Review: 5956 Expedition Balloon

[ZO6]

Johnny Thunder and his team of merry men tear through the sky in their massive airship in search of the lost Sun Disc. Unfortunately the villainous Rudo Villano is well equipped and after the same treasure. Who will succeed? Let's check out 5956 Expedition Balloon, featuring the only zeppelin ever made by the LEGO company!

Set # - 5956

Name - Expedition Balloon

Theme/Subtheme - Adventurers/Jungle

Year - 1999

Piece Count - 170

Minifigures - 4 (Johnny Thunder, Dr. Charles Lightning, Harry Cane, Rudo Villano)

Price: - MSRP $20 US

Brickset, Peeron, Bricklink, Brickshelf

Since the zeppelin features two large pre-formed pieces, we are treated to an interesting box design in which the front and rear of the ship protrude from either side. I had applied the stickers to the set back in 1999, otherwise they would be safely stored away in the box at this point. Here we can see the front of the box:

The back of the box shows off some of the alternate models. Since the balloon is made up of two pieces, the rear can be unscrewed allowing you to store whatever you want inside:

The sides of the box leave little to the imagination as to what the rest of the set looks like from alternate angles. Overall, very fun packaging:

The front of the instructions features an intense scene while displaying all the contents of the set:

The back has the alternate models once again, and some additional shots of the set:

The first two pages of the manual feature some pictures of the balloon and the resting place of the Sun Disc, and are framed by some lovely Amazonian/Mayan artwork and patterns:

Here is an random page from the instructions. There are no piece call-outs, though there are many small sub-models throughout. Colour differentiation is perfect - meaning you'll have no problem telling light gray, dark gray, and black apart.

Here are all the pieces laid out. The set contains a nice assortment of useful pieces in a rainbow of colours:

These are some of the more interesting pieces in the set. We've got a pair of panels with portholes in them that were commonly found in the Divers theme, some propellers, an anchor and chain, spider and web, and a variety of other accessories:

The set includes a nice little selection of minifigures. From left to right - Johnny Thunder, Dr. Charler Lightning, Harry Cane, and Rudo Villano:

Though they feature lovely printing on their fronts, there is not much to see at the rear:

Construction can now begin on the resting place for the Sun Disc. The yellow 1x4 bricks with grooves will be used to slide the Sun Disc into very soon:

We then build a small sub-model which the Sun Disc fastens to via a blue jumper plate. The Sun Disc is a beautiful gold plated piece with some nice detailing on it:

The Sun Disc slides into place, and the little shrine is built up some more:

The resting place is now complete. All the colour used is quite eye catching, and the skull and vegetation top things off nicely:

Rudo Villano demonstrates a play feature - the spider web must be lifted up to gain access to the treasure:

We can now start on the centerpiece of the set - the airship. At first it seems like your are building a boat:

Re-enforcements are added to the bottom, and some pins where wheels will later be attached:

The interior gets a steering wheel, some sort of a magnification device, and a skull in a display case:

The next sub-model is the all important engines:

Once the engine sub-model is put in place, the props are added:

With the technic liftarms, panels with portholes, and anchor added, the bottom of the airship is now complete (wheels to be added later):

A little box with cutouts is provided to hold the balloon piece and help with assembly:

In order to attach the bottom half to the balloon, four round 1x1 bricks must first be added:

Four 1x4 light gray antennas are then used to secure the bottom portion to the balloon:

Here is how the completed zeppelin looks with the balloon and wheels attached. The stickers give a menacing look to what would otherwise be an overwhelming light gray blob:

The stickers once again make the rear more exciting than it would be without them:

The complete set. The airship dwarfs the resting place of the Sun Disc. The three good guys can comfortably fit in the bottom portion of the zeppelin:

Final Thoughts:

Pricing and value: 8/10 Expedition Balloon rests in a unique spot as being the only zeppelin ever offered in LEGO form. When it was new, it could be had for the low price of $20 US. This offered a reasonable price to part ratio, and thanks to the large size of the balloon piece, the set has a very strong presence making the value seem even better. Eleven years later, this oddball set is sold for $100 US or more - largely due to the balloon piece which can fetch up to $50 US on Bricklink. It's easy to recommend the set for anything up to $50 (Bricklink would be out of the question for low prices), however beyond that price you'd have to be very certain you wanted to join the exclusive LEGO zeppelin owners club.

