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Here is my review on LEGO Avatar 75571 Neytiri & Thanator vs. AMP Suit Quaritch: THE GOOD: The AMP suit is a nice little build. Nice to include a small colourful terrain. THE NOT SO GOOD: Pricey. Brick built animals with moulded head looks odd. I originally bought this set for the Neytiri Minifig since I've got Jake but the Tree of Soul is just too expensive. So I was getting into this with minimal expectation plus I'm hardly recall the details of the movie. And I was surprised with this set. I think the AMP suit is fun too build and looks good as a nice little exo skeleton. The only part I wish can be improved is the knee to be movable as well but I guess with this size, the top half will cripple it. While the Thanator is a good build with great articulation joints but it just feels weird with brickbuilt animals, it looks too mechanical in my opinion. Having some additional terrain is good and it's so colourful, would be great parts to use in any fantasy jungle build. I was lucky I got some card rewards point to buy this set, otherwise it;s very pricey. I would proabably only recommend this set to people who has something they need in this set even though it's a fairly good set and if you really want a Avatar set, the RDA Samson one probably worth the price tag a bit more =)
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INTRODUCTION Lego has been making Jedi Starfighters, or Delta-7 Aethersprites for the true Star Wars geek, since 2002. In 2008 Lego approached the Delta-7 design again, shrinking the proportions down. And in 2010 we even got a UCS model of Obi-Wan's Delta-7. So how does the 2022 model hold up? SET INFORMATION Number: 75333 Title: Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Starfighter Theme: Star Wars Released: 2022 Part Count: 282 Box Dimensions: 26.2 x 19.1 x 6.1 cm Weight: 2304 gram Set Price (RRP): 34.99 EUR / 29.99 GBP / 29.99 USD / Price per Part: 12.4 EUR / 10.6 GBP / 10.6 USD Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX Nothing to write home about, the box showcases the Delta-7 on a Kamino backdrop. The back of the box shows the play features. And the side highlights Taun We. CONTENTS OF THE BOX Inside are 3 numbered bags and a fairly large sticker sheet for a set of this size. THE BUILD Working through the instructions, the build is pretty straight forward. Finishing Bag 1 gives us the main body of the fighter. The first bag only has 1 sticker to apply. But once you start Bag 2 the stickers start flying. I'm generally not a fan of stickers but am willing to accept them as a part of how Lego does things. But when you have to apply them in the middle of pieces all my patience goes out the window. Really Lego? This is the best you could do? The sticker only adds a little bit to the aesthetics of the model. It's a pain to place correctly. And it has almost no re-use value in MOCs. Finishing Bag 2 adds the right wing to the model. And wrapping up Bag 3 gives us the completed set. The ship is sleek and swooshable. It looks good from every angle unless you have it completely flipped upside down. And even then it's not too bad. But how does it compare to the source material? Here are a few shots from Episode 2. And here's what we got: It's ok, but only just ok. The nose isn't pointy. The wings have too much pitch to them, they should be more flat. And the cockpit is all wrong. Kids will love it, but if you're looking for a screen accurate Lego counterpart then you'll have to keep searching. So what about the minifigures? Where Lego failed on the Starfighter model they succeed with the minifigures. Obi-Wan's haircolor still isn't right, but his 2 expressions fit him perfectly. Taun We has fantastic printing and has the right height. And we get a full R4-P17 instead of just the head like on the original 2002 model. There's no back printing on R4, but both figures have it. It would have been nice to get a cape for Obi-Wan. But they settled for printing his cloak instead. The printing looks good and a cape would have been squished in the cockpit anyway. Before this set was released there was a fake leak of a Lego Kaminoan figure using a minidoll body. It look fantastic and I wish Lego would have gone that route. But as far as minifigure sized Kaminoans go Taun We looks good. Yes, the neck is thicker than I'd prefer. But that's necessary to attach it to the torso. OVERALL There are some pros and some cons to this set. It's a sturdy, swooshable model that includes great minifigures. But it doesn't do the source material justice. Lego has yet to make a really good minifigure scale Delta-7. This set captures the essence of Obi-Wan's starfighter, but not the detail. SCORE How do I rate this set? DESIGN 6 This set is not that different from previous Delta-7s. It's sturdy, but it doesn't look enough like the source material. BUILDING EXPERIENCE 6 There's nothing amazing about the building process. The best aspect was that Lego separated the right and left wings into different bags. This meant I didn't have to go searching for a right angle plate in a pile of left angle ones. FEATURES 4 You can shoot studs and swoosh it around. That's about it. PLAYABILITY 9 It plays like a $30 model. Not much too it but then again there's not much expected. PARTS 8 While certainly not a parts-pack this model still has a good selection. The new wedge slopes come un-printed in white. And you get a good selection of Dark Red. The figures are all unique. VALUE FOR MONEY 7 The set does not feel like a $30 set. It feels like a $20 one. But Lego knows collectors will want that Taun We figure so they raised the price. FINAL SCORE: 7 If you're looking for a cheaper Lego gift for that Star Wars fan in your family this set does ok. It's not the best Lego has to offer. But it's not going to break the bank either.
