Lego Review: Lego City Arctic Accessory Set

This week I bought Lego's City Arctic Accessory set. I don't collect the Arctic line, or City for that matter, but this set was grabbing my attention for some time, and I needed to bring my total up to $99 to get another Mini Mini Cooper. And man, what a disappointment this was.

In this set, you get two minis, a male and female arctic explorer. For the most part, the figures are identical. The decals on both are well done and pretty similar. The only major difference is the printing on the female mini is tapered to denote a more feminine frame. While each mini only comes with a single sided head, the male has green goggles with stubble, the female has orange goggles with a bit of lipstick. 

As for the accessories, you get a cloth-goods tent, a box, two fish, a pick ax, an ice climbing tool, an ice pop (for some reason), two coffee mugs, a camp stove, a skillet, and an ice block with a metal deposit inside. All these are actually well done. I like the camp stove in particular just due to how simple it is. The tent is neat, but I was disappointed to see that there's no real support structure behind it. It says upright because of the way the material was folded. The cloth itself is firm but I'm not sure how well it will keep it's shape after play.

My disappointment with this set doesn't come from the content. I actually think this is a pretty cool set, it's just in NO WAY worth the $14.99 I paid for it. That is it's biggest problem. At 42 pieces, this set comes across as a blatant cash grab and I cannot recommend this to anyone. I know it's supposed to be an accessory set that compliments the other sets in the Arctic line, but at this price you can do without it. If you can find this set for less than $10, by all means purchase it. If not, skip it and save your money for something better.

Vinnie's Weekly Haul: August 29, 2014

This was a pretty big week for me, so let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Here's what I pulled from the comic stands this week, along with what comics I bought digitally. 

• Adventure Time: Fionna  & Cake #1-6 (digital)
• Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens #1-6 (digital)
• All-New X-Men #31
• Avengers #34
• Batman Eternal #21
• Bee and Puppycat #1-2 (digital)
• Black Science #8 (digital)
• Cyclops #4
• Doc Unknown Vol. 1 (digital)
• Guardians of the Galaxy #18
• Inhuman #4
• Lumberjanes #1-3 (digital)
• The Manhattan Projects #23
• Original Sin #5.4
• Saga #22
• Silver Surfer #5
• Superman #34
• Uncanny Avengers #23

As you can see I bought a good amount of comics this week. So far I've only read Avengers #34 and Superman #34, both were great reads.

And Avengers #34 has got me absolutely stoked for Time Runs Out, the crossover event bringing Jonathan Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers runs together to drastically change the Marvel Universe. Can't wait.

I also bought all of Mixels Series 3 from Lego this week. Twice, actually. I always buy doubles of Mixels. 

I'm not sure what their official release date is since they're still not showing up on Lego's online shop but the physical stores have them for sale. Keep a look out in the coming weeks, I plan on reviewing the each of the three tribes (that's colors for the uninitiated).

And lastly, I decided to pick up this Lego City accessory set. It's arctic camping gear to match their new Lego City Arctic line. I'll be posting a review soon, but here's a teaser: I'm greatly disappointed. 

So that's it for this week, catch y'all next time!

God Hate Comics ep. 3: Into the Unknown!

Sorry it's a bit late but the third episode of my podcast went up yesterday. So come check out God Hates Comics ep. 3: Into the Unknown, where Andrew, Dusty, and myself talk about the awesomeness of Jack "The King" Kirby's Fourth World, why you should be reading Rat Queens, and the disaster that was Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For. We also have two special guests this week, Fabian Rangel Jr. and Ryan Cody, talking about their hit comic series Doc Unknown! And don't forget to stick around for our all-star picks of the week.

Enjoy!

And I finally figured out how to embed my own podcast. Woot!

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.

My First Play Through of Rogue Legacy

Alrighty boys and girls, I'm trying somehting a little different today. I recorded myself playing Rogue Legacy on the PS4. This is the first time I've done something like this, and it's really more of a test so I can get myself acquainted with how YouTube and recording video on the PlayStation works. Hope you enjoy!

