Review of 10186 General Grievous Set

[dunamis]

General Grievous Reviewed by Dunamis

Set 10186

1,085 Pieces

$89.95 from LEGO Shop @ Home

Build time 3.5 hours

It is the start of summer here in California and along with the weekly deluge of new action films we start to see some of the next wave of Star Wars LEGO sets. The latest offering from our favorite building toy company is none other than the infamous General Grievous! No doubt you all know the story of Grievous; two parts Technic and one part human and his hatred of the Jedi. Follow along as we get a close-up view of the mighty General.

No doubt the observant will wonder why I purchased this set from Shop @ Home instead of my trusty LEGO store in Glendale. Well, it’s really as simple as two things: I’ve been traveling a lot and didn’t have time to drive to the store to get it AND gas is now $4/gallon and I would likely spend more in gas than the $9 shipping cost to get it to me. So there you have it.

The Box:

A gigantic box (much larger than expected) held the mighty General.

We’re back to the perforated tabs on the side and two stickers on the front that let the box lift open:

Inside, we have 17 bags, two manuals and three stickers on a relatively small sticker sheet.

The Manuals:

The manuals are not terribly thick in fact the second manual is noticeably thinner than the first. They come in at 75 and 31pages.

Interesting to note on the back we see the next (and more interesting) wave of sets later this summer.

Nothing new to report on the manuals as they provide the LEGO standard of high quality and features we expect.

- Piece callouts

- Models divided into sections

- Large images

- Page numbers

Since there were links posted to the .pdf files of the instructions online, I’m sure you can all get an idea of the manual and the parts inventory. However, for those of you without access to the Internet here are photos of the parts inventory pages:

Random manual image:

Features page:

The Pieces:

The short answer is you get lots and lots of little pieces in white, gray and black plus some big pieces in white, gray and black. Mixed in the set is a fair amount of oddball pieces like minifig tools, Jedi hood and trans yellow dome.

Fear not, despite the eclectic collection of parts, it all comes together in the end (not unlike a typical day at work for me…)

It is probably worth noting again that there is a heavy amount of Technic parts and pieces here.

The Build:

The build starts off with a rather in-depth build of the stand in which General Grievous stands on. Once you think you are done, you keep adding on to this (rather solid) base. I bet there are 250 pieces just in the base alone! It is quite nice when you get done with it though and really adds to the display. I’m glad LEGO didn’t skimp on the base as it completes the model.

Once you get through all that, the rest of the build is a real thumb-bruiser. Anyone who has built a decent size Technic set knows the feeling of your thumbs being sore when you are done. You get the same effect here.

It is actually a fun build and I really liked seeing how the designers used all the various pieces to recreate a fairly accurate model of Grievous. The model is built from the ground up as seen in a few of the progress shots:

Here is what is left over:

The Design:

The design is quite good and is very accurate. Some might be disappointed that since this is a Technic set we don’t have more articulation in the shoulders and have the ability to separate two arms into four as seen in the movie. However, it would seem the real intent is for display and not functionality.

Here is a shot of the torso and the detail involved:

Here are Grievous’ organs:

Careful observers will note that my model is lacking two “arrow” stickers from the two white chest pieces. I failed to see these on the sticker sheet and only grabbed the large Grievous sticker. So, note that there are actually THREE stickers and not ONE.

Chest protector and respirator:

Head and arms:

I was a little disappointed that we got two yellow blades and no green blades on the lightsabers. Note how all the lightsabers have different hilts which is a nice touch:

Here are some shots of the completed model with a few other sets shown for scale. He is actually pretty tall:

You have the option to remove the top two arms and put in shoulder plates if you so desire:

Detail on the back:

Overall Thoughts:

I’ve been saying for a few years that we should have a Technic Grievous set and we finally got one. Designed more as a model and not a fully functional swooshable figure, Grievous is a tad flimsy. You won’t want him to veer too far off his massive and sturdy base. It would have been nice to have is cape with him (like the Technic Vader set). I do like the size of the model and it is impressive to look at.

LEGO Star Wars System fans will likely want to think twice before purchasing but Technic and UCS fans should be satisfied.

Final Rating: 75%

Build 8/10 (Very Good – Fun, relatively quick build. Technic fans will be more pleased than others.)

Design 8/10 (Very Good – Some nice SNOT and Technic techniques. A bit flimsy but the base is kind of cool.)

Parts 7/10 (A mixed bag of stuff. Probably can’t get too many diverse builds from this except for other robot type models.)

Price 7/10 (Just OK – A bit stiff at $90 USD for a nice display model with limited functionality.)

As always, let’s hear your thoughts and feedback.

[darkrebellion]

Thanks so much dunamis for your awesome review . Yeah I think TLC miss the cape, it would be cool to own one but when we were talking of the 2008 sets around july of last year I can remember someone said it would come with cape. Finally is a little dissapoint TLC miss it .

Edited May 16, 2008 by darkrebellion

[Zarkan]

Excellent review, Dunamis.

