15 replies to this topic

[Plissken]

Name: Robbers' Hideout
Setnumber: 4438
Theme: City
Year: 2012
Parts: 300
Minifig: 4 (+1 Bear )
Price: €39,99

Bricklink

I'm not ne casual City buyer but as I saw the first picture of the new bear I fall immediately in love. I was really happy to see that this creature was also included in a "smaller" City set. The forest themed police looks also interesting. On Monday I decided to get this set and ordered it online. In germany it is an Lego Shop exclusive (no Toys R Us or else). I don't know if it's the same in other countries.
Today the set arrived and I started the build and review. Enjoy.

Front of the box.


Back of Box. It shows the features of the Set pretty good.


Topside of the Box. I like the inclusion of a background.


Contents. Four bags, two instructions, a DSS and a 16x16 green baseplate


The DSS in detail. I didn't apply those, so please don't miss them in the other pictures.


Booklet No. 1. This covers Bag 1 and 2.


Random Page


Minfigs in bag 1, front and back. All three have prints on both sides, no doublesided faces. I like the new hat.



The bear. Just great.


Standing and running.



Pieces of Interest in bag 1. A golden 1x2 tile and a new mudguard.


The trike. There is a 1x2 printed "Police" tile. Exactly the same like in last years advent calendar.


Hot Rod build in progress and finished. Pretty simple build.



Spare parts from bag 1. I think I forget to add the grille piece to something.


Bag 1 complete.


Contents from bag 2. This only builds the Police Truck.


Truck build in progress. Pretty colourful inside.




Finished truck. The trunk is supposed to carry a prisoner. It won't be hard to escape this  


Spare parts from bag 2.


Booklet No. 2 and random page. This covers bag 3 + 4.



Bag 3 + 4 contents


Pieces of Interest. Two new 2x2 modified round plates, eleven nougat brick bricks, 2 1x3 black tiles, two more golden tiles, a dark red fez and a transclear figure head. Nice selection.


The fourth minifig is also included in this bags. doublesided print, singleprinted face.



Hideout build in progress.




Hideout finished. It's more like an Forest garage than a hideout. Nothing special inside the house. I didn't expect much but this is very disappointing.



Spare Parts bag 3 + 4.


Complete Set.


Final thoughts
Playability: 8/10
There are no real playfeatures but you get three vehicles and two opposing forces. A lot of chases are possible and the hideout is nice looking from the outside. The interior needs a lot of MOCing. The vehicles are also a mixed bag. The trike is nothing special, the Hot Rod a simple build and kinda boring. The police truck has a nice design and looks even great on it's own.
Minifig: 8/10
Two cops, two robbers. Very nice printing on all of them. Great addition for a city setup. The faces of the robbers are great and very useful.
Parts: 9/10
You get alot of brown bricks, tan plates, a great green 16x16 plate and 11! brick bricks. The standout piece is the bear. Really great.
Price: 8/10
It's a nice set. In my opinion a little bit overpriced but this might be the result of the exclusive status. For parts and the bear it's good value.

Total: 33/40

Edited by Plissken, 03 February 2012 - 10:13 AM.

[Churchill]

Thanks for a great review.  I too might get this just for the bear and those "brick" 1x2 bricks.  It's better than having to buy the bigger station.  I've gotten more than enough police over the past few years.

[sharky]

Thanks for the great review.  I liked this set from the first time I saw it just for the simple fact that it's a bad guy's house.  They finally have a place to go when the robbery is done.  As simple as it is, I really like the hot rod.  The entire set has a retro feel due to the style of car.  I wished the building was more finished on the back with a hinged wall in order to open it up to play.  Oh well, I guess it will be a good set to modify.  I do like the look out area on the roof.  That was a nice idea.  I usually don't buy many of the large City police sets, but I picked up Money Transfer and I will pick this up as well.

Edited by sharky, 01 February 2012 - 07:43 PM.

[L@go]

A nice review, with good, clear pictures.

Let me add a thought (I picked up this set a couple of weeks ago): When you criticise the building for not having a proper interior (remember, it has to easily accommodate the car) and the hot rod for being boring, I think it's important to remember that this isn't a big set. Lego could easily have "improved" on the design, but that would have meant adding pieces - which would have increased the price. Rather than ask for that, I think one should focus on the basic design and which possibilities they offer - if you don't like it, it's easily modified with those extra pieces.

But that's just my opinion :)

Plissken, on 01 February 2012 - 07:11 PM, said:

I think I forget to add the grille piece to something.