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Here is my review on LEGO Friends 41714 Andrea's Theatre School: THE GOOD: Looks great and surpasses lots of other sets in other themes. Full to build and some very interesting techniques. Brilliant idea to allow switching the stage play. Some awesome action features like closing curtains, switching the stage play, able to display an great looking exterior. THE NOT SO GOOD: With it has a roof. The sequence of building this can be further improved but this is definitely a nip pick. I'm once again impressed by a friends set. This set just look great from the front and tons of cool features integrated. The fact that you can change the play of the stage is brilliant. On top of that there are some very interesting building techniques involved and overall good building experience. If you have enough extra pieces and time you can modify this to a very impressive modular to fit into any Lego city. The price is on the higher end but it's not that uncommon to get this with a discount, in fact I bought with 30% off. It is definitely a recommendation from me and I'm all in with Friends theme now =)
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INTRODUCTION A new year, a new gimmick from Lego. SET INFORMATION Number: 60299 Title: Stunt Competition Theme: City Released: 2021 Part Count: 73 Box Dimensions: 26.2 x 19.1 x 4.6 cm Weight: 223 gram Set Price (RRP): 19.99 EUR / 17.99 GBP / 29.99 USD / Price per Part: 27.4 EUR / 41.1 GBP / 24.6 USD Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX With so few pieces the box feels very light. The front shows off the play features. And that's pretty much every aspect of this set! Lots of action. Lots of gaudy colors. Which sums up the line pretty well. Also emphasized is the new Flywheel element. All(?) previous "motors" have been pull-back motors. Those require you to pull the bike back and the stored energy propels the car forward. A flywheel uses inertia to drive the bike forward. One thing that stood out to me though was the underside of the bikes. The box shows something close to the 2x2 round plate on the right. What we got is closer to a reverse jumper plate. The bikes are designed to be used as... well... a bike. So extra attachment points aren't the point. But for those who are looking for NPU opportunities you should know it's harder to attach the bike base to other pieces than the box seems to indicate. The back of the box has a cryptic "x3" message. And for those who are wondering, the QR code leads to the Lego.com City page. CONTENTS OF THE BOX Inside is one numbered bag, the instructions, sticker sheet, and a few loose pieces. Which begs the question, why is there a number on the bag? Other small sets don't include numbers on their bags. Did the production process switch gears part way and they originally planned for two bags? THE BUILD With only 73 pieces there's not much of a build. However, I did find it clever that they used a large Technic tread link. The clips on these links click onto a standard 3.18mm connection but then they have a looser hold. This allows the bikes to knock it over easier. The designers also incorporated the newer Ninjago turntable piece and attached rubber tyres to them to add friction to the ramp. The added friction from the rubber makes the ramp stay in one place even if you accidentally bump it during use. A simple, but very effective, use of parts! Here's the end result. If you're a fan of aviator sunglasses then you're going to love these minifigures! The girl's biker jacket was introduced in this set, but is now also in another Stuntz set. Which means none of the minifigure parts are exclusive to this set. The guy's torso and legs are flat-silver, not grey. So his outfit has more shine to it. The guy has an alternate expression and both come with hair or helmets depending on your safety preference. The bikes are similar to the ones released a few years ago. But there are some key differences. The fairing for the Stuntz bikes only have one stud attachment point compared to the two studs from the older version. Now for the information everyone's really been waiting for. Does it work? THE PRACTICAL Short answer... YES! I assumed it would be simple to get the bike through the ring of fire. Boy was I wrong! This is why the back of the box and the instructions recommend starting with a lower hoop first and then working your way up. I also figured out what the "x3" on the back of the box meant. The more you rev the flywheel engine by pushing it forward the faster it turns. You'll need to "rev" it at least 3 times to get the bike up the ramp and through the highest hoop. And after some practice I finally succeeded in getting a bike through the highest hoop. OVERALL Lego is always trying new things. Sometimes they work, other times they don't. The Stuntz line totally succeeds. Simple, creative part usage combined with a new fly-wheel "engine" creates a very fun experience for kids and adults alike. If you're looking for a way to introduce "motorized" elements to your kids Lego collection but don't want to pay Technic prices then the Stuntz line is the perfect solution. SCORE How do I rate this set? DESIGN 9 I was surprised by the part usage in this set. For so few pieces I felt this set was very well designed. BUILDING EXPERIENCE 5 It's not a stunning experience. It's not a boring experience. FEATURES 10 This set is nothing but features! They are fun. There's challenge. Exactly what I would hope for in a set this size. PLAYABILITY 10 Same rational as the Features score. PARTS 8 The best draw of this set over other, cheaper Stuntz sets is the parts. You get a ramp, an effective hoop, and 2 bikes. VALUE FOR MONEY 6 This is a hard category to score as it depends on which country you're buying from. It's retailed at $30 in the US. Which is vastly overpriced. But at 20 Euros it feels more reasonable. You're paying more for the big ramp pieces and the new bike elements. So it's understandable that you're paying more for fewer pieces. But I'd say this is a $15 set. It's been on sale in the States as it's about to go out of production so if you can find a good deal I'd say buy it. FINAL SCORE: 8 As far as holiday gifts go this set is a decent choice. If you're in the US and you find it on sale or you're outside the States it won't break the bank. And kids will love it. All 3 of my kids have been fighting over who gets the new motorcycles since I opened the set to review it. (Thankfully I have a 3rd Stuntz set I bought myself to provide a 3rd bike and reduce the fighting).
