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Masked Builder

Review: 7052 UFO Abduction

On a scale 1 to 5  

16 members have voted

  1. 1. How Do You Rate This Set?

    • 1 - Like getting abducted by aliens!
      0
    • 2- Below Average
      0
    • 3- Average
      4
    • 4- Above Average
      6
    • 5 - Like repelling the alien invasion!
      6
  2. 2. Which Alien is better?

    • - The Pilot
      11
    • - The Trooper
      5


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This set was the set I had wanted from the first time I saw the picture of the line. I had immediately fallen in love with the well working function, the Alien, and the Alien Defense Unit guy. Okay okay, I know I just mentioned figures only, but it's not like I'm becoming a mini Clone O'Patra! :laugh: Still I really think this is one of the best looking sets of the line. Let's see if I still think so after building it!

Name: UFO Abduction

Set Number: 7052

Pieces: 211

Price: $29.99

Ages: 7-14

Minifigs: 3

Theme: Alien Conquest

Year of Release: 2011

Bricklink

Peeron

Brickset

S@H

Brickshelf folder with more pictures.

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Stop the alien abduction!

The alien defense unit soldier is on a mission to stop the UFO as it tries to abduct the poor farmer! Watch out, the UFO’s illuminated tractor beam is fired up to capture him! Fire the flick missile before the alien brings the frightened farmer on board and spins his ship into space. If the UFO lands on the farmer, he’ll be trapped inside!

* Includes 3 minifigures: alien defense unit soldier, farmer with pitchfork and alien trooper

* Alien UFO features illuminated tractor beam

* Includes LEGO® bricks to build roadblocks

* Land on minifigures to take them prisoner in the UFO with the abduction function!

Box:

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The front of the box has the usual art, as well as the very lovely Alien Conquest logo. (Which if you haven't noticed I like a bunch) We also see the ADU trooper trying to shoot down the UFO before it can abduct the human.

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Here on the back we again see the ADU trooper trying to shoot the UFO down, but this time the farmer is now in the UFO. His day is not shaping up well. We also see the function displayed out for us in the three boxes in the bottom left corner.

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On the front of the box in the upper right hand corner we see this very nice picture of the Alien included in this set. From the words under him, we learn that he's an Alien Pilot. This seems like a great idea for LEGO to do for the younger fans as it gives them something specific for this Alien to do.

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In the bottom right hand corner we have this very nice picture of the light function of the ship. I think that LEGO has done well in including this. Sure it does clutter up the front of the box a bit but not really any more than normal.

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And we've made it to the top of the box. Here we see the three figs included in the set as well as a very interesting 1:1 image. I think that the pitchfork here as the 1:1 image is a great and fun idea, very different from the usual minifigure.

Contents:

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So, from the box we get; two baggies, (they're numbered would you look at that!), a manual and sticker sheet, very nicely bent up as well :hmpf_bad: , and the loose cockpit piece. I'm now very confused as to what LEGO is doing with the instructions. My impression was that all sets were going to have the instructions and sticker on some cardboard, but I guess not.

Manual:

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Now we're too the manual. As always, we see the same art as the front of the box. I never grow tired of seeing the art again on the manual because it helps me find the manual when I go and look for it.

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The first page in the manual is used for safety warnings and how to change the battery in the light brick. While I've never gotten a light brick in a set before, at least not this kind, I seem to remember the Exo-Force manuals having something very similar.

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Across the bottom of every page there's some nice Alien writing. I think that this really adds to the whole "Alien" feel of the set. It is somewhat hard to see, but hey you're supposed to be building the set!

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Now for a nice random instruction page. I found no inconsistencies, or had any difficultly in deciphering the colors in my manual. Looks like LEGO has been working on their color control.

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The same art that appears on the back of the box appears again in the manual. I can understand why LEGO did this, to make sure the kiddies understood how to use the function, but I'm not too sure about seeing it again.

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Here we see the same art as in the other Alien Conquest set I reviewed. I find it much more interesting to look at when it's bigger as you can see more of the details. And just like the Power Miners there's a little check box so the kiddies can keep track of all the sets they've gotten.

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And on the opposite page we have this very fun image of an ADU trooper using the computer! Why he's shooting at it I don't know. Maybe he thinks the Aliens on the screen are real? Aside from that, there's a nice banner across the bottom showing the Alien Conquest web site URL.

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And the very cool art that appeared in some other sets before the line was released makes an appearance here. I like this ad, it has a very nice battle feel to it, but I think I like the other one better, because it's got all of the sets rather than just some of them.

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Here we have the sticker sheet. There are twelve of them, like you guys couldn't count them :tongue: , not the biggest sticker sheet but definitely not the smallest one either.

Minifigures:

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Here's a nice frontal view of the three minifigures included in this set. They all appeal to my quite well, hey they're the reason I got this set, and I'm very happy with the design of most of them. All feature new torso prints and the Farmer has some nice new overall, design. I can't wait to see this used in a MOC!

