Review: 60273 Elite Police Driller Chase
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO City Adventures contains numerous fun characters, including among law enforcement and villainous groups. I particularly enjoy Sam Grizzled and the criminal Hacksaw Hank. Both minifigures are available together with 60273 Elite Police Driller Chase.
This outlandish set undoubtedly departs from traditional City models which may disappoint some LEGO fans, although its unusual subject matter interests me and the police car seems remarkably distinctive. However, the characters are potentially its most outstanding feature.
Minifigures
Sam Grizzled appeared in 60243 Police Helicopter Chase during January but wears an updated uniform here, featuring darker colours and an impressive tactical vest. The varied pouches appear reasonably intricate and a metallic silver police badge is fixed to his chest, as usual. Detail continues onto the reverse but the legs are plain.
While naming characters in LEGO City has not proven universally popular, that decision has introduced some interesting new heads with unusual designs. Sam Grizzled is an experienced police officer, whose retirement has seemingly been mere days away for several months, so he features a broad moustache. There is no alternative face but I like this helmet with folding night vision goggles.
Despite his remarkable naivety, Hacksaw Hank is regularly dispatched to perform dubious deeds on behalf of R.E. Fendrich. This minifigure is exclusively available here and looks splendid, featuring a medium nougat hair piece which has not been produced in this colour before. The double-sided head is also unique, including a domino mask on one side and two different facial expressions.
LEGO criminals usually wear striped shirts, betraying their villainous intent. Hank conforms to that standard, apparently because Fendrich considers this the traditional appearance for any criminal, but also wears a red jacket. Unfortunately, the character lacks his trademark hacksaw which is disappointing. The onscreen accessory does not exist in physical form but the standard saw component would have been adequate.
The Completed Model
Police cars have appeared in countless Town and City sets, frequently varying in appearance but sharing some common features. This example features dark blue bodywork with bright light yellow accents which is unusual, although its most distinguishing design feature is definitely the angular bonnet. These angles appear slightly too pronounced in my opinion, although I appreciate the resulting unique shape.
The vehicle is constructed using standard techniques, including brackets which support the lights and bumpers at either end. I like the combination of trans-yellow and trans-blue lights along with the number plate, displaying the set number and presumably the initials of the set designer. The dark bluish grey bumper looks excellent too.
Dark bluish grey strips continue around the wheel arches and along both sides of the car. Additional stickers are also applied on each side and another appears on the roof, which is easily removable to access the interior. There is only space for one minifigure and the bright light yellow 2x4 plate on the dashboard looks awkward but I do like the white 1x4 wall panels inside, flanking the steering wheel.
However, my favourite section of this police car is definitely the rear, where three layered 1x2 bow elements depict ventilation louvres. The trans-red tail lights and twin exhausts also look good, creating the impression of speed. I think the model could appear sleeker with a different bonnet component, although this design is reasonably successful.
While the police car is evidently focused upon speed, Hacksaw Hank's drilling vehicle seems more powerful and loosely resembles several previous models. 60186 Mining Heavy Driller, for example, featured exactly the same drill and cab arrangement, albeit incorporating much greater detail and measuring 24cm in length. This vehicle only measures 17cm long, by comparison.
Nevertheless, this drill element includes wonderful texture and I like the pronounced intake behind the drill. The curved slopes on either side appear similarly attractive but the tyres are completely unprotected and more detail should have been focused on the right side. A single radiation grille looks inadequate. Reasonable detail is present on the top though, fortunately.
The cab is exceptionally basic too, consisting of a steering wheel and providing space to accommodate Hank. An enclosed cab was presumably impossible at this scale but a modest windscreen should definitely have been included. The textured 2x2 cylinder at the back controls the drill head. Once again, this mechanism is simple but functions nicely and I am glad the drill was disconnected from the wheels since this design allows greater control over the drill head.
Hacksaw Hank has stolen a safe here, containing three gold bars. These are represented by 1x2 tiles instead of the dedicated ingot element which seems odd, although that is consistent across the 2020 City range. A printed keypad and trans-red light appear on top, depicting the locking controls which look fairly realistic.
Overall
The unique minifigures are certainly the highlight of 60273 Elite Police Driller Chase from my perspective, as anticipated. Sam Grizzled and Hacksaw Hank both feature ample detail and I love their characterful faces. Moreover, I appreciate the increasing presence of named figures with smaller sets because viewers of LEGO City Adventures can acquire them more easily and those who prefer generic characters may imagine them as such.