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Eurobricks' Holiday Gift Guide 2022 In the vein of our Revember reviewing bonanza last year, this year Eurobricks is bringing you a suite of reviews with an eye toward gift giving. Over the next five weeks, Star Wars Moderator @MKJoshA and Licensed Moderator @Clone OPatra (that's me) will be reviewing ten currently available sets across a range of themes and prices, though primarily ones in the kid-oriented side of LEGO. Look out for a new review from me each Monday and MKJoshA each Friday. We'll collect the reviews as they're posted in this topic, below. Let us know what you think of our opinions - agree, disagree, or somewhere in between. Thank you to LEGO for providing these sets at our request (besides the last set I'll be reviewing, which I paid for myself ) _____________________________________ 76400 Hogwarts Carriage and Thestrals by Clone OPatra 60299 Stunt Competition by MKJoshA 76912 Fast & Furious 1970 Dodge Charger by Clone OPatra 75333 Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Starfighter by MKJoshA 60347 Grocery Store by Clone OPatra 76989 Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck by MKJoshA 75336 Inquisitor Scythe Transport by Clone OPatra 75335 BD-1 by MKJoshA 76403 The Ministry of Magic and 76408 12 Grimmauld Place by Clone OPatra
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It's not everyday you find a USD $20 set with an identity crisis. These days, that price point will barely give you one thing let alone multiple things that don't get along. But an identity crisis is exactly what we get in: SET INFORMATIONNumber: 76400Name: Hogwarts Carriage and ThestralsTheme: Wizarding WorldReleased: 2022Part Count: 121 Minifigures: 2Set Price (RRP): 19.99 EUR / 17.99 GBP / 32.99 AUD / 19.99 USD / 24.99 CADLinks: Brickset, Bricklink INTRODUCTIONWe're going to get right into this. No box pics. No fluff. It's a small set and it is what it is. But what it is is two different things from two different scenes. We have the Thestral-borne carriage that takes 2+ Years to Hogwarts on one hand, and a representation of that weird scene where Luna is feeding a baby Thestral for some reason on the other. Do the two make for a natural pairing? Possibly. Does the pairing work? Let's find out. Thank you to LEGO for providing this set at Eurobricks' request. THE MINIFIGURESAs always I appreciate the Harry Potter team's dedication to providing ultra-specific, scene accurate Minifigures. Harry with added blue jacket and Luna in her lavender cardigan with shoulder bag perfectly match the scene where she feeds the baby Thestral (film colour-grading notwithstanding). We certainly didn't need these two variants, but they are nice. Something extra for a contingent of Gryffindors, and a multi-purpose torso from Luna. Apart from the torsos, everything else has been seen before. They include all of the accessories necessary for the scene: the shoulder bag recoloured into dark blue, an apple that the baby Thestral doesn't want, a dark red 1x1 to be the piece of meat that the baby Thestral does want, wands because every Wizard always needs a wand, and the Quibbler thrown in for Luna's introduction on the carriage (though of course her outfit doesn't match that scene). THE THESTRALSMama Thestral remains unchanged from 75951 Grindelwald's Escape, where it was introduced, while baby Thestral is brand new. The big one has a good creepy look and imposing stature, though it is a shame that it has zero articulation for the mould itself. Yes you can flap the added on wings, but that's it. The baby Thestral looks cute with its weeny little wings moulded right on. I have no complaints with the piece LEGO has created, but my nagging question is: did anyone really want this? Did anyone find the Harry Potter line sorely lacking one? It is cool to get, the mould is well done, but out of all the things this line still needs, this one feels like an odd choice. Even a new Grim within this very wave would have been a better use of a creature mould. THE TREE SCENELEGO loves little trees when they can't think of anything else. It's nothing new. Way back in my review of 4865 The Forbidden Forest eleven years ago, I deemed 2011 to be the year of the tree. At least that set went with dark shades for a spooky look. This set goes for brighter shades that don't convey the look of the forest in the slightest. It's also so darn small that the lowest branch only barely clears Harry's head, unlike all of the extremely tall trees in the film. While the attention to screen accuracy in the figures, accessories and Thestral gives the sense that real care went into recreating this scene, the tree fails. THE CARRIAGE SCENE Finally we come to the carriage, and it succeeds! Of course it's a tad too large as LEGO's renditions of small vehicles tend to be, but it has good detail all around and scales with the Thestral well enough. The carriage has plenty of space to seat four characters like it does in the film, plus has pleasant details like an opening door at the rear and a nod towards a staircase down to the ground. It works from all angles. In fact, with the carriage hitched up to the Thestral and two figures atop it, this looks like a complete $10-$15 set. THE (ACTUAL) COMPLETE SET Unfortunately, the set had to go ahead and include the tree scene. Not only does the tree not look great by itself - it looks ludicrous next to the carriage, which absolutely dwarfs it. Maybe the real purpose of the tree is to stage the scene where Harry (and co, mostly not included) flies off to the Ministry, but that's a tongue-in-cheek stretch. CONCLUSION If it wasn't already clear, 76400 Hogwarts Carriage and Thestrals is a half-good set that gets mired with its lousy half. The adult Thestral is good (though sadly lacking articulation) and the carriage is good. The baby Thestral is cute but didn't need to exist, especially before other stuff like a proper Grim or Fang. The tree sucks. Honestly if the set simply lost the tree and baby Thestral and went for USD $15, I'd call it a great set. If it had to stick to $20, throw in another adult Thestral (people can use more than one anyway), and another minifigure, and you've got a better package than this set. There's still ok value with what you DO get here, but a lackluster overall experience. SCOREHow do I rate this set? 8 MINIFIGURES They have good attention to detail and provide a couple of new prints. Nothing amazing or super desirable though. 