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Review: 9465 The Zombies

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Title: The Zombies

Serial Number: 9465

Pieces: 447

Price: 350 DKK, €40, £35 or $40

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Hi there!

I'm new to this whole reviewing business, and I haven't gone to the Reviewers' Academy. However, I recently acquired an exclusive set which I believe we're a bunch who've been rather hyped about – so why don't you sit down with me as we'll go through the experience that makes set #9465 The Zombies?

The Box

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Featuring the beautiful bat-and-moon graphics that appear on every set in the Monster Fighters line, this one has the added details of gravestones in the dark and gloomy background. All in all, this makes for a very pleasant view, even if the scene it describes is a rather creepy one (which, frankly, I'd have expected to be beyond what TLG would allow themselves – I suspect this might be one of the reasons why this is marketed as an exclusive set, which tends to be the primary target of AFOLs).

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The back tells us many useful things about the set, showcasing the five play features - though among those are flickfire missiles and a GitD spider, so many reasonable people would only consider that three. Still, three is a lot for a set this size, and I'm particularly looking forward to turning the moonstone to release the dead from their allegedly eternal sleep.

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There's a little comic, too – this one is featured on the back of every Monster Fighters set, with only the second panel altered.. The moonstone in question changes colour on panel three, too.

As you can see, the first panel tells us that disappointingly, 9468 (the Vampyre Castle, as I'm sure you've already guessed) is not included. I, for one, was looking very much forward to finding this very large set inside the box of a medium-size set, and find this piece of news very disappointing.

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I have to address this strip of graphic, too. It's a beautiful picture which they could've done without, but put in the little extra effort it took not to. I think it's great.

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Four minifigures are included. That's the real reason you bought this, of course.

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As Kai is here to tell (and show) us, the 1:1 size comparison picture is, indeed, size 1:1.

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Oh, and one more little thing: Apparently, this set is really called Zombie Bride, Zombie Groom & Zombie Driver. It's no wonder they've wanted to shorten it down to The Zombies.

This line reminds me of Orient Expedition in many ways. Both have this sort of stunning graphics, both are pretty much a renaissance for Steampunk Lego parts, and both have taken me by my collectors' gene and refused to let me go. Buth what Orient Expedition had which this is lacking is something I see a lot of people complaining about in other lines: redundancy. One of the beautiful things about Orient Expedition was that even though I was too young to plan for it, I ended up getting a huge amounts of top hats, guns, crystal pieces, Johnny Thunder hats, etc. If you buy every set in this line, you'll still only have two of each Monster Fighter (and one extra Rodney Rathbone). I realise that the variety of figures would be at cost if they were to include more of each individual figure, but I'd still have liked to have so many bowler hats I'd never need them again. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it.

The Contents

You know, I first saw this set on the shelves of the Lego Store in Berlin. This was back in, what, May? When it first started being sighted around the world, and I would have bought it right there if the very helpful, but unfortunately wrongly informed, personnel of the store hadn't told me that it would not be an exclusive (as I thought it would), and that I could safely expect it to be included in the sale where I buy most of my Lego. Yet it wasn't, so I had to wait for my return to the Berlin Lego Store two days ago to pick this up.

The moral being that you know more about Lego than their salespeople do.

Okay, let's open the set and throw the box away (I have; as much as I admire their effort, I can't have empty cardboard boxes lying around)!

What´s inside?

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No comments about the unfortunate child having a fit because his parents won't buy him the Lego he wants. We're used to seeing him at the back of our manuals by now.

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The instruction manual features the same art as the box. No big surprise there.

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A random page.

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Hurry up, take the code from here and use it to unlock scary content (if you dare)!

What, you've already opened bag one while I was gawking at the manual? And what's that you're toying with now?

Oh, the minifigs! Well, let's have a look at them, shall we?

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Jack Mchammer is familiar from one of the other Monster Fighters sets, The Vampyre Castle (the one that's not included in this set, remember?). His cyborg arm has been seen before, but is still a nice touch to add to the steampunk vibe that's given by this whole theme so far.

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Jack Mchammer is part of a gang who've teamed up to prevent anything non-human from ever returning from the world of insufferable terrors they've been banished to. Guess who's my third favourite Monster Fighter?

