Looking Back Again

Last year when I did this I was much more upbeat.  This time around I'm kind of burnt out.  Seeing as I've made 166 posts this year, I'm not surprised.  That's three full weeks of posts more than last year.  And I took an entire week off too!  Though I maintained my slightly more than three posts per week average for the second year in a row.  I hope I can continue to maintain this pace.

I've managed to play a series of games on a regular basis this year.  We've even established somewhat of a MFZ gaming group in central MA.  Five games was all we able to fit in.  Since we started late in the year and personal events blocked off a large amount of our time, that's not a bad number.   I'm looking forward to what we can do next year.

I've done 76 reviews so far this year which is 6.3 per month.  I did my first Mega Bloks review this year and have averaged about one a month since then.  I've done a total of 27 Kre-O reviews to date.

I'm now north of 260K views, which is roughly another 110K views since last year.  Thank you to everyone for that.  Also, thanks for pushing me over 7K views for the month.  This has been my best month for hits since September.  The number of hits had been sliding for a while so an upturn is nice.  And if I get really lucky I may even beat my September mark.

I, once again, got to attend PAX East and meet a great group of MoF0s.  I'm really looking forward to next year's.  Hopefully my panel suggestion gets accepted.

2014 felt like a good year for MFZ in general.  We saw the kickstarter for Intercept Orbit have a successful run and bring more people to the community.  Let's see where 2015 is going to take us.  :-)

Unpacking 2

At one point during a discussion of PaB cups and the techniques used to fill them someone asked, "Why bother?"  This question has sat in the back of my brain for a while and only really resurfaced when I made a blitz on my local PaB wall.  I was in a hurry and didn't have time to stack and sort so I just grabbed handfuls of whatever caught my eye.  Let's see how this compares to neatly sorting and stacking in terms of piece count.

That's what it looked like before I started taking pieces out.

Parts 1.  60 pieces.

Parts 2.  77 pieces.

Parts 3.  72 pieces.

Parts 4. 25 pieces.

Parts 5.  84 pieces.

Parts 6.  350 pieces.

Okay.  That's a total of 668 pieces at $8.74, which gives us a $0.01 Price per Piece.  This time I had more pieces.  But it's invalidated by the fact that this time it was a majority of plates and tiles -- smaller pieces taking up less volume -- as opposed to a majority of bricks with tile filler.

To prove another point, I repacked the entire thing with the items restacked that could be.  As you can see there's plenty of empty space left in the cup.

I guess I'll have to try and re-create the first cup at some point and do a comparison that way.

Review: 41513 Mixel Gobba

Here's your Boxing Day offering.

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

Instructions.

Parts.  A bunch of no-stud slopes and Cheese slopes are the immediate standouts.  The 2x2 Modified Plates w/Studs on the side are useful.  The 1x5 plate w/axle hole is intriguing.

Build.  Groot?

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+).  While it gets a top score, the color selection of the parts isn't that great.  Unless you really like brown.

Review: 41516 Mixel Tentro

I'm sorry this one's late.  I was a little wiped out after the work Christmas party.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99 which gives us a Price per Piece of $0.07.

Instructions.

Parts.  There's a nice blend here, click hinges, mixel joints, cheese slopes, 1x1 round plates, 2x2 turntable, 1x2 hinge brick, etc.










Build.  I had the leg idea for this walker bouncing around my head for most of yesterday afternoon.  Stats: 2Rh (claws)/2Rd (laser pod)/1Y (sensor pod)/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+).  Should we even be surprised at this point?  :-)

MFZ IRC Chat

Occasionally people get together in the MFZ chatroom and discuss the game.  It's been a little quiet over there as of late so I'm going to see if I can give it a little bit of a signal boost.

There are a few different ways to access the chatroom.
Ajax Webchat.  You pick you nickname before connecting.
Java Webchat.  You pick you nickname before connecting.
Flash Webchat.  Use /nick to pick your nickname after connecting.

In the Logs you can read up on all the things we've talked about since the creation of the chatroom.

I generally log in every now and then during the day.  It depends on how busy I am at work.  There's a topic on the Hangar for discussing meet-ups and letting people know when you're in the chatroom.  I'm also trying to get a group of people together for a chat on the day after Christmas.

Review: 41510 Mixel Lunk

I actually managed to get my hands on this entire series.  Unfortunately these reviews will be less than timely.  There are a fair amount of these left on the shelves at retail locations though.

Bag.  MSRP was $4.99 which gives us a Price per Piece of $0.10.

Instructions.

Parts.  Lots of shades of blue.  More mixel joints, and hinge joints.  Those lightning bolts could make good swords.  I've used those Trans-Blue slopes in a build already.  Two 1x2 Technic Bricks w/Axle Holes, four Modified Plate w/ Vertical Clip, and two 1x2 Mod. Plate w/ Bar (closed ends) round out the list of really useful parts.

Build. Stomper and his station. He's 4P and I had fun building him.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- 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?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: 15 (A).  Only the second Mixel to have a less than perfect score.

Review: 75002 AT-RT

This set was introduced in 2013 and looks to be on the way out.  I've had it for a while and been meaning to review it.  No better time than now.

Box.  MSRP is $19.99.  That gives us a
Price per Piece of $0.09, which is great
for a licensed set.

Instructions & Stickers.  This is the

first time I've seen an instruction

book oriented the long way.

Minifigs.  You can actually use the Droid for parts.

Parts 1.  These are the parts to assemble the Droideka.

Parts 2.  You have half a Ruler here.

Parts 3.  And even more parts here.

Build.  I just made the Droideka because I was in a
hurry.  You can see it's a little large for 4P scale.