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Now I bet you were expecting to see some of the farmers opposite head from underneath the hair. Well, as it turns out he doesn't have a non-freaked out face! This was a very odd surprise to me, and after looking over Bricklink I discovered that he isn't supposed to have another side too his head! This is the only part of the minifgures that I'm not happy with. I wanted a neutral face for this guy as his moustache is so cool.

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Here I've removed the Alien's head and the ADU figures helmet so you can see their print better. I think that the ADU figures head has one of the cooler expressions we've seen on a minifigure, not really a mad or raging face, just a simple, "not too sure what is going on face."

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We have here a comparison between the two "normal" Alien figures that I have. The one on the left, as you have learned already, is the Alien Trooper, while the one on the right is the Alien Pilot. I really prefer the Alien Pilot because of the way cooler head mould.

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Look what he can do with his head! This is one of the coolest looking, in my opinion anyways, things that a LEGO minifigure can do. Not a bad trick huh?

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Here's a nice comparison picture between my two ADU trooper figures. As you can see the only difference is the head. But hey, I think it makes sense that only a few of the troopers would have special armor.

Parts:

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Okay now to the new parts. The first thing that stood out too me in the parts for this set was the dark grey 1/4 circular slant bricks. I can see many good uses of these for me, and other builders too. We also have the new transclear visor, the new gun, the transclear dome, a pitchfork, a trasngreen antenna, which aren't really new it's just cool to see them in a set again, and the 1/4 curve brick, this one is new to me if you can believe it :tongue: , and the rubbery spike piece.

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And since I now have every type of ray gun that LEGO has made, here's a nice comparison picture. The Aliens ray gun is on the bottom. As you can see it's in-between the Series 1 Spaceman, and Series 3 Cyborg ray gun colors.

The Build:

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Now I finally get to build the set! I don't think you really need to see a build picture for this, but I'm showing you what these look like before I put the stickers on. (Yes, I'm going to be putting the stickers on this set) All very simple to build, nothing hard at all.

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Here we see the UFO go from nothing to almost ready for the cockpit. I did notice that while I was building LEGO has you put the lime green bricks with the black tooth piece, seen in the lower righthand corner, at an angle. If I recall correctly I've never seen LEGO do this before. It really does add to the "cool" factor of the set.

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And here we can see the cockpit being built and the UFO finished! This built quite quickly, and most of what you did was level by level, almost like a building.

Completed Model:

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Now that we've finished building, let's look at the barricade. Now I'm not sure how this is supposed to stop the UFO, it could just fly over it, but it does add a cool "let's try to stop the UFO" feel to the set. The stickers on here have a nice beat up look to them which adds to the set.

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And of course this couldn't be a LEGO set without a flick-fire missile! :tongue: Okay, seriously though, this one could actually work as some sort of missile defense system. Not bad LEGO not bad.

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Okay now we've made it too the UFO. The stickers really add to this set for me. (Hence why I put them on) The ones on the side have a nice damaged look to them that really gives the UFO a feeling of having been through some action.

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And a view of the back. As you can see, well I hope you can, the back of the upper cockpit section is not built the same way as the front. Those 1/4 curve bricks are only present on the front.

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Now that I've lifter the cockpit up you can see inside it a bit better. The first thing I notice is that most of the inside of the cockpit is taken up by the light brick function. While this isn't a bad thing I think it would have been cool to stick a few more Aliens in here and call it a "landing party."

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Here's a shot of the very convenient, weapon holder. Unlike the Star Wars weapon holders this one is not holding it in the weirdest place of the ship ruining the whole aerodynamics of the ship.

Function:

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So now I'll show the function. In my opinion, this is one of the coolest and best working functions of all of the sets I've gotten. By pressing this little knob, you light the light brick.

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Which makes this cool little "X" pattern over our poor farmer. I wonder what's going through his head......

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Then the "hand-of-god" lowers the UFO onto the farmer, thus abducting him. Okay not the way I think abduction should work, being raised into the air by a tractor beam type thing, but this is really quite nice for LEGO.

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Those four prongs hold him in while the UFO flies off with the very distraught farmer. And do note that this holds him in very well and you could shake this quite hard and it would be a stretch to make him fall out.

Final Thoughts:

Now that we've built the set I'm still very happy with it. The design of the UFO is great and the minifigures are too. While this set wasn 't at all what I had originally thought it would be, I'm still very happy with the way LEGO designed it. I may be turning into a "minifigure freak" like Cloney'O, but hey why not? Minifigures are great!

Ratings:

Playability: 10/10 Like I've said before the function is this set is great, very well thought out on LEGOs part, and a nice sturdy design that could survive most little kiddies.

Design: 9/10 The only reason this got a nine out of ten is because of the ADU pitiful defense barricade. I mean come one LEGO! It’s not like the UFO is a car or anything that rolls along the ground.

Price: 10/10 I feel the price point for this set is great. For $30 you get three all new minifigures, a UFO, with some rareish parts I might add, and a little barricade.

Minifigures: 10/10 While I may have not said this outright, you may have noticed that, like Clone O'Patra, I get sets mostly for the minifigures. And these minifigures are amazing. Great design and some very nice printing jobs too.