Vinnie's Weekly Haul: August 22, 2014

This was a pretty small week for me. My comics stack was pretty light and I didn't spend an obscene amount of money on Lego. I did find a couple rad ReAction figures though, so not all was lost.

Here's my weekly pull list. I'm super excited about Grant Morrison's Multiversity, and with this week's Supergirl, DC's Superman: Doomed storyline is beginning to wrap up. I'm also interested in seeing how All-New Ghost Rider will fare now that Tradd Moore is off the title. I also finished off my Fatale and Locke & Key runs thanks to a couple Comixology sales.

• All-New Ghost Rider #6
• Batman and Robin #34
• Batman Eternal #20
• Daredevil #7
• Elektra #5
• The Fade Out #1 (Digital)
• Magneto #8
• Ms. Marvel #7
• Multiversity #1
• New Avengers #23
• Secret Avengers #7
• Storm #2
• Supergirl #34
• Unwritten: Apocalypse #8

I've been picking up these ReAction Figures lately. It's funny, I have no intention of buying all of them or even opening the packages. In all honesty, these kinda look godawful, but I still love them. It's the combo on the packaging, info card, and the old-school look of the figures that I really find appealing.

Just look at how awesome that looks.

On a side note, I need to figure out a way to soften the lighting around my house. I guess it's to Google I go.

God Hates Comics Episode 2: Chromium Variant

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the second episode (or is it issue?) of God Hates Comics, featuring Andrew Williams, Dusty Pitre, and myself talking about the comics we read and the movies we watch.

I'm still working on figuring out how to embed the podcast onto my blog, so for now just click HERE to get listening!

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.

Star Wars Lego: I think I have a problem

If you know me, you know that after I watched The Lego Movie I hit the Lego wagon pretty hard. And If you don't know me, well, now you know that I hit the Lego wagon pretty hard. I'm not quite sure how many hundreds of dollars or hundreds of hours I've spent on Lego, but in the long run, at least I'm not spending it on drugs.

Seriously though, I have a butt ton of Lego. Especially Star Wars Lego.

I don't even think this is half of the Star Wars sets that I actually own, and it's probably a quarter of the total Lego sets I have. I wasn't kidding when I said I might have a problem. And let's not forget the minifigures. I decided to organize my Star Wars minifigures not too long ago. Basically had to go through this before I could neatly put them away.

Just a heads up, the Lego after market is a bitch. If you look long enough you'll be able to find retired sets and minifigures at a decent price, but it's not easy. 

My hint: go for used sets. You'll usually be able to find a set used at a good price, especially if you don't mind that the box of minifigures don't come with it. But it can bite you in the ass. I bought Boba Fett's Slave-1 used, and it came with missing pieces thanks to a moron who didn't think sticking a bunch of loose pieces in a flimsy box would be a problem.

But thanks to websites like Brick Link, I was able to get what I needed to complete this bad buy, save a few stickers. 

And if you looked at the picture of my ships and realized, "hey, one of these things is not like the other," you're right. 

This is one of the only Extended Universe ships I have, the Z-95 Headhunter. I don't know much about it, other than it was in the Clone Wars cartoon and featured in the Star Wars comic written by Brian Wood. I think it's supposed to be a precursor to the X-Wing and looks pretty similar to the Episode VII X-Wing. 

So that's a quick tour of the Star Wars Lego I have. Hope you enjoyed a brief look into the insanity that is my collection.

God Hates Comics ep. 1

Hey readers! I finally started a comic book podcast with my pals Andrew and Dusty.

This week we talked about Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this weeks comics, and we have a special guest interview with Morning Glories superstar Joe Eisma. 

Come check it out, it's super rad!