7 PIECES There's nothing spectacular about the pieces included, besides the Thestrals themselves and a couple of small accessories. The totally static nature of the adult Thestral lets it down a bit though. 6 DESIGN I really have to go harsh on this one. The points it earns for design are all for the carriage, and the points it loses are for the tree, which is disinteresting and doesn't match the source material or the rest of the set. 9 PLAYABILITY To be fair to the set, there's plenty to do with what's included and plenty to play around with. 7 PRICE The price of $20 is to be expected of a set with the two moulded creatures, but it feels a tad high especially because the tree is such a throwaway build. For a slight discount, it would be ok. 7.4 OVERALL - A set with some good aspects, but that has been padded to meet its price point and winds up including two scenes and builds that don't go together at all. GIFT GUIDEWith the holiday gift-giving season coming up, does 76400 make a good gift compared to other sets at its price point? Looking through the 20 USD/EUR and below sets on LEGO.com, $20 in many other themes will get you at least one more minifigure and/or a more substantial build. Within the Harry Potter line, 76386 Polyjuice Potion Mistake is vastly superior. For a kid... the play value here is ok, but not stupendous. If they like Harry Potter and don't yet have a Thestral, it's a worthwhile thing to get, and they might not mind the silly size of the tree as much as I do. That said, kids are discerning too. For an AFOL... the minifigures have a couple of new prints, the bag is new in dark blue though available on Pick a Brick, and the baby Thestral is new. Apart from those things, there isn't much of a draw that would make this a surefire gift. For a casual LEGO fan... I wouldn't recommend this set. The scenes aren't memorable enough and there's nothing inherently charming about the set. For a Harry Potter superfan... Even to a Harry Potter superfan I wouldn't say the scenes are memorable enough to matter. Nobody would display this set to show off their love of Harry Potter and the the characters' outfits are inconsequential, so you would have to assess if this HP fan wants the Thestrals to add to their collection. If you have a friend who you just know likes Harry Potter, I wouldn't gravitate towards this set. Next Monday, it's all about family...
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Here is my review on 75573 Floating Mountains: Site 26 & RDA Samson: THE GOOD: Great build and great display value. The cabin of site 26 looks great. RDA Samson looks way better than the product picture. Interesting building experience through out. Great idea to be able to display the RDA Samson flying. Good minifigures selection. THE NOT SO GOOD: $$$$ very expensive in RRP. The horse doesn't have any articulation. The tank for Jake could have been using a different piece than a standard door. This set turns out to be a nice surprise. I really like the RDA Samson as I do think the product pictures do not do this build justice. The cabin is great with interior details for those who familiar with the movie. On top of that, both are interesting build. And it's great idea to allow you to connect the chopper to the terrain. With 5 excellent minifigures, I was very happy with this set in general. However, there are some small things which I reckon would be deal breaker for a lot of people. For example, I'm a bit disappointed the horse (I forgot the name) does not have articulations. Other than that I biggest hurdle will be the high recommended retail price. I would still recommend to everyone especially this will be discounted for sure. Oh more thing, the instruction booklets have photos from scenes featuring the builds and funny thing is RDA Samson uses the photo the moment this chopper is destroyed.
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Here is my review on 76214 Black Panther: War on the Water: THE GOOD: 5 characters and 4 are exclusive. Finally get a M'Baku minifig! The building experience on the Royal Sea Leopard is interesting. THE NOT SO GOOD: The scale is a bit off but I guess will have to watch the movie to make a final call. No legs printing for Black Panther! Lack of play features. Just studs shooters and prison cell to hold Namore... Over priced ... I have mixed feelings on this. To be honest, when this was first leaked, the build really doesn't appeal me but the minifigures does. So when the local toy store had this 30% off, I thought why not? The building experience on the boat isn't bad, in fact there are quite a few interesting techniques involved. There are lots of space to place minifigs but yet, a lot of space also wasted internally which you have no access to but I guess that's how the boat is designed. The boat so called Royal Sea Leopard, from the box art it suggests to be quite a big one but then when I think about it, it's really a speed boat type of boats then the look makes sense but really cannot put a final verdict until I've seen the movie in a few weeks time. However, it still doesn't hide the fact this build lacks features. It supposed to target younger audiences but it only has 2 stud shooters and a cell to hold Namor. It has a great selection of minifigures, Iron Heart Mk2 by far is the best and all have good torso prints too. What bother me is no leg printings on black panther yet they give you a spoiler (well we all have guessed it so I guess it's fine?) who is under the mask. Even M'Baku could be enhanced with a hood piece and some leg prints? Overall, it an overpriced set which doesn't hit the mark for Adults and may be lacking some fun for children. It's a set you can skip unless you really want the minifigures.