Parts: 9/10 There was a fair number of new/rare parts in this set that made me quite happy with the parts selection. Who doesn't like the new 1/4 circle bits in dark bley?

Total: 48/50 A forty-eight out of fifty, not too shabby for a mid-sized set. Boy I love to give out high scores! :grin:

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"What's wrong with your face?"

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First class review. I've seen enough of this set to say that it is one really cool set, but at $40 CAD, I don't think it's worth that much. Maybe I'll be tempted when I head state side.

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This set is one of those that I really like, but I cannot bear to pay full price for it. I will pick it up on sale for sure, and just like the Toy Story Pizza Truck I'm sure it will be great despite its very poor price to parts ratio.

The minifigs are what I love the most about the set, but the flying saucer is very classic as well. The farmer is such a detailed civilian minifig, and would be great in a town setting, he beats all the underwhelming and outright boring city minifigs we get served year in and year out with the same ten torsos repeating themselves. The other two are also great, with the ADU guys being awesome army builders useful for so many sci-fi MOCs, and the aliens look pretty cool.

All in all a great review of a decent set that I suspect I will find a positive surprise when I finally purchase it.

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Thank you all!

First class review. I've seen enough of this set to say that it is one really cool set, but at $40 CAD, I don't think it's worth that much. Maybe I'll be tempted when I head state side.

Thanks! You should, well if you ask me. :tongue:

This set is one of those that I really like, but I cannot bear to pay full price for it. I will pick it up on sale for sure, and just like the Toy Story Pizza Truck I'm sure it will be great despite its very poor price to parts ratio.

The minifigs are what I love the most about the set, but the flying saucer is very classic as well. The farmer is such a detailed civilian minifig, and would be great in a town setting, he beats all the underwhelming and outright boring city minifigs we get served year in and year out with the same ten torsos repeating themselves. The other two are also great, with the ADU guys being awesome army builders useful for so many sci-fi MOCs, and the aliens look pretty cool.

All in all a great review of a decent set that I suspect I will find a positive surprise when I finally purchase it.

I hope it works out for you!

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I have to say, Alien Conquest is shaping up to be an AWESOME theme!

Not only is every vehicle and figure bristling with weapons, which as a bit of a "Building Block Combat" nut I can't get enough of due to the Lego Company not wanting to make "War" toys, but I could see this being a really kick-butt video game.

And not a simple platformer like the franchise tie-in games, but a multi-player vehicle first-person shooter similar to Halo and it's ilk, where players choose ether ADU or Invader and then battle across various destructible Lego-scapes while trying to ether defend or abduct Computer controlled Civilians.

They could even thrown in a bit of customization, with the three main figure types (ADU Soldier/Alien Trooper, ADU/Alien Pilot, and ADU Comp. Spec./Alien Cyborg) providing different attributes and abilities, while vehicles could have various modular weapons and systems that you need to scrounge the map for parts to make.

Now on to the review.

I'm not going to say which Alien Mini-fig I like best yet, as I've yet to open up the Alien Striker set I got yesterday and don't know what the Trooper will be like, but there is something that bugs me about the Pilot.

His forward mounted head makes it very difficult to pose him like he's going to actually shoot something with his Ray Gun while he's standing up.

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when Lego gives mini-figures accessories they ether can't believably hold or are awkward looking when they can, like the Blaster Rifles I got with my 7913 Clone Trooper Battle Pack.

Speaking of 7913, I'm reminded of another pet peeve of mine, Mini-figs not matching the set they're packaged with!

Ok, that isn't present in this set, 7051 Tripod Invader, or my 7050 Alien Defender, since the Alien Pilots are both operating what are clearly flying craft, the Alien Trooper is in a vehicle that looks like it was designed for ground combat, and it wouldn't be out of place for the ADU Sergeant to get to the scene of an abduction first or the ADU Computer Specialist to operate one of their anti-air buggies...

...But when a figure labeled the "ADU Pilot" isn't even in a set that has an ADU Aircraft, that's just...

GAAAAAHHH!!!

WHY ARE THERE TWO BOMB TROOPERS IN AN ARMY BUILDER PACK?!?!

...It's also a bit annoying that the Alien Trooper is the one Piloting the 7049 Alien Striker, instead of being the one on the "Mini Hover Bike" packaged with the 7050 Alien Defender.

Anyways, back to the review...

While you might think the barricades are a stupid defence against flying saucers, I don't think those are suppose to be for the Aliens.

They're probably roadblocks meant to keep Civilians from driving into the fight, insuring that the ADU doesn't have to worry about people getting into the crossfire.

Yeah, the Sergeant probably could have used a little missile buggy, but with the light element it probably would have pushed up the price point.

In conclusion, I must thank you Masked Builder.

I actually found this thread looking for leads as to what the "Flick Fire" part of the "Flick Fire Missles" was really named, as I have been inspired and am trying to build an ADU Mecha in LDD...

You've provided that lead, and now my machine can rain missle-y death upon the Xeno scum!!!

Edited by Whiteagle

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A great review Masked, I particularly like the pics showing off the light function and the abduction hole, very nice! I think we are a way off Lego tractor beam bricks so this method works for me :laugh:

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