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Here is my review on Disney 43217 Up House: THE GOOD: Looks great with a more complex building experience than your typical disney sets. Excellent minifigures and great to have a new moulded Dug. There are a lot of interior details and references than you would expect. THE NOT SO GOOD: Extremely pricey. The door sticker is a pain to apply. This is one of my most anticipated sets in 2023 and it does not disappoint. The house itself looks great and the design provides you some very interesting and refreshing build. Even inside the house, despite being quite shallow, it's packed with furnitures and references to the movie. This results is a much more rich and complex building experience than your typical disney sets. On top of that, the minifigures come with this set is excellent. Both minifigures capture the vibe of the characters so well. And this set also includes Dug the dog with a brand new mould rather than unique printing on existing dog moulds. This sets does come with a few stickers but I didn't mind and the stickers make sense. However, the door sticker is very difficult to apply if you have shaky hands like me. In terms of the balloons, yes it's not as much as the one in the movie but I do believe it's just right because if there are more balloons, the house may fall due to balancing issue. Also it may also make the build too repetitive if they incorporate more balloons. It's a truly great set especially if you love the movie. However, this sets does come with a hefty price, at $100NZD without discount, it does feel pricey. Even I bought it with 10% off, it really stopped me buy another 2 of these to make a fully enclosed house. Having said that, the end product did a good enough job which lead me recommending this set to everyone.
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Here is my review on 10312 Jazz Club: THE GOOD Looks great and much better than product photos. Just enough new building techniques and design to keep the experience refreshing. The Green House even though the tomatoes a bit big =P Great selection of exclusive parts (new pizza, cello ... etc) THE NOT SO GOOD A few hard to access areas where it limits the visibility of some very nice small details in this set. Not really fitting the colour scheme of other modulars, I still couldn't figure out which 2 other modulars are best to put beside this. May be just mine but the side of the roof seems to be 0.5mm wider than the next level down. I really like this set in the end, it may not be my top modular but it has plenty of greatness I appreciate. One thing I want to note is that some of the new building techniques really make this another refreshing build, because if you have owned a lot of modulars, it can become a bit repetitive at time, the new ways of building things are so crucial and I think this set has done it right. On its own, the Jazz Club looks really good and I do think the actual colour combination looks way better than what's in the product photos. The highlights for me are the green house and the entrance. The green house is such a cool build you could reuse the same techniques elsewhere although the tomatoes are definitely too big and I also wonder what are the herbs the chef is planting =P The entrance also great. This sets also comes with a great selection of new parts both printed and recolour of existing bricks. Minifigures comes with some very cool exclusive prints (at least for now it's exclusive to this set). I wish they include a few more minifigures to be the audience of the show but anyway I have an excessive amount of minifigures so doesn't really bother me. There are so much cool small details in this set which brings me to the few criticism of this set. While it's a common issues with modular build like this, some of the areas are quite hard to access or view unless you break the wall apart. Also may be it was just my set but the one side of the roof seems to be sticking out around 0.5mm, it's very minor but it sometimes trigger the OCD inside of me. Otherwise, this set is very good. While not the top of all modulars but it really has enough greatness that made me recommend this to everyone.
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Here is my review on current GWP 40582 4x4 Off-Road Ambulance Rescue: THE GOOD: A different looking ambulance compared to other you typically get in city theme. Good size for a GWP as typically CITY GWP you get much smaller set. 3 minifigures. THE NOT SO GOOD: The door at the back of the ambulance has visible space & gap. I was skeptical at first but I ended up quite like this GWP. First, a more reasonable threshold to get this and lucky for those got this during 2x VIP. Back to this set, it's refreshing because usually City GWP are a bit more smaller. You do get a different looking ambulance compared to the ones you usually get from City. There is also space incorporated for the 2nd rescuer to attend the injured while transiting to a hospital. The neon yellow parts are just bonus. Having 3 minifigures also is great. I did enjoy the build in the end. The only thing bothers me is the door and the back have notable gaps, this is not going to feel good for the injured during the trip to hospital. Otherwise, a cool GWP recommend to everyone, as of the time writing this review, you still have 2 more days to get this set while it's still in stock!
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Here is my review on 2023 LEGO City 60384 Penguin Slushy Van: THE GOOD: Great Pop looking Van and this allows some fresh experience despite having same action features compared to other food trucks. 2 exclusive minifigures (at least for now) THE NOT SO GOOD: The slushies did not come with all flavours advertised lol I enjoyed building this set and the end results look good. Despite having similar to identical actions features as other similar food trucks build, this one comes with a pop feel exterior which allows you to experience a slightly different building experience. I especially like the design of the rear of the van. Interior is limited with the space available but the slushies machine is great small build. I wish this set included the other 2 flavours as minifigures accessories but this set only have pieces to create 2 flavours only. Talking about the minifigures, this set comes 2 new exclusive minifigures (at least for now). Both excellent and always good to get animal costumes. At $35 NZD, this is acutally a very competitive pricing given City theme usually selling with 15~20% off. Overall, it is indeed a good small set with a fun building experience which I totally recommend this to anyone.
