Random set of the day: The Mine
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 4204 The Mine, released during 2012. It's one of 41 City sets produced that year. It contains 748 pieces and 4 minifigs, and its retail price was US$99.99/£69.99.
It's owned by 6,590 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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44 comments on this article
Dang, the currency exchange 10 years ago was massive. The Brits got the deal on this one.
Hi ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go....
I feel like the guy on the left is dressed down just a bit too much for setting off dynamite. Shouldn’t he be wearing a full tux or something?
The "mine" looks to be a glorified rock-climbing wall.
I've always loved mining themed sets. Managed to get my hands on the Fantasy Era Dwarf Mine not too long ago!
I have this one! An awesome set. The latest mining theme was terrible, but this one was really good. I got all the sets except for the semi trailer and excavator.
I actually managed to get a sealed copy of this set in 2017-2018. I opened it immediately, being 11 and not understanding the value of it.
This was the first wave of city that I didn't look at since I went into my dark ages around then. To me, the hospital from the same year looks like a lot better of a set than this.
I do have to say this looks good for rebuilds since there's a bit you can do with what it gives you. It's a good verity of parts with all those wheels and window parts.
Really wanted this set back in the day, has aged pretty well too.
Love the mining helmets. Just wish there was a bit more of a 'mine' included than a front wall to one (Yeah, I know its LEGO so you can add to it, just saying...).
This is one of the sets I wish I’d bought - much better than the more recent Mine set too.
What a great set.
Playability a 10!
This mining theme was fantastic, I really loved this line.
You know what would make this set a thousand times better? The Balrog from Jackson’s LotR films. In fact, forget the mine. Just give us the Balrog!
@R1_Drift said:
"I actually managed to get a sealed copy of this set in 2017-2018. I opened it immediately, being 11 and not understanding the value of it."
I'd say, more a case of being 11 and FULLY understanding the value of it!
I remember snagging this one for $39.99 because Walmart mixed up their print ad with the price of the truck/excavator set and listed this instead.
@Brickchap said:
"I have this one! An awesome set. The latest mining theme was terrible, but this one was really good. I got all the sets except for the semi trailer and excavator. "
Ah see I don’t have this one. Which I guess means it’s not a Mine, it’s a Yours!
@Murdoch17 said:
"Hi ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go...."
In a mine, in a mine, where a million diamonds shine...
Perfect display of a functioning mine.
Still on the lookout for a nicely priced 2nd hand version.
This is the kind of set I would have loved as a kid. That scoop is old school cool.
I picked this set up a couple years ago for quite a sharp price.
Lots of cool features!
Despite all the love for it in these comments, it’s worth a lot less less used now (refer to Bricklink) than the US$100 it was new…. A decade ago!
I would think that’s a bit unusual for larger sets from the early 2010’s? ….. maybe this one isn’t nearly as desirable as the comments here on Brickset make it sound!
Grampa: "What ya' got there Jimmy?"
Jimmy: "Mine"
Gramps: "I know it's yours, what set is it?"
Jimmy: "MINE!"
Gramps: "...*sigh* This is one of those 'Who's on First' situations, isn't it...":D
Seriously, this set looks really good; but kind like the carts in 60188 . Also: waitaminute...the crooks stole 'mining equipment': 60273 ...I mean; it tracks, they're are 'crooks' after all..:)
And they call it The Mine... The Mine!
Have this set, it was great for expanding with extra rock pieces, straight rails and linking with more conveyor belts. The only problem was it was a bit awkward getting the round bricks out of the back of the rail truck car with the grabber, but the idea was there and it was great when they feel into the back of the truck bed.
What a glorious play set!
@J0rgen said:
"And they call it The Mine... The Mine!"
"This is no mine... it's a tomb...
...no, wait, it's a mine."
I never realised that gold came out of the ground in big hollow rocks already formed into bars like the one in the bottom left. Lego is so educational
Already a decade since this one. How time flies ! It was so different and innovative compared to Power Miners that I didn't like that much.
It was fitting well with the forest emergency subtheme that was out this year, but unfortunately Lego came too far from the City with getting to Arctic, swamp...
It's so much buildig oriented that its successor, for which the machine was good, but the buildig was particulary poor. Especially the rollercoaster tracks which were quite out of place.
This is a nice set, I have 2 of it with 1 opened to play.
Current market price for a MISB set seems to be quite reasonable considering the age of this set.