This set looks great. The designers really though the kit out, it seems. The internal organs have got to be my favorite part, but everything is good.

Now all we need is a UCS Obi-Wan with a laser pistol to finish off Grievous in a totally anti-climatic way!

[Deinonychus]

Hey Dunamis, think you can get a straight-on shot of the face?

The red pieces inside the eye sockets are topped with trans-greenish-yellow studs which make his face look eerily alive and very close to his screen appearance. It's a nice little detail that seems to not show through on pictures I've seen of the set.

The legs are a little wobbly. I'm scared that he'll be leaning too far forward in about 5 years

[dunamis]

Hey Dunamis, think you can get a straight-on shot of the face?

The red pieces inside the eye sockets are topped with trans-greenish-yellow studs which make his face look eerily alive and very close to his screen appearance. It's a nice little detail that seems to not show through on pictures I've seen of the set.

The legs are a little wobbly. I'm scared that he'll be leaning too far forward in about 5 years

Sure. I'll get a few photos tonight and post them. The eyes are a nice effect.

You are right about the legs as the model does wobble a little. I forgot to mention that the base does turn which is another nice feature.

[CopMike]

Nice review dunamis !

I built it two weeks ago on the LEGOWORLD speedbuild in Oslo and didn´t have time to get the "feel" during that crazy race.

I agree with you that the base is nice & sturdy, makes it stand real still !

I´m looking forward on your next score!

Four eyes arms On

copmike

[Ras 74]

I do a easy answer to you Dunamis and just double post CM´s answer... I was there as well!

Nice review dunamis !

I built it two weeks ago on the LEGOWORLD speedbuild in Oslo and didn´t have time to get the "feel" during that crazy race.

I agree with you that the base is nice & sturdy, makes it stand real still !

I´m looking forward on your next score!

Four eyes arms On

copmike

Sturdy On!!

-Ras-

[Inertia]

Cool!

I like the idea of using the hood as an organ!

Dunamis Reviews ON!

[Vaders_son]

Thanks for this very detailed review Dunamis!

Didn't think that GG were that big He looks pretty good to me, but I'll save the 90€ for the upcoming CW sets

[Asuka]

Thanks for that fine review, dunamis.

I really like that set.... GG´s an interesting and well designed movie character and that LEGO version of him´s indeed well

done and very detailed. And although I would wish for a some more functional (or playable ) feature of move- and

even splitable arms I guess it´s an already very cool UCS version of that grumpy old Kaleesh....

[dunamis]

OK, here are a couple of shots of the head and eyes:

A very nice effect.

Any, silly me, in my first set of photos above, I never folded in his ribcage (you guys gotta call me out on these things). Here is what it is supposed to look like:

Anyway, carry on...

[welcomestranger]

Since there were links posted to the .pdf files of the instructions online, I’m sure you can all get an idea of the manual and the parts inventory. However, for those of you without access to the Internet here are photos of the parts inventory pages:

Luckily for me I have access to the internet to read this review in the first place

Seriously though, nice review! My girlfriend has told me that I can't have this one after we just got through a 3-day build of the 10030 Star Destroyer... but I'm sure I can turn her around eventually... :)

[iamded]

Awesome review, Dunamis! That's such a sweet set, I loved it as soon as I thoroughly examined the online instructions. It looks way awesome in the brick, my favourite part has to be the eyes. Very cool, and creepy. Thanks again for the info, and of course the pics!

~Peace

[dunamis]

Luckily for me I have access to the internet to read this review in the first place

LOL, I was wondering if anyone would get my lame attempt at humor

[LEGOscum]

Any, silly me, in my first set of photos above, I never folded in his ribcage (you guys gotta call me out on these things).

You forgot to add the stickers to the chest plates too.

Jeremy

[Kahgarak]

two parts Technic and one part human

One part Kaleesh, actually

[robbo]

An excellent review with superb presentation dunamis . When the time comes i hope your able to get your hands on the other new SW sets and review them just as good.

[kill will]

Snice review! (Super nice) Though I think I'll pass on this one, I really dislike the head. What's with the frame around the neck and the clip under the head? That, and I don't really care for UCS or technic stuff. The base looks nice though!

[hoang]

This is a very nice, i never gotten to chance to own or buy one of the SW big sets. I'm definitely getting these one.

[Blitz]

Detailed report,thx for sharing.I love to see the special parts of it!You persuaded me to buy this!

[JimBee]

nice review! but id rather save my money for the indy and Clone Wars sets.

[dunamis]

You forgot to add the stickers to the chest plates too.

Jeremy

Yeah, I know. I mentioned it in the review that I completely blew past the other two stickers. If you look closely, you can see that the big Grievous nameplate sticker is off-center as well. Me and stickers don't get along...

[Nikola Bathory]

Great review, very detailed indeed!

[Ogel111]

nice review i hope to get this set for my birthday!

[Siegfried]

Thanks for the great review! Sad to say, as cool as he looks, he's a sale-only set for me.