Review: 30379 Ninjago Movie Quake Mech Polybag

This is a recent release that's currently a Walmart exclusive.  A fair amount of people in the community have been chomping at the bit to get their hands on these sets.

Bag.  I paid $3.97 for this which equates to a $0.06 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Look at all of those Apollo Studs!  A Brown Travis Brick, those Bar Ball Joints in Dark Bley, two different sizes of Dishes, Bar Plates, Skeleton Arms, Black Ingots, Clip Plates, a Motor Brick, Bucket Handles, a Trans-Clear Round 1x1 Brick, a Trans-Clear 1x2 Tile, a Black Lightsaber Blade, Female Ball Joint Plates, Cheese Slopes, Bricks, and Plates.  This set is a smorgasbord of usefulness.

Build.  I went with the set build to see if it really was a Frame-in-a-Bag.

Size Comparison.  As you can see, it should fit in really well on the game table.

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+).  This one hits it out of the park.

Review: Gundam Converge RX-93-v2 Hi-V Gundam (144)

Let's finish Gundam Converge review week.

Box.  I paid $10.99 for this at Newbury Comics.

Parts.

Disassembled.  The rifle can be Direct Fire, the shield is Defense, the "wings" Defense/Movement/Spotting, the head Defense/Spotting, those tubes Defense/Movement, and I'm not sure what that piece in the bottom right of the picture can be or where it goes.  This kit needed an instruction sheet.  Oh, and you can take the arms off for losing White dice.

Assembled.

Size Comparison.





The Questions:
Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  Above.  (-5)
Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  It looks halfway between the Chub and the 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: +10 (A-).  The price killed the score.

Review: Gundam Converge RMS-179 GM II (148)

Let's continue Gundam Converge review week.

Box.  I paid $10.99 for this at Newbury Comics.

Parts.

Disassembled.  Direct Fire for the gun Defense for the shield, Defense or Spotting for the head, and Spotting or SSR for the Beam Saber Handle.

Assembled.

Size Comparison.

The Questions:
Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  Above.  (-5)
Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  It's a little bigger than 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: +10 (A-).  Not bad but not great.

Sales Alert

Looks like Target has a few sets on sale for 20% off this week.

Toys'R'Us has a few things on sale this week.  30% off Mega Construx sets.  20% off select Star Wars Lego sets.  Also, 40% off select Lego sets.

Good hunting!

Review: Gundam Converge RMS-179 GM II Semi-Striker (149)

Let's start another Gundam Converge review week.

Box.  I paid $10.99 for this at Newbury Comics.

Parts.

Disassembled.  The Beam Pike has to be a Double Melee, the head can be Defense or Spotting.  The Beam Sword on the backpack could be a SSR, or Spotting.  The connection on that one is pretty weak so you'll have to watch out for it.

Assembled.

Size Comparison.

The Questions:
Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  Above.  (-5)
Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  It's a little bigger than 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: +10 (A-).  Not bad but not great.

Review: 31027 Creator Blue Racer

Another fairly recent set I dug out of my "to review" pile.

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

Instructions.

Parts.  Plenty of Plates, some Slopes, Cones, Tires, and Rims.  A
Bar Plate, a couple of Clip Plates, Grille Tiles, and Mudguards.

Build.  An IO Frigate 2Ra+d8/1Y/2W.

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+).  Continuing the tradition of top scoring Creator sets.

Review: 30266 Sykor's Ice Cruiser Polybag

This was a "free" giveaway at Toys'R'Us in September of 2014.  I just dug it out of storage so let's give it a whirl.

Bag.  I think the price was $3.99 which is a Price per Piece of $0.16.  Even at
$3.00 -- which is the lowest Bricklink price -- it still has a $0.12 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Boat Studs, Bar Plates, Clip Plates, Cheese
Graters, and the Trans-Blue pieces are all nice.

Build.  Yeeeeaaaah, not really.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  No.  (-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: -15 (C).  Not worth it.