Regular readers would be aware that I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at the LEGO City Space sets this year – and they have brought just about everything you could ask for from a LEGO Space theme, with the possible exception of a revival of vintage colour schemes and monochromatic spacemen. I recently discovered some more LEGO CITY sets in the bottom of that shipping box – those from the Fire Brigade. It has been a few years since I looked at this CITY Subtheme. However, since LEGO City has undergone a design renaissance over the last couple of years, I was keen to see how things might have changed and approached it with an open mind. However, at the end of the day, my inner space fan has found myself wondering if it is hinting at something else…

In 2024 we have seen an evolution in the LEGO City Fire Brigade’s design language across the range. There has been a wide spread modification of the colour scheme, including the elimination of some features that have been present throughout the LEGO City era:

• blue water tanks have been introduced
• white wheels hubs have gone, and likewise: ladders and attachments to vehicles are no longer white but otherwise dark grey or black.
• after a couple of unruly years, vibrant yellow has been reigned back to be a fairly subtle way to break up a sea of red and black.
• yellow fire extinguishers and hose fittings have been replaced with blue or grey, with metallic shades joining the fray.

As with recent recent years, we have had a fairly reasonable gender balance and age across the board. We get a new set of uniforms representing firefighters in various states of undress as they prepare to head out to protect the citizens of LEGO City.

But before we dive head on to the review of the new 60414 Fire Station and Firetruck, why don’t we take a look at how the fire stations have evolved over the years?

Some history: LEGO Fire Stations Through the Ages – LEGO Town

LEGO Fire Stations and Fire trucks have been a near continuous staple of the building lineup for over 50 years, with the first ‘mini-wheeled’ fire truck rolling out in 1970.

This is not, however, the very first LEGO Fire station: this honour would lie with the 1308 fire Station, part of the range associated with the original LEGO Town Plan, with a die-cast firetruck from 1957.

The first Minifigure-scaled fire truck was included in 1978’s 374 Fire House and was a relatively simple truck with lights, a ladder and room for a figure or two. It was accompanied by a smaller truck and trailer in that set. A fire truck and the fire chief’s car were unable to accommodate the minifigures they were packaged with. This would change as we entered the 1980s. An office, a Tower and a couple of garages: a sign of things to come.

Fire stations turned red throughout the ’80s and ’90s and typically came with two vehicles – a truck and car or SUV, with the occasional helicopter landing on the roof. During this time, there were two main logomarks in use: a stylised triple flame, coloured in red, orange and yellow. The other is a fire helmet framed with axes and occasional flame. Towards the end of the ‘Town’ run, stripes were added to either side of the flame. During this time, a strip of black or white was added to the trucks, while accessories such as nozzles, fire extinguishers and safety rails were frequently (but not exclusively) yellow.

Some More History: LEGO City. Now things are really heating up. 2005-2018

As LEGO City emerged in 2005, the vehicles moved from 4-stud to predominantly 6-studs wide. The flame logo persisted, as did the Helmet/Axe motif on the buildings. Initially, the vehicle logo was framed in a shield flanked with three chevrons, then two in 2008.

In 2013, we saw several dramatic changes: the fundamental logo changed to a solitary two-coloured flame in a shield and the addition of burning buildings to larger sets. During this period, the vehicles became increasingly patchy and complicated in their colour blocking. Greebling was either red or yellow; there was a ‘trim stripe’ typically in white. Stickers indicating the set number were also prevalent. As a side note, virtually every LEGO house produced in the City range during this period was either on fire or serving as a hideout for a criminal gang.

Turning yellow, launching stud shooters: 2019- 2021

In 2019, LEGO City Adventures took to the screen. LEGO City Minifigures took on names, and under fire chief Freya McCloud, the vehicles got new trim, while the logo was rendered monochromatic. For the first time in history, the trim line on the vehicles changed from black or white to cool yellow across the range, although white window frames persist on the buildings. This is also the first year that the vehicles are able to attack the fire through the introduction of stud-shooting water cannons, launching light transparent-blue water studs at the fire!

