On the Road To Nowhere? Take A Turn With Lego’s Curved Road Plates!
Written: Jun 01 '05
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Pros: Adds a little extra style to Lego scenes, easy to use, two packs per set.
Cons: Hard to find in retail stores.
The Bottom Line: They might be hard to find but they are wroth the effort to track down if you are building a Lego city or down!
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Curved Road Plates |
I’ve often mentioned my boys and their ongoing Lego city project. When we moved a lot of it was carefully boxed up and labeled and slowly but surely it’s getting reassembled. Until about two years ago all they had to work with were the straight and “T” junction road plates but I came across these at a Lego fan site and had to get them. They are basic base plates that can be used to add a little bit of realism to almost any City or Town setting but with some modifications you can streamline them to be used with other themes. Base plates are the cornerstone to building anything that has size to it, without them you are sort of limited to what you can build and how much you can expand it or add to it. These aren’t as functional as the full base plates but they do allow you to add a road system and have some curves to it!
Lego Curved Road Plates
This is a two pack set that has a curved road design on them. The images are stenciled on the flat areas and the surrounding edges have a nice vivid green color with them; these outer areas have pegs on them so you can use these sections to affix houses, buildings or connection pieces to join the plates together. The road plates have two lanes on them so you can use them for pretty much any type of setting within a city; since these are curved they are great for finishing off a road or creating a cul du sac and they are awesome if you are using the Jack Stone sets. About the only downside to these plates is that the images on them do tend to wear out if they are getting used a lot. You can prevent this by using a spray on sealer but eventually they are going to wear out. When this happens you don’t have to throw them away. You can buy some paint and do a touch up or spray on one solid color.
The boys tend to get bored with things and they begged me to use the Dremel on these plates to remove the green sections on the sides. This isn’t something that you should attempt to do unless you have practiced on some smaller pieces that are scrap. This isn’t hard to do but you have to use a continuous motion or you run the risk of melting the plastic. These are a little harder to modify than the straight and “T” junction road plates but it isn’t impossible. Cleaning the plates is rather easy to do but I suggest that you keep the ShopVac away from them; loose pieces get sucked into these powerful machines easily and chances are you will be the one that has to fish them out of the container. Use a whisk brush or old toothbrush to loosen any dirt that’s built up on them. If they aren’t attached to building you can take them out of the scene and squirt them off with a garden hose or toss them in the sink for a soak.
Two of the best places to find these plates are in the Lego Magazine or at the
Lego World Shop online store. I won’t say that these are impossible to find in retail stores but most of them stock the regular base plates, not the ones with detail. You can find these in the six dollar price range for two plates; that might sound like a lot but if you are building a Lego city then you will have already invested a lot more than that in the bricks and bits you used for the surroundings. These are about three quarters the size of regular base plates and you might think that because the size is different that it might be difficult to add them to an existing scene but it isn’t. You may have to move things around a little but you won’t have to make any major changes.
The Bottom Line
Some people think that base plates are a waste of money; in some cases they are. If you are just building something that is going to sit there and not get added to something else then chances are you don’t need a base plate. If you are going to try to combine buildings or enlarge one then adding a base plate at the foundation is something that will allow you to really explore the possibilities of the Lego sets that you own. If you are going to do that then why not take it a step further and add something that is going to really pay off in the long run - a plate that has a road stencil to it! Even if you want to change the pattern of the road at some future point in time, you can do so easily by popping this plate out and replacing it with a different design. Once you have the initial piece in place you can rearrange it how ever you like. These really are worth the suggested retail price if you want to have a Lego city or town - after all, how many metropolises do you know of that have straight roads with no turns or curves?
The Stats
Set Name: Curved Road Plates
Family Set: : Town / City
Lego Set: 6322
Number of Pieces: 2
Age Recommendation: 5 and older
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: None
Cost: $ 5.99
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
Other Lego basics ...
Baylit - Bricks As You Like Them
Classic Set With Building Table
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Lego Grey Base Plate
LEGO 1200 Piece Blue Tub
Lego Classic Building Set
Learning To Speak Lego
What Should You Know About LEGO
What Should You Know About Construction Toys
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): see review
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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