Review: 60147 Fishing Boat
Posted by CapnRex101,
60147 Fishing Boat was the first 2017 set to be revealed when an image was published in August of last year and this inspired considerable interest as we rarely see pleasure boats like this one in LEGO City. It looks remarkably elegant and is priced at £17.99 or $19.99 so appears to offer good value for money given the inclusion of a large hull component.
The deck space is almost completely open so there is plenty of room to play and pose the minifigures. Furthermore, the white, grey and dark red colour scheme looks splendid and an impressive range of accessories and sea life is included. I therefore have high expectations that this set will make a worthy addition to any harbour setting.
Minifigures
The boat is crewed by two minifigures, one of whom acts as the pilot while the other controls the fishing rod at the stern. The female character includes a brand new torso featuring a simple white jacket with green sleeves while the other figure wears a rare blue sweatshirt which has only previously appeared in 60134 Fun in the Park - City People Pack. The other elements are very common but both minifigures look splendid and are suitably attired for some leisurely fishing.
A pair of yellow life jackets are included, as one would expect for a seagoing vessel. Unfortunately this element suffers from a major design flaw in that it lengthens a minifigure's neck to an awkward degree so I prefer not to use it, although the moulded detail on the front looks reasonable. Hopefully the life jacket will soon be redesigned with a more suitable neck bracket, as was the case with the original element which was in use until 2008 and was far superior in my opinion.
The Completed Model
The fishing boat is constructed around a large hull which allows the model to float. Enormous pieces like this one can be restrictive but I think this example looks marvelous, with an elegantly curving shape which stretches from the tip of the bow to the stern and is only interrupted by the roof covering the cockpit, although even this looks reasonably aerodynamic despite housing some navigational equipment and a lamp.
There is plenty of space to place minifigures on the open deck and a yellow life ring is included along with a pair of lights. These are mounted on hinges so the angle of each one can be adjusted but they might have looked a little better in white to match the light on the roof above as well as the surrounding bodywork. I like the dark red stripe very much and the splash of yellow is welcome too, particularly since this is balanced by the yellow seat towards the rear of the boat.
Both sides of the hull are decorated with a large sticker which features some sport fishing branding. This looks great but I would be reluctant to immerse the stickers in water as spots are likely to be left behind even after careful drying. Printed designs would certainly have been preferable, although I think the stickers are satisfactory as long as the model is kept away from water. Railings run along either side of the vessel and they fit nicely between the slopes at the ends so the flowing profile of the boat is maintained throughout.
The roof of the cockpit includes a rotating radar bar and can be easily removed for access to the controls underneath. There is room for one minifigure behind the steering wheel and I love the fish finder sticker which adorns a black 1x2 tile above. The pilot is protected from spray by a small windscreen but the sides are left open so they still have a good view of their surroundings.
The stern is the most detailed section of the model and it looks great, with two enormous outboard motors and a rotating seat for fishing on three sides of the boat. A couple of cooler boxes are situated next to the seat and these are used for storing any fish which are caught. Another sticker reveals that the boat is named Mary, perhaps in reference to the designer or one of their relatives.
A black fishing rod slots into the holder on the front of the seat and a long line is attached which measures a little over 20cm in length. This can be attached to the mouth of a fish or wound around the stud at one end for storage in the manner of a fishing reel, as shown in the image above.
The outboard motors are mounted on hinges so can be raised out of the water to avoid disturbing the fish. The propellers rotate freely and I like the combination of white, dark red and light bluish grey very much. Furthermore, the mechanical details are integrated nicely and the transition between the brighter and more muted colours looks splendid.
This set also contains a number of smaller accessories. The red buoy is topped with a light while the shark features an opening mouth for swallowing fish, three of which are included. One is cast in pearl silver and the others in the rarer orange colour so there are plenty of fish to catch, although perhaps not enough to satisfy a hungry shark!
