While I have enjoyed the Space range launched this year, my favourite City sets tend to be more conventional subjects. Some fantastic examples are available this summer, notably including the excellent 60407 Double-Decker Sightseeing Bus, which seems surprisingly realistic.
The bus looks superb from the outside in official images and offers some unexpected features inside, such as a neat staircase for passengers to move between decks. A new pushchair element is also included and there is space for the pushchair aboard the bus too.
Summary
60407 Double-Decker Sightseeing Bus , 384 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 6.5p/7.8c/7.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This is a delightful bus, comfortably improving on the numerous past designs
- Attractive and modern exterior
- Functional destination board
- Lots of space for minifigures
- Realistic interior
- New pushchair accessory
- A couple of tiny details missing inside
Minifigures
The bus driver doubles as a tour guide, equipped with a microphone to describe the sights of LEGO City to his passengers. The minifigure introduces a new torso, which looks superb and features a metallic gold name badge, befitting a tour guide. Additionally, the dark blue cap is a good choice, matching the legs.
Three adult passengers are provided, two of whom also feature unique torsos. I like the male minifigure's colourful shirt in particular, paired nicely with a reddish brown flat cap. Additionally, the second character's teal jacket looks excellent and her printed legs were a pleasant surprise, while the dark brown hair element has not appeared in this colour before.
Existing parts comprise the third passenger, although the chosen combination looks splendid, including a floral blouse. Sadly, this minifigure lacks an alternative expression, unlike her teal-attired counterpart, who has seemingly fallen asleep on the tour!
Despite lacking a double-sided head or an exclusive torso, the third passenger comes with a wonderful accessory. Prams have appeared in many previous sets, normally using the 2x3x2 seat developed for Space sets. This version instead features a specialised piece, which fits the LEGO baby snugly inside and appears far more realistic. Moreover, this element seems quite versatile, given the variety of connection points.
The Completed Model
LEGO buses tend to follow a consistent format and this example is no exception. Proportionally, this model bears a strong resemblance to the vehicle from 60200 Capital City, measuring 21cm in length and incorporating an open upper deck. However, its overall shape is far more complex and appealing on this occasion, using curved slopes to marvellous effect, especially towards the front.
The large windows and trans-clear doors look splendid and provide a clear view of the interior, as well as access for minifigures. Also, I like the pattern of 1x2 angled tiles on the front, which complements the continued black and red bands along the sides of the bus. Black and yellow stripes are included as well, beginning above the windscreen and encircling the whole vehicle.
I was delighted to learn that the tiles forming the rotating destination boards are actually printed, although stickers are used elsewhere on the bus. Four destinations are shown and two refer to currently available sets, between 60380 Downtown and 60422 Harbour, so I wonder whether a park and a museum will be forthcoming in future sets.
The rotating mechanism is very simple, but feels smooth and has enough friction to keep the selected destination board in place, instead of spinning loosely. The surrounding bodywork is attractive and includes a pair of 1x4x1 2/3 curved slopes, which were introduced last year and make their debut in red here. Similarly, the 1x1x2/3 rounded brick with side stud, found under the curved slopes, is new in red.
However, these bricks do create small gaps on either side, interrupting the otherwise smooth bodywork. Speaking of which, the curvature of the upper deck looks fantastic and the stickers are effective, evidently influenced by the City Sightseeing brand, given the comic font. A total of five stickers are applied on each side of the bus.
Two more stickers are placed on the back, including an advertisem*nt for 60421 Robot World, with a mech inspired by Exo-Force. I like the contrast between the red and black bodywork on the sides and back, as well as an opening flap beneath the advertisem*nt, where the vehicle's electric motor is accessible. A printed battery is found inside.
While the sightseeing bus' exterior is attractive and improves upon the equivalent vehicle from 60200 Capital City, the interior has improved even more dramatically. The whole upper deck is easily removable for access to the lower level, which is very spacious for passengers and even contains a dedicated area for a pushchair or wheelchair.
