Sales Alert

I'm not sure if this counts as Bricktober, since it's the last day of the month, but Toys'R'Us is having a 20% off sale on select sets from the Superheroes, Ninjago Movie, Star Wars, Friends, and City sets.  There's also a BOGO40% Off sale on the Lego Tape, and a BOGO40% Off on all Pokemon Mega Bloks construction sets.  To round it out, there's an offer of a Lego Ninjago Kai's Dojo Pod or Friends Ski Pod free with any Lego Construction purchase of $30 or more.

Target is advertising Lego Advent Calendars this week.

Good hunting!

Review: 40203 Halloween Vampire Set

I figured this review would be appropriate one to end Bricktober.  It's another old set, but I bought this the other week at Walmart.

Box.  I paid $9.84 for this which gives us a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Clip Plates, Tooth Plates, Cheese Slopes, Studless Slopes, Barbs, Boat Bumpers, printed Round Tiles,and Plates.

Parts 2.  Slopes, Plates Bricks, and a Wheel Well Plate.

Parts 3.  Here's most of the fun stuff.

Build.

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 bad, but not great.

Review: 30426 Ninjago Stealthy Swamp Airboat

I found this at Walmart recently.  I was surprised to see it on the shelf as I hadn't heard any rumors about its release.

Box.  I paid $3.49 for this at Walmart.  This yields a $0.08  Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Jets, Stud Shooters, Ice Cream Cones, Bracket, 6x6 Inverted Radar Dish, and Printed 1x2 Cheese Slope are all interesting pieces.

Build.  A hover Frame or IO Frigate, you choose.  I know, it uses an "illegal" connection.

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-).  It has some interesting parts and might make for the start of a squad.

Purity: Kre-O 82964 Transformers Bumblebee Brick Box Review 2

Apparently there was a second version of the Bumblebee Brick Box released along with the others.  It has the same part number as the other one.  I noticed this while I was preparing to dump and sort the parts from the box.  Luckily I stopped before anything got mixed up.

Box.  I paid $6.99 for this at Walgreens.  This yields a $0.09  Price per Piece.

Instructions.  None of these sets came with instructions.

Kreon.

Parts 1.  1x4 Hinge Plates, those funky
1x1 Corrugated Round Bricks,
and plenty of other fun stuff.

Parts 2.  Bricks, Plates, Rims, Tires, Slopes,
Clip Plates, Bar Plates, and Axle Plates.

Build.  A 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+).  Another Brick Box with the max score.

Purity: Mega Bloks DYG82 Bold Box of Bricks Review

Last year or so, Mega Bloks started releasing Open Ended Building sets, kinda like those old school Lego sets that were just parts with no main design intended.  I only ever saw them at TJX stores so I'm not sure if they had a wider release than that.

Box.  No MSRP available.  I paid $3.99 at Marshall's for this, which gives us a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plenty of Slopes, Bricks and Plates.
Some Headlight Bricks and Apollo Studs.

Build. A quick, and very simple, Frame.

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+).  I like the colors in this set but the parts selection is a little disappointing.

Sales Alert: Bricktober Week 4

The only sale I could find this week is 20% off on select Star Wars Lego sets at Toys'R'Us.

Good hunting!

Review: 30476 Creator Turtle Polybag

This is currently a "Free" for $24.99 Lego purchase item at Target.  I found it in the checkout aisles and it can be purchased by itself.

Bag.  I paid $2.99 for this, which gives us a $0.09 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Slopes, Plates, Round Tiles, and Ball Joints.

Build.  It's just a rebuild of the
set, but it could be an Ijad frame.

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-).  This would make a decent starter set for an Ijad squad.

Purity: Mega Bloks DYG83 Vibrant Box of Bloks Review

Last year or so, Mega Bloks started releasing Open Ended Building sets, kinda like those old school Lego sets that were just parts with no main design intended.  I only ever saw them at TJX stores so I'm not sure if they had a wider release than that.

Box.  No MSRP available.  I paid $3.99 at Marshall's for this, which gives us a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plenty of Bricks, some Slopes, some Plates, some Modified Bricks, some Round Bricks, and -- Look! -- Apollo Studs.

Build.  Something quick and simple.

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 generic parts box with the max score.  That's awesome!

No Fascists

There was a bit of a brouhaha on the Facebook page on Monday over someone having Fascist symbols in their icon and having pro-Fascist pictures on their public Facebook page.  That person ended up getting banned after actually using hate-speech in a conversation and another person quit the MF0 Facebook group over "free speech" issues.

 A lot of people bring that up in defense of people who show support for fascists.  "They have the right of Free Speech."

No they don't.  Not on official Mobile Frame Zero related websites.

Part of licensing/creating material related to Mobile Frame Zero is this caveat.

You must design your setting material in such a way that the signature elements of feudal, authoritarian, totalitarian, communist, corporate/anarcho-capitalist, or democidal political structures that are not true, workable, or morally acceptable in the real world are equally untrue, unworkable, and unacceptable in your setting.

That's built into everything Joshua has put his stamp of approval on.  So that means once you agree to the Terms & Conditions of any MF0 website you join, you are bound by that clause.  in short, any public display of support for Fascists of any ilk through speech or display of symbols -- this includes public icons, profiles, or pictures -- will result in an instant and permanent ban from any official Mobile Frame Zero group.

You have been warned.

