Mixel Madness!!: The Spikels Review

Last week I highlighted the Glorp Corp and today I'll be reviewing the Spikels, which I have to say, are by far my favorite of the two sets.

So let's get to it!

It isn't that hard to infer that the Spikels are based on spikes, since it's pretty much in the name. Also, the color tan. There's a lot of tan bricks here. Literally. The average piece count for this set is 70 bricks, which isn't bad considering they sell for $4.99 a figure, just like every other Mixel. I suppose the down side to this high brick count is there are a lot of spikes, or horns, but as evidenced by these builds, they can be used in a variety of ways.

Footi

At first glance, I didn't think there would be much to get excited about with this Mixel. But as I continued to play with him, and pose him, I realized how great the build actually is. 

My only real gripe was that the arms are a bit short, but due to their placement (above and to the front of his legs), I realized they actually help accentuate the legs on this figure, which are definitely the star of the show. Footi's legs consist of three ball-joints, allowing him to move at the hips, knees, and ankles. And because his arms are small and compact, they can easily be moved out of the way, allowing his legs to move and be bent almost completely around the body. Speaking of the body, Footi isn't that top heavy, which helps him stand upright in a wide variety of poses. The claws on his feet also help balance the figure.

Footi's mouth is held together by a hinge joist, giving it the ability to open at a full 90 degrees, as you can see in the picture above. This, along with the ease of changing his eye placement, allows for a lot of personality to shine through the figure.

Scorpi

If Glurt was the cute one of the last bunch, then Scorpi definitely takes the cake this time around. His big eyes, combined with his head's ability to turn 360 degrees, definitely add to his cute-as-a-button factor. 

Scorpi's body is very compact in design, and pretty sturdy. He has small legs, which lend to his appearance of a scorpion (hence the name), but the real star of the show is his tail. It's not quite as poseable as Footi's legs, but it still has a lot of mobility. It's designed pretty well, and I love the use of Lego teeth as the stinger. And with a bit of trying, I was able to get Scorpi to balance on his tail, which would work even better on a base plate instead of a table.  

Hoogi

Lastly, we have Hoogi, which is by far my favorite of the Spikels due to the variety of poses I can put him in.

Like Scorpi, Hoogi has a compact body design, with short, stubby legs that help balance the figure, which is necessary because of his long arms. And I absolutely love his arms. Technically, each arm has five points or articulation; the shoulder, the wrist, and each of his three fingers. which allows for a wide range of poses, especially once I realized that his long arms will let you place him in a handstand position. The arms really go a long way in adding personality to the figure, since his face/body is pretty basic. 

Hoogi also comes with the Nixel of this set. Nothing new here, and at this point, I doubt Lego will be adding any new Nixel designs to the sets.

The Verdict

Of the two sets I've reviewed, the Spikels are my favorites, and honestly, they might be my favorites compared to all three series. There's just a lot of playability here. Scorpi may be the weakest of the three in terms of movement, but his rotating head and tail make up for a lack of proper arms and legs. Footi is a great figure, and may even be the best of this set from an impartial stand point, but my standout is Hoogi on account of his arms.

From a monetary standpoint, the Spikels are absoluely worth the $15 dollars you'll be spending on this set.

See you next week with my review of the Wiztastics!

Lego Review: Snowspeeder

All right boys and girls, I'm back with my latest Lego review for the set 75049, the Snowspeeder.

So let's get the boring stuff out of the way. This set debuted in August, along with a B-Wing, the Mos Eisley Cantina, the AT-AT, and the Imperial Star Destroyer, all of which I plan on reviewing in the coming weeks. The Snowspeeder MSRP is $29.99 and comes with 279 pieces with three minifigures. 

The Minifigures

So the first minifigure I'll be touching on is Luke Skywalker. If this isn't the first Star Wars set you've purchased, you probably have plenty of Luke minis lying around, especially in his flight suit. Of course, this being the latest release, this is the only one with this much detail. As you can see, the printing on the mini is actually incredibly detailed. This version of our hero comes with pockets and straps added to the legs, even adding wrinkles in the suit as if it was worn by a real person. I also really like the way the back of the flight vest is printed slightly askew. It just adds an extra bit of detail that makes the design all the more impressive. From what I can remember, this set is also the first to come with white hands/gloves on their flight suits.

Luke comes with a double sided head: one side with his flight visor down and a stern look on his face; the other with his visor up and a more playful smirk. I must say that while I appreciate the extra detail that goes into the newer figures, I could do without the extra lines on Luke's face. It just makes him look much older than the character should be. He's also wielding his classic blue light saber and flight helmet.

Next we have Dak Raltar. His flight suit is the same as Luke's so I won't be going into it's details again. Dak also comes with a double sided head: one side with a smile; the other with a look of shock, or maybe fear on his face. Both sides have his flight visor down. He comes with a flight helmet, with blue printing instead of Luke's red, and a standard pistol.

