Lego Review: The Milano Spaceship Rescue

Here we are, days before the release of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, which is currently sitting pretty with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm very excited about this movie, and will be seeing it as soon as I can, but I'm not here to talk about the movie today. Today, I'm reviewing Lego set 76021: The Milano Spaceship Rescue.

I was pretty impressed with this set. It's well put together and a fairly complicated build, took me about two hours to complete. It clocks in at 665 pieces, five minifigures, and a $74.99 price tag.  Having reviewed the other two sets in this line, The Starblaster Showdown and The Knowhere Escape Mission, I must say that I left the best set for last.

On a side note, while I generally prefer printed pieces to stickers, I did appreciate Lego numbering the stickers to match their corresponding placement. This isn't something I've seen before, but it did simplify thing a bit and I hope to see more of it.

The Minifigures

The set came with five minifigures, Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Ronan the Accuser, and yet another Sakaraan Soldier. 

I wasn't too keen on getting another Star-Lord but the mini grew on me once I ripped into the set. And while I would've preferred a second Nova Corpsman, I can't complain too much about having another faceless enemy for the Guardians to beat up on in the Sakaraan Soldier. Not that I'm playing with these Legos, but it's fun in theory.

The Star-Lord minifigure included in this set does differ from the minifigure in the Starblaster set, at least as far as the outfit goes. Here, Quill is decked out in his Guardians of the Galaxy uniform, which looks pretty good. I really like the detail on the front and matches the other Guardians in this set nicely. My one complaint is that the double-sided facial expressions on this figure are also the same as the previous release. While I'm no stranger to receiving the same figure across multiple sets, for $75 Lego could've included some variation.

Star-Lord also come with his signature mask, two blaster pistols, two cylinder pieces to act as his rocket boots, and another weapon that seems to be his "heavy artillery." It's a simple build but looks pretty neat in hand. 

Drax the Destroyer is the simplest of the minifigures, at least as far as extra's go, but the detail on the figure is actually quite amazing. It's really intricately designed and works really well at this scale. 

I love the detail on his back tattoo, especially since they use Lego skulls to make the figure fit better with the Lego universe. Drax also come with two knives that act as his signature weapons.

Gamora rounds out the Guardians, finally giving me a complete set of heroes. The detail is nice, pretty much the same as Star-Lord, except with feminine features. She is a lady, after all. The highlights on her hairpiece are nicely done, as well as the detail on her face. As you can see, she also come with a double-sided face, one angry, the other more sultry, and she has two swords as her weapons.

I really love the detail on Ronan the Accuser. His body is greatly detailed, and the battle damage across the front and back shows nicely. He comes with a standard black Lego cape, but the headdress seems to be a new piece. I also love his hammer, which not only looks great, but is something you actually have to assemble yourself. Ronan also comes with a silver orb, which everyone seems to be after, and a double-sided head.

Overall, the minifigures in this set are really well done and are great additions to the line. You'll notice I didn't talk about the Sakaraan Soldier, but there's no need to, as it's the same figure from the sets I reviewed previously.  

The Vehicles

In classic Lego fashion, we have the larger Milano spaceship serving as the hero's vehicle, and the much smaller Necrocraft servicing the bad guy's. I wish this wasn't the case, but I supposed if you're trying to sell the set to kids, you wanna show off the good guys first and foremost.

The Milano is a beast of a ship, measuring 15 inches wide, nine inches deep and three inches high. It's big enough to fit most off the Guardians (sorry Groot), comes with two flick fire missiles on the under side of the ship and two new blasters along the side which fires 1x1 round pegs. The detail of his build is great, and the ingenuity that when into it really shows. It's really amazing to see what can be done with Lego and this is example to show off.

The top of the ship is removable to fit the minifigures inside. Sadly, it isn't attached to the ship via a hinge put it's still pretty easy to remove and reattach. It's probably a good thing that the designer just got it out of the way rather than having you work around it.