Purity: Kre-O 89263 Transformers Optimus Prime Brick Box Review

This is the third of a series of Transformers "Brick Boxes" released by Hasbro in past holiday seasons.

Box.  I paid $6.99 for this at Walgreens.  This yields a $0.09  Price per Piece.

Instructions.  None of these sets came with instructions.

Kreon.

Parts 1.  Bricks and Plates.

Parts 2.  Brackets, Slopes, Plates, Tiles, Grille Tiles,
Modified Bricks, Bar Plates, and Clip Plates.

Build.

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 licensed set with the max score, we don't see that often.

Sales Alert: Bricktober Week 3

Target is running a sale on random Lego sets.  The kicker is the "Spend $25 get a Happy Turtle polybag".

Toys'R'Us is running a 20% off select City, Speed Champions, and Friends sets sale.

Good hunting!

Battle Report: Teslaville 3

The usual suspects got together this past Sunday for our eighth game this year.  Teslaville was chosen as the battlefield because Tom hadn't had a chance to experience it yet.

Occam's Spork (4 Frames & 12 Systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 42 points.

   Green/Blue Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.
   White Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W.
   Green Missile Monkey -- 1Gd8/2W + SSR (x3).
   Blue Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W.

Me (5 Frames & 20 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 35 points.  (Pangolins)
   White Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.

   Lavender Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Lime Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Green Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.
   Orange Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W.

Tom (5 Frames & 20 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 35 points.
   Green Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W + SSR.
   White Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.
   Orange Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W.
   Brown Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W + SSR.
   Pink Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W + SSR.

Tyler (6 Frames & 24 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (8 assets) = 24 points.  (Nagas)

   Green Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W + SSR.

   Lime Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.
   Orange Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.
   Red Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W.
   Yellow Watchtower -- 2B/1Gd8/2Y/2W + SSR (x2).
   Blue Recon by Fire -- 2Ra+d8/2Y/2W + SSR.

This is what the table looked like at the start of the game.

Events of Turn 1 (DDC@11): Occam's Spork's Green frame shoots two SSRs at Tyler's Lime frame for 1.  My White frame moves closer to the train tracks and shoots Occam's Spork's Green frame for 1 damage but it does the Station Dance.  Tyler's Blue frame targets Tom's Pink frame, 1 damage is done to the cover and 1 to the Frame which is negated by the Station Dance.  Tyler's Orange frame targets Tom's Pink frame, 1 damage is done to the cover -- destroying it -- and 1 to the Frame which is negated by the Station Dance.  Tyler's Green frame moves forward and destroys Occam's Spork's Green frame with 2 damage.  Tom's White frame hits Tyler's Orange frame for 2.  My Lavender frame hits a Whirligig for 1 damage in an attempt to cause falling damage on Tom's frame which was sitting on top of it.  Occam's Spork's Blue/Green frame hits my Lavender frame for 3.  Occam's Spork's White frame hits my White frame for 2.  Everyone ticks down the Doomsday Clock.

Occam's Spork: 35 points.
 Me: 35 points.
Tom: 35 points.
Tyler: 24 points.

Events of Turn 2 (DDC@6): Tom's Pink frame hits Tyler's Orange frame for 3.  Tyler's Red frame seizes Tom's Station on top of the Whirligig.  Tom's Brown frame hits Tyler's Yellow frame for 1.  Tyler's Yellow frame moves forward and retaliates by hitting Tom's Green frame with a SSR for 1.  Occam's Spork's hits my Orange frame -- which had closed to melee range the turn before -- for 2.  Tom's White frame hits Tyler's Blue frame for 3.  Tyler's Blue frame then hits Occam's Spork's White frame for 1.  Tyler's Lime frame hits my White frame for 2.  Tyler's Green frame keeps moving forward and hits Occam's Spork's White frame for 3 damage, one of which is negated by the Station Dance.  My Green frame hits Occam's Spork's Green/Blue frame for 1 which is negated by the Station Dance.

Occam's Spork: 35 points.
 Me: 35 points.
Tom: 30 points.
Tyler: 27 points.

Events of Turn 3 (DDC@3): Tom's Brown frame hits Tyler's Blue frame, which is guarding on of his Stations, for 1.  Tom's Pink frame closes to melee range and hits Tyler's Blue frame for 1.  Tom's White frame hits Tyler's Blue frame for 1, destroying it.  Tom's Pink frame seizes Tyler's Station.  Tom's Orange frame hits my White frame for 1 damage, destroying it.  My Lavender frame hits Tom's White frame for 6, destroying it in a fit of revenge.  Tyler's Lime frame hits Occam's Spork's White frame for 5, destroying it, then he seizes his Station.  The Doomsday clock is ticked down to zero.

Tom: 30 points.
 Me: 30 points.
Tyler: 24 points.
Occam's Spork: 21 points.

Here's a few pictures of the aftermath.

Thoughts & Observations:

• Our group has now played more games this year than any previous year.
• This was the debut of Tyler's new squad made from Mega Bloks.
• It was also the debut of of my new squad made from Kre-O.
• Which I finished right before the game started.
• I made a mistake when I set up my forces that may have cost me the game.
• Although my horrible dice luck may have had something to do with that too.
• I did more damage with that insta-kill in the third round than I did in the rest of the game.
• There was some debate after the game was over about the amount of cover on the battlefield and the access level to the train tracks themselves.
• This is only the second time we've had three different building block systems on the table at the same time.