The biodiversity of LEGO® City allows its residents to explore all sorts of different places. Over the years the adventurous folk of LEGO City have been able to chill out in the snowy arctics, dive deep into the water depths of the ocean, trek through the wild jungles and blast off into space. For their latest expedition, it’s a trip to the dusty wilds of the savanna, with the fearless Wildlife Rescue Team. This new subtheme offers a menagerie of new LEGO creatures and for my latest review, it’s time to take a look at the only 4+ set in the range. This features easy-to-build elements and a few more critters to collect. So let’s take a closer look at the LEGO City 4+ set, 60310: Wildlife Rescue Off-Roader.
Product Description
Kids can become everyday heroes with this LEGO® City Wildlife Rescue Off-Roader (60301) playset, featuring an animal-rescue team including LEGO City Adventures TV series hero Jessica Sharpe, plus a lion, lion cub and a snake with its egg. Just add the river setting, toy water scooter and 4×4 to set the scene for exciting wildlife-rescue adventures.
Fun for all the family
LEGO 4+ sets deliver hours of fun for kids, friends and families. Each set comes with a simple building guide and a Starter Brick element to help youngsters along. And with 4+ sets, you also get Instructions PLUS – part of the LEGO Building Instructions app. This interactive building guide, with zoom and rotate viewing tools, really does make LEGO building child’s play.
- Set Name: Wildlife Rescue Off-Roader
- Set Number: 60301
- Theme: City/4+
- Pieces: 157
- Minifigures: Jessica Sharpe, Ranger and Explorer
- Animals: lion, lion cub and snake figures
- RRP: £39.99/$49.99/44.99€
- Measurements: Off-Roader measures over 2 in. (6 cm) high, 5.5 in. (14 cm) long and 2.5 in. (7 cm) wide
- Availability: LEGO.com, LEGO Stores & General Retail
Not only is this the only 4+ set in the Wildlife Rescue range, but it’s also only one of two sets to feature characters from the LEGO City Adventures TV show. If you are unaware, the 4+ sets offer an easy-to-build experience thanks to Starter Bricks. These act as a simple base to build around. For this set, the Starter Bricks is the chassis of the Off-roader vehicle, which has a 16×6 area and pre-connected wheel pin plates. The result of the Starter Brick is a chunky looking 4×4 vehicle, which works in its favour. As well as using a unique element for the Starter Brick, the Off-Roader also uses a couple of unique or rare pieces. The printed bonnet, which features the Wildlife Rescue logo, is only found in this set and the crank barrel which stores the chain using a new element only found in one other set.
The Off-Roader isn’t the only vehicle to be featured in this set, it’s joined by a small jet ski. This is an extremely simple build, even compared to other jet skis. One thing I do like about the tiny build is that the Technic pin sticking out the rear has been left as it is and has not been fitted with a propeller.
If you’re going to rescue wildlife, you need to head out into the wilds of LEGO City to find some. This is represented in the set by a couple of buildable pieces of scenery. The first is a small grassy island, upon the Wildlife Rescue team have started a campfire and features their equipment box.
But it’s the larger piece of scenery, which is the focus of the set. This is where the sets animals reside and you’ll find a simple play feature. This section features two grassy sections, divided by a small section of water and connected by a small bridge. Each side includes a small cave, crafted from a trio of BURP sections and topped with a simple tree. Although the caves aren’t that big, there is enough to pop the sets animals in them or almost in them.
Both caves are connected 2×12 brown plate, this isn’t connected by any clutch power, instead, it sits in a small area created by a couple of slope and flat tile elements. The reason for this is so it can be toppled by a simple Technic angle element connected to the right-hand side cave. It would seem rescuing wildlife is a perilous endeavour as if lions and snakes weren’t bad enough.
For most, the appeal of this set will be the animal figures it contains. You’ll find three of them in this set, with two of them being exclusive and not currently found in other sets. So you’ll find a male adult lion, which features a brown mane. It has two points of articulation, with it being possible to move the head and the back legs. It’s joined by a small lion cub, which is perfectly sized against the adult lions. The final critter is a snake, which uses the much bigger version of the reptile introduced in the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigure Series. The version here features print detail, making it unique to the set.
Finally, you can’t rescue wildlife, without someone there to rescue them. The set includes three Minifigures, with two of them being generic, namely the Ranger and Explorer. Although they are largely made up of widely used parts and faces, they both have a unique torso, which features the Wildlife Rescue logo. One of which is only found in this set. The other Minifigure is a character from the TV series LEGO City Adventures. Jessica Sharpe is a famed explorer, who has previously featured in one of the Ocean Explorer sets from last year. She has a great torso, which could easily be used to create a custom Lara Croft Minifigure. The only aspect of this character I don’t like is her accessory. For some reason, she has crook, which was previously used in the Toy Story sets for Bo Peep. Here, it looks oversized and sticks out like a sore thumb due to its colour.
It feels less like a 4+ compared to some of the others, but it’s not overly complex, which seems to be the case with all the Wildlife Rescue sets. It does seem a little pricey for a 4+ set as well but I guess this is due to the animal figures. Which to be honest are rather cool. The adult lion, in particular, is a great new addition to the ever-growing group of LEGO creatures.
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This set was requested by BricksFanz and provided by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing access to this set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
