Review: Lele Brother 8858 Space Shuttle

This is something new from Miniso.  From what I can tell the store has always sourced from multiple companies, sometimes putting their label on the box.  The most recent set of releases -- I have other smaller sets that I haven't reviewed yet -- hasn't though.

Box.  MSRP is $3.99, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

The stickers were packed in the main parts bag.

Parts 1.  Loose in Box.  2x2x10 Type 4 Triangular Girder.

Parts 2.  Plates, Wedge Plates, Cones, Round Bricks, Mudguard

Brick, Tail, Bricks w/Pinhole, Round Bricks w/Pinholes, Round

Plates, Dish, Studless Slopes, Dome, Translucent Curved Slope,

Bricks w/Studs on Sides, Jumpers, Tiles, Grille Tile, Padlocks,

Bar Plate (closed ends), Clip Plates, Cheese Graters, Clip Tiles,

Pins, Bar Plate (open ends), Brackets, Tap, and Antenna.

Build.  IO Escort Frigate (2Rpd/2B) [Systems

are White and Dark Bley.] and 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?  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+).  A good selection of useful parts and some fun colors.

Review: Block Tech Block Bouquet Black Lily

So I was killing some time in between work and an appointment last week and I decided to check a few Marshalls stores to see if they had anything interesting in for the Christmas season.  Turns out they did.  Last year Block Tech made a line of botanical sets that Five Below called "Goth Flowers".  Imagine my surprise when I find one that wasn't released through Five Below, and it's different from the one from last year.  According to the date of manufacture on the bottom of the box, this was made earlier this year.  There's no individual set number though.  Let's give it a review.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.08 Price per Piece.  I bought

this on clearance at $4.00, for a $0.06 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  2x5x9 Panels w/Clip, Axles, Textured Round 3x3 Tile, 1x8 Hinge

Plates w/Angled Side Extensions, Octagonal Bar Plate, Steering Wheel,

Double Sided Round Plate, Lamp Post Base(?), Ball Joint Plates, Hinge Plates,

Bar, Angled Axle Connector w/Pinhole, and Axle/Pin Connectors.

Parts 2.  Round Plate w/Axle Hole, Round Plate w/

Pinhole, Axle Connectors, Pin Ball Joints, Axles, Bar

Connector, Bushings, Double Sided Round Plates, Grass

Stems, Levers and Bases, and 1x1x2/3 Brick.

 

Build.  Frame (2Rh[ram prow] 2Y[antenna] 2W), and Station.

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+).  Still a good set even with two less pieces than the previous version.  Unfortunately, I've only found one copy.

Terrain Workshop: Stations

A friend of mine once said to me "Ideas aren't interesting until they keep you up at night."  I'm paraphrasing because it's been many years since that discussion.  Anyway.  This idea didn't keep me up at night but it did follow me around for several days yammering in my ear.

It all started when I was scrounging Transparent Clear parts for flight bases for another build.  I found a few 2x2 Domes and while they didn't work as flight bases something about them kept bugging me.  I held them up together, bottom to bottom, and something clicked.  Now I just needed something to hold them together.  I thought I had some Block Tech 2L Notched Axles in Transparent Clear but I was wrong.  So I defaulted to the standard Lego Black version.  I wanted to keep the shaping so I used a third Dome for the bottom.  I used a Black 1x1 Liftarm to connect them.  (And why is that piece called a Liftarm?  It's obviously a Pin Connector.)  I then topped it off with a Black 1x1 Round Tile.  For the base I went with a 4x4 Round Plate, because that's what I use for Stations, in a matching color to the bottom Dome.  To finish, I covered the open studs in 2x2 Macaroni Tiles, two in Black and two in a color matching the bottom Dome.

In 6P scale this is 13 feet tall, and 5 feet wide.  If you

want to use it as Cover, instead of a Station, it is 1 Hit.

Most of the time I design Stations to match or compliment individual squads.  These will probably end up as spares -- in case someone needs Stations in a game -- or used as Neutral stations when that rule is used.  I hope this gives people ideas or techniques to use in their own builds.  Flickr page.

Terrain Workshop: Flipper Trees

This spins off from my Terrain Workshop: Undersea Accessories 3 post.  We're using the Minifig Flippers again but we're going to put them on a 2x2 Round Plate w/Pin Hole & 4 Bar Arms Up.  This time we'll have eight Flippers and the Arm Up Round Plate for nine pieces.  Which, again, is three too much for one Hit and three too little for two Hits.  It's also short of the Height Minimum for Cover.  So let's add three 2x2 Round Bricks to make this tree taller.

This is 12 feet tall and 15 feet across in 6P scale and 2 Hits.  Unlike

Monday's build, I don't feel like there's a lot of ways to vary this.

