Brickthing Posted July 31, 2013 Set name: CHI Razar Set Number: 70205 Price: $15USD , 15 Euro Pieces: 68 Year of release: 2013 Peeron Bricklink Brickset CHI-up with CHI Razar, a buildable warrior featuring 2 scythes, bladed wings, CHI orb chest armour and massive claws! This summer’s new wave of Chima CHI figures marks the start of LEGO’s second original IP sets/ultrabuilds using the Constraction figure building system. Razar is the prince of the Raven Tribe, and appears to have benefited in his Chi transformation by regrowing his hooked left hand, at least for while in Chi form. The Packaging Front In an effort to stand out from the background and demonstrate how evil he his, Razar has set the world of Chima on fire! Above we see Razar’s minifig form, which has a fair amount less silver and more decorative red, but Chi Razar arguably looks more ferocious with his fully metallic face and beak. Back Thankfully the Chima forest is back to normal again on the back of the bag. This side shows us how Razar can combine with Gorzan, and how minifig Razar activates his larger Chi form (in event of forest fire). The size comparison up the top looks very strange due to the head on angle, but it gets the point across. Contents Pieces Razar comes with the most pieces of the Chima sets, at a total of 68 pieces. This total is mostly made up from 10 5B bones and 10 3M shells, as well as a variety of small Technic pieces, Chima feathers, Silver claws and Gunmetal chain links. Razar doesn’t come with any new bones or shells, with the only new pieces being his raven head and 2 Red hook/axe pieces, which while they’re a very odd shape, they’ll no doubt be used in creative ways on MOCs. Also exclusive is a printed chest piece, which has a simple but effective purple feather pattern overlaid with an evil-energy Chi ball. Razar's beak Razar’s metallic raven head is excellently detailed, and is constructed from two main pieces – one Pearl Silver and one Black, each of which adopt a hard edged style that matches the plain Hero Factory shells. Even though this set doesn’t include them, Razar’s feather pattern works well with the new fur pieces that have been introduced to the Chima and summer Hero Factory sets. Other view Back The back of Razar’s head has a screw-connected socket, and although the head is exposed at the back, the relatively small head size doesn’t leave much open space, which is nice. Build Razar’s construction is quick and easy, since it’s a standard light construction with the exception of the wings, which are very elegantly designed. I appreciate the order that you build the current Constraction sets, where you start with the legs and torso skeleton, before moving around the body with a mixture of bone and shell additions. Once the body is generally complete, you add the head, and then the weapons and extra accessories. This gives you the experience of bringing your character to life, and then arming him for battle, which is appropriate for organic characters such as Razar, compared to the process of Bionicle/Hero Factory character building, where you’d save the head/mask/core for last, since that was what “activated” the character. Even though the building process of smaller Constraction sets is never able to get very complicated, even the most generic build is still finely ordered to give the best experience possible. Finished Set Razar, Prince of the Ravens! Razar is a mean and mischievous creature, and his Chi figure definitely reflects that. He has a lean but aggressive posture, added to by his wide and sharp wings. Side Standing straight, Razar looks slightly uncomfortable from the side, but that’s probably has my posing to blame… You can see how compact the wings are, considering they’re made from regular bones and shells, rather than some new specialized part solution. Unfortunately the blue pins on Razar’s weapons stand out against an otherwise greatly coloured model, but they hold onto the chains well, allowing them to loosely hang from whichever angle Razar holds his blades at. Back Razar’s back is exposed, although it’s less noticeable thanks to the black torso shell. Razar’s underlying skeleton uses more Dark Grey pieces than Black pieces, but the bluish tinge of the Dark Grey goes well with the Purple, so it’s overall not too distracting. I hope that the reinforced joint piece eventually gets recoloured into Black (and vice versa for the thin torso bone). Razar sees something in the distance... As a humanoid raven warrior, Razar looks great in all ranges of stances varying between the postures of both. Here Razar is either stalking unsuspecting prey, or has spotted a shiny silver object. The Caped Crow Razar can fold down his wings into a cape-like tangle, and while it’s quite messy, it’s nice to have the option. Without his wings, he still looks equally intimidating! Cacaw! Thanks to his reinforced hip joints and large clawed feet, it’s easy to pose Razar on one foot, even with the added weight and bulk of his wide wings. He can also look straight up, which is useful for seeing where you’re flying, particularly at high speeds. Combo Set Front Razar combines with 70202 Gorzan to create a larger, more buff Raven, who has a wider wingspan, a tail, and two nasty looking weapons. Mega-Razar’s weapons seem rather mismatched in colour and function, but that’s hardly a complaint worth making when you’re under attack by a giant angry raven. Back Mega-Razar makes use of Gorzan’s Technic pieces to create a new attachment point for his wings, and to add detail to his weapons. They’re probably a bit high up now, but it provides space for the back armouring below. The use of the fur piece as tail feathers is a great touch, which unfortunately isn’t in the regular model. Razar waits, weapons at the ready. Mega-Razar crouches, preparing to jump into pursuit of his fleeing enemies….Despite the bulky torso and legs, Mega-Razar’s arms are still very thin and weak… (The instructions for Razar's combiner can be found here) Final Thoughts Colour Scheme - 9/10 – The colour scheme of black, purple and gunmetal/silver is perfect for Razar, and closely matches the colours used by the minifigs and vehicles of the Raven tribe. It’s great to see purple continuing to show up in sets, although it only appears in a minimal capacity here, limited to 4 feathers, 4 3M shells and the printed chest plate. The brown handles of Razar’s weapons are great, but they’re contrasted by the blue pins used for attaching the chains on the other sides of Razar’s hands. Parts - 7/10 – Razar includes a lot of bones and an impressive total of 15 shells, although 10 of them are the smallest 3M variety. There are a few highlight pieces, such as 5 Silver spikes and 4 chain links, but overall Razar doesn’t provide any useful new or uncommon pieces unlike some of the other Chima sets do. Design - 8/10 – Razar’s design is essentially the same as Eris’, which makes sense considering they’re both bird warriors. As such, Razar suffers from similar flaws, such as an exposed back and generic feet, although the black claws make more sense on Razar, and his chest plate doesn’t interfere too much with his head articulation. Articulation - 10/10 – Razar includes a massive 22 points of articulation, not including the feather rotation or the loose chain movement. Thanks to the excellent Constraction joint system, Razar is able to pull of almost every cool pose you’d want him to be in, from flying through the air to pirouetting on the spot. Quality - 10/10 – All of Razar’s pieces are of excellent quality, and his chest piece printing is top-notch. Even though this socket design as existed for two and a half years now, it’s still a great experience to be able to snap the ball joints together without worrying about broken or weakened sockets. Overall - 44/50 – Like the rest of the Chima sets, Razar is an excellent depiction of an animal warrior, although he doesn’t represent Razar, but rather a generic Raven tribe member. The set is great for posing, fighting and swooshing, and provides the most number of pieces for you money out of the six Chima sets. There are no revolutionary parts included with this set, but Razar will act as a solid booster shot for your HF bone and shell collection, with the added inclusion of some ever welcome Purple. 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Aethersprite Posted July 31, 2013 Thanks for the review! Still on the fence about this set, I'll get him if I have spare funds left. The figure itself is pretty standard, but the wings and all that purple really make him stand out for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted July 31, 2013 Thanks for reviewing this guy! CHI Razar's armor design shows how just a few changes could have been major improvements for CHI Eris. His color scheme is a bit more organized-looking and his legs don't seem nearly as bony. I wonder if CHI Eris's larger weapon was the reason she couldn't include lower leg shells larger than 3M. The combi model for this set is quite neat as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
