Wednesday 30 June 2021

Lego Multi-Pack Summer Vibes 41937

 I really like these Dots sets and to get one that is a multi-pack of different designs is a great idea.  The fact they include the bracelet and the bag tag is great as it gives me an idea of what those are like without having to take the risk of buying them separately.  Another BIG plus is the sorting tray this comes with; not only is it perfect for this set but the plastic is tough enough to be kept and reused multiple times for ALL your Lego projects.

The bracelet and bag tag are straightforward decoration pieces as they come as one complete piece.  The bracelet is 14 studs long on the design face and has 5 different closure settings which work by pushing a moulded piece through a hole.  I didn't measure the diameter of the bracelet when closed but if you have no issues with a 7" tennis bracelet fitting this one will be fine for you.  The bag tag is a pre-moulded cube with little projections sticking out from each face to protect the tiling.  There are 9 studs per face to allow customisable decoration - shout out to the wonderful mouth/nose print tile!

The pen pot and the frame are built entirely from Lego bricks and they are surprisingly sturdy when built.  The exception to this are the little arms that stick out from the cactus as they do have a tendency to break free if you catch them on something.  As you can see from the images the pen pot is nice and deep (I have nail files and apen in mine at the moment) and is definitely completely usable.  I used the frame to display one of my minifigures and I am so happy with how that works - definitely going to be making more of these frames for that purpose.

The instructions are printed on separate leaflets for each build.  The bag tag and bracelet are on the same leaflet as they are basically just close up images of design options.

Overall, this set is a perfect rainy day afternoon project and it is endlessly customisable with the included tiles.

Many thanks to the Amazon Vine Program for a review copy of this product.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Lego or Amazon.  This is also an honest and unbiased opinion based on my experience with the product and is not influenced by it being a review copy.

Number Of Pieces: 441

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.06

Build Time:
Pen Pot - 10 minutes build and 15 minutes decorating
Bag Tag - 5 minutes decorating
Bracelet - 5 minutes decorating
Photo Frame - 5 minutes build and 10 minutes decorating

PLEASE NOTE: The Castaway Minifigure and accessories shown in the images is NOT part of this set and is from my stash to show a possible use for the photo frame.













 Why not check out the unboxing and review of this set on my You Tube Channel:


Lego Mickey & Friends Fire Truck & Station 10776

 The packaging design on this set is so cute, it features your most recognisable Disney characters in their earliest forms - no piecrust eyes here!  My only gripe is the push opening on the boxes does terrible things to poor Daisy Duck.  Once opened you have bags of bricks and some large moulded pieces and three instruction books.  I don;t normally mention the instruction booklets but this one deserves a special mention.  At the bottom of each page is a small Disney figure walking along to show you how far you have progressed in the build.  Book One has Mickey, Book Two Minnie and Book Three Goofy.  This is such a nice touch and adds a lot of fun to the build - especially when you get to the end of each book and the character "celebrates".

The build itself is simple and it is split in to 1 or 2 brick steps to make it easier for small builders to follow the instructions.  There are no stickers in the set with all the detailing being pre-printed which also increases the ease of assembly.  The main printed pieces are the Fire Station building which is one large plastic piece that has loads of fun details; then you have the two towers that go either side - one is fitted out as a break room and one as a little office.  The towers can clip on to the base or you use them free floating.  The set also has a little fire engine with ladder and a small barbecue area with umbrella.  

There are four Disney characters with the set:

Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Goofy
Pluto

The torsos and legs are printed which adds to the detailing and the head/hat combos are one moulded piece.  The only piece that isn't is the little bow on Minnie's fire hat.  Goofy is one moulded piece and even has his thin waggly tail.

So, the real elephant in the room here is the price - especially for the adult collector who may only want the figures.  My problem is that I simply LOVE this set.  It is super cute and looks wonderful on display (mine is going to get pride of place in a high traffic area).  There is no doubt it is Disney through and through from the little mouse ears logo on the fire station building to the gloriously rendered figures.  This set did surprise me in how happy it made - my inner (and outer) child were giddy when I first caught sight of the box printing and just got happier and happier as the build progressed.

All that said, this is a set for either the little in your life OR for an adult Disney fanatic.  

Many thanks to the Amazon Vine Program for a review copy of this product.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Lego or Amazon.  This is also an honest and unbiased opinion based on my experience with the product and is not influenced by it being a review copy.

Number Of Pieces: 144

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.31

Build Time: 20 Minutes














 Why not check out the unboxing and review of this set on my You Tube Channel:



Tuesday 29 June 2021

Lego Punk Pirate Ship 43114

 This was my last build of the current range of Lego Vidiyo sets and I definitely saved the best for last.  This is such a good looking piece of kit that I don't really know where to start with reviewing it.  I am going to give it a go though.

First off it comes with three minifigures and three unique beatbits; there are also 14 random beatbits included.  So plenty of options to add soun ds, dance moves and light effects in the app.  The figures are wonderfully detailed with complicated prints on the torsos and legs.  The figures in this set are:

Shark Guitarist
Mermaid Violinist
Squid Drummer

There is just something about plopping a mohawk on a shark that made my day!

