Striking Venom

[Lord Thrawn]

I bought the Striking Venom on impulse yesterday after having been impressed by its amazing size in the window display. I wanted to make this into a Covenant Scarab Tank from Halo 2, and the price was very handsome so I went ahead.

So, instantly you can recognise the massive size of this beast, which as I said made me really want this set. The impressive Dark Green is a fitting scheme for this set, and really sets it apart from all the others, yet still inkeeping with the dark tones of the other Robot sets.

The joints on this set are strong, a major factor when you consider the set. It needs to stay standing, and is very stable despite it's seemingly gaunt appearance. This thin factor is actually a minus from a parts point of view, as some of the areas feel a little bare and unfinished, a contrast to the Super Nova. That said, it fits the set so I'm not complaining too much. The size is incredible and still appears bulky enough.

There is a central control center for the main pod, which is manned by two robots who are 'plugged in' in a Matrix style.

Meca One sits in his own cockpit, from which he controls the guns mounted near his pod. This is slightly dissappointing as the head cannot move from side to side. Another minus factor is the lack of Meca One legs, but at least he fits into the cockpit.

The Striking Venom utilises a clever method or Robot deployment. The robots ride the legs and then go down on harnesses.

What goes up...

...Must come down.

Another cool feature is the main gun turret which is set dead center of the hulking Quadroped. A Silver Robot Body is mounted with 2 large gattling guns (which sadly do not rotate), a light brick and a new fangled disk shooter, which doesn't really work that well although not as badly as some say. The light brick lights up the eyes of the Robot, a clever idea that works well and adds a certain menace to the set. An interesting point is that the light bricks are more easily connected to the transparent tube in the new wave, a much needed improvement which scores highly with me. So, all is good here. The entire turret is rotated by a little nob on the bottom, which is fairly understated.

Turret Detail

Little Nob and Underside

The figures in this set definately do not fail to please, mainly due to their abundance making more densely packed scenes easy. The only downside is the lack of legs for Meca One, as I said... but this makes little difference if you're into display.

So, ratings...

Mech: 7/10

Figures: 8/10

Weaponry: 8/10

Overall (average):7.7/10

Overall (gut feeling):7/10

Even with its faults, this is an impressive set which is in place with everything else.

[prateek]

wow another great review of another great set! *y*

[Janus]

Well I was already planning to buy this, but you've excited me more. I can already feel the pain in my wallet.

[Kahgarak]

I am so getting this set.Looks like a great infantry pack,PLUS a great Mech!

I'm giving a 9.9/9 because of Meca 01's lack of legs.

[Lord Thrawn]

Thanks alot guys! I guess its pretty good for the first time I've ever done a review (except of course the Super Nova review, which is just down the list).