Review: 30250 Ewar's Acro Fighter

This is not a new set, but it can still be found in the checkout lines at Target.

Bag.  I paid $3.99 for this set.  Price per Piece is $0.12, a little on the expensive side.  Which seems to be normal for Chima polybags.

Instructions.

Minifig.  there are actually useful
bits here.  The torso armor can be
used for some SNOT techniques.

Parts.  Not a lot.  My favorite  piece,

Modified Plate w/Bar (open ends), a

couple of 1x2 Cheese Slopes, Clip Tiles, Lamp Holders, and Minifig

Skis, along with a few others.

Creation.  A walker frame.  Stats: 2Rd (dorsal
guns)/1B (Chi jewel)/1G (extra legs)/2W


The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, 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: B- (-5).  I built a quick frame on my lunch break.  You should also be able to put together a Frigate for IO with this set.

Purity: BrickForge Review 1

This one's going to be hard.  I realize now that my review system breaks down when confronted with an order of individual pieces.  It's made to deal with sets, not parts you hand select.  So, that in mind, I'm going to show you pictures of a bunch of pieces and tell you what I think of them.  We're goin' old school, baby!


First is the Coilgun.  It's a little small and doesn't fit into the Clip Tile all that well due to the angle of the handle.  I think this weapon's a little plain looking.  There may be an overmolded version available in one of the accessory packs.







The Advanced Recon Striker is small and has trouble fitting into the Clip Tile.  This is getting to be a pattern, isn't it?  Otherwise it works as a pistol at 7P and maybe a submachinegun at 4P.

The Anti-Material Sniper is a decent size.  It works as a rifle at 7P and maybe a long rifle at 4P.








This is the Flamespitter.  I really like the looks of this one.  It may be a mite small for 7P scale though.











Lastly we have the Sub-Orbital Machine Gun.  Which I really think should be named the Orbital Submachinegun.  It's too tiny for both scales and doesn't fit well in the Clip Tile.








That's it for this week.  I do have more BrickForge items to review in the future though.

Review: 30271 Mikey's Mini-Shellraiser Polybag

Between Hallowe'en and Christmas, a fair amount of polybags tend to be released onto the retail market.

Bag.  I purchased this for $4.99 at Toys'R'Us.  It has 47
pieces.  Price per Piece is $0.11, which is not that great.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Not really much here.  I see

two Taps, two Lampholders, two 

double horizontal clip plates,

and a few other useful pieces.

Build.  Hey!  A frame this time!  :-)

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: B- (-5).  Not bad for a licensed set, but not that great either.

Random Mechs 10

Let's start out the month with some cool looking mechs.

Samurai Hardsuit (TMNT) by Garry Rocks.  I could
pick some nits with this but, yeah, it's awesome.

BL▲CK H▲RE by .Bezoar-1.  Way fiddly, but looks really neat.

Banshee by Donna Liem.  Looks a little
large, but it has some neat parts choices.

Drone CS-1P by Devid VII.

Great color use on this guy.  The

stance makes him look badass too.

Coalition of Sovereign Worlds mechae by Areetsa.  Okay, this is
a bunch of mecha rather than a single one but I think they're pretty
cool.  It looks like they're closer to 4P scale than 7P but we have
a bunch of interesting variations in this mix.

More Videos

AKA: Revenge of the Crab Droid.

Here are more videos of mecha building instructions for your viewing enjoyment.

Star Wars Crab Droid.  A quick, simple build.  Video quality isn't that great though.

Mech + Instructions #3.  Another build from Captain Hobby.

Custom Lego Crab Droid.  This one has music.  A more complex creation than the first crab droid video.

Lego Mech Armor.  Kinda simplistic.

Lego Crab Droid Tutorial.  More simplistic than the first Crab Droid video.

Terrain & Scenery 4

Here are some microscale builds for your enjoyment.

Skid Steer Loader by František Hajdekr.  This
one's a fun build and it even has instructions.

Nick's Micro Moonbase Module.  Yeah, it's a little large.  But wouldn't

it look awesome sitting on a game table?  Here's the original.

Eden Heights by Nostalgic Bricks.  Once again,
a large build but this could possibly be 7P scale.

Batmobiles by Irwan Prabowo.  C'mon, who wouldn't

want a bunch of Batmobiles on their gaming table?

Micro Hot Rods by Superesc.  These look really
neat.  A lot of character in a small package.

Black Friday 2014 Sales

Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving -- is one of the biggest shopping days in the United States.  To help drive sales lots of interesting deals are usually offered.  I'm going to post links to some of them.

Toys'R'Us has 50% off Galaxy Squad sets and Kre-O sets.
Walmart has 10664 Creative Tower for $30.00.
Target has four sets at 40% off.
Kmart has four sets at 40% off and all City and Friends sets are on sale.  Also, BOGO50% Mega Bloks.  And, last but not least, there are four sets -- Chima and Superhero -- on sale.

Some stores are also starting the sales early.  I've heard rumors of TRU starting the sale early for Rewards members.  Walmart also has a pre-Black Friday sale.

Good hunting out there.