Review: LEGO 60132 Service Station

September 7, 2016 | 37

When LEGO revealed that they were releasing an Octan Service Station (better known as “servos” here Down Under) in 2016, I was pretty ecstatic. When I was younger, I had always wanted an Octan Gas Station (specifically 6397 Gas N’ Wash Express) but my parents never got around to buying me one.

Enter 60132 Service Station, and I have another shot at fulfilling a childhood dream. To be honest, I‘ve been pretty underwhelmed by LEGO City in recent years – mostly due to the lack of both residential and commercial buildings. Cars and trucks and multiple iterations of Police Stations don’t excite me very much.

Does 60132 Service Station manage to fill the void of buildings for your LEGO City? Does it live up to the hype? Read on to find out!

Name: Service Station
Set Number: 60132
Pieces: 515
Price: AU$119.99| US$89.99 (Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [Amazon])
Exclusive to: N/A
Minifigures: 4
Theme: City
Year of Release: 2016
Instructions: 60132 Service Station | Alternate Instructions

While I was excited about the prospect of a brand new Octan Service Station, I have to say that I was quite underwhelmed when pictures of 60132 leaked online. It looked for its AU$120 price tag. Weighing in at only 515 pieces, I was left scratching my head as I tried to make sense of whether it was worth the expensive pricetag.

I decided to bite the bullet anyway, because it’s still an Octan Service Station and it didn’t look that bad, and I was really curious about what the set would be like in the flesh.

One of the “features” of this set is that it’s a 2-in-1 set – the set comes with a set of instructions for an alternate model which has a repair garage and car wash. Now does this justify the incredibly high pricetag of 60132 Service Station?

Probably not, but I can see this alternate build being very popular with younger kids as it greatly increases the utility of the set, since you can tear it down and build something new. Parents will love it as you’re kind of getting two sets in one. It’s very Creator-esque but I like the added value it lends to the set even though it doesn’t personally appeal to me as an adult collector.

Before we get into the build, here’s a look at the sticker sheet. Good news? Plenty of square and rectangle stickers which are relatively easy to apply. Bad news? Plenty of stickers.

For a set that costs over a hundred dollars, only 4 minifigures is slightly on the low side. From left to right, we get a station attendant, a mechanic, tow truck driver and a female civilian. The minifigures are what you’d normally expect from a City set.

I do really like the new light blue Octan torsos, which are a brand new 2016 addition and look smashing. The lady’s torso, while relatively common is also very nice looking – I like how casual and normal it looks, with the green jacket over a white top.

I’m also very happy that all minifigures have back printing. The station attendant’s back printing is particularly nice with the walkie talkie hanging out from his belt. The Octan attendants also proudly show off the beloved energy company’s logo printed on the backs.

The first thing you assemble is a tiny, and I mean tiny tow truck. It’s really small, and looks more like a child’s toy than anything else. You can only fit one person in the driver’s seat and another can hang out behind.

There are clips on each of the tow truck’s side where an axe and a wrench is attached for the mechanic to perform repairs.

The tow truck isn’t awfully exciting, and doesn’t really add much to the set as a whole. For younger fans who are new to LEGO, it may serve its purpose to increase the overall playability with the set, but LEGO tow trucks aren’t completely ground-breaking and if you (or your kid) have been a long-time LEGO City collector, it’s highly likely that you may already have a better Tow Truck that you can use in place of this one.

The Service Station signboard comes next and is a simple yet very effective build. It’s quite tall (about 13cm tall) and proudly bears the Octan colours and has stickers to add details such as the Octan logo, shop opening hours and icons for both petrol pumps and an electric vehicle charging station.

Moving on to bag 2, we assemble a dark red car that the female civilian drives. Again, it’s a pretty small and compact build that only seats one and is fairly uninteresting, save for the colour scheme which is a relatively uncommon shade of dark red.

Like the Tow Truck, the car is very reminiscent of cars that the LEGO City police pursue and also reminds me of the convertible from 60017. I kinda get that since it’s a service station, it would make plenty of sense to have a car refueling at the pump, but I feel that you would most likely have plenty of vehicles in your collection that can perform that function.

That said, it makes some sense and fits in together with the entire model much better than the tow truck.

The next and final vehicle included in the set is a street sweeper – a common sight in LEGO City and town, dating all the way back to the early 90s. I’m glad that LEGO have retained the iconic bright yellow colours and we also get the classic blue bristle “sweeper” at the front.

It’s a pretty cute and simple build but it hits the right nostalgic spots for me, and I just love how well it belongs with LEGO City. It’s definitely the most advanced version so far, and it’s been more than 10 years since we’ve gotten a proper yellow one.

Here’s a look at the back end of the street sweeper, which opens up to reveal a small storage compartment, with a wooden crate. The street sweeper also comes with clips for a broom and shovel that is attached to its sides.

All in all, I’m very happy with this delightful little LEGO service vehicle.

Here’s a look at the completed service station. There are plenty of cool little details and features around the service station, so let’s take a quick tour of the Octan Service Station.

Tucked away at the side of the Octan Service Station is an electric vehicle (EV) charging station. It’s really forward thinking and very fitting for a 2016 set given that EVs are a thing. It’s also a great way to get young children acquainted with alternatives to fossil fuels and could be a great educational tool for parents.

The EV charging station is pretty basic, with a number of stickers for a display, number pad and an icon with the electric symbol on a gas pump.

There’s no electric vehicle included in this set to take advantage of the charging station, so I had to improvise to show it in action.

