Alldarker Posted November 30, 2008 (edited) I was very surprised when I read on www.lowlug.nl this week that the Power Miners sets had been seen at retail! These sets hadn't even been officially released by Lego, so I had to check it out for myself. Lo and behold, all six sets were available at the Dutch department store "Vroom & Dreesman", a store not known for the quality of their toy department. The first time I saw these sets on the shelves, I was disgusted. The colors of this theme are primarily lime green and orange, not an ideal combination. But after sleeping over it a night, I decided, OK, I'll see what these sets are made of. First up is set 8957, the Mining Machine (I am not actually sure if this is the offical name for this set). Its the second smallest in the theme, which currently consists of 6 sets in total. Pricing for these sets is actually quite reasonable, considering size and normal European prices: 8956 Rock Destroyer: €4,95 8957 Mining Machine: €7,95 8958 Granite Breaker: €9,95 8959 Claw Digger: €19,95 8960 Thunder Drill: €29,95 8961 Crystal Sweeper: €59,95 When opened the box contains three bags, a sticker sheet and instructions. The selection of bricks contains a couple of pieces which, although perhaps not new as such, are new to my collection. A piece which is definitely new is the roll cage. It's a lot nicer than I thought it would be: it's symetric front and back, and I can see this being used in a lot of MOC's. Also new is the pack of dynamite. It's a nice enough piece, but it is made of a slightly softer type of plastic which tends to deform when you click it on a clip or minifig hand. Wiser is to slide it on any clips. Another new piece is of course the rock monster, Boulderax. It's a whole lot smaller than the Rock Raiders monsters used to be, but these guys are still nice. The body and legs is cast in transparant green with dark bley printing, and the head is cast in dark bley. I'd have expected a clicky jaw hinge, but in fact it's quite a weak, non compatible hinge. The body contains enough space to swallow a crystal or any similar sized pieces. All in all, the monster looks good, although the monsters are hardly compatible with Lego, except for the holes in the feet. This set comes with one figure, some sort of professor / analyst, considering the symbol on the front and back of his torso. Of note is that the face has two seperate expresions: one calm and collected, and one rather shocked look. I have to say, I'm not too keen on either face, mostly due to the weird monocle. This same figure is also included in set 8961, the largest of the PM sets. The vehicle itself is an easy build, although it does use some nice SNOT techniques. The vehicle is slightly front heavy, but this is easily corrected by adjusting the ball joints in the legs. It's also a squat little thing, being wider than it is tall. The prof fits in the cabin comfortably, with the dynamite and a pick axe within easy reach. Of note is perhaps my own positioning of the legs in a sort of compact transport or rest position. All in all, this set is a whole lot nicer than I expected it would be. It's small, but a walker is always fun to pose and play around with. The fact that every set includes a rock monster adds a lot to the play value, even in such a small set. Of final interest is that the instructions contain a link to www.lego.com/powerminers/buildinginstructions for the instructions to the alternate combined models. This set combines with 8956 to make the "Cave Cutter". At the moment of writing this review, this page isn't active, though. Parts: 7/10 Minifigures: 8/10 Detail: 8/10 Playability: 9/10 Price to parts: 7/10 Availability: 1/10 (for now, except in the Netherlands?) Color rating: 2/10 Overall rating: 8/10 Full gallery can be found here. EDIT: Links have been changed to normal Brickshelf links (not the deeplinks) due to the ENORMOUS size of the pics. Sorry for any inconvenience! Edited December 1, 2008 by Alldarker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Are92 RoWar Posted November 30, 2008 Darnit! I expected Fuse's face! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patriot720 Posted November 30, 2008 Wow Awesome review. The "power miners" series so far, based on this set, has exceeded my expectation! I like everything except for the colors... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fenrir Posted November 30, 2008 (edited) EDIT:Removed quote. No need to quote the entire post when replying I saw the sets to in the V&D (Leiden) and I was suprised. I don´t Like the theme so I haven´t bought anything. Edited December 1, 2008 by KimT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alldarker Posted November 30, 2008 I saw the sets to in the V&D (Leiden) and I was suprised.I don´t Like the theme so I haven´t bought anything. Well, that's funny! I might have walked past you then carrying these sets, as that is exactly the place where I bought them (using 15% extra 'Pietenkorting'). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Algernon Posted November 30, 2008 Honestly this set doesn't impress me. It's disproportionate and the hands/tools aren't very good. Good review though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VBBN Posted November 30, 2008 Thanks for the review! As I said earlier, this was the only set that I was going to get of the new line, but now that I look at it, it's pretty bad... Not as good as the EF mechs sadly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyclone Titan Posted November 30, 2008 Great review! Although this is my least favorite of the sets, it still looks okay. And upon close inspection of the rock monsters arms from inside his mouth it appears... YES! The arms are compatible with Lego arms!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raven Brickroft Posted November 30, 2008 Great review! Although this is my least favorite of the sets, it still looks okay. And upon close inspection of the rock monsters arms from inside his mouth it appears... YES! The arms are compatible with Lego arms!! And now, we'll have chunky arm people! Anyways, Great review! The rollcage does look interesting. People still have hang ups on the EF mecha. I think that the PowerMiners mechs are MEANT to look like big and clunky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Svelte Posted November 30, 2008 This set is not for me, but thanks for the detailed review. You're right, it does look... chunky. I hate those ball joint partss and thought they were used to excess in Exo-Force, so it's terrifying to see so many of them used in the baby of the Power Miner sets. Make it stop, Lego! The 'analist' (!) fig is OK but I'm not convinced by the rock monsters. I look forward to more reviews, especially that big driller, which is probably my favourite of the line Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sgt stickey Posted November 30, 2008 Rock monsters hollow??? Wierd Mustache fig.???? I still think that power miners is going to be another exo-force for me I get the sets and they are fun to play with and mostly wierd parts so they just take up space... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joebot Posted December 1, 2008 The 'analist' (!) fig is OK but I'm not convinced by the rock monsters. Yeah, that made me laugh too. At the risk of being a pedantic Spelling Cop, it's "analyst." An "analist" would be someone who's into ... well ... I'd rather not speculate. :) Thanks very much for the reviews of the Power Miners sets. It's an interesting concept for a Lego theme (like a modern updating of the old Rock Raiders, crossed with Exo-Force), but I think the execution is weak. It's just another humans vs. monsters theme, that we've already seen a dozen other times. TLC is starting to copy themselves. Are they out of new ideas?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alldarker Posted December 1, 2008 Yeah, that made me laugh too. At the risk of being a pedantic Spelling Cop, it's "analyst." An "analist" would be someone who's into ... well ... I'd rather not speculate. :)... No problem, thanks for the tip! Spelling has been changed (in both of my reviews): I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