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: A+ (+20).  Another Star Wars set gets the top score.  Inconceivable.  :-)

An Interesting Post on Another Blog

If you have any interest in clone bricks,  Woodelf did a post comparing Mega Bloks HALO pieces to Lego and other Mega Bloks pieces.  It's a well thought out, in-depth examination.  You should give it a look.   He also has other MFZ and Lego related posts.  His blog, Mental Propinquity, is interesting and I don't read it as often as I should.

Review: 75000 Clone Troopers vs. Droidekas

This set has been around for a while and I still see it on store shelves here and there.  I think it's going to be discontinued in 2015 though.

Box.  Retail is $12.99 for 124 pieces.
That is a Price per Piece of $0.11.

Instructions.

Minifigs.  Not much to see here.
I have used Stormtrooper helmets
as heads for mechs before.

Parts 1.  This is like a parts box

bonanza.  Clips, Pneuma-Ts, Droid

Arms, Levers & Bases, etc.  Jackpot!

Parts 2.  This bag had the larger pieces.  One thing I found annoying was that the Droidekas and Clone Trooper pieces were not kept in separate bags.

Build.  I assembled the two Droidekas from the set.  What

can I say, I was tired and in a hurry to finish this review.

As you can see, they fit nicely at either 4P or 7P scale.

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: B+ (+5).  Pretty good for a Star Wars set,  Six or more additional pieces and this would have had a really good score.

Sales Alert

Toys'R'Us has all Kre-O on sale at 50% off.  This includes Clearance, so run down to your local and snag some good deals while the sale is still on.  The shelf tags I saw list the end date as 12/18/14.  This is the second time this year that TRU has had Kre-O at half off.

Review: 30053 Republic Attack Cruiser Polybag

This set has been available for a while, and can still be found at the checkouts of certain Target stores.

Bag.  I paid $3.99 for this, which gives us $0.10 per piece.

Instructions.  Yup, crappy picture.

Parts.  That is a lot of plates and tiles.  The 1x2 slope, the 1x2 vented slope, and the 1x1 round bricks stand out from the crowd.   Jumper plates, Cheese Slopes, and Lampholders are always useful.

Build.  Yet another IO Frigate.  But considering this was a 

spaceship set, not that surprising.  Also, not that great a picture.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- 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 bad for a licensed set, not that much to write home about either.

Purity: 91766 Mega Bloks Hot Wheels Dragster Review

I've been wanting to review this polybag line for a while.  The price has deterred me 'til this point.

Bag.  MSRP is 28 pieces for $3.99.  Which is $0.14 per piece.  Ouch.  I picked this up on sale which brought the Price per Piece down to $0.10.

Instructions.

Parts.  Lots of Lime Green in this set.  I do like the quarter sphere piece.  The SNOT hexagons are nice too.  The angled tiles, pin axles, and translucent wheels all possess the potential for fun.  I'm looking forward to experimenting with the dual claw bars too.

Build.  Once again, it's easy to build an

IO Frigate from the pieces for a racecar.

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: B- (-5).  Not bad for a licensed set, but not that great either.  If you buy this on sale like I did, the score becomes B+ (+5).

Single Set Challenge: 30250 Ewar's Acro Fighter

I've had a lot of fun with this set and managed to make more builds from it than I expected.  I named all of my builds so far "Ewar's {blank}", mainly because I'm lazy and din't really have the time to figure out names and stories for all of them.

"Ewar's Walker."  MFZ Stats: 2Rd (dorsal
guns) / 1B (Chi gem) / 1G (extra legs) / 2W
Brickshelf gallery.

"Ewar's Frame." MFZ Stats: 2Rh+d8 (wing

blades) / 1Gd8 (no ranged weapons) / 2W

Brickshelf gallery.

"Ewar's Tank."  MFZ Stats: 2Rd (Chi cannon)
/ 1B (wing armor) / 1G (hover plates) / 2W
Brickshelf gallery.

"Ewar's Station."

Brickshelf gallery.

"Ewar's Robo-Tank."  MFZ Stats: ?? / 2W
Brickshelf gallery.

"Ewar's Frigate."  MFZ Stats: 2Ra (dorsal guns)

/ 2Y (sensor arms) /1G (frigate movement) /2W

Brickshelf Gallery.

Purity: BrickForge Review 2

In this review we'll be looking at some hand to hand weapons from Brickforge.  In the time since the last Brickforge review I've also come up with a new rating system for Third Party Parts.  This is how it works.

Modifiers:                                                     Ratings:

Fits more than one scale (+15)                          A+ (+20)
Fits one scale (+10)                                         A    (+15)
Fits no scale (-15)                                            A-   (+10)
Scale doesn't matter. (+0)                                 B+   (+5)
No problems connecting. (+5)                            B     (0)
Problems connecting. (-5)                                  B-    (-5)
Sprue flash. (-5)                                                C+  (-10)
                                                                       C    (-15)
                                                                       C-   (-20)
                                                                       D+  (-25)

This is the Dragon Sword.  It works well at both scales but has a problem fitting into a Clip Tile.

Rating: A- (+10)

The Hero Sword.  There are going to be a lot of edged weapons in this review.  It looks good at both scales and has no problem with Clip Tiles.

Rating: A+ (+20)









The Kukri.  This is one of my all time favorite weapons.  It looks a tiny bit small at 7P scale though.

Rating: A (+15)









Spiked Mace.  Whack, crunch, thump.  It looks good at both scales.

Rating: A+ (+20)










Let's go back and rate the items from the last review.
Coilgun: B+ (+5)
Advanced Recon Striker: B+ (+5)
Anti-Material Sniper: A+ (+20)
Flamespitter: A (+15)
Sub-Orbital Machine Gun: C- (-20)