I am less impressed with the vehicles, although they provide reasonable play value and I think the police car looks fairly attractive. The driller has been excessively simplified in my view but I understand the limitations imposed by the price of £17.99 or €19.99 and I think that represents fair value when compared with the broader City theme.
66 likes
29 comments on this article
The white-on-red print on the criminal character’s torso looks next-level terrible.
I think you mean lavender on red
@Mr__Thrawn said:
"The white-on-red print on the criminal character’s torso looks next-level terrible."
I doubt Hacksaw Hank is good at doing laundry.
I'm not sure he's going to be safe driving from there... If the flying debris from the drill doesn't get him the drill bit is going to go straight through and he's going to be left stuck of the side of the tunnel.
I'm going to buy a few Hacksaw Hank hair pieces for my Episode 2 Anakin Skywalker minifigures.
These vehicles looks so uninspired and basic.
Honestly, the excuse of the "B-but it is for kids!! They are the focus!!" simply can't apply. Just because it is for kids doesn't mean that they deserve such simplistic vehicles. City had much better vehicles in the past years.
For some reason this reminds me of the part in Batman: Arkham Knight where the villain gets one of these things and tries to destroy the Batmobile with it. I have a feeling getting this guy to pull over will be easier said than done!
Is Lego City turning into a police state as there are 9 different police vehicles, 4 police helicopters, 2 police stations and a police accessory park available in 2020, but not one fire truck or ambulance? In particular, 60242-1: Police Highway Arrest is very similar with a police car and sports car at the same price and piece count.
When Rock Raiders go bad
@ambr said:
"Is Lego City turning into a police state as there are 9 different police vehicles, 4 police helicopters, 2 police stations and a police accessory park available in 2020, but not one fire truck or ambulance? In particular, 60242-1: Police Highway Arrest is very similar with a police car and sports car at the same price and piece count. "
You steal 12 dollars from the cash register and suddenly your commute home looks like that on picture of OJ Simpson fleeing the police.
Ah yes, Diet Rock Raiders.
This car looks like a 4+ set, especially if you compare it to previous Police cars in sets like 60128, 60138, and 60239
@Graupensuppe said:
"I'm going to buy a few Hacksaw Hank hair pieces for my Episode 2 Anakin Skywalker minifigures."
I'd love to see how that looks. I've yet to see a hairpiece that works for him.
Honestly - I wish for a year where they would just publish a set if minifigs for the animated series.
We don't need the rest - City getting worse by the year.
Love the police car design actually, much better then the actual 4+ sets.
Bad year for City, but I do like the diving theme though ...
Okay, the drill is kind of stupid, but I like the design of the police car.
Like the "Highway Arrest" set, I feel like, if you take the police insignia off the vehicle (and replace the yellow striping), you've got just a cute little roadster. The police and fire, this year, have all had those bright yellow stripes on the vehicles. It's an odd colour to feature, but I like how they all match.
Well..... at least it does not have a helicopter in it.
I'm a big fan of simple sets and probably would have liked this as a kid. The drill is ridiculous and while usually would say 'no' to such a vehicle I actually kinda like it.
That being said I don't like the named characters at all and the "white" printing on the criminal is really terrible. Most Lego City is fairly terrible aside from the "adventure" type sub-themes - Space and now Deep Sea.
I like the shaping of the police car - except for that bonnet.
The intake behind the drillbit is going to get clogged with debris really quickly...
The police cruiser is chunky, and simplistic compared to older, but still pretty recent high-performance City Police cars. The idea that someone can stage a getaway in a piece of mining equipment not good for over 2 miles per hour, and often in real life, dependent on a 600V electrical cable attached from the power center underground to the machine is outlandish. And, I'm sure they wouldn't need a high-performance car to catch up, either. The minifigs, compared to older sets like Forest Police are pretty mediocre--many of those had leg printing--neither of these do.
How long until we get a Lamborghini Huracan Polizia in Speed Champions? Or even a safety car? Else, time to try myself.
I can't help but think the me of four decades past would've loved this. Granted, it's all very silly, and a throwback to a simpler time, but that's hardly a bad thing. City has never been about being a true reflection of reality, so why not embrace the simple fun of it.
I think I'll pick this one up.
