Review:30347 Fire Car Polybag 2

This polybag is available at Toys'R'Us and was in the Easter section at Target.

Bag.  MSRP is $3.99 for a $0.08 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Similar to the previous version but with more
pieces.  The new printed 2x2 Slope is nice.  That
Minifig Garbage Can is going to be a pain to use.

Build.  Another IO Frigate, it even has its own flight stand.

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+).  It gets the top score but, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Review: 30221 Fire Car Polybag 1

This was available from Target back in 2013.

Bag.  MSRP was $3.99 for a $0.11 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Somewhat of a random selection here.  The Taps and Clip Tiles are always useful, as are the Bricks, Plates, Slopes, Grille Tiles, and Bar Tile too.

Build.  A variation on my Starhawk 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?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  If you need it, buy it, otherwise I think this is one to avoid.

Review: 30166 Robin & Redbird Cycle Polybag

This was available from Toys'R'Us back in 2013 as a "free with purchase" giveaway.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99 for a $0.13 Price per Piece.

Instructions and Minifig.

Parts.  Not a lot here.  Several Technic Bricks w/Axle Hole, Axles,
Bushings, and Axle Holders, but not much of anything else.

Build 1.  I originally had a

couple of tiny builds when I

first tried working on this set.

Build 2.  I later changed it to an 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?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  Completely not worth it, but I'm a Robin fan so I had to have it anyway.

Review: 40093 Snowman

This was a seasonal set from the winter of 2014.  It maty still be available in some Toys'R'Us stores.

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

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Lots of Slopes, Plates, and Tiles here.  I'm kind of surprised the internals of a snowman would be so colorful.  The Exo-Force Robot Arms, Barbs, and Bar Claws are nice, as is the Clip Tile.

Parts 2. Plenty of Bricks, Bricks w/Studs on side, Slopes, andbar  Plates.  A couple of Bricks w/Bar (open ends) and some Large Jumpers.

Build.  A quick 4P Frame 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+).  Another good seasonal set.

MFZ News

A new chat client, named Discord, is currently in alpha testing.  A few members of the MFZ community have started using it as a substitute for IRC.  The channel can be found here.    At the moment it seems more stable than IRC so we hope you join us for some lively conversations!

In other news, people looking for a Mobile Frame Zero role-playing game might not have long to wait.  Joshua posted something on Twitter that should make part of the community happy.  I'm not sure which PAX he means in that tweet but, it looks like things are about to get interesting.

Review: 40058 Decorating the Tree Polybag

This is a polybag dating back to January 2014 that I happened to find in my local Toys'R'Us one day back in January of this year.

Bag.  MSRP is $7.99 for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs.



Parts.  Plenty of Plates and Slopes, A few Bricks, a Cone, a few Jumpers, a few Tiles, a Technic Axle, a couple of Minifig Wands, a Motor Bricks, a few Noodle Bricks, a couple of Hinge Plates, and some Fencing.







Build.  A 4P scale Frame and a 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+).  Not a surprising score with that many parts in a polybag.

Review 30286 Christmas Tree Polybag

Since it is now Spring, let's start reviewing some older sets in an effort to clean out my backlog.  This is a Christmas polybag from 2015 that can still be found at some stores.

Bag.  MSRP at Target is $3.99 for a $0.06 Price per Piece.
MSRP at Toys'R'Us is $3.49 for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plenty of Slopes and Plates, a 2x2 Round Brick, a 1x1 Brick, a 1x1 Cone, a Headlight Brick a Motor Brick, a few Jumpers, some Flower Plates, and a couple Stars.

Build.  An HVA for Intercept Orbit with its own stand.  Or some sort of weird Cubist re-imagining of a tree.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, starship, or HVA -- 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+).  Not a bad set, just limited in the color selection.