MBA Kit 20215: Invention Designer (Kit 12) - with Technic

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

A few weeks ago I obtained MBA Set 20215, Invention Designer. Like most MBA sets, this comes with three kits, two of which I already reviewed. Kit 10 is the steampunk-themed Time Machine, and Kit 11 is World Architecture. So I still owe you a review of Kit 12, which is the Technic-heavy theme Inventor’s Lab. So let’s wrap up this series and tell you how this set compares to the other two.

Set Title: Invention Designer

Set #: 20215

Theme: Master Builder Academy

Pieces: 675 (plus 3 books)

Minifigures: 3

Year of Release: 2013

Price at Release: USD 79.99

INTRODUCTION

I already reviewed the theme and packaging in my Kit 10 review, so we’re moving right into the set. Like all MBA Kits, this specific set has a storyline and a theme to it. The storyline continues from the other two kits, with the MBA minifigure losing control of his time machine and finding himself in Renaissance Italy, specifically in Leonardo DaVinci’s workshop. This story segues into the general theme of Kit 12: building simple DaVinci-style machines using Technic...um…techniques.

If you’ve been with Lego for a long time now, you’ll have noticed that Technic has slowly crept into System-styled sets for many years now. System and Technic are still two very distinct lines, with Technic usually consisting of oversized models which are too big for minifigures but realistically capture features like rack-and-pinion steering. System-sized models haven’t gotten that complicated, but it’s not unusual for a System set to have some Technic beams or pins built in to give the model more functionality. In some rare instances, you might even have a gearing system built into the model which makes it as close to Technic as it will get.

So what this particular kit teaches you is how to start building those Technic features. From what I gathered in the manual, one of the prior MBA kits features a specific lesson on Technic Features. Indeed, a lot of the earlier kits use some Technic pieces. However, this specific set focuses on how to really get those mechanical functions going.

THE BOOK

As I said in the last two review, the book is the big selling point of these sets. $80 for 700 pieces isn’t a great deal, but $80 for 700 pieces and three very high-quality books makes it much more worthwhile. Roughly, for one kit that’s $27 for 230 pieces and one nice book. I think that in the grand scheme of things, that math isn’t awful if you like all three kits and you’re a fan of Lego books.

Again, the front of the manual for Kit 12 includes a nice cartoon representation of the minifigure and the main model from the kit.

The back is a more realistic representation of the same figure. We'll talk about him below.

Kit 12’s manual teaches you two specific skills: INVENTIONS and FUNCTIONS. (I’m putting those in all caps because that’s what the manual does.) The INVENTIONS technique is a weird one, since most other MBA kits teach you a technique by actually doing something as you build. For example, Kit 1 teaches you LOCKING with repeated instances of connecting bricks together with a longer brick or plate so you can secure them together. Kit 12 teaches you INVENTIONS by…recommending that you sit down and think about what you want to make. That’s…interesting, but it doesn’t translate into a teaching kit very well. At least the FUNCTIONS technique is based on using Technic elements to achieve a specific effect, like building a crank or a pump.

As with Kit 10’s and 11’s manual, the instructions are very detailed and emphasize the use of specific MBA skills into each step. The initial model you’ll build—the DaVinci Paddleboat—has a lot of slow, deliberate steps, but the purpose is to teach you about why each step is designed the way it is. I should warn you that this Kit seems to be the climax of all prior MBA Kits, so you’ll see lots of references to prior kits’ building techniques such as SUPPORT ELEMENTS and SMALL PIECES. I don’t think you’ll be lost, but you’d definitely benefit from having done the other kits before moving onto this one.

Kit 12's manual is laid out in this format:

• Introduction to Inventing (2 pages)
  
• Inventions That Changed the World (2 pages; this is really the minifigure’s story and a brief description of inventions)
  
• The Inventor’s Laboratory (2 pages about DaVinci)
  
• Inventions Technique (2 pages)
  
• Functions Technique (2 pages)
  
• Minifigure Instruction (2 pages)
  
• Leonard’s Boat Instructions (30 pages)
  
• Springboard Models (26 pages, with specific focus on the Four-Wheel Drive, the Helicopter, and the Flying Machine. The other six models are on the MBA website)
  
• Fan Creations (2 pages)
  
• Invention Challenge (2 pages to do on LegoMBA.com)
  
• Interview with a Lego Master Builder who designs Ninjago and Chima sets (2 pages)
  
• Examination of Technic Moving Functions (2 pages)
  
• An Interview with Lego MOCer Jason Allemann and how he designed his “strumming fingers” model (2 pages)
  
• A final send-off from the Lego MBA team (1 page)
  
• The parts list. (1 page)
  

THE PARTS

I’m dividing the parts between the Technic and non-Technic features. The standard pieces includes a large selection of pieces in light tan, probably to capture a light-colored wood that DaVinci might have used in his inventions. You get a few dark reds and blues, although many of these colors get masked in the boat model. Interesting pieces include the inverse slope bricks which are instrumental in the ship design. Personally, I found these pieces to be a drawback of the set: there’s a lot of useful pieces for building a ship, but you’ll have to get creative with them if you want them to be something else.

The truly-Technic parts selection includes a smaller number of gears, axles, beams, and other pieces. Frankly, I was also disappointed by this setup, since there is a tremendous variety of Technic pieces out there. Here, we only get two sizes of gears and a few axels. You do get a few more Technic pieces in Kit 10, so there’s nothing to stop you from mingling pieces, but the variet in Kit 12 by itself is a bit lacking.

As with the last two kits, be prepared to supplement if you want to go beyond what's included. Most of the designs in the book are “springboards” which are literally intended to get you started on building. For example, the “flying machine” model features a rough sketch of the minifigure in a basket which hangs under the build itself. Unfortunately, this kit doesn’t include the right pieces to build the basket, let alone the strings to hold it.