The build itself is fairly standard Lego fare and is clearly explained in the build booklet supplied.  The colour choices on the ship really pop against the brown used for the hull and make it look exciting.  The plaque with the brick built hook on it that sits behind the drum kit is just a wonderful piece of detailing that just elevates this set.  

Like the other stages you can spin the speakers to show a different colour combination that ties in with one of the top box icons.  The two icons are a shark and a skull and I genuinely cannot decide which one is my favourite theming for the ship.  The use of an oyster shell piece as a figurehead is a stroke of genius as it almost looks dredged up from the sea.

Throw in a small backstage area with bottles of grog and there is plenty going on here.  This is aestheticvally spot on and it does look really good on display as well as for play use.  Although very definitely a stage in design there are play options with this set that make it something that little bit different to your usual brick builds.

I have not downloaded the Vidiyo App and I am actually not likely to.  I know that is what they are designed for but I will admit I got these more for the Minifigures than for any interest in making music videos through the App.  This does make the set seem expensive, however, if you are going to be using the Vidiyo App then you have to factor in the actual licensing costs to Universal and their Artists that make the App possible by uploading their back catalogue on there.

Overall this is a superb addition to the Vidiyo theme and well worth considering even if you will not be using the app.

Many thanks to the Amazon Vine Program for a review copy of this product.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Lego or Amazon.  This is also an honest and unbiased opinion based on my experience with the product and is not influenced by it being a review copy.

Number Of Pieces: 615

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.10

Build Time: 1.25 Hours













 Why not check out the unboxing and review of this set over on You Tube:



Lego Metal Dragon BeatBox 43109

 First of all I have not downloaded the Vidiyo App and I am actually not likely to.  I know that is what they are designed for but I will admit I got these more for the Minifigures than for any interest in making music videos through the App.  This does make the set seem expensive, however, if you are going to be using the Vidiyo App then you have to factor in the actual licensing costs to Universal and their Artists that make the App possible by uploading their back catalogue on there.

Beyond that the set is actually pretty fun.  

The box itself is simple to build and even comes with a little storage box for those additional beatbit tiles.  The lid for this storage compartment is decoratable and each instruction leaflet gives you three options for a design.  Alternatively you could make your own from the pieces included (you do get a few spares) or raid your stash and do something truely unique.  The box clips together firmly and the handle feels strongly attached.  You could deifnitely use the box to transport your beatbits and minifigure around with no problems.

The minifigure itself is nicely detailed and has a front, side and back print to the torso.  The accessories reflect the figure's Vidiyo role and you can easily store the figure with accessories in place in the Beat Box.  The included hard plastic wings do cover up the torso back print but really elevate this figure.

The 16 included beatbit tiles are well printed and come in a variety of colours so you can change them out based on the image on the front or their colour.  Alternatively you can use them for what they are meant for - special actions within the App.  Personally I think they will be a great resource for MOcs, particularly wall art or for using as book covers or vinyl album covers.

Number Of Pieces: 86

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.21

Build Time: 10 Minutes






 Why not check out the Unboxing and Review on You Tube:


Lego The Modern Treehouse 21174

 Minecraft isn't really my thing and I know next to nothing about it - the only little bit of knowledge I have on the franchise is gleaned from The Boy.  That said this is such a great looking set that it was a bit of a no brainer to get.  Especially as we already have a lot of the Minecraft range and they have always proved to be fun builds that rely on the System Brick (makes it all feel so much more nostalgic from 1970s childhood).

This set is deceptive as there is a lot ot Technic structure buried underneath those tree trunks.  You build a Technic framework and then the System bricks are used to create a cladding for the trees.  This works really well as you get strength without weight and it makes getting the height super simple.  One cool feature is that the rooms are modular and you can place them however you desire on to the trees - a little bit of jigging about may be needed to get them to align neatly but nothing too arduous.  I also like that the treetops can be placed on the trunks without the modules so you can have 2 tall trees and a cluster of cabins if you want.

The only figures that were familiar to me were the Creeper and the Zombie (I am reliably informed that it is a Charged Creeper cos he has blue on his face - who knew? :|).  It also has a grey wolf (according to Lego this is a cat but The Boy is adamant it is an uncharged Wolf - no, me either), a couple of cute little chickens and then two mini figures.  The two minifigures are skins rather than recognisable people from the game - a panda and an ocelot.

As a playset this certainly checks a lot of boxes.  It is definitely wonderful for creative gameplay and also allows you to create your own Minecraft world - cue gamers using them to set up their online world on their shelving (actually a pretty neat idea).  Yes, this is a pricey set but it does recreate the look and feel of Minecraft excellently, even better throw some more standard minifigures at it and it works as a slightly Brutalist take on a treehouse.

Many thanks to the Amazon Vine Program for a review copy of this product.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Lego or Amazon.  This is also an honest and unbiased opinion based on my experience with the product and is not influenced by it being a review copy.

Number Of Pieces: 909

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.11

Build Time: 2 Hours















 Why not check out the Unboxing and Review for this set on You Tube:



Lego Tony Stark's Sakaarian Iron Man 76194

 I know nothing about the "What If" TV show but what I do know is that I absolutely LOVE Mechs and Lego always manage to put somet...