VeyronianHyperLady
Top 100 Contributor
Share VeyronianHyperLady's profile
VeyronianHyperLady's Stats
VeyronianHyperLady's Stats
- 4.6Average Rating
- 682Helpfulness Votes
- 0Featured Reviews
- 29Review Count
- January 7, 2013First Review
- January 1, 2014Last Review
Scorm’s Scorpion Stinger
Scorm’s Scorpion Stinger
Posted:January 1, 2014
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
A flagship set for the King of Scorpions!
" This is the second most expensive set in the Chima 2014 winter wave, and also happens to be the personal vehicle of the Creepy-Crawly leader and the King of the Scorpion Tribe, Scorm. Since I kinda like scorpions, I knew this set was ideal for me.
The set contains 3 minifigures, 2 of which are unique to this set at the moment. They are laval the Lion, Cragger the Crocodile and Scorm the Scorpion.
Laval: We start with the young Lion prince, who gets the same 2014 revamp as seen in Eris and Gorzan with the addition of armour printing on the torso and legs, though largely obscured by Laval’s heavy armour. Laval also gets a brick built CHI jetpack, which is simple but effective in construction. He also gets the Shadow Valious sword (the Royal Valious recast in black) and a silver shield. He has the same head and headgear printing as the 2013 Laval. Overall, a nice figure.
Cragger: The main antagonist of the 2013 wave has now turned protagonist to fight the Scorpions, Spiders and Bats. Like the other character reissues, we get Cragger with armour printing on his legs and torso, again obscured by the heavy armour. His head and headgear printing are the same as the 2013 Cragger. Again, a nice revamp but not the most interesting figure in this set. That honour goes to…
Scorm: The new main antagonist in Chima, and he is one mean looking character, certainly not someone you would mess with. His torso and legs have intricate scorpion exoskeleton detailing done in gold, which is covered by a new and unique armour piece. This piece has an axle hole located on the back to allow his scorpion stinger tail (which is essentially the same mould as a spider leg) to be inserted. His head has only one print, but his headgear is extremely beautiful and elaborate, cast in gold with black markings. It has an intricate scorpion motif printed on the top of his headgear, which is very nice. I only have one niggle with this minifigure – I wish Scorm’s tail could actually move up and down instead of being completely static. It doesn’t look very imposing in the postion it is stuck in. Had the armour piece been cast with a bar to allow a clip to attach instead, this would have been perfect. Nonetheless, it’s an extremely cool minifigure and essential to your collection.
Laval: We start with the young Lion prince, who gets the same 2014 revamp as seen in Eris and Gorzan with the addition of armour printing on the torso and legs, though largely obscured by Laval’s heavy armour. Laval also gets a brick built CHI jetpack, which is simple but effective in construction. He also gets the Shadow Valious sword (the Royal Valious recast in black) and a silver shield. He has the same head and headgear printing as the 2013 Laval. Overall, a nice figure.
Cragger: The main antagonist of the 2013 wave has now turned protagonist to fight the Scorpions, Spiders and Bats. Like the other character reissues, we get Cragger with armour printing on his legs and torso, again obscured by the heavy armour. His head and headgear printing are the same as the 2013 Cragger. Again, a nice revamp but not the most interesting figure in this set. That honour goes to…
Scorm: The new main antagonist in Chima, and he is one mean looking character, certainly not someone you would mess with. His torso and legs have intricate scorpion exoskeleton detailing done in gold, which is covered by a new and unique armour piece. This piece has an axle hole located on the back to allow his scorpion stinger tail (which is essentially the same mould as a spider leg) to be inserted. His head has only one print, but his headgear is extremely beautiful and elaborate, cast in gold with black markings. It has an intricate scorpion motif printed on the top of his headgear, which is very nice. I only have one niggle with this minifigure – I wish Scorm’s tail could actually move up and down instead of being completely static. It doesn’t look very imposing in the postion it is stuck in. Had the armour piece been cast with a bar to allow a clip to attach instead, this would have been perfect. Nonetheless, it’s an extremely cool minifigure and essential to your collection.
There is only one build here: the Scorpion Stinger itself. It’s a big beast that starts off fairly straightforward (though the amount of dark brown and black in the set can pose a challenge in certain light) until you get to the bag that builds the claws, then suddenly the build becomes Technic-dominated and it is here you will need to pay attention to the instructions. A few interesting techniques are used here, especially the claw mechanism which is nicely done and concealed very well in the model. Overall, the model takes about 40-45 minutes to build.
The play features are clever and ingenious, there is a complete absence of flick fires here, instead using a Hero Factory sphere launcher which is far more powerful than the standard flick-fire. But my favourite part are the claws. Squeezing the dark red 1x1 tiles just inside the cockpit opens the claws. Let go of them, the claws close again and are very capable of grabbing minifigures. You can even operate just one of them at a time, the two claw mechanisms are independent of one another. The model even has a place to store spare spheres, which is ingenious and useful. The overall aesthetic of the set is excellent too, it clearly resembles a scorpion in nearly every respect, with the pincers, the stinging tail and the head.
There’s a a couple of things wrong with this set though, and they all revolve around scorpion tails. Firstly I wish the tail on the vehicle had a proper striking function, as it is every part except the end is completely static thus the tail is stuck in permanent “just struck” mode. I also wish the tail on Scorm was more poseable too, as stated earlier. Plus, there’s a lot of stickers on this model, and the claw ones are especially tricky to apply.
