REVIEW: 71315 Quake Beast

[VBBN]

Set name: Quake Beast

Set number: 71315

Pieces:102

Price: $14.99 | £9.99 | €14.99

Release date: 2016

Welcome to the review of Quake Beast! He may not be one eyes, one horned, and I haven't asked him if he eats people, but this purple monster is here- is this crystal creature worth your money? Let's find out!

These sets were graciously provided by LEGO to review- All thoughts in this review are my own opinions and not those of LEGO.

Front

There's nothing too exciting here, just the standard fare. I will say that the jaw looks quite good here due to the shadow, but alas the final set doesn't look quite that good. Also the crystal arm is in a bit of a deceiving pose, showing it in it's "best" looking position. Also his shoulder blades were cut off, interestingly enough.

Back

We see the set features, a combo model, and of course the standard comic print.

Interesting parts

For recolors, we have a trans neon green head and the unique chest print. In terms of new pieces, we have the new beast mask in purple blended with trans neon green (a rather awesome combination of colors), the new crystal piece in trans dark purple, and of course the jaw- which, if you have read my Lava Beast review, you will know I don't like this piece at all. It's a bit of a waste of a new mold and really doesn't look all that great in the finished product.

Mask

We also get Onua's mask recolored in black blended with trans neon green. Once again, this mask is "corrupted" and as such it stands out from Onua when he actually wears it.

Torso

Building Quake Beast is quite an interesting process. We start off with the newest torso bone, first introduced in the Star Wars Force Awakens figures, and add a gearbox on- sideways. While have my issues with this build, Quake gets some major points for creativity here, and it makes for a refreshing build.

Legs

Each beast gets some custom shins, and Quake here is no exception. Also note that the asymmetry is really starting to take shape here.

Shoulder...blade thing

The next step in Quake's function is to build this..thing. Basically it's just a mess of spikes to make Quake Beast look even more ruptured.

Arm

His smaller arm is built, and once again, poseable fingers! If there's any aspect of these beasts I'm enjoying, this is a big one.

Head

We then build up the mount for the jaw. When you move the jaw up, the mask will fly off.

Trap

Here's a part of the set where I have my first issue- the shoulder trap. Now this construct here will allow you to store Onua's corrupted mask on Quake's shoulder. Or, so the box says. Unfortunately, this build offers little to no friction, and so the two halves of the jaw have no true ability to grasp the mask- or anything for that matter. I find it a real shame that this was so poorly executed, and Storm beast has an even worse situation. (Do note- not only can it not grasp the mask well, its hard to keep the jaws in a semi-closed position. it tends to close completely or flop totally open.)

Frame

More asymmetry is introduced as we add on his large crystal arm and the trap.

Front

From a front view, the first thing you'll notice is the crystal arm is pretty barren. The crystal pieces don't wrap around the arm much, and I think this really makes them look strange from this angle.

Side

Back

Notice that a crank is the main means of moving the shoulder here.

Gloves up

Quake Beast might look like a guy without pockets trying to figure out what to do with his arms in a photo when he's standing straight, but in the right pose you can really hide the barren arm (and it's poseability is helped by the lack of clutter)

Rough night

Admittedly, he's a bit better in hand than I at first thought. The color scheme is solid, he does look quite bulky, and I don't mind the solid colored face as much as I did in initial photos.

Come and get it

After a bit of fiddling I managed to get Onua's mask to stay in the shoulder trap. Though if you dare pick the figure up, it's going to come falling out.

Size Comp

Like the other beasts, Quake here doesn't quite match up to his Toa counterpart in terms of height.

Another Size Comp

While he is equal in height to his previous trans-purple armored friend, he's got quite the bulk going on.

He does fall a bit short compared to his arch enemy Tahu, standing about a head shorter.

Function

So what does that crazy torso build leave us with? Well, a not-so-great function. When you turn the crank, the arm swings backward at the shoulder. When it swings forward, the arm really doesn't get any forward range, so basically the only way you will go knocking masks off with this is if Quake beast was facing you sideways. I feel a more traditional gearbox build would have lead to a more effective use of this arm, and that's a shame- this is such an intricate build that really takes over most of this figure's aesthetic, and I ended up being disappointed in what it actually did.

Overall

Quake beast has his ups and downs. If you want an interesting and creative build, he's a great set to pick up. However, if you aren't fond of the function, it does take over quite a bit of this set's aesthetic and I feel some sacrifices were made to the overall look of the figure to make way for this function. As always the best way to judge a set is to have a look at the photos and decide for yourself- sound off your thoughts in the comments!

[TwistLaw]

Probably victim #1 of this summer's low budget. A shame G2 has yet to give us villains on par with the good guys, except UtD.

Quake Beast is just... ugly. A function far from being elegant, a colour scheme all over the place as usual, piece selection simply questionable. I ain't one of those people who love to bash on G2, but I really miss classic villains.

[Fulcrumfan91]

I don't know whether this one is truly my least favourite set....I'll know for sure whenever I actually get it....but for now, it's perhaps my least favourite solely from the gaps. The function is fine, the colours actually work better than I thought they would, and I dig the asymmetrical ugliness that this one has. A decent set.

[Logan McOwen]

I haven't got Quake Beast yet, and I'm not sure if I will get him unless I find him on offer. I'm just not keen on the asymmetry at the back, and the function seems pretty poorly executed. That, and in terms of parts, he doesn't really offer much that I can't get/don't already have elsewhere, other than his mask and the crystals. At the moment, I'm not sold.

5/10.

[Lyichir]

Good review. While I dig Quake Beast's short, asymmetrical look, his function was a massive disappointment. Not only does it not have a huge amount of range, but to add injury to insult (heh), the crystal shell on his shoulder literally bashes him in the face if you swing his function arm too far.

