[REVIEW]: 7206 Fire Helicopter

[hatcher]

Indexed

Set Name: Fire Helicopter
Set Number: 7206
Theme: City
Year: 2010
Pieces: 342
Minifigures: 3
MSRP: $54.99? (CDN) $39.99 (USD)

Description from Brickset:
Fly to the scene of any emergency!

There's a wildfire outside LEGO City! Quick -- launch the Fire Helicopter into the air! Spin the propeller while you hook up the giant bucket, then fly off to scoop up some water at the nearest lake. Meanwhile, the speedy fire truck races to the scene to help keep the blaze under control! Includes 2 minifigures with fire-fighting gear. Includes Fire Helicopter and fire truck Includes 2 firefighter minifigures in full gear Helicopter has a powerful spinning propeller Measures over 12" (30cm) and over 4" (10cm) long.
link: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=7206-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have always loved the look of the LEGO Helicopters. This one is no exception. It looks grat, and I'm surprised that this set didn't sell better, even at its high price point (over $50 Canadian). But I guess that's my personal bias speaking. On to the review.

Here is the front of the box. In addition to the helicopter, you get a small truck. There are 3 firemen (oops, sorry, firefighters) and the helicopter comes with a bucket to carry water to the fire to dump on it.

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The back of the box. The left side shows the modular nature of the set, and the right side highlights some of the play features. The helicopter has seats on each side for the firefighters to sit on, and the truck has a fire hose coming out of the back.

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Inside the box, we have 3 bags (numbered 1,2,3) 2 instruction books (of different size) and the dreaded sticker sheet. I didn't put the stickers on this build, mainly because they don't stick very well in the long run, but also because this set will most likely be heavily modified down the road for a MOC I am thinking about.

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Here is the first of the two instruction books. This one builds the small fire truck.

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A random page from the instruction book. The steps are numbered, but they do not have a call out showing the parts needed. It wasn't a problem though, as there are few pieces per step,

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The parts from bag one. Other then a few red 1x3 tiles, I didn't notice anything newish in terms of parts. The first firefighter is in this bag as well.

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The first firefighter. He is shown here with his breathing regulator, and a walkie talkie. The torso has a badge and if you look closely, he has what appears to be a cell phone or radio on the other side of his chest.

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And from the back. There is no printing on the back of the torso, and the head is one sided.

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The truck is the next thing to build. Here is the bottom of the truck at an early stage of the construction.

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The truck with more parts added, including what are either fire extinguishers or air tanks (yellow).

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The doors and wheel wells have now been added.

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The hood, the steering wheel, computer (computer??), hood and axes have been added. Axes are obviously useful to firefighters, but in real life, those axes would blow off as soon as they hit 50 miles an hour. Probably take someones head off. :)

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The front of the truck has now been added. Its a nice little design, but its only attached by 2 studs (at the top), so it comes off pretty easily. There should be a license plate sticker between those windows.

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In order to put the driver in, you need to remove the breathing tanks and walkie talkie. They sit in the back of the truck.

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Here is the complete vehicle, with the extra pieces in the foreground. It is an odd looking truck, but its just an accessory vehicle, not the main model, so I can overlook that.

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The contents of bag number 2 will build us the main body of the helicopter. As you can see, there are lots of helicopter specific parts here, and are in dark red. The two remaining firefighters are in this bag as well.

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Here are the two firefighters. One is the pilot (with helmet), and the other has a standard helmet. The pilot has a beard, and the other guy has glasses. The first firefighter has glasses as well. Two firefighters with glasses? I've never seen a real firefighter wearing glasses. What's up with that?

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Here is the start of the helicopter. Its a big model, and this is a very early stage in the build.

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Windows have been added here.

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The back section of the helicopter has been added now, increasing the length of the model.

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The top has gone on now.

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On the bottom, we attach the pontoons, and the seats where the firefighters sit to fight the fire.

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The end of the bag, with extra pieces. On this side, there is a water cannon. The other side you can't see doesn't have one.

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The contents of the final bag. This bag builds the rotors, the wheels, and the water bucket,

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This section goes on top of the already assembled helicopter.

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And it goes right here.

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The firefighters are in place now, and the mechanisms that will hold the rotors are in place. The wheels (not seen as they are on the bottom) are also on now.

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The completed helicopter. I don't know if rotors are really offset in real life like these are, but either way, the build is done well here.

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The water bucket is one piece, and attached with chains, and full of blue cylinders. Kids will probably love this, but they will get lost rather quickly.

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Here the bucket is haning from the bottom of the helicopter. It is attached with a hook, so it comes off easily. Maybe too easily, but regardless, it looks realistic.

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The final set. (Minus the stickers). I like the helicopter, the truck is so-so, not terrible, not great, just ok.

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Final thoughts. The minifigures are ok (except for the glasses). The truck is not great, but the helicopter is very good. The price I think is its biggest problem. I know LEGO has gone up in price overall, so that's not going to change. All I can do is refuse to buy LEGO at full price. The set does have great play features, but many of the parts are one off pieces that can not be used for anything other than helicopters or airplanes. The reuse of pieces is important in the consideration of what sets to buy, so this would be a huge consideration in my mind. Ultimately, a sets value is in the eye of the beholder, so you might look at this set, and put it in your must have list, or you might look at it and say pass. I was lucky enough to find this on clearance for $15. At full price, it would never have gotten a second look. I give it a 7/10.

[zmom]

Agree with the review - my boys really like this set (except all of the water falls out of the helicopter bucket all over the floor).

[legitimatealex]

I'd like the helicopter more if it didn't involve those huge pieces that basically make up a majority of the helicopter. Also this set should probably come with more minifigures.

[Brick & Blue]

The price was way too much. I got it as an Easter gift (means it must have been on sale) and it should have been $30 and not $40.

My complaint is the helicopter feels like it's 6 pieces. I have the coast guard helicopter that used the even bigger helicopter / plane pieces and it just feels bigger and more LEGO like. It's hard to explain.