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Here is my review on 2023 Creator 3 in 1 31139 Cozy House: THE GOOD: Very good looking house in default configuration with both sides front facing. Extremely detailed in the exterior and garden. Lots of useful furnitures builds. The building experience is a lot more challenging than your typical 8+ set. THE NOT SO GOOD: Some of the smaller brick built items, at least for me I would have not guess what they are unless being told what they are. This is one very good looking set. And I did not anticipate the complexity of the build, which was a fun experience. The exterior and garden have some very very nice details. Especially the stone paths and the patio area. The roof gives you a bit of taste on what you can expect for the upcoming Rivendell, and it's really a test of patience. By far, in my opinion the default build look the best while the apartment build do look interesting, the A shaped Cabin build probably not as good when you also own the Ideas A shaped Cabin. Apart from the lovely exterior, the interior is also very detailed with lots of useful furniture builds. Is this the first time we have a Minifigure double bed? While the build can be fully enclosed, once closed it does feel the house is very crowded inside and not cozy at all :). At 110NZD without discount, the set is not cheap but you can easily get 15~20% at launch for this, so this makes the pricing very competitive with the complex building experience and the details packed in this set. This is definitely a set I would recommend and I'm very happy with it.
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Here is my review on 60372 Police Training Academy: THE GOOD: Impressive obstacles course. A working zip line Very interesting building experience across the set Excellent minifigures parts. Modular design and lots of small details in the interior. (very nice coffee machine) THE NOT SO GOOD: Due to the angular design, you do get a huge gap between the main central part and the climbing wall. I'm sure in an actual LEGO world this doesn't happen. Overall, this is a fun set and I like it very much. Originally I was drawn to this set because of the obstacles course, and it does not disappoint. On top of that, there are quite few details within the build that are pretty cool as well. The weight training gym and the little coffee machine is definitely one of the highlights. While you cannot really connect the equestrian training section to the main build but it's still full of details. For example, some of the poles are intentionally not connected to any other pieces so you can simulate a failed attempt to jump over. Anyway, the main star of this set is really the obstacles course. Clearly inspired by Sasuke/American Ninja Warrior, the building experience has been fun and on top of that, there is actually a working zip line. The moving platform on top of water is also really interesting. You can probably use different section's design to create you own LEGO ninja warrior course. The set is also designed in a modular way which allows you to remove/update levels easily. On top of all the fun, this set also includes quite a few new 2023 heads with very fitting facial expressions. Even though there are few flaws your logical brain might asks some questions, this is definitely still a set I would recommend to everyone :) and you will probably get some decent discounts on it as well.
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Here is my review on 2023 Speed Champions 76915 Pagani Utopia: THE GOOD: Looks So Good. Very impressive design and building techniques to create a streamline shape that closely resembles the actual car. The rear just screams Pagani and the use of doors is surprising. Luxury interior done well. Very few stickers compared to usual Speed Champions sets. THE NOT SO GOOD: NONE! I'm blown away by this set! This may be the best speed champions set ever. I thought the GTR R34 was great but this one surpasses it by miles both the design and building experience. This is the first time I think LEGO captures the streamline look of the actual car in this scale. Both the front and rear have interesting building experience to create Pagani's signature designs. The use of doors shocked me to be honest. Even the interior really capture the luxury feel well. On top of that, very very few stickers compared to other speed champions set. At $35NZD, plus depending on the store you go you probably get a 15 to 20 % discount (I bought this about 12% off). This is a very good deal. It's definitely a recommendation from me!
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Here is my review on 2023 LEGO City 60394 ATV and Otter Habitat: THE GOOD: Not one but 2 Otters. Small habitat but looks good with fun sliding feature. Very competitive pricing. THE NOT SO GOOD: The tree falls apart easily. I had my eyes on this set when it was first leaked and it does not disappoint! The habitat build is great, small but detailed enough. They even integrated a play feature with otter sliding. Although the tree is quite easy to fall part. The fact they included not just 1 but 2 otters made this more fun. The ATV is ok, not bad nor good but I do wish they had the movable chasis introduced in other small ATV builds. The other highlight on this set is really the pricing. Pretty much the lowest price point and you often get discount on this, paying NZD $13 for 2 otters is a very good deal considering once otter is available on Pick a Brick it will probably cost more than half price of this set. anyway, this is a recommendation from me with great elements and very generous pricing! Wish LEGO do these type of sets more!