We see an overall simplification of the vehicle design as we move into 2021:although the white ladder does serve to distract from the cool yellow trim. Check out the separate fire engine set: although it looks like a retrofitted semi-trailer, it has some of the sleekest, smoothest lines seen on a LEGO Fire truck for years. Note that most of the logos are present as stickers. We start to see a shift in wheel hub colours from white to black

Vibrant Yellow makes its mark (2022-present)

In 2022, we saw the introduction of Vibrant ‘retina burning’ Yellow. This was rolled out in large searing patches across emergency service vehicles everywhere, and the fire trucks were no exception. While this served to increase the parts palette, it was not subtle! Also of note: the fire logo has become set as a red flame on a silver shield with a black outline, and remains as such to this day.

In 2023, there was a brief flirtation with vibrant yellow bonnets with printed logos, as seen on the 60374 heavy fire engine. Apart from the bonnet, the vibrant yellow became much more subtle this year. The colour blocking still feels confusing, with white, grey and black on the roof. Still, the introduction of interchangeable robot arms, recovery cables and stud shooters add to the variety of functions.

2024: Has the Style Settled? 60414 Fire Station and Fire Truck

And so we come to 2024. This year, we see a radical departure from the traditional design of LEGO fire stations: the colour palette has become much more refined, and rather than two box-like garages, they take on a brand new shape.

This $AUD 149.99 (USD79.99) set represents a dramatic departure from the designs we have seen in recent years. Unlike recent stations, we only have a single truck, the largest fire truck released this year. A small drone has the obligatory stud-shooting water cannon. We do, however, have an extra garage should you purchase an additional fire vehicle this year. The tiled numbers on the garage doors avoid stickers that might have otherwise existed.

Unlike most fire stations since 1981, most of the construction around the garages is brick-based rather than relying on transparent panels and roller doors. The mechanism to create the fold-up mechanism is ingenious. Parallel slopes create a channel, which a bar attached to the doors can follow as they are lifted, folding out of the way. There are doors in the brick panels between the garages and the central space, while upstairs, a control room extends into the space over the adjacent void, supported by an angled strut. In this room are a couple of screens and a coffee maker. The only stickers in this set are designed for five screens within the set – including the second covered garage, a helipad, and markings for the Drone. A black and vibrant yellow safety strip delineates each driveway and the helipad. The fire engine (and other vehicles in the range) all feature printed elements, with the numbers 1-5 appearing between all of the sets.

From a distance, the garages are predominantly red on either side, with black doors and roofs. Above Garage number one, the office extends out past the edge of the building, supported by an angled beam. It includes a bed, coffee machine, and a couple of computer screens to help the incident controller keep an eye on things. A skinless hot dog rests in its bun, with poor food safety practices promoting the idea of breakfast becoming an extreme sport.

Between the garages, a black pole with vibrant-yellow technic connectors awaits a fireman sprinting into action, while a bowl containing a single stud awaits to ensure the dog can get enough water. Two ball elements on a bench accommodate a couple of fire helmets.

The set comes with five minifigures: while one is wearing his fire-themed pyjama top, and another is wearing a singlet emblazoned with the red fire logo with braces over the top, the others all wear variations on the fire uniform: one plain, one with a red patch at the top of the torso, and another with the red patch, BUT unfastened, revealing the singlet beneath.

As well as hair pieces, the set also comes with one white helmet with a neck protector and two in vibrant yellow. Two female faces, two young men and one older man, provide good diversity across the force. Finally, the set also comes with a dog in a vibrant yellow jacket. For the first time in years, it is not a Dalmatian!

Design-wise, this set is a radical departure from the fire stations of the past. The Garage doors have a dramatic ‘Thunderbirds’ feel, but as much as I might love it, it is not flawless. The garages themselves cannot accommodate either the fire engine included in the set or the 4×4 Truck included in the 60412 4×4 Fire Truck with Rescue Boat (which appears to be bigger than the included fire engine..). The vehicles can run through the open doors, they are just too long. Unless you build the fire station onto the base of a mountain or extend the rear of the building somewhat.