Oddly enough, as great as this build is, the feature I enjoyed the most was the boombox included in the ship. There nothing quite like giving Star_Lord and company a ghetto blaster to accompany them on their adventures.

This time around the Necrocraft is a much better addition to the set than the one feature in the Starblaster set. It's about the same size, and much smaller than the Milano, but it features two missile launchers that are pretty awesome. The range on these missiles are quite impressive, and as I've said in previous reviews, they seem to have come straight out of a 1980s GI Joe action figure.

The ship itself is well built, although the purpose of the fins are still not explained. The front of this ship also has a small platform for Ronan to stand on, which is pretty badass, especially if this is a spaceship.

The Verdict

I'm pretty happy with this set. It's definitely the best overall set in this line, even if it's a bit overpriced. But you can't go wrong with this purchase. I had fun with the build, and kids will definitely enjoy playing with the finished product.

My SDCC 2014 wrap up, and I didn't even go

Another San Diego Comic Con has come to a close, another year where I didn't attend. I mean, it's expensive, and probably loud, and almost certainly smelly. It looks like fun, but seriously, it's hard to get convention stink off you.

So today I just want to focus on some of the announcements and news that broke over the weekend. I'm not touching every subject, just tossing in my two cents on a few bits of info that struck me as awesome.

First off, Marvel revealed a teaser image of what Vision will look like in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Apart from the mass of Ultron robots and a pretty cool shot of Quicksilver that reminds of his stint in The Ultimates 2, you can see Vision floating above the battle field in what looks like his classic yellow, green, and red attire. Super cool stuff. I'm excited that Paul Bettany will be voicing our favorite android, but I'm a bit disappointed Clark Gregg won't be able to take a crack at him.

Next up we have our first look at Wonder Woman from Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

I gotta say, Gal Gadot looks pretty good as Wonder Woman. Definitely looks like she put on a little muscle for the role. Not that she didn't always look fit, she just doesn't look as long and slender as I was expecting her to be. Although I doubt she'll be standing taller than Batman or Superman in the final cut of the movie.

I also heard some interesting things about the teaser trailer for BvS: DoJ (HA!). Seems as if Batman will be rocking the power armor he wore in his battle against Supes in The Dark Knight Returns. I'm sure it'll be neat to watch, but I can't honestly say I'm looking forward to Superman fighting Batman, even if it's an older, grizzled Batman. Seriously, can't we all just get along?

On the comic book front, I'm actually interested in the new Avengers title set to release in November, titled Captain America and the Might Avengers. It's supposed to reunite Luke Cage, Jennifer Jones, and Spider-Man under [new] team leader Captain America (the Sam Wilson version). It'll be written by Al Ewing, who writes a mean Loki in Agent of Asgard, with art by Luke Ross. 

It looks like Deathlok will be getting a new solo series with Nathan Edmondson at the helm. If it's anything like his Black Widow it'll be a great series.

Charles Soule seems to be willing to continue crushing Swamp Thing and Superman/Wonder Woman, which I'm super stoked about. What I'm still not excited about is Meredith and David Finch taking over Wonder Woman after Brian Azzarello finishes his run. I have nothing against Meredith, as I'm not familiar with her work, but I'm just not the fan of David's artwork that I used to be.

Speaking of artists I'm not a fan of, Greg Land is slated to be the artist on a new ongoing Spider-Woman title. I just don't know how the man continues to get work. I don't get how someone can have all his art look the same across multiple titles, yet different in the same book. It's perplexing.

Back to movie news, Marvel already announced Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for a July 2017 release, which isn't that surprising considering buzz around the interwebs is that Guardians of the Galaxy is the best Marvel movie to date. Which means Marvel has a tremendous track record for release "best movies."

I'm also excited about Mad Max: Fury Road. Here's the trailer if you're interested.

And last but not least, on the SDCC exclusive front, here's an image of the Lego Rocket Raccoon Warbird exclusive.

