amazed78
Top 100 Contributor
Share amazed78's profile
amazed78's Stats
amazed78's Stats
- 4.7Average Rating
- 563Helpfulness Votes
- 0Featured Reviews
- 94Review Count
- February 18, 2015First Review
- December 25, 2018Last Review
City Square
City Square
Posted:November 19, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
4
/
5
60097 City Square
" This set includes 1683 pieces, which are divided into 16 numbered bags. There are also 10 instruction booklets, and a mind-blowing 44 stickers on 3 separate sheets. The set contains 12 minifigures, plus two "statues" in the Lego Store which can be used as regular minifigures. Of the minifigures ten are adults (two female and eight male, while the remaining two minifigures are children, one girl and one boy. Both the "statues" are male, one of them is dressed as a spaceman and the other as a knight. I thought the gray and white dog (a husky) was a nice bonus. None of the minifigures have dual-sided heads, which is a big disappointment, only one minifigure (the barista) has printing on the legs, and most of the torsos have printing only on the front.
There is a multitude of vehicles in this set: a red bicycle, a mainly blue and gray helicopter, one red scooter for delivering pizza, three different colored cars (black, red, and yellow) of which two are convertibles, and two trucks, the yellow one for delivering Lego to the store and the white and green one for towing smaller cars. However, my personal favorite, and the main reason I bought this set is the orange and black tram. To my delight, the tram fits the plastic Lego train track which is included in all the newest Lego train sets and which is also available for purchase online. The sides of the tram are hinged and the red bicycle fits perfectly in the middle section of the tram.
The set includes also several buildings: a blue-gray two-storey car dealership, a tan-black-and-gray LEGO Store, a tram stop with two ticket vending machines and a tree, and a small coffee shop with a parasol shading the benches customers can use while sipping their coffees. There are also two small builds: a hot dog stand and a newsstand.
To those on the lookout for rare pieces: two of the three blue printed flat tiles with pictures of Lego sets on them are, so far, exclusive to this set, as is the orange 2x8 plate with a gliding groove, and the same can be said about the torsos of the barista, pizza delivery man and the space-themed Lego Store statue. The yellow torso of the two Lego Store employees has appeared in one very limited set after the release of this particular set.
The build is not very difficult, but getting the 44 stickers just right will take a lot of time and even more patience and I suspect some children will be frustrated by the sheer number of them. There is some repetition when building the tram, which is no surprise, since the back and front (which is which?) are identical. I like the the sliding doors of the car dealership, but all the parts surrounding the doors need to be pushed down very firmly or the doors will get caught on those bricks that stick out. I also noticed that, in order for the doors to work, the car dealership needs to be on an even surface. I think this is because of the building consists of two parts that can be separated and the pins keeping the two sections together are not tight enough to prevent ever so small warping on an uneven surface. As already mentioned, my favorite is the tram but I also like the coffee maker and the coffee grinder (or perhaps it's a blender) in the coffee shop and the tram stop is a very clever little build, too.
There are a few things in this set that I found not-so-pleasing:
1) The number of stickers (44) in a set with a large price tag.
2) No back door for the coffee shop.
3) No bucket or 'window cleaningstick' (sic) in my set as mentioned in the accessory elements list.
4) No two-sided heads.
5) My set had a wrong minifigure printed on the cover of booklet number 2. "
1) The number of stickers (44) in a set with a large price tag.
2) No back door for the coffee shop.
3) No bucket or 'window cleaningstick' (sic) in my set as mentioned in the accessory elements list.
4) No two-sided heads.
5) My set had a wrong minifigure printed on the cover of booklet number 2. "
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Corner Deli
(26)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
3
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+6points
7of 8found this review helpful.
The Mystery Machine
The Mystery Machine
Posted:November 17, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
75902 The Mystery Machine
" 75902 The Mystery Machine is a set based on the cartoon 'Scooby-Doo' which dates back to 1969. The set contains 301 pieces, which can be used to build three minifigures, a Great Dane called Scooby-Doo, a car named 'The Mystery Machine' and a spooky-looking tree. Since this is the first Scooby-Doo set that I've ever built and, as I'm not very familiar with the cartoon, I retorted to doing a quick internet search on subject. I have to admit that all characters are very well designed and even the car is a fantastic copy of its cartoon version.
The three minifigures are mystery-solvers Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers, Fred Jones, and a villain, Zeke, disguised as a zombie. All of the minifigures have two-sided prints on their heads and torsos, but no leg prints. Shaggy is dressed in a lime v-neck t-shirt and dark red trousers, while Fred is wearing a white sweater over a dark azure shirt, an orange scarf and dark azure trousers. Zeke / Zombie has a ragged olive green jacket over a sand green shirt, and dark brown pants on him. He is also the only minifigure not to have an alternate expression, however, there are two printed buttons on the back of his head. Fred and Zeke are currently exclusive to this set, but this particular Shaggy minifigure appears also in set 75904 Mystery Mansion. The hairpieces of both Shaggy and Fred are, so far, exclusive to Scooby-Doo line of sets and I expect them to remain that way.
When opening the box, three numbered bags, two instruction booklets (one for 48, the other for 76 pages), and a sticker sheet (with a staggering amount of 23 stickers) tumble out. My sticker sheet was a little wrinkled, because it and the instructions are not covered by a plastic bag, but I soon found out that it didn't affect the build in any way. First bag reveals the pieces for Scooby-Doo (who is in a little baggie of his own), Shaggy, and the lower part of 'The Mystery Machine' (sans wheels). Bag number two spills out the bricks which are needed to build Fred, the sides, windscreen and the wheels of the car. The final bag numbered '3' contains the pieces for Zombie, the roof of the car, and the scary tree. The build is pretty easy and also quick, except for the 23 stickers (some of them quite large), which took me at least ten minutes to paste on. I really think some of the smaller stickers, such as the dashboard, should have been printed. A positive side to the stickers is that they appear to be quite durable and not very easily ripped.
I truly like the rounded design of 'The Mystery Machine', and the fact that all three protagonists will fit inside, although there is no place to stow Fred's accessories away. For some reason, I was delighted when noticing the flower-patterned hub caps do not spin even when the car is going full tilt after a villain or two. I also like the moving arms and adjustable foliage of the scary tree, but I think it might have been even nicer to play with had it been hinged to hide the equipment and/or the zombie inside. My absolute favourite of the figures is Scooby-Doo, he is simply adorable!
For those looking for rare or exclusive pieces this set is a small treasure trove: both the lime 2x2 and 3x3 inverted dishes with orange flowers printed on them are currently unique to this set (element ID 6123823 and 6123822), as are the medium azure hinge plates (6119114), the medium azure 2x4 wedge plates (6109842 and 6109839), and the windscreen (6121738). So far, the lime 1x4x2 panel (6109829), the medium azure 2x2x2 roof tile (6109828), and the printed 2x2 tile with a groovy headline 'Tree comes to life' (6123040) all appear in just one set besides this, just to mention a few.
