Pchan1983

Here is my review on LEGO Friends 42618 Heartlake City Café: THE GOOD: From the front, it looks great with interesting new ways to build various part of the cafe. An interior that replicate a modern cafe well with some very detailed kitchen set up. Goes well with 42606 Mobile Bakery Food Cart. THE NOT SO GOOD: I wish it has a roof. Missed opportunity to be able to integrate with the Heartlake City Community series. I own 42606 Mobile Bakery Food Cart, when this set is announced I immediately noticed the logo and thought this one looks nice. And this set does looks nice indeed. It's a corner type small building with an interesting colour pallet. The exterior featuring some refreshing use to pieces that often only utilised in a more castle setting. And mixing with the windows makes this look very good exterior wise. It also features some of the more interesting ways to place tiles despite it limited space and the angles entrance. The Interior is also very detailed. It really captures the vibes of modern cafes. But I'm more impressed with all the little builds at the counter & kitchen. The contact less payment machine is really cool. This set also comes with a scooter with a new colour. Minidolls come with a new head gear, beanie with hair exposed which recently has a new colour variant from the JAWS set. Beatriz also features the same uniform in 42606, and this really enhance the value of this set as now the small set can play a bigger part now. The only thing I wish LEGO could have done is having an actual roof. I know it's to enhance playability and keep the set at certain price point but still it would be nice to have a roof. The other thought I have was, it will be even greater if this can also integrate with the Heartlake City Community Kitchen and Centre, but then again by doing that could have shoot the price of this set up. I got this set with 20% off which made it a very good deal and the set is actually pretty good if you want something fun and look nice but not perfect.

Here is my review on LEGO Harry Potter 76424 Flying Ford Anglia: THE GOOD: Great build and great looking car. Interior designed in a way that small legs minifigure looks like they are sitting in the car. THE NOT SO GOOD: The white print of the doors has inconsistent colour compared to white bricks. After I bought the Burrow and saw this at 20%, ended up buying this despite it was never on my radar to purchase. To my surprise, it may be one of the best small car build recently. The build was fun and a lot of details has been put in to create a car that looks as close to the real thing as possible. It even has a trunk that can fit luggages. I like the fact the designer found a new way to fit small legs minifigures in the car looking like they are sitting. The minor flaw of the set is really the white line print on the door. The colour just doesn't fit well with the rest of the white line created by bricks. Having said, the build and end results are great. With 2 key minfigures and a relatively cheap price, it's definitely a set I would recommend.

yes, I wonder why they decided to have such a big gap.

Here is my review on LEGO City 60423 Downtown Streetcar and Station: THE GOOD: Very nicely down cafe/kiosk roof. The tram/street car do look good. The adjustable platform is fun. THE NOT SO GOOD: The head and tail basically identical, splitting build in separate instruction feel unnecessary. A set with a tram while not being a full blown train set. Bought this not for the tram originally but for the new minifigure head with sunglasses on. Despite the build of the tram's head and tail are identical, overall it was a fun build. The colour scheme and the trams, I do think these look good. I do wonder when LEGO is going to make sliding doors happening on trains rather than how you traditionally open door. One thing did bother me was that all 3 cars are connected, but it does look like not all 3 cars are linked and the minifigures can move around the tram. In term of the station, I really like the care/kiosk, the roof is a very cool looking build. The platform is also smartly done and an action features to make hoping onto the tram easier. The minifigures line-up is a bit disappointing given only 1 minifigure has new head part. But this minifigure do look nice, as the head is not just designed to represent the visually impaired but can also be a general guy wearing glasses. This set also includes a guide dog. This is a set I like but also feel like something missing. While this set doesn't break the bank but I still recommend you wait and observe to get the max discount on this set. If you previously owns LEGO tracks due to buying LEGO trains, this is a set for you. Although there are flaws, still a good sets \.

