the same concept just with small car models."
Small car models, trucks, tanks, sets with random components, and large playset vehicles that could of course serve as vehicle part transports, actually combine with the smaller vehicles, and be used as a regular Matchbox playset. The key was that the greater the diversity of sets you had the crazier the combinations could be.
Which is exactly the problem with the Lego sets: there's one set a year for only City. They should make one such vehicle in each of their sublines, so Friends, Star Wars, etc. have their own variant.
@Exploriens said:
" @Elrond said:
"It's probably been mentioned before but this strongly reminds me of something Matchbox used to make when I was a kid. If you grew up in the 90s you might remember that, it was called Matchbox Connectables and it was basically the same concept just with small car models."
Small car models, trucks, tanks, sets with random components, and large playset vehicles that could of course serve as vehicle part transports, actually combine with the smaller vehicles, and be used as a regular Matchbox playset. The key was that the greater the diversity of sets you had the crazier the combinations could be.
Which is exactly the problem with the Lego sets: there's one set a year for only City. They should make one such vehicle in each of their sublines, so Friends, Star Wars, etc. have their own variant."
I also think one of reasons why this concept isn't working with those LEGO sets is the colours. Most of the Matchbox vehicles had silver as a base colour, which made it easier to mix and match the different parts because they at least had something in common. Almost all of the combinations you can have with the LEGO models are a bit of an eyesore, the parts clearly don't belong together and those flashy colours not matching make it even more obvious.