The Lego City set 60219: Construction Loader is one of the 50 Lego City sets released in 2019. It went on sale in Europe on the 18th December 2018 for 9.99€/ 9.99$. It contains 88 parts and 1 Minifigure. This converts to 11.4 cents per piece. Many of these small loaders were released among the years as mainly as part of larger sets, this one is the first in many years to be released on its own. Because the loader is the main element in this set, it is made up of most pieces and thus enjoys more details. It is also one of the 3 smallest City sets released in 2019. Is this the one worth getting? Keep reading to find out.

The completed model

Box, Instructions, Unboxing and Building Experience

The box art shows the built set, the set number and age rating on the front side and some play features (just the main ones: the demolishing of the little fence and the fact that the bucket can be moved) on the backside. It is basically just a standard Lego box, nothing special about it.

Front side of the box

Back of the box

After opening the box, you are left with 2 parts bags (one for the bulkier and one for the small components), the sticker sheet as well as the instruction booklet with advertising for the Lego Life app.

The set, unboxed

The building process is quite easy and quick, there are only 88 parts in this set. Given the "5+" age rating, no groundbreaking or interesting building techniques are used, this set is clearly meant for a younger audience.

After finishing building the set, you will be left with a couple spare parts, none of which are in any way special.

You get 6 spare parts

Minifigures and accessories

This set only contains one Minifigure, a common construction worker. Apart from the loader, the only other "tool" for the worker in this set is a dark grey pick hammer.

The worker is wearing sand blue pants, a brown shirt with an orange safety vest on top and dark grey gloves. The torso is printed on both sides for more detail. He has a slight smile and a stubble beard. One of his eyebrows is raised like he is focused on whatever it is he is doing. His red construction helmet is one of the newer moulds with integrated headphones to protect against the noise.

The construction worker and the pick hammer; front view

The construction worker and the pick hammer; back view

The completed model

Apart from the loader, this set contains a small structure consisting of a wooden fence and some concrete/ stone blocks.

The fence

The fence is easy to knock down as it is being held in place only by a green 1x2 plate with a knob. The concrete pillar consists of 4 stacked medium stone grey 1x2 palisade bricks, which are also quite easy to tear down. This is intentional as it adds a fair bit of play value and makes this otherwise dull set more interesting and appealing for the younger audience it is being targeted at: Our worker can use either the loader or his pick hammer to demolish this little leftover structure.

Loader demolishing the fence

Let's move on to the yellow construction loader this set is actually all about.

Construction loader, view from the sides

Compared to other, older sets containing this type of vehicle, this one looks better and more detailed. This is to be expected as this set's centrepiece is the construction loader.

It is bulky and compact and heavier than expected (especially around back where the engine would be located on the real deal) when lifted.

The back is shaped and detailed accurately with the stoplights and turn signals, the engine grille on the middle and the white-and-red caution stripes. The sticker on the yellow plate with bow with the black construction logo really rounds it all off. The angled ends of the black 4x6 plate upon which the entire backside is built are not covered by bricks and act as subtle and satisfying wheel covers.

Back view of the construction loader

The driving post also has some interesting details, such as the brown seat and the brown control sticks, which are not made up of antennas this time, but rather of 1x1 Plates with 3.2 Shaft And 1.5 Hole. The worker is protected by the black cage which can be opened to allow him to enter the loader. On top of this cage are powerful reflectors, in case work needs to be done at night.

Driving post

The bucket can be lifted and tilted with ease, adding even more play value.

Front of the loader

Conclusion

Compared to older, small construction loaders this one is clearly the most interesting, fun and detailed to get. The increased play value makes it great for kids. Collectors building a large City scene will appreciate the high level of detail and how it can be seamlessly integrated into any construction/ mining/ demolition site.

Loader in action

Put side-by-side with the other two 10€ City sets from 2019, it certainly outshines both when it comes to play value. It is also not as bland as yet another police car or the next 4x4 transporting a kayak. but I think the Police Patrol Car is much more valuable for collectors.

Despite that, I believe this set makes a great gift for younger kids who will have a lot of fun building the set and playing with. Collectors on a budget looking to expand their City with a small construction site will find this set invaluable.

Overall I can recommend this set.

60219 is one of three inexpensive Lego City vehicles released for Jan '19, and is the pick of them.

The vehicle is a small digger that in Australia we would call a bobcat. It looks really good and certainly much better than previous Lego vehicles of this type (sets 4200 and 60072 for example). It looks suitably chunky around the rear where the engine should be and has some really nice details for such a simple build (such as the detail around the seat). The bucket mechanism is also very strong for play. You also get a small fence which is easy to knock down and some concrete/stone which can also be broken down, a jackhammer, and an anonymous construction worker. There are three stickers but, having looked at the model before and after the stickers were applied, it almost looks better without the stickers - you could certainly leave them off if you hate stickers.

This is a great little set for the price. It is something we haven't seen before and is much better than previous small City construction vehicles. It has plenty of play value and also fits in with any other demolition/construction/mining sets. The best of the cheap vehicles in the current City range.