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Remember the round pods? Now we have cubes! This is my 29th Eurobricks RA Review, 41404 - Emma's Play Cube. Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Overview Name: 41404 - Emma's Play Cube Theme: Friends Year: 2020 (1H) Pieces: 43 Minifigures: 1 (+ 1 mystery animal) Price: GBP 7.99 / USD 9.99 / EUR 9.99 / SGD 14.99 / MYR 49.90 Introduction It's been awhile since I reviewed a Friends set. What grabbed my attention is the introduction of the new impulse buy line up, which oddly reminds me so much of Polly Pocket, I want to check what is special about them. True story: while I was browsing the new LEGO sets in a LEGO store few weeks ago, a stranger next to me blurted out, "Oh! LEGO makes Polly Pockets now." I awkwardly nodded in agreement. First, let's examine this semi-open packaging. The intent is very clear--the designer of these cubes want you to be captivated by the glittery finish of the product. At the top corner, it is also written "1 surprise pet inside" and we'll go into more detail about that shortly. Packaging Emma has always been my favourite Friends minidoll because her colour motif is primarily purple, and this translates to the packaging as well. Unboxing I was surprised that there is no sub-packaging protecting the building instruction and sticker. Once the box is crushed, there is a big chance that any of the thin sheets could slip outside. Regardless, I guess this is the way to be more eco-friendly, with less paper and less plastic packaging. Sticker sheet Zooming into the stickers-- anything that has no number next to it is entirely optional and is considered extra. They can be used to personalise your own play cube. Inside the play cube Inside the play cube, you will find a carton packaging for the mystery pet and another transparent plastic containing small LEGO elements. Mystery Pet Revealed I got a pearl gold cat! There are other variants - magenta, lavender and dark azure. From here onwards, just take note that your cat could be any of these colours. Contents Unpacked Below are all the contents of the 2 clear plastic bags. Some parts that caught my attention are the scissors, laptop and the 1x1 tile with cat portrait. It's also notable that the part # 64570 (Bracket 2 x 6 - 1 x 6 Inverted) is new and it appears the first time in these play cube set series. Build Once you complete the build, the end result is this enclosed clam shell case.. The hinge are complete detachable and looks sturdy enough to last heavy play wear and tear. A tiny room Inside the cube is like a room for these characters where they can do their favourite activities. For Emma, it is grooming pets and then taking their photograph. Notice that the walls of the compartment has 2 studs near the corners to hold several pieces on the wall. I didn't apply the stickers in this photo but later on I decided to put the fake mirror sticker on the Trans-Clear Panel piece because the interior looks so plain. I feel that the cube could have used 1 or 2 more printed elements so that even if I do not put the stickers, the design looks fully furnished. Stackable What's really good about this new play cube is that you can stack them together like how you would do in any LEGO piece. There are 4 anti-studs at the bottom of each clamshell piece, as well as 4 studs on top for each. if you have several of these, they look good snugly stacked on top of each other. Extra pieces You also get these extra pieces. You either hide this away or else you will have trouble keep them inside the cube because there is no cabinet or treasure box where you can hide these spares. Minidolls I am not the biggest minidolls fan but I appreciate them for what they are. Also, I know the pet is not a minidoll and neither a minifigure, but I want to show it next to the minidoll as it an integral part of the randomised mystery item feature in this set. Emma & her cat - front view Emma has a one-side off-shoulder dress with coral flamingo birds forming a heart shape silhouette in the middle. She appears to be using a new skirt and shoe colour combination, too. Emma & her cat - back view Plain and simple. Conclusion In summary: Pros: Practical pocketable storage solution Exciting mystery pet collection Cubes has studs and anti-studs so they are stackable Cons: Rely on stickers to furnish the interior which could be rather plain without them. No storage for spares, unless you want to store them loose inside the cube. Review summary Playability: 8/10 - The cube is slightly bigger than the round pod but the slight increase in size means more real estate in adding pieces and parts to the interior, which makes it more playable. Design / Building Experience: 8/10 - This is a great case of form following function because the cube shape is intended to function as mini-rooms that are now stackable as well. Minidolls: 8/10 - Nothing is extra-ordinary with Emma but it appears to be exclusive to the set because her skirt and shoe colour combination is different. Price / Value for money: 8/10 - While you get less in terms of weight and overall mass compared to the Arcade Pods, the value is offset by the unique mystery pet which is also exciting to collect. Overall: 8/10 - The play cube addresses the short-comings of the round pods -- it's slightly roomier, has more practical shape, and now stackable with studs. Hope to see them used in other themes.