Here is my review on LEGO Harry Potter 76437 The Burrow – Collectors' Edition: THE GOOD: It's a great looking set and first Burrow that can be fully closed. Interesting building experience with some very cool techniques to create the exterior details and textures. Interior is also pack with details with a selection of interesting furniture builds. The full Weasley family in one set plus Harry Potter. THE NOT SO GOOD: While the interior is packed with details but it's very crowded inside and some areas ended up close to inaccessible. Expensive. Wasn't intended to buy this on day 1 but the promo with 3 GWPs got me. And it turned out great. The set looks really great on its own. It's tall but being the first burrow that can be fully closed, it packs with cool techniques to build the rather unique shape of the burrow and aesthetics of the exterior. The tiles application is so satisfying and must mentioned the different type of Windows styles included in this set. The interior is also packed with details and action features. Obviously, there is the floo network through the fire place. It's exact same building techniques as the Floo Network GWPs. You can also remove Ron and Ginny's rooms in a modular way to access them more easily. The bathroom is a nice small detailed bathroom and I absolutely love the double bed in the parents room. The use of stairs pieces for the roof creates a very common look in most real world houses. With all the cool details in the interior, it is indeed a bit disappointing with it being a little crowded due to lack of space. And some parts are even close to inaccessible when the build is finished. This also made me feel the dinning area of the previous 2020 burrow is better. Having said that, it doesn't deny the fact this set is an excellent looking model and perfect for shelves display. On top of that, it includes 10 minifigures and you get the whole Weasley family. All minifigures are nicely down and with the first figure for Bill and Charlie, I expect the line up will surely satisfy most HP fans. This set does not come cheap though, at $450NZD I do feel it should be between $380-$400NZD considering what you get in the end. But anyway, I do like the set and if you meet the timing for nice GWPs or double VIP and love Harry Potter, then definitely go for it.

n some countries, your lego sets have a local label to tell you where did your set come from. (e.g. Lego sets bought from Shanghai lego store has a label indicating they are from the new jiaxing factory). However, in New Zealand we don't have such labels. Is there anyway to tell which distribution centre/factory did the set come from? On the lego website, I saw this https://www.lego.com/en-US/service/help-topics/fun-for-fans/behind-the-scenes/brick-facts/manufacturing-codes about the code to identify your set's origin but it doesn't tell you how to identify the origin.

Here is my review on LEGO City 60425 Jungle Explorer Water Plane: THE GOOD: The water plane is great with space to fit 2 minifigs and some good use of parts to create the shape and design. 2 crocs and 1 baby croc THE NOT SO GOOD: Couldn't find anything specific to this set. Finally by buying this, I've completed all 4 maps. And this set is actually pretty nice. The water plane is done quite well with great use of parts to create exterior designs. And able to fit both minifigures in the plane is great. Also I like the fact they include not just one but 2 crocodiles, plus a new baby crocodile. The little swamp area does look small compared to other sets in the theme but you can always combine with other sets if you have them. Really couldn't think of anything that is not so good specifically to this set. If you like collecting LEGO animals and want to complete the bigger jungle map without waiting for Pick a Brick, this is a nice little set for you. Especially, you can get at least 20% off mostly.

you can just roll it up, the ramp to get it on the tracks. it actually works quite well. yea, it feels like each cars are separate

Just built the new Borgin and Burkes, it's a nice little set but I wish it something could integrated to other sets more seemlessly but still a nice small set to get.

