What a great way to be introduced to the world's greatest toy. I remember being given this set for my fourth birthday and was particularly amazed by the minifigures' legs, but the playability of the whole concept meant that i was to be hooked for life.

This was one of many vehicles Lego had in its range after the introduction of the minifigure, but before the vehicles became fully adapted to their requirements. Therefore it's up to the kid to adapt the vehicle around to properly play with the set - no doubt some more expert kids were able to rebuild the cab to enable the minifig to sit and drive, but we simply sat the little guy on the cab roof. And he could give fellow minifigs a lift by having them sit in a line on top of the tanker.

Despite these oddities, it's still a worthwhile build. The size and specialist nature of the vehicle means it's a welcome challenge for anyone already adept at smaller cars, and the details do feel rather ingenious - the delivery hose, scrunched up behind little shutter doors, was a fun touch, even though we knew it wasn't quite representative of the health and safety requirements of the real world equivalent.

At the time in the early 1980s, it was unusual for toys to reflect the branding we saw in the real world so the Shell logos were something we considered to be rather cool (we also had the 6610 Shell Petrol Pumps, and the two went together very well) back then. Though of course it was all done with stickers, which limits the rebuild opportunities. Given that in some circumstances Lego was quite prepared to include pre-printed bricks, I did not understand why this practice wasn't more widespread - they could easily have printed the logo on the centre slope bricks for each side.

Despite these quibbles, this was a set which had lots of play at the time, and is an interesting build for anyone looking for a specialist vehicle to construct.

I didn’t put the stickers on it, I never thought it was a good idea to promote evil oil companies to the kids. Later, Lego realized this and started its own branded oil company called Octan from the 90s. Incidentally, this sett was also released in the US 1 year later as the 554 Fuel Pumper.

The build

The construction is simple but imaginative, I like the tanker trailer solutions. The fuel hose is just a cord at the end of which a knot needs to be tied and an old kind of 1x1 window piece needs to be threaded through. The hose cannot be screwed on, only the service shutter must be closed. Instead of the fifth wheel, the trailer is fixed with a 2x2 yellow turntable.

Parts

Most parts are still available today. What’s harder to find are the 1x1 yellow window pieces, the gray fenders, the yellow shutters, 1x4 yellow brick with crome printed headlights, and the metal axle wheels.

Minifig

A classic cheerful town figure with a shell branded sticker on his t-shirt. The hat is the same as what cops use, only here red. At that time, fashion was not very much followed at Lego, such hats were last used by employees in gas stations in the 1950s.

Overall opinion

Unfortunately, the cab section is very basic and there is no room for a minifigure in it. Which I think is a missed option, since a car door already existed, so the minifigure’s hand would have fit. This unfortunately reduces playability. :(

My Mod

I think this set could have been done in 1978 so that the minifigure could also get into the vehicle. I took out a couple of 1978 parts and approx. After 15 minutes of brainstorming, the problem was solved. The doors come from set 621, without a sticker. The cab unit looks a bit like the Renault, MAN, Iveco, and Volvo trucks of the 1970s. I also put 2 brake lights on the rear bumper of the trailer.

Compared to other vehicles of the era when minifigures could not get inside, this is definitely quite good. Still, this model has little value in a Legoland town, unless the cabin is seriously modified to accomodate a driver.

The tanker is quite well designed, although definitely undersized, and because of that it would require heavy modifications as well. The gas pump door with small shutters is brilliant, and it is the idea that saves the set.