This set, which is 160 something pieces and supposed to "retail" for $39.99, is already going for over $200 on ebay, so I'm probably not gonna be getting this one, no matter how badly I want it.  

And that's it for what stuck out to me at this year's Comic Con.

Until next time!

Vinnie's Weekly Haul: July 24, 2014

I usually make my weekly comic shop run on Thursdays, so I decided to do a little showcase of the comics and collectibles I picked up. 

This was a fairly light comic week for me. Not that it matters, I've got a stack of comics on my desk at least 50 deep that I need to work through. But don't worry, I'll get there.

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo bring their Batman: Zero Year storyline to a close, which I'm sure will be fantastic, as Snyder hasn't written anything less than stellar when it comes to Batman. We also celebrated Batman Day on Wednesday, commemorating his first appearance in Detective Comics 27. So of course I picked up a few bat titles.

A couple other notable releases are Wonder Woman 33, marking the beginning of the end of Brian Azzarelo's run on the title. I'm interested in seeing how Dan Slott tie's Amazing Spider-Man into the Original Sin storyline. I also picked up Afterlife with Archie 6 digitally, which is an amazing yet creepy read. Roberto Aguirre Sacasa is absolutely crushing it with his zombie meets Archie tale.

I picked up a new statue this week, a Green Arrow minibust based on Jim Lee's artwork.

I'm pretty happy with the purchase. The colors are vibrant and the piece itself is well painted. Giving it a flatter color scheme would bring it closer to how Arrow is portrayed in his comic series, and I would've loved if the figure was hooded, but that's nitpicking. 

But most importantly, he'll look great next to my Hawkeye and Taskmaster statues. Archers FTW!

And to round out the week, of course I bought Lego.

I wasn't expecting these newer Star Wars sets to be out until August 1st, but thanks to Lego's penchant for soft roll outs, the Lego Store had these in stock. I'll be reviewing these sets in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out.

So that's it as far as what I spent my money on this week. Hope y'all enjoyed :P

Lego Review: Ghostbusters Ecto-1

In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters and a successful Lego Ideas campaign, Lego has released the 21108 Ghostbusters Ecto-1. Retailing at $49.99 with 508 pieces and coming with four minifigures to accompany the classic vehicle, this set far exceeded my expectations and is well worth the price tag.

Packaging and Contents

I usually don't focus on the boxes in my reviews but I felt this set's packaging deserved a bit of focus. 

Setting itself apart from your standard Lego set and maintaining Lego Ideas (formerly Lego Cuusoo) clamshell design, you can see this box was designed with the collector in mind. With the 30th anniversary logo on display and the way the minifigures are clearly displayed and labeled on the top, this set is definitely aimed at an adult Lego fan like myself rather than the random kid walking through the toy isle.

This set's pieces came packaged in six unlabeled bags, also setting it apart from modern sets, just not in a good way. This unnecessarily made the build more time consuming and more difficult than it needed to be. I've bought and built older sets that aren't labeled, and do agree that modern sets tend to hold your hand through the building process quite a bit, but I don't think the difficulty of the build should be a result of how things were packaged. It's just tedious to open all six bags and sort them before actually starting construction of the set.

The instruction manual is also different from the norm. It's a glue bound booklet that includes information on the Ghostbusters movie as well as the designers of the set. It's a well put together booklet and my only really gripe is the black paper the building instructions are printed on, which makes it difficult to differentiate some pieces, especially the clear from silver studs.

The Minifigures

Instead of talking about each individual figure I'll be reviewing the four minis as a whole.

Here we have mini versions of Ray Stanz, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore, and right off the bat it's pretty easy to tell which character each minifigure represents. As shown in the picture above, each mini comes with two printed faces; a happy/neutral look and a more scared look, no doubt the result of the ghosts they've been busting. The hair pieces also match their movie counterparts pretty well, capturing the personalities of the characters, especially Venkman's smarminess.

There's also a surprising amount of detail on the figures themselves. At a quick glance they look similar except for the initials and names printed on the front and back, but upon closer inspection you can see that body isn't simply recycled.

