Valerian70
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Valerian70's Stats
Valerian70's Stats
- 4.9Average Rating
- 1,397Helpfulness Votes
- 0Featured Reviews
- 146Review Count
- August 16, 2020First Review
- May 6, 2021Last Review
Posted:October 25, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Go Fishing
" I am terrible at breaking kits down and from looking at the box I just knew that I would want to build all 3 of the underwater creatures included in this pack so bought 3. Before opening them I presumed the additional builds would be downloadable instructions from the Lego website so went to download them. This led me to find out that there was a "secret" fourth build of the Whale. Fortunately the outlet where I purchased this kit still had one left so I snapped that up so I could build all 4. Yes, I am aware this is an ADDICTION!
On opening the packs I discovered that the pack comes with separate instruction booklets for the Shark, the Squid and the Angler Fish. Because some of the moulded pieces that are a little odd you cannot build multiple creatures from one kit and, apart from the Shark, most of them leave you with lots of spares. Good for the stash that's for sure.
The only oddity in the kit is the really strange looking crab. I honestly only made one of those but I did make a couple of the little red fishes because they are cute.
Anyone else think the whale looks like the Sperm Whale from Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy? Just Me?
Great looking builds that were a great deal of fun to create. Even better they look fab on my shelf with my other Ocean Exploration kits.
Number Of Pieces: 230
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.06
Build Time:
Shark - 40 Minutes
Squid - 25 Minutes
Angler Fish - 30 Minutes
Whale - 20 Minutes "
Shark - 40 Minutes
Squid - 25 Minutes
Angler Fish - 30 Minutes
Whale - 20 Minutes "
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
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:
+4points
5of 6found this review helpful.
Phantom Fire Truck 3000
Phantom Fire Truck 3000
Posted:October 25, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
You Can't Stop The Fire
" Not my build but this one was built by the The Boy.
I will be honest here and say I only purchased this set because of completion of the current cycle of Hidden Side kits as I didn't particularly like the look of the finished vehicle. Now, I am a big fan of the lego vehicles and have a fascination with their trains and supercars especially but this one just didn't appeal. The finished fire truck is actually better than I thought it would be and does look pretty good with the other completed kits.
Like all the Hidden Side kits it does come with plenty of mini figures and they do fit in the truck - which surprised me, I am used to things being a little bit too tight for proper play. Definitely a kit you could play with if you so desired.
We haven't tried the Hidden Side App with any of the builds we have done from this range. Not sure why not but we haven't - YET. Could be because the only place we can out them at the moment in on a shelving unit which doesn't lend itself to play or could just be because we are lazy.
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Son
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:
-1point
0of 1found this review helpful.
Posted:October 25, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Dumbledore's Army
" I was thoroughly enchanted by this little set. There are so many little details included that it really is packed with iconic images from the films. Even has the otter and hare patronuses which I wasn't expecting (note to self, check the pack pictures!). My favourite pieces are the sliding door which was a new build technique to me and the wooden training dummy. He looks really good and is a good blend of Lego styling and the film styling.
Plenty of details from the Decrees mounted on the wall outside (even though they were in the main hallway outside the dining hall in both the books and the films and the room of requirement is down a corridor near the boy's toilets - yes, I am a Potter Nerd) to the little blue blasts for casting the expelliarmus spell.
Quick but fun build and works well with the existing Wizarding World kits.
Number Of Pieces: 193
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.09
Build Time: 0.5 Hours
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
30
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:
+11points
12of 13found this review helpful.
Expecto Patronum
Expecto Patronum
Posted:October 25, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Wave That Wand
" So, tiny kit and not really what I would normally go for. However, having completed the larger Wizarding World builds I decided I might as well go for completion so picked this kit up.
This is worth it for the mini figures alone. I love the Lego representation of the Dementors and this kit comes with two of the beauties. The stag Patronus of Harry's is actually pretty neat but more or less premoulded which at least means it stands up okay. That is a problem I have with the minifigures when they don't have a base plate to stand on but I'll figure it out. Also comes with a Harry Potter and a Sirius Black figure.
As you would expect from such a low number of pieces the build is really quick but the trees are nicely detailed and do add to the look. Pretty please with how it looks and the way in which it can be separated out and used to enahnce an existing Harry Potter display.
Number Of Pieces: 121
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.17
Build Time: 0.5 Hours
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
30
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+2points
3of 4found this review helpful.
The Rise of Voldemort™
The Rise of Voldemort™
Posted:October 21, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Portkey
" Nice to see a Goblet Of Fire based kit, and I was pleasantly surprised by the little details in this kit. I'm not really a fan of little kits but decided that for the sake of completeness I should just go ahead and get the Harry Potter ones. In the case of this one I am SO glad I did.
Loads of little details from the book/film. I think my favourite has to be Peter Pettigrew's silver hand; an unexpected and wonderful touch. This was one of the first sets where the mini figures really improve the actual kit, to be honest it is all about the figures rather than the setting.
Number Of Pieces: 184
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.11
Build Time: 45 minutes
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
45
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:
+8points
8of 8found this review helpful.
Posted:September 24, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Senna!
" This was a great build. Very nicely detailed although that does mean a lot of tiny pieces but, even worse, a heck of a lot of stickers. My sticker game is extremely weak but I persevered as they really add something to the finished model and I'm glad I did as I think it looks really great built up. Not too sure about the grey colour but it does mean the orange trim really pops.
The inclusion of the wind tunnel turbine is a fun addition and the fan really turns which is nice for playing. Plays like a standard mini car and seems reasonably sturdy. although I did only push it around the table making strange "brmm, brmm" noises. Yes, I know I'm supposedly an adult but why stop playing and having fun?