Excepting the stickers, this is a great little set with a surprising number of cool details and (hidden) play features. I would definitely recommend this to all Scooby-Doo fans.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Ghostbusters™ Ecto-1
(145)
Ecto-1 & 2
(25)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+2points
2of 2found this review helpful.
Winter Holiday Train
Winter Holiday Train
Posted:November 15, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
4
/
5
10254 Winter Holiday Train
" 10254 Winter Holiday Train is a seasonal Lego Creator set which includes 734 pieces. Deboxing the set reveals six bags numbered 1 to 3, one unnumbered with three red wheels (one of which is not used in the build at all) and some of those magnetic train coupling bumpers, four stacks of four curved rail pieces, and two instruction booklets (wrapped in plastic), the smaller one containing 24 pages while the larger booklet stretches up to 92 pages. I was glad to see there are no stickers in this set. The main build of this set is a steam locomotive pulling three wagons: a coal tender, a flatbed wagon, and a caboose. There are also smaller builds: a total of five minifigures plus a boarding platform with a bench and a lamppost.
The five minifigures are described in the product details section as a grandmother, a boy, a locomotive driver, a ticket collector and a girl. The grandmother is the only one in this set to have a dual-sided head, which is a pity because I like those kinds of heads a lot. The head is available in three regular sets, including this one, and one rare and exclusive KidsFest set. Her elegant reddish brown hair dates back to 2013, but has been quite sparsely used and this is only the third set where it appears in this particular color. Grandmother is wearing a black fur-trimmed coat, white gloves and dark gray trousers. Her torso has been only in one Super Heroes set before this. The boy is attired in a red jacket over a dark red shirt and blue trousers. His hair, in this particular color (medium nougat), appears in three Nexo Knights sets and his "Deep Sea" logoed torso in five other sets before this one. The bearded locomotive driver is dressed in a light blue shirt, blue overalls, a blue cap, and a red scarf, while the mustachioed ticket collector / conductor is sporting a dark red hat, trousers and a tie, and a gray pinstriped vest (with a printed pocket watch) over a white shirt. His torso has been in eight sets besides this one and his head in just two. The girl has tied her dark brown hair in a ponytail and is wearing a green winter coat with gray gloves, and sand yellow trousers. Her torso has previously been used in 11 and her head in six sets. The locomotive driver's torso is the only one not to have printing on both sides. None of the minifigures have printed leg pieces.
This set has a few rarish or recolored pieces in it as well: the black cow-catcher (element ID 6097109) has been in 7 sets before this, whereas the sand yellow 1x2x3 window (6151557), the white plant leaf element (6135500), the three red train wheels (6148307) and the printed 1x1 tile with a keypad pattern (6142309) all have previously appeared in only one set besides this. Both the red 4x6 bogie plate (6148786) and the green curved brick with a bow (6148787) are recolors and currently available only in this particular set.
Whilst building the set I noticed that the lonely bag numbered '1' contains the pieces to build a woman dubbed by the designers as a grandmother, a boy, a snow-spattered brown train platform with a brown bench and a black lamppost adorned by a green wreath, three wrapped gifts and five toys (of which the robot is my favorite). The three bags numbered '2' have the pieces for a train driver, a mainly black, green and red locomotive and a mainly black and green tender, whereas the two remaining bags with number 3 on the side have the pieces for a conductor, a girl, and two more train wagons: a multi-colored flatbed wagon with a space for gifts and toys plus a rotating tree, and a mainly red, black and dark blue caboose that seats two minifigures. The build is not hair-raisingly difficult, but I found that the train is easy to build wrong, and it has some of that scary technic stuff hidden underneath. I also (re-)discovered that, like in other trains as well, getting those cross-axled train wheels just right may take some time. I didn't buy the kit to motorize my train but the instructions for doing that start from page 79 of booklet number two. It should be an easy conversion since the instructions look very clear and precise.
I like the color scheme and design of the train a lot, and the micro-scale toys are wonderful builds. I especially love the cow-catcher, which is a new piece for me because all the trains I have built are modern. I noticed there's a funny yet functional connection between the locomotive and its tender which I found more durable than the one achieved by using magnetic train buffers. I guess this is because the train can be motorized and the battery box is meant to be placed aboard the tender. As I pushed the train along its track, I thought the rotating tree with a toy train underneath would spin faster, but its pace is quite dignified.
Unfortunately, because of the tight curvature of the track, the train is easy to derail, and it can be just a little bit challenging to get the flatbed to sit properly on its rails. I had some difficulty fitting all of the gifts and toys onto the flatbed, but there are some exposed studs that can be used to alleviate things. The caboose was slightly too small for my sausage fingers, so positioning the children inside was a trifle cumbersome as well. I was happy to see the train driver's shovel can be stored inside the locomotive (there is a clip on both sides), but the driver can be difficult to get out of the locomotive because of said clips, as they tend to get stuck on his arms. In my opinion, the waiting platform is a bit small, and if a minifigure is standing right on the edge of the platform with its arms extended, the train will collide with it because the decorations on the sides of both the tender and caboose make them wider than the track. I also thought that the train is a bit short (the length is pretty much equal to that of the 60098 Heavy-Haul Train locomotive and the set's longest flatbed put together) and could have used another short wagon, perhaps carrying some holiday trees.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Winter Toy Shop
(142)
Santa's Workshop
(114)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
4
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
3
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+2points
2of 2found this review helpful.
Ecto-1 & 2
Ecto-1 & 2
Posted:November 9, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
75828 Ecto-1 & 2
" The Lego set 75828 named Ecto-1 & 2 contains 556 pieces, which can be used to build five minifigures, a minifigure-sized ghost, a car and a motorcycle. When deboxing the set, I noticed there are four numbered bags inside along with a loose 144-page instruction booklet and a sticker sheet for 12 stickers. The instruction booklet begins with a brief introduction of the characters and some photos from the 2016 Ghostbusters movie while the actual build starts from page 10. The building instructions are printed on a black background, which can make color differentiation difficult. As I have not yet seen the movie, I decided to do an internet search on Ecto-1 and I have to say that in my opinion this Lego version is a brilliant replica of the actual car (especially the front end).
