LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
- Includes Train, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex and Hamm as “Evil Doctor Porkchops” figures
- New Toy Story 3 scene
- Rolling Western train features locomotive and three cars with opening doors, roofs and rooftop traps.
- Fully compatible with LEGO train tracks and LEGO power functions; noted in building instructions
- 584 LEGO pieces
It’s a Wild West train adventure with the Toy Story heroes! Time’s running out, partners! The evil Dr. Porkchops has trapped Rex in a boxcar packed with dynamite aboard a runaway train, and it’s up to his friends to save him! As Woody bravely battles Pork chops on top of the train, Jessie rides Bullseye in hot pursuit and Buzz flies in for a last second rescue! Rolling Western train features locomotive and three cars with opening doors, roofs and rooftop traps. Includes Buzz Lightyear, Woody, J
Rating: 
(out of 15 reviews)
Toy Review by R. Ferguson for LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
Rating:
This is a five star train for kids in the 5 to 8 year old range. Older kids may be more interested in the City line trains (7938 and 7939) or the Harry Potter Hogwart’s Express train (4841). The City trains, incidentally, are the only ones that come as complete sets with track, motors and remote control devices.
Wow, this is a good looking train! I believe that the photos and box art for the set don’t do justice to how it looks when it is built, and how much fun it is to play with. This is an Old West 4-4-0 steam engine, box car, passenger car, and caboose. I would describe the design as more cartoon-like than realistic, with the engine having exaggerated proportions and the cars a tad short. The set includes no track or motor. It is designed as a push train. The engine uses four new drivers (and comes with two extra un-flanged drivers) as well as a cattle-catcher (a new part). The train cars themselves are short but attractively designed. As with the other new trains for 2010, this set is largely brick-built (i.e., few specialized plastic moldings). The set includes Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, and Evil Doctor Pork Chops mini-figures. The passenger car and the caboose are designed with lift-off tops to make it easier to place characters inside, and the box car has a trap door in the roof. The caboose and the passenger car also have doors at each end, but the caboose doors don’t open all the way because of the railing. And I find that the engine is not as sturdy as I would like (e.g., the piston cylinders can pivot out of the proper orientation, the cattle catcher comes off when the kids hit objects — as they are wont to do). The train is not a difficult build, but younger children will likely need some assistance.
Regarding adding a motor, it is possible to use Lego’s Power Function (PF) accessories to add one. The easiest way is power the drivers with a motor, place an IR receiver (#8884) in the engine cab, and a battery in the box car. The best motor to use is one that is forthcoming (it is like 8866, but the extension is hard-wired to it — I will update when it is available). There are two batteries available right now, an expensive rechargeable (which requires a separate wall wart) and an inexpensive AA battery box that does not quite fit in the box car. There will be a new battery box using AAA batteries on the market at some point (same size as the rechargeable); like the new motor, it is included in the new City line trains. And then you would need an IR control pad (#8879). If you are going to this much trouble, it makes sense to build a tender and put both the motor and battery box in it. This engine deserves a tender, and the tender’s wheels are a more appropriate size for the motor (the engine’s drivers are a tad large). Wheels, coupling magnets and bricks can be had, piece-by-piece, directly from Lego. Obviously, motorization is really a project for tinkerers, but isn’t that what Lego is about?
Though train buffs will likely be put-off by the design, this set is going to be very, very popular among children. Grandparents, I think this makes a perfect birthday or holiday gift. I do recommend buying track; the engine’s wheels are on two bogies, so the whole thing can get a little sideways without it. You need at least two sets of Lego 7896, though consider getting three sets of 7896 and one set of switches (7895). If you want to add additional old west structures, you can add 7594, Woody’s Roundup (which is a scene in Toy Story 2, not 3).
Toy Review by S. Harrison for LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
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Yes, the box says ages 8 through 14, but honestly… What 14-year-old is going to be thrilled with a Lego train featuring the Toy Story gang? The age-range/difficulty level seems out of sync with the nature of the toy. Older children will probably not be entranced by the idea of playing with Woody and Rex, and younger children will need assistance with assembly of the components.
