Friday, June 28, 2019

Review: 40367 Brick Headz Statue of Liberty

I purchased this a few weeks ago and I finally found time to review it.


Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $0.07 Price per Piece.


Instructions.










Parts 1.  This was loose in the box.

Parts 2.  The Sand Green Octagonal Bar Plate made this purchase for me.  Because the only other one is in a $120 set.






Parts 3.  Plates, Clip Plates, Tooth Plates, Round Plates, Slopes, Wedge Slopes, Tiles, Printed Round Tiles, Minifig Lipstick, and Minifig Telescope.

Parts 4.  Plates, Round Plates,
Slopes, and Modified Bricks.








Parts 5.  Plates, Mod. Plates, Wedge Plates, Bricks, Mod. Brick, Tiles, and Minifig Hair.

Build.  Another IO Frigate.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away? Yes. (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? Below. (+5) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away? Yes. (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? Yes. (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Yeah, you can build something but, this one's a straight up parts pack for me with all that Sand Green.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Review: 31057 Creator Air Blazer

Another one from my "To Do" pile.  I grabbed this because I wanted to add the helicopter build to my Airfield table-setting.

Box.  MSRP was $9.99 for a $0.10 Price per Piece.


Instructions.







Parts 1.  Plates, Wedge Plates, Mod. Plates, Slopes, Mod. Bricks, and Propellers.




Parts 2.  Plates, Round Plates, Bar Plates, Clip Plates, Tiles, Round Tiles, Grille Tiles, Clip Tiles, Flags, Rims, Claw Bar Holders, Technic Pins, Bricks, Boat Slider, and Plate w/Pin Hole.

Build.  An IO Frigate with the Attachments in Light Bley.


The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  At.  (0)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +15 (A).  Some good pieces but it's not really wowing me.

Monday, June 24, 2019

Review: 30365 Space Satellite Polybag

I picked this up recently from the checkout aisles in Target.

Box.  MSRP is $3.99 for a $0.11 Price per Piece.




Instructions.








Minifig.

Parts 1.  Printed Tiles!  Bar Plates, Clip Plates, Inverted Slopes, Round Plates, Technic bits, Minifig Telescope and Wrench, Plate, Plate Mod. 2x2x2/3
w/2 Studs on Side, Padlock, and Dish.






Build.  I made the set.  It could make a good Station or HVA.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  A fun looking set but not really worth it.

Friday, June 21, 2019

[Guest Post] Review: 911837 Star Wars Magazine AT-ST Limited Edition

Let's finish out our Francisco Duarte review week.

I got this pack with two Lego Magazines (Portuguese edition) and assorted Lego sets for 4.95€ at a local store. This meant I have acquired 90 parts at 0.05 cents per part, which is not a bad price overall.

The first of these sets is another version of the AT-ST.  It comes in a small bag within the magazine. The magazine itself includes the instructions inside.












Parts 1.  2x3 plates, wings, 1x3 plates w/2 pinholes, 1x1 bricks
w/pinholes, 1x2 bricks w/lateral studs, wedges and small plates.




Parts 2. L-plate, round 2x2 plates with pinhole, binoculars, and bar plates.


Made a frame, with a gun turret, jump jets and two wing shields (RdGBB).

Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  This is a great set, but it is highly advisable to get it with a magazine pack, as it has the better price.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

[Guest Post] Purity: Sluban B0566A M38 Army Review

Another guest post by Francisco Duarte

This was the other set I got last Christmas. This one was supposed to form a generic modern
fighter jet.

Again, because this was a gift, I cannot precisely state the price, but previous
sets achieved 0.03 to 0.06 Euros per part. This set contained 42 parts.



The instructions are on the back of the box.
This is similar to the previous black helicopter
set and it is a nice way to know what is inside.







Parts. Wings, 3x2 plates, 1 stud wide plates,
grille tiles, cones, 1x1 bricks with pinhole,
modified round bricks and round plates.






Made a battlecruiser, with a sensor dome in the
front, two assault range guns, and a defensive
point defense gun I the back (Y2Ra+d8Rp).


Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can' build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Another good set – I need to find a few more from this brand.

Monday, June 17, 2019

[Guest Post] Purity: Sluban B0633E M38 Car Club Review

Here's another guest post by Francisco Duarte.  In fact, this is the start of a guest week by Francisco.