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Here is my review on 2023 Friends 41742 Cat Hotel: THE GOOD: Good looking build with interesting building experiences filled with interior details. Another variant of the chonky/chubby cat. Some very interesting exterior designs, for example the use of wheel arch for windows. Speechless on the cat litter build XD THE NOT SO GOOD: Being a retailer exclusive makes it both hard to find and hard to get big discount. Originally there was no plans to buy this but the product photos on the box caught my eyes. It's actually a very good looking small set and a really fitting cat hotel. While it is small, there are lots of small parts to create many surprising details. The exterior looks great with some interesting builds and design. The use of wheel arch pieces to create the windows arch is great, the sleep cat sign is also great. I do wish the cat eyes were printed instead of stickers but the end results still great. Then the interior and the court yard also have plenty of space and detailed builds as well. The cat litter tray build caught me off guard and never expected LEGO put such detail in. Although i doubt any cats would like to expose their poop and pee as that's the whole point of cat litter. Minidolls wise, both comes with new 2023 hair pieces which is going to useful for minifigs. Obviously being a cat hotel will include some cats and it's great you get another variant of the chonky/chubby cat in a smallish set. I really don't have any negative on this set apart from this being hard to find due to the retailer exclusive nature, at $60 NZD it's not the cheapest, being an retailer exclusive means it's also hard to get a big discount too, At the end, I did did enjoy this set and like it so I found it worth my money. And definitely a recommendation from me. Now really tempted to get an extra one or two to make a modular cat hotel
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REVIEW: 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout
Pchan1983 posted a topic in LEGO Action and Adventure Themes
Here is my review on 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout: THE GOOD: Looks great. Great building experience with so much details. Love the bamboo builds. Lots of cool references from graphic designs. Maximum playability. Excellent minifigures. Unique Monkie Kid's weapon pack! Great pricing! THE NOT SO GOOD: When combined with 80036 City of Lanterns, it doesn't look as good because the some of theme just don't fit that well. This simply one of my TOP 5 Monkie Kid set, looks great, fun to build, lots of playability and great value! The set on its own, while buildings are open back doll house style, it still has so much depth. Beyond that, each areas have so many details and nice small builds incorporated into the design of this set. I personally love the bamboo trees. There are just so many nice reference to LEGO and Journey to the West. The minifigures are excellent and the new weapon pack is just so good for people who likes Journey to the West. Even the villain extension is great and in my opinion way better than Marvel's Vulture from Spider-Man sets last year. More over, you can even combine this with 80036 City of Lanterns. However, I do find this set looks better on its own because when combined, some of the buildings just don't look right with this set more traditional style buildings compared to the modern design in 80036. Having said that, this is going to be super cool feature for kids. At RRP $180 NZD, it's very good value considering what you get from this. Definitely a recommendation from me! -
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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Here is my review on 2023 Friends 417454 Leo's room: THE GOOD: Olly's hair piece is great! This one has the best exterior out of all 4 sets, the sliding windows work very well. New chubby cat! LED light build is good. THE NOT SO GOOD: Compared to the other 3, this one probably has the simplest build. Not a bad thing but feels like something lacking. Finally completed all 4 rooms. Leo's room definitely the simplest one out of all 4. However it still has it merits. For example, the exterior looks the best out of all 4 with a balcony and well working sliding windows. Interior wise, it based on Leo's interests in baking, water activities and football. The baking area and cake could be a bit better with clear door for over and may be use the printed stove top piece from Queer Eyes set. The photo on the desk is quite interesting and you are given 2 versions, a picture with Olly or picture with Liann and Autumn. The LED light phone stand is really cool though. Other great stuff include the new chubby cat and Olly's new hair piece. And this is pretty much Leo's room, not bad but felt like there could be more. I still like the set thought and at $35 NZD (I bought at $29 with discount), you get some really cool new parts. On the positive notes, there are lots of space to place minifigures =). From the instruction, it's clear Olly, Autumn, Zac and Paisley all live in different locations (well there is a set for Autumn's house, hmmm) so we likely to get another wave of these and hope LEGO keeps the same standard.
