Luke McAwesome Posted August 12, 2009 (edited) Hi, everyone! Today I bring you a review of 8968 River Heist. So, let's move on, shall we? 8968 River Heist Information Name: 8968 River Heist Theme: Agents Price: USD 19.99 | AUD 29.99 | CAD 24.99 | GBP 15.65 Minifigures: 3 Pieces: 203 Year: 2009 BrickLink Peeron Brickset LEGO.com S&H Chapter 1: Box Front An action sequence picturing two boats, a gun, little plastic people, and money. What child wouldn't like this? Also note how Dollar Bill is, like many other Agents set boxes, shooting his gun randomly. Top The top of the box shows three minifigures. Two in one small slanted box, and one in the "Actual Size" box. Back The back of the box displays the few features of the set and a somehow smoking safe that was no doubt stolen from the bank in the background. Chapter 2: The Instructions and Stickers Front Here we have the front of the instructions, the same art as the box, minus the part count, name, and "Building Toy" sign. First Page Here LEGO tells us we can not build LEGO in the grass. I will trust their judgment on this one. Whho wants grass stains on their new bricks? Minifigure Page Here we see our new minifigures and how they are to be assembled. I would think that anyone with eyes could see how to put four parts together, except maybe four year olds. Random Page A picture showing some orange plates and orange inverted slopes being applied on the Swamp Boat. Comic Page LEGO included a couple of extra comics; but they aren't even from this set! The comics are from the boxes of 8970 Robo Attack and 8971 Aerial Defense Unit. Parts Page(s) Page 1 and... Page 2. Quite a lot of parts! Mostly orange(Oh, happy day!). DSS Not too bad. Picture courtesy of BrickLink! Ten stickers in all. Some of them are repeated, such as the caution stickers that go around the lime toxic gas tankards, and the timers on the tankards. Too many "t"s! Chapter 3: The Minifigures Front Three minifigs. Their names are Agent Fuse, Dollar Bill, and Dyna-Mite. Things of notice are the new Agent's armor piece, Dyna-Mite's Irina Spalko hair, which comes in an interesting red, and Dollar Bill's Count Dooku hair which we get in green. All over, these minifigures are unique, and brilliantly designed. Awesome work, LEGO! Back Dollar Bill's back has a dotted $ on it, and Dyna-Mite's back has a bomb with Dr. Inferno's symbol printed on it. These are very detailed, and I'm rather proud of LEGO for working harder on minifigs this year; Agents, City, Power Miners, etc. all had super detailed figures. Armor Front This is Agent Fuse's bulletproof vest, a new mold for LEGO. I just wish it wasn't printed with a big "A" on it, or it would be great for SWAT teams and the like. Armor Back The back is not printed, thank goodness. There is a stud on the back, which makes it good for something to hook on to it, like the winch in Aerial Defense Unit. Dyna-Mite's Hair A red Irina Spalko hairpiece, which I find rather interesting. The possibilities... Dollar Bill's Hair Green Count Dooku hair, very cool. My first piece like this. Very cool. Heads Three heads, from left to right, Dollar Bill's head is this with a diamond in one eye. Dyna-Mite's head has wacky sunglasses and black lipstick with a smile, most likely because of the money they just stole. And we get Agent Fuse's head, which is not really new, but here's his scared side: Something has him spooked. Torsos Dollar Bill's torso has a wad of cash shoved in his pocket, a coat, a chain around his neck, a pocket with the Dr. Inferno symbol on it, and a tie. Dyna-Mite's torso has a jumpsuit with a zipper, and an Inferno symbol on the chest. Fuse's torso is the regular Agents uniform. Legs Only Fuse's legs are printed, the other are just plain black leg assemblies. I'm kind of disappointed with this; LEGO really couldn't have printed the legs? Oh well, the torsos make up for the legs. Accessories $300 dollars, a trio of dynamite sticks, and a golden gun. It appears Dollar Bill "borrowed" Gold Tooth's gun. A lot of loot here, I can always use some more dynamite! (I now have two golden guns!) I'm one of those people that likes explosions and "BOOM!"s. Sue me. Chapter 4: The Set Safe Let's start with the safe, shall we? Front Right Left Back Overhead This safe will magically start smoking when placed(In this case, tossed.) in a source of water! The safe can probably fit about five hundred LEGO dollars in there, if you stacked them properly. The safe is really big and bulky, and really looks ike a safe. Although I did like the one from Doc Ock's Bank Robbery better. But the electronic code panel is very nice. Agent Fuse's Mini Speedboat Right Left Front Back Overhead Speedboat with Agent Fuse Agent Fuse can stand up or sit down; the handle bars are at the perfect height. The boat itself has no way of moving; a rather bad move. Oh wait, I forgot, it can't move! The "No Way of Moving" thing is a major flaw in the set's design. But I'm sure young kids wouldn't really care, huh? The Airboat Time for our villains' escape boat! It's awkward, because this kind of boat belongs in a swamp, see here for more info. Back Right Front Overhead If I had a video hosting site, I'd show you all how the propeller works, but since I don't, I have to tell you how it works. The gears you saw earlier with the tires? The small black Technic gear on there touchs another gear, and that gear touches another gear, and that gear touches the gear on the fan assembly. And when the boat is pushed forward, the