Review:75827 Firehouse Headquarters/Latenightguy

Latenightguy
Country: United States of America     Gender: Male
Joined: February 2010   № of Reviews: 6   № of Featured reviews: 0
Building Experience: 7 years

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Welcome to yet another Brickipedia review! In spirit of the 'much anticipated' Ghostbusters reboot released in July, I have decided to finally give my thoughts on the critically-acclaimed set from the original film: 75827 Firehouse Headquarters! I had been saving for something like this for awhile and when it was revealed, I knew it would be what the Death Star is to many FOLS. I was personally attracted to the set more for its immense detail than the usual attractive qualities for licensed sets, such as minifigures, pieces, nostalgia, etc. To be quite honest, I have never seen Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, any of the Ghostbusters animated series, or anything beyond my possession of the Ecto-1 Ideas set. But, I have read up on it to know the plot and provide a fan's perspective, alongside a Fan of LEGO's perspective. So, is this $350 block of plastic worth its impressive stature? Let us find out!

• Theme: Ghostbusters
• Pieces: 4634
• Minifigures: 9
• Other figures: 3
• Price: $349.99 USD
• Brickipedia / Brickset

Box/Contents

On my way out of the nearest LEGO store, I received many stares from those passing by, as I hefted a bag the size of my torso across the mall. In reality, the box is one of largest ever produced, especially in my collection. In comparison to the original ECTO-1 Ideas set, the Firehouse Headquarters' box is nearly three-times as tall, twice as deep, and approximately 1.25 times wide. It is constructed similarly to other sets with a top flap closed with tape, instead of the resealable tucked flaps in various collector's sets. As a result, the box itself is somewhat weak, due to the amounts of bags and other pieces, causing the box to bulge outward and lose it's shape overtime.

The contents of this massive set include numerous bags of pieces, divided into groups numbering to 14, with some stored in the two large, white boxes in the back, alongside a 32 x 32 dark bluish grey baseplate, two gold pole pieces, introduced in the set, and a bag containing the instruction booklet and stickers. Of the paper materials, the instructions are quite intriguing, considering they possess a size reminiscent of a small novel, or novella, if you will. The book references the general plot of the film and briefly mentions the iconic nature of the Hook and Ladder 8 Firehouse in numerous different languages.

The Building Process

With over 4500 pieces, this set was quite the process to assemble. In all honesty, this set took at least 15 hours over the course of 3 days to build, so I will be dividing my thoughts into the sections of the build, as loosely stated in the instructions.

Section 1: Bags 1-4

In the first few bags, building was fairly tedious, due to the massive amount of plates being placed as the foundation. The only interesting build of the first bag, beyond the Ghostbusters' lockers, is the pink slime seeping out of the sidewalk, an example of the many little texturing used to complicate and signify it as a D2C set. But, once the base is built, the model improves with many details, such as the double-layered walls to separate the exterior and interior and the building of the windows with a level of depth. The use of mason bricks to contrast the regular exterior bricks makes the build appear even more impressive and helps keep the wall assembly easier through differentiation.

Now, as the structure is completed, the details arise to furnish the garage. Uniquely printed 2 x 2 plates are used, representing newspapers, and boxes with 1 x 1 slopes are commonly placed at an angle, unlike LEGO in most mainstream products. Beyond the offset bricks, the items on Janine Melnitz's desk (the nearest one) are precise, alike the 80s style computer and a desk lamp utilizing the new 'stamper' piece, found in 10251 Brick Bank.

Final Verdict

Price/Value	4½ / 5
Playability	5 / 5
Minifigures/Pieces	5 / 5
Model	5 / 5
Overall	4½ / 5