Here is my review on LEGO The Legend of Zelda 77092 Great Deku Tree 2-in-1: THE GOOD: It's a great diorama type set with a challenging yet fun build. The Deku tree is done exceptionally well with a the little details recreated using existing lego pieces. New exclusive element and print that would make Zelda fans happy. Excellent minifigures. Full of excellent references to the game. THE NOT SO GOOD: The price is steep and may be too steep for some. The 2 small trees around deku tree can be a frustrating build. Due to the complexity of the default build, deconstructing to build the other version is not practical. As a fan of the game, this set is a dream comes true. And I decided to build the Breath of the Wild configuration. First this set is massive, you can't really tell the true size from pictures. At first I thought needed more leaves but in the end it looks stunning. And the area keeping the master sword gave this set such a good depth. The whole area is packed with references to game and details with surprising building Techniques. Although some part between the green and water could use a bit more textures for a smoother transition. The Deku tree itself is a challenging build, especially the action feature. It does look simple but it uses so many small pieces to make it work. It took me an hour to build that. The most impressive parts though is how they use LEGO pieces without stickers or print to create an exterior with details that capture the vibe of the game so well. From the mixture of new flesh colour leaves with pink leaves to the big roots of Deku tree. The Great Deku tree also comes with some interior details that are full of cool references to the game executed so well. From the mushroom shop to the Koroks, everything just great. Having said that, the 2 small trees around Deku tree can be frustrating to build. While both looks great but the use of candle piece and existing branches piece really makes it a mission to build. Aside from the Deku Tree, you also get to build Link's house from Ocarina of Time. It's a small build but it has a crates with iconic items. From brick built hookshot to a brand new shield piece for the Hylian shield. Now the minifigures, while it's a bit boring to have 3 Links but it all makes sense. From Link to princess Zelda, all are excellent minifigures. I do wish they make one more variant of Link head with eye closed given they included an Ocarina of Time. The ocarina though, probably one shade too blue. Otherwise I really appreciate the effort of making so many new parts without stickers. Despite I chose to build the BOTW version, bag 23 does allow you to build some of the iconic items and creatures from Ocarina of Time. However, in order to build the Ocarina of Time version of Deku Tree, it is not practical at all given the complexities involved in being Deku Tree and you will need some effort to deconstruct it. So I would not say this is 2 in 1 at all. Basically you will need to choose up front of which version you prefer, or you have to buy 2. And that's the problem because this set is expensive. Even as a fan and very happy with the day, I wish it's $100NZD cheaper. And this set is truely made for Zelda fans, it's very hard sell to people have never experience the game as most of the impressive parts of this set only makes sense if you have played the game before. In the end, definitely a set I would recommend to all Zelda fans out there but it will be a hard sell for people who doesn't know much about Zelda. Now my question is, will LEGO make more?

thank you =) The actual set looks a lot nicer than any pictures or videos

Here is my review on LEGO Marvel 76232 The Hoopty based on The Marvels: THE GOOD: At its size, the Hoopty is a nice spaceship with great finish and somewhat different building experience compare to your usual spaceship. Great minifigures despite missing some leg prints as per usual. Surprisingly packed interior details. Never say no more LEGO cats. THE NOT SO GOOD: Ridiculously overpriced. The opening mechanism means it needed to leave a gap at where the roof connects. The closing of the roof doesn't work as smooth. It's really hard to review this set because without discount, the price is ridiculous. Before I start, anyone actually bought this set full price? So put the pricing aside, assuming this is a $50-$60 NZD range set, it's a decent spaceship with an unique building experience, great exterior finish, surprisingly packed interior and great minifigures. I particularly like the engine thrust and the back window created using orange transparent pieces. Despite the small size, it has a very busy interior with some nice sticker utilising both stickers and mini builds. The scientific equipment builds are simple and great to be reused. It does lack play features as it only has 2 studs shooter and the opening mechanism for you to access the interior. This also leave a gap before where this connects and the rest of the roof, I accept that a some kind of vent. The opening works well but the closing of it is not smooth as the side of the front can sometimes hinders the canopy, and needed some intervention for it to close. The minifigures are great and the main reason I bought this set. As usual not all minifigures have legs print except Ms. Marvel. Both Carol and Monica are great update except I wish both has an 2nd face to show their power. Ms. Marvel is definitely the best of the 3 with detailed print on both torso and legs. Unfortunately, mid size legs might makes more sense but doesn't deny the fact the minifigures on its own is excellent. By including 2 kitten and 1 cat (Goose) as the Flerkens is great as I would never say NO to more LEGO cats. Now, back to reality, despite a 40% off deal, it still felt expensive. I just don't know how LEGO put a RRP tag of NZD$170 on a set of this size, they even use a BIGGER size box to makes it feel like a more expensive set lol. Because of the ridiculous price, I just can't find reason to recommend this. Even you are a MCU fan like me, the only time I recommend you to buy this set is when you get a very good clearance deal. No doubt the minifigures will be getting more expensive (especially Ms Marvel) as it's very unlikely we will see these characters in upcoming sets until any Secret Wars tie-ins. So if you are really into the minifigures and manage to find a good deal, then better get it now.