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We should all know the Zombie driver by now, since he also appears in the Vampyre Hearse (which is already abundant with cool minifigures), a polybag and next month's Lego Store Exclusive. Still, any zombie, even one as specific as this, is a pretty good armybuilder to me. I don't mind having two.

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The Zombie groom has unique face and torso prints, and they're very nice, too. Wearing a smug expression and a torn and rotten wedding tuxedo, it looks like he's ready to continue right where he left off.

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Features a delicious backprint.

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The Zombie Bride is a definite star. I don't believe we've had this hair in this particular colour before. I personally think it's a rather dull colour, but it fits the theme, and indeed the minifig, perfectly on this wonderful occasion. Also included is unique face (sporting a creepy, satisfied expression), torso and wedding gown prints – in fact, every single piece of this minifig is made especially for this set (unless I'm wrong about the hair)!

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The soon-to-be Mrs. Zombie has an alternate, disappointed face, for when Jack storms down the aisle to interrupt her wedding.

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...and the backprint you've all been waiting for (as a zombie, she has no problem posing for this).

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I wouldn't worry too much if I were him; Zombies are notoriously slow.

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You were probably waiting for this: The Zombie ensemble.

The Monster Fighters zombies vary from the Collectible version in that they have hollow eyes rather than bloody ones (except for the bride, who has one of each), and that the teeth they have left are more yellowed. But they're the same colour, and perfectly compatible with each other.

Now, let's have a look at the rest of the parts.

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The contents of bag one, minus the minifigures. Even without knowing what set it is, it wouldn't be a mystery what kind of model these pieces will make.

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I've noticed a trend in bags numbered 2 to contain the rather dreary, boring parts that are necessary to complete the build. At first, this may seem to follow the trend, but if you'll just look again, there's a bunch of SNOT pieces, a number of round 1X1 tiles and a small selection of plates. In this case, I'd rather have an extra Bag 2 than an extra Bag 1.

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Bag 3 provides us with a small number of more or less blend parts, yet parts that are generally useful and always nice to have, anyway.

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Bag 4 is what builds up the main visible part of the building (the mausoleum). Therefore, it includes the mood-setting parts, the decorative elements that are often of particular interest to AFOLS.

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All the parts. Excuse me for a minute while I remove all the parts I don't find very interesting.

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I'm sorry, Technic fans. I personally think Technic is a wonderful system that's just as ingenious as System Lego is, but after a decade of collecting Bionicle, I've grown satisfied. So I'm not really very excited by that kind of pieces anymore.

That is to say, I've given up Technic, but I'd recommend nobody to follow my example.

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Pieces of interest to me. I've included three pieces that aren't particularly new, because you can't get too many cheese slopes, SNOT pieces or simple, regular bricks.

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Pieces of interest to the general public.

I'm not sure whether the 2x1 cheese slope modification piece-thingamajig has been released before in black, though I suspect it has. There's a few new and useful SNOT plates included in light bley, as well as a handful of 1x1 round tiles in light bley and pearl gold. The brick brick is still new enough to be interesting to me (this set includes four), and the metallic silver 1X4 motor brick thingie might be new, since I'm not into Racers.

The GitD spider will probably be interesting to anyone who doesn't already have the Mad Professor And His Monster or the Vampyre Castle (there's our friend again; this one has a lot in common with that set).

The pink moonstone is exclusive to this set, not even included in the Vampyre Castle, and introduces new rules to the game: Now the evil Graaf Von Krolock (the evil vampire) can safely lose one of the evil moonstones, and he will still have enough to open his evil gate through the evil moon. Supposedly, the moonstone is also needed to activate a play feature in this set, as we'll soon see.

That being said, let's get into the build!

The Set

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And we're started! As much as two pages into the build, we have the base for two wheels.

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I'm decidedly fond of how sleek the engine looks at this point, while not even ceasing to be a block! Well done!

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A nice technique is used here.

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The hammer. You have to build two of these for the car, and I personally think they could've been done better; the Technic rod goes all the way through, and I would think it better, both in terms of parts and aestethics, to round of with an inverted 2x2 plate (as in the Samurai Robot of Ninjago) and a regular 2x2 plate, as opposed to the round versions. If you have the pieces, it's an easy modification to make.