The five minifigures in this set are the Ghostbusters Erin Gilbert, Jillian Holtzmann, Patty Tolan, Abby Yates, and their associate Kevin Beckman. All five minifigures are wearing sand yellow overalls with orange and silver high-visibility stripes, but there the similarity ends: their torsos are markedly different and the differences are not merely limited to the individual name tags. All torsos have printing on the front and back and even a very neat print on both arms (Ghostbusters logo and stripes on the right arm, only the stripes on the left side). It appears that Kevin has a handmade name tag and high-vis stripes are probably from a roll of orange adhesive tape. The four female minifigures all have leg prints, Erin and Holtzmann are even sporting dual-molded legs. Kevin is the odd one out with regular sand yellow legs. I was glad to notice that all minifigures of the set have dual-sided heads, but the best part of this set for me, personally, are the hairpieces: three of them are brand new! Abby's dark brown hair (element ID 6158322) is available in two 2016 sets, Dimensions 71242 and this, but it will also make an appearance in Assembly Square which will be released in January 2017. Both Patty (with her black intricately braided hair) and Holtzmann (with her bright light yellow elaborately coiffed hair) have hairpieces that are, so far, unique to this set. Kevin's hair is also a fairly new piece from 2016 and appears in 5 different DFB minifigures and 7 sets including this one.
The trans-black and red demon ghost figure goes by the name of Mayhem. It seems that all the parts used to build this figure are recolors and currently exclusive to this set. Mayhem is the only one with one-sided head print but his horned headpiece and wings are adorned with some very nice looking green (and in the case of the wings also red) printing. Mayhem's headpiece, arms and legs are red while his skeleton body, wings and head are transparent with a black or brown tint mixed in the plastic.
There are a few new printed pieces in this set, the two white 1x2 curved slopes with stripes (element ID 6158475), the 14 white 2x2 curved slopes with stripes (6156951) and the four dark gray 2x2 slide shoes that go with the proton packs (6158294). Other rarish parts include the black gold ingot (6156991), the black 1x1 round tile (6139403), the transparent orange claw fork thingy (6131726), all of which are recolors from 2016, and the 1x2 black inverted slope (6147050) which is a new part introduced in 2016.
The build begins with the opening of bag number one (what a surprise). It has the pieces for Kevin, Mayhem, 4 proton packs, Erin, what I believe are 2 ghost traps, and the Ecto-2 motorcycle. Bag number two contains the pieces to build Abby, two ghostbusting devices (I think one of the devices might be called a proton glove), and the chassis, front lights, grille and front bumper of Ecto-1. Bag number three reveals the pieces for Holtzmann, one ghostbusting device, and the sides, back door and windscreen for Ecto-1. Bag number four has not only the pieces for Patty and her toolbox, but also the wheels and roof of Ecto-1. In my opinion, the build is not very difficult or time-consuming but the set includes a ton of small parts and the smallest stickers were a nightmare to paste on straight, despite my use of tweezers. I noticed some glue residue got left on the tiles when I peeled off and repasted the crooked stickers. However, I have to admit that the sticker which says 'Warning parts may fall off' is simply hilarious! Although the build is on the easy side, I still managed to make a mistake by leaving out two clips from the roof and that meant some serious dismantling of the rooftop devices.
When playing with the set I noticed that all four Ghostbusters can be placed inside the car but the fit is much better if they are not wearing their neck brackets / back plates (element ID 6020192). It seems that whenever I take off the car roof I have to do a bit of coaxing to get it to fit back again, but I think it's just because of my butterfingers. If the aforementioned neck brackets are taken off from the proton packs, two of the packs can be squeezed inside the trunk of the car, but this may require some time and patience. Otherwise, only one proton pack can be comfortably fitted inside, along with some of the devices and tools the Ghostbusters carry.
A display stand or a small baseplate for the minifigures would have been a nice bonus since, due to their heavy equipment, they always seem to be toppling over. Although Ecto-1 is a good looking vehicle, the vertical gaps between the new printed slopes are a little unpleasant to look at, but I'd much rather have the gaps than be forced to use stickers and have even bigger gaps between the pieces. I thought Ecto-2 is perhaps a little unsteady on its wheels and it would benefit from a kickstand. As it happens, there is an extra black pistol-looking thingy (element ID 4537551) in bag number one, so I put it in the cross hole of the black motorcycle chassis to make an impromptu one. It seems to work okay and Kevin is not likely to get more road rash on his knees.
As I also have the Ecto-1 from the Ideas set 21108, I couldn't resist comparing the two vehicles. The original Ecto-1 is exactly the same length, width and even has the same roof height as this one, the only major difference being that this newer Ecto-1 has those two tall black antennae at the back, which make it somewhat higher.
All in all, this is a great set for Ghostbusters fans, and those who want more female minifigures in their collection.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Firehouse Headquarters
(144)
Ghostbusters™ Ecto-1
(145)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
0points
0of 0found this review helpful.
Firehouse Headquarters
Firehouse Headquarters
Posted:November 8, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
75827 Firehouse Headquarters
" 75827 Firehouse Headquarters is a massive set of 4634 pieces, which, if I have my background information right, makes it the third largest Lego set ever. Even its box is huge, the measurements are approximately 58 x 48,5 x 18,5 centimeters. When opened, one finds out that there are two more cardboard boxes inside, both plain white. Also inside are a 32 x 32 dark gray baseplate, a thick manual wrapped in plastic, and 20 bags of bricks of which two are unnumbered. Both white boxes have a different number sequence on the side. The slightly larger box is numbered 6164434 and contains a dark gray 16 x 32 baseplate, 11 bags numbered from 1 to 3, and a golden twisty straw. The second box has the number 6164435 on its side and its contents are similar to the firs box: two brown 6 x 16 plates and 11 bags numbered from 4 to 7. All in all, I found that the bag numbers reach from 1 all the way to 14. The 420-page manual begins with some background information about the first movie. What makes it different from the majority of other building instructions is that it has black pages, which can generate a few problems when trying to differentiate one color of a brick from another. There are also two sheets of stickers included in this set; the mirrored sticker sheet has only 3 stickers on it while the other has 26. The stickers from the large sheet are quite durable and can be peeled off and adjusted at least once without damage, which leads me to believe they are be printed on plastic.
The set comes with 9 minifigures and 3 smaller ghosts. When compared to the set 21108 Ghostbusters Ecto-1, I noticed all four Ghostbusters (Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore) have subtly different prints on both sides of their brick yellow torsos, and now even really cool arm printing, while their brick yellow legs remain unprinted. All of their heads are dual-sided, but unfortunately only Peter Venkman's head is a new print, the rest of the Ghostbusters have the same heads they did before. Winston Zeddemore has a newish curly black hairpiece from 2015 and Peter Venkman's reddish brown hair is a recolor, coincidentally also from a piece first manufactured in 2015. Dana Barrett, Janine Melnitz, Louis Tully, Library Ghost, and Zombie Driver are all new minifigures currently only available in this set. They all have prints on both sides of their torsos and heads, but Dana Barrett (wearing a mainly dark orange evening dress) is the only one to have printing on her legs as well. Dana's hair is also a relatively new piece and comes for the first time in dark brown. Library Ghost, who has a lavender head and is dressed in the same color, doesn't have traditional legs at all, instead she has a recolor of the lower body of a ghost which also dates back to 2015. There are two hairpieces for Library Ghost, both are recolors and the white tousled one is identical to that of Dana Barrett (except for the color, of course). Zombie Driver is attired in a black beret, a black leather jacket over a white shirt and black trousers. His head is the only one in this set not to have an alternate expression printed at the back, instead he has a few white strands of hair and some gray splotches. Janine Melnitz is dressed in a dark red plaid vest over a white and gray striped button down shirt and black trousers, while Louis Tully sports a smudged light blue striped shirt (possibly a pajama top) over a yellow undershirt and dark brown trousers, and as a bonus there is an alternate one-sided head for him. Also the transparent ghosts Slimer (who is green), Pink Ghost and Blue Ghost are, so far, exclusive to this set. Slimer is the only one of the three with movable arms.