Here’s a look at the roof with the large Octan logo perched on it. I really like the sloped architecture as it just looks really retro.

Here’s a look at the Service Station’s storefront, which has two stickers on it – a cute City Pizza sign and an Open 24/7 sign. The City Pizza logo is great – I love that they actually use a LEGO Pizza element in the design.

Here’s a look at the interior of the Service Station shop. It’s pretty cramped and there’s hardly any space to move about as it’s only about 4 studs wide. The interiors are pretty sparse, save for a counter which has a computer which I also assume functions as a cash register. I do like the red and green bricks used for the counter as I’m a big fan of Octan branding in general.

There are some transparent blue round bricks in the window display and behind the store attendant is some shelves stocked with some merchandise.

Of note is this printed 1 x 2 LEGO set tile. I was a little surprised as I had expected this piece to be a sticker, but nope, LEGO were gracious enough to give us a proper printed tile! In this shot, you can also see an advertising board, which has has some LEGO bricks on it. It’s unfortunately a sticker, but I’m a big fan of when LEGO includes these meta references in their sets.

The printed LEGO set tile is definitely one of the highlights of the set for me.

Here’s the other side of the signboard, which has an advertisement for the LEGO newspaper – The LEGO News. Curiously, there’s not a single newspaper tile included in this set!

On the other side of the service station is a small break room? I guess this is supposed to be the City Pizza restaurant, but I have so many questions. Where do the pizzas come from? Who cooks the pizzas? Why is the guy in orange eating pizza with gloves on?

It’s a pretty cramped room and just seems quite out of place. I think that some retail shelves or even a drinks chiller would’ve been a much better fit considering there’s not that much space inside.

Here’s a look at the petrol pump at the Service Station. I really like the design, which incorporates a stickered tiles for the petrol prices, and a printed slope for the payment terminal. The petrol pump is mirrored on both sides, so you can fill up two cars at the same time, although the outside one doesn’t benefit from the raised flooring which is lovingly covered in tiles.

Here’s a photo of the petrol pump in action. It’s a really simple build but it does the job really well. I also like the LEGO hoses – an element that you don’t see around too often these days.

The roof of the service station is a lot larger than I had expected it to be. It protrudes out and is actually quite sizable when compared with the main structure. I really like the clever use of green and red curved slopes to create the Octan-look – if only the stickers used were the transparent type which look a lot more subtle.

What I liked:

• We finally get a service station for LEGO City
• It’s an actual LEGO City building
• The overall design nails the Service Station look
• The street sweeper is a nice vehicle
• Printed LEGO set tile

What I didn’t like: 

• The price – this set is outrageously expensive
• Not nearly enough minifigures for such an expensive set
• 2 of the 3 vehicles are unnecessary
• Have I mentioned that it’s expensive?

Final thoughts: 60132 Service Station has so much potential to be one of the top sets of 2016 but unfortunately falls short when it comes to the most important thing: value. This set is just too expensive for what you get. At AU$120 and US$90 for a 500-piece set that doesn’t contain many specialised elements or desirable minifigures, that’s just poor value.

Sets at this particular price-to-brick ratio are usually reserved for the likes of Star Wars or Super Heroes, and I was very surprised that such a poor-value set has managed to creep into the City theme – a theme which has traditionally been great value for money.

LEGO fans jokingly refer to expensive Star Wars sets as being slugged with the “Star Wars tax”. I guess this set suffers from the “Octan tax“. Thanks, President Business.

Once you’re able to get over the set’s high price point, there’s plenty to enjoy, though it isn’t without flaws. For starters, the Service Station is a building that’s sorely needed in most LEGO Cities or towns, and for the most part, it’s incredibly well designed. The Octan brand is beloved by LEGO fans, and Octan-themed sets tend to be very well received – this set isn’t an exception to the rule.

I love it that it’s a really functional building, and that you’re afforded a lot of play and display options. It’s really easy to integrate into your existing LEGO township, and you can use it as a petrol station for your countless LEGO City vehicles. It’s also fairly large, and it looks quite substantial when you display it with other LEGO City-scale set. It’s definitely a lot larger than it suggests on the box illustration.

One of the ways that LEGO could’ve probably made this set more affordable is if they’d not bother to include the tow truck and the car. They’re okay parts of the set and in isolation, provide some added playability, but they’re not completely essential to the set. After all, you’re buying this set for the Service Station – not for the vehicles.

When it comes to value, I do think that the fact that you’re supplied with an alternate model is pretty good, especially for younger kids who care less about displaying sets and would rather tear down a set to rebuild it again.

I’m still pretty happy with this set – mostly because it does its job of being an Octan Petrol Station extremely well. I kinda wish that the interiors were slightly larger, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. It’s just that this set could’ve been so much better if it was priced within the sub-AU$100 range.

Oh you know what would make this set a lot better? A proper base plate!

Would I recommend this set? If you have a LEGO town or city layout that’s sorely missing a Service Station, then yes. Anything that isn’t Police or Fire Emergency Services-themed is a breath of fresh air and it’s great to see LEGO finally filling the need for more “civilian” and everyday-life sets within the LEGO City theme.

I do however recommend picking this up on sale, and not pay more than AU$95 for it, because it isn’t worth that much.

60132 Service Station is a good effort from LEGO to mix the good old Octan brand with the nostalgic vibe of a service station that is unfortunately held back by a very expensive price tag.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks so much for reading this review. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know in the comments if you’ve taken the plunge on this set and what your thoughts are on it.

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I’ll leave you with this photo I took, of one of the worst customers the Octan Service Station can ever receive!