Review: 70401 Gold Getaway

[Echo]

This is my first review and I'm afraid that it is lacking some of the pictures you may be used to in Eurobricks review, but I was ill-equipped to do anything more in-depth at the time. Anyway, 70401 Gold Getaway ($19.99, 199 pieces.) is the latest in the long line of LEGO Castle sets involving prison wagons and/or wagon robberies, both of which are occurring in this specific set. So how has LEGO fared in this latest attempt? Let's find out! We'll start with an overview of the full set, which includes the baddies' prison wagon, a small turret, a ballista, and three minifigures.

Here are the figures. No leg printing or double-sided heads on any of them. The two good guys have very widespread heads while the baddie has a new head. I like the torso prints a lot for all of them, especially the baddie. I also like the baddie's shield a great deal and the good guys' lion heraldry is growing on me, although it is inferior to the Kingdoms lion knights' heraldry.

Back printing for them all.

The baddie without his helmet.

Next is the small turret. Not a fan. Just some random light bley castle parts and two blue cheese wedges tossed together. This and the ballista are the irrelevant throw away parts of this set.

Back of turret. At least it has a frog. I like the frog mold.

Here is the flick fire ballista. Not much to say. The flick fire missile works, but the weapon itself is meh.

Two more missiles are stored on the back. The ballista can probably be pulled by a horse.

Now on to the main attraction. The wagon is very nice. It's the proper size and the red cheese wedges on the top help it fit the dragon motif without being overly silly. I like the padlock printing on the flat 1x1 gold round disk on the door as well. I think the gunmetal wheels are new.

The wagon has an action feature. See the dark bley axle there?

Push it and it fires the flick fire missile part from the inside of the wagon...

...Which is attached to the chain keeping the door closed, thus allowing the prisoner to escape.

There is a treasure chest on the back attached by two 2x2 black jumper plates.

It can be removed and opened to reveal seven gold pieces and three gems. The removal on the chest creates an opening in the back of the wagon big enough for the prisoner to escape from. Unfortunate for the baddies.

Overall, this is a decent set. The build is nothing very interesting and there isn't much in the way of interesting parts, but the figures are good, the price/piece ratio is excellent, and the final build, at least of the wagon, is solid. I give it a 6/10, which seems a bit low, but if we are to assume that five represents an average set, six is pretty accurate. It is a somewhat above average set that is a decent representation of this type of model. If you are a castle fan, I'd recommend picking this one up.

[just2good]

Nice review 'Echo'!

I'll be getting this cute little set... I like the chain blocking feature- it's clever!

[Bighappysmiles]

Nice review! Especially since it's your first time! One thing I would like to say is that you should add the prices from different countries, like Canada, England and Australia, that way teh review is all in one for everyone! Oh, I also think you should use a white background, if you use colour for a background it can ad emphasis to parts that are not supposed to have emphasis, thats why people use white as background. A white background will also add vibrance and make the picture clearer

I think you did a really good job, I can't wait to see some more of your reviews in the future! =)

[Artanis I]

Thanks for sharing. Perhaps you could try attaching the ballista to a horse and add a photo if it works.

I would say that the "turret" part is just a small shelter on the road for a soldier to use as a guard-post where he can hold position out of the elements. I appreciate your honest score of 6, most reviewers give everything an 8-10 if it's okay+, and everything else if they thought it was terrible.

[Ridge Montante]

Its a nice little set. Good review. If i didn't have so many wagons I'd pick it up. Plus I'm saving for the bigger sets. Hope someone reviews them soon.

[Teh Stud]

Review is great.

Lion shield is beyond lame.

[Lordofdragonss]

Ok, the axle at the side is ridiculous. I like this feature, but it's just ruins the design... And the hole on the back after taking off the chest.. No comment.

But balista looks great and playable. I really want this set!