There are some exclusive or rare pieces in this set: the blue 1x1 round tile with a white star printed on has, to date, appeared only in one set besides this, and both the printed 2x2 brick yellow tile with 'News' on red and the 2x2 white tile with 'BRICK' and the picture of three Ghostbusters on it are, so far, exclusive to this set. The brick yellow 1x2x2 printed cereal box has appeared only in one set before this. The dark blue toolbox is a recolor and can be found in one set besides this (75828 Ecto-1 & 2), while the gray boom box has a new color and a new print and has previously appeared only in the Collectable Minifigures line. Also the reddish brown cupboards and their medium nougat drawers are on the rare side, as well as the the reddish brown 2x4x6 door frames. The brown doors which are paired with the 2x4x6 frames are, to date, found only in this particular set, just to mention a few items.
The build is rather difficult: I made so many mistakes that at some point I simply lost count. For example, I built the ground floor window tops wrong and ended up wondering why the studs won't line up with those on top of the walls, but at least I did not repeat the mistake when building the upper floors. I also left out a couple of pieces here and there and had to tear down some wall sections to add the missing pieces. I noticed the black lamppost pole thingy on the ground floor was rather difficult to align and it broke off when I was trying to build on it. The four proton packs are a bit tough to build, too, because of the fiddly small bits and the surprisingly hard to bend black whip pieces, and fitting them into the brown closets / lockers was pretty cumbersome until I got the hang of it. I think the closet / locker door stickers should be pasted on before the doors are attached to their frames, but the instructions show something quite different.
There is plenty of repetition, since the gray tiles that frame all doors and windows are built the same way throughout the build. Getting the gray 1x1 tiles attached to the gray 1x1 bricks with a stud on one side so that they don't look wonky is, at the very least, challenging. In my opinion, the build sequence was ever so slightly odd, I would have thought it logical to build one floor at a time, but the top part of the smaller opening section is the second last to be completed, and that particular part of the house cannot be separated into two floors. I'm certain there is be a good reason why the build is done the way it is. The roof was very difficult to fit on the house and I had to retort to pounding on it gently with the side of my hand. I suppose my problems were in part caused by the fact that the middle of the roof was not fully and properly attached to the studs beneath. Only after finishing the build did I notice that I had not pressed even the lower floors into place properly, which could have resulted in bent plates.
Ecto-1 from set 21108 fits in if the ground floor is mostly empty, but it has to be slightly angled because some of the wall sections protrude a little and because of the left front door being what it is, i.e. not opening all the way (but only if the big wall section is closed). I think the only furniture that can be left in (and still be able to close the front doors) are the lamp, the filing and tool cabinets on the right side of the building, but I haven't tried all combinations. The fit is extremely tight, even the ceiling lights are hung so low that some parts on the roof of the car may bump into them.
I found only a few things in this set that bother me to some extent:
1) Only three beds and no locker for Winston.
2) Opening wall sections chafe the tiles underneath.
3) Trying to separate all of the floors means detaching the fireman's pole.
4) Just the one new head print for Peter Venkman.
5) No doors for the bathroom or the darkroom / photography laboratory.
6) Some accessory elements are difficult to replace after they've been played with.
7) Subtle color differences between the dark red bricks. It looks like the 1x6 bricks are lighter than the 1x4 and 1x2 bricks.
8) Back wall is a bit of a mess.
1) Only three beds and no locker for Winston.
2) Opening wall sections chafe the tiles underneath.
3) Trying to separate all of the floors means detaching the fireman's pole.
4) Just the one new head print for Peter Venkman.
5) No doors for the bathroom or the darkroom / photography laboratory.
6) Some accessory elements are difficult to replace after they've been played with.
7) Subtle color differences between the dark red bricks. It looks like the 1x6 bricks are lighter than the 1x4 and 1x2 bricks.
8) Back wall is a bit of a mess.
All in all, I love this set to bits. It has fantastic details (my favorite is probably the kitchen area with the pink goo oozing from the toaster), the build is just awesome, and it takes ages to complete. The design is great, there's oodles of play features and at least one cool new building technique for the desks downstairs. The coloring of the sidewalks match closely that of, for example, the Brick Bank and Parisian Restaurant so that Firehouse Headquarters will not look odd if placed in the same city as those buildings. I must have spent a couple of hours just staring at the completed Firehouse and sticking battery powered Christmas lights inside. Watching the minifigures hurtle down the spiral pole makes my inner child do some serious clapping of the hands and stomping of the feet plus loud 'wheeeeee' noises. This set is a sure classic.
A tip for those who don't like the loose pieces in this set: the four kitchen chairs can be wedged to the studded brown floor so that they won't rattle around, but I would not leave them there for long just in case the parts are stressed and bent. I also thought of using one of the extra 1x1 'apollo studs' (element ID 6168647) to attach the black fork thingy (4289538) which holds a sheaf of undeveloped photo paper to the worktable to avoid that piece getting lost when disassembling the floors.
ps. If someone thought the new Ecto-1 from set 75828 would fit in the Firehouse better than the original version, they're in for a big disappointment.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Brick Bank
(127)
Parisian Restaurant
(262)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Very Challenging
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
0points
2of 4found this review helpful.
Garbage Truck
Garbage Truck
Posted:September 26, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
60118 Garbage Truck
" 60118 Garbage Truck is a smallish set of only 248 pieces, but I have to say those pieces are put together in such a clever way that it made my day! When opening the box I found three numbered bags, two instruction booklets and a sticker sheet for nine stickers inside. The build begins with bag one (no surprise there), which contains the parts for both a green and gray dumpster, along with some trash to fill it, and two male minifigures. The minifigures are a mustachioed driver (now with sideburns!) attired in a blue cap, a blue jacket with orange stripes and sand blue trousers, and a smiling coworker dressed in a blue cap and jacket and orange overalls. Both minifigures are fairly common-looking and have printing only on one side of their heads and torsos. There are no leg prints, either. Bag two has the parts for the mainly white cab and the mainly gray chassis of the garbage truck, while bag three reveals the pieces for the orange trash container and the dumpster emptying mechanism plus the rims and wheels for the truck. I looks as if the orange 1x2x3 panels (element ID 6129594) are a recolor and at the moment they are exclusive to this set.
