This was my five year old's first big Lego set. The USMC version of this flies over our home regularly and my son has been in one so he was thrilled to build it.

Pros

• Good detail without too many special pieces.
• This was my 5 year old's first big set and he needed very little help.
• It is big and bulky in a good way.
• Sturdy enough to play with.
• Includes no guns or other weapons.

Cons

• Hard to get figures in and out of the cockpit.
• Interior of helicopter could have used a little more thought. There's a wheel inside and I'm not sure why (winch?)

I'm very happy with this set. Having grown up with Lego (I fondly remember my Expert Builder), I'm not sure I like all the specialized pieces today. After building a Star Wars model my son was given but not nearly old enough for (Bounty Hunter Assault Ship) I was worried that Legos are now more model than toy.

In the future, I'll be looking for more Lego large vehicles like this which are more toy than fragile model.

Ah, the Heavy-Lift Helicopter. The second-largest set in the 2012 Forest Police subtheme of City, and my favorite one of the theme. This set is a very accurate rendition of a Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter, and is overall a very good LEGO vehicle, though it does have a few notable flaws.

Pros:

A very solid and durable build, with the only rather flimsy parts being the rotor blades.

Lots of playability, with the included 6x6 buggy and the numerous doors in the helicopter's fuselage.

Looks great on display.

This is one of the very few conventional twin-rotor helicopters that LEGO has released (one other notable example being set 60125), and the vehicle has a very stylish blue, white and grey livery.

A surprisingly accurate model of a CH-47, seemingly in spite of LEGO's "no-modern-military" policy.

Somewhat detailed cockpit.

Lots of playability.

Cons:

The cockpit seating. The pilots are placed very far back and at the wrong height relative to the windscreen, making it impossible for them to see. However, this was necessary to allow the cockpit doors to open properly.

Stickers. There are 10 stickers in this set, which could be an issue for younger builders or those who dislike applying stickers.

A large portion (1/3 to 1/2) of the interior is completely unused and inaccessible. This can be observed by looking at the outside of the completed model. The entire area between the cockpit doors and the side-mounted door in the cargo bay is completely empty. Worse, it is blocked off inside by a large structural beam. While it would be possible to modify the set to give access to this space, the aforementioned beam has a sticker applied to one of the short ends in a very visible position, and I feel like many builders would not want to risk damaging said sticker. It is disappointing that this interior space is completely unused, as some other play feature such as a winch could have been incorporated.

Overall:

Overall, 4439 Heavy-Lift Helicopter is a very good set, though it has its share of flaws. The limited interior space is disappointing, especially considering how easy it would have been to utilize this space. However, kids will appreciate this set for its play potential, and older builders can enjoy it as a display set or a quite accurate model of a real-world military helicopter, the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

I received this set for Christmas and I really enjoyed building it. However, towards the end I noticed these things

Cons

• Everything feels a little tight - The forest ranger's radio gets caught on the inside of the helicopter and there isn't anywhere to put it.
• I had some problems shutting the cockpit doors at first. The pilots are sat so close that a hand slightly out of place stops the doors shutting properly.
• The space between the vehicle storage and cockpit doesn't appear to have a function, a waste of space for a set that feels to packed in.

There were certainly some great positives though:

Pros

• The model has a great look, the exterior is nicely designed.
• It feels pretty solid, able to withstand some play.
• Instructions were very clear, easy to follow. No confusion there.
• The details of the storage on the buggy initially really impressed me even if the attention to detail was poor later on in the build.

There are certainly some flaws in this set but they do not ruin the helicopter for me by any means!

Tandem rotor rescue helicopter 6482 is one of my all-time favorites so I was really looking forward to getting this set since I saw the first pictures.

Pros

• Look and feel: The model really catches the bulkiness of a cargo helicopter
• Quite a large model makes a good platform for one's own modifications
• The structure and detailing of the engines is quite realistic
• Three minifigs

Cons

• Cockpit: Pilots can't really see out of the windshield!
• Sliding side door would be much more realistic
• "Useless" extra room between cockpit and vehicle could use some functionality

In general the concept is really good and the exterior design is successful. However, sloppy interior leaves the overall impression far behind the previously mentioned 6482. With your own modifications this model could give many more hours of fun!

It is what I thought would be good, and at first during building I did, but now I just basically hate it becuase it has so many problems, that I personally think it should be recalled and fixed.

This is because on the big door to the cargo bay, (where the ATV is stored) has a sticker next to the door, and I don't think this works well here.

The Door at the back of the cargo bay, I thought oh this looks nice when I was building it, but when I realised that you put the smooth part on the outside, I thought that was a major problem due to the fact that it would benefit the ATV more facing the other way.

The Forest man on the ATV has no where to put his radio which also gets caught on the side of the cargo bay if not adjusted properly, (On the ATV).

The cabin is just a mess as the pilots look out of place and can't even see out of the windscreen, and there is also a massive chunk of space there which is inaccessible, and the description states that 3 minifigures can fit in the cockpit, they can't because there are only 2 seats but if you removed one seat you could put a couple in the back bit.

It also does not contain any criminals what-so-ever, and I think that the small/cave in set 4441, would work really well with it, and so would a spotlight on the helicopter.

So overall, I would recommend you not buy this model, because it's ok but not really worth it. If you were going to get it I would recommend you buy a set with criminals in it to go with this or any other forest police sets as they would work really well with this.