Rumble Strike

unproxy Camanakin Skywalker (Big Cam) I think I agree with Scotty here. We have two main suspects and one has been cleared with an investigation. Logic dictates that we vote the other out. Donena, as she states herself, also has used up both witness cards, so despite her willingness to contribute and her reasoned arguments, she won't be as useful. I can't bring myself to vote out Mistress Kupp on the basis that after an investigation her allegience is Town, and Flutwick who made that announcement was trying to be framed by a confirmed Dark One yesterday. You can look for patterns and meanings and long term plans, but that's what it comes down to. So it is with a heavy heart that I must vote Donena Buena (Donut). If she is Town, that will at least give the remaining Town something to go on the next day.

My dark ages came in the mid to late 80s, when Star Wars, Transformers and He-Man and stuff like that caught my attention more than the solid, dependable Lego sets. So I didn't really have any feeling for the original pirates lines as I missed them entirely. Since coming back to the Lego fold, I bought several sets of the latest Pirates line (2009) to prepare myself for the licensed Pirates of the Caribbean line. And for me, they've been a bit of a mixed bag. Whilst I really liked the DK Brickmaster Pirates book, I wasn't keen on Loot Island, with the wasted base plate, so let's see what happens with one of the smaller Pirates sets, the cringingly-named “Kraken Attackin'”. BASIC INFORMATION: Set Name: Kraken Attackin' Set Number: 6240 Number of Pieces: 78 Minifigs: 2 Price: USD 9.99, GBP 8.99, EUR 9.99 (estimated, as a retired set this no longer features on LEGO Shop@Home) Theme: Pirates Year Released: 2009 ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Brickset Peeron My photo set on Flickr THE REVIEW: BOX: Front: Like the later Kingdoms sets, the 2009 Pirates line featured very colourful, eyecatching boxes, and that is shown off here with the gorgeous aqua blue colouring. The front shows an action scene, and skillfully shows off all the elements included - even the box of gems gets highlighted as they are thrown from the raft as the Kraken attacks. Back: The back shows off a slightly different action scene, along with a panel showing off the biggest set of the 2009 Pirates theme at the time, Brickbeard's Bounty. The back also does good work highlighting all the accessories contained within. Side: The side of the box shows off the two included minifigs in fighting poses, with the 1:1 picture being the two-toned parrot. The lovely weathered treasure-map background is most effective on this side, although it is present all over the box. IN THE BOX: Contents Inside the box are two bags, neither of which are numbered. The Kraken is loose inside the box, and there is an instruction booklet with the same picture as the front of the box. No sticker sheet for this one, which comes as a relief. Instruction Booklet: The instruction booklet was folded into the box, even though the box is large enough to hold it without it being folded. Annoying! The background has some weathering to make it look like parchment, especially in the bottom left and top right corners of the fully opened booklet. A nice touch. There are no problems with colour differentiation as there are only a handful of different coloured pieces used. The Pieces: Here are both bags empied on top of the Kraken. Notice it is primarily tan and brown pieces, befitting the construction of a raft. Pieces of interest: Most of the pieces are either regular bricks or accessories, but there were a couple of interesting pieces to show off here. The Kraken I believe is an old mold but reused for the first time in a long time here. The main issue with this is that he's too small. After seeing some of the brick-built Atlantis sea creatures, this one is very underwhelming. The parrot is also an older piece but with a new two-tone colouring. He looks great. The bucket for the lookout tower is also new for me, it's well detailed and is a nice standalone piece. MINIFIGS: Front: The front of the two minifigs. These torsos are nicely detailed, but are included in several of the Pirates sets so they are not unique. No leg prints either, just plain coloured legs. However, they give the impression of pirates well and fit in better with the more modern style of detailed Lego minifigures than their older counterparts. Back: There is back printing on both of the minifigs, corresponding nicely to the front, but as you can see, no alternate expressions for either of them. Accessories: These two guys aren't loaded with accessories, however the set does give them more to use later. I am just showing what is pictured at the front of the booklet when it tells you to build the minifigs, which are the hats, a cutlass and a telescope. Let's have a look at the two minifigs with their stuff: Pirate 1: There are differences of who gets which hat between the box art and the instruction booklet. On the box this guy gets the blue skull cap but the instructions give him the tricorn hat so I went with that. Interestingly the instructions also show this guy with white arms instead of the sleeveless yellow arms he comes with. The face doesn't look particularly piratey, in fact it was used later on for the good