The straps, pockets, and zippers are the same throughout, but the wrinkles on the body of the jumpsuit and the pouches (or lack thereof) along the belt are different for each figure. Even Ray and Winston, who have similar wrinkle patterns, have their pouches at different spots. Yes these are minor details, but they go a long way into making this already great set exceptional.

The Proton Pack is also well done. Instead of being one small custom piece, it's a pretty neat addition to the set, with a heft and weight that's substantial. It's also a fun little build within the build.

The Ecto-1

While the minifigures are cool, this is the reason why most people will be buying this set, and it's well worth it.

I had a lot of fun with this build. It's incredibly detailed, looks true to the movie counterpart, and frankly, I was amazed at the way it was constructed. It will definitely influence the way I construct custom build from now on as it shows how far a little outside the box thinking can go.

Every part of this build is fantastic. I especially love the use of printed bricks for the license plate and Ghostbusters logo on the sides and rear. And considering the size and durability of the vehicle, I'm surprised that three minifigures can fit inside. Although, at the same time, I'm a little disappointed that only three figures can fit inside with no space to store the proton packs. But I won't let it bother me too much since the scale seems right and having an Ecto-1 large enough to fit everything would be comically oversized.

As you can see from the pictures above, the top of the car can be removed to fit the figures inside without hurting the structural integrity of the build. A lot of detail went into the roof of the car and it shows. Lots of studs of various colors and other small pieces came together to make it vibrant and it turned out great. I really can't gush about the Ecto-1 more.

The Verdict

If you're a fan of Lego and the Ghostbusters it is an absolute must have. Even if you're just a fan of the movie I'd still recommend the purchase. Minor gripes, such as the way the pieces were packaged or the amount of figures that fit inside, are negligible. This is a must own. 

Go buy it.

The name's Grayson, Dick Grayson

After a nice, albeit short vacation, I'm back with a review of a new New 52 title focusing on Gotham's favorite son. I was hoping to have this up about a week ago, but what can I say? VACATION!

Grayson #1
Written and plotted by Tim Seeley and Tom King
Drawn by Mikel Janin

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I dropped Nightwing a couple years back because it wasn't speaking to me and avoided Forever Evil like the plague. With the ads in place, I knew they were setting Dick Grayson up for something big, and DC has never been one to shy away from changing the status quo, especially when it comes to Batman's favorite ward, and it really seems like they've delivered. Grayson #1 is a pretty big departure from the Dick we know and love but doesn't veer too far away from what makes him the character he is.

Grayson starts off very high energy and doesn't really let up, allowing for the action and setting to speak for itself. It avoids a long, drawn out explanation as to why Dick Grayson is now an international man of mystery and merely thrusts you into this world that he's found himself in, and it's much better for it. It did leave me with a few questions but I suppose that's the hook to keep me coming back. I was also surprised to see a few familiar faces, and I won't spoil who they are, but I am interested in seeing how they'll factor into the series, especially since I'm not familiar with their New 52 incarnations. 

Along with the action, Tim Seeley also injects the book with a good amount of humor that doesn't come off as forced, given the situation. It plays well with the more light-heated character that Dick is normally portrayed as. The last thing I would've wanted is a serious, brooding Dick Grayson in response to his newly acquired "deceased" status. 

Mikel Janin also does a great job on the art side of things, bringing a great sense of motion into his artwork, which works magnificently with acrobatic nature of the title character. His artwork conveys a lot of motion and seems to have a lot of weight behind it. The colorist Jeremy Cox also gives the book a good psychedelic vibe that plays into the story and adds to the spy movie feel of this issue.

For a first issue, there's a lot going on here, but it doesn't make you feel like you're missing something if you didn't read anything leading up to this book. I was worried I'd be lost, especially since DC isn't the best at catching new readers up on what's going on, but it works well here. I'm very interested in seeing where this series goes, and the ending definitely has me wondering where it will take our hero.

