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Every archvillain's dream: a giant robot. Dr. Inferno seems to have fulfilled his personal vision with a agent-mashing machine of doom, but how does it compare to the rest of the giant robots out there? Does it stand true and tall, torching harmless civilians and secret agents alike, or does it fall in an ungainly heap, allowing its controller to be captured? That, dear reader, is up to you... which is it?
Name: Robo Attack
Theme: Agents 2.0
Year: 2009 (summer)
Pieces: 414
Minifigures: 6
Price: USD 49.99, GBP 31.29, EUR 44.99
I'm quite delighted with this set; the premise of a giant robot itself is enough for me, but when the parts are laid out one discovers that the set is worth it for them alone. Add to that the set itself, and it becomes an Outstanding from me. A plane-thing, a four-wheeler, a giant robot (or mecha in this situation? Human-controlled?)...what more could one want from a set?
The Box
Front
An atypical box is found with this set: it's square. Which means that it's a pain to photograph. However, the shape does indeed work, so I must truly forgive TLC. The normal set number, name, piece count, etc. may be found, along with the Agents comic (pictured below) and a nice silhouette of the robot in a green disk instead of a mission number. The box's dimensions are quite impressive, a massive 15"x14". The sides of the box have the normal minifigure lineup and Lego Club advertisement, while the back of the box shows the summer 2009 Agents 2.0 lineup and the features of the set: flick-fire missiles, closing claws, light-up fire and escape pods.
Comic
Back
The Instructions
Front
A standard instruction booklet with the same picture as the box...
Ad in the back
...but with an ad for 8971 and its comic?
Parts Manifest
Of course, the (quite long) parts manifest is present, and the book has the standard "Win Lego Products!" advertisement on the back.
Instruction Page (random)
The instructions are quite easy-to-follow, and the colors are easy to tell apart- even more so than some recent sets, it would seem.
The Sticker Sheet
My sticker sheet was bent and so two Duplos were required to hold it flat for me, but one may still see the plethora of stickers that adorn the set. I have applied them all, and it looks a fair sight better than a blank robot. And now let me digress: the terror of sticker sheets is no more for me, as I have created a method by which stickers may be applied easily: all that is required is the tweezers from a standard Victorinox knife and some sort of clean cloth. Wipe the part on which the sticker is to be applied with the cloth, and then pick up and apply the sticker using the tweezers; I have found that this makes my stickers straighter and much faster to apply. They even stay on for longer!
The Parts
Overall
This set has some delightful parts, so I'll go through bag by bag to show you just what you get for your money. Pictures of what I consider 'interesting' parts may be found in the Brickshelf gallery.
Bag One
Bag One: special parts include various hair pieces, torsos (expanded upon in the minfigures section) and the orange jet-engine, and two yellow cheese-graters.
Bag Two
Bag Two: special parts here are the new arch-things, the large saucers, and the black piece commonly used to hold the wings on a TIE fighter.
Bag Three
Bag Three: interesting parts are the black octagonal thing (used originally in a Johnny Thunder set in tan), the delightful clear dome, two black-with-silver grille pieces, two printed 1x4 plate tiles, and four trans-orange smooth disk-things.
Bag Four
Bag Four: fun bits are the trans-orange SNOT brick, the flame piece, two trans-orange 2x2 round pieces, a bunch of odd 1x2 pieces with flarey things on them, the light brick, and the black hollow cone-piece.
Enough about the parts. What about the set?
The Build
The build was quite fun for me, and held quite a few surprises- I wasn't expecting it to be that complex. Which is probably a good thing. A few WIP pictures, then:
WIPs
Overall, a very nice build.
The Minifigures
The minifigures in this set are quite nice, with a two faces and three torsos that I, for one, have never seen.
Civilians Front
All three torsos are quite nice; the Classic Spaceman especially is a wonderful touch. That dark red hair is a delightful sight as well, and the heads on both men are rather nice.
Frightened Civilians Front
As one may observe, all three heads are double-sided.
Civilians Backs
Two torsos are back-printed, and as you can see, the traditional male hairpiece is too short to cover both sides of the face, a slight disappointment. Apologies for the slight blurriness; my camera wouldn't focus on them.
Agents
The Agents: both their typical figs except for Chase's new vest.
Vest (Back)
The back of Chase's vest, with its stud connection.
Sorry about the lack of an Inferno picture- he was busy in his robot at the time. I sent him a few memos, but you know, these supervillains nowadays just don't have time for photo shoots when they've got brand-new giant robots to toast people with.
