Sign in to follow this  
sigmeister

Review: Oxford Military (MLRS) Set NCM0848

Recommended Posts

Just recently, I went to South Korea for my winter vacation and I purchased two Oxford (Korean Lego) Military Sets. The first set I will be reviewing today is NCM 48000, or for simplicity’s sake I’ll just call it the MLRS set. (MLRS stands for Multiple Launch Rocket System; MLRS is the name of the actual military vehicle that this Lego set is based upon.)

Set Name: Military Force 2-Cobra Force (MLRS set)

Set Code: NCM 48000

Theme: Military

Pieces: N/A (Sorry , I was too lazy to count all of them, but there are quite a few.)

Year: Unknown

Price: 37,400 S. Korean Won / $32.54* / 22.55* Euros / 20.21* GBP

*These prices are not exact. The exchange rate constantly changes day to day.

Box Art:

170.jpg

The box art itself is a work of art. All three vehicles and mini-troops are shown amidst an intense battle. The box is very well made and will insure that the pieces will not be harmed in transit.

171.jpg

The front part of the box has a flap that opens to reveal the pieces enclosed within. Very nice presentation.

172.jpg

Back of the box has specs for the vehicles and troops.

173.jpg

Inside the box, there is a sturdy cardboard tray that contains all the pieces.

Contents:

174.jpg

The pieces come in plastic bags. I later found out 2 downsides about the plastic bags are that they are not numbered or grouped as well as Lego bags. (Note the stickers.)

OxfordMilitarySet020.jpg

I am not a huge stickers fan, but here they are. They look pretty good to me.

OxfordSet012.jpg

Most of the pieces out of their bags. The bricks themselves are well made and solid, but not totally up to par with Lego bricks. Only very few bricks didn't fit perfectly. (Example: long flat pieces required some strength to put together.) Other than that these bricks are perfect because 1) they can be used with Lego bricks, and 2) there are some unique bricks that Lego does not make.)

Accessories:

OxfordMilitarySet018.jpg

One great thing about Oxford sets is that they come with a lot of accessory pieces. These tool pieces are probably for the transport truck crew. Examples of accessory pieces are shovel, electric screwdriver, binoculars, backpacks, hammer, walkie-talkies, and an ammo box. Don't fear brick gun lovers, there plenty of guns included in this set. I will talk about them later.

Instruction Manual:

176.jpg

The manual was easy to comprehend. There is a box beside each step to indicate what pieces and how many of those pieces are need to complete the stage.

Star of the Show-MLRS:

OxfordMilitarySet004.jpg

This Oxford Lego model is based off the M270 MLRS used by S. Korea, the U.S., and various other NATO countries. I think Oxford did a fantastic job portraying the MLRS in brick form.

Check out all those openable hatches and doors! (Note: The rockets inside the launcher are actually removable.)

OxfordMilitarySet002.jpg

Private First Class Lee is relaxed yet guarded, but wait what's happening?

OxfordMilitarySet003.jpg

The MLRS operator decides to play a prank on Lee by closing all doors and hatches, and swings the launcher into ready position. PFC Lee RUNS to clear the blast area!!!

Jeep:

OxfordMilitarySet005.jpg

This is model is just a generic jeep. That's quite a long antenna though eh? I wish that the jeep was a little longer; there is not a lot of room for anything else other than two mini troops.

OxfordMilitarySet006.jpg

The commanding officer and his gunner.

OxfordMilitarySet007.jpg

Rear view showing the spare tire. The tires are well-made, and they are more "rubbery"

than Lego tires.

Transport Truck:

OxfordMilitarySet008.jpg

This truck is most likely loosely based off the Oshkosh military transport truck. It is just as well designed as both the jeep and the MLRS. It's great that Oxford included this truck in the set as a sort of a dual-role transport/support vehicle to compliment the MLRS.

OxfordMilitarySet009.jpg

The doors open on this truck and...