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Welcome to the Prime Empire arcade game. Here is my 28th Eurobricks RA Review, 71714 Kai Avatar - Arcade Pod. Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Overview Name: 71714 Kai Avatar - Arcade Pod Theme: NINJAGO Year: 2020 (1H) Pieces: 43 Minifigures: 2 Price: GBP 8.99 / USD 9.99 / EUR 9.99 / SGD 14.99 / MYR 49.90 Introduction As we enter into NINJAGO Season 12, TLG had already released several webisodes in Youtube. It's all about the new game in town, Prime Empire, that will be central to the new season plot. So far we only have Jay, Kai and Lloyd arcade pod sets but I hope that we will see the rest of these arcade pods for Cole, Zane, Nya and even Sensei Wu. Let's start with the packaging because I kid you not, the LEGO packaging is getting more and more creative. Now, we have an arcade pod set with packaging that looks like an arcade cabinet too. Front & Back view of the packaging Kai always had the unfair advantage on grabbing your attention because of his fiery red colour. In this strikingly new box design, it showcases what you can do with the 2 Kai minifigures, such as swapping around parts and accessories. Side views of the packaging "Prime Empire" is written at the side, in NINJAGO language. Open the packaging, then you will see there 2 loose big pieces -- one arcade cabinet and a new door for it, 2 plastic bags with LEGO elements (the one with tiny holes contain the sets of weapons in trans-neon green), 1 instruction paper (folded), 1 promotional leaflet (folded) and 1 sticker sheet. Unboxing Sticker sheet The aesthetics of the arcade pod is helped by these stickers to give them that typical gaming machine design. Here are the translations for the NINJAGO scripts: #1, #2, #3 - Prime Empire #2 & #3 in circle - New! #4 - A B (game controller buttons) Contents Unpacked Below are the contents of the clear plastic bag. It includes the 2 minifigures and some notable accessories like the gold game controller. Trans-neon green 10 weapons pack This 10-piece weapon is just awesome. They are included in a separate plastic bags, with tiny little holes (which reminds me a lot of vintage sets) I can't wait for TLG to release them in more colours. Build The construction is fairly straight-forward. Anybody above 7 years old can do this without difficulty. From this view, it looks like a normal clothes cabinet, or a wardrobe. Inside, the minfigure parts and accessories are organised but only 1 minifigure stands on the slope pedestal. In order to get the torso and leg parts, you need to remove the plate at the bottom. This is not a big issue even if you think it's inconvenient However, to appreciate the the shape and the design of the arcade more, you need to view it from these viewing angles: The shape of the arcade pod is reminiscent of Atari Monte Carlo arcade cabinet. Just look at its service manual. I can't find any other arcade cabinet that is closer to the shape of this arcade pod piece. I know that the arcade looks vanilla without the side stickers, but I like it this way. Here are additional view of the completed arcade cabinet - front and back view: Completed build If there is a single sticker that needs to be applied, I think that should be the arcade game pads. That's because without these game pad stickers, it does not look like a proper arcade machine at all. Minifigures Usually, the impulse buy sets like this contain 1 minifigure only. However, the NINJAGO arcade pod changes everything. If we can get 2 unique minifigures for this price point, I expect no less in the next waves. The argument is that if we go back to 1 minifigure next wave, it will be a step backwards unless the next gimmick is incredibly strong and convincing. So let's check out the minifigures. Digi Kai and Avatar Kai with weapons - front view If you have not read my review on the Gamer's Market, read that swiftly and come back here. You will find that the design of Digi Jay is very close to Digi Kai.. As for Avatar Kai, I seriously have no clue what is going on here. He has a blonde hair like a Super Saiyan and a red war paint on upper face area like Harumi. Digi Kai and Avatar Kai with weapons - back view At the back, the sleeveless top Avatar Kai has a cobra print, ergo Cobra Kai. This is another pop-culture reference that has something to do with martial arts. However, unlike the Kill Bill inspired Avatar Harumi in the Gamer's Market set, Cobra Kai reference on Kai is definitely more mainstream and kid-friendly. if you are not familiar with Cobra Kai, it is a continuation of the story of Karate Kid which is a Youtube Premium series. The Cobra Kai motto is: “Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy." Digi Kai and Avatar Kai - 3/4 side profile view Just like Jay, Kai has a white arm which is different colour from his left arm. I have never seen this design choice applied to Kai's gi up until now. Only Digi Kai