Red Rock Goldmine Hideout

As a nineties kid I grew up with all the classic LEGO themes: Castle, Pirates, Adventurers and Wild West! While never owning the LEGO set "Goldmine Bandit's Secret Hideout (6761)" myself, I was always fascinated by the idea of a secret bandit hideout in an abandoned goldmine! My newest project "The Red Rock Goldmine Hideout" is a modern version of this popular Wild West trope that can be found in many cowboy movies and comic books! 

In the Red Rock Mountains right above the old Wild West town of "Legoredo" lies the beautiful Red Rock Goldmine. During the times of the gold rush both the miners and the town prospered due to the riches of the mountain!  But after the initial gold veins had run dry and the gold rush had ended the miners left the town and the Red Rock Goldmine became abandoned.

While the goldmine still appears to be abandoned from the outside, it did not stay uninhabited for long: After the respectable miners had left the mine, a gang of bandits slowly turned the Red Rock Goldmine into their secret hideout! By carving hidden doors into the red rocks they turned the old mineshafts into a secret location to print counterfeit money and hide from the local sheriff! Thus, the "Red Rock Goldmine Hideout" was created!

The gang's money printing operation seems to have been successful for quite some time now but after an accidental explosion in one of the upper mineshafts, their cover might have been blown for good! Not only did the explosion make Legoredo's sheriff, an old but fierce retired army Colonel investigated the mine, it also uncovered new gold veins and caused big gold nuggets to be washed down river by newly emerging waterfall! As a result the counterfeiters might have to deal with curious gold diggers on top of the town's sheriff now!

Will the bandits be able to keep the secret of the "Red Rock Goldmine Hideout" hidden?

"The Red Rock Goldmine Hideout" consists of one singular hollow mountain goldmine which has both a lot of display value from the front while having great play features at the back.

The mine has two opened entries, as well as a third hidden secret entry which leads to the inside of the old miners' shed in front of the mountain.

Within the mountain there are three distinct sections:

1. the main entry and mine section with tracks for the minecarts 

2. the upper mineshaft, which contains the newly uncovered gold veins and a minecart 

3. the bandits' secret lair, which contains their printing press

This project contains five minifigures:

1. The main forger and leader of the bandits (carrying a golden gun and wearing a black top hat)

2. Two of his goons

3. The sheriff of Legoredo, a retired army Colonel

4. A curious gold digger, who is searching for riches and has no idea of the dangers the gold mine might hold!

On top of that the build comes with a wide array of small Wild West Easter eggs and accessories:

1. a crane

2. guns

3. lots of dynamite

4. a barrel to collect rain or to hide in as a lookout

5. a minecart

6. two secret doors

7. several crates of TNT