Monday, September 29, 2014

Purity: 97170 Mega Bloks Halo Forerunner Terminal Review

These went on clearance at both Target and Toy'R'Us a few months ago so I decided to get the set of three.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 which gives us a price per piece of $0.15.



Instructions.  These look more like a fold-out map than instructions.






Minifig.  This guy is quite rubbery and unlike Lego minifigs.  It also has a fair amount of articulation.










Parts 1.  The double Sided 1x2 Plates in the middle are interesting, as are the T Bar Plates at the top.  Down in the bottom right corner is the reason I grabbed this set, a textured 2x2 Round Plate.  It'll look great as a starship engine.  You could probably stack up those pieces that look like bars of Silver and make a Station out of them.



Parts 2.  The clear bits are part of the stand for the final model




The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, right away?  Maybe.  You can probably pull a Station out of this.  (+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: C+ (-10).  The pricing on these just kills the score.  The mold cost on that minifig must have be pretty high.  They are going for ~$5 or $6 on Clearance so it does drop the PpP down to a reasonable level.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Review: 30310 Arctic Scout Polybag

The Dark Cloud Blogs has already reviewed this set.  He and I have come to different conclusions.

Bag.  $3.49 at target for 39 pieces is a Price per Piece of $0.09.  I think this is the only affordable set in the whole Arctic line.  {*checks notes*}  Yup, it is.





Instructions.








Minifig.










Parts.  Those new ski pieces should be interesting.  Three taps are also nice, along with a printed 2x2 no stud Slope piece.  Two 1x2 Mod. Plates w/Horizontal Clip always come in handy.  I'm not sure about the propellor though.  There is a fair amount of Orange in this set, which I always like.

Frigate.  It's aquick build for MFZ:IO.  Sets that are planes or things resembling planes are an good base for Intercept Orbit creations.  Stats: 2Rd+d8/1Y/1G/2W.




The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, right away?  Yes.  I made an IO Frigate.  (+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: A- (+10).  I like this set.  I think if you combine it with one of the Series 2 Orange Mixels you could have the basis for a really good frame.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Purity: A4911 Cityville Offroad Runner Review

It's been a while since I've been heretical, so let's go Kre-O again.  :-)

Package.  A MSRP of $3.99 for 37 pieces gives us a price per piece of $0.11.











Instructions, Stickers, & Paperwork.



Micro-Kreons.  I like the head on the orange one.  The hair piece on the cyborg is kinda interesting too.








Parts.  The 1x1-1x3 brackets in the lower part of the picture are the only really interesting bits in this set.  The mono-body piece is a little disappointing.




A quick creation to see what could be built.  A micro-Frigate for IO, since it's only half the normal size limit.  MFZ:IO Stats: 2Rd+d8 (fore cannons) /1Y (side antenna)/1G/2W.





The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, right away?  Yes.  I made an IO Frigate.  (+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).  Yeah, it's a parts kit.

Monday, September 22, 2014

TMOH: Block Chest Brigade 2

Here's a couple of new -- well, new since the last Block Chest post -- designs plus some better shots of the older designs.

Bug.  The whole reason for creating this was using
the Canopy pieces as wings.  Brickshelf gallery.










Hover.  This one was built around the idea of movable
engines.  MFZ Stats: 2Rd/1G/2W  Brickshelf gallery.

Jaeger.  Built initially for the 3T Challenge, this is essentially a member of
the Block Chest family even though the arm design is slightly different.
MFZ Stats: 2Rd+d8/2Y/2W.  Brickshelf gallery.











Gunhead.  I have no idea why I didn't share a better picture
of this one the last time around.  Brickshelf Gallery.

Green.  The first member of the Block Chest family constructed with
the new ball joints.  I didn't have enough of some of the standard leg
pieces so I changed them for this iteration.  Brickshelf gallery.




I hope you enjoyed this look at the continuing evolution of the Block Chest frame.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Non-Human 14

Let's finish up the week with something fun.