OxfordMilitarySet010.jpg

so do the side panels! Playability is superb with all the vehicles.

Mini Troops:

OxfordMilitarySet013.jpg

Close-up of a driver and a commanding officer. The mini troops are attractive and the appendages are all compatible with Lego mini figs. You gotta love the ammo pouches, belts, vests, helmet, and beret on these mini troops.

OxfordMilitarySet014.jpg

Close-up of a sniper and rifleman. For all you brick arm lovers this set comes with 3 K1 (national assault rifle of S. Korea) rifles, 1 sniper rifle, 1 commander's pistol, and 1 machine gun (which looks to be an M60).

OxfordMilitarySet015.jpg

The support gunner is all business.

OxfordMilitarySet019.jpg

Left over extra pieces. :)

Set Photo:

OxfordMilitarySet011.jpg

Final Say:

Minifigs: 10/10 Can you say OCHO? Eight mini troops ready to defend your brick city or town.

Parts: 9/10 Yea, yea, I know they're not Lego, but they're damn close to it. Plus you can use Oxford bricks with Lego bricks, and you get some unique pieces that Lego doesn't make. Not to mention all those accessories.

Price: 10/10 The brick count to price of the set is outstanding! Oxford is very generous.

Playability: 10/10 You have eight mini soldiers (with accessory tools and weapons) and 3 vehicles with many movable, openable hatches and doors. You can spend all day waging battles.

Design: 9/10 The vehicles are wonderfully-designed and 2 out of 3 vehicles are based upon real world military vehicles. I think they could have designed the jeep a bit better. I would suggest making it longer and with a hard-top.

Score: 48/50

Comments: All in all, I would recommend this set to any Lego lover. Lego doesn't produce any military themed sets, so this would be your best bet if you want quality military sets. I haven't seen any of these sets on for sale in the United States, except for on eBay. Your best bet would be to travel to Korea or ask a traveling friend to get you a set.

Review Coming Soon for the Tank Set:

OxfordMilitaryTank001.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Clone bricks, since they aren't actually LEGO, go in community. (I'll move this there now.)

Thanks for the review though. :sweet:

The MLRS and the Oshkosh are decent designs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Clone bricks, since they aren't actually LEGO, go in community. (I'll move this there now.)

Thanks for the review though. :sweet:

The MLRS and the Oshkosh are decent designs.

Oops sorry about that. Thanks

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great Review!

While I'm generally not a fan of Clone Brands, these look nice, and as I live in South Korea, almost every store off base has these, so I might actually pick one or two up. Are the Mini troop's helmeats compattable with LEGO Minifigs?

-'Skintas

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great Envy... I would love to get an Oxford Set (I lean more towards the ancient korea sets).

Brilliant review, covered all needed points. :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Finaly someone who reviewed Oxford sets! (Not cheap and bad Sluban sets).

That would be great if Lego and Oxford united....

I think you gave to many points for minifigs- their faces are so ugly...

Edited by Lordofdragonss

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Finaly someone who reviewed Oxford sets! (Not cheap and bad Sluban sets).

That would be great if Lego and Oxford united....

I think you gave to many points for minifigs- their faces are so ugly...

Funnily enough, Oxford and Sluban are made in the same factory and are in fact the same pieces... Only the name is different! :laugh:

I bought a couple of Sluban / Oxford army sets myself as in the Netherlands, there are a few shops which import them (even here in Europe the price is actually practically the same as stated). Designs are interesting: as stated they are based on real Russian army vehicles. The builds are rather simple though. Like stated in the review some bricks snap on rather tightly.

In my opinion, the best thing about the Sluban / Oxford sets are the minifig helmets, which are indeed perfectly exchangable with Lego minifigs (although slightly on the tight side), and which look SO much better than the Army Men helmets from the Toy Story set. The minifigs themselves are total rubbish: I have had a couple which were broken straight from the box.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments

Great Review!