The set is pretty easy to build, in my opinion. The dumpster emptying mechanism is basically the only part of this build that might cause problems for an inexperienced builder. Applying the stickers might also slow the build down and induce annoyance, which is why I strongly recommend using tweezers instead of fingers to paste them on. Some builders may also experience trouble getting the larger plates (such as the 2x16 and 4x12 plates) pressed down firmly enough and may require assistance from someone with stronger fingers.
I like this set a lot, there seems to be something satisfactory about filling up and emptying containers. The two fish with a silvery sheen, yellow banana and transparent bottle posing as garbage are a really nice touch, and also the handful of extra parts (including one small wheel) can be used to extend the garbage selection. The dumpster lifting function operates quite smoothly and the dumpster is surprisingly steady on the forks even when hanging upside down. The tilting orange container also works nicely and I noticed the truck is so well balanced that even when tilted to the extreme, emptying the truck from all that garbage will not tip the whole truck over.
Here are some observations (not to be confused with criticism) I made while playing with the set:
1) The driver just barely fits in the cab, heightwise, so if one just happens to have an extra pair of ear protectors from a previous Lego set (such as 75911 or 75913), applying those on his cap will mean that he will be too tall to fit in.
2) Since the cab can only seat one minifigure, there should be a ledge for the second one to stand on and/or a rail for him to hold on to at the rear of the truck. At the moment, the worker minifigure can be attached to either the shovel or the broom at the back, but it looks a bit silly and very dangerous.
3) If the green dumpster is full of garbage, it is almost impossible to empty it inside the truck without spilling some of the garbage. The emptier the dumpster, the less spillage there will be.
4) Some of the garbage tends to get stuck on the studs at the bottom of the truck. For smoother emptying of the truck I suggest using some flat tiles to cover those studs.
5) The truck looks a bit ridiculous driving around with nothing on the forks, but those forks sure come in handy if the truck gets stuck in traffic: I was able to pick up the small red tractor from set 76054 Harvest of Fear and lift it on the roof of the truck.
6) The truck looks minuscule when compared to the camper from set 31052, but it will fit better on the existing road plates and I would say it is more to scale with buildings such as Corner Deli (31050) and even Brick Bank (10251). "
1) The driver just barely fits in the cab, heightwise, so if one just happens to have an extra pair of ear protectors from a previous Lego set (such as 75911 or 75913), applying those on his cap will mean that he will be too tall to fit in.
2) Since the cab can only seat one minifigure, there should be a ledge for the second one to stand on and/or a rail for him to hold on to at the rear of the truck. At the moment, the worker minifigure can be attached to either the shovel or the broom at the back, but it looks a bit silly and very dangerous.
3) If the green dumpster is full of garbage, it is almost impossible to empty it inside the truck without spilling some of the garbage. The emptier the dumpster, the less spillage there will be.
4) Some of the garbage tends to get stuck on the studs at the bottom of the truck. For smoother emptying of the truck I suggest using some flat tiles to cover those studs.
5) The truck looks a bit ridiculous driving around with nothing on the forks, but those forks sure come in handy if the truck gets stuck in traffic: I was able to pick up the small red tractor from set 76054 Harvest of Fear and lift it on the roof of the truck.
6) The truck looks minuscule when compared to the camper from set 31052, but it will fit better on the existing road plates and I would say it is more to scale with buildings such as Corner Deli (31050) and even Brick Bank (10251). "
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Corner Deli
(26)
Vacation Getaways
(25)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate 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:
+1point
1of 1found this review helpful.
Vacation Getaways
Vacation Getaways
Posted:September 24, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
31052 Vacation Getaways
" 31052 Vacation Getaways is a three-in-one Lego Creator set which includes 792 pieces. When opening the sealed box, 9 unnumbered plastic bags (six of which are slightly smaller than the others) fell out, along with a thick instruction book of 276 pages (also in a plastic bag). There are no stickers in this set, which is no surprise, since the bricks and pieces are supposed to be reused to build three different structures and two minifigures. The minifigures are a woman and a boy, quite possibly a mother and a son. The smiling freckle-faced boy is wearing a dark blue cap and he has short legs which are sand yellow. His torso is a combination of a red jacket over a dark red shirt and the back has a large logo printed on it. The torso is from the Deep Sea Exploration line and has appeared in 4 sets before this. The smiling woman's dark brown hair is on a ponytail, she's sporting earth blue legs, and wearing a green jacket with a belt over a lighter green shirt. There is a necklace printed on the torso as well. This particular torso has been included in 7 sets since 2015 including this one. Much to my chagrin, I noticed that neither of the minifigures have dual-sided heads. There are a few items that are, so far, unique to this set, for example the two medium blue inverted 2x2 tiles (element ID 6133855), the twelve sand blue 1x2x2 windows (6149585) and the funny looking reddish brown plate with studs on the side (6146301). All are recolors of existing parts.
The instruction book indicates that the three builds have different levels of difficulty. The camper / RV is the most difficult build, the summer home is an intermediate one while the yacht is the easiest - or at least quickest - of the builds. I decided to start with the quickest build, then move to the medium build and finish my building session with the advanced model. When examining all three builds, I noticed that all of them are sturdy: each can be picked up and played with without bits falling off here and there. The house felt more fragile than the other builds, possibly because of its height or the fact that it is hinged and can open up rather suddenly when tilted, but in reality this was not the case. I thought was a very nice touch that the brand new yellow striped fabric piece was included in all of the builds.
None of the three builds were very difficult to complete, in my opinion. I've always thought the technic pieces are the scariest of them all, and sticking the right pins in the right holes gets a bit tedious after a while. Some technic bits and bobs can be tight and have to assembled very carefully, or some function will be inoperable, but my opinion is that this set doesn't incorporate the more difficult building techniques, although the chassis of the camper is full of said scary pieces. There is some repetition, especially when building the camper chassis, but I found that the most repetitive build was the very symmetrical yacht.
I will now look at each of the three alternative builds in detail:
Catamaran style yacht: This build uses around 450 pieces of the 792 available and is full of neat details such as the radar, antennas, monitor/GPS, beds and chairs on the deck (which can be rotated a little). I especially liked the opening roof section which reveals the beds, it was very cleverly executed. Unfortunately, the woman's hairpiece is so tall that she cannot stand in the cabin unless bent from the waist. However, there are a few random colored 1x4 and 1x6 plates that can be used to build a plate-high ledge underneath the roof so that the figure fits in better. What surprised me is that there is no rail at the stern of the yacht which would prevent the minifigures from falling off the ship. I also wonder why the designers didn't use the yellow lifebuoy anywhere.