So, to summarise (scores out of 5):
Minifigs: 4.5
Build experience: 4.5
Playability: 4.5
Asethetics: 4.5
Piece selection: 4
Value for money: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
Minifigs: 4.5
Build experience: 4.5
Playability: 4.5
Asethetics: 4.5
Piece selection: 4
Value for money: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
Apart from the faults with the tails on the scorpion part of the set, this is truly an excellent set which I highly recommend if you’re into Chima, or scorpions for that matter. Definitely pick this one up when you get the chance.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Build Time:
40
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+46points
50of 54found this review helpful.
Sparratus’ Spider Stalker
Sparratus’ Spider Stalker
Posted:January 1, 2014
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
The best set I nearly never bought!
" Originally, when I saw this set, I decided I wasn’t going to buy it, due to the fact it didn’t have any unique minifigures. That was before I saw it displayed in my local LEGO Store, and that alone made me decide to take the plunge into this interesting and surprisingly large spider mech vehicle.
So, there are 2 minifigures in this set, and neither character is unique, though one is a unique redesign. Here, you get Gorzan the Gorilla and Sparratus the Spider.
Gorzan: I’ll start with the Gorilla tribe’s leader, Gorzan, who like the other protagonists featured in this wave, gets a torso and leg reprint to show him wearing armour. Gorzan’s face and headgear is the same print as seen on the 2013 Gorzan. Again, his heavy armour obscures most of the front and some of the back printing, but nonetheless is a nice minifigure.
Sparratus: This minifigure is not unique, he also appears in the Speedorz set 70138 and also set 70134, but nonetheless is a great looking figure. His torso and leg printing features web armour, spider motifs on the ‘kneepads’ and his grass skirt. Like other spiders, Sparratus has only one head print, and six of his printed eyes are obscured by the spider headgear (but these are reprinted on the headgear). The fangs are stuck out far enough for you to add armour pieces if you so wish. My only niggle is that I wish he came with the legs, like the ones featured on Sparacon in the Rock Flinger set. Otherwise, he’s a very nice figure.
Gorzan: I’ll start with the Gorilla tribe’s leader, Gorzan, who like the other protagonists featured in this wave, gets a torso and leg reprint to show him wearing armour. Gorzan’s face and headgear is the same print as seen on the 2013 Gorzan. Again, his heavy armour obscures most of the front and some of the back printing, but nonetheless is a nice minifigure.
Sparratus: This minifigure is not unique, he also appears in the Speedorz set 70138 and also set 70134, but nonetheless is a great looking figure. His torso and leg printing features web armour, spider motifs on the ‘kneepads’ and his grass skirt. Like other spiders, Sparratus has only one head print, and six of his printed eyes are obscured by the spider headgear (but these are reprinted on the headgear). The fangs are stuck out far enough for you to add armour pieces if you so wish. My only niggle is that I wish he came with the legs, like the ones featured on Sparacon in the Rock Flinger set. Otherwise, he’s a very nice figure.
You get two builds in this set: a place to place the CHI crystal in, and the Spider Stalker. The CHI placer is rather uninteresting in itself, the best bit is the use of a new grass piece. Plus you can never have too many CHI crystal pieces.
Now the main attraction: the Spider Stalker. This is an entertaining build which takes about half an hour to do, integrating plenty of Technic within System, and use of new Hero Factory pieces as the leg tips. There are a few features to speak of, including a moveable abdomen and front legs. The abdomen includes a pair of flick fire shooters, which can travel a reasonable distance depending on how much force you can give the Technic rods that operate them. The front legs can strike up and down in alternating motion by turning a Technic gear in alternate directions which is located on the back of the model, under the abdomen. The overall asethetic of the set is brilliant, it definitely looks like a true spider with a place for Sparratus to sit.
Now the main attraction: the Spider Stalker. This is an entertaining build which takes about half an hour to do, integrating plenty of Technic within System, and use of new Hero Factory pieces as the leg tips. There are a few features to speak of, including a moveable abdomen and front legs. The abdomen includes a pair of flick fire shooters, which can travel a reasonable distance depending on how much force you can give the Technic rods that operate them. The front legs can strike up and down in alternating motion by turning a Technic gear in alternate directions which is located on the back of the model, under the abdomen. The overall asethetic of the set is brilliant, it definitely looks like a true spider with a place for Sparratus to sit.
My only niggle would be that I wish all the legs were poseable and that the second to back pair of legs actually touched the ground, but the latter is an easy fix. Two pairs of legs prop the entire model up off the ground, and these are reinforced by thin Technic beams in addition to try and avoid deformation of the Technic axle in the support legs. Plus, the set has 5 stickers but none of these are particularly hard to apply.
So, to summarise (scores out of 5):
Minifigs: 4
Build experience: 4.5
Playability: 4
Asethetics: 4.5
Piece selection: 4.5
Value for money: 5
Overall: 5
Minifigs: 4
Build experience: 4.5
Playability: 4
Asethetics: 4.5
Piece selection: 4.5
Value for money: 5
Overall: 5
I highly recommend this set – overall it’s extremely well done and the minfigures are nice even if they’re not unique. If you’re deciding between this and Lavertus’ Twin Blade (which is at a similar price point) – pick this set up over the Twin Blade. This is a great set.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Build Time:
30
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+19points
22of 25found this review helpful.
