Clone OPatra

I know I said that I was going to compare some bridges at the end of my last review, but the movie version of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is coming out in just three days, and I was so excited I decided to make an Academy standard review of… Set Title: Rescue from the Merpeople Set #: 4762 Theme: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Pieces: 175 Minifigures: 5 Year of Release: 2005 Price at Release: USD $20 Buy it? Inventory? Bricklink Peeron INTRODUCTION Around the time that the Goblet of Fire sets came out I got the Graveyard Duel, 4766. Who wouldn't really? That set had 548 pieces, four mostly new minifigures, and four skeletons (even though you wouldn't know about the fourth one without getting the set), one of which was black, all for 30 bucks. That was some deal. This set, 4762, on the other hand, looked a bit small, and the model didn't look great. I put it off for some time, but I kept seeing it in my local Borders. Finally I got a Borders gift card from somebody, so I went and bought this set. It turned out to be a good decision. BOX and INSTRUCTIONS I no longer have the original box, but as you can see from the Bricklink photo it was quite tall for some reason, and I do vaguely remember that. On the back was probably a picture of the alternate model, among other things, which I will show you a picture of in the instructions. I do like the art on this box, especially the light shining into the water. The only odd thing is that the merman is looking away from Harry, instead of confronting him. Mirroring the tall box, the instructions are also quite tall themselves. The instructions are probably tall this way so that steps of the tall structure can be shown without cutting anything off. Look at those nice minifigures and all that medium blue! A random page. It has a nice parchment-like background and good color distinction. Now, here's what you've been waiting one second for, the alternate model! Boy I wish LEGO still had alternate model inspirations. This one is so wacky, it shows some kind of cooking show with the merman as the instructor and the kids as contestants. That's what it looks like to me, anyway. PARTS I show you here the parts, minus the minifigures and sea life. They are in a ziplock bag because I have started to deconstruct some of my sets and put them in bags for easier storage, but I decided to review this one. What you can hopefully see is a nice amount of regular kinds of medium blue bricks, some dark blue, a few trans blue, regular blue, green, several dark green, and a few brown and bley pieces. It is really a great mix of stunning colors, and all of that medium and dark blue is a big draw of this set. Sure, it's no Volkswagen Beetle, but that hadn't come out yet! All of the pieces are interesting to me because of their wonderful colors, but none of them are rare or printed pieces that you don't usually find other places. There are some trans-green flames and seaweed, which are nice. The rarest of the pieces would have to be the sea creatures. The octopus isn't rare, but the scorpion rarely comes in red, the crab is usually a Belville piece, and there are only two sets that feature that trans-light blue "jellyfish" hat. MINIFIGURES Besides the pieces in their wonderful array of colors, this set also includes five awesome minfigures that were exclusive in these variations to this set at the time. I say "in these variations" because sure, we all know there were a million Rons, Hermiones, and Harrys, but not with these faces and in a swimsuit. From left to right, we have tournament swimsuit Harry, Hermione, Ron, Smiwsuit Viktor Krum with his hair on, and a completely exclusive merman. The merman is absolutely fabulous! Ron and Hermione also came in a Target Exclusive Durmstrang Ship with bonus minifigures, but I don't count them as really coming in that set. Here are the kids in their different variations. Harry's head turns around to reveal his Gillyweed gills and he sprouts some flippers, Ron and Hermione fall asleep so that they can be rescued, and Viktor morphs a shark head. Oh, and Harry has some back printing with his name, a nice touch. Viktor fits right in with other morph headed minifigures like the werewolf and the teddy bear. With his medium blue staff, exclusive to this set in that color, the Merman fits right in with the Emperor's Guard. Here's a comparison between the original Ron and Hermione and the new lovebirds. I think it's quite fitting that LEGO gave all of the main trio new faces to go along with how much the actors have grown up. You can see the growth in the minifigures. And how well do these minifigures match up against their real life counterparts? Let's take a look. Here is Hermione and Hermione. I think LEGO really captured the eybrows and the mouth, but I'm not so sure about the eyes. I also don't know why LEGO stuck with the old Hermione mop of hair because the movie designers certainly did not. The alternative hair they gave her in the sole Order of the Phoenix set works much better for the older Hermione. I think they captured both Ron's and Harry's faces nicely, but I really don't understand LEGO's hair choices. I mean, I absolutely hated the characters' hairdos in the movie, even Neville had a long mop! What was that about? Just because they turned fourteen doesn't mean they decided to look like hippies! Still, I wonder why LEGO did not feel like matching the silly 'dos in their minifigures. Ron's hair is a darker color, though. BUILD Let's put those wonderful pieces together! The build is broken into three sections: the boat, the little scorpion shooter, and the main thingy. Descriptive, eh? Boat We start with the boat. After 3 steps, we've put together four little pieces. After 7 steps, we're done. That's one flat looking, shallow boat, isn't it? To me, this boat was thrown in more as a set piece then something to actually play with. You can throw some guys on it if you want, though. Little Scorpion Shooter After 4 steps, we're here. We already have four different blues: medium, regular, dark, and trans! At 7 steps, it's built up a little more to create a cave for the red scorpion. At 10 steps, it's done, with some nice trans-green seaweed to top it off. Main Thingy Now we start on the Main Thingy, which consists of two blue plates hinged together, and of course some stuff on top of them. At 3 steps, you can already see the hinge and glorious medium blue. I just can't go on enough about