LEGO® Set Review: 4021 Police Patrol

4021

[4021 Set Photo] Police Patrol (us,uk)
 Police des mers (fr)
 Wasseschutzpolizei (de)
 «Politie te water» (nl)
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Floating Boats / (Boat)

Ages 6-12 / 185 Pcs
8 page manual. 1 models. North American 1995 catalog. Model 1: 17 steps. ©1991, 1992
Price Range: $40.00 Canadian, at Toys R Us Per Element: 21.6 cents/piece

Review Written: 23 May 1995 by Calum Tsang
Special Features / Compatibility
 Extra Elements
  • Hull (as described below) in Black *
  • Weighted Bricks in Red *
  • Mast in White *
  • Weird sunken hold compartment for Engine in Grey *
  • Winch in Red and Black *
  • Lifejackets in Yellow *
  • Tape Recorded Decorated Tile
    		• Decals: Five
    Scale: Mini-Figure
    Errors:

    Ratings: Set: Excellent Models: Very Good Playability: Must-Have

    Description

    The 4021 Police Patrol is a 40 foot cutter, sort of like the kind you see used by coast guards. Up here in Toronto, I'm pretty sure our police department doesn't own a large boat like this, but I'm sure somewhere something like this exists. It has a long black hull, about a foot long, and the bow is angled pretty steeply, unlike the pointed slender bow of the 4011 Cabin Cruiser. On the bow, which is raised higher than the rest of the deck are the usual pieces of hardware. There is a flying bridge, and a lower one, both in the superstructure of the vessel. The lower one has a tape recorder, a computer, and a steering wheel. The tape recorder is probably used to record covert drug deals or something. And the computer is probably for the radar/loran/sonar whatever equipment up on the mast.

    Above the lower bridge is a rotating lamp. The flying bridge is open in the back to the deck, which has a storage compartment for an air tank, and a hook to hold a diving helmet. The helmet is the usual helmet, not the new nifty aquazone helmet. Behind the cabin part is a lowered "hold" with the engine, which looks like a diesel powered V8. That engine compartment is covered by a pair of windowed doors, which are made of four hinged covers with windows in them. (can't think of a better way to describe them, but they are used as roofs for cars and hatchbacks for trucks) The panes of glass are textured, which is something new for me.

    Aft has a spoiler, and a winch for towing/rescuing. I've noticed this ship is more for search and rescue. No weapons of any kind, which is one good thing about LEGO. However, being a Canadian, that means we can't seize and board Spanish fishing trawlers! :)

    There are many decorated pieces, with the POLICE name emblazoned on the side of the structure. You also get some stickers to go onto the sides of the hull (pretty stripes) but I opted not to put them on.

    Also included are three police men with normal faces, each with a white policeman hat and the usual black body. Each also gets a nice yellow life preserver in case they fall off the boat.

    Impression

    I'm pretty happy with it, it was a birthday gift, but I would have paid the $40 anyway. I guess I'm more sure and confident about the purchase than say the $300 Metroliner, but that too is a lot of fun and I suppose well worth the money if you're a diehard Lego fan (I for one, do not buy several of the same set, have auctions or whatever :)

    The design looks pretty realistic, and has all of the key operational parts of a real rescue/patrol boat. (I have no frigging idea what the LEGO police are patrolling against, but smugglers I suppose would be the best guess) I think The LEGO Group does that quite a bit with their Town and even Technic sets-they pick on the most important parts of a prototype and then put them into the model. Such as in a rescue boat, you've got to have speed, a winch, diving equipment, deck space, and a bridge. So The LEGO Group put all of them into a package that looks good that you can play with.

    I'm really impressed also with the fact that The LEGO Group built the hull in a very special way. Unlike the first generation boat hulls, which are solid, and segmented, or even the 4011 hull, the 4021's hull is a thin (1/8" or so) black plastic, with grey decking for 3 dots from the rear, and about 10-12 dots in the front (basically the entire raised bow part). Everything in between is a big wide deep space. You basically get some 24 dots by 10 dots to work with, and it's about 4-5 bricks deep. You can build anything you want in there, which means, bulk/ore carriers, hidden missiles :), a cargo bay for extra containers, a launch area for a smaller craft, are all possible. Even an extra deck for passengers if you choose to turn it into a cruise boat (not a cruise ship though, no space for Kathie Lee Gifford! :)

    Ratings

    Set Rating:Excellent

    I'm a big fan of boats and trains, and therefore really like them. There are some new pieces, like the hull which you can't find anywhere else. Because using anything else for hulls is rather ugly.

    Model Rating:Very Good

    Well, part of the reason why I wanted this boat was for the hull-meaning, I may eventually build it into a cargo ship. I think I really need a cargo ship more than a police cutter, but it's grown on me.

    The general layout of the boat is pretty good. It's a lot more advanced than, say, the 4025 Fireboat from several years back; with two bridges, storage compartments, better use of deck space, but it's not that far from the design of the 4011 Cabin Cruiser, which incorporates many of the same ideas and a few of the same elements.

    Playability Rating:Must-Have

    Of course as generally rotted out the brains of most youngsters are these days... :) However, I can tell you that this set is pretty darn fun to play with. It's floating, so you can play with it in the tub, and it's also a very attractive addition to any LEGO city, which definetly needs a harbour and boats to go with it.

    I personally love the fact it goes so well with my redesigned 4025 Fireboat (which has a completely different superstructure, with a 9V powerbox and siren and lighst) and the 4011 Cabin Cruiser. It's great, because you can have the boats set up past each other, figures saluting each other. Or you can have routine safety inspections and pull the Cabin Cruiser over.

    It's also easy to reconfigure-meaning, the way The LEGO Group built the 4021, you can build a cargo boat out of it, and with the pieces in the set, make at least a garbage hauling barge out of it :) (just transport your other LEGO elements or pencils/knickknacks/spare change inside the hull!)

    Elements

    The 4021 shares a lot of parts with the 4011, so the *'d parts may not be new to you. It also shares the mast with the 4025. One other thing, airplane tail pieces found in space/airport sets are used for the spoiler at the back and the aerial structure ontop of the flying bridge.

    Decals

    One POLICE label for the aft, four labels for striping on the side.
    Reviewer Information
    Reviewer Name Age (at review) E-Mail WWW Favorite Theme
    Calum Tsang 18 tsangc@ecf.utoronto.ca http://www.io.org/~tsangc/lego.html Lego Trains, Boats, Town and Dacta.

    Reviewer lives in Toronto Canada

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