In the year 1990, a small pursuit squad was formed by the Lego Town Police Force as a means to better pursuit and apprehend criminals who are increasingly mobile. Through a combination of land, sea and air, it counters all possible escape routes that a criminal might use. To this day, the veteren and experienced crew of officers manning this squad is still active and ready to catch today's slickest suspect. Their vehicles might be outdated to the latest toys used by the newer officers, but it still works like it was back in 1990.

Basic Information

Set name: Pursuit Squad
Set number: 6354
Year of released : 1990
Price: Bought at a price of RM 30 = USD 8.55 (RM= Ringgit Malaysia, our local currency) those days, on Bricklink it is USD 100 for a MISB set
Number of parts : 171 (according to Brickset)
Minifigures: 3

Links:
Bricklink
Brickset
My photobucket

The box

Wow! I actually have the box this time around! The box is the usual Lego Town type box. It is worth to note that the interior of this box is white in color and not like the latest boxes which has a cardboard brown interior.


The back of the box showing the alternate models. Pity Lego does not do this anymore


Instructions

A random instruction page from the instructions. The color difference is obvious and the usage of space is good.


The size of the instructions is roughly the same size of the box, which I feel is good since the booklet does not bounce all that much inside the box.


Something I noticed in the instruction; it is printed in Germany!


Minifigures

There are 3 minifigures in this set; 2 police officers in jumpsuits with white helmet and transparent blue visors and 1 police office in police uniform with police hat. All the heads are classic Lego smilies


Motorbike

Let's start with the motorbike. It is a normal Lego white motorbike with an antenna in the rear for the radio, rear and front lights and "police" printed 1x2 plate on its side



The helicopter

The helicopter is a simple 1 man machine with a range of gadgets to assist the officer. It comes with a standard Lego radio on its right side, a video camera (still using the old cassette type video camera, it came from those days) on its right side and 2 flashlights to illuminate the target below.  There is also a red and green flashing lights directly above the cockpit and 2 printed bricks with "police" below the engine compartment.



Getting into the helicopter is easy; just open the bubble glass cockpit and the minifigure can hop in. But the rotor blades must not be directly above the glass for it to open though.


Once inside, the pilot is within reach of all the equipment on board. I find it is odd that the radio is outside the helicopter instead of inside where the pilot needs to use it. Does he reach out of the cockpit while at the controls? Is it equipped with a hands free kit? Obviously in 1990 using a hand-held radio/telephone while flying is still safe and not a danger yet.


The jeep and boat on trailer

The jeep is a normal 4 stud wide jeep with driver compartment and a rear open storage area. The roof has a 2 plate high flashing lights and an antenna for communication. At the rear storage area are 2 road light beacons and a portable red triangle. Access into the jeep is easy with openable doors and roof. The 2 rear panels with the words "police" are printed. On the rear wheels is female ball socket to connect to the trailer



The trailer is standard grey trailer used to transport the police boat. It has rear lights and plate with 1 stud for the boat to attach itself. It somehow lacks the trailer hitch to keep it standing if disconnected from the jeep...


... and has lead to some hilarious scenarios during the squad's service. Sometimes in order to better pursue the suspect, the jeep joins the chase. Since the boat trailer slows the jeep down, the officer in the jeep tends to disconnect the trailer without realizing the trailer has nothing to stand on.  :


As for the boat, it is a standard Lego boat with an interesting engine in the rear. Usually such a boat will have an outboard motor, but in this boat it appears to have a jet-propulsion type of engine; handy when you need to catch bad guys in speed boats. A printed 1x2 plate at the front of the boat shows that this is a police boat



This is how it looks like when the jeep, trailer and the boat is together as 1 unit. The life-jacket stays in the boat until the boat is deployed.


In service with the force

On a typical day, the jeep is used to set up roadblocks to monitor traffic, with the motorcycle patrolling


But sometimes, high speed chases require the use of the helicopter. With high speed and excellent visual from above, even the best sportscar and driver can't outrun from the helicopter.


Together with the jeep and the bike, a roadblock can be set up to hopefully catch the suspect, provided he don't use the force to move the road block away  


The completed Pursuit Squad



In conclusion

In conclusion, this is a nice addition to any Lego town police force. It has everything; a motorcycle for highway chases, a jeep for all-terrain suspects, a boat for those escaping by river and a chopper to provide an eye in the sky. The great part about this set are the printed pieces. All the police words are printed and is very useful since they can be used for various MOCs or even other Lego vehicles.

Design: 8/10 The vehicles are obviously designed with trying to maximize the usage and accessories with the minimal amount of parts. But the lack of a trailer hitch for the trailer is a bit of a disappointment.
Minifigures: 9/10 Two officers in jumpsuits with helmets and 1 normal police officer. 1 more could be better, but it would be odd having him in the boat when it is on the trailer.
Playability: 10/10 The various vehicles allow all kinds of pursuit scenarios. Jungle, Highway, Urban, waterway, canal, no place is out of reach.
Price: 9/10 At RM 30 in those days, a bargain for 4 different vehicles in 1 go.
Overall: 9/10 A good set by Lego with great playbility and best of all, lots of printed police plates, bricks and panels to use!

Review originally posted on Eurobricks forum at http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=32444

Wow wonderful set! I miss that motorcycle!

That is actually Darth Maul, not Darth Vader.