Number Of Pieces: 219
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.06
Build Time: 1 Hour
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
01
hrs
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:
+8points
8of 8found this review helpful.
Buggy
Buggy
Posted:September 24, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Fun In The Sand
" I have only recent started building the Technics line kits and I do find them a bit of a challenge so thought I would take a step back and try a tiny kit. This was an inordinate amount of fun to build, although I will admit to getting a little lost in the orientation of pieces early in the build and had to strip it down by about 10 steps when I realised I mounted something the wrong way. Was well worth persevering with and I was impressed by the finished piece. The fact it has the working suspension bar makes me so happy as it has a lovely bounce action.
Large amount of stickers for the size of the piece but they are a reasonable size and applied fairly easily. If you've read any of my other Lego kit reviews you will know I constantly complain about how bad I am at stickers but I think I only had to adjust one in this kit. For once the stickers didn't make me sad!
When I finished the build I really, really wanted to build the race car option but I loved my little buggy and didn't want to deconstruct it (you WILL need the Lego Tool to strip a Technic kit back and they aren't included in the small kits). So, as this was a lower priced kit I just bit the bullet and bought another one. The instructions for the race car option are downloadable in .pdf format from Lego and at no additional charge.
The car build is fun but I was disappointed the suspension bar is not incorporated in to it as I love that piece. Still, it gives me a spare for if I ever want to try and create my own vehicle (or whatever) from scratch.
Number Of Pieces: 117
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07
Build Time:
Buggy - 0.75 Hours
Race car - 0.75 Hours "
Buggy - 0.75 Hours
Race car - 0.75 Hours "
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
45
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:
+20points
20of 20found this review helpful.
Posted:September 24, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Time To Rally
" Although I don't drive I have a thing about cars, no idea why but I do. My previous exerience with Lego cars was they were blocky and not particularly realistic looking but that goes back to the early 1980s (how I wish I still had those kits!) and things have certainly moved on a long way.
When the other half saw this one he immediately wanted it cos the GT-R was one of his favoured vehicles in a computer game (he did say which one but I can't remember now). I have to admit when I saw the box images I was keen to build it as it did look really good. Have to admit, I was NOT disappointed in the finished product. Nice and roomy for your mini figures and easy to get them in and out too which did surprise me.
As expected the build instructions are nice and clear and the bricks fit together super easily. Only real downside for me was the number of stickers (some of them are really small and fiddly) but that's because I genuinely suck at placing them.
Would be a good kit for younger builders as well as car enthusiasts.
Number Of Pieces: 298
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.06
Build Time: 1.25 Hours
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
01
hrs
Build Time:
15
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:
+2points
2of 2found this review helpful.
Posted:September 11, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Go Shopping Harry
" This is the largest set I have tackled to date, by quite some way and I was a little nervous about it just because of the size. The fact that each book refers to one particular set of shops makes it easy to have a natural break off point. So much so, I split this build over 4 days and it is a good job I did as there were some spots that challenged me and I probably would have made a right old mess of things if I had tried to "push it".
I really enjoyed all the little details inside the shops that really bring the sets to life. I kept gasping as I built things because of the detail they added. So much so I think I drove the other half up the proverbial wall - he just kept telling me "Yes, I know, I've watched a build video".
I'm not a big fan of stickers and there are a LOT of stickers in this build. This is particularly true for Book 4, I felt like I spent ages trying to line everything up nice and neatly and I am actually surprised that I got most of them pretty accurate with only a smidge of unpeeling going on. Was well worth it though as the finished product looks really good in my display cabinet - storefront side to the mirror at the back so you can see inside all the stores. The storefronts themselves I really liked as well but I had to make a display decision and this seemed the best way.
I thoroughly enjoyed the build itself even if I did have issues with the chair/table arrangement on top of the Ice Cream Parlour and also with the Weasley hat lifting figure. Not too keen on the wall clipping in to place behind it either as my fingers really struggled clipping it into place. Got there in the end with both of them and only the figure problems seemed to be a a build issue. The chair/table problem does seem to be a placement issue that you need to work around for yourself although I have seen it completed as per the manual image.
Number Of Pieces: 5,544
Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07
Build Time:
Book 1 - Ollivander's and Scribbulus - 5.25 Hours
Book 2 - Quality Quidditch Supplies and Daily Prophet - 4 Hours
Book 3 - Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and Flourish and Blotts - 5.75 Hours
Book 4 - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Knockturn Alley entrance - 7.5 Hours "
Book 1 - Ollivander's and Scribbulus - 5.25 Hours
Book 2 - Quality Quidditch Supplies and Daily Prophet - 4 Hours
Book 3 - Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and Flourish and Blotts - 5.75 Hours
Book 4 - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Knockturn Alley entrance - 7.5 Hours "
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
22
hrs
Build Time:
30
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Challenging
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+75points
87of 99found this review helpful.
Character Packs
Character Packs
Posted:September 10, 2020
Valerian70
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
Fun
" These are really fun packs and you don't know which of the 10 characters on Cycle One you are going to get:
Bullet Bill
Peepa
Buzzy Beetle
Urchin
Spiny
Paragoomba
Bob-Omb
Eep Cheep
Blooper
Fuzzy
Still waiting to get a Bullet Bill or a Paragoomba and I do have duplicates. However, because they are built on to a base plate they can slot anywhere in to a built course and each one has the ID tile so they interact with your Mario figure.
All of them look pretty good built and have an included instruction booklet in each pack.
"
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
I would recommend this to a friend!
From: Accrington
From:
United Kingdom
Age:
45-54
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
05
mins
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+23points
23of 23found this review helpful.