Review: 41569 Mixels Surgeo

I'm starting with the Medicos. because I want to use the parts from this set.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99.  Which gives us a $0.08 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  A fair amount of Plates, a decent selection of Ball Joints, new Headlight Bricks, and Slopes.  There's also a Radar Dish, some Technic Bricks, and Bar and Clip Plates that are useful.  The one weird inclusion is the 1x3x1 Door.  Of course, I'm drooling over the Dark Bley Minifig Bananas.

Build.  Frame 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+).  It's a Mixel set, should we be surprised at this point?

Micro Mecha 3

I'm feeling lazy on a Friday, so let's finish the week out with a pic post.

Microframes Group by thomastamblyn.  A nice group shot.

Powersuits by Antoine.  Some 

great character in these builds.

Light Assault Mini-Mech by HammithATF.  Most of the micro
mecha I post are bipeds, I'm trying to switch it up with this one.

Mini Power Suits by KNight.  These are a copy of

another design by Sage the 13th with a bit of tweaking.

Legosaurus Showdown by thomastamblyn.
These are both fantastic.

Battle Report: October Surprise

Another five players managed to get together and play a game despite life trying to get in the way.  This is what happened.

The point totals for the beginning of the game were as follows:
Occam's Spork (4 frames & 10 systems) = (6 points per asset) * (5 assets) = 30 points.
   White -- 2Rh/2Ra/2Y/2W.
   Brown Silent Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/2W.
   Red -- 2Rh/2Rd/1G/2W.
   Orange Missile Monkey -- 2W+SSR(x3).

Tom (4 frames & 15 systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 25 points.
   Blue Swarmer -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1Y/1Gd8/2W+SSR.
   White Armored Swarmer -- 2Rh/2B/1Y/1Gd8/2W+SSR.
   Yellow Medium Tank -- 2Rd/2B/2W+SSR.
   Lime Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.

A Team (4 frames & 14 systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 25 points.  (Cyclops)
   Purple Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W+SSR.
   Black Swarmer -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1Y/1Gd8/2W+SSR.
   Yellow Static Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1Y/2W.
   Lime Medium Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1Gd8//2W+SSR.

Narbey (4 frames & 16 systems) = (4 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 20 points. (Skitterers)
   White Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.
   Yellow Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W+SSR.
   Orange Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W+SSR.
   Red Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W+SSR.

Me (4 frames & 16 systems) = (4 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 20 points. (Ostrichs)
   Lime Medium Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1Gd8/2W+SSR.
   Purple Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.
   Red Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.
   Orange Recon by Fire 2Ra+d8/2B/2W+SSR(x2).

Pictures of the start of the game.  I chose to be Primary Attacker.












Events of Turn 1 (DDC@11): I make a play for Occam Spork's Station with my Lime frame and come up short on my Movement roll.  He takes my Station with his Red frame in return. Narbey's Orange frame hits Occam Spork's Red frame for 3 damage.  Tom makes a play for A Team's Station and his White frame hits her Orange frame for 1 damage.  Her Lime frame returns the favor for 3 damage.  His Lime frame hits her Yellow frame for 3 damage.  Tom then makes a play for Narbey's Station and his Yellow frame hits Narbey's Yellow frame for 4 damage.  In return Narbey's Red frame attacks Tom's Lime frame for 1 damage, and it does the Station Dance.  To close out the turn Occam Spork's Orange frame hits my Lime frame for 1 damage.

Occam's Spork: 36 points.
Tom: 25 points.
A Team: 25 points.

Narbey: 20 points.

Me: 16 points.

Events of Turn 2 (DDC@8): My Lime frame hits Occam Spork's White frame for 2 damage in my continuing attempt to take his Station.  It, in return, hits back for 2 damage.  Tom's White frame hits A Team's Yellow frame for 2 damage.  Occam Spork's Orange frame hits the tower A Team's Station sits on for 1 damage.  My Orange frame hits Occam Spork's White frame for 2 damage.  Tom's Yellow frame hits Narbey's Red frame for 4 damage.  Narbey hits the tower damaged earlier for 1 damage and destroys it.  Tom then seizes the fallen Station.  Narbey's Red frame hits Tom's White for 1 damage and he does the Station Dance.  A Team's Lime frame melts Tom's White frame with 4 damage and takes her Station back.  A Team's Purple frame then hits Tom's Lime frame for 2 damage.  Tom's Blue frame hits Narbey's White frame for 5 damage.  I hit Occam Spork's Red frame for 1 damage with my Purple frame and he does the Station Dance to finish the turn.

Occam's Spork: 36 points.
Tom: 20 points.
A Team: 20 points.

Narbey: 20 points.

Me: 16 points.

Events of Turn 3 (DDC@5): In the ongoing battle for Narbey's Station, his Red frame hits Tom's Lime frame for 2 damage.  Tom's Blue frame then destroys Narbey's White frame with 4 damage.  My Purple frame then hits Occam Spork's Red frame for 2 damage and he does the Station Dance.  A Team's Black frame then takes the Station.  My Red frame hits it for 3 damage and she also does the Station Dance.

Occam's Spork: 30 points.
Tom: 20 points.
A Team: 20 points.

Narbey: 16 points.

Me: 16 points.

Events of Turn 4 (DDC@2): Occam Spork's Red frame retakes the Station it lost in the last turn. His Brown frame hits my Red frame for 1 damage.  It destroys Occam Spork's Red frame with 2 damage and takes the Station.  Tom's Blue frame destroys Narbey's Yellow frame with 3 damage and seizes the Station they'd been fighting over for the whole game.  My Purple frame destroys A Team's Black frame with 4 damage.

