Tag Archives: lego

Review: LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Shredder’s Dragon Bike (79101)

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Do you like villains and big ridiculous LEGO vehicles? Then Shredder’s Dragon Bike is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle licensed set you have been waiting for.  I tend to stay away from these kind of sets, big ridiculous vehicles that look good but wind up lacking in the details.

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Of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sets that I picked up during the last LEGO VIP promotion, this is the one I was the least enthused about.  For the $24.99 MSRP you do make out pretty well with three minifigures: Donatello, Shredder, and a Foot Soldier.

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Without a doubt my favorite part of this set is the Motorized Sewer Skate, which harkens back to one of my all time favorite classic TMNT toys.

The build goes pretty quickly and in terms of playability, this set really is a good pickup for the target demographic … not necessarily the AFOL type collector.  For some reason there are zero, absolutely zero controls for Shredder’s Dragon bike.  No steering wheel, control levers, not even a printed panel.  That may sound like a ridiculous gripe, but come on LEGO you can do better than that.

And much like the previous TMNT set I’ve reviewed, Kraang Lab Escape the printing and accessories for the minifigures are very well done.   In the end I might offer of Shredder’s Dragon Bike up on eBay due to the fact that I don’t have the display space available to keep it.  The third and final set I will be reviewing is Turtle Lair Attack (79103) which is still in the box.

Review: LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Kraang Lab Escape (79100)

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As part of my 30th birthday celebration, my wife treated me to a mini-shopping spree to the LEGO Store where I picked up three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sets, the first of which I’ll be reviewing here is the Kraang Lab Escape.

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This is the smallest set in the TMNT line at 90 pieces, but with that you get two minifigures: Michelangelo and a Foot Soldier and of course Kraang (which I don’t necessarily count as a minifigure).

Where's that f*cking piece?!?

Where’s that f*cking piece?!?

Now, I’m not one of those LEGO reviews that breaks down the condition of the instruction manual or take pictures mid-build.  I’ve been building LEGOs for 25 years there are no breaks, just little plastic bricks that need to be put in their place. So here is the finished product ….

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I’ll freely admit that I’ve only seen about half of an episode of the new TMNT cartoon, so I’m not well versed in the actual plot, or if this little lab escape even occurred in the show.  This is a very fun and quick build, Kraangs walker had flick-fire missiles, the top rotates and the legs are  for additional (but limited posing).  But hell, you guys just want to know about Mikey right?IMG_2127

The shell is a essentially a back pack that slides over the head post, and his nunchukas are three separate pieces.  I found the printing on both minifigures to be well done.  Kraang is actually a pliable piece of plastic, and a blank pink minifigure head sits inside of his brain body.

With a $12.99 MSRP, you’re paying roughly $0.14 per piece but for those of you that want to make sure you get all four Turtles this is the cheapest set in which Mikey makes an appearance.  For a buyers guide of sorts, check out my article on Infuriating LEGO Math: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Edition, which lays out the least expensive means to obtain all four of your favorite ninja teens.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with this set.  It took me longer to take the pictures for this review than to actually build it, and you aren’t stuck with a ridiculous vehicle or playset that will fall by the wayside in your TMNT display.  Kraang’s Lab Escape earns an official ★★★★ star rating.

Review — Brick Warriors ‘Warrior Pack’

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bw_logoAs a lifelong LEGO fan there are two universal truths which I can attest to.  The first being that you can NEVER find that piece you just had in your hand five minutes previously.  The second is that there is always an accessory that you wish that The LEGO Group (TLG) made because it would make your life that much easier.

Companies like Brick Warriors fill that void for AFOLs by producing weapons and other minifigure accessories out of the same ABS plastic that the TLG utilizes.  I had an opportunity to meet the folks behind Brick Warriors at Toy Fair 2013 and was very impressed with their offerings.  Their catalog is quite impressive ranging in weapons, armor, and accessories in themes ranging from medieval and fantasy to sci-fi and World War II.

Brick Warriors was kind enough to provide a sample for me to review here, the “Warrior Pack” (It should be noted that at the Brick Warriors site pieces are purchased individually).  The packaging is very well done, in full color with computer based rendering of LEGO mini figures “modified” with the Brick Warriors Accessories.

The “Warrior Pack” contained 8 pieces, consisting of (1) Helmet, (1) Chestplate, and (6) various sci-fi weapons.  All of the weapons fit nicely into the minifigures’ hands and are very rigid (I’ve seen some third-party pieces which use lesser plastics have an issue there), and they definitely feel as though they could come fresh out of the box from TLG.