Braptor’s Wing Striker
Braptor’s Wing Striker
Posted:January 1, 2014
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
4
/
5
The Bats Strike Out!
" Ignoring the Legend Beasts and Speedorz, this set is the cheapest in the new Chima winter wave and gives us an introduction to the new storyline and tribes. At the moment, this is the only bat-oriented vehicle set, so fans of the bat tribe may show interest in this set.
This set includes 2 minifigures: the eagle Eris, and the bat Braptor. Braptor is unique to this set at the moment.
Eris: First up is the main Eagle Tribe character Eris, who gets new torso and leg printing, showing her in armour. Her head and headgear printing remain unchanged from the 2013 version. She isn’t new or unique, but she is a nice and wonderfully detailed minifigure.
Braptor: He appears similar to Blista (from 70134 and 70137) except with much more headgear printing showing head armour plates. His head is only printed on one side. His torso and legs are printed with intricate bat motifs acting as Braptor’s armour. However these are obscured by his armour piece that the wings are attached to. The wings themselves are a new mould and look wonderful and bat-like, a welcome update to the old bat/dragon wings. They look fine as they are, but they would have been much more fitting if they had been cast in Sand Blue to match the rest of the minifigure. All in all, a great minifigure, especially if you don’t have any bats already.
Eris: First up is the main Eagle Tribe character Eris, who gets new torso and leg printing, showing her in armour. Her head and headgear printing remain unchanged from the 2013 version. She isn’t new or unique, but she is a nice and wonderfully detailed minifigure.
Braptor: He appears similar to Blista (from 70134 and 70137) except with much more headgear printing showing head armour plates. His head is only printed on one side. His torso and legs are printed with intricate bat motifs acting as Braptor’s armour. However these are obscured by his armour piece that the wings are attached to. The wings themselves are a new mould and look wonderful and bat-like, a welcome update to the old bat/dragon wings. They look fine as they are, but they would have been much more fitting if they had been cast in Sand Blue to match the rest of the minifigure. All in all, a great minifigure, especially if you don’t have any bats already.
There are 2 builds in this set, a patch of foliage and the Wing Striker. I shall start with the foliage. For the most part, it takes 30 seconds to build and is fairly uninteresting. It does give a place to hide the CHI, and on closer inspection it includes brand new grass elements, a bar holder with clip and a 1x2 bow cast in Dark Brown. Though rather un-special at first glance, it contains a wealth of new parts so is a welcome addition.
Now the Wing Striker: it is a relatively quick build that takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Here, a couple of interesting techniques are used, most notably the wing mechanism which doesn’t use rubber bands, but rather Technic link rods and an assembly constructed around a slide rail. Pushing the assembly mounted in the middle forward causes the wings to clasp together to the front of it, brabbing hold of anything in it’s way. To release, you slide the assembly back. The mechanism means that you can comfortably hold the Wing Striker and activate the wing mechanism with one hand. The head of the Wing Striker can also be adjusted up and down, acting like a cockpit canopy. There is enough space for Braptor to sit comfortably in the Wing Striker with his wings attached. There is even a clip on one side for Braptor’s weapon when he isn’t using it.
Now the Wing Striker: it is a relatively quick build that takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Here, a couple of interesting techniques are used, most notably the wing mechanism which doesn’t use rubber bands, but rather Technic link rods and an assembly constructed around a slide rail. Pushing the assembly mounted in the middle forward causes the wings to clasp together to the front of it, brabbing hold of anything in it’s way. To release, you slide the assembly back. The mechanism means that you can comfortably hold the Wing Striker and activate the wing mechanism with one hand. The head of the Wing Striker can also be adjusted up and down, acting like a cockpit canopy. There is enough space for Braptor to sit comfortably in the Wing Striker with his wings attached. There is even a clip on one side for Braptor’s weapon when he isn’t using it.
The set does have one minor flaw though. The cockpit of the Wing Striker is largely very sparse and does not incorporate any controls of any kind for Braptor, not even as stickers. Neither does it have any sides or back, only a front where the bat head acts as the canopy. The set also has stickers, but only two and relatively easy to apply.
So, to summarise (scores out of 5):
Minifigs: 4
Build experience: 3.5
Playability: 4
Asethetics: 3.5
Piece selection: 4
Value for money: 4
Overall: 4
Minifigs: 4
Build experience: 3.5
Playability: 4
Asethetics: 3.5
Piece selection: 4
Value for money: 4
Overall: 4
So if you’re looking for bats and don’t want a Speedorz set, or are looking for an introduction to the 2014 wave of Chima, definitely pick this set up. It’s not the best set out of the whole wave, but there is nothing majorly wrong with it either.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Build Time:
15
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+20points
20of 20found this review helpful.
Spinlyn’s Cavern
Spinlyn’s Cavern
Posted:January 1, 2014
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
A must for Chima and spider fans alike!
" When I first saw this set, my immediate reaction was “Wow, look at Spinlyn!”. So I knew this set had to be a day one purchase for me, just to see if Spinlyn the Spider Queen lived up to the hype.
Firstly, the minifigs: You get three in this set, the eagle Eris, the rhino Rogon and the spider Spinlyn.