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What are we building now? Well, it's a grave, and the beginning of a mechanism.

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The foundation of the mausoleum.

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Lego's designers know which side of the brick brick is the interesting one, and they make sure always to put that on the outside.

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Almost finished! I've tried the mechanism that makes the pot fly out, and learned that it has to be restocked every time you use it. This can be particularly difficult for someone as clumsy as me, especially in such tight space.

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What's that? Up already?

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Unfortunately, the bride doesn't fit in the graves, so it'll have to be her waking up her groom and their driver. I'm ever so slightly disappointed in this, since I figured I'd have the bride and the groom lying in adjacent plots. But alas, it was not to be.

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These are the leftover pieces, of which there are surprisingly many.

I think my commentary has been sufficiently detailed so far, so I'll let the finished set speak for itself...

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...and finally pop that afterlife-changing question we've all been waiting to hear:

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“Will you bury me?”

Edited by Multiverse

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cool review!

When I look at the final image of that set I think I would buy it in an instance if it would only consist of the graveyard and the zombies.

Give it a nice fence instead of the car and add some details to the tombs and it would be much better in my opinion

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It's that long ponytail - it's NEVER practical! It was in one of the figs in Pharoah's Quests's 7325 Cursed Cobra Statue, and stopped her from sitting in the passenger seat in the car. Plus it always seems a lot looser than other hair pieces, and keeps popping off. In my experience anyway.

Your review is decent, except for telling us your overall thoughts of the set. Is it worth the price? Are the action features good, or too gimmicky? Should people fork out for it?

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It's that long ponytail - it's NEVER practical! It was in one of the figs in Pharoah's Quests's 7325 Cursed Cobra Statue, and stopped her from sitting in the passenger seat in the car. Plus it always seems a lot looser than other hair pieces, and keeps popping off. In my experience anyway.

Your review is decent, except for telling us your overall thoughts of the set. Is it worth the price? Are the action features good, or too gimmicky? Should people fork out for it?

Actually, the gown is far more in the way than the ponytail is. You can fit, say, the S2 lifeguard in there and almost close it completely, but it'll look odd if you try to stuff anything with a dress in there (you're right, it is impractical in that PQ set (although as a redhead, I think that was worth it for the recolour)). :classic:

Well, my original idea was to present the reader with the contents of the set and let you decide for yourselves (that's what I mean by 'letting the finished set speak for itself'). I don't want to give ratings, but I'd say that it was definitely worth it for me. :sweet:

@Harakiri - Thanks! :classic:

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Thanks for an excellent review 'Multiverse', cool set...perfect for the Addams Family eh ? :laugh: Only thing missing was MJ ! :laugh:

Great rising from the dead play feature, goodness kids are going to love that ! :laugh:

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Gee, how did a photo from my wedding album get here ? :devil::laugh:

Edited by lightningtiger

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EXCEPTIONAL review!!! Very thorough and your pics look great!

I've been on the fence with this set, but your close-up looks at the figs make it very, very tempting indeed! Thanks!

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Nice review 'Multiverse'! :sweet:

This is the gem of the Monster Fighters line. The figures are amazing, the exclusiven moonstone is great, and even the structure is pretty cool. :thumbup:

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A fun review to read. Thanks for putting it together :thumbup:

I will for sure be buying a couple copies of this set. The figs are just great and so are the special parts.Finally now that Monster Fighters has arrived, we can all afford a zombie army!

Just as a small critique, hope you don't mind, try to get some more light to the front of the minifigs when you take those closeup photos. That way it's easier for us to see the details. :wink:

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Ah, thank you. I've been waiting for a review of this. I do believe that I shall pick it up when I have a bit of cash to spare. :thumbup:

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Now that I've seen this review, I'm simply astounded that TLG released such a macabre set. And I do mean "astounded" as in, "good for you, TLG fellas!". Best of the Monster Hunters line by far, IMO. I know a lot of people have fallen in love with MH, but it just hasn't tickled me. This set is just amazing, though. I'm happy that for once, the set I've most fallen in love with is not one of the theme's most expensive sets (curse you, Harry Potter!).

