LEGO City

LEGO City

LEGO City is the everyday-world theme, built around vehicles and jobs a child already recognises rather than licensed characters or fantasy, which is why it suits a wide age range and why sets combine naturally into one town. The practical way to choose is by what the child already plays at. Emergency services is the largest strand and reliably the most popular, covering police pursuits by boat, motorcycle and truck alongside fire engines and ladder trucks. Construction and work vehicles cover cement mixers, off-road trucks and food trucks, which lean toward building and role play rather than chase play. Racing is the newest strand and includes officially licensed Formula 1 cars, which appeal to older children and to adults collecting alongside them. Set number is worth noting when buying, since it identifies the exact set and is how LEGO catalogues everything. Always check the age marking printed on the box rather than guessing: it reflects both the fiddliness of the build and small-part safety, and a set well above a child's age will frustrate rather than stretch them. Sets are designed to be dismantled and recombined, so buying two smaller sets often gives more play than one large one.

LEGO supplies the range. Police and fire sets cover the Police Boat Chase, Police Motorcycle Chase, Rides Police Truck, Fire Ladder Truck and Rides Fire Truck. Racing sets cover the F1 Williams Racing and Haas F1 race cars, an F1 Driver with McLaren race car, the Rides Gaming Race Car and the EV Supercar. Work and town vehicles cover the Cement Mixer, Off-Road 4x4 Mountain Truck, Fries Food Truck, Yellow Taxi and the LEGO Van. For the wider range see Toys and Games.