Review: 5928 Bi-Wing Baron

[ZO6]

Baron Von Barron flies through the skies in his speedy and well armed bi-plane - in search of treasure and trouble. Join in as we go behind the scenes of the wonderful little aircraft known as the Bi-Wing Baron.

Set # - 5928

Name - Bi-Wing Baron

Theme/Subtheme - Adventurers/Desert

Year - 1998

Piece Count - 69

Minifigures - 1 (Baron Von Barron)

Price - MSRP $6 US

Brickset, Peeron, Bricklink, Brickshelf

The Box

The set comes in a small yet attractive box. As with most from the Adventurers desert theme, the box features the logo in the top right, and a beautiful backdrop for the model. The front of the instruction manual uses the same picture as seen on the box:

The back of the box shows a couple of alternate models (again, these images are repeated on the back of the instructions):

Contents

After you've opened the box, either by punching through the tab or carefully slicing it open, you're greeted by the contents:

Instructions

A random page from the instructions - throughout the manual there are no piece call-outs, but there are sometimes sub-models. Colour differentiation is perfect - meaning light gray, dark gray, and black are all distinctly different and easy to tell apart.

Pieces

Here are all the pieces included in the set laid out. Colours are mostly black and gray (light and dark), with the red and trans-orange being used as detail. Overall a nice useful selection:

Here are a handful of the more interesting pieces. One of those wonderful printed maps is included, as well as some binoculars, a pair of flames, and a propeller. The set also includes a whopping four rifles!

Minifigure

Baron Von Barron is the lone minifigure. He is extremely common throughout the Adventurers theme, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing as it's a great minifig. He features a fantastic printed torso, some white epaulets, that famous mustached/scarred/monocled head, and an aviator helmet:

At the rear there is not much to see. There is no printing:

The Build

Assembly of the plane can now commence. We start with the lower pair of wings:

We now build up the fuselage, add a small windshield made from two 1x2 trans-clear plates, put supports for the second pair of wings in place, and add some other details such as the rifles and flames:

The model is looking much more like a bi-plane now that the top wings and tail fin are in place:

The engine housing clicks firmly into place, and some more clips for additional rifles are added:

The engine is now complete, and the plane has been topped off with that extra fire-power:

The cockpit is empty, save for the map which can be stored in a side slot:

Not much in the way of leftover pieces. Just two 1x1 round plates:

Complete Set

With landing gear added, the set is now complete:

Final Thoughts:

Pricing and value: At $6 US when it was new, you weren't going to break your bank account picking up this set. A decent price to part ratio, combined with with the end result of a cute little plane gives good value. Today, the set can be found on Bricklink and ebay for reasonable prices as well.

Design/build: Considering the piece count, you get quite an authentic looking bi-plane. The build is short, uncomplicated, but fun. Some nice little details are present, but the cockpit could really use some controls.

Pieces: A nice little variety of parts is supplied. Except for the fantastic printed map, all the other parts are quite generic - however, getting four wings and four rifles in a set this size is great. Baron Von Barron is common throughout the theme, but he is still a nicely detailed minifigure and this is a cheap way to acquire him.

Playability: VROOM! SWOOSH! Rat-a-tat-tat! This is a well built and solid little plane, perfect for plenty of swooshing action. The propeller spins very easily, meaning it's very tempting to blow on it to get it rotating. Lots of guns means you'll also want to make shooting sounds as you swoosh the plane around. This isn't a "conflict in a box" type of set, so there is no one for the Baron to face off against, and no treasure to be found.

Verdict: Baron Von Barron, guns, and swooshability. 5928 Bi-Wing Baron is really about those three things. It's not the biggest and best plane around, but it's very charming in it's own way. It makes for a great companion piece to other sets, it's easy to show off on display, and it's loads of fun to swoosh around on adventures.

As always, comments and questions are more than welcome. Cheers!

Curse you Red Baron... I mean Johnny Thunder... I mean TLC! How am I supposed to fly this thing!? There are no controls!

Edited March 23, 2010 by WhiteFang
Indexed

[prateek]

Great review! One reason I loved the JT line was because of planes like this

[Peppermint_M]

Now I had this set. It was a great one to play with and build. IT taught me a few tips for building my own planes and was certainly a must have for flying obsessed me. Thanks for the review I have the urge to go and MOC some bi-planes now...

[Big Cam]

I am really loving these adveturer reviews that you've been doing lately.

What a cool little set and I must say TLG did a pretty good job of capturing this type of plane.

Your does the set justice.

[Rufus]

Thanks for bring this range to my attention Z06! I'd never even heard of Adventurers before your reviews. And a great review this is! You've really shown of the features of the set - it does indeed look like it would have been great value at the time.

Did you acquire the MISB set recently, or have you been hoarding it all this time??

Great stuff

[ZO6]

Thanks for the comments everyone! It's satisfying to be reviewing sets from a theme that not only appeals to me, but to many others as well. It's great that some of you are discovering these sets for the first time too, I'm glad to be of service and plan on doing many more reviews.

Thanks for bring this range to my attention Z06! I'd never even heard of Adventurers before your reviews. And a great review this is! You've really shown of the features of the set - it does indeed look like it would have been great value at the time.

Did you acquire the MISB set recently, or have you been hoarding it all this time??

Great stuff

I got a large number of Adventurers set back when they were originally released, but these MISB ones that I have been and will be reviewing I just acquired recently. I could never keep a set stored away in it's box - I often have trouble waiting a couple days to open a set, little own a number of years

[sok117]

I got a large number of Adventurers set back when they were originally released, but these MISB ones that I have been and will be reviewing I just acquired recently. I could never keep a set stored away in it's box - I often have trouble waiting a couple days to open a set, little own a number of years

which other ones will you be reviewing, if you don't mind me asking?

oh and I loved the review.

[ZO6]

which other ones will you be reviewing, if you don't mind me asking?

oh and I loved the review.

My review for 5987 Dino Research Compound is currently in the works. I may do 5925 Pontoon Plane, 5978 Sphinx Secret Surprise, and 5976 River Expedition and possibly some others in the near future as well. It's likely that I throw some reviews for others themes in there along the way, but honestly I don't like to plan too far ahead.