This guy sees an armoured space truck escaping with valuable weaponry and thinks to himself,
“Screw it, I don’t need a vehicle, I’mma just lasso that thing with a chain.”

A great set from one of my favorite themes.

But I don't know why it is called Container Heist here when on the box of the actual set it is called Space Truck Getaway

Lobo would be proud to see someone stick it to the Space Police like this, and then be really upset that he wasn't doing the job himself. "Nobody outdoes the Main Man!"

I wonder how ridiculous it would look without hauling the crate. I'm assuming the reason the crate doesn't drift away is because of some magnetic lock. Is the laser attached to the truck bed, though? Because that wouldn't make sense for the laser that was just stolen to be attached and fully functional.

But maybe, this was a trap for the Space Police. Let them believe this otherwise lightly armed truck had just stolen a laser, while in reality, beneath this shipping crate facade, the laser was fully operational (like the Death Star).

Trap or not, this officer has to be one of the dumbest cops ever to chain himself to a spaceship as it leaves atmosphere. He is screaming as the air is drawn out of his lungs in the vacuum of space.

@KoolKreeper489:
I hunted around and found a watermarked image of the set where it's named Container Heist. The box shows the piece count, suggesting it was intended for the North American market and not just a case of different US/EU naming conventions. The name was probably meant to suggest they were using two fake shipping containers to commit a heist (which is pretty much what appears to be going on, as they're basically just a shell to conceal a giant gun. In truth, it suggests that the heist was to steal the containers, which really doesn't fit with the design of the model. So, sometime between being revealed during Toy Fair season and landing on retail shelves, they may have changed the name.

Unfortunately, this predates the Retired Product pages on LEGO.com, and the instructions portal doesn't show images of the set box.

Absolutely ridiculous.
And I love it.

Say what you will about stickers, but I always thought the one on the windshield was cool.

I really liked this set. The fact that it had the crook making off with a police-issue laser cannon made the conflict scenario it presented feel a little more complex and interesting than your typical "hero vs. villain" set (even if ultimately, like the rest of the Space Police 3 theme, the good guy human vs. bad guy alien framing couldn't be much more black and white in terms of the implied morality). Mixing the aesthetics of those two factions for a set like this also helped them feel more like parts of an integrated universe than the single-faction Space sets of my youth.

Bonus points for the cargo container bearing the classic "CITY" cargo logos and having graffiti referencing designers and past Space themes. Thinking about it now, it's little surprise that the similar aesthetic of some of the Monkie Kid sets also ended up being a hit with me.

@Norikins:
I looked up the online instructions for this set. At the point where the "containers" are added, it looks like someone removed both the wheels and the cargo bed from a standard pickup truck, leaving just a cab and a full-length frame sticking out in the back. The "containers" have no bottom or inner side (just front, back, top, and outer side), and are hinged to the rear frame, with the giant laser mounted on Technic beams that give it a basic pantograph function that allows it to be raised above the height of the cab. It's only after this that the wings and engines are added, but I expect the result of removing the container shells and gun would be to basically make it look like a flying pickup with the cargo bed removed, exposing bare frame in the back. So, not a mod that you'd do for aesthetic reasons.

@Lyichir:
No, that's what a lot of people probably thought when they first found out about this set. Based on the actual construction, this looks like it's meant to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It looks like a normal space-truck hauling space-containers until it gets in close, and the fake containers drop to the sides to reveal a gigantic gun that you aren't prepared to defend against. This is basically something that you'd expect to see in an episode of The A-Team.

@Monopoly said:
"This guy sees an armoured space truck escaping with valuable weaponry and thinks to himself,
“Screw it, I don’t need a vehicle, I’mma just lasso that thing with a chain.”"

he also has a rocket launcher.
it's pointing at his face.

Unique: None
Rare: None

This set was probably the best option for stocking up on the 3x3 engine piece in black (30360). It has 4 per set, and the color was only used for one more year after this. It was only found in 7 sets between 2000 and 2010.

@CarolinaOnMyMind says it all.

I started rebuilding some of my old LEGO sets the other month and this was top priority. I love this set.

Lore Time!

On the surface of the Earth's Moon, in the seedy underbelly of Astro City, a new criminal organization has come to power. The Black Hole Gang, spearheaded by the mysterious Brick Daddy, has begun recruiting thugs and crooks of all shapes and sizes to grow a criminal empire.

Among their ranks is Snake. A buff (but not too bright) "cyclops." In his most famous mission Snake was sent out inside a space-semi to capture an experimental piece of Space Police technology, a powerful and destructive laser cannon!

While the situation may seem dire one brave soul has stepped forward to stop the crook. Armed with just a rocket launcher a Space Police Officer has grabbed hold of the vessel and is determined to take it down.

If memory serves, in the Space Police stop-motion films this vehicle was also used to rescue the Skull Twins after the events of set 5973

@KoolKreeper489 said:
"I was just confused because I saw that it was called Container Heist here but when I got the set it was called Space Truck Getaway on the box."

Lego's US site called it "Space Truck Getaway" in 2009.
https://web.archive.org/web/20090707191435/http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=5972&cn=589&d=70

This is one of the most creative villain vehicles to ever come out in a original LEGO theme. It is just such a unique concept that I have never seen anywhere else. Why don't they make sets like this anymore?

Also, has anyone here seen the prototype version of this set? Originally, it was supposed to be even larger and more detailed: https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/89mdjw/who_else_wishes_that_lego_released_the_prototype/

@PurpleDave said:
" @Lyichir:
No, that's what a lot of people probably thought when they first found out about this set. Based on the actual construction, this looks like it's meant to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It looks like a normal space-truck hauling space-containers until it gets in close, and the fake containers drop to the sides to reveal a gigantic gun that you aren't prepared to defend against. This is basically something that you'd expect to see in an episode of The A-Team."

Oh, I get the fact that it's concealed and all... my point was more about the laser cannon being stolen Space Police tech. If the color scheme weren't enough (matching the other Space Police vehicles), it even has the same logos (which if I remember correctly even show scratches as if the crooks have defaced them out of spite). All put together it tells a story of turnabout, like the crooks have decided to put the same weapons that have been used against them time and time again to work for their own criminal purposes.