The Westerners theme was one of the boldest, most stereotypical themes LEGO had ever done. Yet it was and remains the only LEGO theme focused on the American Wild West. Why this is, no one is quite sure, but it is probably similar to the Pirates theme in that LEGO intends to reboot it at some point in the near future. With the success of the CUUSOO Western Town project recently, I'm fairly certain the theme will be revived.

That all being said, let's have a look at the Sheriff's Lock-Up, the first of six sets I'll be reviewing of the Westerners line.

Innovations: The Westerners theme introduced to the world the "log" brick, a normal-sized brick that when coupled with other similar bricks looked like log walls. The Sheriff's office was the only building in town created completely out of them next to Fort Legorado. There is much to like about the Lock-Up, from the sloped pseudo-false front porch and building to the crenelated jail cell. But none of these were innovations unique to this set. The only real innovation was a bit of mechanics in the jail cell that caused the wall to blow open. A spring-loaded Technic piece rigged to pop out when a 1x2 plate was inserted into a gap in the wall did the trick, and boy it was fun to do over and over again.

Lack of Inspiration: However much I love the Westerners theme, there are always places where it lacks a certain flare. First and most importantly, the buildings are all very small with open backs. That's to be expected, but it provides little room for play. The jail cell too is overly detailed, which is unusual. The crenelation on the roof is not stylistically appropriate to the time, more appropriate to a castle than a block house. It's understandable that LEGO didn't want to just make a simple grey brick beside the Sheriff's office, but that would have been more appropriate. And like all of the LEGO minifigures of the 1990s, these figures are basic at best with no back details, simple face designs on the good guys, and generic repetition of figures among the series as a whole.

What it Got Right: Where the Sheriff's Lock-Up went right is in the balance of Sheriff and Deputy with inmate and conspirator. It also made certain to include a horse, though two or three would have been better. The stickers on the windows and on the roof are excellent, while the printed TNT, wanted poster, and playing cards are always fun to have around. The little details of the sage grass and the barrel were always hallmarks of the Westerners line, adding that extra touch that made it great. Even the raised flooring of the Sheriff's office is appropriate to the time and looks good.

Possible Improvements: Were this set to be remodeled and re-released, I think the cell block should be in darker grays with a much more solid feel to it. No wood bricks on its roof. The office itself should be larger, with a few more deputies, and the cell block could also be moved inside to match the Wild West stereotype better. The horse could definitely use the Lord of the Rings updating, and the windows could be printed, but otherwise most of this set is pretty well-done.

Minifigure: Where the Westerners did the most good but also the most wrong was with its characters. First off we get the sheriff. His face is the same we have seen on Pirates since 1989 and it still is unimpressive. The hat was the new style cowboy hat in a unique color with a printed star in the center, so no complaints there. His shirt shows a proper gentlemen in a grey suit coat and bowtie accompanied with a pocket watch and sheriff's star. The pants, though, are plain black and for whatever reason, he is wearing black gloves. Overall, a good figure in need of improvement. The cowboy has sandy blonde hair which is cut off awkwardly and seems more appropriate to the City theme. His white hat is unique to him and he is wearing a leather jacket over a red undershirt. Plain blue pants complete an ensemble that today would require printed pants for certain. Is he a deputy or just a cowboy? We'll never know.

There are two bad guys with this set, and neither are the leader. Bandit #2, as BrickSet calls him, is a mean guy with broken gold teeth showing and a rare printed nose. He wears a brown cowboy hat, black bandana, and grey pants. His shirt is red and stretching in parts, with printed suspenders and a black gunbelt. Today, the belt would be on the hips, leg paintings would show guns, and he'd have some sort of back painting on his bead. Still, a pretty unique individual here. Bandit #3 has most of his teeth in tact, but one is gold. He wears a black top hat, black gloves, and dark gray pants. His shirt shows a green blazer over a card symbol-checkered button-up, with a string tie and pocketwatch chain. He seems like he likes to gamble...a lot!

How it Compares: Overall, this is an excellent set and its original pricing was perfect. It includes four figures, a horse, and a nice set to play on with a fun trigger mechanism and little treasures in the Sheriff's office. It remains incomparable to modern sets because no Westerners sets have since been remade, but the hope will be that the entire line will get a reboot soon. If you ever get a chance to buy this set, pick it up ASAP.

This is the one Western set I own. Western sets are valuable online, so I am lucky to have it. I'll first review the minifigures, then the set.

I lost the sheriff. But the picture above shows he has a star badge, the large mustache used in pirate sets, and a grey cowboy hat. A great cowboy minifig.

The second good cowboy, whom I refer to as the deputy, is a great minifig. He has a standard cowboy torso, a head with white hair printed on it, and a white cowboy hat. He has a horse, with a saddle equipped with guns.

There are two bad cowboys. The first one with the cowboy hat has rotten teeth, a mustache, and a bandana. The second one has a green gambler torso, a face with teeth sticking out, one tooth golden, a mustache similar to his partner's, but better groomed.

The set has two components: the sheriff office and a small jail. I'll split this in two.

The sherrif office has two windows, a roof that flaps open, and a door. Within, there is a desk with a cup, poker cards(a good piece), and a secret compartment inside the desk that the sheriff can keep things in he doesn't want others to find. Behind the desk there is a rocking chair. There is also a safe with coins in it. Outside, there is a wanted sign for the bad cowboy, a bush, and a barrel.

In the jail, there is a one brick high and one stud wide hole behind it, and when dynamite is inserted, a function shoots a wall off. There is a fire outside the one small opening to make sure the resident can't get out.

A great set for your collection. I use it as the jail in my town, despite it's old west style. If you can get your hands on it, get it! 5/5

This was one of my first Lego sets back in around 2003, and even now it's an overall success. Endless fun in this set, from gambling cards, and using dynamite to blast out of jail. It had some awesome minifigures, and for a 20$ set, I thought that four was just right. The build wasn't difficult, and some graphics included multiple angles to make sure you don't screw up! Overall, it's worth hours of playability and it's a great western set!

As the box's picture may describe, this is one of the more exciting sets from Lego. And for that reason, one of the best. Whilst not being the biggest set in the world, there's a lot you can do with it.

For starters, there's four interesting minifigs included in the set, two 'bad' guys and two 'good' guys. Also featured are a rather large array of items for a set this size, such as guns, money, playing cards, dynamite and others. There's also a horse, (just one?) and a large-sized barrel not found in many sets.

The best feature of this set is the exploding door, which worked very well as I recall. As previously mentioned, I had a lot of fun playing with this set as a kid, so I would heartily recommend this as a toy for children.

This set is easy to build too, so you won't have to wait long before you can get to grips with this. Inside the sheriff's office there is a desk with a safe, and desk.

This set is average if you're looking for a good build but for fun or collection, one of the best sets of the time. Bring back the western theme!

This set has load of functions, so lots of playability. The slanted roof on the sherrif's office tilts up and down. The sheriff's table opens up to put gold or a pistol in, and his chair tilts back. Probably the best function is the blow-away cell wall..

Pros:
4 minifigs.
Lots of accesories.
Cell wall blows off when you put the dynamite piece in.
Quick build.

Cons:
Only 1 horse(there should be atleast 2, because, well, 4 minfigs..)