Eris: First up is the main Eagle Tribe character Eris, who gets an update to her 2013 version with new torso and leg printing, showing her in armour. Her head and headgear printing remain unchanged from the 2013 version. She is probably the least interesting minifigure in this set, but still a nice and wonderfully detailed minifigure.
Rogon: The other protagonist in this set is the Rhino leader Rogon, a new figure for the 2014 wave. He has a double sided head print, one with a neutral/content expression, the other with an angry expression. The headgear shows the content expression. The headgear itself is a nice represntation of a rhino head, and the cracked horm and patched-up printing are clever little additions to make Rogon look like a battle veteran. The torso and legs are printed with detailed armour and rhino skin patterns, but in the most part are obscured by Rogon’s heavy armour. All in all, a very nice minifigure especially if you don’t have Rogon’s Rock Flinger.
Spinlyn: The antagonist in the set, Spinlyn is constructed of 27 parts, including six new spider leg pieces and an arctic globe assembly cast in dark brown. Her torso is printed with an elaborate gold spider pattern which acts as Spinlyn’s armour, ad continues around the back. Her head only has one print but conveys a spider expression very well. The arctic globe acts as her abdomen, and it contains a red spider piece within it. All in all, this minifigure certainly lives up to her hype, if you want a spider minifig, you need Spinlyn.
Eris: First up is the main Eagle Tribe character Eris, who gets an update to her 2013 version with new torso and leg printing, showing her in armour. Her head and headgear printing remain unchanged from the 2013 version. She is probably the least interesting minifigure in this set, but still a nice and wonderfully detailed minifigure.
Rogon: The other protagonist in this set is the Rhino leader Rogon, a new figure for the 2014 wave. He has a double sided head print, one with a neutral/content expression, the other with an angry expression. The headgear shows the content expression. The headgear itself is a nice represntation of a rhino head, and the cracked horm and patched-up printing are clever little additions to make Rogon look like a battle veteran. The torso and legs are printed with detailed armour and rhino skin patterns, but in the most part are obscured by Rogon’s heavy armour. All in all, a very nice minifigure especially if you don’t have Rogon’s Rock Flinger.
Spinlyn: The antagonist in the set, Spinlyn is constructed of 27 parts, including six new spider leg pieces and an arctic globe assembly cast in dark brown. Her torso is printed with an elaborate gold spider pattern which acts as Spinlyn’s armour, ad continues around the back. Her head only has one print but conveys a spider expression very well. The arctic globe acts as her abdomen, and it contains a red spider piece within it. All in all, this minifigure certainly lives up to her hype, if you want a spider minifig, you need Spinlyn.
Onto the main build, starting with Rogon’s rhino bike: It is a relatively straightforward build which takes about 5-10 minutes. It does an excellent job of the front resembling a rhino head, and the back of the ears have some form of control panel stickers on them. It is a stable bike and is easy to stand upright. The bike even has a catapult, though it would have been better if it was cast in white or gray rather than dark brown. My only niggle with the bike is that the large front horn is extremely prone to falling off with the slightest touch, but otherwise a very nice little vehicle.
Now for Spinlyn’s cavern itself. The build consists of two sections: the front entrance and the tower. You build the front entrance first. A lot of stickers are applied to the front area, and the ‘mirror’ described in the set is actually a metallic chrome sticker so Spinlyn can admire her beautiful creepiness. The front resembles the head of a spider and looks suitably creepy and dark. Olive green tiles are used to represent spider goo/slime, though there is some discontinuity in the sticker patterns, as some use olive green while others use lime green. Trans-green antennas are used to convey the goo/venom dripping from the lair entrance. There is also a flick-fire web built into the front entrance, presumably to ambush those who try to walk in as it faces the other wall of the entrance gate.
The main tower is where all the features lie though. Near the bottom is a hidden flick-fire, which you push a brick-built lever on the back of the model which reveals and fires the flick fire web at the same time, though it’s not very powerful. Above that is a spider prison. Again, at the back is a lever which you can press to ‘blast’ the web out of the way and free the captor. But there is two glaring gaps at the back though, so I can’t imagine the prison is very secure! Finally, at the top is a string mechanism which you can attach Spinlyn to. A cogwheel at the back allows you to adjust the height of Spinlyn on her web. A web piece to the side of the model conceals some golden CHI.
The main tower is where all the features lie though. Near the bottom is a hidden flick-fire, which you push a brick-built lever on the back of the model which reveals and fires the flick fire web at the same time, though it’s not very powerful. Above that is a spider prison. Again, at the back is a lever which you can press to ‘blast’ the web out of the way and free the captor. But there is two glaring gaps at the back though, so I can’t imagine the prison is very secure! Finally, at the top is a string mechanism which you can attach Spinlyn to. A cogwheel at the back allows you to adjust the height of Spinlyn on her web. A web piece to the side of the model conceals some golden CHI.
This is mostly a very nice set with only minor niggles, with the fragile horn, the weak flick missile, and of course there are a lot of stickers in the set. But the pros of this set far outweigh the cons in my opinion.
So, to summarise (scores out of 5):
Minifigs: 5
Build experience: 4
Playability: 4
Asethetics: 4.5
Piece selection: 4
Value for money: 4.5
Overall: 5
Minifigs: 5
Build experience: 4
Playability: 4
Asethetics: 4.5
Piece selection: 4
Value for money: 4.5
Overall: 5
So whether you like spiders in general or you just want Spinlyn, I wholeheartedly recommend this set. A must buy for all fans of Chima.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Build Time:
40
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+20points
20of 20found this review helpful.