Design/build: 6/10 The shrine for the Sun Disc, though small is quite attractive looking and has a few nice finishing touches.The bottom half of the airship consists of a fairly uninteresting build, not because it is repetitive or anything, simply because it is not very detailed and the end result is somewhat ugly. The attachment of the balloon piece is a new experience and a fun way to finish off the build.

Pieces: 8/10 This set is really all about the balloon. It's the only one of it's kind, and is essential for the lazy man's construction of a zeppelin. I personally think the balloon looks great with the stickers applied, but the option is there for removing them should you want to use the piece elsewhere. I normally would be against the use of stickers, but I want to emphasize that it's a good move for them to be used in this situation due to the rarity of the balloon. The inclusion of four minifigures is appreciated, though two of them (Johnny Thunder and Dr. Charles Lightning) are extremely common. The rest of the pieces are quite useful as well, and there is a wide variety of them too.

Playability:7/10 The set is somewhat light on play functions - limited to tilting up the spider web to slide out the Sun Disc, spinning the propellers, and dropping the anchor. However, plenty of fun can be had by playing out different scenarios in the search for the treasure. Construction of the zeppelin is very solid, providing excelling swooshability without the fear of anything breaking.

Verdict: 8/10 Eleven years ago, I was not overly thrilled when I received 5956 Balloon Expedition - it seemed like a bit of a jumbled mess. Fast forward to the present and I could not be happier to be the owner of the set. Part of this happiness, I admit, comes from knowing the value of this rarity. The other part of this happiness comes from the complete package - this set is very unique and eye catching on display, but it's also a blast to play with. The set is a fantastic addition to the Adventurers theme, and to any LEGO collection.

As always, comments and questions are more than welcome. Cheers!

Edited August 24, 2010 by Peppermint_M
Indexed

[Nerd Commander]

I'm lov'n the packaging

[CMP]

Lucky. I'd kill for this set. Good review, I thought those porthole panels were the standard engine component, but this is even better!

[lightningtiger]

Now I have never seen or even knew of this set - a Lego airship !

For the period it was made, it's not half bad !

Thanks for the review 'ZO6' and I'm a conformist! !

[The Penguin]

That set used to be my most wanted set at that time (even perhaps my most anticipated and wanted set ever).

When I got it for my birthday I was over the roof, I still consider it to be one of the best sets ever done by TLC. And that is one of the few sets that I did not dare to disaasemble. Thanks for bringing me back to those days!

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

[Peppermint_M]

I remember finding that set in a small shop on holiday. Sadly we didn't have much money and that set was just too expensive. I hope to one day find it somewhere.

Thank you for the review

[Rick]

Great review and a great idea for a set. Unfortunately, the zeppelin turned out not looking very Lego-ey at all and the stickers make that even worse. The Adventurers' hot air balloon looks much better with its brick-built balloon.

[Siegfried]

The timing of this review is quite interesting; after years of considering I bought the Zeppelin cannister and it's on it's way right now! (I plan to make a MOC with it.)

I love this set, and I wish TLG would do something similar again. It was a great idea to have something that's too hard to do cheaply in LEGO as a storage box. In reality this is no different to one-piece digger buckets. The packaging of this set is especially cool!

Thanks for the great review!

The Adventurers' hot air balloon looks much better with its brick-built balloon.

I have that and I love that set too! Bring back Adventures!

[Alldarker]

Excellent review and an excellent set!

In this theme I have the 5976 Amazon Ancient Ruins and the 5986 River Expedition, which I both love, and I do check e-Bay now and again for this set, but as stated, it's usually pretty expensive.

With the Indiana Jones theme having come to a full stop already I feel a new Adventurers line would be very well timed. I mean, with the Atlantis theme Lego is already onto their third underwater theme... The Adventurers line has always been at the base of some of the nicest Lego sets: just take a look at the Orient Expedition themed Adventurers sets, which seven years on still blows the (comparable) Prince of Persia sets right out of the water (and seems to have inspired the excellent PS3 game Uncharted 2 ).