Catamaran style yacht: This build uses around 450 pieces of the 792 available and is full of neat details such as the radar, antennas, monitor/GPS, beds and chairs on the deck (which can be rotated a little). I especially liked the opening roof section which reveals the beds, it was very cleverly executed. Unfortunately, the woman's hairpiece is so tall that she cannot stand in the cabin unless bent from the waist. However, there are a few random colored 1x4 and 1x6 plates that can be used to build a plate-high ledge underneath the roof so that the figure fits in better. What surprised me is that there is no rail at the stern of the yacht which would prevent the minifigures from falling off the ship. I also wonder why the designers didn't use the yellow lifebuoy anywhere.
Cottage/summer home: Such a cute two-storey house, an absolutely brilliant design which uses approximately 470 of the pieces of this set. In terms of height, this cottage is very close to Corner Deli (31050). Also this build features some fantastic details such as the TV-antenna and the brick-built furniture. The yellow car resembles an older Jeep (well, at least in my eyes) and it can fit both minifigures and some luggage easily. The barbecue area is really nice considering the tiny amount of bricks used to build it. The only things I found a bit funny is that there are no stairs going upstairs (for which there is no space anyway) and the lack of a door for the bathroom. As the two outside chairs are assembled quite early in this build, they were in the way when adding more bricks to the house walls, which meant that I just kept knocking them off their pedestals. I liked this build so much that I felt really bad tearing this build down and starting the final one.
Camper / RV: The mainly white camper with thin gray, earth blue and red stripes running horizontally on its sides is the main build of this set which means that almost all pieces are needed to complete it. The only exception to this are the two medium stone gray beams with a cross axle (6123815) which, if I remember correctly, are only used in the yacht. The camper is a very cool, huge, and heavy behemoth of a vehicle. I'm guessing it is in the same ballpark with the white truck from Fairground Mixer (10244). I even dug up some of my road plates and it looks like the curved one is really tight for this vehicle, those lanes are going to have to be widened again, soon. I think my favorite bit of this build is the foldout awning and its clever mechanism, but its close competitor is the pullout / slide out section with the striped bed. I also really loved the brick-built foldaway table and chairs. The storage compartment under the bed fits the black camera if the zoom lens is taken off, but I couldn't get the green suitcase to fit in there with those pieces. The trailer and motorboat are nice small builds, but a fishing rod would've been a huge plus. I didn't really like the bear that much when I saw pictures of it, but after actually building it, I've changed my mind: the bear is adorable. The jury is still out on the trees and flowers, even now I feel they are a bit superfluous
Although the camper is a formidable build, it also has a few things I didn't like so much:
1) Despite the opening roof and rear section, some parts of the camper are very hard to access. The frying pan, brown suitcase and map are nigh on impossible to be put back from whence they came.
2) A very minor annoyance: the rear overhang of the vehicle means that when putting the foldaway table or the rear roof section in their proper places, the front of the camper will bounce up unless steadied with one hand.
3) The sandwich on the kitchen cupboard is almost impossible to get out without the whole cabinet peeling off too. I tried covering the cabinet top with a 1x2 jumper plate (element ID 15573) which made the sandwich much easier to use in a play (or one could just push the sandwich into its place very lightly and forget about adding extra pieces).
4) I don't like the locking mechanism of the opening rear sections. It tends to stick, at least in my hands, and a couple of times I managed to pull the whole pin out.
5) I also don't like the detachable cockpit/windscreen, I have no idea where place my fingers when prying it out, and to add insult to injury, I succeeded in pulling a few parts off while doing this.
6) The space in the cockpit is very limited: I noticed that the boy won't fit in with his cap visor pointing forward, if he's attached to the studs on the blue front seat.
7) No door for the toilet. No space for one, either.
1) Despite the opening roof and rear section, some parts of the camper are very hard to access. The frying pan, brown suitcase and map are nigh on impossible to be put back from whence they came.
2) A very minor annoyance: the rear overhang of the vehicle means that when putting the foldaway table or the rear roof section in their proper places, the front of the camper will bounce up unless steadied with one hand.
3) The sandwich on the kitchen cupboard is almost impossible to get out without the whole cabinet peeling off too. I tried covering the cabinet top with a 1x2 jumper plate (element ID 15573) which made the sandwich much easier to use in a play (or one could just push the sandwich into its place very lightly and forget about adding extra pieces).
4) I don't like the locking mechanism of the opening rear sections. It tends to stick, at least in my hands, and a couple of times I managed to pull the whole pin out.
5) I also don't like the detachable cockpit/windscreen, I have no idea where place my fingers when prying it out, and to add insult to injury, I succeeded in pulling a few parts off while doing this.
6) The space in the cockpit is very limited: I noticed that the boy won't fit in with his cap visor pointing forward, if he's attached to the studs on the blue front seat.
7) No door for the toilet. No space for one, either.
I thoroughly enjoyed this set, and I guarantee that completing all three builds will result in hours and hours of entertainment (bear in mind that I'm not even counting in the hours of actual playing with the builds). A definite must-have for both camper and Creator fans!
ps. I have a tip for those who have already built the yacht and are now trying to disassemble it. I noticed that the blue cross axle/pin contraption (element ID 4206482) is extremely hard to pull off when attached to the medium stone gray angle connector element (4211550). It is impossible to use the brick separator to pull the pin out because of the structure of the said angle element. I tried to use pliers, but was afraid I would bend the pin, so in desperation I stuffed one of the gray 6 long bars with the stop ring (6081975) inside the pin and lo and behold, off it came. Desperate times need desperate measures, I guess...
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Corner Deli
(26)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate 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:
+17points
22of 27found this review helpful.
Batman™: Scarecrow™ Harvest of Fear
Batman™: Scarecrow™ Harvest of Fear
Posted:September 22, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
4
/
5
Harvest of Fear
" 76054 Batman: Scarecrow Harvest of Fear is a set of 563 pieces. One can use these exciting pieces to build three vehicles (a tractor, a helicopter and a harvester) plus five minifigures. There are four numbered bags and one unnumbered bag (which contains a brick separator and some tubes) in the sealed box. The two instruction booklets included are in a plastic bag along with a sheet for 12 stickers and a 12-page comic. There are a few new rarish parts in this set such as the white 2x2 wedged plates (element numbers 6132204 and 6132203), the black rectangle shaped lattice piece (6138603), and one completely new recolor of an existing piece, the sand yellow 2x2 plate with bow (6093038).
