Saturday 30 August 2014

LEGO Exclusive Polar Accessory Set Review.

Hello Everyone! Yes I know It's been ages since I have sat down to do a set review. I have been having  way too much fun just building sets, rather then over-think a set and how to produce photos for a review. I'm a bit rusty again so I thought I would start off with a small set... nice and easy! HA! Boy was I wrong! It took almost 2 solid hours just to edit these few photos. Did I mention I was a bit rusty? Oh yeah I did....  I am... honest!

This particular set that I am reviewing today is Exclusive and was in our latest Shop at Home order that had gotten lost in transit by either DHL or Australia Post. After phone calls and several emails they finally found it... so 27 days after the initial order was placed, this finally arrived with the rest of our awesome order (2 x Exo Suits, 2 x Research Institutes,  Ghostbusters Ecto-1, Jungle Accessory Set and to complete our entire Arctic Theme Collection, the Exclusive 60064 Arctic Supply Plane). Lets get cracking shall we...

Set/Item Number: 850932

Theme: City Arctic

Set Name: Polar Accessory Set

Part Count: 42

Australian RRP: $19.99 (Sold Out)

Featuring: 2 minifigures, Cloth Tent, Crate,
Ice Block and other Accessories.


This type of blister packaging is something that you don't find all to often in an Australian toy aisle. You get 2 pre-assembled minifigures and a bag of parts inside.


The contents of the bag. You get a nice thick Fabric Tent. I pulled the minifigs apart to make it look like there were more parts.  :-P  You also get fold-out instructions. (not pictured)


Here we have the Fabric Tent spread out to give you an idea of what it looks like and if you wish, you could make one similar out of some paper.


The first of the 2 minifigures is this happy little guy. A single sided face print with Green goggles and a 5 O'clock shadow. The torso has a double sided print, featuring a zipper coat with 3 pockets, It's fur-lined and has a Walkie talkie (set on channel 3) that's clipped to the top pocket. He also has the new Arctic emblem on both sides. The legs have printing with a belt and an Orange harness with rock climbing equipment "hanging from it".


The female minifigure in this set has a single sided face print with Orange goggles. The torso has a different double sided print, featuring a zipper coat with 1 pocket that's fur-lined and she has a Walkie talkie (set on channel 4) clipped to a lower strap. She too has the new Arctic emblem on both sides. The legs have the same printing as the minifigure above.


The torso's in the picture below on the left hand side, is the same that you would get from all the regular sets (from Europe) While the torso's on the right is from today's set review (from China). From what I can remember reading online ages ago... was that the European versions (left) with the black neck printing, allowed the printing machines in the factory to know whether to print the front or back of the torso whist the Chinese version (right) does not require one.


Another thing I have noticed is that the Minifigure heads are different in this set compared those in the regular sets. The Fur-lined Hoods don't have any clutch power and sit very loosely on the head. I tested the Fur-lined Hood from both this set and from the regular sets thinking it was them but the problem lies in the length of the stud on the top of the head. As I looked closer I found that they are significantly shorter in this set, as you can see in the photo below. How very odd and disappointing! On a positive note: The Chinese printing looks a lot sharper and cleaner then it's European counterpart.


Here we have all the Accessories grouped together. The only thing to be built here is the little camping stove and pan. You get to place the crystal into the "ice block" as well.


A quick step-by-step build for the tent.


 Here it is complete! A cute little one. The perfect 2 person Tent. Boom Chica Wah Wah.
 

Verdict:

A cute little set that complements the rest of the Arctic theme. As soon as I saw it online I knew it was a must have set. These things seem to disappear quite quickly and is now sold out in the Australian store. You can still find it here on Bricklink.

It was quick and simple to build with very little to slow you down, other than trying to open the actual packet. The only thing I can really pick at was the quality of the minifigures. Positive: The prints are really sharp and smooth, I cant really fault that. Negative: The clutch power when putting the legs into the torso are quite loose. They just don't grip together all that well. The clutch power when putting the hood on the head is an absolute joke, If you held the minifigure upside down the hood would just pop off, same thing happens when you try to sit them on or in a vehicle.

With this set having 71 less pieces, but also having the same price point as the 60033: Arctic Ice Crawler it doesn't really bother me all that much. I would still be happy to get some more just because of the Hard to Find factor and besides it's kinda cool. 
I love the tent and all it's accessories and I'm glad I got it when I did. I recommend that if you can find one, don't hesitate and grab it!