Tom: 25 points.
Occam's Spork: 24 points.
Me: 20 points.
A Team: 15 points.

Narbey: 8 points.

Thoughts & Observations:

• I really have to remember to get all the Rulers cleared off before I start taking the first pictures.
• We managed to use Single Shot Rockets for this game.
• Even  though I didn't fire any at all.
• Somewhere during Turn 2 one of A Team's frames got destroyed but I didn't write it down.
• There was a lot of Station Dancing this game.
• If you can't tell, the felt got moved around a little as people kept bumping Frames that were on the edge of the table and knocking them over.
• I did a bit better this game, I think I needed more Spotting capability though.
• The game came down to the final actions of the last turn.

Sales Alert: Bricktober Week 4

Target has 10696 Classic Medium Creative Brick Box for $27.99, 41062 Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle for $31.99, and 21126 Minecraft: The Wither for $32.00 this week.  The only one worth it is the Classic set.

There's also a bunch of sets with lowered prices that aren't on Clearance.  76037 Rhino & Sandman for $27.99, 76048 Iron Skull Sub for $20.99, 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown for $15.49, 70128 Braptor's Wing Striker for $8.79, 70135 Cragger's Fire Striker for $17.99, and 41172 Water Dragon Adventure for $12.79.

Toys'R'Us is featuring a Buy One Get One 40% off sale on Friends, Minecraft, and Jurassic World sets.

Good hunting!

Review: Nexo Knights Ultimate Aaron

I'm going to review this set a little differently.  Since it is designed for making a tricked out minifigure, I'm going to review it using both the regular set of questions and the non-Lego kit questions.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $012 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1. First thing that catches my eye is the Ball Joint Bar pieces.  Second is the Trans-Orange Claw Bars.  Then the slew of Clip Tiles.

Parts 2.The Minifig Bananas are confusing but I like using them so it's a win for me.  I like using the A Frame Plates too.  The Octagonal Bar Plate and 2x1 Bar Plate (open ends) are both nice too.  As are the Minifig Stud Shooters and Exo Force Robot Arms.

Build 1.  It took me a day, but I managed to make something.

Build 2. You could use a Soldier loadout for this guy.

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.  (-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+).  Not surprising the price/parts count ratio kills the score.

The Questions:
Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  At.  (0)
Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  It's in between a Classic and a Chub.  (+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: +15 (A).  As a model it gets a better review.

Review: 30399 Friends Amusement Park Bowling Polybag

I managed to snag this a little early as someone at Toys'R'Us put them out before the street date of 10/21/16.

Bag.  MSRP is $3.99.  Which gives us a $0.08 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minidoll.

Parts.  That's a lot of 1x1 Round Plates, along with some regular Plates, some Tiles, Slopes, 1x1 Cones, a couple 1x2 Clip Plates, a couple 4x1 Bar Plates, a Panel, a couple Minifig Hot Dogs, and a Minifig Hot Dog Bun.

Build.  An Intercept Orbit frigate.

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+).  

Purity: Mega Bloks DKY82 Despicable Me Copier Chaos Review

I grabbed this recently because it was on Clearance.

Box.  MSRP is $6.99.  Which gives us a $0.21 Price per Piece.  As you can see, I paid $2.90 for it.

Instructions.

Minion-fig.

Parts.  Not a lot here, just a bunch of Plates, Tiles, and Bricks, with some Slopes, a couple Hinge Plates, and a weird Jumper Plate.

Build.  All I managed was a 2 Hit wall.

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 a surprising score.  A licensed set and a small amount of pieces isn't going to do well.

Sales Alert: Bricktober Week 3

In this week's sales at Toys'R'Us we have 20% off on Marvel Superheroes, 20% off on DC Superheroes, 20% off on Technic, 20% off on Disney Princess, 20% off on City, and 20% off on Duplo.

Good hunting!

Review: Gundam Converge RX-121-2A Gundam TR-1 (Advanced Hazel) (118)

Another find from an Asian grocery store.

Box.  I paid $8.99 for this at H Mart.

Parts.

Disassembled.  There are two more pieces that can be removed that I didn't notice until after I took this photo.

Assembled.

The Questions:
Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  Below.  (+5)
Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  It's in between a Classic and a Chub.  (+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: +20 (A+).  This one has a good selection of removable parts.

Review: 30350 City Volcano Jackhammer Polybag

This was part of Target's Bricktober Week 1 sale.

Bag.  I paid $3.99 for this which gives us a $0.08 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  The first things that stand out are the Minifig Harpoons.  The Technic Pin w/ Friction Ridges Lengthwise & Pin Hole is likewise interesting.  The Vehicle Spoiler w/Handle is also nice.

Build.  Another contender for Deathrace 3000.

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+).  Well, that is a surprise.

Review: 30396 Friends Cupcake Cart Polybag

This was part of Target's Bricktober Week 1 sale and should be still available.

Bag.  I paid $3.99 for this which gives us a $0.14 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minidoll.

Parts.  A few Plates of varying types, a few printed
1x1 Round Tiles, a couple Slopes, a couple
1x1 Round Bricks, a Panel, a couple of
Wheels/Minifig Barbells, and two "Nipples".

Build.  Some sort of 2P truck.  Beyond that I got nuthin'.  I did discover something interesting about the Nipple pieces while attempting to build something though.  They are the same diameter as a Bar and can function as a 180 degree SNOT piece in the right circumstances.

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 surprising.  Friends polybags generally don't score well.