You could swap out the Round Bricks for 2x2 Round Plates and

keep building taller and taller trees that add 2 hits per section.  That

would also keep the "leaves" fairly close together for a dense foliage

look.  This is 18 feet tall and 15 feet across in 6P scale and 4 Hits.

I hope this gives people ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.

Flickr page.

Terrain Workshop: Undersea Accessories 3

A creation posted by That Bro Dad the other day on the MFZ Discord got me thinking.  It was an underwater Frame with Minifig Flippers.  Now, I generally don't use them so I've got a fair amount sitting around in my "cool bits" bag.  But, with the advent of the Inkwell, there is now a way of attaching them to a Travis Brick in a manner that doesn't use up a lot of space (i.e. Bars, Pneuma-Ts, etc.).  With that in mind, let's try and make some funky looking plants.

Four Flippers, four Inkwells, and a Travis Brick is nine pieces, which

is three too much for one Hit and three too little for two Hits.  It's also

short of the Height Minimum for Cover.  So let's add three 1x1 Round Bricks

under the brick and give this piece of vegetation some height.

This is 16 feet tall and 6 feet across in 6P scale and 2 Hits.  I used Reddish Brown

pieces because that's color I had in the parts I called out.  But, since my other undersea terrain creations don't use Reddish Brown as a core color, let's switch to Tan.

You don't have to use three 1x1 Round Bricks.  Two is enough to make

the Height Minimum.  You could fill out the parts count with a Round Tile

to cover the top stud of the Travis Brick if you wanted to.  In this case I've

used a Technic Ball Joint to top it off.  You also don't need to use a Travis

Brick as the core.  This version uses 1x1 Bricks w/Studs on Opposite Sides.  Mainly because I don't have any Tan Travis Bricks.  I also don't have many

Tan 1x1 Round Bricks so I needed more pieces to pad out the parts

count.  This is 13 feet tall and 6 feet across in 6P scale and 2 Hits.

This Light Bley version uses a Minifig Head in place of one of the 1x1

Rounds.  It has the same size and stats as the Tan version above.

We could go old school and use just use 1x1 Bricks w/Pinhole as the

core.  This is 13 feet tall and 10 feet across in 6P scale and 2 Hits.

So, as you can see, there are multiple ways to mount and display

the Minifig Flipper. And also multiple ways to pad out the build

so you hit the magic numbers for Cover.  I hope this gives people

ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.  Flickr page.

Review: Bandai Bitlot Gundam Char's Zaku

Let's change things up and segue into something that isn't a building block of some type.  This is a new-to-me blind box collection.  I saw them at Miniso a couple of weeks ago and decided to give them a try.  Apparently they were released early this year and there is a second batch coming at the end of the year.

Box.  I paid $9.99 at Miniso for this.

Parts.

Disassembled.  The head can be Defense or Spotting.  The bazooka could be Direct

Fire, Artillery, or Spotting.  The axe could be Melee.  The shield could be Defense.

The hands could be removed for White Die damage.  The handle of the axe looks

flimsy and I didn't want to try and pull it out of the hand and maybe bend it.

Assembled.

Size Comparison.

The Questions:

Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  At.  (0)

Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  About the size of a Classic.  (+5)

How many parts does it have to represent systems?  Four.  (+5)

Does it have enough parts you can remove to represent White Dice damage?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +15 (A).  You can't field it as a Soldier archetype right out of the box but the stock model (2Rh/2Ra/1B/1Y) may be a useful option on the battlefield.  It also gives you a second option if you're looking to field a Zeon based squad.  The remaining two characters in the set aren't mecha but the accessories they come with  may be useful as different Systems.  Which would definitely help the RX-78.

Review: Bandai Bitlot Gundam RX-78

Let's change things up and segue into something that isn't a building block of some type.  This is a new-to-me blind box collection.  I saw them at Miniso a couple of weeks ago and decided to give them a try.  Apparently they were released early this year and there is a second batch coming at the end of the year.

Box.  I paid $9.99 at Miniso for this.

Parts.

Disassembled.  The gun could be Direct Fire or Spotting.  The shield

could be Defense. The hands could be removed for White Die

damage.  There's a stud on the back for mounting something.

Assembled.

Size Comparison.

The Questions:

Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  At.  (0)

Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  About the size of a Classic.  (+5)

How many parts does it have to represent systems?  Two.  (0)

Does it have enough parts you can remove to represent White Dice damage?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +10 (A-).  This is pretty disappointing.  Without a removable head the maximum number of Systems is three.

Review: Bandai Bitlot Gundam Zaku

Let's change things up and segue into something that isn't a building block of some type.  This is a new-to-me blind box collection.  I saw them at Miniso a couple of weeks ago and decided to give them a try.  Apparently they were released early this year and there is a second batch coming at the end of the year.

