REVIEW: 71314 Storm Beast

[VBBN]

Set name: Storm Beast

Set number: 71314

Pieces:109

Price: $14.99 | £9.99 | €14.99

Release date: 2016

Welcome to the review of Storm Beast! When I first saw toyfair photos of these sets, Storm Beast looked to be my favorite. has that opinion stayed true? 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

As usual, the box is standard fare. As with the winter wave, these boxes are a heavier cardboard than they were last year.

Back

All of the beast's have a very similar comic on the back, basically just reskinned as each respective pair of Toa and Beast.

Interesting parts

There's quite a slew of new and recolored parts to look at here. First, we've got the skull spider legs and head piece in trans neon green, 4m armor in dark blue, and a unique chest print. In terms of new parts, there's the new beast mask in dark blue blended with trans neon green and the jaw piece in pearl dark gray, and finally the crystal piece in trans light blue.

Mask

We also get Kopaka's mask in white blended with trans neon green as a "corrupted" color scheme. It's a cool combination, certainly a nice departure from the regular white and trans light blue,

Torso

In terms of creativity, there's a lot going on here- Storm Beast's torso build utilizes some beams to create a very unique function that we'll look at soon. The "trigger" is his tail.

Legs

Each beast gets some custom shins, and Storm's are the longest by 1m.

Claws

Storm Beast gets a pretty awesome set of claws, using three of those skull spider legs. The only downside here is the exposed balljoint on the small beast foot.

Head

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

Frame

Due to the design of the shoulders, the arms are situated at a strange forward angle.

Front

Storm beast is a little light on the armoring. The arms are a little bit stubby due to the length of bone used- his wrists are basically his elbows- I'm also not at all a fan of how the crystal piece sits on the bone here, it leaves him looking quite exposed.

Side

Here we have the arms in a stationary position, which causes his "tail" to sit at a very strange position.

Back

Beg for mercy

His colors mix together pretty well, though I wouldn't have argued with even more dark blue.

Easy does it

After it took 15 minutes to get this guy into this position, he fell over and I had to do it again. The function has absolutely no friction, and so any slight bit of weight on the arms caused him to topple over. Also, the tail- the design they chose to go with leaves you with no friction in the shadow trap, and so grasping Kopaka's mask is almost impossible, let along holding it in various positions without gravity taking effect.

Function

With his function, the first picture shows what happens if you lower the tail- his arms rise. Then you can swing the tail from side to side, and cause the arms to move up and down in different motions. So really there's two function here, the ability to move each arm up and down separately like a gearbox, or have them up and down in a "smashing motion."

Size Comp

Overall

Similar to Quake Beast, Storm beast here brings in a really interesting construction for his function. He's got a great color scheme and a decent amount of new and recolored parts. Personally, though, he's my least favorite of the Beasts. He doesn't look as well armored or filled out, the tail is a bit strange and even harder to hold a mask in than Quake beast, and the complete lack of friction in the arm moving mechanism is a little frustrating when it come to poseability. Overall, the pictures will lead you to your own decision, share your thoughts in the comments and as always be sure to vote in the poll!

[Anthony12901]

I thought he is pretty good, just his armoring isn't well distributed around Storm Beast. His function is pretty (yes pretty) and his claws look better then what the paw piece would look like.

Great review, great pictures, and keep on with the reviews!

Edited June 6, 2016 by Anthony12901

[Fulcrumfan91]

I'm yet to build and play around with SB, but he seems at least above average for me if anything. This one is a case where function did trump aesthetic, and the opposite is true of LB. I still think that function is going to be really cool to play around with, but definitely wish SB had been a bit more fleshed out...if it had been a larger set like Umarak, that could have been the case.

[Logan McOwen]

Storm Beast is an interesting set. While the function is very clever and fun to manupulate (he's like a marionette), it does lack severely in the friction department, which can be very annoying. The arms look really spindly thanks to the shaping of those crystal shells (why oh why aren't the addons as opposed to shells?), but the clawed paws/hands make up for that by looking broad and menacing. The inclusion of dark blue is a wonderful bonus, but the odd number of dark blue shells is a pain - I ended up buying two Storm Beasts just so I could have an even number of them, much like I did with this year's Gali. The "zomg customm" lower legs on the Beasts are a waste of parts honestly, and Storm Beast's are no exception.

All in all, Storm Beast is an intriguing set filled with useful pieces, but isn't the most impressive figure on the market. 6/10.

[Lyichir]

Storm Beast is definitely my favorite of the three beasts. He has a fantastic color scheme and an original and highly effective function. While his shadow trap doesn't serve well to grip a mask, the same applies to the other two beasts as well, and Storm Beast makes up for it with highly posable claws. As far as I'm concerned, there's no contest.

[Kalhiki]

This is the Beast I've been looking at getting. He seems to be a good balance of looks and function (maybe a little less in the looks department). But that function. It's like nothing we've ever seen, and I want to mess around with it. That's creativity.

[Fulcrumfan91]

This is the Beast I've been looking at getting. He seems to be a good balance of looks and function (maybe a little less in the looks department). But that function. It's like nothing we've ever seen, and I want to mess around with it. That's creativity.

Agreed. It's the prime reason I purchased him first.

Edited June 6, 2016 by lambda_cla3391

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Like the other two beasts, above average. Say what you will, they're damn good at subverting expectations and why I personally enjoy them more than the skellies. They're clumsy and messy in some places but they really go out the box in terms of functionality, which I believe carries more merit.

[Ikaatril]

I still don't understand why they didn't go with the gearbox for Storm Beast instead of the messy-looking construction - the arms would have more friction, as well as retaining the exact same function, and therefore the tail would not need to be constrained by the arms.

[VBBN]

I still don't understand why they didn't go with the gearbox for Storm Beast instead of the messy-looking construction - the arms would have more friction, as well as retaining the exact same function, and therefore the tail would not need to be constrained by the arms.

Technically there are two functions in one here- both a standard gearbox styled one, and also the ability to simple raise and lower the tail, causing the arms to move up and down at the same time in a "bashing" motion. There's isn't a huge variety of range or strength to this function, but it's there.

[TheDesuComplex]

This is the only Beast I have so far, and I have already torn him apart to mod him; While the function is really cool and makes the figure well worth the price of admission, I feel like it's a good concept that can be better used for something else. I do appreciate the smaller things they do to try and reign the aesthetics in, such as making his main color Dark Blue instead of White and putting the Bohrok Eyes on his shoulders to give them some more definition. Also love his hands using the small Kaiju feet, even if there is an open socket. He's definitely this wave's Scorpio, built more around the function than being a solid figure. At least the function is cool enough this time that people don't outright hate this figure.

[DaiSkreeming]

Interesting build, suitably interesting function, good enough figure, I'll probably get it. Excellent review.

[GK733]

The color distribution is pretty awful. Only the amount of trans neon green is balanced but both the dark blue and tr. light blue are not enough. Don't even get me started on the lightgray technic and red axles. ugh.

Edited June 7, 2016 by GK733

[Yusaku Hayakawa]

While the function isn't very good for Storm Beast, the other beasts & Umarak due to the lack of friction, at least this set has the best color scheme out of the newer sets. One of the problems I have with this set is that the crystal shells look really tiny when used on longer bone pieces. I wish they were add ons placed on top of regular shells.

[Onepu the Protector]

I'm still not too fond of this Beast's design but I want the dark blue shells and TNG claws...

[Fulcrumfan91]

Just got SB.....and it is a lovely set! I changed my vote to outstanding. Innovative new function, great colours, decent enough design....I'm very happy with it!

[Onepu the Protector]

(why oh why aren't the addons as opposed to shells?)

Because addons are made out of softer plastic that wouldn't look as glassy and would be closer to Barraki's armor pieces or the Brain Attack blade instead.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Onepu the Protector

[GK733]

Because addons are made out of softer plastic that wouldn't look as glassy and instead would be closer to Barraki's armor pieces or the Brain Attack blade instead.

I actually completely forgot that. But it's also cost effective, uses much less plastic than two different pieces.

[csi304]

Great review I might consider picking this one up :)