The five minifigures are (Gas Mask) Batman, Blue Beetle, Scarecrow, Killer Moth, and a farmer. Batman's attire is almost completely black with some silvery printings on his torso and this time his eyes have a greenish tint. His black cape is of a softer material than regular starched capes and his breathing apparatus is light gray. Blue Beetle's outfit is a combination of blue and black and he has transparent blue wings. His blue collar with the insect-like protrusions is made of flexible plastic. Scarecrow is dressed in tattered dark orange clothes. His hat is two-toned, and in fact it's too large for him to sit at the wheel of his harvester unless the transparent container is tilted back a notch or two. Killer Moth wears a very gaudy combination of a green mask and a purple shirt with orange and green striped trousers. He has transparent orange wings that are a completely different shape from those on Blue Beetle. The unnamed but utterly horrified farmer is clothed in sand blue trousers and a stained white tank top and a dark red baseball cap. There is no alternate face for the farmer (although this is suggested in the comic) which, in my opinion, is a crying shame.
As far as I know, all minifigures are exclusive to this set. Scarecrow has appeared in three sets before (7785, 7786 and 10937) but this version of him is brand new. As I'm not familiar with all of the characters in this set, I had to do a couple of internet searches which revealed that at least Blue Beetle and Killer Moth are instantly recognizable when compared to their original characters. Dual-sided head prints are found on Batman, Killer Moth, and Scarecrow who doesn't actually have an alternate expression but just some stitching on the back of his head. Dual-sided prints however, have been used on all the torsos. Only Scarecrow and Killer Moth have printing on their legs, Killer Moth's legs have printing even on the sides, while Blue Beetle has dual molded black and blue legs.
Bag one contains the parts for Killer Moth, farmer and his red and black tractor, and perhaps one third of the black, gray and blue Batcopter. Bag two reveals the pieces needed to build Batman and the rest of his chopper, whereas bag three has the bits for Blue Beetle and half of Scarecrow's harvester. The final bag includes the bricks for Scarecrow and the rest of his harvester which is mainly black and sand yellow with some brown, gray, silver and transparent green parts mixed in. I found that the build is not very difficult, even with the upside down and sideways building, but there are a bunch of scary and pretty tight technic parts on both the Batcopter and the harvester, which can cause a few problems if the builder has no previous experience with them. I also had some problems building Batman: he was very fiddly to assemble with only two hands and the combination of his cape and breathing apparatus almost had the better of me.
I like the looks of this set a lot. I think the Batcopter is suitably menacing and the harvester is full of great looking details. To my delight I noticed that Batcopter's tail and landing gear offer good gripping points and make it very swooshable! I like the ammunition Scarecrow uses, the regular stud shooter studs are getting a bit old and these ones are much easier to find from the floor (as I found out when accidentally firing all four of the Batcopter stud shooters at the same time). Nevertheless, my favorite of the vehicles is the smallest one: the farmer's red tractor. So few pieces and so much details, beauty and style! I just love the fact that the designers even thought to include a plate with a towball socket at the back so one can build and attach a MOC tractor trailer to it.
Although the set is a good one, I also found some minor imperfections:
1) The Batcopter cockpit is a bit small, Batman needs to be sitting in a reclining position to fit in.
2) The Batcopter stud shooters are slightly difficult to load with ammunition and there is no storage space for the Batarang or the extra ammo.
3) The light gray side guns of the copter are not too sturdily attached and the longer one pops off easily if used for gripping.
4) The small black rotor at the back of Batcopter chafes the tail section.
5) The harvester backs up / reverses very awkwardly and jerkingly.
6) The container at the back of the harvester might not be strong enough to be used to tilt it because the friction hinges are rather tight. To avoid breakage I suggest the tilting function to be operated by gripping the more strongly attached parts at the back (where the flexible hose is attached to) or making sure the transparent container walls are pushed down very firmly.
7) The container is a bit too easily opened to hold the farmer a prisoner, some sort of a locking mechanism would have been a great addition.
1) The Batcopter cockpit is a bit small, Batman needs to be sitting in a reclining position to fit in.
2) The Batcopter stud shooters are slightly difficult to load with ammunition and there is no storage space for the Batarang or the extra ammo.
3) The light gray side guns of the copter are not too sturdily attached and the longer one pops off easily if used for gripping.
4) The small black rotor at the back of Batcopter chafes the tail section.
5) The harvester backs up / reverses very awkwardly and jerkingly.
6) The container at the back of the harvester might not be strong enough to be used to tilt it because the friction hinges are rather tight. To avoid breakage I suggest the tilting function to be operated by gripping the more strongly attached parts at the back (where the flexible hose is attached to) or making sure the transparent container walls are pushed down very firmly.
7) The container is a bit too easily opened to hold the farmer a prisoner, some sort of a locking mechanism would have been a great addition.
This is a great set with some nice exclusive minifigures and cool vehicles. A definite must-have for a DC Comics or Super Heroes fan!
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Batman™: Gotham City Cycle Chase
(20)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
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:
0points
3of 6found this review helpful.
Spider-Man™: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle
Spider-Man™: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle
Posted:September 9, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
76057 Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle
" Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle contains 1092 pieces, which makes it the second largest readily available Marvel Super Heroes set right after The SHIELD Helicarrier (76042), if I've got my numbers right. The bricks and pieces are in numbered bags (from 1 to 7), and, to my surprise, there are two bags numbered 3. The thick 172-page instruction booklet is wrapped in plastic, along with a sticker sheet for 21 stickers, and a 12-page comic book depicting characters and events from three Lego sets (76057, 76058, and 76059). There are also two black 8 x 16 flats tiles loose inside the box.
There are seven minifigures included in this set, Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, Scarlet Spider, Green Goblin, Scorpion, Kraven the Hunter and Aunt May. Six of the seven minifigures are (so far) unique to this set, Spider-Man is the only common one. Aunt May and Green Goblin have appeared in other sets before, but the figures in this set differ from those published before. All minifigure torsos have dual sided printing, Scarlet Spider has printing even on his arms. Dual sided heads are more rare: there is one for Kraven the Hunter, Green Goblin, Aunt May, and, technically, Spider-Man (whose head has only spider web printing on the back while the other three have actual alternate facial expressions). Leg prints are even more scarce: only Kraven the Hunter and Green Goblin have them. Building this set piqued my interest so much that I had to do an internet search on the characters. I have to say they are depicted quite accurately, especially Kraven the Hunter, who is also my favorite minifigure in this set.
While there is an abundance of pieces in this set, rare ones are hard to find. If I'm not mistaken, the dark grey 1x3x1 wall element is completely new and this is the first set it appears in. Green Goblin's 'bag of tricks' is a recolor and currently this is the only set to have the bag in purple/medium lilac, and his flaming pumpkin bomb is also a new part. An interesting side note on the bomb is that it is one piece: the flames are glued to the pumpkin. Other rarish parts include Spider-Man's conical web and the transparent piece it attaches to.