_____________________________________________________

Now for a little housekeeping. I should have a review of the Lego Ghostbusters Ecto-1 set up by Wednesday. Also be on the lookout for my thoughts on the X-Men vs the Sentinel and Guardians of the Galaxy Milano Spaceship Rescue Lego sets.

I'm planning of having more than just Lego and comic reviews coming up but I'm still trying to get into the swing of things.

Lego Review: Starblaster Showdown

For today's Lego Review, I'll be focusing on Set 76019, the Starblaster Showdown from the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Superhero line.

Off the bat this is already a step up from the last set I reviewed, the Knowhere Escape Mission. At 195 pieces, allowing for two vehicles and three minifigures, you're getting a pretty good deal for the $19.99 USD price point. This set does follow the classic Lego model of featuring one larger vehicle for the hero and a much smaller vehicle for the villain, but you'll definitely get a lot more play time out of this set.

The Minifigures

The three Minifigures in this set are great, with Star-Lord being the standout. 

Star-Lord

Here we have Peter Quill, or as he likes to call himself, the Legendary Star-Lord. As his comic book origin has been tweaked since the character first debuted in 1976, I'll focus on his most recent comic incarnation. This might venture into spoiler territory for the upcoming movie, so tread lightly. You've been warned. 

Peter Quill is an alien/human hybrid and leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. While I don't know exactly how the group forms in the movie, the comic book incarnation of the GotG comes together to prevent yet another interstellar war that threatens the Marvel Cosmic Universe, and they stay together to guard the galaxy. Quill has also helped in bringing down Thanos twice in the past six years, so I'm looking forward to see how this impacts the movie universe.

As for the minifigure, I absolutely love it. You get a pretty good amount of accessories with the figure: a mask, hair piece, his Elemental Gun, the silver orb I'm sure the Sakaraan is after, and two 1x1 round bricks that act as flames of rocket boots. The amount of printed detail that comes out is fantastic. You can almost feel the Indiana Jones/Han Solo/Captain Kirk vibe that I'm sure Marvel is looking for.  I particularly appreciate the backpack printed on the back of the figure. It looks clean and doesn't add any bulk in the form of an accessory. The mask is also well done, although I wish the hair color better matched that of the hair piece, but at this point I'm just nitpicking because it's not that big a problem.

Nova Corps Officer

Here we have the nameless Nova Corps Officer, or at least I think he's nameless. As far as I know this figure isn't based on anyone in particular so I'm tossing him into universe building territory (which stinks because the only way to get more officers is to buy this set several times). 

The comic book Nova Corps is essentially a space militia, only slightly differentiating themselves from the space cops of DC's Green Lantern Corps. They are powered by the Nova Force, have helped the Guardians take down Thanos, and once had their base inside Ego the Living Planet. The Corps has also been destroyed by Nebula at least once, so we'll see if that factors into the movie at all.

This minifigure is solid. The printing on the front and back is well done and the helmet looks great. I was surprised to see a double printed head with this figure, which seems unnecessary without a hairpiece to cover the back when unmasked. The accessory is a less-than stellar pair of handcuffs, although I guess you don't really need a gun when you're rocking a spaceship.

The Sakaaran

Here we have yet another Sakaaran. There's not much to say that hasn't been said before. It's still a well done figure and helps to pad out my stable of villains.

The Vehicles

The Starblaster

The Starblaster is the primary vehicle in this set; you can tell based on it's size. 

This ship is well done and looks like something you'd find in the deep recesses of space, as it has a very aquatic vibe and seems designed to move in a three dimensional environment. I really like the eight wing flaps. They have a great range of motion and really enhance the playability of the vehicle. 

It's also solidly built. The rear, which has the most moving parts, is put together in a way that prevents it from falling apart with lots use. The inside of the cockpit is spacious, allowing someone to easily position a minifigure inside. There's also lots of space to house the corpsman's many handcuffs. The bottom of the ship also has two flick missiles, which are neat but lack any real distance when fired.