Boog Unit by Andrew Somers.  Lots of neat little tricks in this one.









Untitled by Stride}.  He claims this is an incomplete
fuchikoma.  I claim it's awesome.  Who do you believe?


Flea by Max.  I think this would make for a
really vicious looking Ijad Scrambler variation.






Cicada by Max.  And speaking of Ijad Scrambler variations.




OMF-G33 Charlotte by Eduty.  Let's finish it up with something by Eduty I didn't blog about.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

TMOH: Crab Mecha 2.0

After a request for not-so-parts-intensive-frames on the Hangar, and my rebuild of my Centauroid Mecha, I got a little inspired to add the new ball joints to my Crab Mecha design.

I figured you can do this in a couple of ways.  For parts we have the 2x2 Modified Plate w/Tow Ball, the 1x2 Modified Plate w/Tow Ball, and the 1x2 Modified Plate w/Tow Ball Receptacle on side.  The smaller Towball Plate only comes in Dark Bley and the Receptacle Plate only comes in Light Bley so you're probably going to end up with a three colors to a build a minimum.

I've got two new builds to share with you.  The first uses the 1x2 Modified plate w/Towball and 1x2 Modified Plate w/Towball Receptacle on side as the base combination to attach the legs.

Brickshelf gallery.







The second uses the 2x2 Modified Plate w/Towball and the Receptacle Plate as the base combination to attach the legs.  This also features another change, the addition of small arms in the form of a Bar Holder w/Clip.  I'll have to go back and see how well they attach to the older versions of my Crab Mecha.

Brickshelf gallery.

As you can see, both builds use three colors as I mentioned earlier.  I hope these inspire people a little bit.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Random Mechs 8

How about we start the week with another set of five mechs for your enjoyment.

BnY Mech by SomethingDistinct.  This one looks
like a headless Chub that's hit the gym.  Nice.








Seraphic Mini Mechs by Nikita Lazarev.   These look
a little tall for MFZ, but spectacular just the same.

Bad Egg by Cath_Bailey.  Can we just call this one a greeble bomb?









________ by Bezor-1.  Way too fiddly in general for my
tastes, this does have a few techniques that I really like.


Transforming Fighter, walking mode by SomethingDistinct.


Yeeaahh.  I think the Transformer-
Pack are going to lose their minds when they see this.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Review: 30226 Police Helicopter Polybag

Let's wrap up the week with another Police polybag.

Bag.  $3.99 at Target.  Price per Piece of $0.08








Instructions.



Parts.  A fair amount of Clips, two lampholders, plenty of Trans-color pieces, my current favorite part -- 1x2 Modified Plate w/Bar (open ends) -- and my favorite part when I was a kid -- 1x2 Modified Plate w/ Handles -- some slopes, some antennas, some plates, and a big Trans-Clear Windscreen that may be useful as part of a station.






Minifig.  Another set of mostly useless pieces.






Frigate.  I'm pretty proud of this.





The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, 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: A- (+10).  I tried building a frame but it wasn't that great.  Further experimentation might yield some interesting creations.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Size Matters Not

Thanks, Yoda.  One of the great things about MFZ is that we are not limited to a particular scale by the playing pieces (Can we really call them miniatures?) that we use.  There is a continuum across which we can express our preference for play.  All that matters is that the playing pieces be distinct and sturdy enough to stand up to the rigors of play.  While the main choices seem to be 4P and 7P, the latter of which is the nominal scale for the game as published, I've seen battle reports from people who play at 2P scale though!

All of which is a long way of introducing one of my latest creations, the Nano Frame.  I'm declaring this guy to be 1P scale.  Which means that it's 54 feet tall in scale.  Not bad for something three bricks tall.

I have photos of alternate viewing angles at my Brickshelf gallery.

While the Frame designs provided with the MFZ rulebook are 7P scale, maybe it's time to start looking at some of the other scales and seeing how they might look on the gaming table.  I know I use the microfig a lot as a size reference as that's an easy way to establish a 6P scale.  Take a crack at it and see what you come up with.