Thanks for stopping by and reading our new review. I hope you enjoyed it!
 

Please leave your comments below.

Until next time this is Tan Tile
signing out...


Thursday 28 August 2014

LEGO Ideas: 21110 Research Institute Review

Hi everyone, it's been a while since we've done a set review here at Oz Brick Nation, we've been too busy building all the awesome new sets that have come out in the last couple of months!

Today, we'll be having a look at the new LEGO Ideas set, 21110: Research Institute, which was released on 1st August. This set is the latest to be produced as a result of the LEGO Ideas (formerly Cuusoo) program. The concept for the set was developed by Ellen Kooijman, and the first page of the instructions introduces Ellen and shows her at work in her laboratory. The set name was originally proposed as "Female Minifigure Set", and has been renamed "Research Institute" by LEGO for production. 

The demand for this set has been phenomenal, and it sold out within a couple of hours of its release, and, combined with the release of 21109: Exo Suit, sent the LEGO online shops around the world into meltdown. It was sold out for a couple of weeks, then made available again a couple of times, and each time it's sold out within an hour. The future production and availability of this set is currently unknown, but LEGO really need to review their production planning for this set. 


Set Number: 21110

Theme: Ideas

Set Name: Research Institute

Part Count: 165

Australian RRP: $29.99

Featuring: 3 minifigures, dinosaur skeleton, telescope, microscope




There are 3 bags contained within the box, and each bag builds one of the vignettes (vignette - small LEGO scene, usually built on an 8 stud by 8 stud base). Each vignette contains a different scientist at work.

The first bag builds the Chemist, the second the Palaeontologist, and the third the Astronomer.

Chemist





Palaeontologist


Astronomer


Completed Set


Verdict

This set was fairly quick to build, and most of it can actually be built without instructions by looking at the pictures (except the dinosaur, which has some clever building techniques to achieve the skeleton look). It took me about 15-20 minutes to build the whole set. And the best part of the build? No stickers! The star map on the astronomer vignette has been printed on the piece.

The concept of this set, which was to introduce more female LEGO minifigures into the LEGO world, has been achieved, and done very well.

Overall, this is a clever little set, and I'd definitely recommend it to LEGO fans of all shapes and sizes! The standout for me is the dinosaur, built using a small number of parts, but the end result is amazing.

See you soon for another review at Oz Brick Nation, we hope you've enjoyed our quick look at 21110: Research Institute.

Please leave your comments below!

PS: More information on the original concept for this set, including other vignettes Ellen proposed, can be found at:
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/15401


Thursday 21 August 2014

Green Classic LEGO Space Man Minifigure Review.

Once again Minifigures were extremely kind to send us today's Minifigure for Review.
To be totally honest, I am still waiting for my Exo-suit order to arrive... (Australia Post has Lost it!)
But when I was contacted by the team at Minifigures to do this review. We couldn't pass up the opportunity in getting one while we wait for an out come on our order. 



Welcome to a new ‘Minifigure’ review. This month we are going to look at a very special Minifigure, a 1980’s something inspired Green Classic Space Man.
The version that has been supplied to us and will be for sale on the Minifigures website will be slightly different to the one you see in the 21109: Exo-Suit.
Instead of getting the Zane’s face print from the Ninjago line. These will have the classic smile head with no visor on the helmet as to pay homage to the original Classic Space man.
The print on its chest is very much the same as those back in the 80’s. I couldn’t really tell difference with this one and the one and only original CSM that I own.
The air tank is also new in the colour green. Many space fans have been waiting patiently to get it in this colour. Now they can finally get it and so can you!
It’s fantastic to see the popularity of Classic Space come back into the hearts of the young and old, all thanks to the “The LEGO Movie” and I hope they continue to reissue all the previous colours from the 1980’s so this Green one won’t stand so lonely with my Blue one.



To coincide with this review. Minifigures will be offering a promotion were you can purchase 3 and get 1 free or can buy them for $17.95 each. Limited time only and While Stocks Last.

http://www.minifigures.com.au/store/p616/Green_Classic_Spaceman.html

You can purchase this Classic Minifigure and more by hitting this Link.
Thanks for stopping by and reading this new Minifigure review. I hope you enjoyed it! 
 

Let us know in the comments below what your thoughts and opinions are on the Classic Space Man Minifigure.

Until next time this is Tan Tile signing out...