On to the product itself:
The contents were very nicely packaged, in what turned out to be separate portions of the instructions tied to the numbered bags of parts. The instructions were very clear, with little text, but with very good three dimensional graphics that provided all the information needed to assemble the various train cars without the annoying text found in so many instructions. The only portion of the instructions that wasn’t spot-on was the assembly of the Toy Story characters. It turns out that not all the parts for the characters are in the character bag – a few key parts were actually in the bag used in the next set of instructions. Once that was figured out, all was well.
During construction, I began to notice that the fit and finish of the parts was extremely well done. After final construction, I was amazed that I could run my fingernail across the length of one of the railroad cars and it felt like one solid piece! That’s got to be some manufacturing feat. Along with the fit and finish, the cars and characters are fully functional. For example, the two doors on the caboose actually opened and closed, the wheels turn very easily but were not wobbly at all, the cars interlocked well. The detail in the painted parts, especially the characters, was very well done. You can actually see the iris of the eyes, and we’re talking about a less than two inch high character. The only warning is that besides the actual characters, the finished cars are somewhat fragile in the sense that they will come apart slightly if handled anything more than average. A rough handling or a drop of more than 8 inches (on tile) results in the cars coming apart in large chunks – which I suppose is better than every piece coming apart. In any case, in about a minute with no directions to have to look at, it can be reassembled. The worry is that a seven year old might not be gentle with the toy once it’s assembled. The characters have already withstood very rough handling from two three year olds and a five year old and have survived without any issue other than Woody’s head coming off once when pulled very hard (which would be very easily replaced once I find it in the van).
Overall, I would rate this product very highly. Having put together many Legos together before, from the large toddler size to the normal size Legos, this is an amazing feat of manufacturing accuracy in comparison. The kids relate well to the characters and love the idea of trains. All in all, a great product.
Toy Review by VJ Dickens for LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
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I bought this for my son for his birthday. He had so much fun putting it together. It is very durable. Came with so many figures. A lot of parts for them to figure out. Great gift.
Toy Review by Online Buyer for LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
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I have been putting most of my sons legos together for a while now. I was expecting this set to be much harder to put together than most. It was very easy to assemble. I was thinking that there would be a ton of pieces because of the higher price tag, but that wasn’t the case. So far so good with this one, it seems to take a little more abuse than some sets without falling apart.
Toy Review by terpfan1980 for LEGO Toy Story Western Train Chase (7597)
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While some might disagree, I firmly believe that the creators of Lego developed the perfect toy when they invented those interlocking little plastic blocks so many years ago. From the first minute I played with a set of Lego, I was in heaven. Whatever I might imagine, I could build it, as long as I had enough pieces to snap together to bring my imagination to life. Over time my parents bought more and more pieces for myself and my siblings to play with, and soon we were introduced to “sets” of Lego that were designed to offer the opportunity to build pre-planned designs (LEGO City Fire Station (7208), LEGO City Police Headquarters). Those sets offered the opportunity to follow instructions to build items in a manner similar to the way someone might assemble a model of a car, boat, or other item, and yet the pieces that came in those sets could also be used to build other items from your own imagination.
Over time Lego sets have been introduced that can be used to build items from the Star Wars universe, as well as many other sources (comic book characters, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, etc.) including the world of Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story, which bring us to this wonderful set.
With this set builders get the pieces needed to build the train along with the character figures for Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex and Hamm as “Evil Doctor Porkchops”. Builders can take those figures and put them into any other Lego environment that they may imagine and build, or they can remain purists and just assemble this set to match the instructions, just as they can with other Lego sets. Of course, with this particular set builders are able to look at the assembled set and recall the inspirational scene from the Toy Story 3 film.
As noted on the product listing, this set includes many small parts that are choking hazards so it is not appropriate for smaller children and usage should be supervised as appropriate to avoid such problems.
In terms of value, this one is priceless to me and comes with my highest recommendation.