Multiverse, I really liked the way you did your review and enjoyed reading what you wrote. It's a very fresh aproach. Nice pictures, too.

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Excellent review on all counts! Your photos are clear and bright. Your text was both informative and funny. I loved the last picture and it's caption. :laugh:

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Thanks for the compliments, everybody! I enjoyed writing it, and I'm glad to know you enjoyed reading it! =D

Thanks for an excellent review 'Multiverse', cool set...perfect for the Addams Family eh ? :laugh:

Funny you should say that - I found myself thinking of the Addams Family theme while building this. :laugh:

Just as a small critique, hope you don't mind, try to get some more light to the front of the minifigs when you take those closeup photos. That way it's easier for us to see the details. :wink:

Oh, thanks. I'm a bit of a novice to photographing (and I'm not used to such a good camera as this one) so it's nice to have some advice on that. =)

I'm happy that for once, the set I've most fallen in love with is not one of the theme's most expensive sets (curse you, Harry Potter!).

(Curse you, Castle!)

(Curse you, Lord of The Rings!)

(Curse indeed you, Harry Potter!)

(And actually, Curse you, Monster Fighters!), since I'm even deeper in love with both the Vampyre Castle and the Haunted House than with this one.

(At the same time, bless-bless-bless bless all those lines. And that's coming from an atheist! :laugh: )

Edited by Multiverse

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Very nice set,unfortunately my limited budget only allows me to collect one Lego line so I chose my first love,DC Superheroes!

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Just got this one. It is a macabre delight. The crypt has just the right touches of detailing. The monsters rising from the grave looks great. (here's a hint, stage your wedding party standing and stock the coffins with skellies if you have any. This little set will be moved down to the public spaces for Halloween in my house. Something that is just not done.

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Just got this one. It is a macabre delight. The crypt has just the right touches of detailing. The monsters rising from the grave looks great. (here's a hint, stage your wedding party standing and stock the coffins with skellies if you have any. This little set will be moved down to the public spaces for Halloween in my house. Something that is just not done.

Sounds like a nice little setup. ^_^

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I've enjoyed this set MORE than I thought I would-- especially the little truck/train/hammer thing. The hammers are weird and of course you want to take them off, but it really is a clever design and it's hard to argue the playability.

FWIW-- Target USA currently has an offer for a $10 gift card for any $39.99 purchase, but for whatever reason this set doesn't qualify for the card offer (I'm guessing because it was a Target exclusive). So I ruffled my feathers a little with the sales associate, and after a quick call to the manager they offered to sell it to me with a $10 reduction in lieu of the card-- so I got it for $29.99! Definitely worth that price!

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Excellent review! Im definitely decided on getting this set after seeing this. I cant wait!

One question...

You said:

'We should all know the Zombie driver by now, since he also appears in the Vampyre Hearse (which is already abundant with cool minifigures), a polybag and next month's Lego Store Exclusive.'

What exactly is meant by this? What is their store exclusive going to be? Where can details about them be found?

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Excellent review! Im definitely decided on getting this set after seeing this. I cant wait!

One question...

You said:

'We should all know the Zombie driver by now, since he also appears in the Vampyre Hearse (which is already abundant with cool minifigures), a polybag and next month's Lego Store Exclusive.'

What exactly is meant by this? What is their store exclusive going to be? Where can details about them be found?

I'm afraid wrote this review in the beginning of August, so the set I was talking about isn't available that way anymore. =(

I believe it was said somewhere that next month's exclusive is going to be something christmas-inspired, like what they did last November, if that's any help.

But I'm glad to hear that my review helped you settle your mind! Thanks for the compliment. =)

Edited by Multiverse

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Ugh!

I saw those discounts earlier this week and thought they would be around this weekend. I went today to see if I could get a deal on this set too but it was not to be had.

:ugh:

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Does anyone know why this set disappeared from S@H for all European countries - it is still available in USA?. Is it a shop exclusive or something?

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Does anyone know why this set disappeared from S@H for all European countries - it is still available in USA?. Is it a shop exclusive or something?

In the US it's a Target store exclusive.

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awww ffs... what a bloody joke... Do I have any hope of getting this set in the UK at a reasonable price close to its RRP now?! All the Argos are out of stock :angry:

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