The LEGO City theme has nearly always been reliable in delivering good looking trucks, and this is no exception, it's brilliant and also has a good new twist with the front axle on the trailer. And this comes in at a great price!

The packaging is in the nice clean City design showing off the truck and helicopter with its crew doing various heavy cargo tasks.

Inside the box, it's well packed with 4 bags of parts and two manuals. The first manual and bags 1 + 2 make the tractor unit. And the second manual and bags 3 + 4 make the trailer and helicopter. There's also the usual small sticker sheet. Not too many and they all add to the look and feel.

Putting it together, it comes together quickly and is very solid. The base of the tractor unit is super sturdy. I also really liked the way the front come together and is attached at two points to the front so that it adds another layer of strength and rigidity to the whole thing.

For the trailer, it uses S-Plates (best name I can come up with) that are doubled up, one below and one above the main plate. It makes the connection surprisingly strong. The plate itself is a large piece so risk being damaged if you play too hard (speaking from my childhood experience).

For the helicopter, LEGO has used a slightly different design to usual with that large canopy. It makes a great looking machine

The final set looks great! And as you can see in my photos we had a lot of fun testing it in the snow recently.

It's got heaps of playability with the articulation of the trailer, helicopter, and accessories combined with that handsome tractor unit - which could be a vehicle in its own right. Speaking of which the trailer attaches via ball and socket so it comes apart easily.

It's going to have a great home in my LEGO City. Recommended to anyone that loves the city sets and trucks, helicopters or cool looking vehicles.

I have a more in-depth review over on the GJBricks site:

https://gjbricks.com/lego-review/lego-heavy-cargo-transport-review-60183/

This is one of the best under $30 sets I have bought in years. It has a great classic feel but using the latest build methods and parts. Especially love the red wheels, a throwback to when the wheels came attached to the axles. A real fun set to play or display, will work great in my collection.

While the year 2018 was well celebrated as the 6 decade anniversary of LEGO and the 4 decade anniversary of the minifigure; a.k.a: "minifig," it was also the little-known, decennial anniversary of a particular class of LEGO set: those consisting of helicopter transport trucks. This LEGO City set 60183 (Heavy Cargo Transport, 2018) is the "tenth representative" of such sets produced in 3 decades! When I first noticed this set more than a year ago, I was skeptical. Why a black with red trim, cabover truck-trailer combination, and why the red wheels? Well, at one extreme, this is an excellent LEGO City replica of the real truck-trailer combinations used by "Mammoet:" a Dutch-founded, heavy lifting and moving corporation. At the opposite extreme, the real load is not likely to be a helicopter. "HEY!" Not everything in LEGO world is designed to be a perfect replica of what's in the real world, so "better get building."

The Box Contents and the LEGO Build Experience.

The set box contents are two instruction manuals and sticker sheet, a dark grey baseplate, and four bags of parts and pieces.

Manual 1 and bag 1 builds the truck driver minifig and the chassis of the truck unit, including the utility bed. A total of 25 steps on the first 23 pages. The manual continues with bag 2, which is about buildup of the cab and adding details to both ends and the sides. This is steps 26 to 57 on pages 24 to 54. Altogether, this is the longest build. The truck is equipped with a top-mounted lightbar with the amber caution flashers as round "beacon" pieces. This lightbar, along with a front-mounted grille guard a.k.a. "bullbar" or in Canada "moose guard," and side grab handles give this rig a "road train" appearance. Yes, the truck has marker lights: just above the rearview mirror brackets.

Manual 2 is for both bags 3 and 4. Bag 3, with the 6x16 stud grey baseplate, is the trailer unit of the truck-trailer combination. This is 33 steps on the first 29 pages. The trailer has four amber marker lights: one on each corner of the central, lowered portion.

Finally, manual 2 continues with bag 4. This is all about the helicopter pilot minifig and the helicopter. This is the second longest build: a total of 47 steps on the remaining pages 30 to 69. Just as in the real aviation world, the left side of the helicopter fuselage has a red marker light, while the right side has a green marker light. Its diagonal, red and white color scheme is reminiscent of a real coast guard helicopter.

The Finished Heavy Cargo Transport.

Bring all three models together, everything functions - as well as looks to perform the tasks they were intended to be built for. Because this is a work-oriented set, both minifigs should have printed torsos - back and front, depicting the orange safety apparel, such as those in LEGO City set 60169 (Cargo Terminal, 2017). On the plus side, the female red ball cap and ponytail hairpiece are one-piece molded. The blue cap version of this piece is in LEGO City set 60221 (Diving Yacht, 2019).

A feature and a benefit on each of the three models.

1. Truck-trailer combination. One of the few, 12-wheel vehicles that LEGO has produced. Beneath the front of the trailer is a turntable, to which is affixed an "A-frame" shaped connector called a "drawbar," then the axle, oftentimes called a "bogey/bogie" axle. The distal end of the drawbar has a ball that fits into a "U-joint" hitch receiver at the back of the truck chassis. Overall, this connection has not just one but two - points of articulation or "pivot points." The benefit is a tighter turning radius than a "fifth wheel & kingpin" connection of a truck tractor & semi-trailer combination. Another benefit of a turntable drawbar trailer with its bogie is greater stability, especially for this use as a helipad, without having to manually flip up and down a set of landing jacks beneath a semi-trailer. The truck unit, with its open, slope-backed utility bed, is also reminiscent of the real mobile home and modular office toter trucks or "toters." The truck is the field maintenance/service vehicle for the helicopter, as well as the toter for the trailer, while the trailer unit is the helipad. So think of the set as a mobile helipad.