it really depends on which properties you like more. As a fan of the MCU and never really watched the X-Men series, this would be my preference. that's a very good deal =)

Here is my review on 60377 Explorer Diving Boat: THE GOOD: New Marine animals, 3 of them are re-colour but looking good. Surprisingly good looking underwater location build. THE NOT SO GOOD: High price. Originally have no plans to buy this to save money but Amazon AU was selling at 40 NZD, with a new sea turtle, recoloured baby turtle, hammerhead and sting ray, rather then wait for P&B for the animals, it might be cheaper to buy the set. Turns out the animals are pretty good and the location for them is great too. Love the use to the mop piece as sea weed. Depending on how you display it, putting a diver and lock the hammerhead on a sea weed makes it look very lively. The boat is very simple but still looks kinda cool in my opinion. No stickers is a plus but obviously this set is targeting a younger demographic so you can't expect much in terms of building experience. If you have other sets in the same save, the minifigures can be repetitive too. Now, will I buy this set without the discount, probably not with current cost of living crisis. Without discount at $63NZD, it's really a bit too much even when I have the spare $$$. So, if you able to find a good deal or clearance deal and you like collecting lego animals, this is something I would recommend. Otherwise, it's probably just a bit too expensive compared to what you get.

Here is my review on LEGO CREATOR 3-in-1 31153 Modern House: THE GOOD: Looks great and fun build. Decent size with lots of details both outside and inside. The best brick built chair plus tons of cool furniture builds. THE NOT SO GOOD: Due to not being a modular, it does make building details of 2nd floor a bit more challenging. WOW, what a set! It's a modern house at decent size & very good looking. It's perfect to place next to the LEGO Friends Modern Mansion. The less vibrant/colourful design made this look more elegant. The exterior details are top notch. With an interesting build and some surprisingly building techniques, these made this set a fun set. But it's not just the exterior, the interior features even more unexpected details. From a coffee table, the huge bed to one of the best brick built chair ever. The use of element for this chair is brilliant and it works well too. The show room is also great with very nicely down floor. It does missing a glass or shower curtain as it's a very open design, obviously this house is for a couple's good time =) And the whole set has the potential to become something better and bigger. While building it, I can see what the other half of the house looks like and really tempted to buy another one. Having said that, this is does has some flaws, particularly due to this not buiit in a modular way, 2nd floor building can be extra challenging as you basically build directly on top. But all the other positive parts made up for it. At 180NZD RRP, it's not cheap but often you get decent discount on these type of set which makes it very appealing considering what you will get from this set. Without hesitation, I will definitely recommend this set to everyone!

Here is my review on LEGO Harry Potter 76431 Hogwarts Castle: Potions Class: THE GOOD: The new flasks and effects are great. It's pretty detailed considering the size of the set. Surprisingly good standalone set even when it is closed. THE NOT SO GOOD: The stickers on the curved tile is a nightmare to apply. Bought this set purely for the new flasks and effect parts, those are great as expected. These new parts just opened up a lot of opportunities in other creation. I also really like this set in the end. The overall building experience is great, despite being a small set and mainly an open design, there are surprisingly good amount to detailed incorporated into the set. While it is also designed to integrate the bigger part of the Hogwarts Castle, when it is closed, it also look surprisingly well by itself. The 4 minifigures included are great, with 3 of the minifigures are currently exclusive to this set. I particularly like Seamus's face. The only issue I had with this set are the stickers for the design on the curved tiles. It was such a mission to make sure it is aligned or let's say within the boundary of the lego piece. Other than that, this is a fun set with some cool new useful parts. Yes the standard price is high but with 20% or more discount, made this a very good deal. Definitely will recommend this set if you like Harry Potter, and also have bought other parts of Hogwarts Castle. Or if you are like me, just genuinely interested in cool new parts then it's a set for you.

