The west was never wilder! I finally had time over the weekend to sit down and build this set with my wife (technically, this was her set, she picked it out). We sat down in the back yard at our table with some snacks and enjoyed building. It took us about an hour, but there were some distractions (cheese and crackers notwithstanding) .

Neither of us have seen the movie yet (after waiting this long we'll just wait for the DVD) but we both genuinely enjoyed building this set, and were impressed with the quality. First off, it just looks a treat, it's really quite a good looking. And rarely does a set this size and price point have so many figures. There's five minifigures and three horses. And they're not generic, all of the figures are detailed and appealing. The horses are articulated and printed.

The Lone Ranger minifigure is ok, but Tonto is very cool. Tonto's crow and pocket watch are great details and we love the twin six shooters. The new pistol is very nice, I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of those in the future. Tonto also has an alternate face for those more harrowing escapes.

The set also contains figures of Barret, Jesus and Red Harrington. Red's hair and hat are pretty fabulous, as is her fabric coattails. She also has a six shooter, in dark gun metal gray.

The set is a little short on what you might call "play features", but then again the whole thing is a play set. it's just dying to be rolled along with stampeding horses and spinning wheels. There is a hatch in the back where you can pop down a hinged piece, ejecting a piece of luggage out of the back. This might make more sense when I've seen the movie.

The stagecoach is beautifully designed. The curved bottom, running lights, decorative trim and hinged front axel all contribute to an excellent model. The top pops off to reveal probably my biggest gripe about this set, an essentially empty interior. There are some stickers on panels on either side, and those sort of imply greater detail. But it is essentially an empty shell.

The safe is a nice addition, but it seems a bit overkill to protect a single silver bar. Not that I'm complaining about the bouillon bar part coming in silver now, but LEGO could have included at least two of them. With all the extra parts that were in the box, it's easily arguable that some of that could have been left out in exchange for more treasure. it is interesting to note that while there is an extra brown hat and red scarf, those don't show up in the inventory. Parts like those are rarely included as extra, but if you look at the box you'll notice that Jesus and Barret are both wearing them. This seems to be a maneuver to avoid disappointment based on a packaging error.

Overall, this is a very nice set, with attractive design and plenty of value added. There's some great parts, fantastic figures and excellent playability. Perhaps the greatest indication that I really like the set is my inclination to reposition it and pose the figures. It's just itching to be played with. I give it 4 out of 5 Nerdlys.

If you're interested in this set please support this site and use the link to order!