Lavertus’ Twin Blade
Lavertus’ Twin Blade
Posted:December 29, 2013
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
3
/
5
Great for minifigs and playability - but that's it
" Having myself completed the 2013 Chima set collection and being very satisfied overall with the sets and minifigures, I was looking forward to the 2014 Chima sets with the all-new Rhinos, Bats, Spiders and Scorpions and I just happened to receive 70129 Lavertus' Twin Blade as a gift to get me started.
On first impression on the box art, the set looked rather good, albeit an unusual concept, with Scutter looking ready to attack Lavertus, who is piloting the Twin Blade lion aircraft.
Moving on to the minifigures, we have two in this set: the protagonist lion Lavertus and the antagonist Scutter. This set is the cheapest way to get Lavertus, and Scutter, for now, is unique to this set.
Lavertus: Under the heavy armour, Lavertus has wonderful detailed robe and armour printing on the front and back torso and the legs. His head has two expressions - a determined face and a 'concentrating' face. The animal mask shows the 'concentrated' face. Overall, a nice addition to any Lion army.
Scutter: This is a very elaborate minifig comprising of 25 pieces. He has a minifigure head and torso, and brick built legs and tail. The torso features a detailed armour over exo-skeleton print. The head, unlike Lavertus' head, has only one print, which looks suitably creepy. Scutter's animal mask features elaborate scorpion motif printing and large fangs. The legs and tail are fully poseable, though the height of the head and torso means you cannot pose the tail into a proper scorpion 'striking' mode. Nonetheless, he's a beautiful and unusual minifigure to have.
Lavertus: Under the heavy armour, Lavertus has wonderful detailed robe and armour printing on the front and back torso and the legs. His head has two expressions - a determined face and a 'concentrating' face. The animal mask shows the 'concentrated' face. Overall, a nice addition to any Lion army.
Scutter: This is a very elaborate minifig comprising of 25 pieces. He has a minifigure head and torso, and brick built legs and tail. The torso features a detailed armour over exo-skeleton print. The head, unlike Lavertus' head, has only one print, which looks suitably creepy. Scutter's animal mask features elaborate scorpion motif printing and large fangs. The legs and tail are fully poseable, though the height of the head and torso means you cannot pose the tail into a proper scorpion 'striking' mode. Nonetheless, he's a beautiful and unusual minifigure to have.
Onto the set itself: The build is not exceptionally complicated here, it takes about 20 or so minutes to complete, but the hardest part of the build will be the assembly of the gear structure that works the twin rotors. Other than that, there are not many innovative techniques present and is a straightforward build.
Once finished, you get a decent sized, if a little skinny, aircraft with a simple yet easily recognisable lion head shaped front. The craft has a mysterious absence of all kinds of flick fire missiles but makes up for it with a single feature. The gear assembly mentioned earlier works with a rubber band to create a push rod which you can press down to spin both rotors at the same time. You must keep pushing this bar down rapidly to keep the rotors spinning. The model is very robust in the most part and easy to hold and so is very swooshable.
But this model comes with a couple of major flaws, the worst flaw arising from it's good playability. The rotor spinning function is definitely not discreet, when the model is on display the push rod that works the rotor mechanism is constantly in the 'up' position, thus it sticks right out and ruins the otherwise sleek look of the model. So from an aesthetic point of view, this set scores rather poorly.
The other flaw would be that the cockpit that Lavertus sits in is too sparse at the sides, the sides only consisiting of four reddish brown spikes.
Plus, there are lots of stickers in this set, including small ones for the blue wing tips and it is tricky getting these in the right place. And - at just 183 pieces - it feels as if the set needs just a few more for the price point.
So to summarise (scores out of 5)
Minifigs: 4.5
Build experience: 3
Playability: 5
Asethetics: 2
Piece selection: 3
Value for money: 3
Overall: 3
Minifigs: 4.5
Build experience: 3
Playability: 5
Asethetics: 2
Piece selection: 3
Value for money: 3
Overall: 3
So, if you're deciding on a Chima set to buy, I would walk right past this one and get Sparratus' Spider Stalker instead. Only buy if you're a Chima completist, enjoy playing with your models as opposed to displaying them, or if you want the Scutter minifig (or a cheap Lavertus).
Thanks for reading this rather long review!
"
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Build Time:
20
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
3
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
Share:
+19points
29of 39found this review helpful.
Ice Tower
Ice Tower
Posted:March 18, 2013
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
4
/
5
Lovely design, but too easy!
" Continuing my Legends of Chima collection, I bought the Ice Tower along with the other new Speedor sets. I didn't buy it for Winzar (I already had one of him), but I bought it for just about everything else.
As with all the Speedorz, they all work fantastically well, and this Wolf Speedor is obviously different to the others. A good thing.
I love the artwork on the game cards, I also love the chi crystals (have about 70 now and still counting!).
Now the tower itself. As usual it's a stunning piece of lego architecture, using several sloping bricks and clear blue and white bricks to replicate ice in nature.
But the problem is: it's too easy as a game! Even someone with moderate speedor skill can knock down the tower. It's obviously better as a two player game where one of you hits the tower with the Speedor, then there's a mad scramble for the CHI ball, like a game of snap, you need sharp reflexes. But as a one player game on it's own, it's a bit... boring.
