REVIEW: 5971 Gold Heist

[WesternOutlaw]

Greetings Space fans. This evening, I will be reviewing the new mid-sized Space Police set, 5971 Gold Heist. Drifting far outside of my Lego comfort zone, this space set was actually a gift that I helped build, and thought I'd share a brief review on EB.

Space Police Gold Heist

VITALS

Set #: 5971

Theme: Space / Space Police 2009

Year Released: 2009

Piece Count: 205

Minifigs: 2

Vehicles: 2

List Price: $20 (USD) - Purchased at my local TRU for $20.99

Starting with the box, I must admit that the new boxart immediately caught my eye:

A single image of the ship and accessories are shown on the back of the box:

The set includes a single sheet of stickers with just a few stickers:

The same boxart image is shown on the instructions:

But let's take a look at a few of the pages. Starting with a view of the completed ship:

And step 31 showing how the yellow safe is held into place:

As well as some really nice imagery of other sets:

The set includes two figs, one Space Police, and the other a tall green alien I call SLOSH. The interesting alien has a 2nd torso that attaches as a head:

He has a small ship that the Space Police ship can pursue:

The Space Police ship is a bit different in design almost reminding me of a pod racer from Star Wars:

The main assembly looks like this before the wings and engines are attached:

The blue visor piece is rather nice and lifts for minifig access:

The top/roof comes down to cover the cockpit:

I like the twin engines that attach to the ship with a single technic piece. They can turn for lift off and flight:

Once the engines are attached:

The wings are a nice design and have green missiles that can be launched by "flicking":

A top perspective provides a better look at the design:

A small yellow safe with two gold bars provides extra play value:

It is held into place by two technic beams. The rear beam slides out to disattach:

Another view of the completed ship:

And a few extra pieces:

SUMMARY

While this set and the Space Police theme is a nice attempt by Lego to offer a completely new Space sub-theme, this set is a bit disappointing. I find the entire ship design unsturdy/weak with a lack of any special or interesting technique. In fact, it has the look and feel of an "alternate model", rather than a main build. The alien is okay, and the main minifig a bit bland with black and grey torso. The small alien ship is not good at all, and I didn't even attempt to attach the safe to it for pulling (which I think is the purpose of the small beam sticking out of the back). I really hope the other Space Police sets are better than this one, although the thought of "Aliens on the loose" might appeal to Lego's much younger fan base. This set definately looks better on the box.

Overall, I rate this set a 2.5 out of 5.

I'm interested in hearing how others view this set. I miss Classic Space!

EDIT: I just realized that this set has already been reviewed by Faramir (I must have missed it after doing a few searches). In any case, I'll go ahead and leave it as an alternate review.

[ILikePi]

Thanks for the review, TheBrickster.

This set seems really empty in my opinion. It looks like a large version of the Imperial Dropship (to me at least).

The alien (Frenzy) looks too bland (only one color), and the printing on the torso doesn't look that good. Frenzy is actually my least favorite alien.

I also don't like how almost all of the Space Police sets have no actual weapons. For example, this set does have weapons, but they are part of the ship, and you have to pull them off to use them.

EDIT: I voted below average (2) for this set.

Edited June 23, 2009 by ILikePi

[YG-49]

Who What is that alien being released from the Galactic Enforcer? It's definitely not Snake.

[Guss]

A very nice review of a ... not very nice set I like your review but I don't like this set, I don't know why, but I find it Ugly.

[phillip10]

Who What is that alien being released from the Galactic Enforcer? It's definitely not Snake.

I wondered that too, maybe it is a protype of snake from toyfair?

[Zarkan]

Thanks for the nice review, Brickster. However, I wouldn't worry about the overall quality of the new Space Police Line - almost everyone on this site agrees that Gold Heist is the weakest of the new sets, and that the larget sets are much, much better. Hyperspace Pursuit and the Galactic Enforcer in particular have been very well recieved, with the latter being called the best large scale ship since the Deep Freeze Defender by some.

[Faramir]

EDIT: I just realized that this set has already been reviewed by Faramir (I must have missed it after doing a few searches). In any case, I'll go ahead and leave it as an alternate review.

Ehh, it's fine

Nice review. You added a bunch of things (Sticker sheet, more in-build pics) which I realized my review missed...

Looking forward to the larger sets to help save this line!

[Luke McAwesome]

Awesome review, TheBrickster!

The set is way too boring, sure, it would perhaps please younger children, but I'm just not getting enough for twenty dollars.

Here's a close-up of our mystery alien:

[Faramir]

Here's a close-up of our mystery alien:

I think that we can pretty much conclude this is a prototype, being that the set has been released in some areas and there is no trace of this mystery figure...

[GriZzliQ]

Thanks for reveiw)

Now I know, that it will be the next set in my collection.

The cab in 5971 is amazing!!! And I really like minifigures)

Edited October 22, 2009 by GriZzliQ

[Big Cam]

Good review, I like the background you use for all of your pictures.

The set seems ok, but I also was never really impressed with this new space theme.

This set doesn't really do anything for me, btu again, I like your review, it is laid out nicely.

[Milan]

Ship is slick and somehow nice, but I do not like it.

I just red it because it is review. A nice review!