Knight in the Kingdoms Prison Carriage Rescue set. Pirate 2: This guy looks a lot more like a pirate with his expression, although I don't know how long he'd go before another pirate pulled out that gold tooth. Again, it's a face that's seen a fair amount of reuse, including as a criminal in the Police sets. Lego profiling? THE BUILD By step 5, we have started constructing the framework of the raft. Don't worry about the red piece allowing the sideways construction, it gets covered up later. By step 8, the framework is halfway completed with the insertion of the Technic poles into the round pieces. What the instructions don't tell you straightaway is that you've got to follow steps 1-7 again to create the other half of the raft frame. You then push the two pieces together onto the Technic poles... ... to get this. It's actually a very good, stable base for the rest of the raft, and the use of SNOT is pretty clever. Three tan plates are put onto the exposed studs, giving a fitting “boarded” look to the raft. Once those are in place, the rest of the raft can be built up, including another long Technic pole for a mast. This doesn't look too good, I would have liked to have seen yet more 2 x 2 round pieces to make the mast look thicker and sturdier. You can also see the stand for the parrot. Here's a shot of the finished build, with all the accessories added, such as the oar, musket and box of gems. These were the extra pieces – just a claw and a cutlass. I'm counting that as a spare because you are not directed to give it to a minifig or put it on the raft anywhere. It's a good extra piece to have, you can't have too many weapons! Completed Model: Let's take a look around the completed raft. From the back you can see the ladder up to the crow's nest and the oar holder. From this side you get a good look at the stand for the parrot, and also how ugly the stand for the nest is, with it's three separate colours. That clip piece should really have been tan rather than grey. From this side you can see how the musket clips in to the mast. From this angle you can see how the double-claw contraption holds the oar. Using a more birds-eye view just to see the gems in the box, which we can just about do. COMPLETED SET Most Lego sets these days have built-in conflicts, and Kraken Attackin' doesn't shy away from this idea. Even the name of the set implies it! Here is the completed set with minifigs placed and the Kraken about to attack. Oh no, the Kraken has grabbed one of the pirates using its tentacles! His fellow pirate in the crow's nest aims his trusty musket and fires at the beast, hoping not to injure his comrade in arms. The Kraken swims off, to seek easier prey. The pirate clambers back on board, having lost his cutlass but not his life. His friend climbs down to help him. All drama finished, the pirates head to shore, one with his faithful parrot, and the other with his faithful booty! Overall, the raft is a nice, sturdy construction with a fair amount of playability. The minifigs serve their purpose well and it's loaded with accessories. The main letdown is the size of the titular Kraken, who you would imagine to be much more impressive than what's in the set. Let's see how this all breaks down in the totals! Totals: Design: 6/10 – The raft is compact and built well, but the Technic piece as a mast makes the whole thing look a bit flimsy. I'm also docking marks for the inclusion of the non-brick-built Kraken in this section too. It's just not impressive enough compared to other non-brick animals such as the alligator in Loot Island. Parts: 6/10 - There are some nice parts here, like the parrot especially, but generally it's a whole lot of brown and tan pieces. If round 2 x2s float your boat, then feel free to add to this score! Build: 7/10 – Actually I was impressed with the way the two halves of the raft came together, as mentioned above it's a clever use of SNOT that also has the advantage of being very structurally secure. Minifigs: 7/10 – Two very solid pirate figures here to either start your collection off or add to it. There weren't many different pirate torsos or faces in the 2009 line, so there is nothing unique here but visually it all works well together as a set. Playability: 7/10 – Another playable set; although the Kraken is not the most convincing adversary ever, it is nice to have it, even if it's a bit small. Price: 7/10 – Clearly this set suffers a few compromises for being put into a specific, lower price point. 78 pieces isn't fantastic in terms of price per piece, especially with so many round 2 x 2s, but there are some worthwhile pieces here in terms of weaponry, accessories like the box and gems, and of course the animals, that make this set above average value. I got this on eBay and paid well over the original retail price for it, so I don't personally have as good a feeling about it, but certainly for it's time it doesn't seem a bad deal. Total: 40/60 – A reasonable starting point for the Pirates line, but nothing really show-stopping. A competent set rather than a very good one, it's not a let down but with a few more pieces and a bigger Kraken it could have been so much more. I hope you enjoyed this review; the fourth of my series of Reviewers Academy reviews. I would love constructive comments and feedback below.

