LEGO 6024: Bandit Ambush - REVIEW

One of the things that I've been itching to do is to start reviewing some of my original LEGO sets from when I was a kid.  I've also bought a few different "vintage" LEGO sets from Amazon and Listia which I'll also review in due time.  In an effort to kick off the vintage reviews on my blog, I present one of the latest sets that I remember purchasing as a kid - LEGO 6024:  Bandit Ambush.

This set was released in 1996 which means I would have been 14 years old - just about exactly when I stopped buying/playing/using/building LEGO stuff.  In fact, by my memory, it is either this set or LEGO1793: Space Station Zenon (released in 1995) that served as my final LEGO purchase.  I'm happy to report that I still have the Space Station set as well - eventually I'll review that one plus many, many other space sets.

In fact, when I was a kid my two favorite themes were definitely Space and Castle (with Castle getting a slight nod over space despite the fact that I may have had more Space themed sets).  Within the realm of the Castle theme, I had two favorites - the Dragon Masters and the Forestmen.  Technically, the Bandit Ambush is for a line called the Dark Forest but to me these were simply more Forestmen!

Speaking of the Forestmen, in this set you get two different figures.  One comes equipped with a bow along with a quiver full of arrows while the other minifig has a sword and the sweet buck logo'd shield.

The actual build for this set is incredibly easy - after all, it's only 59 pieces.  The entire base is built upon a green plate measuring 12 studs by 6 studs.  Considering the fact that the set is only 59 pieces, that's a decent sized base - of course, having one of those giant rock structures count as only one piece helps a lot!

However, you get a lot of value out of the 59 pieces including a large rock piece, a catapult (with three projectiles), a treasure chest (with three translucent pieces representing gems), a ladder (in black), plus three tree pieces.  You also get a single torch and flame and a pair of extra weapons (an axe and a black spear).  This is the only set that I owned as a kid with a black spear if memory serves!

From the front of the set, a potential attacker would see nothing but a single torch giving away the fact that there are bandits hiding here.  The attacker would also have to deal with the catapult hidden nicely among the greenery.  Speaking of the greenery, that was always my favorite part of the Forestmen as a kid.  I loved trying to make forests and then hiding the figures - and this set would have fit right in with that idea beautifully!

From the back, you can see the ladder "hides" the treasure chest (while giving the Dark Forest figures a way to climb to the top of the little base).  They also have more weapons than hands which is amusing - but I guess appropriate for bandits.

The Bottom Line (out of 10):
Fun:  10
Play Value:  10
Kid Value:  9
Adult Value:  4
Overall:  8.5

For my ratings, it's much easier for me to rate the Fun, Play Value, and Kid Value for sets that I owned when I was a kid!  This particular set, though small, packs a big punch in terms of fun (the catapult, treasure chest, and pair of minifigures helps).  The Play Value is also quite high as not only can you do quite a bit with the set as instructed, it has a lot of great pieces to make other structures.  That said, for adults this set score much lower because it's not modular in any sense nor does it have any outstanding building techniques or overly interesting pieces.  You do get a large pot which serves as the holding piece for the catapult that you could use for a campfire scene instead...but otherwise there's not a lot on offer (besides the obvious tree pieces).

Note:  In doing a bit of research for this post, I discovered that LEGO only made three different Dark Forest sets (this one was by far the smallest).  The other two sets I don't think I ever saw in stores:  LEGO 6046 Hemlock Stronghold and LEGO 6079 Dark Forest Fortress.  The Hemlock Stronghold has 213 pieces while the Dark Forest Fortress clocks in at a whopping 461 pieces!  I don't recall seeing either set before - and given the high prices on eBay, I doubt I'll ever have either set in person!