The Necrocraft

The Necrocraft is an interesting build. First off, it's a very small build, which isn't strange considering it's the villain's vehicle. It also has two flaps towards the front of the build that don't seem like wings. Even the way they're portrayed on the box art doesn't clarify what they actually are. But I suppose with a little imagination they can be anything you want.

The build is solid, the flaps are on a swivel and hinge, giving them a large range of motion. I also like the rock-like piece used for the tail end, giving the ship an otherworldly feel.

The Verdict

This is a fantastic set. The minifigures are well done and serve to enhance the other sets in this line (world building!). You'll also be able to get a fair amount of play out of the vehicles. You really can't go wrong with this purchase and it more than justifies the $19.99 price tag.

Go buy it, you won't be disappointed.

Rocket Raccoon blasts out the gate; Star-Lord stumbles before finding his footing

With the Guardians of the Galaxy movie debuting in less than a month, Marvel Comics is kicking things into high gear with two solo series based on the Guardians' most popular characters, Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon, both of which are pretty entertaining. So lets delve a little deeper into both these books and see what makes them tick.


Rocket Raccoon #1
Written and drawn by Skottie Young

Young wastes no time setting the tone for this series: a book that's quirky, amusing, and lots of fun. Starting things off with a high energy prison break, transitioning to a wrestling date gone awry, and then moving on to a run in with the law is a great way to establish that the Guardians, with Rocket in particular, are the scoundrels the movie's advertising campaign makes them out to be. While the Guardians do make an appearance, it's a brief cameo showing that Rocket is part of the team but it's still his book, although Groot has an extended appearance that is hilarious, and I'm sure will result in some pretty cool moments as the series goes on.

Rocket himself is presented as a not-so-debonair ladies man, which comes back to bite him on the tush with a twist ending that's unexpected and contains just the right amount of absurdity to make this book an absolute joy to read. 

The art is also fantastic, giving it a cartoonish feel thanks to Skottie Young's amazing pencil work. Since he also wrote the book, the art couples with the story even more so than usual because he's able to channel exactly what he wants the reader to see. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more.

The Legendary Star-Lord #1

Written by Sam Humphries

Art by Paco Medina

This review will probably sound a lot more negative than I want it to. I did enjoy this book, I just have some problems with it that I can't gloss over.

As the first issue in a new series, it does a good job of introducing us to Star-Lord: hinting at a troubled past, displaying his swagger and swashbuckling, almost Han Solo-like nature, and setting him up as a scoundrel with a heart of gold. 

The problem is this issue finds itself depending too much on what's happened in other stories. His relationship with Kitty (Pryde), while not quite well-defined in other books, is added without context. I find it interesting that it would work much better if Kitty wasn't already a well-defined and established character in the X-Men universe. 

There's also the issue of the twist ending that doesn't really work well without the context of the proper Guardians of the Galaxy series. It's an interesting development, but only something I care about because I happen to know why it's interesting. I find it hard to believe that someone who picked up this title because of their interest in the upcoming movie would really care about the happenings of the final page.

On the art side of things, I think Paco Medina does a solid job, but I do have some issues with the coloring. Human/humanoid characters just seem to be too glossy, but overall I really dig the artwork. And I'd do anything to see more of this.

The Verdict

Overall, both comics are worth the purchase, but if you had to choose only one, Rocket Raccoon is by far the better of the two. It's a true stand-alone title that doesn't require previous knowledge to enjoy what's going on.

Oh, and just in case you've missed it, here's the second Guardians of the Galaxy trailer, just because it's totally rad.

The best Robocop has been since 1987

I wish I could put a date on it, to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but Robocop has been my favorite movie since I was way too young to even watch the movie. Just the idea of a regular cop becoming this near-invulnerable cyborg got me giddy. And as I got older, I began to see more nuance, more subtlety in the film, seeing that it was much more than just a violent movie that translated well into action figures.