Extra Parts/Accessories
As one may see, the set comes with two guns, a camera, and a bunch of extra parts. Accessories on the left, extras on the right.
The Mini-Vehicles
The Four-Wheeler
Chase's four-wheeler thing. Not too complex, but it provides a mean of tripping the robot with its grappling hook/line:
Four-Wheeler Back
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back's AT-AT disposal method, anyone?
A fun little vehicle: it serves its purpose, not really lacking anything.
The Plane Thing
Trace's plane-thing. Those are flick-fire missiles on its wings. I don't quite get how the it would take off, though, having no landing gear- if the turbines were pointed straight up, wouldn't it just flip right over?
Plane Thing Angle
One may see the turbines better from this angle. If anyone's wondering, that sticker on the slope of the plane says 'eject', but apparently has no purpose whatsoever in ejecting.
Plane Thing Front
And just a quick frontal view.
And now onto the meat of the set: the robot.
The Robot
The whole business. I'll start with the head and move on from there. It may look stiff and ungainly in this picture, but it's actually quite poseable, with great balance.
Top (Closed Dome)
The dome closed. If one looks closely, one may be able to discern my distorted reflection in it- that thing's quite shiny.
Top (Open Dome)
Now you can see all of the controls necessary to pilot a giant robot. Those are all printed, by the way, and you get two extra of the 1x1s. That platform in the middle for Inferno to sit on is actually an escape pod, the second of two. I'll get to the first in a minute.
Escape Pod Front
The escape pod. You can see the screen better from the next picture; the wing-things are really supposed to be level with the seat, but they need to be down for balance.
Escape Pod Back
Here you can see the screen better. Looks like the plane-thing is Inferno's #1 target!
Now, onto the flame arm.
Entire Flame Arm
The entire arm.
Flame Arm Emitter
Just the flame-emitter portion. You can see the three settings, but what about 'broil'? Or 'bake'?
Flame Lit-Up
The flame lit up. As one may see, the entire flame can light up, and the light-brick even still projects a bit farther past it.
Claw Arm
The claw-arm. Those are silver triangular pieces, not light bley. The claw can rotate freely, almost a little too freely for serious posing, but that can be easily remedied- I already have.
Damsel-Snatching
It's quite good at snatching up damsels, as you can see, which is accomplished by the gap in the 'teeth' of the claw.
Robot Body
The main body of the robot. But what are those thrusters there for...?
Robot Body Separation
Yes, the other escape pod.
Robot Body Separated
Both pieces together. I would suppose that this feature could be used to rocket up to duel the plane, or to wreak havoc in with skyscrapers, or just to run away.
Upper Torso Thrusters
The thrusters on the upper torso.
Hips
And the base of the torso. Nothing really too interesting there, but that axle goes into a hole on the bottom of the large black octagonal piece.
Legs
More of the legs....
Feet
And the feet. These are quite stable, enabling posing.
Robot Back, Full
And a back view, which refuses to rotate properly- I have no idea why.
The Whole Business
So, there we are- 8970 Robo Attack.
Final Thoughts & Ratings
The Ratings
Playability/Swooshability: 10/10 (The plane-thing is very swooshable, the whole set has so many features to fiddle with: very nice.)
Design: 9.9/10 (There's one place where I modified it, and that wasn't strictly necessary: a quite nice design overall.)
Price: 9/10 (It could have been $40, as the 10-cents-per-piece rule is what I like to see, but with something this nice $50 is okay. Of course, I'm required to complain about price, so who am I to say?)
Overall: 9.63/10 (I'd say to go for it.)
Links
Shop@Home
Brickset
Peeron
Brickshelf with gobs of pictures
I love this set. Great pieces, great design, great figs, great everything. A highly-poseable wacky giant robot piloted by everyone's favorite Lego archvillain who is pursued by two secret agents with three innocent civilians in the way? Sounds fun. If I were you, I'd be glad to get this set, but of course, that's your decision. So, does this robot compare or despair? Once again, it's up to you; with that, I bid you adieu.
"So you see, we've got a limited-time deal- two escape methods for the price of one. You want it?"
"Hmm.... Let me see.... Yes. One can never be too safe from those accursed Agents with their smug grins and funny vests!"
Edited by WhiteFang, 08 July 2009 - 06:43 AM.
Indexed
) Do you have dimensions for the Robot (stud or inches or mm or cm or whatever)? I need to find it out for my one project to progress and I can't buy the set for a while yet. 
This one and the boat with sharks. If you see this in the store and you want it, you better get it, might be your last chance to get it as it most likely discontinued. (I got this set on clearance.)