The Helipad does all you expect it to: it accommodates the 60411 Fire Helicopter nicely and rotates a little.

The fire engine is one of the most elegant fire-engines I have seen in a play set for years. It is not overloaded with features. No hose to get tangled with the ladder, no attachments screaming ‘look at me’. No parts to fall off and lose. Just a smooth, minimalist, stickerless masterpiece.

The Fire Engine is a major highlight of this build for me. It is sleek and tidy. The lower aspect is dark grey, with SNOT 1×2 panels serving as steps, framed with a black line. This dark lower half is maintained through the use of black wheel hubs, now firmly entrenched as the colour for all land-based LEGO Fire vehicles this year. There is a brick-deep layer of red, a plate of vibrant yellow, and another block and a half before reaching the roof. A dark grey cupboard is on each side, while the ‘big, flat wall of red’ is minimised by adding a blue-sided water tank. There are steps to allow the figures to climb onto the fire engine, while the truck’s rear is designed to accept a drop-in module.

Two modules are provided: a dual-firing water cannon with curved slopes providing a smooth top or a black ladder with a cherry picker box at the upper end. This is our first time seeing a black ladder in a fire-themed set. This dark ladder feels like a shadow, allowing the truck to get on with being a truck. It enhances the function while not distracting from the design. Thin layers of plate and tile form the lighting unit, while the roof of the fire engine has the fire logo (red flame on silver shield) printed on top. Firemen can hang onto the poles behind the cabin until they return to the base. This truck is one of the smoothest, most elegant fire trucks I have seen recently. And possibly ever!

I’ll come to this in a future post, but suffice to say, this minimalist look is consistent across virtually all of the fire vehicles released this year. To summarise this year’s design/colour block, Vehicles are essentially red, and blue water tanks are seen on most vehicles. There is a subtle, vibrant-yellow trim line, one plate thick, amidst the red blocking. There are no white elements visible outside the cabin. Wheel hubs are now black. Dark and medium stone grey details are present. Greebles have been minimised. The vehicle’s lights are now tiled, and stud free..

This new look results in a tidier fire engine than we have ever seen before.

But something is calling to a primal part of my soul. The vibrant yellow strip, now tamed after a couple of years of unfettered retinal vandalism, and the red, black and greys call back to another theme. From a time when pilots looked out through neon-tinted windscreens, spaceships came and went willy-nilly, hauling their loads with their handy dandy magnets. Spaceships the likes of which we will never see again, except when we reach into the archives and secondary markets. Spaceships that, at the time, were denied a fixed base of operations.

There is something about this fire station that makes it feel like M-Tron. But that feels like a project for another time. After the Brick link Order Comes in…

Weighing up this set’s functionality, design and minifigures, I am happy to give it 4 out of 5 Arbitrary Praise Units. I love the new colour blocking, and the paucity of stickers is welcome. The radical shift from traditional LEGO Fire Stations in recent years has opened up a world of MOC potential. The range of minifigures brings us an interesting variation of fresh torsos for the firefighters. A far change from one uniform fits all in 1978.

This 60414 Fire Station with Fire Truck set is now available as part of 2024’s LEGO City Range. It is priced at $AUD149.99; $USD79.99; €79.99; CAD99.99; £69.99. Again, it feels as though this set’s RRP is overinflated in Australia, as most large LEGO City sets are. As such, I’d recommend trying to find them on sale or a big-box retailer that routinely discounts their LEGO sets. If the set is appealing, click the affiliate link to your default LEGO Store.

What do you think of this set? Essential for your LEGO City? Or are you searching for transparent neon green panels to create an M-Tron base? Please leave comments below and return when we continue looking at LEGO Fire.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!

Appendix I: Pieces

The Knoller-in-chief laid the elements for this set out for you – and here they are. Lots of red,black and grey, some blue and vibrant yellow. And anything else belongs as plants or food. Every ‘fire logo’ in the set is printed