God Hates Comics Podcast: #1 Collector's Issue

Vinnie's Weekly Haul: August 15, 2014

Another week has come and gone, so here's what I worked for this week

As usual, here's a list of the comics I bought, with those I'm excited to read in bold:

• All-New X-Men #30
• Amazing Spider-Man #5
• Avengers World #11
• Batman #34
• Batman Eternal #19
• Captain America #23
• Captain Marvel #6
• Hulk #5
• Inhuman #3
• Original Sin #7
• Red Sonja #11
• Sex Criminal #7 (digital)
• Spider-Man 2099 #2
• Star Wars #20
• Superman/Wonder Woman #11
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #37

Of course I bought more Lego this week, not that I really need it, but man did I want it. This set's been sold out at Lego's online store since it's release on August 1st but I found them at their brick and mortar store this week. I essentially spent $70 for Greedo and the Cantina Band minifigures and I ain't even mad about it.

And to round out my haul, I bought a Greedo action figures from Hasbro's Star Wars Black Series.

In the past couple weeks I picked up a Boba Fett and Han Solo so I pretty much had to buy this, not that I'm complaining.

That's it for this week, catch y'all next time!

Lego Review: Research Institute

Today I'll be reviewing set 21110, the Lego Ideas Research Institute. Sadly, it's currently sold out on Lego's online shop, but if you're lucky, they may still have some in Lego's brick and mortar stores. This set should retail for $19.99, so be wary if you try to purchase it off Amazon or eBay, I've already seen it listed for over $70. I know this was supposed to be a limited run, but hopefully Lego will realize there is a demand for this set and get more on stock on shelves.

The Research Institute is a fan created set, thanks to Lego Ideas, and was created to increase the overall number of female minifigures and to show that girls can become anything they want. This is one of the reasons why I wanted this set so bad. There are female minifigures available, but most of Lego's popular themes, such as City and Superhero, are dominated by male characters. The Friends line is definitely geared towards girls, but the minifigures are at a different scale than standard Lego minis, and I know from experience that a lot of girls would prefer the Batmobile over Stephanie's Ice Cream Shop.

In standard Ideas' fashion, the Research Institure is packaged in a clamshell box and comes with a glue bound instruction manual that goes into further detail about the creation of the set, as well as job descriptions for each minifigure. Surprisingly, this is the first Ideas set I've seen to come with numbered bags, most likely due to it dealing with mostly small pieces (although that didn't matter for the Exo Suit) and three builds are independent of each other.

Shocking!

This set comes with three minifigures, a Paleontologist, a Chemist, and an Astronomer.

I was actually surprised by the detail that went into each minifigure. The outfits are great, and to be honest there isn't much to set apart an astronomer from a paleotologist, or from any other profession, to be honest, but they work with this set. I especially love the scarf on the astronomer. As you can see, each minifigure comes with two facial expressions, although I wish they were a bit different. Maybe a look of excitement instead frustration and uncertainty.

While the astronomer doesn't come with any accessories, the chemist comes with two styles of beakers and two syringes, which I'm pretty sure are supposed to be pipettes, and the paleontologist comes with a magnifying glass that actually works, which is pretty cool.

Each minifigure comes with a vignette that shows their profession in action. The astronomer build come with a telescope and star map that is used to explore the galaxy. The chemist build comes with a work station, more beakers, bottles, flasks, and a beaker holder. And coffee mugs that can be stored in the cabinets and drawers. The stand out of this set is the paleontologist vignette, which comes with a model tyrannosaurus rex, along with a microscope and a dinosaur bone for closer examination.

The Verdict

This set was a lot of fun. It's not a complicated build, and only takes times because there are a lot of small pieces involved. But the focus of this set was to highlight three profession that aren't normally associated with women, and in that regard it succeeds wonderfully. I'm really happy with this set, and hopefully anyone that wants it will be able to get their hands on one.

PS4 Impressions: Rogue Legacy

With work being hectic and just trying to catch up on my comic book reading, I haven't had much time for video games lately. But I do try to keep in tune with what's going on in the video game world. So thanks to IGN's Podcast Beyond, I heard about Rogue Legacy and decided to give it a try.

And I loved it.

