For my next LEGO® City 2023 set reviews, it’s time to take a look at the last of the Arctic Explorer sets and one of the biggest sets released as part of the Summer wave. The LEGO City Explorers have been venturing across the Arctic Tundra and deep into the icy oceans in search of past treasures and magnificent wildlife. Other Arctic Explorer sets have featured a sub, a mobile HQ and a mini boat, but they all pale in comparison to the Explorer Ship. A massive ship, filled with features and even has the ability to float.
Product Details
Set Name: Arctic Explorer Ship | Set Number: 60368 | Pieces: 815 | Theme: LEGO City
RRP: £129.99/$159.99/149.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 9 + loose elements | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Minifigures: x 7 + Orca figure
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
One of the first things you’ll notice about the ship is the box. It’s different to most current packaging as it has a lidded box. Oddly, this gives it a slight premium feel. This style of box isn’t particularly needed for this set, but it does make accessing the bags and loose elements much easier. These include two massive boat bases, which form the floatable hull of the ship. The piece used for the rear of the vessel has been used in other sets but the front section is new and forms a traditional ship shape to the hull. Before tackling the ship, there are a number of smaller pieces to build which include various support vehicles and a section of a shipwreck.
Similar to the Arctic Explorer Submarine set, the explorers are searching the ocean floor for signs of ancient wrecks. Although the sunken wreck is quite small its clearing represents part of a Viking fleet, with the telltale dragon-curved front of a longship. On board is a chest featuring a shield and axe. But best of all is a crab wearing a Viking helmet. To help explore the wreck the ship has a small remote drone sub. This has a similar colour scheme to other vehicles in the Arctic Explorers range and can be lowered through the hole in the ship as well as the ability to be stored in a section at the rear of the ship.
Other support vessels include a small raft boat, which uses the small boat body element. Minimal elements are added to the craft but it can hold two seated minifigures. When not in use this smaller boat can placed on the deck of the ship and sits across the gap in which the remote sub is stored. There’s also a small single-seater helicopter, which has a couple of neat details such as the floatation barrels on the landing feet of the copter and the tail section being constructed from two rod pieces. It can also be stored on the ship, with a small helipad located at the front of the ship
As mentioned above the ship really is huge and is constructed by two large elements which create the hull of the ship. Despite being two big pieces, they are simply secured together with a couple of long Technic beams and a couple of long plates. These hold the ship together perfectly and form part of the ship’s cabin and deck. As the pieces which form the ship have large dips in them, these are used to create additional details. So under the control room of the ship, you can find the ship’s crew quarters, research stations and even a loo. Above this section is a smaller area which features the ship’s control room. This is built in a usual way, with the transparent window pieces actually being mounted in an inverted manner. This gives a great finish to this section of the ship. Although there are obviously a few unique pieces used in this set, I quite liked the use of Star Wars Droid bodies for some of the ships’ other details such as the BB-8 bodies used on the ships’ radar mast and the R2 Droid body used to help build the ship’s crane.
Some of the minifigures featured in the set, also appear in some of the other Arctic Explorers sets, offering a nice synergy between them. The outfits they wear are nicely varied as well, yet have a similar appearance despite the different designs. They all feature the same colouring as the vessels they use to explore. Each of the minifigures has their charms but I particularly like the rugged-looking bearded chap with his furry collar and the photographer dude with his dual-coloured torso.
This is another of the Arctic Explorer sets to introduce a brand new animal element in the form of an Orca whale. Also known as a Killer Whale, these magnificate creatures have a reputation as being skilled hunters. But it seems the Ocra featured in this set has a full belly and is more than happy to watch the explorers carry out their search. It’s a great animal figure, especially its almost cheeky grin. The figure is a single element, which has a separate piece to create its mouth. There are also connection points on its base so it can be connected to a studded surface along with two studs on its back and the fin also has a mountable point.
Overall
The ship is vast in size, in fact, I’d say it’s too big. The ability to float is fun but its size does beg the question as to where you’d be able to float it. As you can see it almost takes up an average size bath. Although it floats it doesn’t need to be played with in water. Apart from the ship, the other aspects of the set would fare less well in a watery environment. I like all the little details dotted about the ship, especially those below deck. I also like the ability to store the various support vehicles on board the ship. As impressive as the ship is, the star of the set is the new Orca whale animal element. But it’s a pricey set to pick up just for the whale and I can see the Orca figure commanding a hefty price in the secondary market unless it appears in another set. Overall, it’s a unique set in terms of the elements used to create it such as the floatable bases of the ship and the whale figure. I must admit, there was a moment of child-like wonder seeing a LEGO ship floating in the bath. Please note, due to the set’s ship, it was super tricky to photograph so images are not as great as they could be.
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The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
