Review: SLAB Baseplates

Last year, SLAB Baseplates were brought to my attention by my friend, Jae.  In the intervening year they've gotten their product onto Walmart shelves.  Since I now have a local source I decided to get a package and do a review.

Box.  MSRP is $29.98, for a $7.50 Price per Piece.

Parts.

Those White bits below the baseplates

are clips to hold them together.

Underneath.

Size Comparison.  Clockwise

from bottom left: SLAB, Make-

It Blocks, Lego, and Lego.

Thickness Comparison.

Build.  (Including the Usual Suspects for size.)  While they might

look  interesting, they are difficult to assemble.  Some of the clips

 wouldn't go into place, the plates have to be aligned in a particular

 direction, and I feel like they don't have Lego's tolerances.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Terrain.  (0)
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: -10 (C+).  I'm not sure this set needs a score as it will be for building terrain and setting the mood for the game.  At $7.50 for each baseplate they are cheaper than standard Lego -- and larger -- but I'm not sure how compatible they might be due to the thickness difference.  Although the manufacturer claims they are stackable.  Also, this is a combo pack with four different colors.  Which means you'd need to buy multiples if you only want one of those colors.  If you buy directly from SLAB they are roughly twice as expensive as these for individual baseplates.  As always, "Your Mileage May Vary" depending on what you want and what you're looking to build.  Honestly, I'm not impressed.  After fighting to get them together I'm probably not going to get more, even if they look cool.

Review: 30658 Mobile Music Trailer Polybag

This was apparently supposed to be a giveaway for a Lego event that never came to pass.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.09 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minidoll.

Parts.  Half Oval Plates, Plates, Bar Plate, Axle Plate, Round Tiles w/Pinhole,

Bricks w/Studs on Side, Clip Plates, Studless Slope, Padlock, Clip Tile,

Stadium Tiles, Transparent Round Tiles, Inkwells, Flowers w/Small Pin,

Minifig Hair Brush, Grille Panels, Printed Tile, Round Plate w/3 Leaves, Bike

 Wheels, Transparent Round Brick, Bike Frame, Rims, and Skeleton Arms.

   

Build.  Station or 2 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+).  This has a nice selection of parts but I think you'd need at least two of them to build anything really interesting.

Review: Gundam Converge STTS-808 Immortal Justice Gundam (286)

One more Gundam to add to the collection.  This set is from the 24th wave of sets which was released in February of 2024.

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

Parts.

Disassembled.  The head vanes could be Spotting. The head

could be Defense, or Spotting. The lift pack could be Defense, or 

Movement.  The rifle could be Direct Fire, or Spotting. The shield

could be Defense.  The arms could be removed for White Die damage.

The little translucent piece is a clip so it can attach to the baseplate.

Assembled.

 

Size Comparison.

The Questions:

Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  Above.  (-10)

Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  In between a Chub and a Classic.  (+5)

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

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

Score: +5 (B+).  This is a ready to go Soldier archetype right out of the box.  The only thing that would make it better is a cheaper price.

Review: Surprise Blocks K29-6 Dinosaur 1

A friend of mine gave this to me recently.  I'm not sure where he got it but similar sets seem to be available on Amazon, Ali Express, and other sites along those lines.  As the name implies, these are blind pick sets although there is a number on the bottom that might correspond to the contents.

Box.  Average price is roughly $1.60, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, Curved Slopes w/Cutout, Inverted Slope w/Cutout,

Bar Plates, Hinge Plate, Lampholder, Tooth Plates, Clip Plates,

Jumpers, Studless Slope, Cheese Slopes, and Translucent Round Plate.

Build.  Frame [2Rh (tail spikes) 1B (back spikes) 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+).  Not a bad little set.  You might need two of them for something a little more substantial though.

Review: Block Tech US24-2433 Mount Up! Swift-Sting Scorpion 2

This is part of the third or fourth release in Block Tech's "Mount Up!" line.  The older sets are sitting in my backlog pile and I will review them at some point.  Honest.  The main reason I jumped this one to the front of the line is that is has parts I can use in my Amalgamate frame design.  Guess I'm going to have to go back and look at all the other sets again to see if they have any useful parts I overlooked.

Box.  MSRP is $5.00 for a $0.03 Price per Piece.  

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Minifig Weapons Sprue.  This was in a bag all by itself.  Why?!

They could have just left it loose or packaged it with other parts.

Parts 2.  Tiles, Inverted Tiles, Plates, Inverted Studless Slopes, Clip

Plates, Clip Bar Holders, Barbs, Apollo Studs, and Translucent Bar.

Parts 3.  Plates, Slopes, Wedge Bricks, Tiles, Ball Joint

Plates, Studless Slopes, Axle Plate, and Tail End/Horn.

