A few days ago we posted an introduction to D-Day themed sets by Polish brick brand COBI. Today we’ll have a look at the first of these sets, the LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) better know as the ‘Higgins Boat’. Getting this name after designer Andrew Higgins. Based in New Orleans, this boat was initially designed for the local timber industry having to deal with shallow swamps.
The design was proposed to the US military leaders and was later comissioned for mass production. During WW2 the LCVP saw action during several operation, with Operation Overlord/ ‘D-Day’ being the most notable.
During the beach landings there were actually several different landing crafts used. There were also the LCA (Landing Craft Assault) and LCT (Landing Craft Tank) among a few others. So it seems a perfect fit to have this landing craft included in the collection commemorating the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the invasion of Normandy.
Packaging
The box offers a nice collectable design. There’s the 80th Anniversary of D-Day logo, there’s details about the craft and guns included and the historical significance. Therefore it’s a bit of a shame the boxes are glued shut very firmly, making it rather impossible to open the set without damaging the box.
Once opened the build is divided over 3 bags (that are divided over several smaller bags). The bags are plastic so on sustainability there is room for improvement as well. There’s a well printed instructions booklet included. The way COBI does their drawings take a bit of getting used to, but once you’ve gotten into it, they are rather good. They are neither too easy nor too complicated.
The Bricks
Being the first COBI review, let’s first discuss their quality. The bricks have a really good clutch power and feel to it. The quality might be the best from any interlocking brick producer I have encountered so far. And yes, that includes the big one. The brick designs take some getting used to, with many more different designs compared to compatible systems. It might not be everybody’s cup of tea at times, but overall it’s a good building system giving many posibillities. The sets don’t use stickers, all decoration is PAD printed and prints are of high quality. Well centered, clear colors etc.
The Build
The build certainly has a big wow factor! You really start from scratch and use basic plates, tiles and slopes to create the hull. There are no shortcuts with offensively big pieces of plastic to ruin the joy. The set consists of 715 bricks, making it a lot more detailed than it might seem at first glance.
Once you started building the hull and have the basic shape ready, the build actually feels sturdy and carries some weight, giving a very sturdy impression. And with the original boat being designed for shallow waters this is reflected in an inovative hull design to avoid getting beached. This is quite expertly carried over to this scale model. So when building the set you discover it is way more than a brick built grey shoebox with a flat bottom. This shows a proper attention to detail and respect to the boat designer and his innovations.
There are some really nice techniques included, like this use of hinges to tilt the sides of the boat slightly, making them higher at the front and lower at the back. The front of the boat can open for troops to storm out. This is a play feature of course, but with the fragile string it doesn’t really suit children play and is more of a display model. The engine bay is also equiped with some detail to represent the engine.
It’s really clear in details like this that a good building experience was a priority for set designers.
Overall Thoughts
It’s a great build, good quality of bricks, no stickers but printing, nice details, educational, history themed and much more. What’s not to like? It really has a lot to offer. The stand it comes with gives a nice premium appeal to the model as well.
However, I really can’t put it off any longer. I should discuss the figures. For me they don’t really do it. They look like minidolls, have rather bizarre facial expressions and can’t be positioned on studs in the boat properly. I’ll be swapping them out for some minifigures and expect many to do the same. The helmets and weapons are compatible so that’s at least something.
Value For Money
The set is priced at €59.99 on the COBI website. Being the first COBI purchase it’s hard to judge what’s a good deal on this set. I purchased it for €49.99 at a Dutch retailer. This seems really good value to me.
So this is our review of the COBI LCVP ‘Higgins Boat’. Being military it’s something different from our usual reviews, but we hope you liked it anyway. Share your thoughts and feedback on set or review in the comments below or on our social media pages!
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