Toy Fair 2016: City

[Hapori Tohu]

City has been a part of LEGO playthemes for decades, rotating between some different subthemes every few years. This year they have an interesting Volcano collection of sets in addition to the tried-and-true police, fire, and airport. To see the whole collection, read on!

 

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[Aanchir]

I like the use of the Hero Factory canopy.

You mean Hero Factory's use of the City canopy? That canopy was introduced for City helicopters a whole year before Hero Factory used it on battle machines.

 

I can't remember the last time we got a LEGO limo, so it's good to see the designers giving us something new.

The most recent limo was Pop Star Limousine last year, but other than that the most recent limos were in 2010, and one of them was a spaceship. So yeah, City is probably due for a new one.

 

The Air Show set looks great, with our first real LEGO City hangar, and I really like the airport set. Beautiful plane and terminal. The use of specialized pieces is kind of inescapable for a plane that size that's meant to be playable. Without big parts like that it might not be sturdy enough to really "swoosh".

 

The firefighting sets don't really excite me, but I love the pieces used for the stud-shooting water hoses and the flames you can knock down with said hoses. The burning structures are also creative, and I quite like the new station.

 

The Great Vehicles sets (listed here as "general") are always fun and creative, and this year is no exception. The ferry is also a very awesome and fresh new design that achieves a very authentic look using some unconventional building techniques.

 

The new Volcano Exploration sets look really fun and have a great color scheme. The jackhammer functions are awesome, and the sets do a good job standing out from other heavy-duty City sets like those from the recent Demolition, Arctic, and Mining subthemes.

 

The Prison Island is outstanding, with great landscaping and lots of creative functions. Reminds me of the Albatross Prison level from LEGO City Undercover. Definitely feels like more than just another typical police station/jail.

 

The Service Station set is one of the most surprising sets for me. You failed to mention its most unique characteristic — it's a 2-in-1 set! The FIRST 2-in-1 set in LEGO City! Among other things, the brushes from the street sweeper become car wash brushes. Really neat, and if we see more sets like this in the future, it could really freshen up the City theme.

 

The "Fun in the Park" set has some great minifigures, though with so many unique fig parts it's unsurprising that it has a steep price tag. Still, I hope it does well so we see other sets like it in the future.

 

Thanks for the coverage!

Edited February 21, 2016 by Aanchir

[aldero]

*Refer to City Builder set, minifigure pushing pram*

 

I didn't know that they made a Billy Mays minifigure!

[Lyichir]

*Refer to City Builder set, minifigure pushing pram*

 

I didn't know that they made a Billy Mays minifigure!

Everyone keeps comparing that fig to Billy Mays, whereas to me it looks like more of an Al Borland. Guess that probably shows my age a bit.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

There are a lot of cool sets here. My favorites would probably be the airplane sets, especially the Airport Terminal set. The plane looks great, as does the terminal itself. 

 

Thanks for the pictures!