Overall
City sets at this price point continue to impress. The model is highly detailed and includes all of the features one would expect of a fishing boat as well as some interesting pieces. I love the colour scheme and the vessel offers superb play value, although it would have been even better with a printed hull in my opinion.
I certainly recommend this set to those of you looking to further populate the harbour area of your LEGO city, particularly since it is several years since we last saw a seagoing vehicle of this kind and one wonders when we might see the next one.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your thoughts on the set in the comments below.
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23 comments on this article
Can't believe this is only $20. The engines look a little awkwardly attached though.
We're gonna need a bigger boat!
^ Ha ha ha. That was funny! Nice set and I love the details. Great photos, too!
It bothers me that the same hull is used for both fishing boats and racing speed boats. I live near a harbour, and I know what a fishing boat looks like next to a speed boat
Awesome review! This impresses me just as much as the pizza van, which is exceptionally high!
Except thats exactly what outboard engines on deep sea fishing rigs look like
http://sportsmanboatsmfg.com/SBMsite/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CC-Heritage-pg3.jpg
It's a nice set but I don't love the design. Too much space is wasted at the front, and the huge engines make it look like a powerboat. I'd love for LEGO to come up with a new hull, something a bit shorter and wider.
You are right about that life jacket, it is very flawed in design. How would this pass QC?
Anyways, this boat looks great, nice to see a solid boat like this one.
Quite a nice boat! Perhaps they didn't want to mould a new hull until they'd seen how this year's maritime themes did - I understand there's going to be a coastguard set; maybe if that's popular we'll see more leisure boats in the future.
A good looking set and a good review. However, despite what brclark82 says, the outboards are too big in relation to the size of the hull. To my mind they project the width of one brick too far from the stern of the boat, but it should be an easy modification to make.
If those fish can't satisfy the hungry shark then I'm sure that two minifigs could .....
That blue sweatshirt is going to become considerably less rare. It's used in the free 20 piece birthday set you can claim with the first of the monthly vouchers from the calendar that was given away towards the end of last year. I have about 8 of the calendars and got my wife to claim three birthday sets yesterday as it's her birthday this week. Don't think they'd have cared if she'd claimed all 8 at once, plus they didn't check that it was really her birthday.
I still prefer the one from 60015, but it is a nice addition.
I'm glad you called LEGO out on the horrible mess of a life jacket they now make. How that ever passed design is insane to me. LEGO comes up with 5 new cats and dogs a year for Friends, they can come up with a life jacket that isn't the worst LEGO piece.
Why are you worried about the stickers? Don't they use the same waterproof material as http://brickset.com/sets/70006-1/Cragger-s-Command-Ship and other floating ships?
Anyway, this is a great design. Feels very detailed and authentic. The minifigures look nice too.
@Aanchir - Indeed, but submersion in water leaves a residue behind which the waterproof stickers do not prevent and it cannot be washed off.
Nice review!
The boat looks like it is designed for the American market: the red, triangular lateral buoy is a starboard marker and comes from IALA Region B (North and South America, Philippines, Korea and Japan). The rest of the world has red, square buoys as port lateral marks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_markRegion_B
^I love the stuff that one can learn from this site even non Lego stuff. Maybe not relevant to anything I do but often interesting none the less.
I have it but the boat doesn't float very well, it's still a great set and currently one of my favorites.
Came across a Lego seller in a physical marketplace with a tub full of hull pieces for boats and passed him by. I'm slightly regretting it now as I've seen the floating capability and it's worked well before when playing with cousins in the bath or at the beach. Obviously, salt water is not best advised!
SLICE of LIFE
I think I prefer 4642 from 2011:
http://brickset.com/sets/4642-1/Fishing-Boat
It's effectively the same hull and more realistically proportioned to my eye. Different life jackets also! Although I do like how many animals are included in 60147. In either case, I would rather the hull designs *not* be painted on there. Seems more flexible over the long haul.
Great looking set! Thanks for the great review as well.