Get Rid of Lego City Gridlock With These Awesome Straight Road Plates!
Written: May 28 '05
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Pros: Two per pack, nice design, unlimited uses, pegged sides.
Cons: Almost impossible to find in retail stores.
The Bottom Line: Give you Lego town or city an efficient traffic system with these cool straight road plates!
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO 2 Straight Road Plates |
When the boys wanted to build a Lego city one of the first things they wanted were some large base plates that they could start building on. It wasn’t until it grew to over fifty building that the idea of streets dawned on them; that of course meant that they had to rip some sections of the city apart to make room for the road plates. These added a lot of detail to the design and lay out that they came up with and looked pretty cool with various Lego vehicles on them. These are standard sized large Lego base plates that are stenciled with a road design on them; there are two lanes and the sides of the plates have a pegged area that you can use to connect sections together. These are basic elements of any Lego junkies collection and they come in a lot of different styles outside of the straight road design. If you are thinking of building a Lego city do yourself a favor and get these before you start building otherwise you might find yourself having to deconstruct section to accommodate them.
Lego Straight Road Plates
These come two to a pack but you can buy them separately if you are willing to go through a brick broker or brick vendor. Some places don’t sell these because there isn’t a lot of money to be made from them however some places like Peeron.com can direct you to places that do have them for sale. If all else fails you can check the Lego Magazine or their Lego World Shop online store to see if they have them in stock. These cost about six dollars for a package of two and they are really worth it if you want to add some extra depth to a Lego scene. About the only real downside to these plates is that you are sort of limited to what you can do with them. If you are building a huge scene you can’t just have a straight line, you will have to get the curved plates. The same thing goes for themed cities - I mean how accurate would it look to have a gray and green base plate if you are building a space scene?
The plates are pretty sturdy; there is a little give and flexibility to them but they will be able to handle a good bit of weight if you have to move sections of it around. The road stencil is nice and allows you to have two lanes of traffic or one going in each direction. The areas along the side of the plate have pegged sections to them so you can start building things there or use the edges to connect them to existing structures. The boys tried to build a bridge using these but the plates were too wide. I did cut a few of them using a hand held Dremel but I don’t suggest this unless you have had some experience modifying Lego pieces and elements. The stenciled areas of the road will hold up to a lot of use before they start to show signs of wear; if you think these areas are going to get a lot of use you might want to coat them with a spray on sealer to protect them from fading or getting worn out.
I wish Lego would offer these in different colors; having the side pieces all green really limits what you can use these for but there isn’t a huge demand for other colors so they stick with what sells. These are practically impossible to find in retail stores; they do have the regular plain base plates but the curved, straight and junction pieces are pretty hard to come by. You can find these at online auction sites but most of the time these are used and aren’t worth the price; you are better off to get them new and know that you are getting something that hasn’t been tossed around. These are pretty easy to clean but they are real dust and dirt magnets. If you have a strong whisk brush this does the trick to loosen dirt from the pegs but do not use a ShopVac on this - it will suck up loose pieces and you will be the one sifting through the dirt to retrieve the pieces [been there, done that, learned my lesson].
The Bottom Line
These are a great investment if you have a child that loves to build with Lego pieces. With some small modifications you can trim them to fit any existing city and these are the newer versions of the plates with the rounded corners. The older ones had a straight edge on the corners and they were a little sharp and could present a danger if kids start goofing around with them. These will last a long time if they are properly taken care of and they really do add a lot to a city or town scene. The ones that I picked up for the boys several years ago still look like they are almost new, there are a few worn spots but hey, these get used a lot so I can’t complain about them.
The Stats
Set Name: Straight 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
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $5.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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