wheels turn the first gear which makes the other gears turn as well. Ha! Confused ya, didn't I? This boat has most of the pieces in the set, and a treasury of orange, which is one of the best things a MOCer can get; rare colors! The only other sets I know of that currently have any orange are the new Transportation City sets and Power Miners. The propeller feature was a nice suprise, which I didn't know about until the set was completed. I don't recall it saying anything about it on the box. Either that or I'm blind. Airboat With Minifigs Chapter 5: The Complete Set A very nice looking chase scene right here. __________________________________________________________________ Summary Playability: 8/10 - I'm sure any child would easily enjoy the set itself. The concept is nice as well. I got quite a few hours of fun out of it myself! Price: 10/10 - The price to piece ratio is spot on. 203 parts for $20. Perfection. Design: 6/10 - Too much Technic, the swamp boat leaves something to be desired, and the back of Agent Fuse's mini-speedboat has no way of moving except for "The Hand of God". Parts: 8/10 -A lot of orange, black, some dark blue, and a bit of dark and light bley mixed in there too. Minifigures: 10/10 - Believe it or not, another 10! The minifigures are the best part of this set. The new Agent vest is awesome, I wish they would have made them last year. The villains are perfect as well; two parts that previously only came in one color, are now in green and red! (Christmas colors! ) Overall - 8/10 The set is great if you have spare money or if you like Agents; it's an okay set. LEGO could have had the villains steal a bit more than just $300. Although, if you want it for just the parts and minifigures, I'd go for it. The set has a lot of colors, including some uncommon ones such as orange, and some dark blue. There's better sets available out there, but if you like Agents most of all, this would probably be a good choice if you're on a low budget. (Inspired by Svelte) I hope you all enjoyed this review, brought to you by the Reviewers Academy and Striker Industries! -Striker Edited September 6, 2009 by Striker Indexed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JCC1004 Posted August 14, 2009 (edited) I was having second thoughts and still am. Nice review. Edited August 14, 2009 by JCC1004 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lordofdragonss Posted August 14, 2009 Good Review with amazing photos! Time for our villains' escape boat! It's awkward, because this kind of boat belongs in a swamp, see here for more info. You know... Rich people (Like Bill) have everything, even they don't need them... he probably he have own ship, but who would rob the bank with huuuge ship? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Yates Posted August 16, 2009 A smart one. who uses Toxic chemicals to throw over board i wish lego made it slightly Less non violent you could have had rotating machineguns on this boat, still having second thought about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raphy Posted September 2, 2009 Great review, Striker my young grasshopper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted September 2, 2009 OK, I am completely against this Agents theme, I just think it's corny personally, that's just the old talking in me. But wow, this set is changing my mind, you get so many awesome pieces, I'd buy it just for the individual pieces alone. Great review BTW, lots of crisp clear pictures, which is nice to see for a change. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wout Posted September 2, 2009 Thank you for the nice review. This one of the most wanted sets for me from agents this year, but TLC has decided to not sell this set in shops in the Netherlands as is the great set 8970 (inferno's mech). Strangely enough they let shops sell 8969 which is almost the same as 8634. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
saberwing Posted September 4, 2009 (edited) Design: 6/10 - Too much Technic, the swamp boat leaves something to be desired, and the back of Agent Fuse's mini-speedboat has no way of moving except for "The Hand of God". Doesn't the airboat move by "the hand of God" too? I liked your review but this statement doesn't make any sense. Almost every LEGO set has to be moved by hand. Edited September 4, 2009 by saberwing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke McAwesome Posted September 4, 2009 Doesn't the airboat move by "the hand of God" too? I liked your review but this statement doesn't make any sense. Almost every LEGO set has to be moved by hand. What I meant, was, if this was real, the mini-boat would be motionless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brickzone Posted September 4, 2009 A comprehensive and informative review of what is a fantastic set. I highly recommend this set to anyone who hasn't got it yet. It was my first set of Agents 2.0 (still don't have the others), and it is €19.99 here in Ireland on S@H, in Smyth's Toys, and Art & Hobby shops. The latter may be the best bet as you get a €20 gift voucher with every €120 spent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dunjohn Posted September 12, 2009 Good to see that the orange boat base isn't just a single piece, but two smaller hull sections; far more useful, and I couldn't tell from examining the box. Looks like a nice set, so your review has just moved it up the list for me. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites