Review: 8957 Mine Mech

[penguinz]

A lonely green crystal lies in the ground! With a drill in one hand and a grasping claw in the other hand the Mine Mech rumbles up to get the crystal. Unbeknownst to the Mine Mech is a hungry rock monster - hungry for crystals. Who will get the crystal?

Set Information:

Name: Mine Mech

Theme: Power Miners

Pieces: 67

Minifigs: 2

Price: USD: 8.00 EUR: (unknown) GBP: 5.85

Year Released: 2009

Set References: Brickset Bricklink

Official Picture:

Box:

Front of Box: The lime green with black stripes and dirt really sets the feeling of the set as a hard mining vehicle. It reminds me a bit of the Aqua Raiders' (2007) boxes.

Back of Box: On the back it shows the functions of the set along with the tools and a nice excerpt on combining multiple sets.

Instructions:

The instructions are really nice for the price of the set.

It has:

-Clear steps

-Inventory

-Piece call outs

Instructions Front: The front of the instructions are almost identical to the box front, with the exception of some black lines.

Random Page Picture: This page shows the building of the cockpit, as well as some of the nice features, such as piece call outs.

For the rest of the instructions including the inventory page, go to my Brickshelf

Build:

The build was really easy with very little Technic assembly. It took me about five minutes.

Extra Pieces:

Minifigures:

Included with this set are two minifigures, a Power Miner and Boulderax (a rock monster). The rock monster is smaller and cuter than I expected. The Power Miner is very detailed with a printed torso, legs and reversible head.

This is the other side of the Power Miner's head. He looks extremely scared.

There is also printing on the back of the Power Miner. This is one of the most heavily printed minifigures that I have seen.

Accessories:

Included in this set is a stick of dynamite, a pick ax, and a trans-green crystal. The dynamite is a new piece and the crystal is a new color for that element.

Mine Mech:

The Mine Mech uses a large amount of lime green and orange pieces. The color scheme does not clash because the orange is generally kept to the attachments. You can also see the nice new roll cage for the cockpit.

From the side, you can see how the claw attaches. I found it a slight disappointment that the claw was mounted sideways.

On the other side you will find how they did the drill. It is extended just enough so that you can mine while the machine is facing forward. There is a black gear on the back that can be used to spin the drill.

The back is not as bare as the Exo-Force battle machines, yet it still is lacking.

Final Rating, Final Picture, and Thoughts:

Rating:

Playability: 5/5 (All of the functions work perfectly and the rock monster adds great playability)

Design: 3/5 (From the side you will notice that it is a bit bulky in the middle and cockpit. Also it falls over if you do not place it in just the right position)

Build: 5/5 (Not at all boring and very little repeated steps)

Pieces: 5/5 (Great colors and a large amount of lime green along with some new pieces)

Price: 4/5 (It needs about ten more pieces and is a bit too small.)

Total: 4.4/5

Final Picture:

Thoughts:

At first I thought Power Miners was a total failure. I am now convinced that it may be one of the best themes this year. The lime green, orange, black, and dark gray color scheme works nice and does not clash. Even though the rock monsters may be small and cute I still think that they fit the part. The Mine Mech functions perfectly and can be set in a variety of poses. Overall I recommend you to try at least one of the Power Miner sets, this one especially. They are cheap and offer a great selection of pieces.

Sometimes knights don't come in shining armor:

Thanks for reading!

Edited June 26, 2009 by WhiteFang
Indexed

[LegoLyons]

Nice review, and pretty much how I see it too, I have a small collection of the power miners now, and love the theme, just need one more set, then I will try my remote control Power Miner MOC.

[The Cobra]

I rated it average. I don't think this set has something special. Plus, here in Italy, some shops sell it for the same price of the Granite grinder.

Thanks for the review.

[UsernameMDM]

Average for me. I like the set alright, but there are a few ways to improve it.