The build is not extraordinarily difficult, but it is a rather long and pleasant one. I built the set in one evening, but in retrospect it might have been better to enjoy the build a little longer. There is some repetition in the build, but it did not bother me at all, because the rest of the build was so exciting. The most difficult part of the build for me personally were the stickers, although using tweezers made the task a lot easier. I did make a few mistakes during the build. The very start of the build when upside-down building is needed was probably the stage where I made most of my mistakes. The flag on top of the bridge was where I ran into another snag, and ended up attaching the net releasing mechanism to the top of the bridge incorrectly. I also had to peel off the road number sticker with '25' printed on it and I'm glad to say it didn't rip or lose its glue, so the stickers are of good quality: they can be peeled off and attached again at least once.
The completed set is not only delightful to look at (the color scheme of grays, black and dark red is a pleasing combination), but also very sturdy and it can be lifted as one piece. However, as the gray slopes at the sides of the vertical supports are easily dislodged, so I would strongly suggest not using those to get a good grip on the bridge. The set has an abundance of interesting play features, such as traffic lights and a falling net along with crumbling walls, and is full of neat details, some of which are hidden. My personal favorites are probably the opening railing for the taxi to crash through and the camera in Spider-Man's web prison. I think the stickers under the bridge are spot on, because those kind of secluded places are often full of graffitis. I also really liked the way the suspension cables are built and their looks.
While I enjoyed the build and the looks of this set very much, I do have my dislikes, too:
1) I don't like the trash can catapult that much, on my first try I managed to launch the trash can into the green road sign.
2) Kraven's lair is very cramped to the point where it can become unusable.
3) The police quad bike is a bit awkward addition as there is no police officers included in the set.
4) The trapdoor is a bit tricky to use, it desperately needs some flat tiles on top so that one can stand a villain on it.
5) I had some difficulties getting the white net inside its hidey-hole, it tends to stick out rather messily but when neatly folded it fits better.
6) The Scorpion minifigure is unstable on his feet and tends to fall on his back due to the heavy scorpion tail he has and the tail is fixed (some sort of mobility would've been great).
7) The yellow taxi has room for only one minifigure and there's no taxi driver included.
8) The bridge is somewhat narrow (10 studs), it would definitely be better were it another 2 to 4 studs wider. But then again, maybe it's a one-lane bridge.
9) Some of the stickers should have been replaced by printed tiles.
10) Green Goblin's glider is difficult to hold on to, which affects its swooshability. :)
1) I don't like the trash can catapult that much, on my first try I managed to launch the trash can into the green road sign.
2) Kraven's lair is very cramped to the point where it can become unusable.
3) The police quad bike is a bit awkward addition as there is no police officers included in the set.
4) The trapdoor is a bit tricky to use, it desperately needs some flat tiles on top so that one can stand a villain on it.
5) I had some difficulties getting the white net inside its hidey-hole, it tends to stick out rather messily but when neatly folded it fits better.
6) The Scorpion minifigure is unstable on his feet and tends to fall on his back due to the heavy scorpion tail he has and the tail is fixed (some sort of mobility would've been great).
7) The yellow taxi has room for only one minifigure and there's no taxi driver included.
8) The bridge is somewhat narrow (10 studs), it would definitely be better were it another 2 to 4 studs wider. But then again, maybe it's a one-lane bridge.
9) Some of the stickers should have been replaced by printed tiles.
10) Green Goblin's glider is difficult to hold on to, which affects its swooshability. :)
In my opinion, Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle is a fantastic set, which undoubtedly offers hours and hours of entertainment for children and adults alike. If entertainment is not in demand, the set also makes an unbelievably good-looking display piece or an excellent addition to one's Lego City.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Spider-Man: Ghost Rider Team-up
(20)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
3
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+8points
10of 12found this review helpful.
Corner Deli
Corner Deli
Posted:September 7, 2016
amazed78
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Overall:
5
/
5
31050 Corner Deli
" The Lego Creator set Corner Deli includes 467 pieces. There are no stickers in the set, which is predictable, because the bricks are meant to be reused to build
three different buildings (two of which I didn't actually build so this review is for the Corner Deli only). The two minifigures are the deli owner (a man) and his customer, a young girl. The girl is wearing a blue jacket over a dark shirt and has short blue legs. Her orangey brown hair is on a shortish ponytail. The deli owner is dressed in white trousers, an olive green shirt with a printed name tag, smiley face button, and some grease/sauce stains, and he is also wearing a red cap. His torso has appeared only in two sets before this one (Creative Ambush and Temple of Airjitzu). Both minifigure torsos do have dual sided printing, but unfortunately the heads don't.
three different buildings (two of which I didn't actually build so this review is for the Corner Deli only). The two minifigures are the deli owner (a man) and his customer, a young girl. The girl is wearing a blue jacket over a dark shirt and has short blue legs. Her orangey brown hair is on a shortish ponytail. The deli owner is dressed in white trousers, an olive green shirt with a printed name tag, smiley face button, and some grease/sauce stains, and he is also wearing a red cap. His torso has appeared only in two sets before this one (Creative Ambush and Temple of Airjitzu). Both minifigure torsos do have dual sided printing, but unfortunately the heads don't.
The three instruction booklets (one for each building) are protected by a plastic bag. The bags containing all the pieces for this set are not numbered, so the build will most likely take a little longer to complete than with numbered ones. The build is, in my opinion, quite easy, there is very little repetition, and a surprisingly small amount of fiddling with teeny tiny 1x1 plates or flat tiles. However, there are a few instances of stacking 1x1 bricks on top of each other, which I don't like at all. I find it very hard to get them to line up properly unless I press them together on a hard and flat surface. This time I paid extra attention to the instructions which meant that the only mistake I made was when assembling the dark red lamp upstairs, but I'm sure I will botch my next build (and royally). The eating area is connected to the building by two pegs and can be placed in the corner of the opened deli building. However, if one doesn't want a corner building, but a straight one, there is a space for the connector pegs also in the outside wall next to the yellow door as well (also the sandwich-shaped sign has to be moved to another place).
The Corner Deli looks great even when placed next to Brick Bank. It's about two-thirds of the height of Brick Bank and exactly the same height as the Lego Shop building and car dealership from set 60097 City Square. I noticed that the TV antenna sticks out a little and might need some adjusting if the Corner Deli is placed right next to another, taller building. I just love both the decorations on the edge of the roof, and the light grey upper floor window frames, the detailing is incredible. The brick-built bird is hilarious as is the detachable sandwich-shaped sign. The armchair is yet again a good looking new design. The only things that bother me is perhaps the amount of minifigures (a third one would have been great), the minuscule size of the sidewalks surrounding the deli, and the fact that there is no TV in the deli, so why the antenna?
Overall, I really enjoyed this build, and think that Corner Deli is a nice addition to anyone's Lego City.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Product Recommendations
Detective’s Office
(191)
From:
Finland
Age:
35-44
years old
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Play Experience (Optional):
5
/
5
Value for Money (Optional):
4
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Very Easy
Very Challenging
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+5points
5of 5found this review helpful.