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Here is my review on the LEGO City 40578 Sandwich Shop: THE GOOD: Looks great. The sandwich sign build. Delivery back pack also great simple build. THE NOT SO GOOD: Can't find any. I like this set more than I expected. This is actually a very nice sandwich shop. The build and colouring are both outstanding for this size of set. Now interior may be lacking but there are enough space for you to add more details. I like the fact they use green mostly and you suddenly can relate this to UBER EATS and Subway. I really like the sandwich logo/sign build and also the delivery backpack looks really. Nothing really bad about this set and I hope this set will become available outside EU and ASPAC soon. Having said that, although this is a nice GWP and is a great extra if you have something you need to buy to reach the threshold, otherwise this set can be easily built with any spare parts you have. Don't think this GWP is great enough to justify getting past the threshold for the sake of it =)
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Here is my review on 10308 Holiday Main Street: THE GOOD: The Tram is stunning. Some cool interior details in both shops and I like the bed build. THE NOT SO GOOD: The 2 buildings are straight from typical LEGO City sets with a tough of winter. Power function compatibility is good but take away most of the interior space of the tram. Christmas Tree build not as refreshing as previous Winter Village series. This is a set I was pretty much sold when I saw the tram, in the end I do think it's a good lego set but just not a good winter village set. It's a surprising move to not include the light brick. The Tram is definitely the highlight of this set, looks great, fun to build and can fit quite a few minifigures. The 2 buildings though, while it looks good and some cool building techniques involved, it just a bit too thin and not enough depth in my opinion. Despite some cool furniture and lovely exterior designs, this is what I think took away some winter village magic. The Christmas tree also a bit boring if you have bought previous winter village set too. Having said that, I like the minifigures selection and I did have fun building this set. The price also is reasonable given it is priced the same as last year one. Now is this a set I would recommend? That will be depended on your expectation whether it's a winter village set or a regular lego set.
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Here is my review on 76213 King Namor's Throne Room: THE GOOD: Cool throne seat. New hair piece for shuri. Lovely printing on Namor and other minifigures too. Interesting design for the submarine. THE NOT SO GOOD: Namor is missing the goatie... A bit expensive but better than Star Wars pricing lately I like the set in the end, it's great to get new characters in the MCU as minifigure despite Namor is missing the goatie. While this set shouldn't be called a room, but the throne seat is actually pretty cool and looks good. The disc shooter doesn't work that well though unless you fully review the treasure under the throne to give it a bit more push. A good small set I will definitely recommend to anyone, the pricing is probably $10-$20 too much but it's ok once you get a discount on this. I can't wait to see the movie in a month time!
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Here is my review on 75336 Inquisitor Transport Scythe: THE GOOD: Looks great and great size. Cool building experience packed with details. Love the interior space. 4 excellent minifigures and pretty much all the key characters in one set. THE NOT SO GOOD: Can't notice any ... may be not including the 7th sister? XD I absolutely love this set. I'm just surprised on how big it is and how much interior space you get. Plus all the details both inside and outside and an enjoyable building experience, so difficult for me to find something I didn't like. The fact that this included all 4 key characters in the series is just great. The Grand Inquisitor probably my favourite minifigure in this set. The price ain't that bad plus this set is often discounted, so I think this is a pretty good deal. I just can't believe, me as a collector not that into spaceships have been impressed by multiple non-UCS spaceships build this year (Galaxy Explorer and the lightyear ship are both great although not Star Wars). This is definitely a set I would recommend to everyone.
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Here is my review on 71771 The Crystal King Temple: THE GOOD: Looks good and it can be a nice shelf diorama display. Interesting building techniques through out. Good selection of minifigures. Couple of cool action features integrated into the set, i especially like the moving stairs and the crystal cage. THE NOT SO GOOD: Wish LEGO included hair pieces for the ninja. I really like this one in the end. I was surprised it is actually 2 separate pieces. I enjoyed the build and I think it looks great and can be a very good shelf diorama display. I especially like the stairs and moving platform. The minifigures selection is also good, you pretty much get the whole team here except Lloyd and Nya. I do wish they come with hair pieces. Oh, and the small creature really looks like the bats from upside down from Stranger Things. This set is really for all ages with great look and plenty of play features. The price depending is slightly high but you can easily find this with discount, so I do recommend this to everyone.
