Review: LEGO 60253 – Ice Cream Truck

The coming of the new year brings with it a whole new wave of LEGO city sets. The first one I knew I had to pick up as soon as I saw it, was set 60253 – The Ice Cream truck.

Aside from the truck itself, this sub £20 set contains a couple of minifigs and a dog. It contains 200 pieces and is recommended for builders age 5 and up, making it suitable for all but the very youngest LEGO fans.

The box art shows the finished model along with all the included characters. The vehicle is built in mainly blue and white with splashes of red and yellow across the decorative roof.

Upon opening the outer box we find 2 numbered bags of parts, a pair of loose 2×16 light grey plates. 2 instruction booklets and a sheet of no less than 16 stickers.

The first thing to notice in the set is just how colourful everything looks. From the colour selection of the parts, to the vibrant decorations of the stickers, this is a vehicle that’s clearly designed to stand out.

Starting off with the minifigs, we get 2 included here. First up is The female ice-cream truck operator. She wears a brightly coloured uniform that matches the colour scheme of her vehicle, with red trousers and a blue and white striped top with red bow tie. She has a single sided face print with a big smile, and a blonde hair piece.

What use is an ice-cream seller without someone to sell to! We only get one customer included here. The male minifig of the set comes with blue trousers and a sleeveless green top. He has a single sided head with a grinning expression and a black, textured hair piece. He comes with a purple skateboard and a blue helmet to keep him safe. Also included is his faithful dog in medium nougat colour.

Both of the minifigs fulfill their purpose, though being City figures, there isn’t a lot of detail to speak of in either of the included characters. They have minimal back print on the torsos (Though the printed hood on the male figure is a nice touch.) and neither of the leg pieces have any print at all.

The main draw of the set though, is the truck itself. Those of you who built the popular ‘Pizza Truck’ (set 60150) will find a lot of similarities when constructing this set. Though this vehicle does have a longer wheel base, it’s built around a similar six stud wide chassis. After completion of bag 1 we already have the basic shape completed. In the rear of the truck we find the cash register and various colours of cupcake pieces and ice scream scoops, as well as a couple of cones. The first few stickers are already in place at this stage.

Bag 2 finishes the truck as well as the shades wearing ‘Mr. Chill’ mascot that clips on to the truck’s roof. Stickers featuring the menu (which actually matches up to the included flavours) as well as a ‘Stay cool’ promotional image adorn both sides of the truck on either side of the rear windows. The ‘Mind the Child’ warning on the rear window is a particularly nice detail. The front cab has space for a single minifig and is accessed by the small white doors. The serving window is on a working slider and can be opened and closed too.

Rather than a removable roof, the rear compartment is accessed by swinging open the right hand wall of the truck, which is hinged at the top and bottom, this is an elegant solution and allows easy access to the serving area and the play elements within.

So all in all this is a great little set with a lot of play value, It’s bright and colourful, and a lot of fun. It was a fun build too despite the inclusion of so many stickers (my least favourite part of any LEGO set.) I can imagine this set being a big hit with LEGO fans of all ages, after all, everyone loves ice cream!