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I know there's been a lot of anticipation for this set, so I hope my skills are up to scratch for everyone outside the academy, as well as in it.
Set Number: 5973
Set Name: Hyperspeed Pursuit
Theme: Space
Pieces: 456
Price: £39.15 / €52.50 / $49.99 US / $79.99 AUS
Time of Release: Summer 2009
Minifigs: 3
Shop @ Home Link
The Box
Primarily, the box shows us what looks like the outskirts of a moon colony with the Earth merely in the distance (as with all the Space Police sets). The Police ship gives chase as usual, but the twins didn't seem to notice that their gold is falling out of the back of their ship
They are also firing a missile into nowhere 
On the back of the we are shown various functions of the set which I'll go into detail with later, such a prison pod, the pod release system and stowage for the gold aboard the skull twin ship. From this angle it is easy to realise how massive the booster engines are on the police ship. On the box side there is also an advertisement of the Lego Space game for DS but I believe it has already been posted in other reviews.
The Instructions, Stickers and Minifigs
Here is a random instruction book page (out of book 1). (The 2 instruction books themsleves have exactly the same image as the front of the box).
The sticker sheet (below) or the DSS as rather a lot of people like to call them has quite a lot of stickers on it. There are (laser) bullet holes for the hull of the skull ship as well as some extra blacktron graffiti. For some reason there is a number '3' for the skull ship. This is odd because the set is not the 3rd smallest and there are two skull twins, not three. There is also a sticker saying 'Zumbi' on the right which confuses me.
The minifigs in this set are great.
We get two skull twins and what could be a Space Police Sheriff. The head used for the Police officer/sheriff is the double sided Castle-screaming head which we've already seen before. Although the helmet is also open so there might be an air problem, the printing on the police minifig is amazingly detailed, including on his back as well as legs, in an armour pattern.
The unmasking of the skull twins reveals... They aren't actually twins!
(However, each twin has the same head piece but it is double sided so you can do what you wish with each head to determine similarities or differences). I can see this monstrous evil head coming into use at some point for me 
The detailing is also very intricate on the skull twin torsos with jet black overalls and red and silver cuts across - nice! Also, there are references to Octan petrol on the torso although it might not easily be visible (just for you, City lovers ) Obviously Octan is the top Space propulsion fuel as well! For anyone who is wondering, the skull twin helmet is sorta rubbery, like Plo Koon in the RGS.
The Police Starship
Various stages of the build are below, from start to finish (sorry for 'in-construction' blur
) The build of the Police ship is actually quite interesting except for one thing, which I'll come on to in a minute. I like the use of a white minifig head and skelton leg to extend the control stick in the cockpit, because it makes it look that little bit extra futuristic (and also the control wouldn't reach the driver otherwise 
)
From the front, the Police ship looks very imposing although from this angle the engine boosters look quite small and the front of the cockpit seems flat. The Spaceship is quite heavily armed as you can see, with 6 laser guns around the ship to fend off the alien scum!
From the side, the ships small length is clear in comparison with its width (at least from looking at it and not measuring). The ship is very sleek and streamlined as in evidence here. Large wing technic pieces are used for the front 'wings' which I expect aren't new because they might have been in Bionicle. These pieces aren't easy to find other uses for though. I also like the fact that the jet pieces on the back wings balance the craft but also act as two extra lasers (I don't know how laser can fire from a propulsion device, but there you go
)
From the back, the most striking part is the massive booster rockets on the back of the ship. They might be a bit out of scale but I think it makes the ship seem even faster and over the top!
These boosters are made using a large fulcrum (cone shape) piece with another piece that used to be used a lot on flagpoles for pirate sets. 1x1 cone pieces are put on and bent back to make the engine seem even more powerful with more exhaust ports However, this part of the build requires a lot of repeat instruction
One other thing people may have noticed is that there is a prison pod with a 'shooter' panel sticking out of the back. The mechanism for opening the prison pod is simple - when a technic shooter hits the panel, a small technic piece pushes half the pod up so it effective 'pops' off. In practice though, the pod does break open but it barely moves (below) but at least it actually works. The pieces making up the pod I think are new because they have square areas inside so minifigs can actually be stood at the bottom instead of rattling around like crazy
The Review Continues...
Skull Ship Cruiser
The stages in the build of the cruiser are below.