@Bumblepants said:
"I remember snagging this one for $39.99 because Walmart mixed up their print ad with the price of the truck/excavator set and listed this instead. "
I got two of this set when that happened. But I thought it had been advertised as $30, though I could be wrong. It was a great deal either way.
My wife got me this for Christmas to end my dark age, she probably regrets that now! :)
@watcher21:
Well, the gold seems like it may have been seeded to dupe some investors into sinking a lot of money into a mine that’s played out. Barring the days when you could make your fortune selling equipment and food to people who were panning for gold, part of why it’s so expensive is because of how little yield you get for your trouble. In 2013, the Barrick mining operation reported having to sort through anywhere from 2-91 tons of rock to extract just one ounce of gold.
Got a used copy for my guys about four years ago. It was one of the first times I started buying outside my local area and had it shipped to me.
There's gold in them there hills!
This looks so good a a set, well rounded vehicle to location ratio.
Much better then 60188 : Mining Experts Site which has this huge scraping machine and the mine itself is much smaller , I do like the interior with the minifigs mining nuggets into the carts, but the giant machine should be seperated.
60186 : Mining Heavy Driller also had a cave but the drill is again giant in comparison to the scene.
This set is so cool!
@TeriXeri:
Both of those scenes were originally much larger, but they had to test the equipment out before shipping the sets to stores.
Had this one back in the day! Was an absolute unit and I loved every bit of it. Only thing I could have whisked for was more interior mine but even in its currant state it’s awesome
My grandfather is a retired coal miner himself (spent about a decade underground, got laid off, and then started working on the service/business/sales side of the industry until I was 3) and several of my friends are or have been in the coal industry--both surface and underground. Back when these sets were new, I considered them a little weird but wanted the set to switch over to more or less replicating coal equipment. Joy Manufacturing/Komatsu used to have a plant here in town, and we still have tons of businesses that repair/sell/ build mining equipment; and almost every manufacturing business got their start in the coal industry.
I can understand, however, why Lego decided to go with gold--I'm sure they'd end up with an even bigger PR trainwreck than what happened with Shell or the Osprey if it were coal.
The "drill" looks more like something they'd use for tunneling--but the relative chassis looks like a continuous miner (which has a horizontally facing tool with lots of pretty big, pretty sharp carbide teeth (I have one used one my Granddad always kept around--and ONE weighs over a pound). The mines here usually had conveyors underground that transferred it outside to be loaded on trucks and trains.
I know in some larger underground operations (and usually NOT coal), they do have diesel and gas-powered equipment, but usually, it's high-voltage electric in the mines--like 600V. I looked at the Jeep J8 (as they do sell one as a diesel pickup), and the MSHA-approved underground model is heavily filled with spark arrestors and fire suppression equipment.
Bought it in sale at Toy r Us, have it still in the box. Its actually a nice looking set, but no room to add it into my City. The railway tracks and the idea of a Tunnel Entrance really must of appealed to me. definitely a keeper
This is a great set! I have one NISB and one glued (battery operated) display model. Pushing the button now and then <3
@cody6268:
Well, yeah, real mining/tunneling equipment can’t even be modeled correctly without lots of specialized pieces because it’s never just one giant bit mounted to the front of the vehicle. It’s one giant bit packed with tons of smaller, counterrotating bits that shred the rock face in several directions simultaneously. And with deep mines requiring both AC due to high temps (in HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries, the Soviet miners called in to help wear work boots, mining helmets, and maybe gloves, because that’s the only way they could avoid heat stroke), and ventilated to remain breathable (even if for no other reason than to exchange the carbon-dioxide breathed out by the miners for fresh oxygen), using gas or diesel equipment below ground just adds to both sides of that problem. Even battery-powered equipment can pose problems. Large lead-acid batteries are relatively cheap to manufacture compared to lithium-based ones, but they need to be vented, and they release hydrogen gas when being fast-charged.
@1265 said:
"I saw this article and said to myself, "That's a cool looking set." I clicked on the set number and saw that I have 7 sealed copies. "
Tear them all open and start playing your butt off, then!
Love the whole mining subtheme. Didn't care for the recent ones, but 2012's was great! I have 30151, 30152, and 4200. Really want to pick up 4201 too, but don't have the room in my layout for the larger sets. Still, this mine would be a great start for a MOC one day.
"I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole, diggy diggy hole, digging a hole."