One of the most aesthetically pleasant sets of it's period, funny how today people will complain about the use of special elements, pointing at the 80ies-90ies and claiming how it was better back then, and this thing consists of 44 pieces, out of which a quarter is highly specialised, and unless we talk something abstract like a robot, five of these bricks can't really be used as anything else but whatever that is that they are (the sail, mast, the lifepreserver, the suspension brick, the surfboard).

This has always been a fun little set. It comes with one minifigure of a guy with sunglasses and looking like he's wearing a black swim suit. The dune buggy is a good solid build featuring suspensions for the tires. The surfboard is great, having a pole that can be attached for some wind sailing. And when not in use, there's a place to put the surfboard on back of the buggy and roll up the sail.

While I never had much for the Beach theme, I always liked and enjoyed this one.

This is a great small set, tons of playability with the dune buggy (which has that bouncy Lego suspension on the rear wheels) and the wind surfer. My favorite part is how the wind surfer rolls up and fits on the buggy so you can transport it to the next beach. The buggy even has a piece that holds the life jacket as you bounce along.

One minor Con is there are not alot of other building options with this set, but who cares cause it is a Great Set how it is!!!

This cool little vehicle is very similar to Set 6510 Mud Runner and has features of the older Set 6528 Sand Racer. The question is, does the addition of windsurfing kit add anything?

The Vehicle

The buggy is a basic build and is very similar in design to Set 6510 and looks almost identical. Neat touches include the round headlights, the clip-on brake light units and the twin roll bars which double as the surfboard holder. The driver has a small windscreen made from a handle brick. The front 2x2 flat brick has a neat printed sail logo on it, but the single vent to indicate the engine area is ok but it lacks the sporter spoiler of 6510. The wheels are much better though than the 6510 and re-introduced the joys of suspension, not really seen since the 6528 Sand Racer. Rather than front and rear suspension, the buggy makes do with rear suspension only, but has a wider 1x4 front wheel bar for ample wheel track. The rear wheels are nice and chunky too. Lego did a 1x4 suspension bar and its inclusion here might have been good. Even so it looks more cross-country capable than the 6510 Mud Runner, but less sporty. Stowing the mast and sail is a bit of a pain too on a vehicle this small.

The Minifigure

This cool surfer dude has yellow legs (a trouser-less minifig!) and a black vest and his head is a nice sunglasses face with the standard male hair piece on top. He also has a lifejacket (also a pain to stow on the vehicle unless he drives with it on - how uncool is that?

Personal Developments

I like the buggy and it looks good and has the added bonus of suspension, which isn't essential but is a nice bonus. The minifigure is also different from the normal and the windsurfing gear is a nice addition. So you can have a lot of fun with this small and quick to assemble set. My only criticism is that the surfboard and mast and sail and lifejacket are just too much of a pain to stow away when travelling and with the board on top the looks are ruined. It's not as practical as Set 6531 Surf n' Sail Camper of the same year, but I guess was a cheaper alternative. So in summary its a good set, but slightly flawed. If you want a cross-country racer then get hold of the Mud Runner and add the cool suspension features yourself if you can.

This little set provided some fun new parts upon its release, and some exciting elements to use in long term play due to its well designed components and models.

Minifigures:

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• The coolest head ever!
• Hilarious black 'trunks.
• Trusty yellow lifejacket.

Black shades make the windsurfer look the part on the beach. The simple addition of this new black shades head print just exploded our imagination in the design of minifigures and subsequent builds and themes - all custom of course. No doubt many kids, had MOCs featuring some element of cool or espionage or high drama. It was at risk of being fought over because we only had two, I think one came in another set but here are some of the custom characters, subthemes and uses that this tiny head inspired: Spies & Espionage, Future City, Super Heroes, disguises, crime, cyberpunk gear, Terminator 2 (well it was 1992), general heroes/villains, cool cops, rock star, film star, wealthy playboy etc and so on.

Jumping Sand Bars

The bouncy dune buggy is a great model and probably the best out there with only the lack of front suspension/ shock absorbers to complain about. Another set, 6528, got full suspension but this was an inferior design. A general red base with blue streak prior to the white top makes a clean scheme.

The bug eye lights are neat at the front which leans right down from those large back wheels. The surf symbol is displayed on a flat plate in the front of the cab where our driver is protected by a front small white bar, the clever rising blue side bar element and double rear blue bars that form a rack to carry the surfboard on. Safe indeed. The rising blue bars have two stud plate sections at each end. Was this not used in Castle as shafts for drawing horse carts? The interesting white clip plates hold the rear lights backward and form an alternative and suitable rear to the vehicle.

The surfboard is a great piece of plastic. It can be stood on and clipped down of course for stowing on the buggy. The rods make a really good frame on to which is attached a brave new thing, a plastic sail. The design from the buggy bonnet is smartly repeated here and the use of white and clear plastic means windsurfer can see where he is going and can of course pose for all in the shiny black shades.

Wind In Your Sails

To summarise, the dune buggy is a fine beach vehicle, among the best and the wind surfboard was an excellent new feature, all of its parts top notch. Other great parts are the suspension, black shades head and lifejacket. Marking it down is preferable because I'm tight with the brick score that I think should be reserved for something special, but its hard to fault really. There is not much to it but it makes great use of a tiny brick inventory, so apart from a low value price, its probably a popular set and deserving of recognition.