that medium blue can I? At 7 steps, the other plate has been attached and the mechanism to shoot Ron and Hermione has already been installed. Do you see the blue tiles sticking up behind all the dark blue? That's part of the mechanism, which I will explain more later. At 10 steps the other plate has started to get some pieces on it, and another holed plate has been attached to the right side. At 13 steps the peg has been built that will allow you to shoot Ron and Hermy into the air. It's even got some seaweed on it! On the other side, some medium blue steps are going up. During step 15 you make this little box that contains two knives. I guess LEGO wanted to put in some knives because Harry uses one in the movie to cut Ron and Fleur's sister free. For some reason, they didn't just want to give Harry the knife to hold, so they made this little box and put a cute crab on top to guard it. I still don't know why the whole box is removable. At step 16 the box has slid in and Ron and Hermy have been attached on pegs along with some green walls. It is a rare occurrence that you put the minifigures in the model in any step but the last one. At 19 steps the thing has been built up and some more seaweed has been added. The only thing that hasn't been added is the jellyfish. And that's the build! It's a fun build with no repetition and different things going on, and it's also pretty quick. You've got to love all the shades of blue going into the model! SET Since we just built it, let's look at what we get from several angles. Here it is from the front with all the minifigures. It strikes a nice underwater scene, and the structure above Ron and Hermy is actually a lot like it is in the movie, but I couldn't find a picture of it. It has been condensed a bit, and Ron and Hermy are not suspended in the water, but the shape is still very similar. In this straighter view you can perhaps better see the structure that Ron and Hermione are standing on. This is the only set to contain the dark green doorframe, and I'm sure it would be useful in a variety of forest MOCs or underwater building MOCs. From the left side you can see the side of the red creature's cave. You can also see the pin behind it, which is for shooting it out, as I will show in the Play Features section. Here you can see the side of the steps leading up to the little box that contains the knives. I really like how LEGO used the four kinds of blue on this part; of course they didn't have to, but they did! The octopus thing is also a nice touch. From the back of the model you can see the hinge at the bottom that is used to launch Ron and Hermione. I will attempt to explain this in greater detail in the Play Features section. That's really all there is to see of the model. It really looks lovely with all of the different underwater colors combined, and the designers did a good job making it look somewhat like the movie. I thought it would look puny, but it doesn't in reality. PLAY FEATURES Here it is, the section where I attempt to show the two special play features that LEGO threw in to make things exciting.. Firstly, you can shoot the red scorpion out of his cave to attack Harry. How well does it work? Will it eat him? Let's see… Well, my aim isn't great, but it works. This play feature gets a PASS. Secondly, you can help Ron and Hermione get to safety by rocketing them into the air. If Harry isn't having too much success with the knife, I guess this is his alternative. So, will he be able to shoot them to safety? Let's find out… Yay! They sort of made it! It isn't easy to do this (I made a first attempt video which failed) because sometimes they just get caught instead of shooting up (that phrase could really apply to something else), but if it does work, it works well. I'll give this a PASS too. If you were wondering how the mechanism works, here is a side view that better shows it. Ron and Hermione are on pegs. Those pegs go through a holed-plate and rest on some tiles that are on a hinge. Then there is a pin at the back that also goes through a holed plate onto the top of the hinged plates. When you press the pin down hard, the minifigures are forced up. Any questions? FUN Of course it's fun to shoot Ron and Hermione into the air and send around the little scorpion, but what else can you do? Of course, you can reenact the scene the way it was in the movie. Here are Krum and Harry saving their friends. Blue tones added to make it look underwater. And what's even more fun than just playing with two sets? Adding another underwater set for even more fun. The merman didn't seem to like it though. (Read my review of the sub here) Those are just my suggestions, of course you can play with it however you want! Or you can just leave it out to get dusty for three odd years like I did. CONCLUSION This is really a great set. The minifigures are all superb and almost exclusive to this set. This is the only place to get the shark head, which I'm sure you could use in some interesting vignettes, and it's the only place to get the merman with his "punk red" hair. I suppose you could complain that LEGO didn't include Cho, Cedric, Fleur's sister, and even Fleur (who wasn't there), but LEGO was never going to put nine minifigures in a $20 set, and I think they made the right choices. 4767, on the other hand, could have done with a Cedric. When it comes to the pieces, this set is absolutely fabulous! Sure, it's a teeny bit above the price per piece of 10 cents, but it's close and all of the pieces are in interesting colors. The model itself is also pretty good, and there's a few things you can do with it. The play features also work well enough, which adds to the fun. RATINGS Minifigures: 10/10 - The only slight problem is the hair on Ron and Harry, but that can't outweigh the awesomeness of everything else. Parts: 10/10 - Really, what could be wrong with a handful of medium blue, some dark blue, dark green… Build: 10/10 - Nonrepetetive, and plenty of interesting things to build. Price: 10/10 - I think $20 for 5 exclusive minifigures and an assortment of great colors is a perfect price (but still not as good as Graveyard Duel, of course). Playability: 8.5/10 - Besides the features, there really isn't a whole lot to do, but the play features are enough I suppose. Overall: 9.7/10 - A calculated average says this set rocks! The going rate on Bricklink seems to be in the 40s range, but if you can find it cheaper than that it's definitely worth picking up! Until next time!

