5981-1: Raid VPR

Defend the law in Galaxy City!

Equipped with twin flick-launching freeze-ray blasters, the Space Police's Raid VPR super-pursuit spacecraft is ready to chase down any criminal in Galaxy City. But when Rench comes to town, the Space Police Commando will need all of his hi-tech vehicle's speed and maneuverability to bring an end to the space-crook's futuristic crime spree! Includes 2 minifigures: Space Police Commando and Rench alien! Fire the twin freeze ray shooters ! Cockpit opens and closes! Measures 6" (15cm) long!

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Minifigs

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Instructions and parts list

Instructions for this set can be downloaded from LEGO.com:

Filename File size Format Notes/Region
4584903.pdf 1739Kb EU
4584905.pdf 1741Kb NA

Instructions for this set may also be available at Peeron.

A parts list for this set may be available at BrickLink and/or Peeron.

Reviews

 

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5981: Raid VPR
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5981
Raid VPR

I like it, I really like it!

Posted by krysto2002 in United States on 30 January 2010

I was a bit shocked when the new SPIII sets came so quickly, so when I found them sitting on a shelf, I just had to get them. This set is a pretty good deal at $9.99, you get more than your money's worth when you consider that you're getting 2 brand new minifigures along with great pieces.

First off, the two new minifigures are:
*1x Space Police Commando - the torso is nothing new, so he blend in perfectly with other officers (So it is officially their standard uniform). Unlike previous Space Police figures, this one has a complete helmet, also with a clear visor so that you can actually see his face. For those of you who love sci-fi MoCs, this helmet is a must have, especially since it COMPLETELY hides the backside of a two-sided face. The visor is trans-red, a testament to the original Space Police who also had T-red visors as well. The figure also has a jetpack and is fully painted, front, back and legs. 5/5
*1x Rench alien - This guy is just a repaint of Kranxx, but somehow the head just seems different. Apparently the two are supposed to be distant relatives. Rench's outfit however, is what's important. He wears a neo-Blacktron I design. It looks like a Blacktron I uniform, but has the Blacktron II logo. He carries some sort of laser-rifle, it looks alright, but it's nothing too special, thankfully the sights on the gun seem to line up to Rench's eye perfectly. 5/5

The focus of the set is a small spacecraft named the Raid VPR. The ship has a small condensed design, and doesn't have too many stickers, though the control panel would have been better off printed. Thankfully the cockpit is sealed, save the tiny corners of the windshield which is left slightly open, though that makes it much easier to open without putting fingerprints/scratches on the cockpit (though this is inevitable, it is merely delayed).
The ship is fully armed, with two lasers in front and flick fire missiles on the sides, though these aren't held on sturdily enough to actually flick.
A new part in this set is the cockpit. Although it looks identical to the older design, it now has tabs on the front to keep it from falling off, and it's really sturdy.
The wings look really stealthy in their current positions, but if you like it better, you can always remove them and place them on, tips facing outward, but I like the original design.

The set has a few extra parts, amongst which are the small wedges, one of each T-red and T-blue, so you can always use them to fill in the gaps between the lights on the Raid VPR's wings and the main fuselage. There is also a spare T-red visor, a welcome re-release, since they haven't been available since the space minifig pack from 1991.

Overall, you get a small ship and two figures, maintaining the Good-Evil balance, so you can actually do something with the set. This set is a great gift, and kids/space fans will love it to pieces (literally).
I'd highly recommend it if you don't already have one.

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5981
Raid VPR

Great value, cool design, fun 'Easter Egg'

Posted by vynsane in United States on 19 January 2010

For the $10 price point this set can't be beat. The design of the ship is very sleek, save for a bit of clunk in the trunk. I would have preferred an inverted fuselage slope to round out the undercarriage in the tail instead of a straight 2x3 inverted slope - it would've lined up better with the bottom of the 2x2/2x2 modifier bracket that holds the jet engine cone on. as it stands, the bottom of the bracket hangs off the end by the height of plate, but it's really the only section that suffers. A varied selection of trans red and blue pieces used for the police lights is also a plus - most SP3 sets I've seen have been heavy with the 1x1 wedge slope (Max Security Transport, Gold Heist, etc) but here you've not only got a pair of those, but a pair of 1x2 smooth plates and a pair of 1x1 domes held on by technic 1/2 clips as well!

The biggest point of 'YAY!' is the hinged windscreen, which seems to have been lacking in the SP3 series to date. Extra pieces include a second control stick/antenna so I put that next to the single stick recommended in the instructions. You also get at least one extra translucent 1x1 cheese wedge (I think red) so if you have other SP3 sets that seem to be lacking lights, you can combine it with an extra blue one. The sticker for the 1x2 flat tile looks cool, even if it is a sticker.

The new helmet design is pretty sweet, though I miss the ability to raise and lower the face mask - once clicked into place, it is fixed until you pop it out again. I guess you can't have everything.

Rench, the alien, makes good reuse of the Kranxx head in a different color. The best part about this guy is the 'Easter Egg' present in the torso design - while much more detailed, the pattern is reminiscent of the torso used in Blacktron 1 (which will probably be mentioned in the bulk of my Space-related reviews, apparently) while the Blacktron 2 logo is displayed as a badge on the upper left are of the chest! While I'm not quite a fan of BT2 (all-white uniforms? Really?) it's just cool to see a nod to the classics. The one thing that I found odd, which I think was brought up in a previous review, is the trans red cone on the end of Rench's gun... shouldn't this be trans neon green like all the rest of the SP3 bad guy's weapons? It's a nit-pick, to be sure, and if future sets have different colors maybe it will be put to rest but for now it stands out as odd.

For those lamenting the lack of hand-held weapons for the SP Commando, the small freeze-ray guns on the inside of the vehicle's forks are only held on by clips - pop them off and your commando is a dual-freeze-ray-pistol wielding action star John Woo style.

Overall, a great value, a cool bad guy and slick chase vehicle to add to your Space Police arsenal.

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5981
Raid VPR

dose this helmet make my head look big?

Posted by michaelvader in N/A on 16 January 2010

I love this set and I got it a target today and yes, It dose make your head look big.

pros:
RENCH
awesome new helmet
new new pieces
lots of red and blue pieces


cons:
needs fire/trans orange pieces in the back
controls are not complet

I like this alot but is not complet. 5/5 or 10/10

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Raid VPR

vpr unit 980 reporting to command, i am in pursuit of rench

Posted by legolover1200 in United States on 16 January 2010

i love this set, it is awesome. its a very nice sleek cruiser. and i would hate being chased down by this vehicle. i like the new "commando" or "special" police officer helmet. it could make a perfect odst or spartan helmet if you have a gold mars mission visor. i am disappointed that Lego couldn't make new heads, but I' m blown away with renchs body design. i love that the criminals clothes have symbols to previous Lego sets. the skull twins have octan symbols and rench has the second series of blacktron symbol. so this set is very fun and worth your money.


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Raid VPR

Very retro set!

Posted by Chakrabs in United States on 10 January 2010

I grew up in the late 80s and 90s and this set brings me back to the great Space sets from back then. Its very simple and elegant with an airtight canopy that opens and closes - unfortunately a rarity these days. I like that its not bulky and overdone with numerous superflous little pieces like many of the Star Wars ships. With two minifigs to boot, I can't think of a better bang for your buck that I've seen out of Lego over the past few years (maybe the Town police chopper, but thats it!).

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