Yep, it goes on top of that new mudguard (which appears with seven different printed patterns, in other colours than black, in various Cars sets, but without printing only in this set), behind the dark red tile with handle.

[Rune Haako]

Nice review, I love the new brick bricks.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review 'Plissken', neat hot rod, not bad police pick up, but it's the bear and hideout that stand out in this set. We were overdue for a robber's hideout....I think the last was a water hideout in the world city theme ?
Since I'm collecting all city this year, on the list....though I think it's a TRU exclusive in Oz....I will email them shortly.
Brick On Review On 'Plissken' !

[Esurient]

Nice review! This is is basically "Lego City 2012 Forest Police All In 1" There is the robbers' house, bear, robbers' vehicle, police car and bike and rare tan brick bricks. Got this set from an overseas Toys R Us. They had all the TRU exclusives released in December 2011 (Funhouse, Robber's Hideout, Fire Transporter, Dino Interceptor, Y-Wing) for sale way before the release dates in Oz.

[JackJonespaw]

Good review! I really like that new modified 2 x 2 round plate. The bear is nice, too.

[Piranha]

Thanks the review

This is my favorite of the Police Forest subtheme and mainly because it has a strong civilian presence. The log cabin has a nice facade but the interior is lacking and too much room was used for the hot rod garage. I think they should have done an interior and had the hot rod separate.

As for the vehicles, the Hot rod is meh I don't really like it at all. The trike I was never a fan of prefer the classic city motorcycles. The 4-Wheeler is good and after removing the blue and lights will be a nice civilian truck.

As for the minifigs they are alright not my thing as I am more of a city civilian collector.

The true star is the bear . I am very happy that I don't have to get the large police set or Bricklink it. There are also some good parts that are included in this set. I think the bear is a good perquisite to the upcoming LOTR horses. They will be the same style I think i.e the head and rear legs will be able to move but the front legs will probably be in a static "motion" pose.

3.8/5

[sages]

Thanks for the review.
I really like the police truck and the hideout looks decent enough.
New criminal minifigs are nice too

[Legocrazy81]

That 1x2 dark bley cheese slope isn't an extra. It goes towards the top of the cliff face.

[Lorentzen]

Awesome review. I enjoyed reading it :) - and the pictures are really well taken.

I think that all these new forest police sets look great - but I agree that this black Hot Rod looks bland... but for the price of this set, it's actually quite okay

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Awesome review-- Thanks, I needed this.  I've been hemming and hawing over this one for the past few days.  I now know I'm going to be picking it up later today.  Thanks Plissken!

[TomRoid]

What do people think of the new brick... bricks?

[Plissken]

Thank you all for your comments, very appreciated.

L@go, on 01 February 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

Let me add a thought (I picked up this set a couple of weeks ago): When you criticise the building for not having a proper interior (remember, it has to easily accommodate the car) and the hot rod for being boring, I think it's important to remember that this isn't a big set. Lego could easily have "improved" on the design, but that would have meant adding pieces - which would have increased the price. Rather than ask for that, I think one should focus on the basic design and which possibilities they offer - if you don't like it, it's easily modified with those extra pieces.

But that's just my opinion :)

Yes, I know it is not the biggest set and my complain may be a bit harsh. I was only a bit disappointed that this set is called Hideout and it's in fact only a garage. I expected at least two seats for the robbers. Add a second cup and a small table (1x1 round brick, 2x2 round plate) and it would be fine. That`s four more pieces. If it can't go over 300, skip the trike. For the Hot Rod I thought it would be a little bit more interesting after I saw the first pictures. False expectations.   

L@go, on 01 February 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

Yep, it goes on top of that new mudguard (which appears with seven different printed patterns, in other colours than black, in various Cars sets, but without printing only in this set), behind the dark red tile with handle.

Legocrazy81, on 02 February 2012 - 05:22 AM, said:

That 1x2 dark bley cheese slope isn't an extra. It goes towards the top of the cliff face.

Thank you both. I totally missed the placement of both pieces while I build it.

TomRoid, on 02 February 2012 - 06:08 PM, said:

What do people think of the new brick... bricks?

In my opinion, they are great. Thy add a nice detailed look while not needing a great amount of pieces. A good alternative. It will be interesting to see the bricks combined with true build lego brickwalls.

[L@go]

Plissken, on 03 February 2012 - 10:29 AM, said:

I expected at least two seats for the robbers. Add a second cup and a small table (1x1 round brick, 2x2 round plate) and it would be fine. That`s four more pieces. If it can't go over 300, skip the trike.

Good point with the four pieces, and I totally agree about the trike. That design should have been retired a long time ago.