All the seats inside are offset, leaving room for a narrow walkway alongside. The shifting floor height above the wheels is not ideal, but this was unavoidable and does not interfere with play. The stickered console beside the driver looks good, although I wish there was a clip to store his microphone while driving.
I have removed a couple of doors and windows for these photos, but detaching the roof alone provides enough access to place characters inside. Furthermore, you can open the rear doors and attach the supplied pram to a clip on the wall, or a wheelchair, as this feature is compatible with both. The clip connects to the small wheel element used on prams and wheelchairs.
Official images of the bus show its many seats and pram space quite well, but the staircase to reach the upper deck came as a complete surprise to me! Naturally, this staircase is extremely compact and placing figures on the steps is difficult, but I am happy the feature is included at all. After all, functional staircases are rare in LEGO City buildings, so having one inside a bus was unexpected.
The staircase does link to the top deck, which includes another five seats and railings on each side. This brings the total passenger capacity to eight, plus the pram and the driver, which is a reasonable number, in my opinion. Without changing the proportions of the bus altogether, the designer has made full use of the available space on board.
Overall
Although small, I think 60407 Double-Decker Sightseeing Bus is among the highlights of the summer City range. This is certainly my favourite bus from the theme, improving on previous models in every way, as the exterior looks great and the interior is fully detailed. The staircase has been integrated brilliantly as well, using the confined space efficiently.
In addition, all the necessary functions are included, the interior is readily accessible and there is plenty of room for passengers. In fact, my only criticism of the model is the absence of a clip for the driver's microphone, which is a tiny issue! The price of £24.99, $29.99 or €29.99 seems very reasonable too, so I have no hesitation in recommending the sightseeing bus.
173 likes
39 comments on this article
By Phoenixio in France,
Looks like a great set and one that I'll be getting shortly! This and 60408 really stand out from this wave's City sets!
By johleth in United Kingdom,
Considering Exo-Force suffered a premature death, they do like to reference it a lot.
By gunther_schnitzel in Ireland,
The male passenger reminds of ‘Coach’ (played by Colin Farrell) from the Guy Ritchie film ‘The Gentlemen’.
By Robot99 in United States,
"A new pushchair element"
This site is regularly teaching me new British terms lol. Us Americans call this a "stroller" :-0
By AustinPowers in Germany,
Other than the nuisance of having to swap all those dreadful milky-bluish-"clear" windows for proper trans-clear ones this is a great set.
By daniellesa in United Kingdom,
I am tempted by this, even though my current layout doesn't allow for road. I do have some modular gwp vehicles out, and I think might try out a bit of road on my shelves, see if I can use it as a base for adding greenery beside the railway.
It is nice to see a staircase included, adding realism.
By el_garfio in Spain,
Is her Wanda About?
By TheRichrocker in Austria,
I got this for 20€ at a discount and it was a no-brainer for me at that price.
I really like this bus - and I share the nitpick about the driver having to hold the microphone. I'm going to have to mod something here.
By lordofdragonss in Poland,
Amazing set.
By sjr60 in United Kingdom,
Pretty good looking bus, although I think that the clear double doors look a bit out of place in vehicles. They tend to look more like patio doors. Same as in 60337.
By Aanchir in Canada,
Great review! I was very impressed when I looked thru the digital building instructions of this set and saw that it included a full staircase. The Octan battery is also a very neat touch, and the shaping is every bit as excellent and distinctive as we've come to expect with City "Great Vehicles" sets.
I was also surprised to see that the destination signs were printed despite all the stickers elsewhere. I suppose maybe this is to ensure that the bus has full playability whether or not you apply the stickers, sort of like how a lot of brick-built LEGO characters and creatures (like the Legend Beasts from LEGO Legends of Chima or many of the dragons from LEGO Ninjago) have printed faces, even if they use stickers for details elsewhere on the body.
