Review: 60412 4x4 Fire Engine with Rescue Boat
Posted by SetToBuild,
LEGO City’s crack team of off-road firefighters has been scrambled to the scene of this misfortunate camper’s breakfast blunder. Once they’ve whisked him out of danger, everyone can settle by the dock for an egg-cellent snack. There’s nothing like the great outdoors to get your appetite up!
The 301-piece set brings two firefighters, a 4x4 off-road tanker vehicle, a trailer and a dinghy to the aid of a camper cooking in a small forested dockside area. The multi-vehicle response seems a little overkill for the scene in this set, but I’m sure the camper appreciated the help—and we appreciate the added playability and value.
Summary
60412 4x4 Fire Truck with Rescue Boat, 301 pieces.
£24.99 / $34.99 / €29.99 | 8.3p/11.6c/10.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This action-packed set offers good-value storytelling despite some missed opportunities.
- Decent price
- Sturdy vehicle
- No suspension on 4x4
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Sets of recent years have increasingly offered a wider variety of hair types rather than simply different styles of ponytail or parted hair. Providing hair for the figures in addition to their helmets gives them more personality as well. There’s a great image on the back of the box of the firefighters enjoying a fried egg with the camper. Although with that sweating facial expression, it looks like a spicy egg!
The minifigure torsos are slightly different with one having a red collar, but it’s not clear if this represents a rank or role.
The 2022 fire helmet design looks good, but the neck guard doesn’t allow for any additional accessories to hang off their backs. This means we miss out on the satisfying combination of the respirator and air tanks.
With the camper, we get another excellent example of a scared expression in this wave of City Fire sets. The colour palette and design on the civilian torso give a great feeling of nostalgia. I swear I’ve seen a similar jacket in my local charity shop!
The Completed Model
Fenders included, this eight-stud-wide massive vehicle has a solid construction that can easily withstand outdoor play. I’m surprised that there wasn’t any suspension included. It already feels like a monster truck with huge tyres and tall clearance, so terrain-conquering suspension seems like a given. However, after looking back at vehicles of this size, the age range for the set would likely have to be bumped up for a complex mechanism.
The trailer seems a few studs too long and could have included some spots for extra accessories, but it still does the job. I enjoyed the nice part usage of the silver ice cream scoops as the boat’s propellers. My only question here is: where does the other firefighter sit when transporting the dinghy? Some parts could have been sacrificed from the trailer to improve the truck, even just with a step and handle for them to hang on the outside.
I haven’t built a City set in some time, so I didn’t realise that the single-mould rubber boat pieces had been updated in 2021! A comparison of the older and newer versions had to be conducted. The good news is that the newer dinghy still floats, and offers more area to build on, but I do miss the handles on the sides.
When the campsite isn’t covered in flames, it feels like a serene place to set up a tent. There’s a small dock, some nice trees, and a conspicuously square rock that probably contains a geocache. The inclusion of a black 1x1 round tile might have more accurately represented the fate of the irresponsible camper’s breakfast!
A similar tent design was used in 2023 in 60387 4x4 Off-Roader Adventures, and it still proves to be a good solution. For those wondering, the camper does fit comfortably on the bedroll inside the tent.
The string used as the fire hose is unusually short given that longer string elements exist. This newer method of attaching the string to the spool via a stud connection versus fiddling with tying a knot is much easier. However, turning the spool to wind up the hose was surprisingly strenuous.
These are the set’s spare parts. I tried connecting the extra string to extend the hose, but the studs in the middle interfere with the ability to wind the hose up. If you don’t mind part of the hose hanging off the back when the water shooter is clipped in, it’s not a terrible solution!
Conclusion
An unfortunate price differential makes this set less appealing in the USA than elsewhere. However, perhaps Lego has reason to believe that a big off-road fire vehicle will sell better over there.
I appreciated the inclusion of scenery with the tent and trees, and would definitely have been disappointed if this set only contained two vehicles (looking at you, 60406 Race Car and Car Carrier Truck). However, on this size of trailer, even a simple dinghy built on the larger boat would have looked in better proportion and offered better value. Sadly, based on other £25 City sets in recent years, this is probably too much to ask.
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19 comments on this article
I picked this set up very recently; since fabric tents aren’t easy to find in LEGO form nowadays, I appreciate this version. I’ve been able to build a pretty respectable campsite with other sets over the years, so this is a welcome addition overall.