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Here is my review on 76403 The Ministry of Magic: THE GOOD: looks good from the front. Excellent telephone box build. Excellent selection of minifigures. Ability to rearrange the set in a modular way. THE NOT SO GOOD: Flimsy ... breaks apart very easily. Interior on some sections have lots of details but not enough depth to allow more variation of play/display. $$$$$$$ It is a good set for Harry Potter fan with an excellent selection of minifigures and lots of cool reference through out the build. However, as a general lego set, the flimsiness and lack of depth really set this set back. While I appreciate the details in a few sections, it just lack the space to allow more fun. And the flimsiness makes it hard to move/relocate this set. However, the telephone box put a smile on my face. I really like the telephone box and I think is excellently done. Having said that the price tag of this set is really high. I probably wouldn't have bought this if there was no discounts nor cool GWP.
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Here is my review on 76408 12 Grimmauld Place: THE GOOD: The reveal of no.12 works surprisingly well. Looks good in front. lots of minifigures with exclusive designs included new cat exclusive to this set new broom sticks (not limited to his set I guess since it's new for this wave) Some cool small builds and tons of cool graphics designs for HP fans THE NOT SO GOOD: Hermione should have been included. The triangular shape for no.11 and no.13 are needed to make the feature work but sacrifice the look from the back. The Modular style to remove to level for no.11 and no.13 doesn't seem to be necessary. $$$$$$ Overall, it's a great play set. The transition from no.12 being hidden to revealing at the centre works great and visually impressive. This set has great exterior details but because of this I think the interior and the design of no.11 and no.13 have been sacrificed. The triangular design doesn't work for me. Despite some cool small builds and lots of Harry Potter references with excellent graphics design. I like the minifigures but Hermione should have been included. I think this set is a great for Harry Potter fan but if you are not into Harry Potter, this set can be very pricey. Fortunately I bought this with a discount so it doesn't hurt the wallet as much.
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Here is my review on 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum: THE GOOD: Another modular building with is the same year always a win! Looks great. Interesting building techniques and innovative use of parts for exterior especially. Back to multiple instruction booklets with each one per level to enhance experience with family. Full of MCU references beyond Infinity War & Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness. Awesome new hair piece for Mordo. THE NOT SO GOOD: Stairs to 3rd level does not exist in this build. The windows look nice but the decors can easily be misaligned. Minifigures selection can be improved, instead of spider man & iron man & Ebony Maw, may be Kacillius, Ancient One & Christine Palmer makes more sense? This is indeed somewhat a dream came true. If you tell me a year or two ago this is happening I wouldn't would have believe it. The good news, this set is good. The exterior is probably executed better than the interior. It just looks great and I really like the techniques to build the corner of the sanctum. The building experience is great, nothing felt repetitive and lots of new ways to build things. A lot of stickers but I would say it's excessive, some though I do wish it is printed. The new trees are great but the windows decor, easily to be misaligned just because the piece only secured by one stud. Interior packs in lots of details and MCU references, however I do feel space is limited because of the total depth in this design. Extend the building 6 studs more deeper might give it a bit more flexibility in this regard but even with this, I doubt they can add the stairs to the top level. This is the only issue that really bothers me. Otherwise, this set doesn't just look great but have a few play features integrated too. Those portals are really fun. Also there are tons of references to MCU that only MCU fans could spot immediately. Just by looking at some of the references, I think they should add Thor:Ragnarok to the box art too. May be also include Thor & Loki as minifigures would have made this even better. Minifigures wise, it;s great. I do wish more leg printings and characters other than iron man, spidey & ebonay maw would be more appealing to MCU fans. Having said that, both iron man and spidey are exclusive to this set and spider got additional leg prints too. I just wish getting a few characters more directly related to Dr.Strange. I also like the box art and the instruaction booklets, me and my wife had a great time building this together because it has been awhile big sets like this comes with multiple booklets allow you to build different parts simultaneosly. Also I hope Lego continue to include background info of the set going forward. This is a great set and I do recommend this to everyone, while the price is high but I think it totally worth the price.
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Here is my review on 71772 The Crystal King: THE GOOD: Awesome looking mech. Interesting build throughout, I especially enjoyed building the torso and the head. Excellent Minifigures. THE NOT SO GOOD: Not many poses you can do with limited articulations on the front legs and torso. Kids may be disappointed as play features are very limited in this one. I really like this set in the end. It really is an awesome display build in my opinion given the limited number of articulation joints and play features, for me it's ok since I buy lego to enjoy the building exp and display the build. A bit more articulations points would help to have more different pose but I guess it wouldn't help since the back legs are not strong enough to support the weight of the front. At the end of the video, you can see how menacing this is when standing next to the Dragon of the East. (However, still not strong enough to take on the Monkey King Mech it seems =P) Anyway, I really like the building experience especially the torso and the heads. The use of certain parts to create the eyes and eye brows are very interesting. The torso, particularly the cockpit can be a bit challenging to align properly but it's interesting enough to keep me engaged. One of the reason I bought this sets are the new goons minifigures, the Vengestone guard and warrior. These 2 minifigures are awesome, now I really want an army of them but B&P doesn't sell new parts anymore =(. Other minifigures are also great and surprised to see only one good guy included. The ratio doesn't look good for Lloyd XD. Does it worth the money? well, I think it does at least I didn't feel like it is a rip off in the end. I did bought this with discount but then depending on the region you live in, the timing of this release is somewhat awkward since it's the day LEGO expected to increase price. I'm pretty sure in NZ it got $20 more expensive compared to the price when it first announced in May. I will still recommend this set though since it is a really cool looking set and is enjoyable to build.