[Big Cam]

I love it, this is a rare set, as LEGO doesnt like to take chances on big random pieces anymore. Your images are getting better and better!!

[drdavewatford]

Excellent review of an interesting set.

I'm one of those who feels that the huge 2-piece balloon is cheating, although I have to admit that it'd be well nigh impossible to make a credible version out of regular bricks. I had similar concerns about the enormous wing piece in the "Fight on the Flying Wing" Indy set, and that one's even worse as it would have been fairly easy to design the wing out of normal bricks.

Anyway, thanks for the lovely clear pics and interesting text.

Dr. D.

[squidman85]

Good review.I very like this set,it has so many play features with the baloon.

[Grimmy]

I've never seen this set either. I love it! I'm always drawn to great fun packaging like this but I'd bet that it's much more expensive. In the music CD world, just to add extra panels to cd pressings can cost hundreds extra more on 1,000 CDs. Then if you want to do a booklet or special cardboard cover, it can cost even more!

This looks like a great set! I can see how it would be especially great for kids going on a trip. The kid can easily carry his/her Lego set in the blimp. I really love the blimp and the pieces it comes with look very interesting as you said. All that with the kewl minifigs would have me thinking that this set was a big seller when it came out!

Edited March 18, 2010 by Grimmy

[1st Lieutenant Jed]

Pretty cool set! Good review of it, too.

[Norro]

I enjoyed this set but still have to look away from the one detail which ruined it... If the fin is vertical the horizontal ribbing lines don't align along the blimp. It couldn't have been that hard to align when the screw thread was cut. This short coming always really annoyed me. (Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist...)

God Bless,

Nathan

[FinalFeature]

Thanks for the review ZO6.

I am surprised on how expensive the balloon piece is. Hopefully Lego releases another balloon piece in a set soon.

[Wout]

Thank you for the nice review.

Although it is 2 big pieces, I like the zeppelin. It's not something that lego would make every three years (like Firestation and Police office.)

[ronmcrae]

If the two parts of the balloon could be sealed tight together (e.g. by adding an o-ring) could it easily be made watertight?

[ZO6]

Thank you for the feedback everyone. I'm glad to see so many people like this set, even though it is largely a love/hate kit due to the large balloon piece. The Adventurers line sure had it's fill of diversity in set design

ronmcrae - there are not many threads holding the two balloon halves together, so I'm not sure how watertight it would be stock. However, adding some sort of seal as you suggested would probably work fine for keeping water out.

[WesternOutlaw]

Nice review ZO6. Would you believe I had an opportunity to pick up this set for a price of $10 on clearance at my local Walmart. I passed at the time because I thought the big plastic balloon was silly. Now I wish I had purchased the set. It's by far not the best Adventurers set, but at the same time, it has a unique charm of it's own with the shark-like face. All things considered, I rate it an average set, but at a clearance price, it was certainly worth buying. Thanks for sharing a review with very nice pictures.

EDIT: While this set is a nice attempt by LEGO to offer a zeppelin to the Adventurers theme, I think I still like the Orient Expedition balloon better:

You're review is still a very nice one.

[Ronan Dragonov]

Great review from an airship fan. Technically it's a non-rigid airship - you'd be hard pressed to find a true (rigid dirigible) Zeppelin at such a small size. Nevertheless not buying this set is one of my regrets.

[green dewback]

Great packaging.

I remember my dad bringing me to the Lego truck show back in 1999 and this is one of the few sets I vaguely remember seeing on the shelves.

Lego was out of our toy budget so we didn't buy any.

[time1513]

awesome! i wish they would come out with something like this once again!

i love the balloon! oh boy... wish i had one of those...

good job dude! :D

[sok117]

I love this set, I wish lego would remake the adventurers theme and bring back a set like this, go back to the glory days, when minifigs and accessories were no object *reminisce*

BTW, the magnifying thing is suppose to be a microscope.