As a fan I really can’t be more thrilled with the quality and attention to detail on each of the pieces.  Being as each piece is available in a variety of colors, AFOLs have an opportunity through Brick Warriors to supply their minifigure legions with any weapon of their choosing.

For more information and product availability check out the Brick Warriors blog.

Sightings – ‘Hulk To The Rescue’

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Despite having just recently completed my LEGO Avengers lineup, I don’t think I would be able to recreate a scene from The Avengers like Flickr user legoagogo did. His rather astute attention to detail and use of lighting, really does a great job of depicting Hulk’s rescue of Iron Man at the conclusion of the Battle of New York.

Hulk to the rescue

via [FBTB.net]

Legends of Thunderca … Err Chima

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I made a trip to my local Lego Store this week to fill up my free Pick A Brick that I received from making qualifying purchases during the Christmas season. While there I stopped to check out the new displays for their Legends of Chima line. Even though its a new and original line, I can’t help but see some designs cues to everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic felines the Thundercats.  Take a look at Laval’s Royal Fighter and tell me you don’t see the Thundertank.

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And for good measure here’s a commercial from 1985 featuring the  LJN Toys’ Thundertank.

 

Sightings — “Building In Space” at TeeFury

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I’ve long been a fan (and customer) of TeeFury, and their offering today “Building In Space” should not be overlooked.  Artist thehookshot, does a great job of paying tribute to LEGO’s greatest theme … Classic Space.

Building In Space @ TeeFury

Hurry, up like with all TeeFury offerings, this shirt will only be available until 11:59:59PM!

First Look: LEGO Palace Cinema 10232

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Late last week an image made its way through the various fan blogs of Lego’s latest offering in their Modular Buildings theme which is targeted at the adult fans of Lego (AFOL) demographic.  Set to debut this Spring, the Palace Cinema looks to be an enviable addition to any collection coming in at nearly 2200 individual elements. And it looks like it is enough to make me jump into this theme headfirst.

Images via [Brickset] and Flickr user motayan

Infuriating Lego Math: The Hobbit Edition

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My previous installment of Infuriating Lego Math was well received, one of my most heavily trafficked posts of the year.  Much of that had to do with it being picked up by Big Kev’s Geek Stuff in their latest episode “Worst Apocalypse Ever“.

After the Christmas holiday, I was finally able to get around to taking a look at the Lego sets based on The Hobbit.  I knew the Lego Math wasn’t going to be pleasant, considering in this case we have to take into account the cast of characters consist of 13 dwarves, 1 hobbit, and a wizard.  And in typical Lego style, they are spread out across five separate sets:

79001 – Escape From Mirkwood Spiders – $29.99 (Fili & Kili)

Escape from Mirkwood Spiders

79002 – Attack of the Wargs – $49.99 (Thorin & Bifur)

Attack of the Wargs

 

 

 

 

 

 

79003 – An Unexpected Gathering – $69.99 (Bilbo, Gandalf, Balin, Dwalin, Bombur, & Bofur)

An Unexpected Gathering

 

 

 

 

 

79004 – Barrell Escape – $39.99 (Bilbo, Gloin, & Oin)

Barrell Escape

 

 

 

 

 

79010 – Goblin King Battle – $99.99 (Dori, Nori, Ori, & Gandalf)

Goblin King Battle

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the dust cloud settles and the receipt finally finishes printing you’ll find yourself with 2525 individual LEGO pieces, (13) Dwarf Minifigures, (2) Bilbo Minifigures, & (2) Gandalf Minifigures … all for $289.95, which averages out to approximately $.11 per piece.  I’m a huge LEGO fan and an even bigger fan of Peter Jackson’s LotR adaptations; but I will be staying far away from this theme.

Images via [Brickset]

Infuriating Lego Math: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Edition

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Like most children of the 1980s, officially licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Lego sets would seem to be a no brainer. The only problem is that our Lego Overlords are evil geniuses in that they find a way to spread out the team across multiple sets. This makes it exponentially expensive for compulsive collectors like myself. This is nothing new, as they have pulled similar moves with their Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, and Avengers sets.

I sat down and did the math, and found the cheapest way to get all four Ninja Turtles:

79100 – Krang’s Lab Escape – includes Michelangelo (12.99)

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79101 – Shredder’s Dragon Bike – includes Donatello ($24.99)

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79103 – Turtle Lair Attack – includes Leonardo & Raphael ($49.99)

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To obtain all four ninja teens you’re going to have to shell out (see what I did there?) …..$87.97. Granted when compiling this data, I used the MSRP from Lego. If you aren’t able to shop online or get to one of the official Lego Stores you will be paying a premium due to the ridiculous markup at Toys R Us or Target.