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Here is my review on latest LEGO Harry Potter GWP 40577 Hogwarts Grand Staircase: THE GOOD: Interesting building exp. Great desktop display sets. Very well done on the rotating stairs. THE NOT SO GOOD: Wish some improvements in terms of design the the roof/top surface. Need specific sets from the Hogwarts Castle series to make this set looks nice. Very hard to get this. Overall, I like it and I do think it is a very good GWP. Looks good, interesting build experience and fairly good volume. It's great the stair can change orientation. While not a fan of sticker, I also did find the stickers make sense in this set. Could be better if including one more minifigs. Having said that, the roof/top of this build are the weakest in my opinion. Also this set only connects well if you have a 2 storeys set from the Hogwarts Castle series. but then the most important improvement I wish Lego did , was to have this more widely available, with supply chain delay, sometimes it is hard to find items to buy to reach the high threshold for this kind of rewards. And more importantly the Harry Portter GWP I missed last year are now at ridiculous price after market =(
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Here is my review on 60341 The Knockdown Stunt Challenge: THE GOOD: Nice exclusive minifigure and bike body (at least for now) 7 glow in the dark star pieces and few 1x1 round tiles. THE NOT SO GOOD: Owning 2 other stunt challenges, this one just feel a bit underwhelming in terms of challenge compared to the other two I have. I'm actually happy with what I bought. Great minifigures, glow in the dark star pieces and a new stunt bike body with prints. The challenge itself is simple and does not need much practise to clear but then in comparison, the double loop and the blade challenge are a lot more fun. Make sure pay attention when building the knockdown challenge as if the pins are connected the too tightly, it's not going to move as smoothly as it can/should be. Given I bought this with 25% off, I don't feel as bad in my wallet but again, if no discount I probably won't have buy this and wait for the parts to be available later assuming they will.
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Here is my review on Monkie Kid 80037 Dragon of the East: THE GOOD: The dragon is looking great and bigger than I was expecting. Very cool building experience for the dragon. Love the dragon's tail movement. Excellent Minifigures. Good design on the villain's vehicle with the mouth of the manta ray the highlight. THE NOT SO GOOD: Depending on your taste, Monkie Kid's submarine ride can look a bit weird. I ended up liking this set a lot more than I originally have thought. Initially I bought this set for the Dragon of the East minifigure and this is a good set for me to get to the Forest Hideout GWP threshold since this is only available via Lego.com in NZ. I'm really impressed by the Dragon build, from pictures I was worried it will be looking weird to have an UFO as a Dragon body but the way it's being designed it's clearly a saddle to host the smaller submarine then being part of a dragon mech. I had a great time building it. Especially the head and tail are amazing, the tail movement though is impressive. Now I really want a full dragon build with this techniques. Decent side builds and I really like how the villain's ride looks like a real manta ray. As usual, Monkie Kid sets come with excellent minifigure, the Dragon of the East minifigure is excellent with very cool new parts. LEGO PLEASE MAKE NEW PARTS AVAILABLE via B&P again please, I want more of this parts. Price wise, this set aint't that pricey to be honest and is a set I definitely recommend to anyone especially if you looking to build a really cool dragon!
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Here is my review on 10780 Mickey and Friends Castle Defenders: THE GOOD: Excellent Minifigures The brick build dragon is somewhat refreshing in a 4+ set (at least from all the 4+ sets I own) I do think the Pumpkin thrower is a nice idea THE NOT SO GOOD: Price tag ... considering it's 4+ the price tag is a bit ridiculous As expected, the minifigures are excellent. You get 4 exclusive minifigures in this set and I just love the Jester Donald. In fact this is one of my reasons I bought this. Given it is a 4+ set, I had no expectation on building experience for an Adult and really bought this for novelty parts. Having said that, the brick built dragon is nice and at least from the 4+ sets I've owned so far, it is something a bit more interesting compared to past 4 plus set. The problem with this set and recent 4+ sets is really the price tag, retail at NZD$90 I don't think the contents can justify the price. To be honest, I probably would have skipped this if it wasn't that I need to get pass the threshold to get the Forestman Hideout GWP. I needed something I will not able to buy from retail with discount, for your information this set is only available on lego.com at least in New Zealand for now. Overall, I would only recommend this set if you really want some of the exclusive minifigures and there is a price to pay,
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Here is my review on 60340 The Blade Stunt Challenge: THE GOOD: The biker minifigure is excellent. The actual stunt also require some practise not just running a bike through. THE NOT SO GOOD: RRP is very high. Ended up buying another set from the Stuntz sub-theme. I do like this set and the minifigure I want turns out to be excellent as expected. I do also think some of the parts are great. In terms of the stunt itself, originally I thought it is easy to pull compared to the double loop stunt but I was wrong. It still take some practise to run the bike through the blades. I think this is a great addition to create a custom stuntz course but by itself it can get bored quite easily. The biggest drawback of all the stuntz sets are the price, RRP is so high (well most lego sets are nowadays). If not because of the 25% off special, I probably would have wait until brick & pieces start selling the cool parts. Probably not a recommendation to everyone but you are keen to get some new minifigures and do find the stuntz bikes fun, then this is something for. Still only recommend when you can get more 20% off though.