I know it's contradicting elements, but try Ice Tower with a Ring of Fire in front of it. While you're at it add some Jungle Gates after the Ring for the ultimate test - trying to land your Speedor upright after flying off a ramp! Or try Ice Tower with Target Practice - use the dart firing thing from Target Practice to knock down the tower. Straight away a more challenging prospect!
So my summary: 5/5 for design, 4/5 for two-player, 2/5 for one player on it's own.
Best combined with the other Speedor games, or used as a cheaper way of getting Winzar. "
As with all the Speedorz, they all work fantastically well, and this Wolf Speedor is obviously different to the others. A good thing.
I love the artwork on the game cards, I also love the chi crystals (have about 70 now and still counting!).
Now the tower itself. As usual it's a stunning piece of lego architecture, using several sloping bricks and clear blue and white bricks to replicate ice in nature.
But the problem is: it's too easy as a game! Even someone with moderate speedor skill can knock down the tower. It's obviously better as a two player game where one of you hits the tower with the Speedor, then there's a mad scramble for the CHI ball, like a game of snap, you need sharp reflexes. But as a one player game on it's own, it's a bit... boring.
I know it's contradicting elements, but try Ice Tower with a Ring of Fire in front of it. While you're at it add some Jungle Gates after the Ring for the ultimate test - trying to land your Speedor upright after flying off a ramp! Or try Ice Tower with Target Practice - use the dart firing thing from Target Practice to knock down the tower. Straight away a more challenging prospect!
So my summary: 5/5 for design, 4/5 for two-player, 2/5 for one player on it's own.
Best combined with the other Speedor games, or used as a cheaper way of getting Winzar. "
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
3
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Very Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+13points
20of 27found this review helpful.
Highway Speedster
Highway Speedster
Posted:March 18, 2013
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
4
/
5
Stunning car, best as collector's display piece
" I was immediately attracted to this, I absolutely love my cars and this really did remind me of a big classic Lambo!
This review then is only based on the Highway Speedster, not the tow truck or race car since I haven't built them yet...
The overall design of this car is great, the scissor doors work much better than I was expecting, and I haven't seen those alloy wheel add-ons since those Speed Racer cars from maybe 6 or 7 years ago! They're an awesome piece, all car builders need some of these in their collection.
The engine isn't as exceptionally detailed as is made out (with similar cars, it was always more detailed), it's simply six round studs.
The panoramic windscreen looks fantastic and is cleverly constructed out of a window element.
This car would have been given five stars overall, but there's one thing that lets it down: the interior. I mean, it works from a distance, but it's just so that the interior has been made too small to squeeze a minifigure into so it can take the wheel of this monster.
So, if you're thinking of buying this car for your minifigures to sit in and 'drive' it, not recommended!
If you're thinking of buying this car as a display piece or something fun to build, on the other hand, I can't recommend this car enough. It's packed with detail yet kind to the pocket! "
This review then is only based on the Highway Speedster, not the tow truck or race car since I haven't built them yet...
The overall design of this car is great, the scissor doors work much better than I was expecting, and I haven't seen those alloy wheel add-ons since those Speed Racer cars from maybe 6 or 7 years ago! They're an awesome piece, all car builders need some of these in their collection.
The engine isn't as exceptionally detailed as is made out (with similar cars, it was always more detailed), it's simply six round studs.
The panoramic windscreen looks fantastic and is cleverly constructed out of a window element.
This car would have been given five stars overall, but there's one thing that lets it down: the interior. I mean, it works from a distance, but it's just so that the interior has been made too small to squeeze a minifigure into so it can take the wheel of this monster.
So, if you're thinking of buying this car for your minifigures to sit in and 'drive' it, not recommended!
If you're thinking of buying this car as a display piece or something fun to build, on the other hand, I can't recommend this car enough. It's packed with detail yet kind to the pocket! "
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
3
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+20points
21of 22found this review helpful.
Nest Dive
Nest Dive
Posted:March 17, 2013
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Like a challenge? Love Nest Dive!
" This set can be looked at in two ways:
One: It's a cheap way of getting Eglor, the blue Eagle.
Two: It's a beautiful display piece and a challenging game all in one.
It's pretty easy to build the nest and the design is absolutely beautiful, it really does look like a proper bird's nest. If you get fed up of trying to master the game you can use it as a place for your Eagles and Ravens to rest!
Now, comparing the gameplay of Nest Dive compared to all the other Speedorz sets: it's the hardest one of the lot!
For example:
Jungle Gates: Very easy
Ice Tower: Very easy
Eagle's Castle: Very easy
Ultimate Speedor Tournament: Easy
Boulder Bowling: Easy
CHI Waterfall: Easy
CHI battles: Easy
Ring of Fire: Average
Target Practice: Average
Nest Dive: Very challenging!
You'll need a lot of patience to be able to land your Speedor into the nest, because every time you succeed, you'll fail about 30 times!
I suppose if you wanted to fly over the nest and not land in it, that's much easier!
I think the trick is to pull the Speedor ripcord, wait five seconds, then put it down 15 centimetres directly in front of a leaf ramp. Of course, I can't guarantee this tip will work for everyone!