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Here is my review on 2023 Friends 41740 Aliya's room: THE GOOD: Again great details and interesting builds on those details. The twins bed is a great build and the action mechanism is nicely concealed. Love the projector which you can just slot a mobile phone in. Lovely coffee table. Great new hair piece and I can't wait to use it on minifigures =) THE NOT SO GOOD: Can't think of any specific to this set other than common LEGO things like stickers on round tiles difficult to align, etc. This is my second room out of the four, while it didn't strike me with the freshness I got in Nova's Room since this one with things you usually get from a Friends set, it's still a great small build packed with details. I especially enjoyed building all those small furnitures that nicely incorporated in the design. Highlight for me are the projector, the desk, the bed and the coffee table. The way the bed's action mechanism is concealed is great. Even simple build like the coffee table and the desk, a few small things just somehow made it better. I do question if the drink is really tea or beer lol. Then the projector, and wow, the mobile phone slotting mechanism works so well. Finally, the two minidolls come with new hair piece and I especially like Paisley's one, it is just so useful even outside friends. One again, I just couldn't find anything specific to this set I didn't enjoy. Round tile stickers hard to align is not really an issue for this as this is common challenge with all other LEGO sets. With a low end pricing, this is a good small set that I would recommend to anyone!
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Here is my review on 41739 LIANN's Room: THE GOOD: While using stickers the painting builds are great. Love the corner windows. Very cute lizard and lovely stand for Popcorn (the lizard's name) Great new hair pieces. THE NOT SO GOOD: Wish the tablet is printed. Also may be something can be done on the gap behind the tablet and desk? Third 2023 friends room I've built, it's visible there are more space and less stuff in this room visibly. But I do like how they put so much focus into the overall painting theme. The builds are enjoyable and I really the painting stands despite the paintings are stickers. Fun feature on hiding the bed but not sure if it really works in real life? all the books would have fall all over the place XD. The corner window is very good design and would love to sit there to enjoy some sunshine! Liann's pet lizard popcorn is really cute, I like this colour better than the one in frozen sets. Once again great new hair pieces =). I do wish the table is not sticker but printed, also the hole/gap behind it did bother me for a brief moment, at least Aliya's room has some plants to cover those gap, not sure how it would fit to Liann's theme. Anyway, this is another good small sets that I would definitely recommend to everyone. Just one more to go, at least for now =)
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Here is my review on 2023 Friends 41755 Nova's Room: THE GOOD: Great details in depicting the theme of Nova's room. Love the gaming chair. Some cool action features like revealing a poster behind a shelf, items under the bed, the PC and related accessories. Not usually a fan of Friends's animal moulds but this dog is cute and wheelies will work. Very nice concept executed well, this is like small diorama. THE NOT SO GOOD: None I can think of. This is one of the four Rooms released this month. This one particularly caught my eyes with the overall theme on gaming and live stream and it does not disappoint. The overall details depicting the theme nicely and very appropriate colours as well. The fact that with such small set and packed with lots of details. The gaming chair is a highlight and it's a fun furniture build that you could certainly re-use in your own lego creation. Same applies to the bed. While usually not a fan of stickers, the graphic designs are nice and fit the theme very well. I especially like the PC set up, having the screen showing Nova live streaming gameplay with mic and LCD light are such nice details. You could say they should have a hairpiece with headset as well but that's probably asking too much in a set with this price point. On top of that, LEGO incorporated a few action features in the set which are nice. Especially the items underneath the bed is a very common thing for everyone =P. The exterior looks clear while it's not the focus, but it gives you an idea on how the house or apartment may look like. Finally, even you are not a fan of minidolls like me, they do both come 2 new hair pieces which are minifigure compatible. And a adorable sausage dog with workable wheelies. At a low price point, the pricing is very competitive considering you usually can get a discount of these. Overall, this is an excellent set and so far I;ve really enjoyed the Friends theme lately. This is definitely a recommendation to everyone and you can easily replace the dolls with minifigures depending on your preference. This is an excellent concept of small dioramas which I hope would apply in other LEGO themes too.
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Here is my review on 76917 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34): THE GOOD: The GTR looks good both outside and inside. Both front intake and back of the car are interesting to build and really resemblance the GTR. Realistic wheel cover with shiny silver colour. A Paul Walker minifigure even though it may not necessarily look like him just nice to get iconic movie characters. Competitive pricing, even better if you wait til this widely available with discount. THE NOT SO GOOD: Some stickers are difficult to apply properly. May be the bonnet can have a few less exposed studs. This set does not disappoint, it's one of the top speed champions sets in my opinion. The fact that it is able to make you feel, hey this is the R34 GTR is brilliant. The overall building experience is great and feel refreshing compared to other speed champion sets, how it able to capture the look of the front intake and back of a GTR is unbelievable, although some of the stickers are difficult to apply. Having said that, I really don't know what's the policy in LEGO in terms of what parts get stickers and what parts get printed, there are few pieces you thought that could go for stickers but they opted with print. This set definitely has the best wheel compared to other sets. On top of that you get a Brian who was played by the late Paul Walker is just icing of the cake, now you can both Bom and Brian in minifigure form. If I got told like 2 years ago, we will get both Dom and Brian, I wouldn't believe it at all. This is a brilliant set and definitely recommend to everyone. The pricing is competitive too, and if you wait until March (which is this going to be availabe widely in AU & NZ, I assume other regions similar) you may even get discount from major retailers. Just don't pay for the premium to resellers now because this has been out of stock nearly everywhere. I do wish LEGO continues to make licensed speed champion sets like this, and they must not stop without making Han and his RX7!