This is the second set I got at a sale in a local store (Minipreço, one of the largest chains in Portugal). It is part of the same collection as the white car from my previous review. Both were made by Sluban, a Chinese company. Together they cost me around 5€ at a discount of 50%, placing each part just under 0.02 Euros. At full price this could go up to 0.03 or 0.04 Euros per part, which is still very good.

The blue car box contains 164 parts. These are mostly
blue and red, with some black and white thrown in.




Instructions.





Stickers.



A minifig.




Plates of several sizes, wings, and
more of the short 1x1 bricks.






L-plates, small plates, and tiles.


Axles, 1x1 bricks with pin, modified bricks, claw tiles, some modified plates and a 10 stud long modified plate.





Wheels, tires, windshield, seat and steering wheel parts.



Mudguards, slopes, and some transparent slopes.





Decided to try to do a few frames this time. There is a skirmisher quad frame, with a direct fire turret, an ECM pod and a set of four legs (WW2RdBG). The second frame is a support unit with a long-range railgun, a shield and four legs (WW2RaBG). I also bricked a baserunner with a radar dish, several antennas and hardened armor (WWYYB+d8G). With the remaining parts I did a live-fire training wall as a single piece of cover.

Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  This set is really solid, and you can build a small Frame company at a very low price. The parts do fit together tightly, but one should be warned that there can be at least one defective part per box.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Hate Has No Home Here

Let's repeat that for those in the cheap seats.

HATE HAS NO HOME HERE.

No photo description available.




























I was going to do a review today but a couple of comments on different MFZ social media led to this.  There were two separate incidents of (pushback?complaint?) bitching about Pride Month iconography being posted by people.  That won't stand.  The Mobile Frame Zero community prides itself on being open and welcoming to all people.  Except those that are intolerant.  Denying people a chance to express their identities?  Intolerance.  Hate.  NOT acceptable.

I'm cishet and identify as male.  I know that affords me a lot of privilege but I still remember a time when being geeky and weird was frowned upon.  Luckily I had athletic pursuits that allowed me to pass as "normal" in most circles.  The wheel has turned and it's now the "Age of the Geek".  We're in ascendancy for a tiny moment.  Let's not forget where we came from.  No more gatekeeping, no more intolerance.  No more hate.


Pride color Chubs created by Shades Corvid.  Image used with permission.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Review: 76036 Carnage's SHIELD Sky Attack

Another old set sitting in my "To Do" pile.

Box.  MSRP was $12.99 for a $0.13 Price per Piece.


Instructions and stickers.









Minifigs.  That Pin Connector w/4 Clips is the same one from the Parts 1 picture.

Parts 1.  Stud Shooters, Bar Plates,
Technic Bricks, Hinge Plates,
and Driving Ring Extensions
are the standout parts to me.


Parts 2.  Hinge Plates, Bar Plates, Clip
Plates, Clip Bricks, Bar Clips, and the
Printed 2x2 Round Tile w/Hole are cool.



Build.  Another IO Frigate.


The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +5 (B+).  It had some good pieces but the minifigs probably drove up the price.

Monday, June 10, 2019

Review: 10706 Blue Creativity Box

I needed some parts out of this set, so I grabbed it out of the "To Do" pile.

Box.  MSRP was $4.99 for a $0.06 Price per Piece.


Instructions.









Parts 1.  Plates, Slopes,
Bricks, and Window Frame.


Parts 2.  Slopes, Plates, Axle Plates,
Bricks, Modified Bricks, Cones, Dishes,
Jumpers, Rims, Windows, Printed
Round Tiles, and Round Tile w/Hole.





Build.  A quick IO Frigate.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Sets like this are always good for parts.


Friday, June 7, 2019

Purity: Mega Bloks DYF04 Pokeball Machop Review

Another Series 1 review to finish out the week.

Box.  MSRP is $6.99 for a $0.25 Price per Piece.


Instructions.










Parts 1.  Another skeleton piece.  Those 1x2 Curved Slopes are interesting.



Parts 2.  The two tone Tooth
plate is interesting.






Build.

Size Comparison.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  I bought a few of these and may convert them into a squad.