A great set, great design, and let's not forget the Eglor figure, which is fantastically detailed as is all Chima figures. If you want a challenge, a cheap way of getting Eglor or just like the asthetics of the set, it's a must buy! "
One: It's a cheap way of getting Eglor, the blue Eagle.
Two: It's a beautiful display piece and a challenging game all in one.
It's pretty easy to build the nest and the design is absolutely beautiful, it really does look like a proper bird's nest. If you get fed up of trying to master the game you can use it as a place for your Eagles and Ravens to rest!
Now, comparing the gameplay of Nest Dive compared to all the other Speedorz sets: it's the hardest one of the lot!
For example:
Jungle Gates: Very easy
Ice Tower: Very easy
Eagle's Castle: Very easy
Ultimate Speedor Tournament: Easy
Boulder Bowling: Easy
CHI Waterfall: Easy
CHI battles: Easy
Ring of Fire: Average
Target Practice: Average
Nest Dive: Very challenging!
You'll need a lot of patience to be able to land your Speedor into the nest, because every time you succeed, you'll fail about 30 times!
I suppose if you wanted to fly over the nest and not land in it, that's much easier!
I think the trick is to pull the Speedor ripcord, wait five seconds, then put it down 15 centimetres directly in front of a leaf ramp. Of course, I can't guarantee this tip will work for everyone!
A great set, great design, and let's not forget the Eglor figure, which is fantastically detailed as is all Chima figures. If you want a challenge, a cheap way of getting Eglor or just like the asthetics of the set, it's a must buy! "
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+32points
32of 32found this review helpful.
Cragger’s Command Ship
Cragger’s Command Ship
Posted:February 8, 2013
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
The real flagship of the Chima series!
" Finally! I managed to get around to buying the most expensive of Chima sets. I mainly bought it because it had Crooler and Rawzom, but this ship is just so much more than the sum of it's minifigures. Well, this might be almost double the price of the next most expensive Chima set (the Royal Fighter, or the Ultra Striker, or the Chi Raider), it's quite simply twice as awesome!
I'll talk about the minifigures first. They're all great! You get Crominus, Cragger, Crooler, Rawzom, Lennox and Leonidas. Crooler and Rawzom are unique to this set, and Lennox comes with armour (unlike any of the other sets containing Lennox!). They all have amazing detailing to their faces and torsos, and you can change all their expressions.
The lion's jetskis are small, and they just about float in water, although the lions riding them will get wet legs! They do serve a purpose in this set though.
Now the ship. There's so many good points about it! First is the fact it's actually four vehicles all rolled into one! There's the main ship, the swamp plane and two hoverboats, and they all incorporate together to create something that looks and works as one big vehicle.
With the ship, the bottom of the ship is one huge piece which is very light. This gives the ship the ability to float (and it really does float, even when all the mini vehicles are attached and the ship is full of minifigures, I tried it in the bath).
The ship is not very hard to build and doesn't take a long time either. And when you finish, the ship is absolutely stunning with it's abundance of crocodilian features. The two cockpits are so designed that they look like the crocodile's eyes. The front opens up, just like a crocodile's mouth, and it will happily 'eat' unsuspecting lions. And when the vehicle's docked on land and not in action, you can open the mouth wide open and it will stay in place, allowing the Crocodiles to perhaps hold meetings? There's so many places for minifigures to sit on this ship, it will easily accommodate over ten minifigures. Two in each cockpit, two on the swamp plane, one on each of the hoverboats, two inside the ship mouth and four in the middle between the cockpit and the swamp plane. Remove the swamp plane and fit even more of Cragger's cronies on it!
Now the swamp plane. It carries a sizeable chunk of the total piece count of the ship and is mounted on the back of the ship. When mounted, it forms the ship's tail and the twin rotors form the ship's engines. When removed, the engines can be posed on the swamp plane thanks to some snap joints. It also has a cockpit and a gun turret. The gun turret is positioned quite low, so it can't rotate without hitting the pilot's head (it's not hard to fix). The tail also swings around, perhaps to hit lions on jetskis I suppose!
The hoverboats are a great addition. They can be deployed to attack, or they could be used as lifeboats in case the ship sank! They float too. And when mounted on the ship, they're incorporated into the ship's 'arms' (the big chunky black claws), a nice touch.
Everything considered, this is an absolutely stunning piece for the player and collector alike. It looks brilliant whether it's floating in your bath or being displayed amongst other Chima vehicles. You'll never get bored of admiring it's detail. Worth every penny! An absolute must for the centrepiece of any serious Chima collector's collection! "
I'll talk about the minifigures first. They're all great! You get Crominus, Cragger, Crooler, Rawzom, Lennox and Leonidas. Crooler and Rawzom are unique to this set, and Lennox comes with armour (unlike any of the other sets containing Lennox!). They all have amazing detailing to their faces and torsos, and you can change all their expressions.
The lion's jetskis are small, and they just about float in water, although the lions riding them will get wet legs! They do serve a purpose in this set though.
Now the ship. There's so many good points about it! First is the fact it's actually four vehicles all rolled into one! There's the main ship, the swamp plane and two hoverboats, and they all incorporate together to create something that looks and works as one big vehicle.
With the ship, the bottom of the ship is one huge piece which is very light. This gives the ship the ability to float (and it really does float, even when all the mini vehicles are attached and the ship is full of minifigures, I tried it in the bath).