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Here is my review on Friends 41733 Mobile Bubble Tea Shop: THE GOOD: Fun little build and very nice trailer if you consider the size of this set. Little details added to the prep area. New mobile phone print. For those only buying recent friends set, cool new hair style for minifigures too. THE NOT SO GOOD: Can't think of any to be honest, if I need to pick one thing, it would be nice if the mascot decorations are printed as well. Friends continues to be awesome this year. It's also nice finally we have a standalone bubble tea shop (we did get one from Monkie Kid last year but it's part of a bigger build). Love the new printed piece for bubble tea and great use of the white poop piece. I also find the build interesting too, may be just because I have not build anything similar before. The mascot reminds me the ice cream guy from LEGO MOVIE 2. And with friends introducing new characters with new hair, this also means for minifigures fan like me are getting some cool new hair pieces too. At $18 NZD, this is one good small set and can easily fit into any LEGO city. Totally recommending this set to anyone!
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Here is my review on 80111 Lunar New Year Parade: THE GOOD: Looking great and very interesting building experience. Impressive on getting the floats move in a realistic way. 18 excellent minifigures! Printed parts for the LEGO shop dragon. The chinese new year mascot big head has so much MEME potentials. Very competitive pricing. THE NOT SO GOOD: Stickers ... I think we are so spoilt from previous years with no stickers. Some new legs printing would be nice I wish there are more utilisation of the shiny gold piece than pearl gold. This set has surpassed my expectation. When it was first announced, I had mixed feelings on New Year Parade selected for the set in 2023 because while it happens, it just not as traditional as events previously depicted. However, after building this set, I really like it. It looks great and the action features work every so well. On top of that, this is very good building experience because I never built something like this before. I do feel LEGO may use similar design for a future winter village collection set. And the 18 minifigures are excellent, that big head is my favourite and can't wait to put it on Thanos body. Although, legs printing would be even nicer for some minifigures. This set pricing is also very competitive, to be honest with recent price hike, at NZD170, this set is actually pretty good value with great build and interesting new parts. At the end of the day, I really like this set. While it's not the top CNY set but it's definitely worthy on my top 5. I will totally recommend this to anyone even you are not interested in Chinese New Year.
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Here is my review on 40499 Santa's Sleigh released last year: THE GOOD: Great looking set. Fun to build. Nice printed Nice List. 4 Reindeers. THE NOT SO GOOD: Don't have any to be honest but the presents are pretty difficult to stack up nicely. After buying this and left it in the backlog for a year, I decided to build this finally and wow, this is excellent. I'm surprised with the build of the sleigh. I enjoyed building it and having 4 reindeers is just the best. The Santa's nice list is a great touch, now I really want that cancelled gift to get the Santa's Naughty List printed piece. I think this is one of the great Christmas set. The only issue I have is, it is so difficult to stack up the presents nicely at the back of the sleigh. Otherwise great set recommended to everyone.
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INTRODUCTION The Viking theme always captured my imagination. And after my dark ages it was one of the first themes I went and bought sets from on eBay. However, Viking Ship Challenges the Midgard Serpent, was not one of those sets. So when Lego decided to pay homage to that set in the form of a 3-in-1 Creator set I knew I had to check it out. SET INFORMATION Number: 31132 Title: Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent Theme: Creator Released: 2022 Part Count: 1170 Box Dimensions: 48 cm x 37.8 x 7.05 cm Weight: 1840 gram Set Price (RRP): 119.99 EUR / 104.99 GBP / 119.99 USD / Price per Part: 10.1 EUR / 8.8 GBP / 10.1 USD Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX The box shows off the main build of the set, the "Creator" label, and the fact that it's a 3-in-1 set. I've got to say, if I was a Lego ignorant parent buying for a kid I might assume you got all 3 builds in the set. Clearly Lego hasn't received enough complaints of that nature to change the packaging though. The back of the box gives more close-ups of the 3 different models with artistic backdrops setting each scene. The side of the box shows us one of the Viking women in official minifigure size and even more ways you could set up the models. CONTENTS OF THE BOX Inside you'll find 7 numbered bags, 1 unnumbered bag holding the flex cables, and one bag holding the instruction books. THE BUILD PART 1 I considered saving the Viking ship for building last as it's the model I want to display. But when I opened the instruction books I found this for