2. Helicopter. Overall, a rather sleek or "sporty" helicopter, especially with the curved, fighter jet-type cockpit canopy, as well as the twin jet engine pods. The chain attachment for the hook avoids the possibility of an accidentally knotted or tangled string on a winch. At one extreme, as previously mentioned, the diagonal, red and white color scheme is reminiscent of a coast guard helicopter, or a scuba diving flag. At the opposite extreme, the set is obviously not any "first responder" ala the coast guard, fire response, paramedic, or police. However, it can be considered an auxiliary unit for civilian assistance to search and rescue.

How this set 60183 is related to at least one other, similar LEGO City set I own.

The red, white, and grey helicopter is a perfect match to the red and grey tower crane in my set 7994 (LEGO City Harbor, 2007). Here, the tower crane is the stationary crane, while the helicopter with its chain-and-hook attachment, is obviously the skycrane. In case the tower crane has a breakdown, haul in the helicopter to load and unload the shipping containers between the container ship and the container truck.

Conclusion and Recommendation.

The LEGO City theme has truly produced a "milestone" with this set 60183. Recommended for all LEGO enthusiasts. In my opinion, the set is a "must have" for fans of unique LEGO vehicles, commercial trucks and trucking, or even helicopters as hoisting and loading machines.

I really enjoy this set. I think 30.00 is a pretty good price for this set.

If there is one thing I would have liked to see is a extra minifigure.

My favorite pieces were the Hat/Hair Combo on the lady and the yellow crate.

I like the red wheels because we normally get gray, white, or black.

For the price, the helicopter is good sized.

Overall this a good set.

Summary

I more or less bought this set on impulse, but by and large I have no regrets doing so. It is a nice build, and the truck-trailer combo is somewhat unusual (being a tow trailer). The helicopter is rather basic, but okay. The truck is nice, though the interior leaves a little room for improvement. There are (only) two minifigures, of which I like the female truck driver the most. There are quite a few stickers, most of them very easy to apply. It is above all a play set, and IMHO offers enough features. Is it good value for money? I do think it is, even at RRP. If found at a discount, it definitely is...

Build experience

The build is easy, it took me 45 minutes or so at a relaxed pace, and taking my time to apply the stickers. A 5 year old should be able to build this set - though would need adult help to apply the stickers. All the stickers are applied on flat surfaces; take your time, as especially the warning stickers are such that it becomes painfully obvious if stickers are misaligned. Also, unfortunately, some stickers were printed out of register (the number plates most notably). There are few if any special pieces, the one that seemed special to me were the two red 1x1 two-high-stud-on-the-side pieces used for the vents in the helicopter. There were no building techniques that made me go 'wow!', though I like the way they used the railing piece on the lower front of the truck. The engine grille is attached by the now common stud-on-the-side technique.

Minifigures

The minifigures are nice, with a nice female truck driver - with appropriate torse, rather subtle print indicating a woman. I also like the cap-with-ponytail piece. The male pilot does not stand out to me. None of the legs are printed, none of the heads has a double print either.

The build

By and large this is a nice set, and for general looks the truck s by far the best (and arguably also a quite versatile) vehicle. You could use the design as a basis for a tow truck, or even a rally truck (like Dakar). I like the front (engine compartment) the most. The interior is rather weak - as generally seems to be the case with six-stud wide vehicles, and leaves room for improvement. The red coffee mug is a nice touch though.

The trailer is rather basic, and works. The turning part at the front moves more easily than expected. Unfortunately the towing pintle cannot move vertically. Also, the trailer lacks the possibility to fix the helicopter to the trailer, so it cannot fall off.

The helicopter is rather basic. In some ways it seems to lack the bulk needed for heavy lifting. The hook on chain is a nice touch though. The cockpit canopy is good, though unfortunately there is a gap on the side. I like the logo on the tail. The barrel (?) colour scheme seems to reference the Lego Octan theme.

Play vs display

I would say this is above all a play set, with many play features. The set handles easily - truck, trailer and helicopter - and when moving around the helicopter does not fall of the trailer easily. The truck driver and pilot are easy to put in the vehicles. The truck is rather sparsely equipped (a walkie-talkie and a wrench is all), but there is room enough to load it with other equipment.

The truck itself already good enough for a small display - perhaps even better than the set as a whole. As a complete set it makes for an OK display, though it would need a setting (background) IMHO.

The verdict

Overall, IMHO this is a good set, and a nice addition to the city range. It gives you a big truck, a trailer and a helicopter for a reasonable price (and a very good price if found at a discount). Yeah, the helicopter on the trailer might make for a somewhat odd load, on the other hand, it is something different from the usual tractor or digger. The trailer, BTW could easily be used for transporting a digger though, with the addition of two removable 'on ramps'. This is a set that could (and should?) appeal to various groups: those collecting Lego trucks and trailers, those looking for an interesting addition to their city, and those looking for a nice play set.