Today, secondhand Lego Indiana Jones can leave an empty wallet to the buyer. I was very fortunate to get a few of them when the line was available and Race for the Stolen Treasure is one of the two which is still in one piece. While this is my favourite moment from the franchise, is it worth keeping it that way?

The Good:

This is one of the very few sets Lego has made that features military figures and vehicles. The three German soldiers are certainly very welcome and I have used them for a number of WWII dioramas. In addition their torsos are very detailed for 2008. Indy is a necessary addition, but he comes in all the other sets anyway.

The builds are also exceptional. They are very accurate to Raiders of the Lost Ark and pack some very good detail and building techniques. There are also some cool handles on the truck to recreate some stunts from the film.

The Mixed:

The only really annoying thing about this set is the accuracy regarding the treasure. In the film, the cargo was actually the Ark of the Covenant, whereas in this set it’s a gold treasure chest. My theory for this is that there was another set in the same wave (The Lost Tomb I think it was called) that had the Ark included. I can therefore forgive the designer’s choice to include this chest instead.

As usual, Indy’s satchel has some issues fitting in the truck and horse.

The Bad:

Nothing to see here.

Overall:

This is a great set. As we raely get any military sets from Lego, this is welcome enough. The figures are excellent for 2008, builds are fun to build and highly detailed and there is plenty of room to recreate moments from the scene. With Indy 5 on the way, I really hope this set can be remade given it’s iconicity and plenty of room for play. Therefore, out of every Indiana Jones sets I own (This, 7620, 7197 and 7626) this is the best! 5/5

Name: Indiana Jones and The Race For The Stolen Treasure

Original Us Price: $30USD

Pieces: 272pcs

Realese Date: 2008

Minifigures: Indiana Jones (reg) and three German Soldiers (all have different faces)

Weapons/Accessories: Indy's whip, a gun, a rifle, some coins, some jewels and a horse

Also Includes: A truck and a jeep

Pros:

- the back of the truck is of cloth very neat

- the trucks are very movie accurate

- all the soldiers have different faces

Cons:

- the machine gun is on a stud instead of a turntable

- the back of the truck should of been longer

- the doors on the truck don't open like the movie

- a treasure box instead of the ark (bit strange)

- no play functions in this set

At first I was confused trying to remember what movie this scene's from and all I could remember was shouldn't there also be a tank too? And then it hit me, that gold chest should be the Ark.

That aside, this is still a great and fun little set. This is the first LEGO set I've seen featuring a gold chest, so that was fun. You've got 4 minifigures and a white horse. And then two vehciles, the transport truck and a smaller jeep offering escort and protection for the treasure as Indy boldy comes riding up on a horse to steal back the treasure/Ark.

The builds are solid fun and decent and like all of the Indiana Jones sets, they've all been well worth picking up and geting. I'd still want a tank, re-enact Indy loosing his hat and running to get it before it's ground under the tank treads.

I am a complete history freak, especially modern history. I like the Indiana Jones movies very much, but they are not without their faults. The two films involving the Nazis madly chasing after some ancient sacred relic get several things wrong. These errors transitioned into the LEGO Indiana Jones line. Still, these are truly nit-picky, whiny qualms of mine. As far as the movies go, they are quite entertaining, and as far as LEGO Indiana Jones goes, "Race of the Stolen Treasure" is a mighty set. Here's why.

PROS

As with many of my reviews, I love reviewing the Minifigures that come in the set. No exception for this set, as I just love the figures. Probably rightly, the Indiana Jones figure is present in every single set in the line. LEGO makes up for this repetitiveness by designing different versions of the Indiana Jones figure, but the one in this set is by far the most common. Still, I have to list the Indiana Jones figure as a Pro simply because he is truly a fine figure. Pioneering LEGO's new "satchel" piece and with the new Fedora hat, there is truly nothing I have to complain about the figure. His horse is an excellent addition as well.

Easily though, the best Minifigures in this set are the German Soldiers. Fortunately, the films get German Soldiers in their desert uniforms pretty spot-on, and despite LEGO's seemingly "anti-swastika" policy, the figures still look amazing and intimidating. The tan Kepi pieces are wonderful, as well as the torso pieces which give the three soldiers a good uniform look. They even look better when deployed or driving their vehicles.

The next big Pro are the vehicles. Everyone agrees the two army vehicles make the set; and they do. The "covered truck" as LEGO put it is definitely the best. There is plenty of room in the back section of the truck to put whatever you want inside it. I would've liked to see some kind of barrier protecting the back of the truck instead of leaving it open for Indy to slip in and grab the treasure, but if that were the case, playability may have been reduced (or increased depending on your view). The truck also has room for two of the soldiers to sit in the front, and you can actually put all three in the back of the truck (if you remove the treasure I mean). Also, LEGO managed to make the truck look very true to the time-period, and it possesses a very, if I may, "German" look to it. The golden treasure chest that goes in it, though it isn't the Ark of the Covenant like in the movie, is a beautiful feature and looks wonderful in the back of the truck.

The escort car/jeep is another great addition to the set, even if such vehicles were almost never used by the Germans. It has a very rugged look to it, and the mounted machine gun is a great feature on the vehicle. I am very pleased with the black "lightsaber hilt" attached to the "camera" piece. It gives it a deadly look. With the three soldiers in their respectable positions in the set, the two vehicles look wonderful together.

CONS

This set has plenty of Cons. One of them is the instructions. The soldiers in the instructions have brown gloves rather than flesh hands. I like both combinations, but I just wished LEGO had made the instructions true to the pieces. Also, I am somewhat iffy about listing this Con, but the set image shows the German Soldier driving the truck with the revolver pistol, but in the instructions, it says to give it to Indy. I like giving it to Indy IMO, since Indiana did have a revolver in the movies, and since German soldiers during prewar Germany and Germany in WWII NEVER used revolvers. Still, I like all of my soldiers to have some weapon. The soldier driving the jeep gets the grey rifle, the one in the back mans the machine gun, and I would at least like to give the soldier driving the truck to have a pistol. Oh well, minor Cons in the end.

CONCLUSION

Do not let my whining about historical accuracy and my tiny dislikes with this set fool you. "Race for the Stolen Treasure" is easily the best set in LEGO Indiana Jones series of toys, and it ranks as one of my all time favorite sets. This set caused me to get into the movies. Even if you are not a fan of Indiana Jones, get this set. It is well worth it and its playability factor is very high. 5/5, final score.

This was my first lego Indiana Jones set and one of the best. Sure it dosn't have any traps or the ark but the realisticness is AMAZING! You can do any one of the scenes from the movie. Just before I go to pros and cons I'd like to say that I highly recomend this set.

pros: pony, truck, jeep, figures,treasure: all great
very realistic
cool gun on jeep
nice shotgun
nice bars on truck which fall down

cons: none.