LEGO Marvel Avengers Hulk Helicopter Rescue review & thoughts! 76144

With subscription notifications going away on YouTube for a lot of content (including much of my own), I'm going to experiment with a return to posting up about my new videos here on the blog.  I'll be playing around a bit with different ways to do this over the coming months. Right now I don't have any fully-formed clever ideas, but I'll at the very least share some link updates on a fairly regular basis, most likely in groups rather than with a new post for every single video.  I'm open to suggestions, so let me know what you'd like to see.

Videos:

• LEGO Marvel Avengers Hulk Helicopter Rescue review & thoughts! 76144
• Real-time Pure Build
• Speed Build

LEGO DC Super Heroes summer 2018 reviews

After the big run of Marvel merchandise not long ago, the DC world got limited LEGO representation this season, but one of the sets is nearly perfect.  Another is a remote-controlled batmobile.

Videos:

• LEGO Batman: Attack of the Talons review! 76110
• LEGO App-Controlled (RC) Batmobile review! 76112
• LEGO Batman: Brother Eye Takedown review! 76111

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Avengers: Infinity War wave 1 minifig collection

Many of you asked for a single video focusing on just the figures from all six of the IW sets and I'm happy to be able to oblige and appreciate the suggestions.  It's a larger volume of mostly good figures than I had realized and it's nice to take a step back at another valuable collection you can amass while going for all of the Infinity Stones.

• Video: LEGO Avengers Infinity War figures collection so far!

LEGO Mini Ultimate Batmobile 30526 review & combination model

Pictured above is not the build from the polybag I'm reviewing today.  Rather, it's the combination of all three official build options, made possible when you buy three of the same polybag, or if you just have the spare parts already at your disposal.  The video does cover the single-set main build, plus each of the alternates, plus the super-combo.

• Video: LEGO MINI Ultimate Batmobile review & triple-build combo! 30526

We Are Groot

Well this was fun, and a little different.  Some folks suggest I should have included a 6th item in this video, but I just can't consider a keychain, plush, watch, sticker, or other gear not meant to be built & played with amongst other LEGO toys to be a figure.

• Video: LEGO Marvel Super Heroes GROOT! All versions compared

Summary of the week Feb. 26 - Mar 4

Surreal!  That did not feel like a week. It felt like at least two!  It feels fantastic having gotten so much done in such a short period of time, and now I am emerging into the glorious off-season with a strong clean-up push as mentioned yesterday.

Marvel Avengers:

• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Corvus Glaive Thresher Attack review! 76103
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Outrider Dropship Attack review! 76101
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Thor's Weapon Quest review! 76102
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War ship Combination! 76107 + 76102
• LEGO Marvel Avengers Infinity Gauntlet complete! All infinity stones / gems
• LEGO Marvel Avengers Hulkbuster Ultron Edition review! 76105

Speed Champions:

• LEGO Speed Champions Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC review! 75885
• LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 919 Hybrid review! 75887
• LEGO Speed Champions 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback review! 75884

Other:

• Two boxes + one bag = 2,400 LEGO parts from Bricklink 📦 #222
• Mega Construx Halo Heroes Series 7 review -- Carter, Jul 'Mdama, Lasky, Vector, Dutch, Mk. VI Gen1
• LEGO Space Rocket from 1964! set 801
• Tell Me What To Build #01 (suggestions now closed)
• TMWTB #01 Full Build & Results! (you Told Me What To Build)

Summary for the week Feb. 19 - 25

I'd like to start off by assuring you I do not intend to post once per week on this blog long-term.  I've just been a bit more overloaded than usual of late, resulting in the need to trim a bit from even my regular routine.  This most recent week has been a prime example of the phenomenon, with a rush to move New Jang City forward being unexpectedly interrupted by the Toys R Us release of some cool cars and embargoed live-action superhero sets.

Avengers Infinity War reviews:

• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Sanctum Sanctorum Showdown review! 76108
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Thanos Ultimate Battle review! 76107
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Hulkbuster Smash-Up review! 76104
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Corvus Glaive Thresher Attack review! 76103
• LEGO Avengers Infinity War Outrider Dropship Attack review! 76101

Speed Champions reviews:

• LEGO Speed Champions Ferrari Ultimate Garage review! 75889
• LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 RSR & Turbo 3.0 review! 75888
• LEGO Speed Champions Ferrari 488 GT3 Scuderia Corsa review! 75886

Custom builds:

• New Custom LEGO Cargo Ship -- dry bulk carrier MOC
• Custom LEGO ISO Tank Container MOC & build techniques
• Custom LEGO Road-Rail Switcher / Shunter MOC
• Epic LEGO ship MOC reveal! 😆

Only a small handful of early March release sets remain before I return to custom work, unless the Jurassic World sets suddenly appear in the wild.  My goal is now to have New Jang City ready for another full tour video in time for the beginning of this Summer.

LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Manor review 70922

Here's another one of those reviews that took an entire weekend to produce, from assembly of the 3,444 piece set with the help of its 2 lb., 451-page instruction manual, through uploading of the 22-minute edited-down video that drew from about 60 individual clips.  What a shame it is, then, that my overall opinion of the flagship set is less than glowing.

• Video: LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Manor review 🃏 70922

LEGO Justice League Battle of Atlantis 76085 review

More sand green, a few new part colors, one more over-achieving Parademon.  How I mention to spend 8 minutes looking at this very small set, I may never understand.

• Video: LEGO Justice League Battle of Atlantis review feat. Aquaman - set 76085

LEGO Justice League Knightcrawler Tunnel Attack build & review

I am told some LEGO fans hate this set.  I can understand that.  However, I like it, and I think it's a good toy.  Perhaps slightly overpriced on subjective measures, though.

Videos: 

• Time-lapse ⏩ LEGO Justice League Knightcrawler Tunnel Attack BUILD 76086
• LEGO Justice League Knightcrawler Tunnel Attack review!

LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes Justice League Flying Fox Batmobile Attack review more words!

Jeebus!  Some licensed sets these days have stupendously long titles!  I feel the highs of this set are quite high indeed, and the lows not too low.  The main build looks to be inspired by a ray (the fish) and appears imposing from most angles, but it's shockingly hollow when viewed from straight on.  It's at very sturdy, though.

Video:

• LEGO Justice League Flying Fox Batmobile Attack review! 76087

LEGO Thor vs. Hulk Arena Clash set review 76088

This is the second of only two Thor: Ragnarok derived sets released earlier this month in Europe & Asia.  I think most people, myself included, were expecting this to be a pretty poor value.  Having gotten it in my hands, it seems a little better than I expected, but only just.

• Video - LEGO Thor vs. Hulk Arena Clash set review! Thor: Ragnarok set 76088

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Thor: Ragnarok Ultimate Battle for Asgard review 76084

Long-winded set names, attack!  Actually a little better toy than I expected it to be and a decent value. Maybe not so great for collectors, though?

• Video - LEGO Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Ultimate Battle for Asgard review! 76084

LEGO Spider-Man Homecoming: ATM Heist review! 76082

Ha! One more theme completed!  It's true, only two sets were released this season for this movie, and neither is particularly substantial.

• Video - LEGO Spider-Man Homecoming: ATM Heist review! 76082

LEGO Spider-Man Homecoming: Beware the Vulture set 76083 reviewed

At last, this set finally showed up on store shelves in my region!

• Video - LEGO Spider-Man Homecoming: Beware the Vulture review! 76083

LEGO Batman Movie Bane Toxic Truck Attack review! 70914

Yessss!  Something, something, something else complete.  This does it for the LEGO Batman Movie theme for this season.

• Video: LEGO Batman Movie Bane Toxic Truck Attack review! 70914

Also, quietly over the past few days I've completed my seasonal updates to my studio setup and post-production processes.  I make incremental changes throughout the year, but I usually try to do something more significant before a big review season hits (I was just a little late this time).  You should see noticeably better color reproduction going forward and a minor improvement to video sharpness.  I've also improved rendering speeds very slightly, but unfortunately not enough to make a noticeable difference in my overall rate of production.

LEGO Batman Movie Two-Face Double Demolition review! 70915

Almost done with the new LEGO Batman Movie sets for now!  It's good to get more substantive sets that aren't dominated by a bat-thing.

• Video: LEGO Batman Movie Two-Face Double Demolition review! 70915

LEGO Batman Movie Scarecrow Fearful Face-off review! 70913

Small, inexpensive set from the second LBM wave here, but with some nice parts and two named characters.

• Video: LEGO Batman Movie Scarecrow Fearful Face-off review! 70913

LEGO Batman Movie: The Batwing set review! 70916

This is a textbook example of the evolution of LEGO's design standards.  Just a decade ago, a flying craft of roughly this wingspan would have had 400-500 parts, a somewhat janky action/transformation feature and questionable structural stability.  Today we get 1,000+ pieces that interlock on multiple axes in a dense miniature juggernaut with generous greebling and many studless surfaces.  To me it's a clear cut case of a relentless dedication to maximizing quality while negotiating immovable economic realities.

• Video - LEGO Batman Movie: The Batwing set review! 70916

LEGO Batman Movie Ultimate Batmobile build & review videos 70917

This thing is serious, and seriously silly, a 3-hour semi-advanced build packed with brick-built details, angled & sideways building, and nice parts usage.

Videos:

• Time lapse ⏩ LEGO Batman Movie Ultimate Batmobile 70917
• LEGO Batman Movie Ultimate Batmobile review! 70917