Review: 60290 Skate Park
Posted by Mr_Cross,
195-piece set 60290 Skate Park is part of the new 2021 CITY range and also features a small selection of the pieces from the new road system. For more coverage of these exciting and potentially revolutionary parts, please see Huw’s recent review of 60304 Road Plates and benbacardi’s excellent in-depth look at 60292 Town Centre.
I think the name ‘Skate Park’ is a bit of a misnomer only because this is a set that features minifigures engaged in other urban sports activities too: Biking (possibly intended to represent freestyle BMX) and Extreme Wheelchair sports.
The most recent CITY and CREATOR sets to feature skateboard halfpipes and big jumps were 60200 Capital City and 31081 modular skate house both from 2018. However, sets featuring a skateboard theme have been much more prevalent in the friends theme… I will admit to very much liking ‘friends’ sets and owning a few but knowing very little about the contents and subject matter of the overwhelming number of them.
The last proper dedicated skateboarding sets were part of the ‘sports’ gravity games theme all the way back in 2003, but I personally prefer the half pipe set 6738 Skateboard Challenge from the previous year.
We’ll get to the review properly in just a moment, but first, a word from our sponsors...
“Hi, I’m Rita Lush from Vita Rush coming to you from the LEGO CITY Skate Park! It’s time to get zesty as we bring you all up to speed on the fresh tricks and stunts in today’s display!
...Vita Rush, the refreshing sugar free alternative to Orange Juice can now be found in six LEGO sets! Don’t go away, because we’ll be back with more Extreme Urban Sports at the LEGO City Skate Park after the break.”
Now that we’ve got the product placement out of the way, let’s take a look at the minifigures in the set
Minifigures
We have four minifigures in the set. Firstly in bag one, we have the Vita Rush rep. She is entirely made up of parts that have previously been available in other sets. I assume she is a rep. not a racer, she hasn’t got a helmet and there are cans in the back of her truck.
In bag two we have the three extreme sports characters.
The boy on the mountain bike has the baseball jacket torso found previously on Jack from the now sadly defunct Hidden Side theme. He also has the medium size legs and I’m pleased to see the continued inclusion of these in 2021 sets.
Our little skateboarder has the same puffer jacket torso found on Rami, again from Hidden Side, but featured also in this year’s 10273 Haunted House too. The dual moulded cycle helmet was introduced in the CMF line Mountain Biker and is featured here as a recolour.
I like that the guy in the wheelchair is wearing an X-treme stunts top, and looks like a professional. The green dirt bike helmet is another recoloured element too but sadly that’s all that is new here.
Only the skateboarder has an alternate face, but it’s a rarely seen one and only previously available in promotional sets with limited availability, it’s a great expression, so it is nice to see it more generally available.
I don’t think there are any new or exclusive prints within these figures, but please do enlighten us in the comments if you notice anything.
Inside the box
Two bags, two instruction books, a small sticker sheet and a loose road plate.
The Completed Models
Bag 1
The first things we put together are the rep. lady and the Vita Rush Pickup truck. It’s a straight forward build, there were a few quirks in it but I feel like I’ve built this kind of thing many times before. It is just a side build in a smaller set, but I think it could be doing more to earn its keep. There are a couple of notable parts in new/rare colours, but nothing to get too excited about.
Bag 2
Each of the minifigures in bag two are provided with sports ‘equipment’ and it is these things we assemble first.
The deck is a rather uneventful plain dark purple with black trucks and wheels, it’s a clone of skateboards available in eleven sets since 2013. For a set called “Skate Park”, this is lacklustre (in my opinion) to say the least. Pretty lonely Skate Park. For the sake of aesthetics I lament the absence of some kind of decoration and the specialised “mags” from the 2003 sets too. The Vita Rush drinks bottle is a neat little build, and really does look like a sports bottle to my eyes.
I really like the mountain bike in dark blue with red wheels, this is one of those ‘meant to be’ marriages… it’s a pleasant combination of colours especially when ridden by its intended rider. I have to say it bothers me slightly that his legs don’t go down to the “pedals”.
I don’t often have an emotional reaction where sports are concerned, but I love this guy. I like that it is an inclusive decision and that he’s a cool depiction of a wheelchair user. I hope it’s positive and validating for children who use wheelchairs to have characters that they might cast themselves in the role of whilst playing.
