Random set of the day: Surveillance Truck
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 7034 Surveillance Truck, released during 2003. It's one of 28 World City sets produced that year. It contains 261 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$30/£24.99.
It's owned by 1,152 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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38 comments on this article
Look out for that head chopper of a ceiling when opening that door! Who thought that was a good idea?
I remember I bought the first one of these that came out with the early 90s Police theme, and then I never really needed to buy another one.
I do like this one for being very, very World City, but it's hardly covert surveillance, is it?
I’m not gonna lie, I absolutely love how dystopian World City felt. The police sets especially has very little coding to how ominous the police force felt in the city.
My first ever LEGO set was 7032 police 4wd and undercover van which was from the same series of world city sets.
I like world city for its interesting aesthetic. It’s feels grittier than most other Lego.
Not bad for the World City line. I had the first of these “police semi trucks” when I was a kid and it was a ton of fun to play with. It’s not a shock they’ve made so many versions of this vehicle.
I still feel the 90's wave in World City sets.
World City is weirdly evocative of The Matrix, the police officers even look like Agent Smith
Man, I used to own that set... And how I loved it... One of the few non-Jack Stone / 4 Juniors sets that I got during the 2002-2005 period of my childhood. I still think it is one of the best 'police command center' trucks Lego has even made. The recent ones look progressively smaller and less detailed (they released one this year that uses a pickup truck to pull the trailer!). Not to mention that I really like the fact that the trailer was low in 7034.
Nowadays, only a few parts of it (around 50%) are still with me.
If only I had more care with my early sets... But there was also the fact that I had to follow a strict order from my parents to never dismantle and store new sets in a box or something, because they thought it would avoid the parts from getting lost. I couldn't mix new sets with older sets too, because they also thought this would make me lose the parts....
Eventually, with the sets always in a built state and without proper storing.... parts got lost during play. Or also when my mom cleaned the house and hit a set accidentally... A real shame.
Meh. Batman did it better.
HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, RANDOM SET OF THE DAY!!!
(and Huwbot, too?)
this theme fascinated me as a kid, but I only ever got 2 of the sets - 7044 and 7046
I like the truck, and that bike is awesome. I like this. I don’t remember it.
Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger was a cop in World City.
I like that world City color scheme.
As for a set 60139 : Mobile Command Center is the latest truck-version of this, and lasted a long time from 2017 and only just retired at at the start of 2022 , to be replaced by a new Pickup-Truck variant with 60315 : Police Mobile Command Truck
A police trike? Is that really the ideal vehicle for chasing down crims through narrow, twisting streets?
I still like old greys better.
You can tell elements of the World City theme we’re partly inspired by The Matrix (wasn’t everything in the early 2000s?)
Case in point, is that Agent Smith in the back of the truck?
Why does the cop in the front have bunny ears?
Why does the cop in the front have bunny ears?
Why does the cop in the front have bunny ears?
You what this set needs, it needs a gatling gun on top of the truck :)))
World City police set designs were all over the map. There's a mix of 6-wide vehicles and 4-wide vehicles, blocky vehicles and sleek designs, designs that make use of Technic construction and designs that could be straight out of early-90's town.
I think Police Trucks like this one were quite a novelty at the time, but we've gotten so many sets like this one over the years in the City line that it hardly leaves any impression today.
Not the most covert of operations. I think people might spot the giant lorry with “police” plastered all over it XD
@Brickalili, that's the genius of it. It is so obviously 'police' the crooks will think it isn't the police!
A fun set, I liked a lot of the police sets in World City. There were also some cool train, construction and harbour sets. A tad more realistic City then what came after it, and arguably better in my opinion.
@Brickchap said:
" @Brickalili, that's the genius of it. It is so obviously 'police' the crooks will think it isn't the police!
"
Oh of course! It’s foolproof!
Sorry for triple posting...
I very nearly bought this one as a kid. I got all the others in the line from that year (among my very first Lego sets). This RSOTD post brings back some long supressed regrets for not getting this set now.
That trike looks cool, just hope he can see through the black visor. Was the back of the trailer used for anything? Maybe if the door was hinged from the bottom you could push the trike inside?
The more police surveillance trucks they made, the more crime increased un Lego City. Correlation or causation?
Lol, 1 of the 28 World City produced that year. Yes, and 13 of the remaining 27 were different flavors of that same airline set (4032) which has appeared multiple times as RSoTD.
I remember when minifigs had happy faces...
Everybody's commenting on how it's not covert. Well, do you see the word "covert" in the title? Obviously, the police markings are to remind you that Big Brother is Watching You.
