XSZ General Grievous (Third party set Review)

[Logan McOwen]

Review: XSZ General Grievous

Clone brands aren't usually very creative. Most will simply copy an official Lego design, others will create lackluster custom designs. But sometimes, there are diamonds in the rough. XSZ, a Chinese brand, usually make duplicates of official Hero Factory figures, but they also produce some custom CCBS designs, including those fascinating Ninjago Ultrabuilds. But what I recently purchased from them is something a lot of you may recognise from a CUUSOO project of old; A figure of Star Wars character General Grievous. In light of Lego's official Grievous figure's reveal, lets take a look at this other company's take on the four armed frenzy.

Packaging

Yep. A zip lock bag. I ordered two copies of the set (for reasons I'll discuss later), and they both came bagged up like this. However, I did choose to buy them without the boxes, as doing so cut down packaging costs to the point where postage was free. But, this restrained packaging did cause some issues.

Parts

Parts are where this kit really shine. As you can see, there is a plethora of CCBS bones, Technic parts and more. But what will catch most people's eyes is those tan shells. The tan does indeed match Lego's shade very well. However, brief warning about XSZ's shells - the peg holes on these are tighter than on Lego's, so softer pegs like those found on armour addons will get worn down when used in them. I'd only use harder plastic things, like T-Bars and older spike pieces, with these.

Also, as you can see, the cape is severely creased. This is due to the restrained packaging. It's easy to fix, but terribly annoying either way.

The torso and chestplate are fascinating. I'm not sure whether the tan details are painted or printed, but they really do look the business. While the chestplate's pegs are a little loose, it's still invaluable to have such a generically styled print.

The head is probably the only major let down with this set. While the mold is great, the prints and sad eyes make for a very weird face to give to a villainous four armed warrior. However, there's an upside - the head connects to the model using a dark bley Glatorian head piece, which is absolutely fascinating and could serve to be very useful for many builders.

Also very peculiar, these friction joints... Without the friction. While XSZ's sockets are pretty damn strong anyway, they still included a pair of these with this model. They're the same as Lego's... Just without the little rubber nubbin on the inside. Very odd indeed.

Build

Ignoring his worrisome face, Grievous looks very imposing, and is actually a lot of fun to build. The arms are well laid out, and give plenty of room for Grievous to swing his lightsabers (which are simply solid plastic dowels) around. The torso prints really shine when assembled with everything else, although I do feel like the gunmetal is a tad unnecessary. The legs are standard, but do the job of capturing Grievous's gait very well.

From the back, Grievous is largely obscured by his big red cape. This thing is made from a very similar material to that of the older minifigure capes, but with one plushier side on the outside. The creasing caused by the packaging could likely be ironed out.

Apologies for the haphazard photography here, but I just wanted to show off how Grievous's body is put together. The upper set of arms connect to this XT4 torso, and the cape is pegged on to two Technic connectors near the neckball of said piece. This works beautifully, and is also a nice, cheeky way of getting another XT4 torso to add to your collection.

Other notes

As I mentioned earlier, XSZ's socket joints are very sturdy - sturdier in fact than Lego's. There is a downside though: XSZ joints can only pivot to around 90 degrees in a hinge joint. However, using a Lego bone in an XSZ hinge is just as normal. The plastic quality is absolutely fine, although the bone pieces are more matte in texture that Lego's, and the Technic pins and axles are a lot more lightweight than Lego's. Again as mentioned, the peg holes in the shell pieces are much tighter than Lego's so it might be dangerous to use official armour addons with them.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Fun build
  
• Tan CCBS
  
• Great selection of parts
  
• Lovely cape
  
• Good looking, vibrant lightsabers
  
• Unique prints on the torso and chestplate
  

Cons:

• The head is disappointing
  
• The capes are likely to come creased
  
• The lighsabers wobble somewhat
  
• The upper arms don't quite have as much motion as you might like
  

So, does this General Grievous tantalise your taste for tan? Or will you be waiting for Lego's official kit, coming out this summer? Either way, you can find this set on AliExpress, with free P&P. I'd say that this is worth buying two of, so as to get lots of that amazing tan, but even one of these guys is still a grand selection of goodies to add to your CCBS collection.

Edited May 6, 2015 by LewiMOC

[Leewan]

Mods, if this is on the wrong board, please let me know.

It is, should be moved to the Community subforum. ;)

That's a good review, and as tempting as the inventory could be (these 4 and 5M shells could be useful for a tan Pohatu G2), I'd rather be faithful to true Lego, I don't want to support counterfeiters.

[Bob De Quatre]

Discussions about clone brands go into the Community subforum. Moving the thread there...

[Logan McOwen]

It is, should be moved to the Community subforum. ;)

Discussions about clone brands go into the Community subforum. Moving the thread there...

Ah, cool. Thank you!

Edited May 6, 2015 by LewiMOC

[Iben]

I also bought one a week ago, I'm happy to see that the tan pieces actually match well. If I like the set enough, I made order a second one for more tan parts :P

-Iben

[GK733]

Any change showing how that tan fits new Pohatu instead of silver?

[Logan McOwen]

I also bought one a week ago, I'm happy to see that the tan pieces actually match well. If I like the set enough, I made order a second one for more tan parts :P

-Iben

Do it. Lego aren't making 4M shells in tan yet, so this'll be the one place where you'll be able to nab them.

Any change showing how that tan fits new Pohatu instead of silver?

Don't tempt me, Frodo.

[Saberwing40k]

This is interesting, but I hope this does not lead to a precedent of KO companies taking Ideas/Cuusoo projects that Lego rejects, and then making them. I think this could lead to some people buying more of these knockoffs, because they want parts that Lego does not make.

[Jetrax99]

This is interesting, but I hope this does not lead to a precedent of KO companies taking Ideas/Cuusoo projects that Lego rejects, and then making them. I think this could lead to some people buying more of these knockoffs, because they want parts that Lego does not make.

Oh no! We're supporting the purchase of knock offs because they have parts we want that Lego has never made!

Who cares? If Lego won't make them, and ko companies will, we will buy them if they are of a decent enough quality.

I have a couple lego ko sets myself because they came with HF 2.0 chestplates designed to fit the 1.0 core.

[Iben]

Mine just arrived today, the plastic is indeed almost undistinguishable when holding it next to other Lego, except for it being harder to connect. I'll probably order two more once I see how the tan pieces work on my Matoran :P

-Iben

[YellowCorvette]

Good review, and this set is good too,but it still has some inaccuraty compared to the Grievous from both ROTS and Clone wars cartoon.here the pictures of the Grievous from the movie and The Clone Wars cartoon.

General Grievous in Revenge of The Sith

General Grievous in The Clone Wars Cartoon

As you seen from the pictures up there,the shoulder plate is too big,the body is also been too fat compared to the General Grievous from both ROTS and The Clone Wars cartoon,and the face looks too sad and weird too.

However,i cannot blame too much about this set,because for a clone brand of lego,this is the best they can do.

Sorry if my sppech makes you angry.

Edited July 13, 2015 by ArmstrongYong