Parts 4.  Inverted Tiles, Wedge Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Large

Cheese Slopes, Bracket, Padlocks, and Exo-Force Arms.

Build.  Two Frames 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+).  Two Frames and a Station, with leftover parts, for $5?  That's a deal. Although given the size of the set, if you couldn't make at least two Frames that would be a serious black mark against it.

Review: 42601 Friends Hamster Playground

So this is outside my usual parts limit and Price-per-Piece range but I think it's currently the smallest set available with the new leaf pieces.  It also has a couple of those new-ish tube pieces and if you're old enough to remember Habitrail then I think you understand why I wanted to take a crack at reviewing this. 

Box.  MSRP is $19.99, for a $0.20 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minidolls.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  "Stadium" Plates.

Parts 2.  Half Circle Plate, Round Plate, Curved Cutout Plates, Plates, Half

Oval Plates, Minidoll Hamster, Bricks, Round Bricks, Macaroni Tiles,

Slopes, Macaroni Bricks, Log Bricks, 4x4 Flower Petals, and Minifig Dish.

Parts 3.  Turntable Base, Turntable Top, Tiles, Round Plates

w/3 Leaves, Rounded Plates, Slopes w/Cutout, Plate w/Arm

Up, Printed Tiles, Round Flower Plates, and Round Plates.

Parts 4.  Large Round Jumpers, Round tiles w/Pinhole, Turntable Top, Turntable

Base, Round Plates w/3 Leaves, Clip Plate, Plates, Rounded Plate, Jumper,

Ingots, Translucent Tiles, Studless Slopes, Inkwells, Round Plates, Hinge

Plate, Macaroni Tiles, Minifig Hairbrush, Half Pins, Pins, Bar w/Angled

Hollow Stud, Minifig Telescope, Twigs, Plant Stems, and Minidoll Hamsters.

Parts 5.  45 Deg. Tubes, Straight Tube, Plate, Round Bricks, Round

Plates, Curved Top Panels, Tile, Convex Panels, Rounded Plates w/

Layered Leaves, Grille Bars, Arches, Minifig Apple, Plate w/Rounded End,

Bricks, Translucent Hemispheres w/Cutout, Bracket, Ball Joint Plate, Hinge

Plate, Translucent Round Bricks, Clip Brick, and Round Brick w/Pinholes. 

Build.  Two 1 Hit pieces of Cover, Station,

and two 2 Hit pieces 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?  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+).  This is definitely a terrain set, and that price per piece isn't great, but I like it for the contents anyway.  Try to get it on sale if you really want it and are feeling price conscious.

Review: Zuru Max 83158 Raptor Force

Zuru Max is back with a very interesting -- to me -- new line of "Dino Adventure" sets.

Box.  I paid $6.98 at Walmart for this which is a $0.03 Price per Piece.  

Egg unwrapped.

Instructions.

Dinosaur.

  

Parts 1.  Double Triple Curved Wedge, Plates, Rims, Inverted Slopes,

Bar Tiles, Triple Curve Wedge, Corner Double Curve Wedge, Bricks

w/Pinhole, Panels, Bricks, Ladder, Panels w/Window, Brackets, Bar

Plates, Door, Tiles, Grille Tiles, Jumpers, and Double Studless Slope.

Parts 2.  Triple Curved Wedge, Tile w/Studs on Side, Plates, Tires,

Windscreen Frame, Bull Bar, Tiles, Studless Slopes, Bricks,

 Mudguards, Brackets, Clip Plates, Bar Plates, Modified Tiles w/Slope,

 Spoiler, Bricks w/Stud on Side, Whip Antenna, and Bars w/Stop,

  

Parts 3.  Corner Plate/Tiles, Minifig Steering Wheel Base, Flick Missiles, Clip Plates,

Plates, Tiles, Rounded Clip Plates, 3L Pins, Grille Tiles, Translucent Tiles, Bricks,

Rounded Clip Bricks, Door, Cheese Slopes, Translucent Stadium Tiles, Clip Tiles,

Corner Double Curve Wedge, Minifig Steering Wheel, Tap, Cones, and Round Brick.

Parts 4.  Plates, Bricks, Tiles, Bar Plates, Brackets, Lampholder, Round Brick, Rounded Clip

Plate, Studless Slope, Flick Missile, Translucent Round Tiles, and Translucent Panels.

Build.  Two Roller-Bot Frames (1Y [antenna] 2W+SSR), one 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+).  So three of these gets you a squad with a few pieces of Cover.  You'd need to figure out some other Systems but there's plenty of extra pieces.  Or you could go with pieces in a different color -- Dark Bley or White, for example -- that isn't in this set.  All told, I feel this is a pretty good set.