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Here is my review on Monkie Kid 80039 The Heavenly Realms: THE GOOD: It looks amazing! You have to see it yourself to believe it. Awesome building experience, there are ways to build stuff really blown me away. (A total show off from the designer in my opinion) The action with the clouds open up is truely heavenly! A set really brings out the essence of Journey to the West! Great minifigures with characters I would never have though Lego would make! Great they included the background stories in the instruction. THE NOT SO GOOD: I couldn't find any thing I don't like to be honest. I was so impressed with this set when I completed this. It's a truely amazing set and instantly became no.1 set for me in the whole Monkie Kid theme. Yes, it has surpassed the Flow Fruit Mountain and The Monkey King Mech. First, this set looks amazing, while primarily it is a front facing set but it was not just a facade, the product images don't do its justice. You have to witness it yourself to appreciate how great it looks. Simply it has so much depth you think you are looking a some 3D pop up books. The use of plastic films for the clouds is just brilliant and. you have to see it in action to get the feeling of something heavenly just happened. It works so well. Then the building experience, with other monkey kid sets, you still feel like you are building a retail set but this one has so many interesting techniques that you feel like you building some D2C builds. The bridge, the action, the peach garden entrance are just some of the highlight and I truely feel the designer is just showing off here. Most importantly, the set really captures the essence of Journey to the West, the original story that inspired the Monkie Kid theme. If you take our the Monkie Kid Minifigure, you can just call this a Journey to the West set. It has so many elements that accurately depict some iconic moments in Journey to the West. This is so important to be honest, and this time LEGO tries to highlight those inspiration in the instruction booklet, I really appreciate this decision because for a lot of people that don't know the story would not catch some of the references which make this set so great. As a minifigure fan, when you hear me say so much about the set more than the minifigures, you know it;s a truely great set. The minifigures are great too, there are godly characters in chinese folklores that I would never thought Lego would one day produce. This is a truely great set and I strongly recommend this to everyone. Unfortunately, in some region like AU/NZ you can only buy this directly from LEGO because the theme didn't sell well. I just hope LEGO continues to produce a few more Monkie Kid sets like this but it will be extremely difficult to top this.
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Here is my review on 60347 Grocery Store: THE GOOD: Great exterior designs on the store front. Some nice details in the interior tool. Good side builds. Interesting build technique on the loading bay. A good selection of new parts. Love the new minifigures with the prosthetic leg. THE NOT SO GOOD: May be the road plate is not necessarily to make the set a bit cheaper? I really like this set and I truely think it's a good LEGO City set. The exterior design is really good, the use of parts to the carrot sign. Interior has some cool little details and the loading bay is one of the highlights. The side builds, EV & the lifter are also great little builds. There are good selection of new parts and definitely need to mention the new minifigures. One of my main reason I bought this set is because the figure with prosthetic leg. It's a really cool minifigure. Unfortunately, at the moment it can only be a left leg. I look forward to LEGO producing a right leg version in the future or even both! The price of this set is a bit high, I got it with 20% off so not feeling the full force of the RRP but I do wonder if excluding the road plates may have get this set to a cheaper price point or instead of road plates, I much prefer a roof. Anyway this is just my personal preference as I don't really appreciate the new road plate system. Anyway, this is a set that I would definitely recommend to everyone!
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Here is my review on 60339 Double Loop Stunt Arena: THE GOOD: The minifigures. I love the bikers, both are great. Lots of fun with the loops and different configuration. THE NOT SO GOOD: High price tag. The loop stunt takes practise to master. (may be this is also a good point) Scratches on the clear parts for the loop. I actually like this set, I knew before I buy this set that the Stuntz sub-theme's point is to have fun and I did. The minifigures are awesome as usual, and surprised the main biker head is actually non-yellow head. All the new parts are cool but it's a bit disappointing some of the clear parts got scratches (I seriously think no way to avoid it if LEGO aim is to reduce plastic packaging) and I wish we have unique prints on the bike body. The double loops are actually very fun even though it is a bit difficult to pull off (you can see my video to understand how difficult to pull it off). And all the parts included allow you to create a very very challenging stunt course. I think the worse enemy of this set is the price, understand that with lots of big pieces it is going to be pricey but without discount, the price tag is a very very high bar to clear. To be honest though, I probably won't have bought this set if B&P did not remove all new 2022 parts but I'm glad I did since I had fun with this. However, I will probably only recommend this set when it's on discount and only to fans who want the new parts nor want to have some fun with the Stuntz Bikes.