The ship is not very hard to build and doesn't take a long time either. And when you finish, the ship is absolutely stunning with it's abundance of crocodilian features. The two cockpits are so designed that they look like the crocodile's eyes. The front opens up, just like a crocodile's mouth, and it will happily 'eat' unsuspecting lions. And when the vehicle's docked on land and not in action, you can open the mouth wide open and it will stay in place, allowing the Crocodiles to perhaps hold meetings? There's so many places for minifigures to sit on this ship, it will easily accommodate over ten minifigures. Two in each cockpit, two on the swamp plane, one on each of the hoverboats, two inside the ship mouth and four in the middle between the cockpit and the swamp plane. Remove the swamp plane and fit even more of Cragger's cronies on it!
Now the swamp plane. It carries a sizeable chunk of the total piece count of the ship and is mounted on the back of the ship. When mounted, it forms the ship's tail and the twin rotors form the ship's engines. When removed, the engines can be posed on the swamp plane thanks to some snap joints. It also has a cockpit and a gun turret. The gun turret is positioned quite low, so it can't rotate without hitting the pilot's head (it's not hard to fix). The tail also swings around, perhaps to hit lions on jetskis I suppose!
The hoverboats are a great addition. They can be deployed to attack, or they could be used as lifeboats in case the ship sank! They float too. And when mounted on the ship, they're incorporated into the ship's 'arms' (the big chunky black claws), a nice touch.
Everything considered, this is an absolutely stunning piece for the player and collector alike. It looks brilliant whether it's floating in your bath or being displayed amongst other Chima vehicles. You'll never get bored of admiring it's detail. Worth every penny! An absolute must for the centrepiece of any serious Chima collector's collection! "
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+41points
47of 53found this review helpful.
Kai's Fire Mech
Kai's Fire Mech
Posted:January 19, 2013
VeyronianHyperLady
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Beauty is Simplicity... or Kai's Fire Mech!
" They say the best things come in small packages. This couldn't be more true than in the case of Kai's nifty little Fire Mech. It's small and perfectly formed, and it comes with two minifigures, fairly unusual for a set of this price. It's simple yet packed with detail, no mean feat.
The minifigures: You get Kai in his kimono robes and a scout. Both are wonderfully detailed. Kai in the robes is unique to this set, the scout is also available in the Golden Dragon and Temple of Light sets, but I suppose because they are largely nameless, you can have a bunch or army of them. The scout isn't any different to the scouts in the other two sets in terms of details either, but it's still a cool minifigure, and the cheapest way to get a scout!
Right, onto the Mech. I like the way they use Hero Factory joints for the Mech's arms and legs, they in my opinion increase poseability, because in a set of this size, chunky limbs are not ideal. Okay, the spikes do get in the way sometimes, but this can be rectified easily by re-positioning the shell armour on the limb.
The feet make the mech easy to stand up, another good point. But the arm endings are a real talking point. Despite it's size, it has a hand with fully poseable fingers and thumb, used to hold the fire blade. The other hand is a cannon. You can add fire pieces if you want to add effect and make it a flamethrower.
In my opinion, the body itself looks a bit top heavy, but the design works so well. The colour scheme is also great, with plenty of gold coloured pieces. The cockpit is simple yet it works well. The use of the swords as decorations at the top is a great idea.
The Fire Blade itself is a thing of beauty. It's transparent orange, with a red inside, so it really looks like it's made of fire!
Just one absolutely minor thing, though: While the hand grips the fire blade well, maybe it could have done with some sort of adaptor to hold the blade in place when you open the fingers, like you got on the Samurai Mech. (see my picture for what the current setup looks like)
Overall, one of the best value small sets I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot itself. A must for all Ninjago fans, on a budget or not! "
The minifigures: You get Kai in his kimono robes and a scout. Both are wonderfully detailed. Kai in the robes is unique to this set, the scout is also available in the Golden Dragon and Temple of Light sets, but I suppose because they are largely nameless, you can have a bunch or army of them. The scout isn't any different to the scouts in the other two sets in terms of details either, but it's still a cool minifigure, and the cheapest way to get a scout!
Right, onto the Mech. I like the way they use Hero Factory joints for the Mech's arms and legs, they in my opinion increase poseability, because in a set of this size, chunky limbs are not ideal. Okay, the spikes do get in the way sometimes, but this can be rectified easily by re-positioning the shell armour on the limb.
The feet make the mech easy to stand up, another good point. But the arm endings are a real talking point. Despite it's size, it has a hand with fully poseable fingers and thumb, used to hold the fire blade. The other hand is a cannon. You can add fire pieces if you want to add effect and make it a flamethrower.
In my opinion, the body itself looks a bit top heavy, but the design works so well. The colour scheme is also great, with plenty of gold coloured pieces. The cockpit is simple yet it works well. The use of the swords as decorations at the top is a great idea.
The Fire Blade itself is a thing of beauty. It's transparent orange, with a red inside, so it really looks like it's made of fire!
Just one absolutely minor thing, though: While the hand grips the fire blade well, maybe it could have done with some sort of adaptor to hold the blade in place when you open the fingers, like you got on the Samurai Mech. (see my picture for what the current setup looks like)
Overall, one of the best value small sets I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot itself. A must for all Ninjago fans, on a budget or not! "
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
19-24
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Expert LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Very Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+28points
34of 40found this review helpful.