PHOTO REVIEWS: Sonic Phantom & Gate Assault

[The Middleman]

NOTE ON STICKERS: The sticker sheets for all of these sets are bigger than any piece in the set. Placing them is painstaking and aggravating, and would tilt my review so much that I didn't even bother factoring them in. There are so many in each set that they have to devote 2-3 pages showing where to place them, complete with corresponding numbering on the sticker sheet. It's bad. Still, don't let that completely dissuade you; stickers can always be left off.

Don't read these reviews expecting them to be pretty. I have a standing bias against Exo-Force. I'm not going to go easy on these sets.

That said, let's start with the one you've already seen. I applied all stickers to all sets, so even this should be a little new.

GATE ASSAULT

The Figs

Side View

Back View

The droid is good for parts fodder. The arms, mostly - perfect fingers for mechs, or joints, or whatever. They're fantastic. the rest is awful - the head is inseparable from the body, and the legs have 1x2 bases... very inconvenient. The arms will definitely be put to use, though.

Opposite Faces

Let me be very clear, I loathe these things. From their spiky little heads to their oversized eyes. I love good anime, but this is just sickening. The hair is made from something rubbery, and doesn't stay on very well. The hair doesn't cover up the face on the back, either. The torsos aren't so bad, I can see them being put to use elsewhere.

The Ram

Back View

This is the worst of the vehicles. The head trick is nifty, but it doesn't make up for the crap/i] that makes up the rest of the thing. The BIONICLE torso armor on the sides isn't lodged in, just rests there. The 'gun' on top is useful for parts fodder, with the four black barrels. Other than that, this is bad.

The White Mech

Back View

This isn't so bad. All the pieces are pretty useful, and the structure isn't that bad for the size. The back is awful, though - this is consistent with the other small mech. The hand is great, too - FOUR silver arms!

The Red Mech

Back View[/img]

Pretty much the same as the other, except the shoulder pieces on this one are a bit more ridiculous. Still, every piece of dark red is precious, eh? Two more of those nice barrel pieces, and some of those missile ends that are showing up in Exo-Force.

The Gate

The build of this thing is retarded. I hate those huge wedge pieces. It's also flimsy.

Right Gun

I love this gun. The binocular-holding build is reeeeeeally cool.

More of those nice missile bases on the gun. The missle mech is nifty, but doesn't work well; the idea is that the ram busts open the door and the door pushes into the ball joint hooked up to the gun, which then fires (hopefully into the ram). Doesn't usually work out.

These are nifty as well.

This view really shows how horrible this gate is.

FINAL VERDICT: 6.3/10

Figs: 6/10

Pieces: 6/10

Set: 6/10

Playability: 9/10

This set is not worth $30. I can use some of the stuff, so I don't particularly regret buying it, but the more selective LEGO buyer will likely be disappointed, as I was. Buy at your own risk.

More to come.

[The Middleman]

SONIC PHANTOM

The Fig

Rather cool, but pretty useless. That is a red axel in the back of the droid's head. Two more silver arms to my count, which is always a good thing.

The Phantom

The Engines

Side View

The new turbine-ish pieces are odd. I can't think of many uses for them, especially mottled as they are. I'm sure somebody will think of something, but I've only got a couple ideas myself.

Back guns

These things are neat - the rotors rotate independently from the guns.

The Body

Pretty bad. Not much substance to it, and what is there isn't that useful. Note the light brick on the right; it's actually not locked in. Turning this thing over will send it tumbling out. It uses a battery similar (if not identical to) the LULS. It remains to see if it is more easily replaceable.

Back View

Note the 'handle.' Pretty unsightly, although practical.

Bottom View

Close-up of mechanism

Pull the 'trigger,' and it sends the missile flying as the ball joint on top presses down to...

... light it up. Fairly neat.

FINAL VERDICT: 6.4/10

Fig: 6/10

Pieces: 6/10 (lots of TECHNIC)

Set: 7/10

Playability: 9/10

Slightly less bad than the Gate Assault, although much less SYSTEM in this one. Again, buy at own risk.

The fun ones coming up.

[Deinonychus]

Great pics!