The construction is far less repetitive than the Police ship but it does have a lot more stickers so sticker haters won't like this!
A lot of SNOT is used on the ship all round the sides for bumpers, exhaust ducts etc. to good effect, making the ship look very detailed.
There are barely any studs left on the model to put extra pieces on.
Once built, the Skull Ship is actually a bit heavier than the Police ship but looks even meaner
Dents, scratches, laser bullet holes and graffitit are all over the ship and a small red line is cleverly implemented into the model.
It's probably because red catches your eye better. In the cockpit though (below) there is only enough room for one skull twin.
We are to assume that if one is rescued, the other travels in the boot/trunk with zero atmosphere
It is quite easy to take the top off though, unlike the windscreen of the Police ship. (slight blur is due to the focus down the model)
From the front, the Skull ship doesn't actually look as imposing as the Police ship, and in fact, it almost doesn't look like a space ship.
It looks as if there should be wheels on it to become a Blacktron Hotrod, which would be pretty awesome
The bumpers on this ship are constructed using railing pieces and SNOT to make the ship look far stronger and customised than the Police ship.
There's not much to say about the side view of the Skull ship, other than the fact that is looks far less streamlined than the Police ship.
The fins on the side from Bionicle were TLGs attempt to solve that, and I think it works when not looking from the side
On the rear end of the ship we finally see what that Zumbi sticker is for.
I assume it's some sort of number plate for space, but it hasn't got any numbers so it could be illegal
The boosters for this ship are far smaller - 2x2x1 cylinder piece inside an engine block with a big flame.
The boosters don't look too oversized, but I think the long flames look far more authentic on the model.
The length of the flame also makes the booster seem incredibly strong.
A useful black 3x2 piece folds over to keep the gold in the boot/trunk of the ship (hopefully
)
I would say the best part of the design of the Skull ship is how well the technic blunt shooters fit onto the side of the model and blend in.
It is as if the shape of the shooter was meant for this ship. There is no special launching mechnism, so you have to pull back the launch tabs to shoot.
One thing I'm pretty sure of is that the springs on these shooters are amazing. I can shoot probably 5 metres, although I haven't measured
The safe to hold the gold is very simply built (about 7 pieces in fact) all in yellow with some random vent stickers on top.
The gold safe can hold about 4 2x1 gold tiles, but you are supplied with 3 in the set...
(Don't ask me why, perhaps it's to do with the 3 all over the Skull ship - 3 gold bars could be their lucky number!
)
Spare Pieces
(A lot of cheese slopes and technic pins)
BOTH SHIPS TOGETHER
A simple bird's eye (and underneath) comparison confirms that indeed...
1. The Police Ship is much bigger than the Skull ship (although lighter)
2. The Skull ship is much more square shaped and decorated with stickers
3. The Skull ship would be much better on stealth missions
(Two of the smooth disks on the bottom of the Space Rod were are added by me as spare parts)
Here is another image (my favourite) of both ships together from a normal view.
The Police ship design is so much better than it's freeze ray frenzy and gold heist counterparts and I love the Skull Space Rod!
AND...
The twins forgot to strap the gold down in the ship well enough (a la on on the box)
"Excuse me sir... erm madam. You dropped this gold bar back there. I should take better care of it if I were you."
"Oh thank you officer I've been looking everywhere for that bar - it's a present for my twin brother. Thanks so much for returning it!"
In Conclusion...
Build: 7/10 : Both models were quite easy to build, but the high amount of stickers and Police booster engines bring it down a bit.
Playability: 9/10 : The missiles are great and when used on the prison are reasonably effective (plus the gold safe, weapons etc.)
Minifigures: 9/10 : The Skull Twin heads torsos and helmets are amazing but the officer has an air problem and inappropriate face.
Useful Pieces: 7/10 : The new big flames are good, plus many cheese slopes, new windscreens, gold bars and hot rod fins.
Price: 9/10 : It seems £39.15 is a fair price for this set, considering the contents and playability. I also think that some kids might
choose this set over a video game as well, if the situation arose.
TOTAL: A great 41/50 ! (I would usually believe anything above 40 and at a good price merits buying in other reviews)
AVERAGE SCORE: 8.2/10 for any aspect
I welcome all feedback
The Rancor
Edited by The Rancor, 10 June 2009 - 09:24 PM.
, I think those "booster rockets" look great and fit in perfectly. 
