LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader review

LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader feels familiar yet offers something new and futuristic for this LEGO Space subtheme.

There are any number of interesting small and mid-range sets that catch the eye in this January 2024 range of LEGO City Space sets, yet it’s for larger sets like 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader that the subtheme will really catch the eye, set standards, explore the full potential of the creative direction and make the strongest memories.

And as far as first impressions go, what a unique-looking set 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader is, thanks to the longest body we’ve perhaps ever seen stretched across eight huge wheels, offering up a mobile command centre the likes of which LEGO City has never had cause to produce before now.

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader set details —

Theme: LEGO City Set name: 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader Release: January 1, 2024

Price: £59.99 / $84.99 / €69.99 Pieces: 786 Minifigures: 6

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader —

LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader releases January 1, 2024 as part of LEGO City’s Space subtheme and will be available at LEGO.com, in LEGO Stores and via third-party retailers.

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader build —

For its futuristic styling and monstrous proportions, 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader more closely mimics a NINJAGO set more than anything we’ve seen before from LEGO City or from any previous LEGO Space line. Galaxy Squad – the last non-licensed LEGO Space theme from a decade ago – came close with a couple of larger vehicles, but not quite in the presentation or proportions seen here.

And this unique appearance to 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader really cannot be overestimated, for quite how interesting the model is to build or to interact with once complete. Importantly, instead of overwhelming the rest of the model with their size, the large wheels are nicely built into the model thanks in no small part to those hubcaps that smooth out their appearance and stylistically finish off the model’s overall futuristic appearance – it all comes together in such a way as you may catch yourself starting to imagine the sound this thing would make driving along.

Those wheels hold up a long, three-part chassis that houses a satisfyingly wide and nicely detailed cockpit at the front for two drivers and space for extra crew, a central area with research capsule/pod, and an external section at the back with a fully- and double-rotatable crane.

The capsule in the middle is the same design as we see in 60433 Modular Space Station and 60434 Space Base and Rocket Launchpad, offering up a nice level of interactivity between the three sets and the chance to change the story and play to each of the sets by swapping out which capsule is where. It’s simple, but cross-modularity of LEGO sets isn’t all that common so this is a big win. The capsule, which can be ‘popped’ out by turning a lever on the side, otherwise sits nicely as a connecting point to the front cockpit, opening up the interior space when it is in place.

As three areas go, there’s enough functionality and story across the body of 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader to draw you back to the model far beyond when the novelty of how unique it looks wears off, even if that novelty will take a long while to wear off. We’ll say this across a number of the LEGO City Space sets launching in January 2024, but when have we built something quite like this before? We’re struggling to find clear comparisons that offer up something that may feel and look familiar from the world of sci-fi, but that in LEGO terms is as new and unique as this is to put together.

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader characters —

LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader comes with four minifigures, a buildable robot and two of the smaller green aliens who occupy the little bit of terrain that acts as a side-build to the model.

With two pilots, a ground crew and a mechanic, this line-up directly ties into each section of the Command Rover, offering up not only the variety of differently-coloured space crew, but also relevant play stations for each.

If there’s one criticism to any of these minifigures throughout the LEGO City Space line, it’s that you can tell in the face prints these are City minifigures. They have that everyday vibe to them, more so than anything futuristic or out of this world. Not a bad thing, per se, and by no means something big, but stylistically it is one thing that does sometimes take you out of the universe being built here.

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader price —

LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader takes the scale, functionality and playability of what’s on offer in a LEGO City Space set to another level and it has to because the price more than doubles from the preceding set in the range, 60431 Space Explorer Rover and Alien Life. Coming in at £59.99 / $84.99 / €69.99, 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader asks a lot more of your wallet, but importantly delivers something sizeable and very interactive in exchange.

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader pictures —

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader pros and cons —

LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader delivers something that feels very familiar to sci-fi fans but that is also completely novel to the world of LEGO. Where you may feel like you can place this sort of vehicle in a film or television show you have seen before, you definitely haven’t built anything like this before. Combined, these two points deliver something very satisfying and far more engaging than a big space bus might otherwise be capable of.

There is clever design and purpose to the different sections of 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader, a good line-up of tie-in characters and an overall aesthetic that continues to build out the futuristic world of this LEGO City Space subtheme in the best way possible.

60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader pros	60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader cons
Completely new type of LEGO vehicle to build	The wheels don’t steer
Good play and functionality throughout	An efficient, compact design may be mistaken for being smaller than expected (it’s not)
Strong sci-fi vibes – this could fit into any space world	The minifigure heads are too ‘everyday’

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO City Space sets through one of our affiliate links.

— Alternatives to LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader —

LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader is the larger of the two-wheeled vehicles in the LEGO City Space subtheme coming in January, and honestly 60431 Space Explorer Rover and Alien Life does feel like the best comparison and companion. For those on a smaller budget, that offers a first taste that 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader then fully satisfies.

— LEGO City 60432 Command Rover and Crane Loader FAQs —