[Kalhiki]

Thanks for the review!

Quake Beast seems to be a good example of a neat idea with poor execution. I love the idea of a giant, crystalline death-arm, but it's far too gappy to pull off that look. And the function is lackluster. The asymmetry's good, I will say. And poseability in that death-arm is much appreciated.

[Shakar]

I could see where they were going for, but it's just bad looking. The sideways gearbox is an interesting idea but it wasn't worth it given the overall result. Really would've been better to use the roating waist torso or a standard gearbox like the SW sets.

I'm also not fond of the squat body and tiny limbs. No, the huge right arm doesn't make up for it.

And the number of purple used is *gasp* triggering. Trans purple and solid purple can work together (see Onua) but it's just imbalanced here, and the magenta on the chest makes no sense at all. Just stick to a black+trans. purple mask and use a darker purple shade on the chest.

Terrible set. Though still better than the waste of plastic that was sold as Bruizer.

Thanks for the review.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Shakar

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Voted above average for this guy from what I've seen. He is somewhat gappy but I feel like he's an evolution of Bruizer and the function appeals to me. That and I'm a big fan of asymmetry.

[PicnicBasketSam]

Ugh... from the boxart, this guy actually looks cool. Not so much in the photos. I don't think I'm going to buy any of this summer wave except maybe Ekimu.

[Mutant Orc]

Dissapointing to see just how poor he is in comparison to the boxart, but I guess at least I can appreciate that the people doing the boxart are doing their job's very well here (i.e. making something rather rubbish seem miles better- some sets in the past I've found the boxart to actually be a pretty poor reflection on the set e.g Queen Beast but I digress).

His torso print and mask don't seem useful, and since the rest of him offers nothing appealing I will probably end up skipping this one.

[TheDesuComplex]

Ouch, his chest printing does not look good. On the other hand, his 'mask' does look really good. I get why they chose to go with solid purple- because using the transparent equivalent would have looked weird and possibly have blended badly with the Tr. Neon Green. He could have still benefitted from more solid purple on him. Now- the set as a whole I like. He sacrifices his aesthetics a bit for the sake of the function, but the function is really neat and well worth it.

It's interesting to compare this to 44005 Bruizer, given that they actually cost the same amount (in USD at least). This guy has way more color to him and a much more creative function, but Bruizer beats him out for being more aesthetically unified and have a far simpler build for the target audience.

[YellowCorvette]

Thanks for the review, and I agree with the others that this set suffers for poor execution of a great idea. This set has way of much gap at the right arm and the function leaves something to be desired. Sadly that I prefer Bruizer than this.

[SonofTheShire]

Quake Beast is easily my favourite of the beasts, even if his function is a little iffy.

What does he look like wearing Onua's mask (and with the jaw removed)?

[Yusaku Hayakawa]

Compared to Bruizer, Quake Beast's asymmetry looks awful whereas the Hero Factory set gave the impression of a rock golem with a massive armored arm & the function actually works, this beast has a shoddy function & the asymmetry is ugly.

[Onepu the Protector]

Is it wrong if I feel that Bruizer (I'm not sure if his name was spelled with 's' or 'z'...) pulled off the assymetrical rock monster look better than this guy? Still, he does include some nice purple parts and you don't have to buy another copy of PoE just to get the other mace half. xD

Edited June 8, 2016 by Onepu the Protector

[MakutaDreadscythe]

I really don't see how anyone can say Bruizer is a better set with a straight face. His entire right side was a J-Technic liftarm held on by a lightsaber rod and a ball joint, he has shoes and the head has more goof than the goofiest goof. Is there something with Quake Beast I'm just not seeing?

[GK733]

I really don't see how anyone can say Bruizer is a better set with a straight face. His entire right side was a J-Technic liftarm held on by a lightsaber rod and a ball joint, he has shoes and the head has more goof than the goofiest goof. Is there something with Quake Beast I'm just not seeing?

Bruizer has a better color distribution, while it is indeed still very dull. It could also be that some people would prefer having more CCBS elements, rather than technic. Bruizer had plenty of the rock addons and good amount of shells for example.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Bruizer has a better color distribution, while it is indeed still very dull. It could also be that some people would prefer having more CCBS elements, rather than technic. Bruizer had plenty of the rock addons and good amount of shells for example.

Colour distribution maybe but I prefer sets with more eclectic colour schemes because they're more interesting. The worst thing a set can do IMO is be boring, which is why sets like Gelu and Bulk (Brain Attack) are kinda bad to me. Likewise I appreciate Pohatu '16 and Quake Beast for being daring and more chaotic.

[Aanchir]

Bruizer has a better color distribution, while it is indeed still very dull. It could also be that some people would prefer having more CCBS elements, rather than technic. Bruizer had plenty of the rock addons and good amount of shells for example.

Also, while the liftarm construction of Bruizer's arm limited posability, it also made sense since it meant you didn't have to "reset" the position of the arm every time you bashed something with it. His function was fairly compact instead of the mechanism sticking off the body as awkwardly as Quake Beast's. And yes, Bruizer's face was goofy. To me, that was an asset, not a flaw. It had a lot of the same charm that I loved from the Power Miners rock monsters.

Quake Beast also has other faults, like his function's lack of range, and the annoying tendency to bash himself in the head with his own shoulder armor. Overall, Quake Beast has some good ideas to his design, like his more dwarfish stature, bestial leg construction, and having his one overgrown arm almost entirely covered in crystals. But although simpler, Bruizer's design felt a lot more effective to me.

[Onepu the Protector]

^ This. Plus, I didn't really say that Bruizer is a better set than the Quake Beast. Technically speaking, Quake Beast obviously includes much more content and has better poseability but Bruizer represents the idea of a bulky rock golem more effectively in my opinion.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Onepu the Protector