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Friday, September 25, 2015

LEGO vs. Hasbro! Star Wars Force Awakens X-Wing comparison


It's part 2!  My TIE Fighter comparison was well-received, so here's another from the same line, with more to come in the future.  Eventually I'll do some of these for non-Star Wars subjects as well.

LEGO Insectoids Cosmic Creeper from 1998! set 6837


My first review of a set from this unique LEGO System sub-theme, and it probably won't be my last.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

LEGO Creator 2015 Winter Toy Shop review! set 10249


Early public comments on this set, immediately after its announcement, were horrible, with every possible form of the tired "designers getting lazy" and "corporate greed" arguments being sung in a deafening, shrieking chorus in blog & news comments around the globe.

My review offers... a different view.

Cobi WWII German Tiger I tank review! PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E


Some manufacturers may explicitly avoid real war related themes, but Cobi dives into WWII head-first and carves out a comfy little nook for itself with the "Small Army" theme.  This is not the first Cobi set I've reviewed, but it's definitely the best in terms of quality.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

McFarlane The Walking Dead Woodbury Assault Vehicle set review!


Now for another little diversion from the norm. I believe this truck is a M35A3, one of two similar vehicles commandeered & used by The Governor in the AMC hit series.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

LEGO City Seaplane from 2010! set 3178


Little single-seat plane set from a half-decade ago when the LEGO City line had a whole big "Airport" & airplane sub-theme going on.

LEGO Disney Pixar Wall-E set build & review videos!


Yet another highly popular licensed subject made it through the LEGO Ideas system to become a real set.  I'm not mad at it, though; this was a perfect thing to LEGOify!

Videos:

LEGO Exo-Force Thunder Fury from 2006! set 7702


Hey!  I haven't abandoned the Exo-Force theme yet :)  I won't commit to making it through the entire line, but from time to time it's nice to take a peek at one of these well-liked sets.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

LEGO Mars Mission ETX Alien Infiltrator from 2008! set 7646


Another LEGO Mars Mission review for the feels.

LEGO vs. Hasbro! Star Wars TFA First Order TIE Fighter comparison


Oh, snap!  I went there! I feel like this needed to be done, and needs to be done more in the future.  I very much understand & appreciate brand loyalty to LEGO or any other manufacturer of quality products, but I feel it's valuable to look around at other things from time to time for the sake of reference.  It's easy to compare different brick-based construction brands, but in this video I go well outside many viewers' comfort zone to consider the relative playability, durability, and overall value of a traditional non-buildable toy.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

LEGO System Launch Response Unit from 1995! set 6336


I believe this is the second set I've reviewed from LEGO's mid-90s Launch Command theme of real-world-inspired space sets.

A look through a LEGO catalog from 1977


It has been months since I did a video on an old LEGO catalog, but today I came upon this nicely-preserved specimen from nearly 40 years ago and decided to flatten it out & share a look.

Monday, September 14, 2015

LEGO Life on Mars T-3 Trike from 2001 reviewed! set 7312


I've done some LEGO Mars Mission reviews (with more to come), but here's my first personal taste of its predecessor, Life on Mars.

WWE Stackdown Royal Rumble Collector Set review


Have a C3 Toys WWE Stackdown ring, need a bunch of wrestlers? This may be a good way to get 'em with no duplicates.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

LEGO Architecture 21024 Louvre set review


This model takes a somewhat odd slice of an iconic location & offers it at the typical high Architecture series price.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

LEGO Jurassic World game - custom dinosaurs!


Still one more promised LEGO Jurassic World endgame video, this one showing the dinosaur customizer feature, along with a demo of all of the custom animals I created for myself.

Friday, September 11, 2015

LEGO Island Xtreme Stunts Truck & Stunt Trikes set 6739


At first glance I thought I was going to hate this set, but by the time I bought it I felt it'd have some redeeming qualities.  My final verdict is more positive still, though not completely glowing.

LEGO Slizer / Throwbot Scorch / Flame from 1999 - set 8500


Another of the standard-size sets from the series that ultimately morphed into Bionicle.  This one is sort of like Mata Onua with Tahu's element.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Glowing LEGO Halloween display for 2015


I first did a LEGO Halloween display at the last minute in 2013, but had to skip last year due to time constraints.  For this year I've been able to leverage existing builds to quickly form a larger themed display, and I've added an extra trick (or treat?) with a lot of blacklight-activated colored transparent elements.

Back to more important work I go!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

LEGO Halloween seasonal Trick or Treat set! 40122


Here's the latest LEGO seasonal scene set for Fall 2015.  Not a free promotional item, you can get this pretty cheap at the LEGO store or online.

Monday, September 7, 2015

LEGO Star Wars Ep. 7 Ships, Vehicles, & minifigs summary videos


Here are my overview videos summing up my final overall thoughts about the first wave of SW:TFA sets.  It felt right to split it into two so I could look at similar types of things & not get bogged down with the bundling.

Videos:


LEGO Star Wars Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle - folding wings


I could not bear to have this ship sitting on a shelf for days with the "wings" rigidly straight up like tall walls, when it has been confirmed that they should elegantly and/or menacingly angle out into a 'V' shape in flight.  However, I obviously need (and want) some real quality time to work on my city & MOCs again, so a proper redesign of this official LEGO set was not in the cards. Thankfully, I was able to commandeer an existing pivot point in the design and make some quick adjustments to enable some glory to ooze out of the pores of the model.

