Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Review: 30291 Anacondrai Mech Polybag

This is currently available at Toys'R'Us.

Bag.  MSRP was $3.99 for a $0.09 Price per Piece.


Instructions.







Minifig.  That skull helmet might make for an interesting greeble.


Parts.  A fair amount of Mixel Joints -- including the Pin Tow Ball one which I don't have enough of -- a 2x2 Round Tile w/Hole, a 2x2 Radar Dish, Skeleton Arms, Tooth Tiles, Minifig Handlebar, 1x2 Mod. Plate w/Bar (open ends), 3x3 Radar Dish, 1x2 Technic Bricks, Plates, Slopes, a couple
of Technic connectors, and a Minifig Scimitar.






Build.  I went with a HtH Soldier variant (2Rh/1B/1G/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?  No.  (-5)
Score: +10 (A-).  So close.  Eight more pieces and this would have had the top score.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Review: 30294 Cowler Dragon Polybag

Let's start out the week with a review of one of the new holiday polybags available at Target.

Bag.  MSRP is $3.99 for a $0.09 Price per Piece.


Instructions.









Minifig.  I like the Translucent Yellow.

Parts.  The Pale Greenish Yellow color is interesting.  The "A" frame Plate is a bit weird.  Besides that
it's a fairly standard collection of Plates, Modified Plates, Slopes,
Mixel Joints, and Clip Tiles.





Build.  Either a flying Frame or a Frigate for IO.  You choose.  :-)

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?  No.  (-5)
Score: +10 (A-).  Not a bad set, I just think it's better as a parts pack than the core for a build.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Purity: Kre-O 82960 Transformers Shockwave Review

Let's finish out the week with another Kre-O set I picked up the same day as the Hound one.

Box.  I paid $7.99 for this at Marshall's, which gives us a $0.11 Price per Piece.



Instructions.








Stickers.

Parts.  All that Purple.  You can see the Kreon parts that form the core of the set in the upper right corner.  A 1x2 Mod. Plate w/ Double Bars (open ends) immediately catches my eye, plus the 2x2 Hinge Brick Top Plates in the upper center.  Then the Kre-O versions of Small Ball Joints in the bottom center and right.  Plenty of other Mod. Plates, Brackets, Plates, Bricks, Slopes, Tiles, Tires, and Wheel Hubs.



Build.  This one took a bit of work but I think I pulled something out.

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+).  Just a few more pieces could have given this a better score.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Purity: Kre-O 82691 Transformers Hound Review

Another one of those never released 2015 Kre-O Transformers sets.

Box. I paid $7.99 at TJ Maxx for this, which gives us a $0.09 Price per piece.



Instructions.







Stickers.

Parts.  There's a lot here.  You can see the Kreon parts that form the core of the set in the upper right corner.  There are some intriguing 1x1 Round Bricks w/Bar in the lower center, Kreon Ball Joint pieces in the center, a silver Half Pin in the middle right, 2x2 Double Sided Plates in the lower right corner along with a 1x2-1x1 Bracket, along with all the Kre-O versions of standard -- and almost standard -- Lego parts.


Build.  A quick centaur build (2Rd/1B/1G/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+).  A great score for a Transformers set.  I wonder what it would be if I knew the actual MSRP?

Monday, November 30, 2015

Review: 41549 Mixels Gurggle

The last of the Glorp Corp. Mixels reviews.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99 which is a Price per Piece of $0.08.


Instructions.








Parts.  A lot of plates to start with, a fair amount of Mixel Joints, a couple of 1x2 Bricks, some Brackets, three different types of Clip Plates, a few 1x2 Bar Plates (closed ends), an interesting prismatic 2x2 Tile, a couple of Tooth Plates, several types of Slopes, and a couple of Lampholders.








Build.  Another T.U.R.D. Bot variation.

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 max score for the Glorp Corps.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Review: 41550 Mixel Slusho

Let's continue with the Mixel reviews.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99 which is a Price per Piece of $0.09.


Instructions.









Parts.  Once again, not a lot to work with.  Some Mixel Joints, some Slopes, a couple of Technic Bricks w/Axle Hole, a 1x2 Clip Plate, a 1x2 Bar Plate (closed ends), a couple of large Jumpers, a couple of Bar Bricks, a couple of Tooth Plates, a couple of Cones, a couple of Hinge Plates, and plenty of Plates.




Build.  Aaand we're back to Kaiju again.
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+).  And we're right back on top with this set.