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Review: 30152 Mining Quad Polybag

Another polybag review.

Bag.  $3.99 at Target.  Price per Piece of $0.10.









Instructions.


Minifig.  Ooohh, 1x1 Round Tiles in Trans-Clear.  The mining helmet is interesting too.







Parts.  There's not a lot to work with
here.  Two 1x1 Clip Plates, one 1x2
Clip Plate, one 1x2 Plate w/Bar (open
end), one Minifig Handlebar, two
1x2 Modified Tiles w/Handle, two
Jumpers, and four 1x1 Round Plates.

Kart.  I wasn't really satisfied with this so I rebuilt it.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the new build.


The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  At.  (0) (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 struggled to build something decent out of this.  But along with the Repair Lift Polybag and a bunch of other parts you could make a decent looking squad of vehicle frames.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Instructions 5

Paradox Boy has been kind enough to share his Google Drive folder with PDF instructions and .lxf files.  It looks like the PDF instructions are for builds other than his own and the .lxf files are for his creations.  There may be a few PDFs that weren't in the last big instruction set.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Review: 30228 Police ATV Polybag

Another polybag that can be found at Target, Toys'R'Us, etc..

Bag.  MSRP is $3.99 which yields a Price per Piece of $0.10.









Instructions.

Minifig. Enh.  You know how I feel when it comes to these in relation to use in MFZ.







Parts.  What is it with wheeled vehicles?  Are
they easy to play with and therefore a good
sell to children?  Plenty of clip plates in this
set.  The Trans-Blue round tiles are nice.  The
Light Bley lightsaber blade could prove useful.

I'm calling this the "Ram Cart".  Stats are 2Rd+1d8 (ram prow + lance) / 1Y (radio) / 1G+d8 (wheels + free green die).

The Questions:
Can you build a frame, or frames, right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  At.  (0) (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 a bad little set despite the minifig.  I could see myself fielding a force all based around this set.


Friday, September 5, 2014

Lego Ideas 2

Here's another set of Lego Ideas submissions that I think the MFZ community should take a look at.

Exo-MicroForce.  A pair of micronized Exo-Force mechs that just so happen to be at 6P scale.  The designer is a member of the Hangar.

Hardsuit Kit. It's designed to be a "Hardsuit" at minifig scale but, if you change the head it could be used at 7P scale for MFZ.

Tesla Troops.  This is by Garry_rocks, I've done a Spotlight post on his work.

Chronos.  This was inspired by MFZ.  He's also a member of the Hangar.

I've supported all of these submissions.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Build Journal: Centauroid Mecha Frame

This build journal is going to be a little different.  I'm going to take one of my old Frames and refurbish it. 
Specifically, this one.
This was made before Mixel Ball Joints existed.  I'm going to use a couple of those and some of the techniques from my Build Journal: Quads to make this look a little better.

Old
New
First of all I'm going to change the old "waist" to the new Technic Knob Wheel design.


I was never happy with the one stud connection of the Travis Brick to the "spine".  Switching to the new design also saves me four Pneuma-Ts.




It does take away some of the vertical mobility of the legs but it's a sturdier connection and lowers the overall height.  I'm also filling out the lower legs and reinforcing the knee connection so it doesn't pop free every time you bend them.

Old
New

Second I'm going to replace the current spine with a 1/2 Technic Pin w/2L Bar Extension.  This will fit through the 1x2 Technic Brick that is the current core of the upper torso.  This means that I'll have to flip the head over so that the back of the Headlight Brick now mounts on the 1x1 Round Plate instead of the front.





Old
New
The third change is where it gets a little tricky.  I have to figure out a way to mount ball joints as the shoulders.  Which, as it turns out, wasn't so tricky.  I just used the arm design from my Warden frame.  I may experiment in future with other arm designs.

So here's the end result.  It may have lost a little height but it's more expressive.  What do you think?