Sadly, the years haven't been kind to Robocop. Both sequels are pretty terrible, although Robocop 3 does have some camp value. The live action TV shows, miniseries, and cartoons have been less than memorable. Most of the comics are blah. Frank Miller went off the deep end. Even this year's reboot was completely unnecessary as it did nothing to enhance the Robocop mythos. Although it does take the cake for most random ending in a movie.

Image taken from Huffington Post

So I took a look at this week's comics, seeing what I was going to spend my money on and BAM! A new Robocop series. An new ongoing Robocop series. Holy crap was I excited. 

And then I was trepidatious.

Then cautiously optimistic.

I've been burned by Robocop in the past, was this new series going to burn me too?

I pulled the trigger anyway, and the answer, thankfully, is no. 

Robocop: Ongoing #1 is an absolute fantastic read, especially for fans of the first movie. Especially if you don't mind pretending everything that's happened since the first movie hasn't happened.  

The book starts off with a recently released criminal wondering what's happened since he's been locked up, and Robocop and a still alive Lewis answering the question with brutal action that doesn't shy away from the ultra violence of the Paul Verhoeven classic. Not wanting to give away too much of the story, but the idea of an ex-con being released into the ruins of Old Detroit, wanting to regain what's been taken from him, and having to deal with the terrifying cyborg that stands in his way has a lot of story potential, and it's already off to a great start, thanks to a great script and setup by Joshua Williamson.

On the art side of things, Carlos Magno does a great job making the book feel dark, gritty, almost like an extension of the movie. I'm not really a huge fan of cross hatching, but it works well here, giving everything a rundown and beat-to-hell vibe.

I obviously really enjoyed this book, and if you're wondering if it's worth the purchase, there's really only one thing to say.

Lego Review: Knowhere Escape Mission

Today I'll be reviewing Lego set 76020: Knowhere Escape Mission from the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Superhero line. 

Clocking in at 433 pieces and a price point of $39.99, your mileage with this set either depends on how badly you want Groot and Rocket Raccoon, or how young you are. I can see this set being a lot of fun for a kid, especially with the missile launcher being able to shoot across the room, but as an adult collector, I sadly found myself a little disappointed in the playset and the minifigure I wanted the most: Rocket Raccoon. So read on for more details on this set.

The Minifigures

Groot

While technically not a minifigure, Groot is the standout of this set. With fourteen points of articulation, most of them being the newer ball joints, you can get a lot of movement and pose-ability out of Groot, which is great since most Lego figures only move at the arms, legs, and neck. Now I do wish he moved at the neck, but ultimate it doesn't hurt the overall figure.

As far as the build goes, it's pretty solid. You can definitely get a lot of play time in without worrying about Groot falling apart in your hands. His head and chest consist of one piece that slips over the torso, and it, along with two pieces on his legs, have grass and branches printed on them. The character is a living tree, after all, and the build shows that.

Nebula

Surprisingly, I don't know a lot about this character, either because I've never seen her in a comic, or because I've read about so many comics my brain can't handle any more information. All I know is she has two swords and is a badass, probably because she has two swords.

I do think the minifigure is done well. The purple of her body really sticks out and the printing on her torso and head is well done, with just a hint of metallic paint to make the character pop. I also really dig the design of her head, which probably implies that her character could be an alien/cyborg hybrid, or she just has some wicked tattoos. I don't know what's right, and I'm too lazy to find out. Guess I'll know come August.

Sakaaran Soldier

So here we have the Sakaaran Soldier, and this guy I do know a bit about. He's supposed to be on Thanos' payroll and is after the silver orb that Rocket's hanging on to. But here's the awesome part: he has greater ties to the overall Marvel Universe. Ready for your geek lesson of the day? Here we go!