The biggest drawback I see to this set is the lack of an accessibility ramp like in 41759, but I realize a function like that would be more difficult to fit into this set's narrower chassis. And even that function still required some suspension of disbelief due to the big "bump" to get into the doors, so it's not too much bigger a stretch for kids to raise and lower strollers or wheelchairs into place, just like they would when putting minifigs into the bus seats. Still, that is an area that future bus sets might be able to improve upon.
@sjr60 said:
"Pretty good looking bus, although I think that the clear double doors look a bit out of place in vehicles. They tend to look more like patio doors. Same as in 60337."
Honestly I think these doors are a pretty decent choice — a lot of modern buses and trams in real life have big glass double doors like this, although most that I've seen slide open instead of hinging outward. Also, since each door is just three studs wide, they require less pavement clearance to open than a four-wide door would If you do a Google image search for "bus doors" you should see a lot of examples similar to this.
In the future, it might be interesting if LEGO made a similar double door design for the 1x4x6 frame, which would probably be a better fit for the front doors of buses like this one, or for other vehicles like American-style school buses.
By Sandinista in United States,
Museum is likely referring to the recent modular, no?
By sjr60 in United Kingdom,
@Aanchir said:
"
@sjr60 said:
"Pretty good looking bus, although I think that the clear double doors look a bit out of place in vehicles. They tend to look more like patio doors. Same as in 60337 ."
Honestly I think these doors are a pretty decent choice — a lot of modern buses and trams in real life have big glass double doors like this"
Not really. All narrower and framed, which is why this one looks so unrealistic. Even printed frames would be better.
By DaBigE in United States,
Great set, although this one had the most number of scratched window pieces I've ever experienced in a new set. Every window has something on it. Like 60440, this looks much better with clear headlights than the blue.
By Thieraboss in Canada,
They should have put an extra piece in where the wheels lump the floor up to give the impression of a less steep step up and down.
By Loerwyn in United Kingdom,
A good review. It looks a little cramped downstairs though, I would have liked to see how the passenger minifigs fit in those seats with the window frames next to them.
Also if I got this set myself, I would probably build it to represent a UK bus which would appear to be a fairly simple change?
By Maxbricks14 in New Zealand,
What a cool set! I love all the references to other sets as well.
By cm5878 in Jersey,
Nice review, thank you!
This is about as realistic a representation of a service bus as it’s possible to achieve with the current parts palette, there are always going to be some compromises so the low floor you find on modern citybuses is hard to replicate past the axles if you want the standard minifigure chairs to be included too.
The doors, unless in future there is a revised part creating a plug type arrangement where the panes pop out and along the vehicle sides, or a glider design that arcs inwards through 90 degrees, I think what has been used will be good enough.
And level access for the push chair is perfectly possible with a small kerb. As seen in for example 8404 which this vehicle would complement really nicely.
I hope to pick up one of these soon!
By Maxbricks14 in New Zealand,
@Capnrex101:
The Museum and park on the rotating destination boards could be a reference to 10326 and 60326.
By PurpleDave in United States,
I would have pushed it to 8-wide, like I did with my vintage Routemaster. That gives you enough room for seating on both sides of an aisle, plus it makes the overall vehicle seem substantially larger than a passenger vehicle (as it is in real life). It also allows the aisle to sit between the fender elements, while seats cover up the bumps (also as in real life).
@johleth:
As with 70's/80's themes before this, the references we see frequently reflect the themes that the graphic designers enjoyed in their childhood.
@Aanchir:
Given how the sign is supposed to be rotated, I'd think the use of prints is because they recognized that the stickers will start peeling off and jam it up.
@Sandinista:
That was my initial thought as well, but it's a City set. The Modulars are not. The first two destinations refer to other City sets, so it's a reasonable guess that the other two might refer to others.
@Loerwyn:
As long as the window frame sits low enough and lines up nicely against the seat, there's room to fit a minifig arm horizontally inside of it. My Routemaster has issues because I had to match the smaller windows of the real thing, which means that some seats can be occupied, while others have to remain empty (or you have to rip a minifig's arm off).
By Reventon in Australia,
Cool little bus for what it is. I’ve already loaded mine up with Tourist Alien minifigs.