I’m hesitant to suggest that this might possibly be based upon the inspirational Aaron Fotheringham, aka Wheelz, the creator of WCMX (Extreme Wheelchair Motor Cross)... but take a look at the Guinness World Records page for his incredible 70ft jump, maybe follow one of the links and make your own mind up!?
The wheels just make me think of a couple of slices of lime! Should this be the ‘citrus skate park’? Perhaps a lemon tree would have rounded out the fruity festivities?
The scenery is all eventually secured to the new road plates. There are; a palm tree, a quarter pipe, a ramp and a see saw, it’s arranged a little like an assault course, there are also a pair of grind bars and two Vita Rush flag posts too, these latter additions aren’t intended to be fixed. The method really doesn’t allow for much choice of how you might rearrange the ‘obstacles’.
I would be interested to hear if anyone has any ideas about the inclusion of the shark skater graffiti, beyond the Series 15 CMF Shark Suit Guy guy of course.
After I had built the set for photographs, I disassembled it, returned it to numbered bags and asked my kids to rebuild it. My little girl (7) built bag 1 without any problems, my son (9) built bag 2 with ease. In play, my son found that the characters fell down a lot, the see-saw isn’t wide enough for the wheelchair or the skateboard, the curvature of the quarter pipe was too steep and rather than rolling down, the characters just fell.
Holding them and fully roleplaying was fine and he thought it looked pretty good, but I could tell he was a bit disappointed. Although my son very quickly lost interest, my little girl happily continued imaginative play for another half an hour. Her favourite was the skateboarding girl, and it was nice that she was also playing with the guy in the wheelchair.
Does the Vita Rush girl need orange roller skates? I think that might have helped tie all of this together and it’s a real shame because the result would have been greater than the sum of its parts for very, very little additional cost.
I would have also welcomed some form of climbing wall and/or a nod in the direction of parkour, certainly in preference to the slightly incongruous Vita Rush vehicle.
My son thought the new road plate was cool, but mainly I think this was because it is a new big piece of LEGO!
These are the selection of road pieces provided in this set and none of them are actually unique to this set.
Going forward, if this new modular road system continues, and I am sure I’m not alone but I would very much like to see pieces that create curved corners. If I have one criticism of these new parts it’s that these plates are very shiny. I understand why and for most other uses that is probably preferable but I have rarely seen such shiny roads.
Conclusion
Purely as a parent, I was very pleased with the reaction of my daughter to the set, her engagement with the various characters and environment was wonderful to watch however brief it was. The ‘Vita Rush vehicle’ was a little bit forgotten after building and although it adds something (perhaps perceived value) to the set, it feels ever so slightly like an awkward addition.
I liked that the set was easily transported and tidied away as a direct result of the new road plate system. However, with my ‘Dad’ head on I’m thinking it’s nice enough, but for the 45 minutes it kept my kids occupied, I think I would spend my £25 on other LEGO sets instead.
However, as an AFOL, I have to acknowledge that there are a few new additions that will possibly be of interest to a subsection of the hobby who are interested in things appearing in new colours - of which there are a few that you don’t need to be eagle-eyed to spot. It is not the cheapest (or most efficient) way to buy into the new road plate system, so if you are hoping for a route into the new pieces, I would suggest looking for other roads.
I am tempted to acquire a few more for moc-ing purposes, I’m wondering if the road plate will appear in other colours, as I can think of a fair few uses I would like to put them to, certainly in black, cough, Death Star hanger, cough!
On balance, I don’t think I can recommend the set, it definitely has its plus points, however, I wouldn’t (Vita) Rush out to buy it.
It will be available from LEGO.com on 1st January, priced at £24.99 / $29.99 / 29.99€.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
107 likes
23 comments on this article
Lego SaH has it as 39.99, not 29.99.
Thanks for the review! Good job ;) I love the skate park idea, but it’s way too expensive. All these sets containing new road plates system are way to pricey, though other sets are also based on good idea such as the shopping street. I understand the goal which consist in building roads, but not at this price point. I will wait for a 30% discount.
For some reason City sets are often more expensive in the USA than elsewhere so maybe $40 is correct.
As mentioned in a comment in a previous article, when first pics of it came to us, I am so glad to see a disabled kid repented in this set. And not in hospital theme or so. No. Having fun with his or her friends in a skate park. Well done Lego. So that our children can learn that they can have fun and friendship with people who have a difference, whether it is a physical or mental one. And once again, merry Christmas to you all Brickset members!
Hello, I prefer the old Road Baseplates but I read in a Facebook comment that they can serve as a bridge and that idea of black plates spunds very awesome to place the UCS MillenniumFalcon on top of.