While I'm generally not a fan of Clone Brands, these look nice, and as I live in South Korea, almost every store off base has these, so I might actually pick one or two up. Are the Mini troop's helmeats compattable with LEGO Minifigs?

-'Skintas

Yes, they are compatible.

Finaly someone who reviewed Oxford sets! (Not cheap and bad Sluban sets).

That would be great if Lego and Oxford united....

I think you gave to many points for minifigs- their faces are so ugly...

Haha. I think their faces look fine. There's only so many mini fig faces even in Lego.

Funnily enough, Oxford and Sluban are made in the same factory and are in fact the same pieces... Only the name is different! :laugh:

I bought a couple of Sluban / Oxford army sets myself as in the Netherlands, there are a few shops which import them (even here in Europe the price is actually practically the same as stated). Designs are interesting: as stated they are based on real Russian army vehicles. The builds are rather simple though. Like stated in the review some bricks snap on rather tightly.

In my opinion, the best thing about the Sluban / Oxford sets are the minifig helmets, which are indeed perfectly exchangable with Lego minifigs (although slightly on the tight side), and which look SO much better than the Army Men helmets from the Toy Story set. The minifigs themselves are total rubbish: I have had a couple which were broken straight from the box.

Sorry to hear that; you must of gotten some lemons or they were broken in transit. My minifigs seem fine. Time will tell.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice review, you covered it all, but all of it seems like junk to me.

The figs are mis-shaped and their feet just annoy me, otherwise if fake bricks are your thing, it's cool.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How are they fake bricks? Sorry to snark but even Lego can count as a fake considering that they were taken from an existing design that was so slightly altered its hard to tell the difference...

So those helmets do fit on Lego heads? I thought the peg inside them didnt fit onto Lego heads or is that just some of the older sets? All my Sluban riot helmets don't go on at all...

It's also interesting to know that Sluban and Oxford are one and the same, I'd heard that one was a bootleg of another.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
How are they fake bricks? Sorry to snark but even Lego can count as a fake considering that they were taken from an existing design that was so slightly altered its hard to tell the difference...

So those helmets do fit on Lego heads? I thought the peg inside them didnt fit onto Lego heads or is that just some of the older sets? All my Sluban riot helmets don't go on at all...

It's also interesting to know that Sluban and Oxford are one and the same, I'd heard that one was a bootleg of another.

That was my way of expressing that they were LEGO knock-offs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the review, I actually do like this set, as well as the tank one.

I would actually buy them if I encountered them at a fair price into the shelves, but I wouldn't go scavenging for them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good~

Oxford is the only opponent of Lego In Korea.

The set that you bought is one of your best seller. (코브라 전투단)

I used to have one of these set when I was 12 years old :classic:

The important thing is that, It is made in Korea with the same ABS

So the quality is better than some Fake Chinese Lego.

Nice review~ :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

These Oxford sets are pretty nice. I see a few cases of inconsistent color quality on the bricks, but the vehicle designs and minifig accessories are quite good. I would consider buying these sets if they were more widely available.

The box design is also impressive and is superior to the current Lego boxes. It reminds me of the old Lego boxes in fact.

That was my way of expressing that they were LEGO knock-offs.

You do know that Lego bricks were originally a clone of a Kiddiecraft product, right? :tongue:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
You do know that Lego bricks were originally a clone of a Kiddiecraft product, right? :tongue:

Yes I do, but it doesn't change my opinion.

I think it's clear that LEGO is predominately dominant as the market standard for building bricks. That's where I stand as well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

stop the hating. be open minded as more Sluban military reviews will be coming your way. Unless Moderator decided to ban us (me) from posting these reviews that is.

Funnily enough, Oxford and Sluban are made in the same factory and are in fact the same pieces... Only the name is different! :laugh:

how do you know that? I always thought Sluban is copying the Oxford sets?