Down in that corner is a circle with whatever minifigure the pack has the most of with the words "Build Your Army." It is actually easier to see that it is the "Build Your Army" circle when you watch the clip and pause to see the whole frame rather than this crazy zooming in to get blurry pics that morph into blue-pants guys and Wampas on speeder bikes and all sorts of things.

Great job on the review! I think LEGO did really well designing all of the HP3 sets, so it's a shame they decided to stop making a lot of HP sets. Maybe they got tired of making most of the minifigures in the same bland robes! Cutlass, why did you not add a poll? Now we can't all rate the set.

Yes I can.

Here it is. When you want a picture, always go to Bricklink.

Mmmmm. Chroooome. The Chrome explorer has found the mystical Chrome Botanical Island.

Thanks for the review. I'm sure none of these games are very challenging, challenges were never LEGO's thing. They do have some good parts, though. Do the microfigures have standard studs on their heads so that they can attach to things? Is it possible to put a hat on one?

I agree Jammiedodger. If anybody makes some single pane cartoons, post them in this thread so we can all have a good laugh. Don't be shy, and never say "Sorry if these aren't very funny." Somebody will always find something funny!

That was really excellent! Great story and great execution. I was amazed at that one shot with about ten minifigures all moving around. That must have been pretty difficult to not forget any of them when shooting.

4th one: Anakin killed many Tuskens. As revenge, some Tuskens have killed Anakin's children.