the boat: And this for each of the other models: That meant I built the boat first as was clearly intended by how the parts were packaged. The instructions for the boat follow the standard format of opening bags in sequential order to get to the end. The other two models pull parts from all over. I find it humorous that the designers decided they should indicate one should just dump all the parts out at once to begin building the lodge or the wolf. If you've built a Lego set from the past couple years you've noticed that the instructions have star-burst animations when you finish a set. In building the boat I found that instructions added these bursts for small things like attaching a sub-model to the main model. Have we really become so dopamine addicted that we need this? The boat uses a lot of SNOT to great effect. A section that impressed me was the use of the new 6x6 curved plates offset to get the curve of the hull. Here you can see the SNOT sections coming together. The front and back sections of the hull are practically identical. Which means the build process feels very repetitive. But the end product looks good so I can't really fault that. FINISHED PRODUCT The first six bags give you the great looking boat. Bag 7 gives you the sea monster. The end result is a fantastic looking set! The boat is large and could easily host twice the number of Vikings. The brick-built sail is sturdy and looks really good. There are plenty of places to pose figures. And the Midgard serpent just begs for storytelling of epic battles on the high seas. I love how the set designers made the figurehead similar to the head of the serpent. It really feels like the Vikings had inspiration in carving the figurehead because of past encounters with the serpent. Now for a few complaints. The standard yellow is an odd choice under the dark blue sections. I wish they would have used an earth tone, flaming yellowish orange like on the figure head, or kept it dark blue. It's just too bright. The back of the sail has a lot of exposed under-studs which is unavoidable. The front looks amazing so you just need to display it from that direction. The Midgard serpent is also very bright. It's ok, but it doesn't feel necessary. It's also got unsightly hinges breaking up the flow of the body. And while the tail has a lot of movement because of those hinges, the front half of the body is very limited in movement. From the back you can see that the technic elements have gaps which are left when just a few more pieces could have covered them up. But these are small gripes. Overall the main build looks really good. I don't have the original Viking ship to compare this version to so I compared it to the Goat Boat. You can see how much bigger the Viking boat is to Thor's version. Though they aren't soo different in scale that they couldn't be seen in the same scene together. Those looking to make huge Viking layouts could add a sail to Thor's boat and have both in the same diorama. Also included in the main build are some animals. Following the Creator trend there are no molded animals forcing the designer to create brick-built designs. The crows found perched above the sail look amazing. These probably symbolize Odin's crows. But the cow, underwhelms. It's a clever way to create a cow with a minimal number of parts. And things like the legs and head look good. But the body is too angular and the lack of tail makes it feel incomplete. And now for the minifigures! All 4 are unique to this set. And 3 new torsos were designed to fit the Norse aesthetic. Lego brought back the traditional helmet mold. And while history books tell us Vikings didn't have horns on their helmets, I think Lego has been smart to keep that feature. A new mold was created for the female Viking that looks like a cross between Middle-Earth and Elsa from Frozen. But don't mistake me, it looks amazing! Here's a better shot of the torsos and heads. And the amazing torso detail continues on the back. Compared to Viking figures of days gone by these new additions fit in while maintaining a fresh look. I don't have the Series 7 Viking Woman and you'll have to excuse the green arms on my Series 4 Viking (I added those for my Mitgardians and didn't want to risk cracking the torso to switch them back out). My biggest complaint about the new Vikings is concerning shields. When I heard Lego was making this set I wished for a new set of printed shields like the Series 20 Viking had. Instead we got brick-built ones. And I actually really like how you can customize the brick-built shields with a myriad of color schemes. But it's still no substitute for the minifgure scale shield. Finishing the main build leaves you with a small selection of extra parts. THE BUILD PART 2 The next build I tackled was the lodge. It helped that I built it on the heels of building the boat so I remembered where parts were. Otherwise I would have had to completely disassemble and organize the parts to be able to find anything. I don't know a way around this, but building either of the models apart from the main model is a lot harder. The lodge has a main floor and a roof that can be removed for easy play access. Once it's finished you have a small lodge with attached anvil station, a plow attached