Vorkosigan

Oxford World War Series - WWII Planes, Tanks

Recommended Posts

These don't look half bad! The "made in Korea" tag is pretty smart, it inspires a lot more confidence.

Level of detail is excellent, kill count decals etc. If these are available in Europe I might even be tempted....

It's really too bad TLG is sticking with their "never have, never will" stance on military sets. Evidently there's a market they're wilfully missing out on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I did a review of an Oxford set a while back: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109571 I have several other sets from times I've visited Korea, and the quality of the plastic is quite good, and the stickers are decent. Printing is not great, depends on the complexity. Weapons do come on sprues but are otherwise good quality. Clutch power is as good as LEGO. And the builds tend to be very solid, they don't cheap out on the internal structure. In the US these sets are available on ebay for just about MSRP with free shipping, but you have to wait for them to come from Korea.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Keep in mind no one pays MSRP in Korea for oxford stuff. Most shops sell it for a significant discount.

For example the MSRP on the Green tank is 54,000 won but in Korea you're only paying about 34-35,000 won to buy it.

I don't know why Oxford puts those prices on their page, they don't even have their own online store.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd like to try the Panzer and Tiger German tanks. Does anybody know what the torso print quality is like? Can you fit Lego legs onto them and update the head with Lego heads?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Lego heads can be used. Legs no. Oxford and Lego use different connectors. Oxford does this intentionally to avoid Lego's trademark. Lego doesn't have any protection on the bricks themselves, but they still have minifigure protection in some places. So Oxford makes them slightly different. The feet are rounded and the legs slightly inset. Hands and heads can be swapped as well as any upper body gear.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/09/2016 at 7:43 PM, Robianco said:

I'd like to try the Panzer and Tiger German tanks. Does anybody know what the torso print quality is like? Can you fit Lego legs onto them and update the head with Lego heads?

I have the Panther, Tiger and T34/85. As mentioned, the hips and the torso can't be interchanged with LEGO, There are 2 extrusions to make sure it doesn't happen though the pegs would most likely fit. The torso prints are ok, though the iron crosses are way oversized. The head print designs might not be to everyone's sensibilities, so i'd recommend swapping them out.

The tanks themselves are very nice. in my opinion there are 3 major and legitimate brick Tank providers: Brickmania (more a boutique than general actually i guess), Cobi and Oxford. I also like that it comes with german MG34s and US M1919 machine guns. In terms of aesthetics, these doesn't lose to companies like Brickarms.

In terms of design, Oxford is 2nd only to Brickmania, and their offerings are comparable in scale (about 1/32 - 1/35). However, being a general product for kids, the design emphasizes sturdiness over accuracy, thus we have in inaccuracies like the straight side skirts insted of sloped ones.
Cobi is also very good, but in my opinion 9again)suffers from using too many specialised pieces, no doubt looking more like the real thing, but in doing so, loses some of the "LEGO charm". Also the scale is bigger as well, around 1/28.

 

In summary: I would buy more Oxford military!  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 9/3/2016 at 11:09 AM, Pimbo said:

These don't look half bad! The "made in Korea" tag is pretty smart, it inspires a lot more confidence.

Level of detail is excellent, kill count decals etc. If these are available in Europe I might even be tempted....

It's really too bad TLG is sticking with their "never have, never will" stance on military sets. Evidently there's a market they're wilfully missing out on.

Hey, at least we have thirs parties like Brickarms to fill that void for the minifigure  part.

Though, I suppose you could always use some of Mega Blok's COD sets. They have been absolutely nailing it with those. I have never played those games, but, have you see the P-51D or the Bradley tank they put out? They're fantastic, and, that's only two. I am first and foremost a Lego fan, but, I can't overlook Mega Bloks anymore. Of course, Oxford and Cobi has great stuff as well. I wouldn't mind some of Oxford's SWAT sets as I have an in-progress Lego SWAT Team.

Edited by TheLegoPerson9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Decent looking sets. Though I do agree on TLG's decision to not make war-themed sets (Star Wars being an exception), Lego is primarily a children's toy and I think it's better off not being connected with anything war related.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 2/5/2017 at 9:42 AM, Error404 said:

Decent looking sets. Though I do agree on TLG's decision to not make war-themed sets (Star Wars being an exception), Lego is primarily a children's toy and I think it's better off not being connected with anything war related.

Yet we have castle..which has wars.. a line actually called "Star Wars", future wars with space and space guns, ninjago, which is all about fighting and wars, Chima, which again, wars.. .are you saying lego isn't connected with anything war related? Let's not forget the fact that kids have had war and soldier toys for..well probably since the beginning of time. No sorry, Lego's stance makes absolutely zero sense.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Obviously there is a connection, but it might have to do with how the war-related themes TLG does have, are perceived. I mean, I know Star Wars for example is heavily about war, but it doesn't appear as gritty and violent as e.g. Saving Private Ryan and that kind of war movies, I think.

I agree that to a certain extent it makes little sense, but TLG does what TLG wants. And I can only speak for myself, but I feel that Star Wars, Castle, Pirates etc. kinda seem less war-heavy than actual military stuff.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 hours ago, Error404 said:

but TLG does what TLG wants.

Well put!  They can say one thing and do another if they want; it's their company.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.