Thanks everyone for your nice responses. In light of that, these two new Funnies will not be for torture purposes: I think I know a certain someone who will especially like the second one. I'm happy to explain either of these if anyone doesn't get it. I do not want the humor to be obvious because I always treasure that "aha!" moment when I finally get a joke in cartoons like this.

An explanation of number 1: All of the clones look happy and subdued because they have marijuana in their veins, giving them an extremely calm and relaxed feeling. This is what marijuana does.

It doesn't look damaged to me, it does look like a new mold. But is that blue cap in the picture also from City Corner? I wonder why one cap would be new and the other would not.

As an introduction, I read The New Yorker Magazine each week, and one of its prominent features is its single pane cartoons scattered throughout the magazine. These cartoons don't relate to the subject matter of the articles, they are just there to provide a good laugh and some satire of our modern world. So, minus the satire of our modern world, I was inspired to make a few single pan Star Wars cartoons. Here are my first two: If some people do not understand them, I can explain if you want me to. I hope at least someone enjoys these, and if they do, maybe I'll make more for their benefit. (If nobody likes them, I can still make more to torture everybody )

Mmmm… chicken. Great little vignette, your parts usage is very nice. I also like how you convey that it is outside without using a green baseplate. Excellent job!

That's quite a nice conversion that has kept all of the major elements to resemble the Playmobile one. I like how you changed certain parts of it to make it seem more LEGO and still your own while keeping it looking similar enough to be recognizable. I hope you do more of these in the future!

I really have to laugh every time I look at the girl second from the left in the minifigures picture. I mean, it's nice that LEGO branched out with the faces they use for girls for this one minifig, but why did it have to be that face? It looks to me like an angry short man with a pony tail! Oh well. I hope those tan beards don't go for too much on Bricklink.

Ah, I just love these little old vehicles, beautiful new reviews of these little old vehicles. They actually rolled terribly because they were so big on such tiny wheels, but apart from that they were awesome! The thing that I really dislike about the vehicles today is that they have six wide windshields mostly but still only have one seat inside. I always wanted cars that fit two side by side, but with these old cars there was no possible way so it didn't frustrate me as much. I'd give it a '5' too!

I'm sure that if the license still exists when the clones get their Phase II armor in the series then LEGO will make new Phase II clones. And I'm sure that the clones will get their Phase II armor at some point in the series, when is the only question.

I never thought as Ninja as a castle subtheme, I just thought it was its own thing. If Ninja is a subtheme, then why would Vikings not be? Just because they have next to no buildings? Still, it was a very nice article. The only improvement I would suggest for future articles is to include a picture of at least one iconic set that really represents each subtheme. You do this for some subthemes in this article, but you don't really show the essence of KKI or Fright Knights because you only show the chrome-laden guy from KKI and Basil the Batlord from Fright Knights. Overall, though, you've done a great job!

There were also the different helmets with or without holes for a visor that the spacemen came with. Nice overview of the minifigure!

Never is a long time. I'm sure at some point LEGO will end the fantasy line, wait a year or two, and then put out some new Castle sets with a different theme. That's what they've always done.

I think it's fine, although it is a bit harder to read than black. Is that the darkest green? If there is a darker shade, I'd try that, but what you've got right now is readable.

Yes, please please resize the pics. It does no good to not resize them and say sorry as I've seen many others do, just take the five minutes to do it. Any simple program will, and there are plenty of tutorials about it in the tutorial index. It can really kill people's computers to have pics so big.

I'd love some Elves, if LEGO made the sets like castle intertwined with trees, if you know what I mean. And I don't see how the fantasy elements have stopped LEGO from making some regular type building. Take the new drawbridge for example. That's just a beautifully normal Medieval piece of architecture, but it happens to come with skeletons as the bad guys. And then there was the King's Castle, the tower in Tower Raid, the coastal outpost with the Skeleton Ship, and many more. If it takes fantasy creatures to make LEGO make beautiful non-fantasy buildings, why not continue? When LEGO did make men against men just three years ago, the buildings they came up with pretty much stunk.