to a cow, and a dragon attached to burning up your supply of hay. The roof has lots of gaps and would be very drafty in the winter. The plow is amazing and looks like the real thing. Easily the best sub-build of the entire set. The dragon is lack-luster. Only the head and tail can move up and down. So the wings have to remain stationary. If you don't want to lift the roof off you can raise the panels to see inside. There are shields lining the walls and small throne in front of the fire. The other side has the attached platform for using the anvil and a small stream. When all is said and done here's what you have left over. It's a tone of parts! Seems like a larger dragon could have been made and/or the unsightly gaps in the roof fixed. THE BUILD PART 3 Finally I build the wolf. The sand green pieces find their best use here in making a tree. But it's far from the best brick-built tree I've seen. And the dark blue gets used to create a giant Fenrir wolf. The size of the wolf is fine when you think of it as the mythical Fenrir wolf. But it's shaping leaves much to be desired. The legs are thin and the tail is bushy(?) and full of gaps at the same time. This is the worst of the 3 build options. The plot of ground where the Vikings have made camp includes a spot to hide some gems. And when you're done with this build you again have a ton of parts left over. In both of the alternate builds the cables, most of the yellow slopes, and most of the pieces used for the brick-built sail are never used. There's also a fair amount of technic that only gets used on the serpent and nowhere else. This begs the question, "why?" Seems like Lego could really make better use of the pieces for the alternate models. The fact that they don't leads me to believe the 3-in-1 aspect is more a gimmick than something that adds value to the set. OVERALL I'm old enough to remember when all Lego sets had alternate models advertised on the box of the box. The Creator 3-in-1 line seems to be trying to bring that feature back for a specific line of sets. But it ultimately fails for the Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent. If all you want to do is build the main model then this set does a fantastic job! The serpent isn't as good as the original one from 7018. And there are no printed shields. But overall it's a great looking Viking boat. And the minifigures really increase the desirability of the set. SCORE How do I rate this set? DESIGN 9 If I had to rate the other two models by themselves I'd lower the score to 4. But the main ship really carries this score. It's designed well and looks good. BUILDING EXPERIENCE 7 It's a little repetitive. And there are a few fun SNOT techniques. But overall this is a fairly standard build experience. FEATURES 9 Lots of places to pose minifigures, a working ballista, the ability to customize the shield colors even within the set, and while lack-luster the addition of alternate models means this set has a lot going for it. PLAYABILITY 10 As soon as I finished building it I wanted to sail my ship across the table to hunt Midgard serpents. This set is extremely playable. PARTS 8 There are a good selection of parts. There's a good selection of newer elements like the large curved plate. And the minifigures are amazing. VALUE FOR MONEY 9 This set almost hits the 10c/piece ratio and once you're done building the main model you really feel like you got your money's worth. FINAL SCORE: 9 There are some obvious flaws with the set, but they are minor. If you like Castle themed sets, ships, or Vikings this is going to be a great buy.
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Here is my review on 60345 Farmers Market Van: THE GOOD: Refreshing colour scheme. Nice sliding window design. Good idea on the farm section for expanding. THE NOT SO GOOD: $$$ without discount. Using a plat only for the roof feel a bit plain. Already retiring soon. I enjoyed the building and the end results of this set. I think it's good it's not just a van but also including a small section of the farm. The farm section is a great execution with its expandable design. The corn build is great and one of the reason I bought this set. There is also a pretty interesting play feature to do with carrot. The van itself is the same scale as most other vending vans in the past which is good. It's also good the overall theme is the same as the groceries store. The sliding window is really good and the same technique will be useful for any types of kiosk build. The roof can be improved as just a carrot on a plate feel a bit plain but any increase in complexities will push the price up which is already high. And this is the real big negative on this set, the RRP is very high. And even the individual parts if you buy directly from Pick a Brick is at insane price. For example, the corn piece is $7 NZD a piece, which means to build one extra set of corn would cost you close to $30 NZD each. This kinda under play the modular design of the plant section, as it's very pricey to get the extra parts, buying an extra set will make more sense. Having said that, this set is generally good and recommended if you can get a discount. And surprisingly, this set is already set to retire soon which is very short for a City set.