Edited May 15, 2013 by Lordofdragonss

[The Black Falcon]

I would have put the padlock artwork on the chain not the door handle as the chain is what is actually locking it, a small thing however. Overall it is a nice set, (except for the Lion shield), the Dragon minifig looks like a nasty fellow. ;)

[Alfadas]

Thank you for the review, I really like this set, and I think I am going to buy it, as soon as it is released in The Netherlands. I do not know when. The pictures are great, good quality, so, nothing to complain about. I like the "bad" guys. The "good" guys are not that pretty.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Nice review. Am I the only one who anticipates brick linking some Crownies shields and just blending these guys into that faction? Luckily the torsos sport the crown, not the lion head (well, except for the knight's armor).

[TeufelHund]

Oh boy...this along with the Castle are the lowlights of this series IMO. A barely average wagon coupled with a bit of masonry a kid would be ashamed to show off and an even worse ballista. I'll be generous and say the minifigs aren't terrible but I'll definitely be saving some money on this line.

[Artanis I]

Nice review. Am I the only one who anticipates brick linking some Crownies shields and just blending these guys into that faction?

You'll need a sizeable amount, as the new guys have a different blue. It might look a bit strange with only a handful if you have many Crownies.

[just2good]

Can you post more pictures of the box? It's the size of the $20 Marvel sets, right? It looks so great.

[Gryphon Ink]

I kind of like a few of the sets in this Castle wave, but not this one. I just think all of the builds look a little awkward - holes at the top of the guardpost, an out-of-place blue on the front of the ballista, holes and an overall unattractive shape on the carriage. It would be easy to fix most of the issues, but then there's not much point in buying the set except for a few rather generic minifigs.

I'm not as ticked about the new Castle heraldry as some fans. I think the Lion sigil is just fine for an army of blocky little plastic men, and ditto the dragons even though they aren't as nice-looking as my beloved Kingdoms Dragons. But it does annoy me to see that Castle has been infected with the dreaded "bad guys must have EVIL eye makeup" affliction. I really don't like that style of eyes. On an Orc it makes sense, but not here.

I nearly forgot to say, Echo, that this is a solid review and I like the honest rating. I would suggest not calling the Dragons "baddies" every time, and it's always helpful to have a picture or two of the parts before assembling. Sometimes an interesting mix of parts can give a big boost to a middling set. But aside from that, I thought you did pretty well with the review.

[Captain BeerBeard]

Thanks for the review! You have some great pictures of the set. Now on to my personal opinion of these terrible sets. Glad to know I'm not the only one that thinks these sets are awful. These minifigs make my eye's hurt. The set design is terrible. Who is responsible for these color choices? The minifigs look so bad. I can't get over how ugly the colors are. The two factions next to each other look awful. They don't compliment each other how the Kingdoms factions did. Look at how cheap the plain legs look with the cheesy torso prints. The main reason to buy a set is for figs or pieces. This has neither. I won't be buying any of these except the set with the dragon. I showed my son the pictures of these sets and he thought they sucked. The only one he liked was the one with the dragon. I can't believe these sets are going public. Who's going to buy this?

[Ardelon]

Who's going to buy this?

I imagine TLG did some testing with kids, so I would guess the kids liked the theme enough for TLG to launch it. I wager parents and the like will buy the sets in droves, as its a simple, clear-cut introduction to medieval stereotypes, with the added benefit of being LEGO. Not everyone has such high standards as you do (I dont)!

Otherwise, good work on the review, Echo. I actually like how the background colors kind of look like grass on the ground and the sky above.

Not a bad set at all. I think the flick-fire chain is an innovative feature, and I appreciate that the flick-fire missile launcher was actually designed to look like a medieval ballista. The carriage looks decent, and the wall wasnt meant to be astounding anyway.

Th figs designs are rather simplistic, but I guess that was the point of this theme. Ive made up my mind that I dont have a problem with the heraldry. I do wish for another color scheme for the designated bad guys other than black and red, but oh, well.