yes that one is Fortnite. I'm want to get that too =D

Here is my review on LEGO DreamZzz 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures: THE GOOD: 5 excellent minifigures. The new printed tiles and parts. The default bird build is with great colours and movements. THE NOT SO GOOD: Price is steep. With the price of this new Dreamzzz wave seems to shoot up higher, this is one of the few sets I decided to get if there is good deal instead of waiting for the cool parts to be available at PAB. First the minifigures are excellent in this. Yes, some of them is limited to the Dreamzzz settings but I cannot deny how detailed every single one of them are. And it is interesting to see mirrored version of previous characters. I decided to go for the default build, the bird. It is a smaller bird compared to the bigger set, Never witch's raven but this one is pretty cool. It looks good and has a very interesting build through out. I like the use of some parts makes it different to other brick built birds I have built before. I particularly love the wings. There are quite a few movements you can do but due to the design, some poses might not possible due to the weight distribution. The other highlight of this set is definitely the new parts and I'm glad some of the new decorated tiles are printed instead of clear stickers. You get 4 variations of the new printed tile in this. In the end, I really like this set. I didn't bother to try the other 2 alternate builds offered as the bird looks better than the mech and the dog. The only down side it really the price of this. RRP is $80NZD, luckily I got 20% off. It's a set I would recommend if you are into interesting lego parts and minifigures.

Here is my review on 75389 The Dark Falcon: THE GOOD: 6 exclusive minifigures and all done well. It's a great build and the colour scheme looks great. The interior is what set this apart from other millennium falcon. THE NOT SO GOOD: It's expensive! With a 20% off discount deal, I decided to buy this now and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved it. While this is not the first LEGO Millennium Falcon in this scale I bought, it is the first one I've built. I had a great time building this, from the base, exterior to the interior, it was fun. The top part can be a bit repetitive towards the end but other parts made up for it. It also look great, and I think the black and red colours scheme works better than the 2 tone grey look compared to the millennium falcon. The interior though, is what set this apart. There are tons of details that are really nice. The throne seat, the prison and the gaming area. I found it interesting it's a console looking like a PS5. Then we have the 6 excellent exclusive minifigures. If you told me these are real before this was announced and the Rebuild the Galaxy teaser, I wouldn't have believe you. In fact when this was first rumoured, I thought it was fake news. All 6 are done with excellent details, my favourites are definitely Jedi Vader and Beach Luke, in fact Beach Luke is so good it fits outside Star Wars too. Getting sith lord version of usual good characters is fun, although the C3PO with red eyes does look a bit creepy. Overall, it's a great set. You may have concerns on the build may be very similar to past falcons in the same scale, but I do think you still going to get a brand new experience due to the interior and also use of new lego pieces. The only downside of this set is really the price. without discount, it's NZD330, while the volume of the set is big with only good things to talk about even with inflation considered, a jump from NZD200 on the Force Awakens Millennium Falcon I bought 9 years ago still feel may be 50NZD over priced. Luckily the discount I got kinda make it more reasonable. Other than that, it's a great set that I definitely would recommend. Now I want to open and build the 2015 Millennium Falcon to place it next to this.

yea, only available via LEGO shop at home.

Here is my review on LEGO Monkie Kid 6476261 Monkie Kid 5th Anniversary Cake: THE GOOD: Awesome 5th Anniversary Monkey King minifigure. Also a 5th Anniversary exclusive printed tile. The cake consists of the full Monkie Kid Team. THE NOT SO GOOD: Availability is basically, unknown at this point. Given the uncertainty on this set availability, I decided to buy this off Bricklink from a seller in Macau. It took a while but finally arrived, and it did not disappoint. As the main driver for me is the exclusive minifigure and print, I'm very happy with the minifigure. This Monkey King features an exclusive head with the iconic 5th anniversary glassed, the 2nd face is also exclusive to this one with an expression looking like he is blowing some candles. The torso and legs are reused though. I'm glad that this set has no stickers, which brought us the exclusive printed tile of the 5th anniversary logo which is done brilliantly. However, I was very satisfied with this set not just because the parts I'm looking for but this small birthday cake build is actually pretty good. And if you love the Monkie Kid theme, you will love the look of it as it features brick built head of all 6 members of the Monkie Kid squad. This makes it a truely unique set. The only problem is this set is extremely hard to find! I have not heard anything about availability outside China. While the price I paid is somewhat affordable but combined with shipping, it's a hefty price I have to pay. Although the exclusive parts are totally worth it given I love the theme. Let's hope cool set like this will be available more widely.

