REVIEW: 5980 Squidman's Pitstop

[Hewman]

Excellent photography and that's some of the best sticker placement I've ever seen.

With all the colours this set could look like a mish mash that a kid has built from bricks from any lego tub, but somehow it works. I'll keep my eye out for it down under.

[The Cobra]

Great review, but this set won't make me a fan of SPIII either. If a poll is added, I'll vote "average".

Yet I would have loved the spiky vehicle to be sold on its own.

[Yloquen]

Looks too <insert that tiresome argument> to me due to the many bright colors, and also two of those spike elements which are amongst my least favorite . Let's hope that's just a fluke, not a trend ...

[Lord Admiral]

Great review! It was sufficiently thorough enough for me to get a good feel for this set.

I like the two baddies ships. The vehicle and the SP ship don't impress me though. And while the base has numerous nifty elements, it still manages to feel cheap and empty.

The emphasis of this set is definitely play more than build. There are a lot of elements that look nice (stickers for fine detail, special pieces, lots of colors), and play nice (hidden compartments, traps, missiles), but don't seem to build nice. I could probably put my G.I. Joes here, and they'd feel slightly cramped but nonetheless right at home. And I think I'm getting too old to be running around with G.I. Joe action figures going "pew pew pew." I have to wonder if the manager this theme was pulled from Hasbro or Mattel or something.

I could go on, but it's kind of depressing how this neo-space/space revival is turning out. Looking at some of the vehicles, I'm starting to feel it's going to be another Alpha Team Arctic.

On the other hand the two baddie ships in this set are nice. In fact, the ships can stand on their own without the decals, which other than the big SP ship, is unique to the SP3 line thus far. As such, the decals end up making the ship look just a little gaudy. But I'd rather the vehicles be able to stand on their own than require the decals to avoid looking bland (like the other SP3 sets). I'd definitely buy just the two ships, if offered separately.

edit: fix ubb code

Edited June 30, 2009 by Lord Admiral

[Section8]

I'm impressed with this set, high praise since I was not impressed with the SP3 line as a whole. The station is neat, has that dirty feel that you'd expect of a place like that, and has a lot of playability. Most of the vehicles are nicely done, if small. I don't like that spiked vehicle at all; I think I have a new winner for Worst LEGO Piece Ever: those spikes.

[TheShnomon]

I might pass. The set seems like more of a playset than anything, so the build doesn't look that great. All the small vehicles feel like a joke, although Squidman's looks alright. It looks like it can be expanded to make it larger. Some parts from the Agents line would look great with this. I'm sure with a bit of tweaking it could be alright, but if you don't play with lego often it's no worth it.

But the real bummer is this exclusive set has no exclusive figures! Nearly all other lines have had some sort of exclusive figure with their set, so this was a bit of a disappointment. The max security is at least nice since it has Slizer who is harder to get. But the aliens in the pitstop aren't that rare or hard to obtain at all(aside from the Twin I guess). And enough of Snake! If you've bought every set you'll have what, 4 or 5 of him?

I love the idea of a base for the "Black Hole" gang, the execution just wasn't that great. As a playset, it's probably a good buy, but for display and looks it's rather ugly and unappealing.

[Dannylonglegs]

I love it so much I may want 2 (or at least just get a second screen @ bricklink, for modding

Edited July 2, 2009 by dannylonglegs

[General Armendariz]

Its a good review but I dont really know about this set, Its a little crppy.

[Kingshadowz]

i got mines 51.97 at tru sale for 20% off all pm and space police