has 2nd face print. You can see the 2nd face print of Digi Kai here. Let's appreciate the new armour a bit more because I didn't have a chance to showcase it in my previous review. To make up for that, I have taken a new photo of this new armour from this angle: (black monochrome minifigure used for illustrative purpose only) It is such a bulky piece, and almost look like a back pack if there are no swords or accessories inserted. Personally, I would have liked it more if it was in metallic or grey colour. Conclusion In summary: Pros: Interesting new arcade piece Great accessories included, such as gold game controllers and trans-neon green 10 weapons pack 2 minifigures, 1 exclusive Cons: Not as portable as the regular pods Large stickers Review summary Playability: 7/10 - While it is still limited with the small size of the build, this set will entertain kids of appropriate age. Design / Building Experience: 7/10 - While the portability suffered a bit compared to the older round pods, building experience is slightly more enjoyable now that there are more pieces to build and play with. Not a fan of stickers but it's entirely optional so no point(s) taken. Minifigures: 10/10 - It is refreshing to find 2 minifigures with great selection of accessories in these NINJAGO impulse buy sets. Price / Value for money: 9/10 - I could not say this to a lot of small sets but it's likely the first time I feel that I am getting a fair price for this kind of package. Overall: 8.25/10 - Well-rounded tiny set -- a solid impulse buy for collectors and fans of all ages. No chair... How to play now?
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Welcome back to 2017, time traveller. This is my 27th review, 50004916 Kai's Dojo Pod. Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 45 seconds. Overview Name: 5004916 Kai's Dojo Pod Theme: NINJAGO Year: 2017 (2H) Pieces: 35 Minifigures: 1 Price: N/A (Promotional item) Introduction I don't think we need any sort of introduction for small polybags but this is not an ordinary polybag because this is the 2nd pod to be released as promotional item, next to Nexo Knights. I remember seeing this and my initial reaction was very neutral. The next thing I know, my local marketplace is already flooded with all these pod sellers and collectors trying to get their hands on one. Front of the polybag Exactly what you see in front is what you get. Back of the polybag Like most polybags, there is a thin transparent strip in the middle so that you can peek what's inside. However, because the pod acts as a storage, you don't see what's inside at all except the pod and the instruction manual. Once you open the polybag, right immediately, you will see the circular lenticular image that is attached in front of the pod. Just in case you don't know how a lenticular image words, when you change the viewing angle of the image, it changes from one image to another. This makes an illusion that the image is animated. From Kai's face, the image changes to the creature emblem of Kai. The instruction included is just a piece of folded paper, typical for polybags. Content of the pod Inside the pod, the small parts and minifigure elements are inserted in a clear plastic bag. The 6x6 round plate attached to the pod is not designed to be removed. I tried prying it but I think it will damage the pod or the plate before I could even remove it. Dare if you want. Build Out of the plastic bag, below are the parts needed for the build. You can complete this in less than 5 minutes because the pieces are so few. Below you can see the 2 small assemblies of the weapon racks. Voila! We are done. Minifigures There is only 1 minifigure in the pod and there is no shame in that because it is a descent minifiture. Kai has a Wu Crew training gi which is generic enough to be used if you want to make a large group of dojo students. The Ninjago script written on the left leg is "ninja". At the back you can see the Wu crew emblem repeated. Kai also has dual face print which is always welcome. Conclusion In summary: Pros: Free, if you got it from a promotion Portable Novelty has staying power Highly collectible Cons: No external stud or anti-stud connections Review summary Playability: 5/10 - Kids can put this in their pocket but the playability is very limited to what you can do with a single minifigure and a small compartment. Design / Building Experience: 7/10 - The appeal of these pods is its portability. It has very high marks in form & function but very low in building experience. Minifigures: 8/10 - Above average. The torso and legs can be repurposed easily to make an army or large group of dojo students. Price / Value for money: 10/10 - I got it free so I have no problem giving this a perfect score in this criteria. Overall: 7.5/10 - For such a tiny set, these pods offer pocketable toys that kids can bring outdoors to enjoy and play. They are also highly collectible for adults.