By robert_p in United Kingdom,
I enjoyed building this set too. Nice to see a reasonably priced addition to the City with a good selection of minifigures and the baby's pushchair is a great addition. Only drawback is the use of stickers - I can't stand using stickers but the bus doesn't look as good without the advertisem*nts on the side. I would give this set 9/10 but for me the stickers (as usual) spoil what should be a brilliant set.
By TheOtherMike in United States,
Whether or not I get this set (and this review made me want to, as I hadn't really paid attention to it before),, I am going to have to look for that stroller element on PaB.
@Robot99 said:
[[[[A new pushchair element]]
This site is regularly teaching me new British terms lol. Us Americans call this a "stroller" :-0]]
Yeah, I'm not sure I'd encountered the term, and I'm a huge Anglophile. I thought it meant some kind of wheelchair.
@Reventon said: [[Cool little bus for what it is. I’ve already loaded mine up with Tourist Alien minifigs.]]
That is a genius Idea! But you should throw in a few of 71046-2 , too.
By Brickchap in Australia,
Great review CapnRex.
This is pretty good. I look forward to converting it to a vintage or classic bus (haven't decided which yet).
The staircase is a very welcome surprise, as is the very cool rotating destination board! And the signs are printed!
Good minifigures, okay price ($39 at BigW/Kmart).
Still waiting for my local stores to stock this set... (it's the 17th of June and still not a single new Lego set on shelves...)
I do wish lego would get rid of those silly transparent blue headlights though. Just use clear ones!
Look at any car, normal transparent clear headlights are still used on all vehicles, including the very latest ones.
This attempt to make it super obvious this bus is extra modern and futuristic (as with many City vehicles thesedays) is very annoying.
Also why the weird seat colour? Why not a shade of grey or regular blue, maybe even dark blue?
By sklamb in United States,
@Brickchap said:
"Great review CapnRex.
The staircase is a very welcome surprise, as is the very cool rotating destination board! And the signs are printed! ( ...snip....)
I do wish lego would get rid of those silly transparent blue headlights though. Just use clear ones!
Look at any car, normal transparent clear headlights are still used on all vehicles, including the very latest ones.
This attempt to make it super obvious this bus is extra modern and futuristic (as with many City vehicles thesedays) is very annoying. "
Actually, I was surprised to see a car with headlights that were definitely blue rather than bluish-white the other day. It's the only one I've ever seen, but such things do exist and are, perhaps, more common in other parts of the world. Not what I'd pick for my car, but....
By PurpleDave in United States,
@TheOtherMike:
I know they've also been called baby buggies in the US, but I don't know if this is a matter of region or history. I also know the term parambulator from Hook, which I'd take to be a British term, but that could again just be historical.
@Brickchap:
There was a period of time when many newer cars started appearing with headlights that emitted a slightly blue tinted light. Turned off, yes, they were clear and chrome, but coming towards you at night they were distinctly blue, which is what I assume this is intended to represent. The thing is, blue headlights sucked. They were great for the driver of the car they were part of, but they were quite harsh on anyone approaching you in the next lane. They felt like the other driver hadn't turned their high-beams off, even when they had. I see them all the time when I walk past them in a store, but I almost never see them in use anymore. LEDs have taken over the headlight market, and they look pure white compared to anything with a filament.
@sklamb:
I know "white" halogen headlights have a slightly yellow tint. Blue is the xenon-based HID lamps. There's also one that has a purple tint, which isn't as hard on the eyes for oncoming drivers. I'd have considered switching to those when I had to replace a burned-out lamp, but on my car it requires removing the entire front end clip so you can dismount the headlight assembly and move it clear of an obstruction. Purple headlights, unfortunately, have the shortest life expectancy, and I just didn't want to go through that whole thing again if I could get one that would last the remaining life of the vehicle. I don't think I've seen any that were _blue_. I did see someone once who appeared to have modded their car with red parking lights in front, which I'm pretty sure is illegal.