The planet Sakaar was the setting for the Planet Hulk storyline, in which Tony Stark, Nick Fury, and Reed Richards determined that Hulk was too dangerous to keep on Earth. So they rocketed him off planet to this peaceful place (read: not so peaceful) where the Hulk was supposed to live out the rest of his days picking flowers and playing with space puppies. Instead Hulk found himself as a gladiator, fighting for his freedom and ultimately the freedom of the entire planet. He also teamed up with some space roaches, impregnated a local, and had his new found happy place blown up by the damaged reactor core of the very spaceship that got him there (Thanks Tony!). Long story short, Hulk found his way back to earth and did what he does best: SMASH.

Anyway, back to the Lego. This guy's pretty neat. I'm a fan of his double-sided head, which looks like a masked/unmasked version of what we'll be seeing in the upcoming movie. The gun also closely matches the movie weapon, so that's cool. The paint and decals are also well done, utilizing more of that metallic paint to accentuate his armor and eyes, giving him an otherworldly feel.

Rocket Raccoon

 

So here we are, at the final minifigure in this set. I know I said I was underwhelmed by this figure, that shouldn't detract from the overall quality of the actual piece. It is well made, and does look a lot like the character from the movie. Rocket's head is a new piece designed for this set. And he comes with a long, bushy tail that fits between his legs and torso, which is pretty dang cute.

The minifigure utilizes shorter, yet immobile, legs, making him smaller than the other figures. The shoulder pads restrict arm movement to a little above his shoulder line. 

Rocket has two accessories, the silver orb the Sakaaran is after, and his weapon. The weapon is pretty cool and fits the character, who's a heavy weapons expert, and trust me, this weapon is heavy. Which leads to my biggest problem with this mini: the gun is big. Too big for Rocket to hold in any way that makes sense. And when coupled with the limited arm range and the solid legs, unless you have a base plate or keep him attached to the set (or Groot), he's spending a lot of time on his face, which probably isn't the best position for the space raccoon to find himself.

The Playset

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Lego playsets. I love the minifigures and vehicles, but being that I'm 29, my imagination's pretty much dried up and having a platform with a trap floor doesn't excite me as much as it used to. Although I still get a kick out of missile launchers that can poke someone's eye out from across the room.

In the comics, Knowhere is a spaceport at the edge of the universe housed inside the decapitated head of a Celestial, so I'm pretty sure this is a terrible representation of that. And this set is called the "Knowhere Escape Mission" but I'm not actually sure what they're escaping from. 

The Platform... thing

I have no idea how this fits into the movie, and to be honest I'm probably breaking it down as soon as this review goes live. 

BUT if I was a 10 year old this would be pretty cool. The platform itself has a drop away floor (and a flat panel so minis standing on it will actually fall through the hole) and pressing down on the satellite looking thing causes the scaffold to break off from the set. Built in destructibility is always fun. There's also a small catapult attached to it that launches either bombs or toxic waste. I'm not sure.

The Space... ship? Pod?

The spaceship pod thing is... not very big, and probably isn't an attack vessel. My best guess, given the two claw hands, and the sticker decals, is that it's some sort of heavy loader, probably one that moves toxic waste. Or bombs. I'm still not sure.

The actual design is solid but it's on the small side and doesn't look like it would be that enjoyable to play with.

The Missile Launcher

Now this is something I can get behind, mostly because I don't want to stand in front of it.

The launcher itself is rad, and the range is pretty awesome, taking me back to my childhood when most G.I. Joes came with rocket launchers that could seriously put an eye out. But the overall build is less that stellar. I do like that it has good up and down motion, but the handle is useless, being that it's off to the side of the launcher and not actually attached to it.

The Verdict

I'm torn. The value of this set definitely comes from the minifigures. Groot is great, and while I have problems with Rocket, it's not a deal breaker, especially since this is the only set where you can find him, and the figure is still fun to play with. Nebula and the Sakaaran Soldier are nothing special but are solid minifigures overall.

The playset itself is rather underwhelming, but I'm sure most people will be buying this set for Groot and Rocket Racoon. In that regard, I think it's worth the purchase, and if you can get it on sale, even better.