I'm thinking with a few slight modifications, the Sonic Phantom would make a decent Star Wars Podracer

[kotua]

IC: I agree about the robot arms. They make good fingers...as for the figs...I thought Lego was all about safety...Those minfigs don't have helmets! odd...Good thing I have spare white helmets...I don't like two faced figs....they always have to have something to cover up the other face...pity. Is the robot body in the Sonic Phantom set slightly green, or is it just me?

[The Middleman]

IC: I agree about the robot arms. They make good fingers...as for the figs...I thought Lego was all about safety...Those minfigs don't have helmets! odd...Good thing I have spare white helmets...I don't like two faced figs....they always have to have something to cover up the other face...pity. Is the robot body in the Sonic Phantom set slightly green, or is it just me?

Yep, it transitions from pearl light grey to trans-bright green. Thunder Fury has a droid with the same in red.

[snefroe]

thanks for the reviews, j! :oD

i guess this theme is a "love it or hate it" theme. i don't particularly think it's interesting...

[Dragon King]

Thanks the sonic phantom looks pretty cool.

[xwingyoda]

Here is a really cool pic of the alternate model of the Phantom: the Speeder Phantom ;)

[snefroe]

i've got the model here in front of me and i have to say, it's bad... it's a gun with four rotors on it. it's not a real minifig model, it's meant to be used as a gun and that's it. yes, you can put a minifig on it, but it doesn't really make it any different. it doesn't have the credebility of a space ship or whatever it's supposed to be. it's a lego model in its most extreme "playability" version...

the rotors a huge, but they're terribly painted. it's not dark grey, or bley or black, the outer circle is black, the inner circle is grey but i'm not even sure it's one of the shades we know of. then they added these "clouds" of grey for the outer circle and black for the inner circle... i'm not sure what it's supposed to be. anyway, they pretty ruin all the possibility of using these parts for much else...

the stickers are a nuasance. i think a lot of dads are going to be annoyed by these...

i like these robots, but not the one of this set. the torso is again painted in an unfamiliar shade of grey, but it's either not done very well or perhaps it was ment that way, but you clearly see trans yellow bellow the gray paint. i don't know why it's there and i don't really see any use for it...

one good thing: the gun works!

i'd give it a 3/10, because i'm such a nice person...

[jmadd58]

On the Gate Assault robot car thing, the BIONICLE chest armor is lodged in by a 3 length pin. You must have built it wrong.

[Siegfried]

On the Gate Assault robot car thing, the BIONICLE chest armor is lodged in by a 3 length pin. You must have built it wrong.

Don't bump topics for silly reasons. Bloody Jay hasn't posted for 2.5 years so I doubt he, or anyone, cares that you think he has built it wrong.

[RoboPretzel]

I like the reviews, Jay. Sorry to see you're not on Eurobricks anymore.

Personally, I'm seeing no problem with the builds of the smaller mechs (in the first review here).

If you don't like the way the back looks, that's fine, but the reason it was done that way is because of the seeming lack of ball joints at the time, which would be featured one year later.

(I say seeming because Bionicle uses ball joints, and that theme was released in 2001.)

The designers of the sets had to find a way to make it so that it doesn't take up too much of a parts count and still functions well in terms of posing.

Now, about the little buggy that the robots drive and the gate missile gimmick, I can't truly say what I think because I don't have the set, but I guess it would be pretty cool to have in real life.

[Bob De Quatre]

I like the reviews, Jay. Sorry to see you're not on Eurobricks anymore.

Personally, I'm seeing no problem with the builds of the smaller mechs (in the first review here).

If you don't like the way the back looks, that's fine, but the reason it was done that way is because of the seeming lack of ball joints at the time, which would be featured one year later.

(I say seeming because Bionicle uses ball joints, and that theme was released in 2001.)

The designers of the sets had to find a way to make it so that it doesn't take up too much of a parts count and still functions well in terms of posing.

Now, about the little buggy that the robots drive and the gate missile gimmick, I can't truly say what I think because I don't have the set, but I guess it would be pretty cool to have in real life.

When bumping a 10 years old thread, you could at least read the last comment posted! First and last warning from me.

Don't bump topics for silly reasons. Bloody Jay hasn't posted for 2.5 years so I doubt he, or anyone, cares that you think he has built it wrong.