Review: #85702 Dwarfs Battle Pack

[Jippon]

Set: #852702 Dwarfs Battle Pack

Theme: Castle

Year: 2009

Pieces: 42

Minifigs: 5

Welcome to my first review on Eurobricks. I am currently crawling out of my dark ages and trying to get some of the great Lego I missed in the past years. I was lucky enough to find this set, along with #852701 Trolls Battle Pack (review) at an online store. I checked the review database but I could not find another review of this set, so I decided to give it a shot.

Well on to the review:

The box

The box gets the job done nicely, it puts the dwarfs (already taken out) against a nice backdrop of a castle. The dwarfs rest firmly in a plastic slide out, none of them were out of place when I received the set.

Back:

As you can see, some of the parts are made in China, I know I’m a nitpicker, but still this bothers me a bit because the figs themselves stand out a bit next to other ‘normal’ figs, more on that later.

Contents

We get five dwarfs (already assembled and equipped) and a bucket with a mallet and a spade. Accessories include two crystal pieces (gold and silver), three axes, a torch, three printed shields and a pickaxe, which I believe looks different from the “not Chinese” pickaxes, but I’m not sure, I don’t have another one for reference at this time.

The dwarfs in all their glory. It’s a bit hard to balance them because of the short legs and large accessories, so they lean on their axes for support.

I gave them a clean shave so you can see all the different faces, no clones in this pack, which is a big plus! One of them even has a double sided head, with a normal and a scared expression.

This one is my favourite, although not particularly dwarf-like, I think it stands out and has that “bring it on” look that a battle dwarf should have.

There are two beard types (in black, red(?) and dark brown) and two torso types in the set, I really like the one with the red arms, we get it twice. None of the torso’s have back prints.

Front beard

And Back beard

Quality

The overall quality is good; printing is spot on and all the arms work properly. The only gripe I have is with the plastic, it looks (but does not feel) softer than the usual plastic, it is also a bit more matte than that of other minifigs. There’s no neck print and the dwarfs have stamped arms.

Conclusion

I must say that I am very happy I bought this set; the dwarfs are already enjoying the ale at the medieval market village and will do so until I take that one apart. It loses points for the plastic issues, but gains some for the different faces (that are noticeable, even while half hidden by great, big, bushy beards). I can’t really say anything about value for money because I bought this at a higher price than the srp.

Although the box looks nice, I would have preferred an old fashioned cardboard box with loose parts so there would be something to build. But if this is the only way to get lots of dwarfs, so be it.

Would I recommend this set to others? HELL YEAH!

Gallery with high-res pics (when public): Clicky

Thank you for reading this review! Please give me feedback about the way I review, I'm not shure about the layout (text above pics) so tell me what you think.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Jippon

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review 'Jippon' - dam these never came to Oz - could have done with a few extra miners to defend that gold mine of the dwarf's !

They look great - each figure, but the heads are funny as with their beards on you don't normally see their facial expressions - the scared one is the best - DWARF WARRIOR'S ARE NEVER SCARED (they only fear women !)

I'm a conformist! !

[prateek]

Awesome review with nice pics. This set is good for army building and as a filler for dioramas.

[General Redwater]

Great review! I like this battle pack, it comes with really good parts, such as the beards, weapons, and heads. I should really get this soon.

Thank you for the review!

-

General Redwater

[beans]

Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for these online?

[Jippon]

Thanks for the great responses people, it encourages me to do another one !

Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for these online?

I answered your question in a pm.

[???theriddler???]

Thanks for the review Jippon!

[LegoDad42]

Thanks for the review! Good pics throughout and yes, I agree, it's a nice touch to have all the faces unique. Great Battle Pack!

[-obelix-]

Thanks for the review...

I wasn't sure about getting one of those battlepacks, but now I am!

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Truly badass... Dwarves and Lego: How could that NOT work??

Can't believe i passed up the Mine set because I was an exclusive StarWars buyer at the time. RRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghh...

[CMP]

I've got the mine and it's defender...the dwarves have the 2nd largest base of my Castle guys, but the fewest members. Maybe if I can get some cash I could pick this up. Nice review.

[Jippon]

Truly badass... Dwarves and Lego: How could that NOT work??

Can't believe i passed up the Mine set because I was an exclusive StarWars buyer at the time. RRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghh...

Damn, I'm still pissed because I missed out on the mine... It was one of the only sets I considered buying in my dark ages, should have done it

[jerba]

Thanks for the review! I love, love, love the dwarves. I am truly disappointed that only a few sets were released for them. Dwarves were the BEST theme Castle has had in years!

I was able to get one of these, but regret not picking up two more. A must get, if you can.

[SirWacky]

Nice review!

Unfortunately I never got this set.

Having a few more of those beards would have come in useful in my custom figs.

Ah well...

[Jippon]

Thanks again for all the nice responses people! I just saw the review was indexed and that makes me quite happy

I'm planning to post my trolls battle pack review today, so check back for that later if your'e interested.

EDIT: Trolls review finished, link's in my sig.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Jippon

[Falconer]

Hmmm… Hey, TLG, can you re-release this obviously popular set, please? My Middle-earth needs Dwarves! And you can sell this without paying licensing fees. I’ll pay $14.99 for a set instantly; right now it is reselling for $80+

[Cara]

I too regret that I wasn't buying Lego when all these dwarves were released. I would have loved to get this. Thank you for the review!

[Ferrik]

Excellent first review. This set will be great for members who need more dwarves.

[Captain Settle]

Although I'm more of a pirate fan I still wish I got this set. It would look great with my small castle display.