I really like the Snowtrooper. The printing on the front and back is well done, and the backpack being a separate piece from the minifigure is great, giving it a bit more depth. In standard enemy fashion, the Snowtrooper only comes with a single-sided head wearing a scowling expression. He is "evil" after all. From what I can tell, this version of the snowtrooper is the only version to come with the skirt depicted in The Empire Strikes Back. The Snowtrooper comes with a helmet and a battle rifle.

While this isn't a minifigure, I do see the Tripod Gun as more of an accessory for the Snowtrooper. It's a cool set piece that looks great. I do wish there was a swivel or some other joint built into the piece to help with playability. And maybe another snowtrooper tossed in to help man the thing, but maybe I'm asking too much of a $30 set. Although this is supposed to be a companion piece to the AT-AT, which does come with a few more enemy minifigures.

The Snowspeeder

This is actually the third version of the Snowspeeder that I've owned, the first being the Lego System 7130 Snowspeeder, the other being the 8089 Hoth Wampa Cave, so it's been pretty neat to see the evolution of this vehicle over the past 15 years. While I no longer have the original snowspeeder, I did have the most recent snowspeeder readily available, so scroll further down for pictures of that vehicle for comparison,

As for this version, I thought it was really well done and a great step up from the previous versions, which was a concern for me. I considered skipping this release, but am ultimately happy I didn't. 

The overall feel of the build is very sturdy. It feels densely built, which is due to it's rather compact design. The use of the new blaster design (which actually fires and comes with five stud projectiles) as the rear cannon is a great addition to the set. The harpoon cable is also very solid, even incorporating a stud to allow it to attached to almost any set piece or vehicle, regardless of size. The underside of the ship also incorporates two spring-loaded missiles, so you no longer have to pretend the Snowspeeder is firing on the enemy snowtroopers.

The Verdict

I'm very pleased with this set. If you already have a version of the Snowspeeder, this might not be a must buy, but it's still worth the purchase. The printing and detail on the minifigures is absolutely fantastic, and the snowspeeder itself is really well done. I have absolutely no qualms about recommending this set for children or adult collectors.

So pick this up, the AT-AT, and go on recreating the Battle of Hoth. You won't regret it.

And if you were wondering what the differences between the modern snowspeeder and the 8089 version, here's a couple comparison shots. For the most part, the design is pretty much the same, which makes sense since it's based on a movie vehicle. The colors are different, the older set using more orange (although this is to differentiate Luke's snowspeeder from Zev Senesca's snowspeeder). The rear blaster is also different, only moving up and down instead of side to side on the modern version. The older snowspeeder is also lower to the ground due to the lack of wedge pieces propping it up.

Lego Review: X-Men vs. the Sentinel

I must say, of the four Marvel Superhero Lego sets that were realeased in June of this year, the Starblaster Showdown, the Knowhere Escape Mission, and the Milano Spaceship Rescue, I was least excited to buy the X-Men vs. the Sentinel set. I mean, I basically bought it to get my purchase up to $75 so I could get the Flashback Shredder from the Lego Store. But I finally opened and built the set, and I didn't regret my purchase.

The main reason I wasn't that interested in this set, apart from the $49.99 price tag, were the minifigures. The Blackbird looked cool but the minis were based these character's looks from an era I didn't grow up with. If the designs were based on the more modern, Astonishing designs (or roster), or the iconic Jim Lee designs, I would've been all over this set. But I digress, I'm not really here to complain about what Lego should've done with this set.

The Minifigures

This set comes with four minifigures, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and Magneto, as well as one full-sized figure, the Sentinel. 

Starting off with the full-sized figure, the Sentinel looks great and is well built. I do think he is a bit on the thin side, but that doesn't really detract from the build. I do wish the head was attached to a turning plate, but that's something that can easily be modded.

The flick-fire missiles on the shoulders are attached to a swivel, giving the, a 45-degree range of motion. I do think Lego dropped the ball by not incorporating a missile launcher into the arm cannon. It's basically a pin were a missile can be placed into for aesthetic purposes as it's non-functioning.

In terms of accessories, Magneto is the standout of this set. He comes with a platform that he can ride on, and his iconic helmet. What I liked about his design was that he came with a clear peg that allows him to hold his helmet in his hand, giving the appearance that it's floating before him. It's a pretty cool addition. You can also see that he comes with two expressions and a white hairpiece to round out his look.

Next we have Wolverine. The design is cool, based on his classic brown costume design. It's also the first Wolverine minifigure to come with a full mask. Apart from that, this figure isn't that much different from the previous Wolverine mini that came with the Chopper Showdown. It still looks great though. He also comes with two faces, two sets of claws and a black hairpiece.

