Welcome back to another blog post folks, and today I thought we would dive into a bit of an interesting topic – the stigma which is often around the LEGO City subline. We all know what I’m talking about. The LEGO City subline is so often seen as a glorified collection of emergency services vehicles, firefighters, cops and criminals. Whilst we have got our fair share of first responders in the line over the years, I think there is more to it!
In this blog post we’re going to explore some of the other things which I feel the city line brings to us as fans of LEGO. I’ve been racking my brains to think about the different applications and elements included in these sets, but I won’t necessarily reflect on the same elements that you might if you were writing this post. With that in mind, I’d love to hear what you think the LEGO City line brings in the comments at the bottom of this post!
Minifigures
The first thing I wanted to touch on is minifigures, because I think many of us collect LEGO for the little characters that we can get our hands on. The City line has brought us a plethora of unique minifigures over the years, from reporters and journalists, to police officers, and even characters in three-piece suits. Many of these figures are ideal custom fodder to create characters and appearances from other themes and licenses which LEGO may never create. In short, the City line is a really good source of inspiration when it comes to creating custom minifigures!
I also think it is important to note that new and unique minifigure pieces often come out of the City line. Previous releases have seen unique bandage accessories, the wheelchair piece and other individual elements debut first in this subtheme. Whilst they then eventually make the transition across to other lines and licenses, it is important to note that many of the other lines we collect may not have the budget to introduce these pieces for the first time – meaning City is a fundamental component in making them possible. With this in mind, I think it is fair to say that the minifigures we get through the City line only serve to benefit the rest of the minifigures in our collections.
Vehicles
I also think it is worth highlighting that occasionally, the City line brings us some unique vehicles for our collections. Sure, lines like Speed Champions give us vehicles which are much more accurate to their real-life counterparts, but there are still lots of different cars and trucks beyond police cars and fire engines which I feel are worth highlighting as a part of this blog post.
City has been instrumental in introducing new sculpts for smaller vehicles like the moped scooter in the past. Further to this, City also gets unique vehicles with playability on occasion. I remember when I was slightly younger picking up the Pizza Truck which was available at the time, and being so impressed by just how much detail LEGO had packed into the build. As I say beforehand, these are not hyper-detailed luxury cars like those which we have seen in other lines, but these are unique models which look great when displayed with your other LEGO sets. From helicopters to motorbikes, and trucks to planes, it is fair to acknowledge that the City line does offer one hell of an assortment for collectors who love their vehicles.
Interesting Buildings
The LEGO City line does also bring us interesting buildings from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not talking about Modular Buildings here – but I think there have been some really unique pieces released over the years. One set I owned which I adored was the multi-storey carpark, which featured a working car elevator in the middle of the structure, a car wash on the lower level, and various additional details on each level – plus a ton of cars which you could store on the structure.
I also think there have been some fun in-world joke sets, like the LEGO Store sets we have received in the past. It is fair to say that over the ten or so years I was collecting LEGO City, there were a few real gems which stood out from other sets and offered something unique for collectors. I don’t think fans should let the never-ending pipeline of police stations and prison islands fully overshadow some of the more unique releases from this line.
Sublines
It would be remiss of me to talk about the LEGO City line without referencing some of the most unique sublines we have received as a part of its offering. I was absolutely obsessed with the LEGO Jungle subtheme which released in 2017, and adored how cool and unique the vehicles and minifigures offered through the line were. They offered something rugged and practical which other LEGO sets just didn’t seem to offer at the time. Yes, you could argue I enjoyed the rugged vehicles a lot more because they reminded me of the Jurassic Park franchise, but I think the subline itself had a lot of merit, too.
I also remember the Volcano Exploration theme which released when I was younger – featuring some of the most unique minifigures and playsets I had ever seen. I remember I love seeing the mobile command centre which was created as a part of this line, and always longed to own the Heavy-lift Helicopter released through the line. These are just two of numerous cool sublines released under the city branding.
In summary, I think that there is so much more to the LEGO City theme than Police and emergency services – and I think people should stop stereotyping this theme under such predictable terms when there has been some genuine innovation throughout this subtheme. Sure, we do get a lot of police officers and firefighters as a part of this line. I’m not arguing against that. But we also get a ton of unique minifigures, awesome vehicles, interesting builds, and brand-new parts and moulds which would not otherwise be available. That alone shows the true value of the LEGO City line – and is why I am happy it continues to be such a popular line.
What do you think of the LEGO City line? Do you like the current products on offer, or do you think LEGO could do something else? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and make sure to come back for another post very soon!