So Mistress Kupp appears to be just a rather unbalanced and eccentric Townie. But do we trust the investigation? I would say yes, as Carly tried to implicate the Professor late yesterday as the bandwagon rolled on to her lynching. That would suggest that Professor Flutwick is Town. I have some errands to run, so I will have to proxy Camanakin Skywalker (Big Cam) in case I am not back in time to review more evidence and cast a vote.

I do like the idea that Mistress Kupp has been put up by the other Dark Ones as a sacrificial lamb, that's solid deduction work. I still think she might just be a deluded Townie, but then the only other suspect is Donena Buena and like she says, she has used up both her Witness cards in 2 days. I know Carly proved that that could be a Dark Ones strategy, but still. I think it shows Town spirit. I am going to wait to see if we can get an investigation before voting.

Yeah, those are some sweet, super-clear pics! Thank you for the in-depth look at these figures. As a Kingdoms fan I can't wait to get a few Dwarves myself

I can only echo everyone else. Congratulations to a top bloke who has really stepped up into the role for the good of this great community.

That was a great first day, the investigation/witness thing gave people more to go on than usual in Mafia games.

Well if we are talking about farting I think most of us are guilty. Except me, I never fart in front of my wife, it's easier on the marriage that way!

I can't see a smile there, and anyway, even if there was the slightest hint of an upturned cheek, I certainly don't think it's a smile that anywhere near approaches yours, Carly!

Yay, Bonaparte is Aslan!

Linko those are absolutely amazing! I love the close-up of Anakin best. Really captures the stricken grief.

Great Scott!! Brickdoctor is right! Presumably that section didn't get the spring banner either. It's just stuck in winter like Narnia under the white witch

There is also the possibility that Bananakin is a Dark One and is framing Carly with a false investigation, however that is a risky strategy that would only work this once (as long as the lynchings reveal the leanings of the lynchee).

Based on the evidence of the investigation I will Vote: Carly Vikera/Kartoffelviking However I'm sure that these things are never as straightforward as they appear.

I am glad to see that the lack of wedding ring further distances me from the henious crime. My wedding ring will never be removed, or my lovely wife would have words to say, and more! I agree with some of our colleagues in this room. I fail to see how being one of the first to examine witnesses and reporting evidence which paints herself in a bad light could be construed as gamesmanship, when there is too much at stake to lose on this first day, when we fear more murders to come. If Carly was a Dark One, at this stage it would be far more likely for her to just try and fly under the radar and not draw attention to herself, which is easiest while we are in a big group like this. I know who I want to vote for, but I will await the witness statement and the results of the investigation before doing so.

I have nothing to hide, as people said, I am wearing mainly black but I'm not even sure if my race can smile: At this stage, I think Camanakin is the most likely, as I do find it hard to believe that Carly would incriminate herself with the clue, it's just too risky a strategy.

Apologies buddy! I know you are great at sniffing out a bargain

Don't forget that that particular Amazon storefront has £4.62 postage, so while they are good deals, they are not the immediate steal that they appear to be. edit - talking about the Mandalorian set rather than the Cars sets.

Ram Strut Look people, you know the rules. If your name's not down, you're not coming in! Except for if my lovely wife Mrs Le Goninja allows it, of course!

I think it really says something for how ingrained Lego Star Wars is into popular culture when it's being used as a new Star Wars cartoon, even if it's just a special.

I have to admit, with some of the Collectible Mini Figs you think "That'd make a good army builder!". The gorilla suit guy... not at the very top of that list! Great shots though, very impressive when all formed up like that

Great review Oky! I particularly like the look at the source characters compared to their Lego counterparts. Nice work I got this set recently (not yet opened) and the Tokyo Pit Stop Guido and Luigi set (opened and love them!) which will do me for the Cars 2 theme, I think, unless the film is really good. It's not out in the UK until 22nd July or somewhere around that date.

I would love another crack at an EB game as I really enjoyed my last experience.

I agree with those saying the selection is strange. This line needed more generic redcoats and pirates, not another Jack plus the 2 most common "zombie" pirates

That's a nicely entertaining round-up! I've yet to see these on shelves in the UK, and apart from morbid curiousity would probably pass on these. My Transformers days are well behind me now.