Because I've undone some of the structure, the ship can't be played with really rough in this form like it could before, but it's far more than sturdy enough to display in any available form, and I discovered during the video, it can be securely displayed wings out or in, without an added stand.

Simply put, there's no substitute for a ground-up redesign, but this here satisfies my needs and I'm very happy with it for my personal purposes.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

LEGO Star Wars Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle build & review! 75104


It's the end of the line at last, or should I say already?  Here's my final first wave Force Awakens review.  The next wave will probably drop very late in December. Probably.

Videos:

Saturday, September 5, 2015

LEGO Star Wars Force Awakens Millennium Falcon build & review videos! 75105




Any new LEGO product that isn't 100% new & different from the ground up receives its share of online hate, much like any new LEGO product that isn't 100% identical to a decades-old nostalgia-enchanted version.  I personally think the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra applies well to construction sets, and I'm glad that this set builds (ha) upon a good design rather than throwing it away & starting from scratch.

Videos:

LEGO Star Wars Luke Skywalker buildable figure review! 75110


Last of the first wave of LEGO's CCBS-based Star Wars figures.  More to be released later.

LEGO Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi buildable figure review! 75109


Another well-done figure even though I have trouble with the visual style of the head.

Friday, September 4, 2015

LEGO Star Wars Poe's X-Wing Fighter build & review videos! 75102


The Force continues to Awaken here as Force Friday fades into memory!

Videos: 

LEGO Star Wars First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter review! 75101


Nice looking set with a small, but conspicuous design miss and an unrealistic price, in my opinion.

LEGO Star Wars First Order Snowspeeder review! 75100


Here's the other smaller (though part-dense) set of the Force Awakens line so far, and yet another gray geometric blob.

LEGO Series 14 minifig box of 60 opened - Summary & numbers!


As previously promised, here's a wrap-up of my opening of a full box worth of new LEGO Series 14 Monsters minifigs.  I suppose the preview image spoils the most important bits of the video :)

LEGO Star Wars Jango Fett buildable figure review! 75107


Now for a smaller, simpler LEGO Star Wars action figure with a more standard build.

Thank you


I just wanted to take a brief moment to thank you all for your positively overwhelming support of my content.  As I write this, it's still the same morning as the Force Awakens sets were released, and already you all have thrown over 100,000 views at my first videos.  Never, would I ever have thought I could reach such an incredibly large and enthusiastic audience.  This is incredible.  Again, thank you.


(Update: At the 24-hour mark, the total came to over over thrice that on only the 15 videos released within that same 24-hour period. Lots of positive feedback, lots of sharing, what a day. Soon I'll be done & back to MOCs & the city again, until next time!)

LEGO Star Wars Rey's Speeder review! 75099


Oops, I almost let this one slip by without blogging it!  Smallest of the first wave of The Force Awakens sets.

LEGO Star Wars buildable General Grievous review! 75112


This time I bring you a look at the largest (by far) of the new buildable LEGO Star Wars action figures.

LEGO Star Wars First Order Transporter + Capt. Phasma build & review! 75103


LEGO pulled out all the stops in this set, doing their best to make a big gray geometric blob actually interesting.

Videos:

LEGO Holiday Ornament w/ Gold Bricks -- the bauble is back!


Last time, my timing was terrible.  Hopefully this time some folks can actually benefit from a little look at this festive & reusable item.

LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader buildable figure review! 75111


When I was at the midnight release at my local Toys R Us, this new Darth Vader figure was selling like hotcakes, leaving all the others in the line in its dust.  By the time I left the store, all of the shelf stock of this one figure was cleared out, while others like Luke were still there in masses.  With all of the interest, I figured I'd put this one first in the review queue for y'all :)

LEGO Star Wars Force Friday haul -- ALL the sets!


Yep, I was there in line at Toys R Us for the big Force Friday event and picked up all of the new LEGO sets.  Check 'em out!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

LEGO large DC Comics book & double-sided poster surprise!


This pleasant surprise showed up in a very small LEGO order I placed a few weeks ago.  It's an 8 1/2" x 11" DC Comics Super Heroes comic compendium with high-quality printing and a thick, two-texture cover.  Stapled into the center fold is a roughly 16" x 19 1/2" double-sided poster with Batman vs. Superman on one side, and the LEGOized classic first Superman comic cover from 1938!

Mega Bloks Terminator T-1000 & Resistance Soldier reviews


Here are the final two, smallest sets from the Terminator Genisys line (for now, at least).  They leave me wishing there was more.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

LEGO Minifigures Online - Volcano Island & Boss battle


Here's my final gameplay from the starting Pirate World of LEGO Minifigures Online, including the final battle with Dreadleg (for real this time).

I also today got an email noting that the price of the game has been halved to $15 US for the full PC or Mac versions, and they're giving out a random digital series 14 Monsters minifig to every player, current or new.

Mega Bloks CoD Hazmat Zombies v2: Less figs, more $?


This is a fairly embarrassing situation I'm sure Mega Bloks will be happy to get past, but fans have taken note, and I wanted to share my own thoughts on the matter.

LEGO Universe pre-order Exclusive Astronaut from 2010


Nice little nod to a game that was fairly short-lived (in its official capacity), but also a cool basic figure in its own right.