I have no idea what is going on since a couple of years with City, but sets are getting more and more strange. Of course sales numbers prove me wrong, but at least to me this all feels a bit heartless.
@Snazzy101 said:
"City has never been about being a true reflection of reality, so why not embrace the simple fun of it. "
Don't know. When I was a kid, City (or Legoland Stadt, as it was called over here back then) was quite a good reflection of reality, what with sets like 379, 4015, 6363, 6365, 6367, 6369, 6371, 6373, 6374, 6382, 6610, 6651, 6658, 6685, 6687, 6692, 6697, 6698 ... (to mention just a few that I had).
Nothing as outlandish or borderline silly as nowadays.
By the way, those kinds of sets were the basis for the nostalgia that formed the current generation of AFOLs.
I doubt the current kids' sets in the LEGO lineup will be the basis for AFOLs in 30 years time.
I like the continuity of the cool yellow stripe used for the accent color in Fire and Police this year
Sam's expression says it all.
"Are you kidding me? I'm way too old for this show. This makes no sense at all, that machine can't even do what it was designed for, and my cruiser will catch up to it in three seconds flat. Dang, I wish these young whippersnappers would stay out of under my lawn!"
@AustinPowers said:
" @Snazzy101 said:
"City has never been about being a true reflection of reality, so why not embrace the simple fun of it. "
Don't know. When I was a kid, City (or Legoland Stadt, as it was called over here back then) was quite a good reflection of reality, what with sets like 379, 4015, 6363, 6365, 6367, 6369, 6371, 6373, 6374, 6382, 6610, 6651, 6658, 6685, 6687, 6692, 6697, 6698 ... (to mention just a few that I had).
Nothing as outlandish or borderline silly as nowadays.
By the way, those kinds of sets were the basis for the nostalgia that formed the current generation of AFOLs.
I doubt the current kids' sets in the LEGO lineup will be the basis for AFOLs in 30 years time. "
Using your first set as an example, I don't know what reality you lived through but in mine buses carried slightly more than three passengers and did not feature multiple doors on either side of an open cabin.
Does it represent a bus? Kind of - perhaps one scrawled in crayon by a five-year-old - but it doesn't really reflect the true reality of what a bus actually is. Buses are typically high off the ground, have an aisle, feature multiple seats, some hand railings, have mysterious stains. One feature buses don't have though is the same cabin width as every other vehicle on road or in the air, be it a car, or a truck, or a four-engine jumbo jet.
To me none of it matched my reality. Except for in the pages of an ideas book, LEGO didn't have a school, or a cinema, or a supermarket. None of the houses had a backyard or a telephone. Only one had a television. That one specifically made no sense. Even when they ventured into things I had an awareness of - like the post office - it all felt very simplistic.
And I absolutely adored it all. One of my favourite sets from my childhood is 6611, Fire Chief's Car. It's only twenty pieces, including minifigure. In the real world it makes no sense for the head of the fire department to ride a gocart, and yet here I'm totally on board with it. The set told me this was normal within the reality of LEGO Town and my imagination agreed. And I think that's how I handled much of what LEGO presented, including everyone being yellow.
Fast-forward to today to a set with a police car - still only one seat, realistic as ever - chasing a modified mining vehicle. All very silly stuff and perhaps not for all five-year-olds - I'm sure some might prefer the joys of city planning and the locating of bus stops - but I think it reflects what LEGO currently wants City to be.
As for your parting shot, how about you try to tone down the elitism. You are nothing special just because you grew up through the 80s. Oooh you saw Classic Space firsthand? So did I. No one cares. The "current generation of AFOLs" also includes people born well before you and well after. None of their experiences are superior or inferior because of that. There are plenty who grew up through the Juniorization of Town, the success of Bionicle, the introduction of Star Wars, and all of the other things the likes of you decry as being the end of LEGO, yet any of them are just as much of an AFOL as you are. How arrogant to think there will be no AFOLs once people like you are gone.
Does anyone else see Inspector Gadget's police car from the 80s animation here? Those rear louvres? Go Gadget Go!
Even 6 years old me would have called this thing silly because the wheels and the cab wouldn't fit in the hole... of course I had no idea how a real tunnel boring machine works, but I'm sure I could have figured out it wasn't like that.
Also, my city gameplay was about building the city, not playing with it. Then destroy everything with Hollywood level car and truck crashes...