Here is my review on LEGO Speed Champions 76934 Ferrari F40 Supercar: THE GOOD: Looks great and a significant improvement from the previous version. Fun and interesting builds with some very unique designs. THE NOT SO GOOD: Wish the side emblem is printed. Some stickers may be difficult to align. In the beginning, I thought is it too soon to have an updated 8 studs wide version of the F40? After building the set, absolutely yes! This is another great entry to the speed champions and I truely think this era of supercar really fits LEGO speed champions well. First it looks stunning and much more closer to the real thing compared to the previous version for obvious reasons. But the overall building experience and some of the designs decision they took to recreate some of the shape are fresh and interesting. The use of spoon, how the front and rear are built, the side doors, engine... just too many to highlight and it's best to experience it yourself. Yes, some of the stickers are difficult to align and apply but it's not that many compared to most other Speed Champions sets. More importantly, crucial parts are all printed except may be the side emblem which I wish also printed. As usual you get a minifigure with Ferrari Apparel, the sweater does look a bit simple but it's always good to get unique torso =). Given it's a single car speed champions set, the price is also wallet friendly as you would get discount off this set easily. It's definitely a recommendation from me and can't wait to see more awesome Speed Champions set in the near future.

Thanks. There are some great sets from Monkie Kid. The Heavenly Realms and Flower Fruits Mountain are the top two and both are great even say using it for non Monkie Kid purposes

Here is my review on LEGO Marvel 76289 Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure: THE GOOD: Surtur is surprisingly well done and allow you to take his horn out to create iconic scenes from the movie. Great minifigures. THE NOT SO GOOD: none. This set is a nice surprise. Originally planned to buy this just for the Fire Demons and a cheap way to get the new Thor's cape but Surtur is surprisingly well done. It looks menacing and fun to build. It also has lots of articulation points which makes it very posable. And the way the horn are designed allows you to take it down to create iconic scenes from the movie. Seriously, Immigrant song is playing in my head while I was building this. The minifigures also does not disappoint, love the fire demons and only realised after the Thor minifigure is actually exculsive to this set. And it's really a budget way to get the new cape piece which I found it works better than the fabric ones. Yes, RRP at $55NZD is probably more expensive than other LEGO sets of the same size given the Disney License but with a 20% off discount, made this set very appealing/affordable. It's actually a great small set, totally recommended if you love the MCU.

Here is my review on LEGO Animal Crossing 77052 K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza: THE GOOD: Finally we have K.K. and Audie. The town hall + plaza area has captured the game vibe well. THE NOT SO GOOD: Lack the details we got in previous waves. Would rather see a new village other than a Isabelle variant. No new K.K. record print. The autumn tree will feel odd when connected to other sets. Finally, we have K.K & Audie minifigures. Let's be honest, most of us bought Animal Crossing sets for the unique minifigures. And it does not disappoint, both new minifigures are done very well. Isabelle is nice too with a new torso but personally I much prefer a new villagers or NPC. The set itself pretty much expanding what previous wave has delivered. This time we get the town hall, with the plaza, notice board and the boom box, it really captures the vibe of the game well. New print for the clock is also well come. The plaza area is also very spacious too. Having said that, while the interior gave is the ATM but I cannot deny the fact that the interior details is somewhat lacking compared to previous wave. It's also a bit disappointing that the K.K. record is a re-use of part instead of a new print. This set also gave us K.K.'s camper van and a small cafe. The van looks cute but personally there is lack connection due to the fact the van did not appear in new horizons. However, it has some nice print on the exterior and fits the theme well. The cafe is nice but I found the autumn season setting a bit odd when combined with other set. The set is by no means is bad but it's not going to change how I rank each set in the theme. At $140NZD, it's the same price point a Nook's cranny but Nook's cranny feel better value. However, if you a fan of the game, I would still recommend this because of k.K. and Audie.