Oxford is "made in china" as well? :tongue:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Eh, I like these Oxford sets, I have a Sluban Set to review along with a Best Lock set. Lego is the best of the brands but more people should acknowledge Kiddicraft. Tyco deserved to keep developing their bricks (still shiny fresh today while their contemporary Lego bricks are UV'd grimy and dull) and all power to the competitiors who seem to provide more bricks per box.

Are the designs of the sets transferable to Lego? It would be cool to make those in sand green or tan/dark tan for rival factions or different environment operations.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Yes I do, but it doesn't change my opinion.

I think it's clear that LEGO is predominately dominant as the market standard for building bricks. That's where I stand as well.

I see, so any product that becomes dominant makes the competition "fake" and "knock offs?" I guess all OSs other than Windows must be fake then. :tongue:

Seriously, it doesn't pay to be a fanboy. Now I generally prefer Lego too and have almost no clone pieces in my collection, but that is for objective and quantifiable reasons and not because the others are "fake." Oxford seems to be one of the better clones from what people say around here.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Vehicles are designed very well. I must say I like them a lot. I would not buy them, I don't want to mix brands. But these are really nice, if we forget about minor quality issues.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
So those helmets do fit on Lego heads? I thought the peg inside them didnt fit onto Lego heads or is that just some of the older sets?
Well, these fit perfect. Brickarms fans love them.

brickarms2.jpg

I see, so any product that becomes dominant makes the competition "fake" and "knock offs?" I guess all OSs other than Windows must be fake then. :tongue:

Seriously, it doesn't pay to be a fanboy. Now I generally prefer Lego too and have almost no clone pieces in my collection, but that is for objective and quantifiable reasons and not because the others are "fake." Oxford seems to be one of the better clones from what people say around here.

Good point.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I see, so any product that becomes dominant makes the competition "fake" and "knock offs?" I guess all OSs other than Windows must be fake then. :tongue:

Seriously, it doesn't pay to be a fanboy. Now I generally prefer Lego too and have almost no clone pieces in my collection, but that is for objective and quantifiable reasons and not because the others are "fake." Oxford seems to be one of the better clones from what people say around here.

Very well said.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
How are they fake bricks? Sorry to snark but even Lego can count as a fake considering that they were taken from an existing design that was so slightly altered its hard to tell the difference...

So those helmets do fit on Lego heads? I thought the peg inside them didnt fit onto Lego heads or is that just some of the older sets? All my Sluban riot helmets don't go on at all...

It's also interesting to know that Sluban and Oxford are one and the same, I'd heard that one was a bootleg of another.

I tried fitting all 3 helmets on Lego heads, and they do fit. The slight problem is that it is a tight fit so you have to pull the head and the helmets apart.

Yes I do, but it doesn't change my opinion.

I think it's clear that LEGO is predominately dominant as the market standard for building bricks. That's where I stand as well.

Opinions are like buttholes; everyone has one. I do agree that LEGO has set the bar for quality building bricks, but it's nice to see some competition. Competition allows companies to churn out their best products, may reduce cost, and allows consumers to have several choices.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As much as some of you like the look of this set I just see it as a knock off brand. Sure there might be the odd set that may be appealing but they dont have the same feel as lego does. The weight of the brick, the feel and the locking bricks just make lego bricks just so special

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I see, so any product that becomes dominant makes the competition "fake" and "knock offs?" I guess all OSs other than Windows must be fake then. :tongue:

Seriously, it doesn't pay to be a fanboy. Now I generally prefer Lego too and have almost no clone pieces in my collection, but that is for objective and quantifiable reasons and not because the others are "fake." Oxford seems to be one of the better clones from what people say around here.

:thumbup: I agree with you. Due to LEGO's notoriety and almost monopolistic grip on the brick business, most people pass off building bricks made by other companies other than LEGO as "clones" and "fake". But keep in mind that LEGO is a brand name. In America the most common brand of facial tissue is Kleenex, but because it is so well known almost everyone asks for a "Kleenex", instead of asking for a facial tissue or saying the specific non-Kleenex brand name.

Edited by sigmeister

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
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.