Tug Boat LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
This project, designed by pix027, is a tugboat used for maneuvering ships around the brick filled waters of a LEGO marine environment. There are several different kinds of tugboats, but they all fall into one of the following categories: deep sea tugboats, harbor tugboats, or river tugboats. Based on my limited knowledge of tugboats and the scale of this build, this particular model seems to be a deep sea tugboat used for pulling large ships, barges, or offshore platforms. For more information, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Appeals of this Project
This tugboat is very nicely designed, capturing the recognizable shape of a tug with the higher bow (front) that tapers off to a lower stern (back) where the tug would attach to whatever the cargo is for the day. Something that really helps with this transition in hull geometry is the use of a 3mm diameter hose to represent a rope running the length along the side of each ship. I especially like the use of the black life rings (30340) to represent the tires that are often found on the sides of real tugboats to act as "bumpers".

Moving on to the deck of the tug, I really like the detail that has been included around the cabin and engine room with the small windows and different panels and ladders used to provide a little bit of texture and depth to the appearance. Up above the engine room, there is nice detailing for the air intake and exhaust. Sitting on top like a crown, the tapered end of the stack really puts a nice touch on this part of the build, and makes creative use of existing parts.

The bridge area of the tugboat is also detailed nicely with handrails, long tall windows, and plenty of communication transmitters and receivers on the roof. Additionally, I appreciate even the smaller details of the lights at the bow and stern, which act as safety devices during the night, when there is fog, or other times when visibility is low. In all, this tug seems to offer playability by bringing an new element to a harbor or sea play theme, and at the same time it offers great value to collectors as I think this would look nice next to some of the cargo ships LEGO has produced in the past, such as the Maersk ships 10152  or 10241, though the scale is noticeable different.

Areas for Improvement
Overall, this is a nice project. A couple things that I would like to see (maybe it is present, but not pictured) is the detail of the engine and the interior of the bridge. I think it would also be nice to see a firefighting nozzle in front of the bridge as actual tugs are often equipped with firefighting equipment incase of an emergency. Otherwise, this is very well designed and detailed.

Conclusion
This Tug Boat has many wonderful details and offers good value both in terms of playability potential, and as a collector item. I believe this would make a great set if it reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the Official LEGO Ideas Review Process. To see more pictures and offer your support to help this become a set, you can visit the project on LEGO Ideas here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out more.

Photos used and review completed with the permission of pix027.