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Location: E02 - Jurin II Tags: Spaceship, Land Vehicle, Civil After crash landing on Jurin II, Pilot John Hannibal left his medic/mechanic/explorer droid Dora to scout the area while he was away. As she gives him a tour of all of her favorite discoveries, John and Dora come across two new colonists, the Jins, retrieving their freshly delivered frontier pod. Ma' Jin very happy to see John, who has been the majority investor in their colonization bid with Octan, and John is excited to get such a good look at his eager, and not-so-shy colonist. [O - E02] Pod Drop 2 by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr Ma' - "John! So lovely to see you, and you too Miss Dora. How sweet of you to come check up on us. George! John's here! Climb your butt back up here and say hi!" Dora - "HI MA'!" Hannibal - "No need for that Mrs. Jin, I can see that he's busy..." George - "John!? I'll be right up." Hannibal - "Stay put for a minute George, I've got to come down there anyway, my droid is tracking something she saw a couple of weeks ago, it must be down a little lower." Ma' - "Oh, that's very likely John. These trees grow so fast whatever you're looking for is likely to have been consumed by now. And call me Ma' you turkey, you're every bit of our family, like it or not" Hannibal - "Yes Ma'. Very possible, about the growth that is..." Ma' - "What was it you were looking for?" Hannibal - "More M.A.N.T.I.S. personnel I'm afraid. Been finding remnants of their patrols all over the lower levels. Dora says this one is particularly interesting." Ma' - "Oh, yes... our little scarecrow. He was like that when we scouted this place out last week. The locals said they were having some fun..." Hannibal - "Locals?" Ma' - "Oh, yes, our little octopus friends... George was able to figure out how to communicate with them through colors! He can really only understand their general emotions about a subject, but they were quite tickled by their little stunt with the fella down below." Hannibal - "Hm, well if it's all the same to y'all, I'd like to move y'all's pod a bit further away to be safe; wouldn't want any kiddos catching something from that corpse. Also, don't report in about your new friends just yet. The company's latest "retrievals" of xenological specimens have not been very peaceful... "O.T.C, "Mercy Brandy" where's our closest pick-up" Mercy Brandy - "OS-461, picking up his droid, about an hour from your location... need pick-up expedited?" [O - E02] OS-461 - 2 by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr Hannibal - "Negative. Send Cantillon along, but an hour will be fine. We're going to move Colonists 81815 and 81915 and their pod to sector RTMP-136 when they get here." Mercy Brandy - "Confirmed, something wrong with our drop." Hannibal - "Negative. Y'all nailed your spot, just have some new factors to account for." Mercy Brandy - "Roger that, we'll adjust our orbit to give you more time on the ground." Dora - "OOOO, wait-wait-wait, does Captain Cantillon have Mabel with him! I can't wait to share!" Mercy Brandy - "He does, Dora, and she's anxious to share with you too. Mercy Brandy out." Ma' - "But John, we've been scouting this sector for weeks. It's just lovely." Hannibal - "Don't worry Ma', it's still yours. RTMP-136 is... was one of my sectors... it borders this one and now both belongs to you and George." Ma' - "Oh, John we just couldn't!" Hannibal - "Stop it. Now lets help George get that pod secured..." C&C welcome and appreciated
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Location: H08 - Sinden's Run Tags: Civil, Vehicle, Spaceship, Exploration --Weekly Explorer's Transmission-- --Log of Eagle-Eye Silver-- --23 Augustali 3815-- I was instructed to head back to Sinden’s Run last week, apparently some other explorers were indicating biomass in the asteroid field. After Dr. Long chewed me out for missing biomass readings (Why was she concerned anyway? sector H08 is known for awesomnium, not biomass!), I went and chewed out the engineers for what were clearly mis-calibrated sensors! After putting around in an exploration pod for a while, the (properly calibrated) sensors picked something strange up. As I came within visual range, these crazy mushrooms appeared in the scope. If I were to guess, I’d say they use the awesomnium veins as a sort of nourishment with the weird neon-green phosphorescent bits converting the awesomnium to fungus food. I picked a few samples and dropped them in the collection basket for the scientists to confirm the food source and to figure out what the odd red things do. --End-- As always, C&C is appreciated.