Box.  I paid $9.99 at Miniso for this.

Parts.

Disassembled.  The helmet can be Defense or Spotting.  The gun could be

Direct Fire or Spotting.  The shield could be Defense.  The axe could be

Melee.  The hands (not shown detached) could be removed for White

Die damage.  The haft of the axe looks flimsy and I didn't want to try and

pull it out of the hand and maybe wreck it.  So I may just keep the weapons

in the hands permanently and forgo using them for White Dice damage.

Assembled.

Size Comparison.

The Questions:

Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  At.  (0)

Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  About the size of a Classic.  (+5)

How many parts does it have to represent systems?  Four.  (+5)

Does it have enough parts you can remove to represent White Dice damage?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +15 (A).  You can't field it as a Soldier archetype right out of the box but the stock model (2Rh/2Rd/1B/1Y) may be a useful option on the battlefield.

Review: Zuru Max 83189-B Rose Review

This is a "blind box" set similar to the Garden series -- which is also from Zuru Max -- but it seems to only be this singular set.  It may be part of a larger series as I've seen pictures of a "four in one" botanical set that contains this one.  I think this makes the eighth or ninth different company entering into the Botanical Building Blocks race.

Box.  MSRP is $10.99 at Miniso for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

This is the backside of the package.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Smooth Round LF Armor, Octagonal Bar Plate, 2L Axle Connectors,

Minifig Wings w/Bar, Round Large Jumper, Round Plate, Bent Axle Connector,

Mudguards, Pin Connectors w/Clips, Curved Slopes w/Cutout, Rounded Plates,

Rounded Clip Plates, Padlocks, Inverted Studless Slopes, Plates, Plates w/Bar

Hole, Travis Bricks, Wedge Studless Slopes, Angled Bars w/Stud, Round Plates

w/Flower Edge, Half Pins, Axles, Bars, Claws, 3L Axle Connectors, and Clip Claws.

Parts 2.  Pin Connectors w/4 Clips, Eggshells, Round Plates w/3

Leaves, Minifig Ice Cream, Bar Bar Holders, 3L Axle Connectors, 2L

Axle Connectors, 1x1 Dome Top Round Bricks, and Flowers w/Pin.

Parts 3.  Flower Stems w/Bar Holder, Flower Stem w/Stud, Flower

Stems, 2L Bars w/Stop, 4L Bars, Flick Missile, Axles, Round Plates

w/5 Petals, 1L Pin Connector, Bushing, Half Pin. and 3L Bar.

Build.  Frame and Proto-Frame/Station(?).

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+).  I just want to say, up front, I hate this packaging.  It's not stable, takes up too much space, and isn't really reusable.  As much as the Dino Adventure sets were a leap forward from prior Zuru Max sets, this is another jump forward again.  I'm not sure if they found another source of bricks, bought another supplier, or just hired new designers but, I'm curious to see what the other "blind box" sets like this are like.

Review: Block Tech US101-2197 Succulents Powder Blue Echeveria

This is from the fourth release of Block Tech's "Block Succulents" line.  Just looking at the colors, you know why I jumped this to the front of the line.

Box.  MSRP is $4.00 {wrong link}, for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Plates, Octagonal Bar Plates, Tail Sections, Bricks w/Axle

Holes, Panels, Bricks, Round Plates, Eggshells, Round Plates w/Four

Petals, Clip Tiles, Clip Plates, Clip Bar holders, Inverted Studless Slopes,

Brackets, Cheese Slopes, Studless Slopes, Corner Panels, and Cones.

Build.  Two Frames, a Station, and a 1 Hit piece of Cover.

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+).  Pieces in Lilac, Bright Light Yellow, and some sort of Dark Tan/Olive Green cross (Khaki?) and you can make two Frames and a Station?  Sold.

Review: Block Tech US101-2003 Bouquet Crystal Rose

This is the sixth edition of Block Bouquet sets.  They're changing it up a bit with this release and using translucent parts for some of the sets.  Which makes some of them really interesting.

Box.  MSRP is $4.00, {wrong link} for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

The instruction booklet is actually

larger than the box.

Parts 1.  Hexagonal Windshields w/Bar, Translucent Octagonal Bar

Plates, Translucent Flower Petals w/Clip, Octagonal Bar Plate, Translucent 

Pneuma- Ts, Translucent Round Plate, Translucent Gears, Axle Connectors,

Axle w/ Pinhole, Axle Connector w/Pinhole, Translucent Tooth Plates,

Translucent Bar w/Stop, Axles, Half Pins, Translucent Half Pins, Bar

Clips, Translucent Bushing, Translucent Travis Brick, and Clip Claws.

Build.  Frame (2W) and two Stations.

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+).  While I really like this set for the colors and parts, I feel like it needed at least one Pin/Axle piece to be just that much better.