My little son and I love building Legos together, especially Lego trains. We have a few in our collection including a set from my childhood (#4563), two Horizon Express sets (#10233), a winter break train (#10254), a previous Lego freight train (#60052) and us We recently added this freight train to our collection (#60198) It was hard not to compare this set to the previous freight train (#60052). In a way, this set is superior to this set. Otherwise, the previous move was better. Regardless, I was dying to know if Lego's decision to increase the price resulted in a better train and play experience. I'll start by saying that this set is better than the previous one. First, it contains many more tracks. The previous train had two switch elements, 8 straight and 16 curved elements. This set consists of 16 curved, 16 straight and one front derailleur. This train set also comes with many more parts. about 40% more. The previous set had 888 pieces, this one has 1226. This set features the new Lego Powered Up system which uses Bluetooth versus the infrared system on previous Lego trains. The new system is much nicer and doesn't require line of sight to work. It is important to note that the new system is not compatible with the old system. The new system is much more compact and does not require a separate receiver like the old system. It also works with new style controllers and compatible smartphones. The phone app does everything a real controller can and has some sound effects too. Note that the sounds are coming from your phone and not from the train itself. The Powered Up system runs smoothly - just as well, if not better than the previous system. The physical controller is also better for kids. The old controller's wheels were difficult for small children to use - the new one uses + and - buttons that you just have to press. they are much simpler. As for the train itself, I was disappointed. Its design focuses more on play value than realism. It doesn't look like a real train. I felt the previous freight train (#60052) looked a lot more realistic and had great playability too. This set is fun to play with, but it just doesn't suit me. The green engine let me down. Although I like the double cabin design, it seems strange to me. It has two small booths at each end containing a chair and a 1x4 flat with simulated gauges. It doesn't include many other details. I also have a HUGE issue with this motor that others probably won't notice. Lego is promoting new powered-up lights for this train (#88005). They specifically mention that they are compatible with this train. There's just one problem - they don't work because you can't route the cables. The front end contains several fixed parts that make it impossible to connect them to the train without major modifications - modifications that will likely make this engine even weirder. When my son and I built this motor we again compared it to the blue motor from the previous motor (#60052). This engine was great - it looked realistic, had a lot of detail and was just better engineered. (This one also needed modifications to run the old headlights) This set contains three cars, except for the engine. Parts are also missing, but that's more the norm with Lego freight trains in recent projects. There's a long car with a pretty good crane. This faucet is well designed and has great functionality. It has a dial on the back that you turn to raise and lower the crane arm and two additional dials, one on each side, that raise and lower the hook. You can also manually extend the crane arm so that it can reach the wagons in front or behind. It also has cute little stabilizers that pop out from under the faucet and keep it from falling over when lifting a load. I only have complaints about this car - first of all, nothing prevents the crane from rotating when the train moves along the rails. The only option is to lower the hook and catch a small piece at the end of the machine. It seems to work, but not very well. Earlier versions of the crane cab included small levers that swing up and prevent the crane from rotating. Lego left it out of this design. The second complaint is that the crane cab looks pretty empty front and back. Also in previous versions of this design, Lego put something else on the car - either warning cones or a place for a small load. Lego kept this one simple - and it looks simple. The other two machines are smaller machines. One of them is a very simple little machine that can hold three logs. Each log has a small chain that allows a crane to pick it up and lift it onto or off the vehicle. The car is really nondescript and frankly boring. The last wagon is a small flatbed truck that can hold two freight containers. One of them is a bank vault containing a palette of gold and money. The other has a container with a small snowmobile. Both are very basic builds that are missing parts. Again, it's clear that Lego places more emphasis on verse design than playability. More on that later. Another quick comparison between this train and the previous freight train. The carriages of this train were also missing parts, but they seemed better to me. They were unique - a car with power cords, a car for animals, and a larger (and well-detailed) pickup truck. They were better designed in my opinion, but also very enjoyable to play. This set also includes a basic yellow forklift that is beautifully designed but looks the same as any other forklift that Lego has included in previous train sets. There is also a nice armored bank car which I think is well detailed and works great. The design is odd though - it has a side opening hatch that pops open - this allows the forklift to place a pallet of gold and money inside the car. No truly realistic armored car could do this, but then again, Lego designed it for playability, not realism. The truck looks great - its design is similar to most other Lego trucks in recent years. Another feature is the small tower in the courtyard, which is quite simple but well detailed. You can switch red/green traffic lights to signal trains that they can go safely or must stop. Lego used a fireman's ladder to climb the tower and it works great and looks great. It is 16 rivets wide and includes small cross marks. I was a bit disappointed that there were no goals. However, the last freight train had no crossing at all. The last feature I want to mention is the crossover, which leads to a small buffer or stop element that actually works pretty well. I like this feature because it allows you to move the entire train away from the main track for loading and unloading. The train can separate individual cars for unloading/loading and the rest of the train can return to the main oval. Now the question is: is this move worth the price premium over the previous move? While I like the #60052 set better, I think this set is still worth the money. Lego charges a lot for the extra track if you buy them separately and this set has extra track so you need to take that into account. Second, as I mentioned earlier, what this set lacks in parts it more than makes up for in playability. It has a fun story that will keep your kids entertained. The set includes a bank box and an armored car. plus a minifigure dressed as a villain. It even comes with a small pair of binoculars. The great train robbery has begun! The new powered-up system far outperforms the old system. Hopefully Lego will sell the same accessories for this system as they did for the old system. (Battery box, PLEASE!) Each of my other trains has a battery box, and while they're expensive, if you play with your train regularly, you'll save money by not having to constantly buy AAA batteries. Hopefully Lego will release a powered up version of the battery box soon. Since you can no longer buy an old train cheaply (disused Legos have skyrocketed in price), this is now the best option. system high. Lego and Revain currently sell both new and old system components and they are NOT COMPATIBLE.
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