Hands down, simply one of the best City sets to date!
Now it has to be said that we are a complete family of Lego nuts in this household and have amassed an enormous collection of the brightly coloured bricks over the years. We always try to leave unbiased reviews and I will be honest and say that, as much as we love our Lego, not all sets are created equally. We have had a few horrendously designed sets in the past which, to be fair, isn’t usually the case, so we were expecting great things from this new 2024 set.

The iconic Lego City series is undoubtedly one of the most well known and successful themes that Lego group have produced and has been running literally for decades now. Over the intervening years, as a family, we have purchased so many different sets in this particular theme that I really cannot count how many the total now runs into. And although many of the components within this newer styled release have changed slightly since the first few sets were released way back when, by and large the sets still use the same style of build to which those previous versions of the City sets have done so beforehand. This for me is simple yet brilliant, as it doesn’t matter wether you purchase a brand new set like this one, or pick up one from 5, 10 or even more years ago, the sets still seamlessly connect together and moreover, look great.

With these newer sets Lego continues to evolve their character line-up as well as building style, and allows fans like us to further expand and bring to life our own creative and sprawling metropolis that is the wondrous City world. As an AFOL (A Fan Of Lego) and an adult collector, the world of customisation these sets also open up for my own builds is almost limitless. All being said and done, the City series has, in it’s many and varied iterations, been around for quite a while now, and is an instantly recognisable and valuable additional to Legos core product line up, gaining both new fans as well as retaining old. This particular review is for the 2024 Lego City Prison Island, set 60419.

I absolutely adore these almost modular style builds that Lego have created and this set is no exception. Lego have given the public a great set here with a huge amount of versatility and playability. This particular set features a design that will see you creating a really good sized island based 3 level detention facility, replete with secret escape tunnel and mine shaft hidden under the prisoners quarters, and a further sewage escape pipe hidden under the outside courtyard that leads down to the rim of the island and an awaiting escape boat! Other areas include a laundry/basement area, a hallway/entrance and a guards lookout tower. Character wise you are also given plenty of choice with this particular set which includes 3 prison officers, 4 prisoners, a guard dog and, as it is an island, a shark to lurk in the waters surrounding the island. You also have a couple of accessories which include a small dinghy, a police boat and a police helicopter to help your prison officers hunt down those dastardly escapees! Visually this set is very appealing and I think the designers have done a great job of capturing that warm, colourful and inviting City style that draws you in to want to immerse yourself in the details whilst nursing that culture of imaginative play. Well designed and good Lego sets can invoke this feeling in spade loads and I happen to think this set here is precisely one of those.

I don’t have to tell you how good the quality of the bricks are as Legos reputation here speaks for itself. What I will point to is quite how clever the design team have been with the build of this one. Attention to detail is, as usual, really rather good from a folding bunk bed in the prisoners quarters that folds away and reveals the hidden access point to the tunnel below, to the escape map that is printed on the reverse of the bed showing the criminals which way to go. I love this type of detail as it just brings everything to life and ties it all together in such a delightful way. Other fun details include a shark warning sign on the dockside and keypad access to the gated doors. Simply brilliant! This set is nothing short of superb.

Playability and rebuild opportunities are aplenty and this is one of those sets that will undoubtedly keep your kids coming back for more. It’s a reasonably large sized set and comes in with no less than 980 pieces! It will take a good couple of hours to build for a dedicated adult and a fair bit longer for a child. There are no real tricky elements to this build so young children will most likely need little to no help to build this set. Certainly there is nothing overly complex such as you may find in a more adult orientated set. The set comes supplied with the usual paper instruction book but you can also follow the build along online, which, to be fair to Lego here, is actually a really well thought out and engaging experience. Each step in the process allows you to see exactly how each part fits together with the previous and is occasionally a lot easier to understand than the printed guide for those younger builders. Parts and pieces are supplied through the usual numbered bags to help you construct the set in order. I like how Lego does this as it means you don’t need to rummage around in a huge box of pieces looking for that illusive small tile, but also because it means that you can build the set in stages and don’t feel compelled to have to finish it on one sitting. This is an added bonus, once again in particular for younger children who may struggle to complete the entire build in one go.

The set is marketed at ages 7 and upwards, although I fully believe younger children can enjoy this set just as much. The age rating is more aimed at the build element to this set. That’s good for us adults though as it means we get to unleash and show off our impressive building skills to a younger audience (and have some fun doing it too!). I always find patiently following the instructions incredibly therapeutic and calming. It just takes me away for a few hours from the chores and grind of daily life. Seeing my children have the same sense of focus and calm, then the subsequent feeling of achievement and excitement as their creation takes shape is something other toys manufacturers can’t always replicate in the same way. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed building this set together with my children and I really can’t find anything to dislike or fault about this set at all. It is genuinely one of the better sets in the City series, at least it is in my personal yet humble opinion. The old adage of ‘you pay for what you get’ rings true yet again. Well done Lego, you have given us another awesome product and keep us coming back for more. Simply amazing!