World City was a weird and short-lived period for Town but a welcoming, darker change nonetheless.
@gorf43:
No, but not for the reason you think. Three-wheelers of this design were notoriously prone to rollovers, which is why they basically stopped producing them in favor of quads. Slingshots use a 3-wheel design, but they flipped the wheelbase so the wide part is in front for stability when cornering.
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick:
Not unless he joined Kid N Play.
@PurpleDave said:
" @gorf43:
No, but not for the reason you think. Three-wheelers of this design were notoriously prone to rollovers, which is why they basically stopped producing them in favor of quads. Slingshots use a 3-wheel design, but they flipped the wheelbase so the wide part is in front for stability when cornering.
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick:
Not unless he joined Kid N Play."
Yeah I had some buddies a while back who put a small lawnmower engine on a three wheeled old persons cart, and it was prone to frequent rollovers or at least "tips". It was quite narrow so you could often catch it in time, but I figure that crims wouldnt be too keen on helping you right your flipped three wheeler after you swerved to avoid a mailbox.
@gorf43:
Well, the style of three-wheeler this was based on was basically for off-road use, and designed to be easier to operate than a motorcycle. On level ground, it was stable when parked, you didn’t have to know how to lean into turns*, and the fat tires offered more grip in bad riding conditions. You can ride a dirt bike over calm water if you keep it moving fast enough, but a three-wheeler has two balloon tires on the drive axle, so for a modest increase in weight you get significantly more propulsion on water (still, people managed to flip, roll, stall, or crash them when making attempts to cross water).
Off-road use is where this became a problem. Riders would roll because they tried to corner too sharp on terrain that wasn’t level, they would go riding solo so there wasn’t anyone to provide or get help when they crashed, and the bulky size probably made them more dangerous than a small dirt bike if they landed on you. People assumed they were more stable than they actually were, so they rode them worse (kinda like SUVs on the road).
* In truth, you did still need to be able to lean into some turns, and the twin rear wheels meant you had to do it entirely with your torso (without falling off the saddle), where you could lean an entire motorcycle over for cornering stability. It didn’t help much, but safe cornering speed is just a tiny bit faster if you can shift your COG a little bit. In cases where it made a difference, it meant you were cornering in an unsafe manner (too fast and/or too sharp), but it could save you from paying the price for your reckless behavior. If you were riding down a steep decline, and you tried to turn even a little bit, there wasn’t much that could save you from rolling.
Desk Officer: "So I ran facial recognition for the suspect..."
Sargent: "And?"
D.O.: "I crashed the system...":)
Seriously though, wouldn't a converted cargo-van, or even a 'moving truck' make more sense for surveillance? No, think about: how 'easy' is it to park a semi-truck w/trailer on a city street. Couple that w/placing it close to 'the target local' (office building, bank, etc.).
@PurpleDave said:
" @gorf43:
Well, the style of three-wheeler this was based on was basically for off-road use, and designed to be easier to operate than a motorcycle. On level ground, it was stable when parked, you didn’t have to know how to lean into turns*, and the fat tires offered more grip in bad riding conditions. You can ride a dirt bike over calm water if you keep it moving fast enough, but a three-wheeler has two balloon tires on the drive axle, so for a modest increase in weight you get significantly more propulsion on water (still, people managed to flip, roll, stall, or crash them when making attempts to cross water).
Off-road use is where this became a problem. Riders would roll because they tried to corner too sharp on terrain that wasn’t level, they would go riding solo so there wasn’t anyone to provide or get help when they crashed, and the bulky size probably made them more dangerous than a small dirt bike if they landed on you. People assumed they were more stable than they actually were, so they rode them worse (kinda like SUVs on the road).
* In truth, you did still need to be able to lean into some turns, and the twin rear wheels meant you had to do it entirely with your torso (without falling off the saddle), where you could lean an entire motorcycle over for cornering stability. It didn’t help much, but safe cornering speed is just a tiny bit faster if you can shift your COG a little bit. In cases where it made a difference, it meant you were cornering in an unsafe manner (too fast and/or too sharp), but it could save you from paying the price for your reckless behavior. If you were riding down a steep decline, and you tried to turn even a little bit, there wasn’t much that could save you from rolling.
"
The Lego trike appeared in 1998. This was at the height of the 'juniorization', and I presumed it designed for ease of handling compared to the old small motorbike, which was difficult to keep upright. Didn't quite work, though, as you almost never see these things in real life.