By TheOtherMike in United States,
@PurpleDave: Yeah, "perambulator" does have a sort of Victorian sound to it, doesn't it?
By Russell844 in United States,
That male passenger looks like Chris McVeigh.
By Cimi in Austria,
All transparent parts werden scratched once more-(
By Belboz in United Kingdom,
@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave : Yeah, "perambulator" does have a sort of Victorian sound to it, doesn't it?"
This was almost always shortened to PRAM in more recent times which normally denotes a larger baby carriage - most often where the baby is lying down. The pushchair/baby buggy normally denotes a carriage for toddlers where they are sitting up.
In modern times, the plethora of new-fangled machines mean that many now double up - being able to act as a pram for when the baby is young and converting to a pushchair when the baby morphs into the toddler stage.
By AustinPowers in Germany,
@TheOtherMike said:
"Whether or not I get this set (and this review made me want to, as I hadn't really paid attention to it before),, I am going to have to look for that stroller element on PaB.
@Robot99 said:
A new pushchair element
This site is regularly teaching me new British terms lol. Us Americans call this a "stroller" :-0
Yeah, I'm not sure I'd encountered the term, and I'm a huge Anglophile. I thought it meant some kind of wheelchair."
I'm an Anglophile too, and though I have been to England and Wales countless times in the Eighties and Nineties I have never heard that term either. Same with our school books.
I always knew this as a pram, or the lighter, smaller ones as a buggy.
By diamosuk in United Kingdom,
@gunther_schnitzel said:
"The male passenger reminds of ‘Coach’ (played by Colin Farrell) from the Guy Ritchie film ‘The Gentlemen’."
Lol! Spot on
By lemish34 in Australia,
@Robot99 said:
[[[[A new pushchair element]]
This site is regularly teaching me new British terms lol. Us Americans call this a "stroller" :-0]]
Us Australians call this a “pram”!
I’m very familiar with the term “stroller”.
I’ve literally never heard of the term “pushchair” … and we are a former British colony! I thought it was a reference to a type of wheelchair at first!
By Belboz in United Kingdom,
The term pushchair is something of a more recent phenomenon and most certainly coined well after The UK's largest open air prison closed (j/k cobbers)
It's probably a more accurate term given that both stroller and perambulator literally mean someone who is walking - as opposed to the child who sits in the chair and is pushed along.
The term buggy has somewhat overtaken it and that is certainly reflected in UK bus signage which predominantly talks of buggies.
By sjr60 in United Kingdom,
Probably varied with time as well as country.
In the 60s & 70s it was always a 'pram' for the lay in thing and a 'pushchair' for the sit in thing. The lighter more easily foldable 'buggy' came later.
My Dad used to take great offence if people referred to his wheelchair as a pushchair!
By Feroz in Netherlands,
Thanks for the review.
I liked this one when it was shown here in a releases article, but now after the review I definitely want to buy it.
The bus design, stairs, plenty of seating and the turning destination boards are big plusses to me.
I think it will look cool to replace one of the destination boards with a Sesame Street printed plate. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Sure! Just get on board!
By Brickchap in Australia,
RE: Prams, pushchairs and strollers.
My understanding is a pram is a larger and more robust device for taking an infant on outings, whereas a stroller is easier to disassemble but less secure and robust. This is a stroller.
My family only ever had a stroller whereas other families also had prams which make it easier for mothers lifting the infant in and out of it.
By Bornin1980something in United Kingdom,
The entrances are a bit high. Maybe it isn't possible to model a low floor bus in Lego.
By TeriXeri in Netherlands,
It's nice City is mostly sticking to its 6 wides, except for the largest vehicles 60408 : Car Transporter is 10 wide at the widest but nothing as super-sized like 42619 : Pop Star Music Tour Bus or 41759 : Heartlake City Bus
And certainly nice you can just turn it into a normal bus very easily, and the set doesn't come with extra side stuff inflation, and a larger vehicle with 4 figs is quite generous for a €30 set in 2024.