THE MINIFIGURE

Kit 12 includes the same minifigure as in Kits 10 and 11. That’s pretty much the same as every other MBA set: you get three of the same figure. (The exception is MBA Level 1, which is split over two sets—the Space Designer comes with one figure, while the Microbuilder/Robot Designer comes with two.) Remember that the minifigure is intended as a tool for your kit and not a collectable in itself; the idea is that it lets you model whether a minifigure would fit in your creation.

This figure comes with a black touque for…some reason. It also comes with several pieces for building an old flash-photography style of camera.

The camera is cute. The idea is that your minifigure is running around DaVinci’s workshop and photographing various invention ideas. The clip plate on top actually lies right around the minifigure’s eye when he’s holding it, so it actually looks like he’s trying to aim the camera. The figure also includes a back clip so he can store it while not in use. It really gives him a lot of personality.

THE MODELS

Like Kits 10 and 11, this set includes all the bricks you need to build the main model: in this case, a DaVinci-style paddleboat which was apparently inspired by an actual DaVinci design.

I have to confess up front that I hate the boat. Really, I hate it. It’s extremely big (mostly so it can hold the colossal paddles) and it’s very blocky-looking thanks to the multiple layers of slope pieces. Lego has designed plenty of smaller ship-shaped pieces that would have resulted in a smoother build. It’s at this point that I need to remind myself that MBA probably built this Kit with multiple uses in mind, and using larger boat-shaped pieces probably would have limited the re-build-ability of the ship. So it’s probably a good thing that these specific pieces were selected for the kit, but the downside is that the boat model suffers IMHO.

The mechanics of the boat are acceptable, though. A single crank in the back of the boat can spin, allowing the gears to turn which power the paddles. Some hinge pieces in the back create a rudder for steering. These mechanisms are all a bit oversized for the minifigure, but they work from a functional perspective. The overall mechanism for the paddles is a decent example of how to incorporate functional Technic mechanisms into a System-sized model.

The other pre-designed models in this kit are a few “springboard” creations. As with Kits 10 and 11, the springboards are intended to be the beginnings of a model and it’s up to you to build around it to make it a full creation. For example, I built the Flying Machine model.

What you end up with is a little piston-style engine with flapping wings on the side; it basically functions like a bird in flight. For better or worse, this is all that the instructions tell you how to make. The instructions include a sketch of the minifigure in a small boat underneath attached by strings, but there’s no instructions on how to make that, and the kit doesn’t come with strings anyway. So…it’s kind of up to you on what you want to do with the Flying Machine from there.

This is where I get frustrated with Kit 12, and I also have to remind myself not to get frustrated. On the one hand, I’m disappointed because the alternate-model instructions aren’t very complete. They give you the beginnings of a model but don’t tell you where to go from there. As far as I can tell, the prior MBA kits give you fairly detailed and complete alt-models. The only other kit I own is Kit 1 (Spaceship designer), but the instructions there give you complete instructions for three spaceship models that use almost all of the pieces. Each model continues to teach you how to use the skills in that particular book, so the instructions continue the building lessons of that model.

However…Lego and the MBA in particular are all about creativity. I have to remind myself that, no, we are not all Lord Business and subject to the limits of the instruction book. Lego MBA wants you to go beyond the instructions and learn to build for yourself. I suppose that giving only “springboard” instructions is intended to climax the prior MBA sets by asking you, the builder, to come up with your own larger models beyond what they’ve given you. It is a little inconsistent with the style of the prior MBA sets, though. Ultimately, the recipient of this set needs to be someone who’s interested in creativity rather than just building a pre-designed model. If they’re expecting a finalized product (other than the boat), they may be a little disappointed in this kit.

CONCLUSION

I’m reluctantly calling Kit 12 “not recommended” for the fact that the particular parts selection is lacking because it’s so oriented towards building the boat. There are so many inverse slopes included here that I think your options on what else you can build are really limited. Relatedly, the Technic selection is pretty weak as well. Oh, there’s a few styles of gearing systems that you can build, but there’s a great selection of Technic pieces out there such as different sizes of gears. I feel like there could be a lot more possibilities for a new builder who wants to learn if there had been a better variety of parts.

I did enjoy the other two kits, however. I just felt that Kit 12 was something of an anti-climactic letdown after the prior two. Some of that may be my own fault, as I haven’t done MBA Kits 2 through 9, which would have built up to these last three kits. I should also note that I’m building as an adult. These kits are marketed for the ages 8 to 12 crowd. I really need to get my daughter into these kits and work through the lessons with her to see how she responds to them and whether she’s able to take away their techniques.

In the end, I like the overall set of the Invention Designer. The three manuals are all very nice, and I bet owning a set of the MBA Manuals 1 through 12 would look very nice on a shelf and, even better, teach you a lot of professional Lego skills. The bricks are really intended to compliment the manuals and allow you to exercise their technique. The only downside with these kits (other than the cost) is that you’re buying them as a large package. If you want, for example, the World Architecture kit, you pretty much have to spend the $80 and take the other two kits with it. That’s somewhat of a cost-prohibitive model, so it’s no wonder that the MBA theme seems to have foundered at Kit 12. I’m doubtful that a fifth level will be released, which is a shame since there’s so much more Lego to learn.

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed these reviews and consider getting the MBA theme. Who knows—maybe it’ll go to EOL clearance later this year.

Edited May 14, 2014 by ResIpsaLoquitur

[Hewman]

Many thanks for all your efforts with these MBA reviews. They're greatly appreciated. Being in Australia these are very hard to get, so any further insights are great to help determine whether it's worth spending the big $s to import one.