LEGO City 60014: Coast Guard Patrol Review

This week I had a go at building a light-box to better improve my photo's... Well I think it was a success!
I did a bit of research on how best to construct one and there are so many options out there to choose from. In the end I went with foam core boards. I took a trip to Officeworks to buy 5 sheets of foam core and then to an art supply store to get some paper cut to length.
The measurements of the light-box are 500mm (H) x 770mm (W) x 500mm (D). Playing with the camera setting was essential, getting the ISO and White Balance right took about 50 shots but I got there in the end.

So with that done, I got straight into building some LEGO.  So how do I test out my new light-box? By building the largest and my final review in the Coast Guard series the 60014: Coast Guard Patrol.

LEGO City 60014: Coast Guard Patrol. Both boats floats in water.

 The set contains 449 pieces and retails for $99.99

 Comes with 6 Minifigures: Coast Guard Patrol Boat, Helicopter, Mini Submarine, Dinghy, Lighthouse with Rocks, a Dog, a Crab and 3 sharks.

 Note: All photo's can be clicked on for a larger view.

The art work on the front of the box depicts the scene of a couple stranded on a rocky island with a lighthouse on it. The coast guard have arrived for the rescue. On the right hand corner we are informed that the boats floats in water.  

On the back we see a comic strip style group of images, showing us how the dinghy/speedboat got shipwrecked. The captain spotting the troubled couple... "All hands to action stations?"
 The crew save the day!

The contents of the box. We get 4 numbered bags, Loose in the box you also get the large patrol boat base,  green dinghy, 3 instruction books, 8x16 blue plate and a sticker sheet (pictured below... would you believe it, the light-box was still not big enough)

Here on it's own is a close up of the sticker sheet. There are 28 stickers in total to apply. Nice way to slow a build down. But really dresses up the set quite nicely.

This is what you get in Bag 1. All the pieces you will need to build the helicopter and mini sub.

 Coast guard helicopter pilot has the same new torso print as the rest of this series. Standard helmet and visor and life jacket. All the Minifigures in this set have single sided face prints.

The 3 Sharks :-) Sweet!!!

open, shut them, open, shut them... give a little SNAP!

Mini Submarine step by step build. Strange looking... But its growing on me.
4 stickers were applied during this stage.

Helicopter's step by step build. What I find frustrating with this is that the front screen / rotary blades/ tail,  it doesn't have a lot of clutch power when winding up the hook. The whole section keeps popping off!!
6 stickers were applied during this stage.

Bag 2 and its contents. This will build the dinghy/speedboat, the rocky island and the little lighthouse.

Dinghy Passenger - Male. The torso only comes in 2 other sets the 4644: Marina.
and  9389: Community Starter Set. Loving the print on this. Standard red cap and life jacket.

Dinghy Passenger - Female. She has a pretty torso print and my daughter commented on how cut it was, and she is right! It's available in 9 sets. Funny thing about her hair is that I have seen it used mostly on male minifigures, such as Aragron from LOTR and Dastan from Prince of Persia. She also has a life jacket and
an icy pole.

Dog... Woof!

A step by step build of the Dinghy/speedboat. I like the use of the jumper plates to offset the seats.
7 stickers were applied during this stage.

All complete. Simple looking yet easy on the eyes.

The Lighthouse is straightforward with some rock formation to add some structure. By the end it, this first bag could have passed as a nice $20 set on its own.

The contents of bag 3 will build the lower deck of the coast guard patrol boat and 3 crew members.

Coast Guard - Crew Member with the new blue cap headphones, life jacket and walkie-talkie.
All 3 Crew members have the same printed torso that are new for this series.

Coast Guard - Crew Member with the new blue cap and life jacket.

Coast Guard - Captain with white mini cap.

Step by step build of the Coast Guard Patrol Boats lower deck.
9 stickers were applied during this stage.

Finally bag 4 and its contents will build the upper deck and bridge of the boat.

The step by step construction of the bridge. It has space for 2 minifigs to sit.
The 2 final stickers were applied during this stage.

All the spare parts from the set.

Now for some photos in all it glory!

Final shot of everything in the set.

Overall the coast guard patrol set is a fantastic build! The set as a whole looks fantastic when placed together. Children will have hours and hours of fun with this. To get 3 sharks is magnificent and they have plenty of minfigs to prey on, including a dog and a crab. Each section of the build was easy to understand and they construct great looking models. The light house is on the small side but works well as a back ground scene more then anything else. The helicopter falls apart way to easily, I had to fix it like 10 times in about 5 minutes when the kids were playing with it. The main boat looks really nice but with the stickers applied. But I doubt this will ever see a bathtub. Maybe an extra sticker sheet could have been added to the box, (for later on down the track) when the kids are tired of having a massive boat take up so much room in their tub. It's a brilliant set and I recommend getting one. Now to get some more blue base plates to set this theme up ready for playing...

And just in case you missed the previous reviews in the Coast Guard series here are the links...
LEGO City 60011: Coast Guard Surfer Rescue Review
LEGO City 60012: Coast Guard 4x4 & Diving Boat Review
LEGO City 60013: Coast Guard Helicopter Review
LEGO City 60015: Coast Guard Plane Review.

Thank you again for reading!

Let us know in the comments below, what you think of the set. I would love to hear others opinions on it.

Until next time this is Tan Tile... Maybe some pink for the next review.