Storm really looks great. I love the lightning accessories she was given to show off her weather witch abilities. Her cape actually can be attached to her hands, which looks just like her comic counterpart. Her hairpiece is nice, but I really wish they went mohawk Storm with this set. That would've been so rad.

Cyclops is the lame duck of this set. He has no accessories and no special features. And since he doesn't have a head piece or anything, he doesn't even have a second facial expression. Lego could've at least included something to simulate his optic blast, but we didn't even get that. I was ultimately disappointed with this particular figure.

The Vehicle

The Blackbird seems pretty simple, but it's actually a pretty neat design.

The overall build is pretty narrow, and I do wish it was a tad bit wider, but ultimately it works well. The interior is designed to hold four minifigures: two in the cockpit and two in the center of the plane. The larger wings are static but the two smaller flaps towards the bottom of the ship can be moved, although I think this is for "landing" purposes, not really an action feature. There are also some stickers on the interior which look like a view screen showing the Sentinel threat. Lego also used printed pieces for the cockpit, which I really appreciate.

But what sticks out in terms of playability is the missile battery on the rear.

The battery is designed in a way that allows it to slide to the top of the ship, basically in an on/off position. The missile launchers on Lego sets are pretty sensitive so this is a great feature just to avoid misfires, which is great because these things can probably launch a good six feet and easily poke an eye out.

The Verdict

While there I things I would personally change about this set, I was pretty pleased with it. The Sentinel and Blackbird are both solid designs that are pretty fun to play with. Magneto and Wolverine are essentially rereleases, but their new designs and accessories make up for that. Storm is also a great addition to the Marvel Superhero fold. Cyclops, on the other had, was incredibly disappointing.

But ultimately I recommend this set. It's a lot of fun to play with and not a difficult build, and it finally gave me a masked Wolverine.

So go buy it.

Lego Review: The Exo Suit

Today I'll be reviewing Lego Set 21109, the Exo Suit. It's one of two new releases to come out from the Lego Ideas line; the other is the Research Institute, which I'll be posting about in the coming weeks.

The Exo Suit comes packaged in the Ideas clamshell box, containing the 321 pieces across four unlabeled packages along with it's instruction manual, and retails for $34.99. In regular Ideas fashion, the manual stands out from standard Lego manuals, containing information about the creator of this set, Peter Reid, how this set came about, and an in-universe story explaining the motivations of the minifigures involved. It's pretty neat to get this background story since it's not something that's usually included with a Lego set. Although it doesn't quite touch upon why Pete seems so upset. Maybe he'd be happier if he actually got the pilot the suit.

Just look at him, so much anger.

The two minifigures included in this set, Pete and Yve, are modeled after the classic spacemen of the 70s and 80s. For the most part, these minis are pretty simple: a full green body with the Classic Space logo printed on the front, and accessories in the form of a helmet and air tank. Both minifigures share the same body, the only differences are their facial features that distinguish them as male and female. I think was a smart move on Lego's part, as it remains true to the Space theme and shows that once the minis are in their spacesuits, they're pretty much the same.

Since I happened to have a couple classic spacemen laying around, I compared the two and they are almost identical. The only difference is that the minifigures packaged with the Exo Suit use the modern helmet design. It would've been neat if they came with the classic helmet but it's understandable. Lego would have to create a new mold to match the original design, which doesn't make much sense since this set is supposed to be a limited run. 

The set also comes with a platform and two barrels to set the scene, and a Robot Turtle to help our spacemen on their mission, although it looks more like a robot dog than a turtle to me.

The Exo Suit was a lot of fun to build. It's a very intricately designed set, and amazing that it's designer was able to accomplish this. The types of pieces used to create this build is almost as incredible as the amount used. When I first opened the box I couldn't imagine how this jumble of pins and joints would come together to form a cohesive build, but they did. Just by looking at it, you can see how clever the design is.

It also has a very modular design. While the instructions are there to guide you along, it's easy to see how you can modify the set by adding or subtracting pieces. Sadly, this may be necessary in some instances as the suit is very sturdy in some places, while being flimsy in others. The legs and body are very well designed, but the arms are easy to pull apart. If you simply pose the figure and leave it be it'll be fine, but if you plan on playing with it, this could pose a problem.

Problems with the arms aside, this build is actually incredibly flexible. I was surprised at what kind of positions I could pose the suit in. The suit is also well balanced, allowing for a lot of poses to be maintained without outside support.

The Verdict

Few problems with the sturdiness of the build aside, this is an incredible set that is more than worth the $35 dollar price tag. It's a complex build that really shows just how modular Lego can be. The minifigures are a great throwback to the simpler designs of past minis, and the inclusion of the Robot Turtle is just awesome. I really loved that design.

Ovelall, I'm just really happy with this set, and thankful that I decided to pick it up. To be honest, I wasn't too keen on it before I got my hands on it, but it won me over. Pick one up if you can, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.

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.

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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.