Imagine Ghost 'n Goblins mixed with Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and you have Rogue Legacy. It's a hack and slash platformer with RPG and exploration elements. Setting it apart from other platformers is it's unique leveling system. You start the game as the first in a line of adventurers with just one life to live. If you die, that's it for your character, but that doesn't mean it's game over. The unique twist is that instead of coming back as your original character, you get to choose from one of three of their heirs, each with their own attributes and quirks. 

Since each character only has one life, the leveling system is tied to how much gold you earn in game. The more gold you earn, the more upgrades you can purchase, ranging from health and mana increases to different classes, such as an archmage or warrior class. Throughout the game, you can also find armor upgrades and runes, that give your character stackable abilities such as a double jump or finding more gold. These become available with, you guessed it, gold. Oh, and gold does transfer to your new character, but you can't stack it. You have to pay the gatekeeper 100% of whatever gold you have leftover after buying your upgrades to continue through the castle.

I mentioned each character having their own attributes. Some are pretty useful, such as increased strength, quickness, or being able to find more gold. Others change the look and feel of the game, like colorblindness that turns the world gray, nearsightedness that turns the world blurry, or glaucoma that makes everything darker. Then there are the quirky one, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome that makes you fart, or being an exaggerator, that makes the damage you take seem much worse than it is.

The castle's interior is randomly generated, making each play through a different experience. I liked this aspect but it made exploring a bit difficult since nothing is quite the same twice. Also, the random generation is sometimes a bit wonky, making two teleportation rooms right next to each other, or having a boss fight at the very beginning of the castle. But if you really enjoyed the layout of the castle, you have the option of keeping it the same at the cost of 40% of the gold you collect through your next play through.

This is a fantastic game that deserves to be played. The quirkiness is very endearing, and it's a great twist on tried and true gameplay. The difficulty is a bit steep, but once you get a hang of things, and rack up enough gold to properly equip yourself, you'll be blazing through it in no time.

This game also supports cloud buy functionality, so if you buy it for $16.99 on the Playstation Network, you will unlock it for your PS3, PS4, or PS Vita. Or you can get it off Steam for $15, or whatever sale price you're lucky enough to find it for.

Vinnie's Weekly Haul: August 8, 2014

This week's comics haul was pretty big for me. I kinda wish DC would do a better job of spacing out their major releases. It's always a pain in the ass to not get any Superman: Doomed books for a while then have three tie-in issues drop on one day, two of them being $4.99 annuals.

Anyway, here's what I bought, and I'm bolding what I'm most excited to read:

• Action Comics #34
• Action Comics Annual #3
• Batman Eternal #18
• Black Widow #9
• Detective Comics #34
• Green Arrow #34
• Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #5
• Legendary Star Lord #2
• Moon Knight #6
• New Avengers #22
• Original Sin #5.3
• Original Sin #3.4
• The Punisher #9
• Rocket Raccoon #2
• She-Hulk #7
• The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #14
• Superior Spider-Man #32
• Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #1
• Swamp Thing #34

I also bought some digital titles:

• Grayson #2
• Robocop #2
• Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #1-25

Heads up, Robocop was awesome.

I picked up a Funko Marty McFly ReAction figure. The throwback appeal really called out to me, and I love the "Adult Collectible - Not a Toy" warning printed across the top. I like the line because it reminds me of the action figures I used to get as a kid, although I'm pretty sure I never had a Back to the Future toy. A Doc Brown figure should be out but my comic shop didn't have any.

I picked up Boba Fett last week, so grabbing Han Solo was a no brainer. I'm not sure where I'm gonna put these guys as I've run out of space a long time ago, but I wanted it, and I'm an adult, so I bought it. Yay!

Rounding out my haul this week, I also bought some more Lego. I got two Exo Suits, which I reviewed earlier this week. It's a really cool set and I'm really glad I got one. And even happier that I got two. The second set is the Research Institute, which I will be reviewing next week. I also got the mini MINI Cooper for spending over $100 at the Lego Store.

That's it for this week.

Be Jealous :P

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.