Having all the fire numbers and emblems as prints this year is great, and the extra hairpieces are also a good inclusion.
As for the boat, it's a good improvement overall, the original shape can still be made if you add some https://brickset.com/parts/6252037/brick-1x2-outside-half-bow
Eh, $35 for a 300-piece set isn't too bad here. Though that may just be the LEGO Star Wars fan in me speaking.
My tin foil hat says it's priced to be discounted, I was able to pick it up for 20€ already.
One thing I love about this year's City fire range is that the fire station 60414 goes out of its way to include space for the truck from this set and the helicopter from 60411, along with stickers alluding to both! Always nice to see those sorts of features. It's also neat that the vehicles themselves have printed number graphics, and their red and black color scheme is an interesting departure from the red and white color scheme more typical for previous waves of firefighting sets.
The campsite is also a lovely bit of scenery that also adds some nice play value (and perhaps a teaching opportunity for kids about fire safety when camping). That said, it would have been a neat bonus feature if it and the similar wilderness scene in 60413 included dedicated connectors so they could be linked together! I also feel like for this setting/play scenario, a shovel might have been a more appropriate accessory than an axe, offering the firefighters another means to smother the fire. Though I suppose the set could have even included both if an additional clip were added to the back of the truck.
All in all the designers did a nice job finding ways to make this set stand out from the many previous off-road fire truck sets in the City theme even at the same target age, but I certainly still see a few areas for improvement. I suppose that's what modding is for!
City sets are always priced at a premium in the US. The markup on this theme is far greater than the other themes, at least in the US. I'm not sure why, other than "the market will pay the higher price".
A lil nice n' sturdy firefighter set, if not 35$ worth of a lil nice n' sturdy firefighter set.
I quite like the design of the 4x4 and the tent scene. But I won't get it.
Funny, I just built 7624 Jungle Duel. This tent solution is understandable however. Those fabric tents are certainly harder to work with.
This was a day one purchase for me, it's a great overall packaged play experience and a fine sexy truck for my minifigures to explore the wilderness in search of naughty campers.
Great review, it's nice to see what the spares are!
@Jackaroo1701 said:
"Great review, it's nice to see what the spares are!"
I'm glad it's appreciated! I'll try to remember to always include it.
I liked the look of this set but have no use for a vehicle like this in my 1950s city. I am, however, considering getting it because of that lovely camping scene (and this is one of the few sets that come with that windscreen piece in clear which I need for the rear window of an EK Holden MOC).
I hate the highlighter yellow colour and really don't like those new helmets. What was wrong with the old ones?? They were great because they could be any era really (especially if used in certain colours), and worked great with the breathing apparatus. Nothing about the original helmet + oxygen tank and breathing device struck me as old fashioned, seemed pretty well in line with what firefighters here in Australia continue to use.
This helmet on the other hand is friggin weird and looks more like a space helmet from The Martian.
I just can't get ova that introduction...
@Aanchir said:
"One thing I love about this year's City fire range is that the fire station 60414 goes out of its way to include space for the truck from this set and the helicopter from 60411, along with stickers alluding to both! Always nice to see those sorts of features."
I do like that they made the effort to do this, but there was a slight error: the sticker in 60414 identifies the helicopter as number 3 in the fleet, when in fact number 3 is the small boat here. Easy enough to swap the printed number pieces from the boat and the chopper to sort that out, though ;)
Just opened this set to build it and it’s interesting: bags 2 and 3 are plastic ones, bags 1 and 4 new paper ones. My first set with paper bags, definitely didn’t expect a mix of paper and plastic!
@myth said:
"Just opened this set to build it and it’s interesting: bags 2 and 3 are plastic ones, bags 1 and 4 new paper ones. My first set with paper bags, definitely didn’t expect a mix of paper and plastic!"
Interesting! Mine were all plastic. I've only had one set with paper bags so far. One of the Animal Crossing sets.
@TeriXeri said:
"As for the boat, it's a good improvement overall, the original shape can still be made if you add some https://brickset.com/parts/6252037/brick-1x2-outside-half-bow "
Good call! Much better! :)
@TeriXeri said:
"
Having all the fire numbers and emblems as prints this year is great, and the extra hairpieces are also a good inclusion.
As for the boat, it's a good improvement overall, the original shape can still be made if you add some https://brickset.com/parts/6252037/brick-1x2-outside-half-bow "
The same technique is used in 60307 (which I own) so Lego beat you to it!