Good review!
While the legs of the sports bike minifigure don't reach the pedals, I am happy that we're starting to see the "mid-length" legs showing up in more general themes! When they were first introduced they were practically exclusive to licensed themes where a really specific sort of height was needed (for tween-ish characters who were taller than young children but not quite as tall as adults). Now that they've been out for a while, though, it's good to see them start to appear in a wider range of sets and themes.
The athlete in the sport wheelchair is also great. I think you summed up pretty well why that type of inclusion is nice not just for disabled builders but also for abled kids who get to see positive disability representation outside of the context of a hospital or similar institutional setting.
I've already mentioned plenty what a big fan I am of the new roads. The glossiness of them is different from earlier roads, but matches most other parts and is pretty much essential to allow the roads to match standard tiles and slopes (which ties in to their customization potential, one of their greatest assets). Curved road pieces would indeed be great and I'm hoping that if this system proves successful we'll see that sort of feature added in the future. It'd be especially nice if the curves came in segments that were smaller than a full 90° turn like train tracks, which would be great for crafting elaborate racetracks in themes like Speed Champions!
Not really a fan of this set, but thank you for the great review. Love your style of writing.
LEGO has been giving their City minifigs names as of late so that they fit in with the TV show that is a tie-in. Is the juice drink rep named Rita Lush by LEGO or did you make that (very creative) name up for the review? If its LEGO's name, I am quite surprised given how it implies alcohol consumption.
I actually like this set, but it’s way too expensive. I am partial to “beachy” City sets.
But I don’t know why they included the car rather than the opposite side of the half pipe. Surely kids would have more fun being able to make the characters go back and forth in the pipe rather than just one direction.
Great review! For as many skateboards as we've seen in Friends, there's only been one skate park, 41099. That was at a slightly lower price point, and had a similar issue with the slopes. However, what I remember most from that set is the working vending machine.
I’d have dropped the car and added another feature
2021 reviews are coming in fast, love it. Can’t wait to read some Ninjago reviews, I’ve got my eyes on several sets and Xmas money to burn.
Very good review and a correct analysis! I think I'll pass on this set. For me the biggest issue is the fact that they call it a skate park, but it's actually a road with a part of a ramp and some minifigs... I do like the new road system though! I hope they will add more types, curves, roundabouts, ...
Good review and Merry Christmas!
Price for the Skate Park in the US is $39.99. It was actually changed up recently. Though $30 would had been more reasonable for this set to be honest.
"Extreme Wheelchair Motor Cross"
And I now have learned that this is actually a thing.
I liked the look of this set, at first, but I imagine the new road-plate will have driven up the cost. So that'll be a definite 'no'.
@Brick_t_ said:
"As mentioned in a comment in a previous article, when first pics of it came to us, I am so glad to see a disabled kid repented in this set. And not in hospital theme or so. No. Having fun with his or her friends in a skate park. Well done Lego. So that our children can learn that they can have fun and friendship with people who have a difference, whether it is a physical or mental one. And once again, merry Christmas to you all Brickset members! "
I’m not sure “kid” is the best word-he’s got some wicked facial hair growing in.
Guess the past couple years have been rough for Ninjago’s Skylor-from resistance fighter to juice sponsor seems like quite the drop.
Keen to get this one but I agree that a climbing wall would’ve been better than the car, or at least some more obstacles.
Still, the $50 RRP price tag that this has in Australia is way too much, and I’ll wait to pick this up from Kmart or on special.
I like the review with your kids reactions to the set and how much their attention was to the set. Sadly, I would not be surprised if LEGO is trying to gouge the US buyers for a few bucks more.
I don't really see a skate park, more temporary road ramps to jump on while dodging motorbikes and cars. They really need to have two larger and longer ramps, with corner curved ramps and walls to provide more of the park feel. Maybe beyond the budget, but then lose the car, flags and motorbike?
I agree, that these shiny road plates look too unnatural. I still prefer the classic baseplates though, even though they have limitations.
I think a food truck would have been more appropriate, that would really tie everything together.
As mentioned above a food vendor or drink vending machine (vita rush branded of course) or even a little film/tv crew might have been a more interesting inclusion than the fairly standard truck.
I'm not a fan of the new road plates, which puts me off a number of the 2021 sets, but I think I could use this one easily enough as a standalone skate park, especially if a discount knocked another £5 off.
potential Master Chief helmet for customs?