[REVIEW] 5872: Space Truck Getaway

[hatcher]

Indexed

SET NAME: Space Truck Getaway.
THEME: Space Police
YEAR: 2009
# OF PIECES: 282
MSRP: $29.99 (USD) CAN (?)

This set apparently has different names depending on what part of the world you live it. It is reference on Brickset as "Container Heist".

From Brickset: Watch out for the space truck's hidden laser!

Emergency alert to all units! Astro-punk '˜Snake' is on the loose in the super-tough Wrecker space truck, and he's hauling a stolen Space Police laser cannon hidden in the back. It's up to you to bring him to justice, but look out for the Wrecker's heavy blast armor, twin pulse lasers and spaceship-shredding spikes! Includes 2 minifigures: alien 'Snake' and Space Police Officer Alien space vehicle is outfitted with blast armor, twin lasers, front grill spikes Rear compartment opens to expose stolen police laser Wrecker space truck measures 10" (25cm) long and over 11" (28cm) wide
http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=5972-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In all honesty, I only bought this set for the parts. The entire Space Police theme never really hooked me, other than some of the mini figures. Anyway, on to the review.

Here is the front of the box. Shows the Space Truck flying along with the Space Police officer tagging along for the ride.

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Here is the back of the box. It shows the back of the truck opening and closing, as well as the ray gun moving and the police office firing his flick fire "gun".

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The contents of the box. There are four bags, numbered 1, 2, 2, and 3 as well as the dreaded sticker sheet and a single instruction book.

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Here are the stickers. I don't put stickers on sets I buy for parts, but I actually like these stickers. Most of them go on the yellow back section of the truck.

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The cover of the instruction book.

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And a random page from the instruction book. Each step is numbered and shows the pieces needed to complete it, making for a speedy build.

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The contents of bag #1. You find the pieces for the minifigures and the main body of the space truck here. A lot of Technique pieces used, as well as a few parts I hadn't seen previously.

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The minifigures complete with accessories. The officer comes with a black air tank/jet pack and a flick fire gun. He and Snake, the alien, both have black visors. I do like the officers torso detailing and Snake appears to have an eye growing on his chest. Very nice.

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And from the back. You can see snakes spinal column and musculature on his back.

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And the officer minus helmet and air tank. His head is double faced, so the back side shows his surprised face. His torso also has nice back printing.

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Now, the vehicle. This set only has one vehicle, the "Space Truck" that Snake drives. Here it is half way through assembling bag #1.

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Here it is at the end of bag #1. Snake is already inside. I love the swords coming out of the front.

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The contents of both bag #2's. As you can see, there is a lot of yellow. These parts are used to assembly the back half of the truck and the ray gun that is inside.

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Here we see the ray gun assembled and attached. It is on a turntable, so you can spin it around to fire.

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The vehicle as it looks at the end of bags #2, with spare pieces. The two halves of the yellow box fold up and down to either hide or reveal the ray gun.

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The contents of bag #3. These parts make the engines and the wings for the truck. More technique parts here again.

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The two rear engines attached.

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And the two front engines/wings. Very interesting style they give to this vehicle.

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And finally the completed set. I don't like the officers chances here. Hope back up is on the way.

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Final thoughts. As I said above, I only bought it for the parts, so my thoughts might be a bit biases because of it. The build is quick, and despite all the technique pieces, very straight forward and easy. The final model is very nice looking, despite its strange motif. It does have nice play features, and the minifigures are fantastic looking, so even if you aren't a space police fan (like myself) I can still recommend it, whether you want it for parts or as a play set.

I give it the following scores:

Parts: 4/5 A lot of nice pieces, including lots of yellow, but more technique than I like to see.
Minifigures: 5/5. The two that are included are awesome. Nuff said.
Build: 4/5: Very easy to assemble, with a few tough spots with some of the technique parts.
Play features: 5/5 Fun stuff.

[ImmortalShark]

My kids each got one of these for Christmas. The one thing I didn't like about this was the cargo box on the back. It seems to flop open way too easy. I think it would have been better if it was designed with something like these.