Set Review - Swamp Police Helicopter 30311

First, I am intrigued by the variety of Police subthemes that we have had versus the Fire themes. We've had Police, Wave Police, Forest Police, (Space Police; I, II, and III), and now Swamp Police. Meanwhile, we've had Fire, Forest Fire, and um... hm. No Swamp Fire? And no Space Fire? There's a missed opportunity.

Swamp Police is a Louisiana bayou based theme aimed at catching moonshiners in their swampy like hideouts. Lots of pontoon craft and offroaders (even a half-track?) and a hovercraft. TLG needs to make more of those, period. I don't see a whole lot of bonus in the Swamp Police vs. the Forest Police. More mud maybe? What I do see is a chance to show off a new piece.

The 2x2x2/3 round brick with side holes was introduced to us last year as part of C1-10P in the Star Wars Phantom set. It was decorated, but now we get it plain in both light bley and yellow. It works well as part of a pontoon. It sort of reminds me of the older octagonal bricks that were used as pontoons for the Hydronauts. Then again, I'm using about 22 of them in tan for a commission so of course they're fresh in my mind.

Behind as I am with the promos alone, this is no longer available for purchase. Target just recently cleared the rest out for like $1.48 each. They're now selling some Easter promos which I'm sure I'll get to in about April...

But you might like to buy some more Swamp Police? (click through for Shop@Home)

Set Review - Police Helicopter 30226

Not to be confused with 30222.  Or 30014; or 4991.  This helicopter is the latest model, outfitted with longer rotor blades, a stouter tail, and a sleeker design.  But with the cost of upgrades also come some drawbacks.  The video camera is now optional.  The moveable windshield also suffers in that you can't open it until the rotors come to a complete stop.  Otherwise you'll get shattered polycarbonate in your eye.

TLG is not shy about repeating City sets.  We've gotten over a dozen different police stations and almost as many hospitals.  This is the third modern standalone helicopter and one of over a dozen that have appeared in various sets.  Apparently the swamp boat and the microlight just were not as popular.

As an add-on this is a nice little set.  I mean, who's got $60-$100 to drop on a larger set with all sorts of other enhancements?  Just rustle up some pocket change and spend $4 on this little guy and you can piecemeal your police force together.

As with many of the helicopters, these rotors just aren't long enough.  Scaled out, they'd need to be at least 12 studs long each.  Here, we have 6.  But in this case if the rotors were any longer, they'd chop off the tail.  So perhaps a slight redesign would help alleviate that issue.

But the rotor engine is nice.  It's got some minimal greebling and is more than just a rotor on a stick.  I almost feel as if it were modeled after a real life helicopter.  Though I have no idea which one as aeromotive vehicles aren't my strong point.  I think I've heard the name Sikorsky once.

Right now, Target is so stock full of these that they are falling off the point of purchase displays.  At 48 + 4 pieces, this is a nice deal for $3.99.  I think that's what I paid.  Even at $4.99 it still meets the 10c per part nirvana.  There's a bunch of basic pieces and a few highly specialized helicopter pieces.  Other than that the landing gear is brick built and there are a couple of blue panels involved.  With a little creativity, you could turn 20 of these into a building or something.

If you've got nothing better to do then pick this up and enjoy the 3 minute build.  Or head on over to LEGO.com and get something a little beefier: