REVIEW: 41492 Iron Man & Captain America

[Oky]

Another year, another Comic Con, and as you probably know, TLG always likes to sell exclusive sets at these cons which are very popular. However, they are not the only exclusives being sold there. Another hugely popular SDCC exclusive are Funko's POP! vinyl figures. They are stylish, adorable representations of characters from various licenses. There are hundreds of them and collectors can't get enough of them. So, for this year's San Diego Comic Con, TLG seems to have decided to appeal to both LEGO and Funko fans by debuting their upcoming Brickheadz, a series of brick-built figures in a similar style to the POP! figs, just blockier. I was able to acquire one of the four sets that were available while I was at the con and it contains the stars of the latest Marvel blockbuster, Captain America: Civil War. So, do Lego bricks and the vinyl figure style go well together or do they clash like the two Marvel heroes did in the movie? Lets find out!



Set Number: 41492
Name: Iron Man & Captain America
Theme: Brickheadz
Subtheme: Marvel Super Heroes
Year of Release: 2016
Pieces: 184
Minifigs: 0
Price: $39.99 USD
Links: Brickset Bricklink

Before we begin, I would like to tell you about my experience at San Diego Comic Con. I have been going to this convention and its sister convention, Wondercon, for the past 3 years. I always enjoy it a lot as it is great to get together with other nerds and just geek out about the things you love. You can see everyone's cosplays, meet artists and celebrities, get sneak peeks for upcoming media, watch world premiere cartoons, and get neat stuff! However, with every passing year I have been noticing how increasingly crowded it has gotten, and the more crowded it got, the less enjoyable it has become. The first time I went to SDCC, I had no problem walking around, getting exclusives, and getting into the panels I wanted to see (except for the Marvel/DC ones in Hall H - those have always had a notoriously long line). But within just three years it has gotten to the point where navigating the exhibit hall is virtually impossible without pushing your way through masses of warm, sweaty people and you have to get in line for exclusives and panels multiple hours in advance to even stand a chance to enter them. I spent most of my time just standing in line in the hot summer sun and most of the time the exclusives were sold out or the panel was already over by the time I got halfway through the line, so I walked away with nothing but a bad sunburn and had to try my luck at the next line. The line for the exclusive minifigs stretched from one end of the convention center to the other and the worst thing is that most of the people were scalpers who were only there so they could sell them for ridiculous prices later. So while the panels and booths that I did get to see were great, I definitely think that TLG and the whole Comic Con team need to organize this event better somehow. Needless to say, I will think twice before I attempt to get an exclusive next time, if I even go at all.

That said, after getting in line at 4 in the morning, getting lucky in the raffle, and standing in another line at the Lego booth to buy it for forty bucks, I did manage to get this set as a souvenir, so lets open this bad boy!

The Box

The set comes in a thick, shiny box which is much more sturdy than your average Lego box. The background transitions from a yellow/orange gradient on Iron Man's side to a black/red gradient on Captain America's side via a dot pattern which gives it that comic book feel. At the top of the front there is a big LEGO BRICKHEADZ logo and a little circle letting you know that this is a SDCC 2016 exclusive. Thanks yellow circle! I never would have guessed! The Brickheadz logo is a bit bland and the Z instead of an S seems a bit corny, but it's cute how they stylized the H to look like a Brickhead. On the bottom, there is the Marvel logo and labels for the two Brickheadz included in the set accompanied by a little icon for each of them which is a nice touch.




The backside has a similar layout with the same logos, but what's fun is that the Brickheadz are shown from their backside here. It also features a picture that assures you that the figures are indeed removable from their base, and instead of the labels there is a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo.




The sides of the box continue the theme of showing the Brickheadz as if the box was see-through by showing Iron Man's right-hand side on the left side of the box and Cap's left-hand side on the right.




Even on top of the box you see the top of the "headz" of the Brickheadz.




However, on the bottom you don't see the bottom of the figs. It's just black and there is a fancy tape stretching across it with the Brickheadz logo and a shadowy impression of the eyes of a Brickhead printed on it.




Now I'm going to do something that is probably unthinkable for all those scalpers at SDCC: I'm actually going to open and build this Lego set! The way you open the box is you cut the tape at the bottom and slide the cover off.




Contents

The box contains one instructions booket and one parts bag for each Brickhead. Much like the box, the bags are not the usual kind. You don't need to rip them open as they have an easy to open flap on the back. They also each have a sticker with some mysterious numbers on it.




This is the first page of both of the instruction booklets. It shows both of the SDCC exclusive Marvel Brickheadz sets together on the left side and a teaser image for the upcoming Brickheadz line on the right which confirms the release date of the theme to be March 1st, 2017.




The instructions are presented on a solid black background which provides a nice contrast and gives you the sophisticated feeling that you are putting together a collectible display item rather than a kids toy. The callouts are clear and the build is very simple as it only involves some basic SNOT.




Good news! There are no stickers in this set! All the decals are printed, giving us a nice assortment of exclusive parts. The most notable printed piece is the black 2x4 tile with the Lego logo and the hashtag "LEGOSDCC" which there are two of in the set. It bugs me a little that they put a hashtag onto the set itself as it seems like a blatant attempt to get social media exposure for the event, but at least it marks it as an SDCC exclusive. Aside from Cap and Tony's torso and helmet pieces, there is also the new Brickheadz eye tile and Iron Man's eye tiles which are trans-light-blue 1x1 tiles with a simple white square printed on it. As always, the light printing on dark parts is not very strong, so things like the "LEGO" and "A" fonts are not as white as they could be. There are also some new recolors in this set such as the 1x2 plate with clip in red and the 1x1 round tile with small tube in white. The trans-clear stud with handle from the latest Spider-Man sets is included as well. Now we know where Spidey got that new web-shooter tech from.




Assembling the Avengers

You can start the build with either one of the Brickheadz. I'd like to build these in alphabetical order, so let's start with the guy who has a big "A" on his forehead. The parts contained in the bag for Captain America are the following.




You start the build from the waste up and add the legs later on as you've seen on the sample instructions page earlier. Two round bricks serve as a center support for the torso.




All of the SNOT is achieved by using the double brick with four studs on the side which was introduced earlier this year. The inner walls of the head are entirely comprised of them. What's funny is that in the center of the head they included a 2x2 brick in pink so that it looks like there is a brick-shaped brain inside of the brick-headz. Well played, designers.




Here is the finished Captain. He looks quite adorable with that big head and glissening eyes. It's interesting that they made the highlights in his eyes square to stick with the brick theme of these figures.




Next up is Iron Man. He has a few more parts as you can see in the lineup below.




Iron Man's torso is similar to Cap's, but it's more intricate as it uses a lot of headlight bricks to attach his armor plating (or should I say tiling?).




The inner structure is the same, including the brain brick which is the same size as that of any other Brickhead. I guess Tony is not so smart after all.




After you add the plates around the head and add the legs, you're finished! Iron Man looks quite good with his armor tiles and repulsor beams, and the trans-light-blue showing around the eyes gives them that blue glow that they have in the movies which is an effect that the minifig version has yet to achieve. My only gripe is that the red strip on his forehead is interrupted by a yellow line, but that's excusable.




The Completed Set

Don't they look adorable together? It's hard to imagine these little guys starting a civil war. Both of them are based on their comic counterparts, so their costumes look very colorful, especially when standing next to each other.




As you can see looking at them from the front, the boost from Iron Man's jet boots makes him stand one plate taller than Cap and all the other Brickheadz. Also, the use of tiles on his chest and slopes on his shoulders give the impression that he is wearing armor. The printing on both of their faces and torsos is very minimalist, but works with the simplified look that they're going for.




For comparison, here is a picture of Funko's POP! versions of these characters. They look quite similar, don't they? TLG is not even trying to hide the fact that they are copying Funko's style. Captain America looks almost the same and the only difference on Iron Man is the use of standard black eyes (although they did use white eyes in the later movie versions of the character).




I like how they used that white claw piece to represent the little wings on Cap's helmet. I can see them using the same technique for the Flash. I also like the way Iron Man holds his repulsor beams. This trans-clear stud with handle is a very useful part and I hope they use the same technique for the Iron Man minifig in future sets.




Like in the comics, the printing on Cap's costume is exactly the same on the back as it is in the front. It's a bit lazy, but it's nice to see that he does have printing here, unlike Iron Man who is completely blank. They already printed so many parts in this set, so it would have been nice if they would have just printed these two tiles too.




Cap's shield-holding hand is different from his left hand as it uses the 1x2 plate variant with the clip on the short side rather than the long side. This is supposed to give the arm an angled look which sort of works, although it does look a bit awkward.
I should also mention that they are obviously top-heavy, especially Iron Man, so they tend to fall over backwards when they are not standing on a flat surface. However, this can be fixed by mounting them onto the center of their base.




When I first saw these, I was hoping that their heads and arms were mounted on turntables so that you could pose them a little bit like you can with the Funko POPs, but alas this is not the case. They have zero points of articulation, making them decidedly more display items than toys.
Here they are compared to their minifig counterparts. As you can see, they are about twice the size of a minifigure.




Ratings

Design: 5/5 - I think both of these figures look great. The designers managed to replicate the cute vinyl figure look fairly well while putting their own blocky spin on it, and the pink "brain" brick is a nice touch.
Build: 2/5 - A very quick and easy build with nothing special aside from some basic SNOT. Nothing challenging.
Playability: 1/5 - The Brickheadz don't have any articulation or play features, so they are clearly meant to be displayed rather than played with. Although the fact that the set includes two characters who have quite a history in both the comics and movies does allow for some role play.
Parts: 4/5 - Most of the bricks included here are fairly common, but they're useful nonetheless. Some of the parts are exclusive to the set and all decals are printed which is always nice to see, although the lack of printing on Iron Man's back armor is disappointing.
Price: 1/5 - I know I don't really have a right to complain since most people have to pay extortion prices on ebay to get these, but $40 for just 184 pieces is way too high already for me. When these are officially released, I hope that they cost only half as much or less.
Overall: 3/5 - I have never bought a vinyl figure since I try to limit myself to collecting only one type of toy (#Lego4Life ), but I do see the charm that people see in them, so when it was announced that Lego will be making their own Funko-style figures, I was quite excited. While I don't think that Lego will become a serious competitor to Funko and other real vinyl figures, I do think that these Brickheadz are pretty cool on their own. Kids might not be interested in them due to their lack of playability, but some adult collectors like myself might find them charming. That said, I do not recommend getting this set, especially at aftermarket prices. It's just too much money for two little figures that might get released for a much more reasonable price in about half a year. The only special thing about it is the packaging and the hashtag-tiles. The only reason I got it was that I didn't want to leave the con empty-handed.

In conclusion, while the process of acquiring these wasn't much fun and I payed more for them than I would've liked, I don't regret getting them as they do look rather nice and I look forward to see what TLG will do with this theme. I really like the Brickheadz style and might even build some of my own!

I hope you enjoyed this review, and since it's the trendy thing to do this year, I added a poll above where you can vote for your favorite superhero, so go and vote! It's sure to be an easier choice than the presidential election this year.

To end this review, there are so many jokes that could be made with these, but I'll settle for this one:

[The Brick King]

Awesome review. I love the vinyl figure style, and I can't wait until they are released for commoners like me in March.

[Ceroknight]

Great review Oky.

When I first saw these, I thought they were silly and didn't like them that much. I was confused what kind of audience Lego was aiming these to, but I realize people like myself who's slowly running out of space for Lego but want something small and fun to build, these are kinda perfect.

The price is going to be $30 CAD I can already see that happening, which is still a little pricey I think. But I'll keep an eye out for this line I think.

[HyperOnion]

Don't think I'll be collecting these myself, but I do love that brain brick.

[tafkatb]

I got the Superman & Wonder Woman set and was wondering about the pink bricks... hadn't occurred to me that they were brains!

[Captain Nemo]

Great review Oky!

I find the box art rather hilarious, so I hope they keep the 360 degree photographing going on for the actual line. That being said, I don't really care for the styling or concept really of these figures in the first place. As a convention exclusive--they're great. As a full line? Rather derivative of Funko and not original--which really seems off for Lego. So it will be really interesting to see the reception of the full line and how well they seem to sell.

[HawkLord]

Great review and pics!

The build looks fun, but also like it might get old after awhile. I mean there's some details that will move around with different characters, but the base build will generally be the same. I do think the brain brick is ridiculously clever.

Given how crazy Funko is getting with exclusives and the like, I can see some people jumping ship and going to these as their vinyl collectible. I'm very tempted.

[neithan]

It's all about the price, at least for me.

I quiet like the POP!-Figures, but never started to buy them because there are way too many of them and I only start to colect something, when there's at least a good chance that I can complete it without going into debt.

So if this new line will start at a reasonable price, I might collect all of the figures - at least the Marvel ones.

Great review btw, definetely will help me consider it.

[Aanchir]

I find it weird how many people are saying these are derivative of Funko Pop figures. While the Funko Pop figures are one of the dominant licensed figurine brands today, and I'm sure they played a role in inspiring LEGO to launch their own line of "chibi/superdeformed" figurines, they were far from the first company to create those. In fact, Funko Pop figures date back only to SDCC 2010, the same year that LEGO began releasing licensed "CubeDudes" based on a template Angus MacLane had created in 2009. And the Funko Pops themselves are inspired heavily by the customizable "Dunny" and "Munny" templates launched around 2004 by Kidrobot. This is not an category of products Funko invented, nor one that they have any kind of monopoly on. And it's not as if the BrickHeadz somehow innovate less than the Funko Pops did. Just as the Funko Pops are squarer and more minimalist than figurines that preceded them, the BrickHeadz have an even more profoundly blocky look.

Anyway, thanks for sharing detailed box, instruction, and build photos! These models really show off how useful those 1x2x1⅔ SNOT bricks are, and the little pink brains are a clever surprise! These are a great and easily customizable template that should inspire all kinds of MOCs, just as the CubeDude did previously. I'm noticing that the back of the box doesn't have the star on Captain America's back. Did the instructions tell you to have the star facing outwards? Seems to me that having it face inwards would feel more authentic.

The price of these figures at SDCC was quite high, but I'm sure as with past exclusives, that has more to do with their exclusive status than with the expected price point future BrickHeadz will have at retail. I imagine future BrickHeadz will be priced at more around $15 or $20 for a pair, though I'm curious if they'll be sold individually or continue to be sold in pairs. The preview for next year's BrickHeadz shows twelve figures, which is a nice big number to start out with. I hope that LEGO will create BrickHeadz based not only on licensed IP like Super Heroes and Star Wars, but also on their own in-house IP like Ninjago and The LEGO Movie. Even if they don't, though, I'd be happy to make my own BrickHeadz to represent my own favorite themes.

Thanks again for the review!

[Oky]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone!

When I first saw these, I thought they were silly and didn't like them that much. I was confused what kind of audience Lego was aiming these to, but I realize people like myself who's slowly running out of space for Lego but want something small and fun to build, these are kinda perfect.

Yes, I think one of the biggest things these have going for them is that they will probably be good impulse buys much like Mixels. I'm guessing Brickheadz will be replacing Mixels on the shelves seeing as that theme has been discontinued.

I find the box art rather hilarious, so I hope they keep the 360 degree photographing going on for the actual line. That being said, I don't really care for the styling or concept really of these figures in the first place. As a convention exclusive--they're great. As a full line? Rather derivative of Funko and not original--which really seems off for Lego. So it will be really interesting to see the reception of the full line and how well they seem to sell.

Yeah, the box art is quite unique! I'm also curious how well these will sell. I could see it going either way. On one hand, they will be inexpensive and appeal to the Funko crowd, but on the other they don't have any minifigs or playability which kids are usually looking for. We'll have to wait and see.

Thanks for the frontpage by the way!

I find it weird how many people are saying these are derivative of Funko Pop figures. While the Funko Pop figures are one of the dominant licensed figurine brands today, and I'm sure they played a role in inspiring LEGO to launch their own line of "chibi/superdeformed" figurines, they were far from the first company to create those. In fact, Funko Pop figures date back only to SDCC 2010, the same year that LEGO began releasing licensed "CubeDudes" based on a template Angus MacLane had created in 2009. And the Funko Pops themselves are inspired heavily by the customizable "Dunny" and "Munny" templates launched around 2004 by Kidrobot. This is not an category of products Funko invented, nor one that they have any kind of monopoly on. And it's not as if the BrickHeadz somehow innovate less than the Funko Pops did. Just as the Funko Pops are squarer and more minimalist than figurines that preceded them, the BrickHeadz have an even more profoundly blocky look.

Nobody ever said Funko invented vinyl figures, just that they're the most popular and the one with most licenses. The fact that TLG started making these right after Funko's became so popular makes it seem like they are trying to cash in on their success. The similarly square-ish look of the Funko POPs is also what leads people to compare the Brickheadz to them. I did say "Funko and other vinyl figures" in the review and I also pointed out that, while they look similar to the Funko POPs, they do have their own unique blocky style, so I don't know what you're ranting about.

These are a great and easily customizable template that should inspire all kinds of MOCs, just as the CubeDude did previously.

Yes, I loved building CubeDudes and I'm excited to have a new template to build characters with!

I'm noticing that the back of the box doesn't have the star on Captain America's back. Did the instructions tell you to have the star facing outwards? Seems to me that having it face inwards would feel more authentic.

Hm, interesting observation. That must be an error on the photographer's part because I did check the instructions and this is how it tells you to build it, with the star on the outside. As I said in the review, this is actually accurate to Cap's classic costume from the comics, as you can see on the comic-based minifig from the Cap VS Hydra set:

The price of these figures at SDCC was quite high, but I'm sure as with past exclusives, that has more to do with their exclusive status than with the expected price point future BrickHeadz will have at retail. I imagine future BrickHeadz will be priced at more around $15 or $20 for a pair, though I'm curious if they'll be sold individually or continue to be sold in pairs.

I'm curious about this as well. They could be sold individually for $6-10 (again, like Mixels) or in pairs for $15-20 like you said. Either way would work in my opinion.

The preview for next year's BrickHeadz shows twelve figures, which is a nice big number to start out with. I hope that LEGO will create BrickHeadz based not only on licensed IP like Super Heroes and Star Wars, but also on their own in-house IP like Ninjago and The LEGO Movie. Even if they don't, though, I'd be happy to make my own BrickHeadz to represent my own favorite themes.

Yeah, I hope they will have different IPs like Funko too, although they will probably stick to licensed ones, but if not, we can always make our own as you said!

[HawkLord]

While Funko wasn't the first one to invent vinyl figures, they have been the most successful. Hasbro, Kidrobot, etc have all tried and none have hit the mainstream mass market that Funko has (arguably Hasbro came close with Mighty Muggs).

Given that I've started seeing other brick-built "vinyl-like" figures at Target, for IPs like Halo, it stands to reason that Lego could really blow this up into other IPs. And given that Lego is a safer investment for retailers than Funko, I think a lot of companies would be onboard.

[BrickTamland]

Thanks for the very detailed review Oky.

Not sold yet, the up side is these guys are loaded with some interesting pieces, can't ever see these guys dominating my desktop however.

[x105Black]

Nice review. I would have liked a "Neither" option for the poll. It won't let me vote unless I vote in both parts.

[Borex]

Thanks for getting a sunburn to give us this review. I'm still not really sold on the brickheadz idea but seeing all those pieces coming out of a bag makes me wanna put them together myself.

I love the brain cube.

It's going to be tricky to collect these. If lego is smart, they'll give each wave a pretty short lifespan in the toy shops and make exclusives for shops like tru. It all increases the need to collect them more.

I hope this line will be a very successful one.

[Aanchir]

Yes, I think one of the biggest things these have going for them is that they will probably be good impulse buys much like Mixels. I'm guessing Brickheadz will be replacing Mixels on the shelves seeing as that theme has been discontinued.

I have doubts about them taking the place of Mixels since they're aimed at a very different demographic. Mixels are 5+ like City or Friends sets, these are 10+ more like Ideas or Architecture sets. The BrickHeadz are also a very different type of product (a static display figure rather than a posable creature).

Nobody ever said Funko invented vinyl figures, just that they're the most popular and the one with most licenses. The fact that TLG started making these right after Funko's became so popular makes it seem like they are trying to cash in on their success. The similarly square-ish look of the Funko POPs is also what leads people to compare the Brickheadz to them. I did say "Funko and other vinyl figures" in the review and I also pointed out that, while they look similar to the Funko POPs, they do have their own unique blocky style, so I don't know what you're ranting about.

That was not directed at you, more at comments like CaptainNemo's above that call the concept "unoriginal", as well as similar comments I've seen on other sites that seem to suggest LEGO is ripping off Funko by introducing a similar product. When you get right down to it, cutesy figurines are not a particularly novel concept.

For comparison's sake, I've never seen people accuse LEGO Architecture of being unoriginal or ripping off "Puzz-3D", a brand which has been producing buildable miniature 3D buildings and cityscapes since the 90s. In that case, people understood that the concept of a miniature landmark was not a novel idea, and that building such a landmark out of LEGO bricks was enough to set it apart from similar products.

[Staslegomaster]

An awesome idea tocreat these heroes using LEGO bricks.Bot for me the most impressive brick figure which fans can buy is master Yoda (2003 I think) And which is yours?

[BrickOCD]

Just built Ironman and Capt America and They're great! I can see buying many more of these sets as long as they aren't as terribly overpriced.

[NBuilder]

Are the Brick Headz just going to be released for the marvel characters? I would love to see some Star wars adaptations.

[Aanchir]

Are the Brick Headz just going to be released for the marvel characters? I would love to see some Star wars adaptations.

The ones released at Comic Con included both DC and Marvel Super Heroes. However, it's likely that the full range will include other themes besides Super Heroes, because the boxes are labeled with "BrickHeadz" as the theme name, rather than with "Super Heroes" as the theme name like it is for series specific to that theme like the Mighty Micros.

I think some of the most likely brands for future BrickHeadz will include Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie (though this last one would not be a part of the first wave). I would also like to see other brands like Ninjago, Nexo Knights, and Elves, but I don't know how likely that is and I may end up having to make my own.