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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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INTRODUCTION Large scale droids are nothing new for the Star Wars line. But a droid based on a video game? That's new territory for Lego. We've received sets from various Star Wars video games like Battlefront, Old Republic, and Force Unleashed. But this is the first time we've received a large scale display piece as our only set to represent a game. Is the set good enough to satisfy Jedi Fallen Order players even without a Cal Kestis figure? SET INFORMATION Number: 75335 Title: BD-1 Theme: Star Wars Released: 2022 Part Count: 1062 Box Dimensions: 35.4 x 37.8 x 7.05 cm Weight: 1162 gram Set Price (RRP): 99.99 EUR / 89.99 GBP / 99.99 USD / Price per Part: 9.4 EUR / 8.5 GBP / 9.4 USD Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX The front shows the Fallen Order logo, the game from which this model is inspired. And on the back we see the few play features included. CONTENTS OF THE BOX Inside are 8 numbered bags (3 of which are for step 3) and a sealed instructions plus sticker. Despite being sealed, my instructions were warped and my sticker nearly so. THE BUILD We can see from the beginning of the instructions that the model is built in 2 main parts, the body and then the head. This set has some parts and recolors that are new for me. First off being this technic connector. Bricklink tells me it first came out last year, but has only been in three other sets which explains why I haven't seen it before now. It's used in BD-1 to add security for the neck connection. Next up on the new-part-list are these large click hinge attachments. It's new for this year and has been used in eight other large creature/robot sets. It's essentially a converter for the two different kinds of click hinges and adds a lot of versatility of movement in a small space. Just a little ways into the building process and BD-1 is really starting to take shape. The legs are fleshed out by attaching two different sections to the top and bottom technic beams. These are very secure and match up perfectly with each other. The technic beams remain exposed on the feet which is unfortunate as there should be more white covering that area. But overall the end result looks pretty good. Finishing the lower half we start into the head. It's a pretty hollow structure as you can see. And there is a nicely integrated drawer for the Stim Canisters. Finishing the head you attach it to the body using larger click hinges in white. It's a very simple attachment, but very effective. The end result is extremely sturdy. And here's the end result! The head can tilt left and right a little which adds emotion to this little robot. The back of the head uses light and dark blue round tiles to simulate the computer lights. The back of the feet uses the newer 2L bar and a silver candlestick to replicate a piston. From the side you can see the details on the side of the head. You can also see the negative results of how the feet and legs are built. From the front only the feet look a little bare. From the side you can see the exposed technic elements and hollow sections. A few mods would fix it and it's not glaringly noticeable. So it's a minor quibble. The legs have limited range of movement. There's a lot of versatility in the hips. But the "knees" and "ankles" are completely stationary. So this pose is about as crazy as you can get. I wish there were more options for posing. Though I understand it would have affected stability quite a bit. Of course you always have the option to do the splits. And while the posing is limited, there are a few fun ways you can arrange BD-1. Here's the droid looking embarrassed. And here's he's looking up at his owner with expectation. Around the eyes there's some really fun piece match-ups. The eyes are attached with technic pins and the flaps fold down on clip hinges. They meet up perfectly showing the genius of Lego math! If you're not careful a small gap can appear as seen above, but it's easy to push the two sections back into position as seen in the bottom half of the photo. The Stim Canister drawer opens just enough to see 3 canisters loaded. The drawer stays closed or slides open as desired. If you really move the model around the drawer might slide open unwanted, but not usually. The Stims are really hard to get out when the drawer is open. And no spring is included to recreate BD-1 launching them to you when your health is low The easiest way to get the Stims out is actually when the drawer is closed. Since the head is so hollow you can just shake BD-1 a little bit and they'll drop out the neck. The Stim Canisters themselves don't look much like their game counterpart. I'd have gone with trans-blue instead of green. And all three are attached together with the technic half-beam so you can't get a single one apart. That's good for storage and movement, but a compromise when it comes to accuracy. Here you can see the hollow inside of the head. It's only noticeable from certain angles. But when you can see the underside it looks very unfinished. Overall the model is very sturdy. Here the head is extended all the way back and the legs are still able to hold everything up. The set comes with a minifigure scale BD-1, shown on the left. Also released this year was a blue version in the Mandalorian N-1 set shown on the right. The only difference is the paint job. Red is the classic skin for BD-1 in the game so it makes sense that Lego went with that. But I know many customizers will be pleased that there's a blue version available too. It would have been fun if the set came with multiple skins for the "minifigure", but it's completely understandable that they didn't. OVERALL This is a fantastic set. The end result is well built and instantly recognizable as the BD-1 droid from Fallen Order. It's displayable in a few different, fun positions that would look great on any desk or shelf. I have a few complaints all dealing with Lego's choice to go with form over function. But if you have to choose only one of those Lego made the right choice as the end model looks great. SCORE How do I rate this set? DESIGN 9 This set is designed really well. A few areas where the technic parts show through, but overall it looks sleek. BUILDING EXPERIENCE 10 BD-1 was a lot of fun to build! The model really comes together nicely and the sub-models all fit nicely. FEATURES 9 This is a display model which is its main feature. And it does that pretty well. I wish there was a little more flexibility in the legs, but it's a minor complaint. The Stim Canister drawer is a fun addition even if it's challenging to get the canisters out. PLAYABILITY 9 This is not meant to be a play model. But because you can pose the head a lot I think it ticks a lot of the playability boxes for a set like this. PARTS 10 There is a very nice selection of parts in this set. It's not a parts pack, but you certainly get your money's worth. VALUE FOR MONEY 10 This is easily worth $100. You get over 1,000 parts and the end result feels substantial and looks great. FINAL SCORE: 9.5 BD-1 can't sit on your shoulder. I tried and couldn't get it to balance well enough to even get a picture! But you can display it on flat surfaces and it'll look fantastic. And if you don't like the classic red color scheme it's very easy to customize this set. Overall a fantastic model for any Star Wars fan.
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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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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
