Review: 40311 Lego Xtra Traffic Lights Polybag

A few weeks ago Lego Xtra polybags debuted in Lego stores in Europe.  Looks like they've finally made it to the United States.

Bag.  I paid $3.99, for a $0.09 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plenty of New Headlight Bricks.  I
think those Bar w/2x2 Base are new.  Tons
of 1x1 Round Plates.  The Minifig Bottle
could be handy.  Tile Clips, Tooth Plates,
Dish, and new Leaves should be useful too.

Build.  The proverbial Glass Cannon frame, 2Rd.

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-).  Seems like a fitting score for a parts pack.

Sales Alert

Looks like Target is moving into Clearance Season for Lego again.  I saw the following sets at the following prices at my local store.
72005 Aaron's X-Bow for $34.98
76084 The Ultimate Battle for Asgard for $34.98
41320 Heartlake Frozen Yogurt Shop for $27.98

They also had the following Mega Construx sets marked down.
FNP 30 Heavy Pike Patrol for $11.98
FMK08 Avalon Courser Sparrow for $10.48

And I believe that today is the last day for most Toys'R'Us stores.  Tomorrow is the final day for the entire company.

Good hunting.

Review: 40312 Lego Xtra Streetlamps Polybag

A few weeks ago Lego Xtra polybags debuted in Lego stores in Europe.  Looks like they've finally made it to the United States.

Bag.  I paid $3.99, for a $0.12 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Lampposts, a Lime Green
Minifig Camera, a new Minifig
Lantern, and a new printed
cellphone Tile.  Not to mention
the Translucent Minifig Heads.

Build.  Three pieces of 1 Hit cover.

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: -5 (B-).  /There are some interesting and useful pieces in this set.

Random Mechs 22

I haven't done a picture post in a while, so here's some neat stuff to look at.

Swedish Commonwealth Units my Magic Tuba Pixie.
You're getting a twofer with this one.

Gorilla Drone by BobDeQuatre.  This is utterly fantastic.

Hawkeye Hardsuit by Brian Kescenovitz.  Probably
way too large, but it has some neat techniques.

ED-209 4 U by Grantmasters.  Another awesome

ED-209 build.  This one includes a breakdown.

Yesterday's News by LEGOLIZE IT MAN.
A fun little build with instructions included.

Review: 75075 Star Wars Microfighter Series 2 AT-AT

Let's take another trip in the wayback machine to finish out the week..

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $0.11 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Plenty of Dishes.  1x1 Technic Bricks are good too.

Parts 2.  Bar Plates, Bar Claws, Brackets, Slopes, Dishes, Plates, Pin Hole Plates, a Hinge Plates, and a Hinge Brick.

Build.  A quick 2Rd+d8 Frame.  People have used the set as is for a 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?  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+).  Another good set let down by lack of parts.

Review: 75029 Star Wars Microfighter Series 1 AAT

I'm firing up the wayback machine for this review.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $0.11 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.  The legs might be the hardest part to actually use.

Parts 1. Plenty of Plates, Slopes, and Brackets, 

with a few Modified Bricks and Plates.

Parts 2.  Plates, Slopes, Cones, a couple
of Clip Tiles, Boat Studs, Bricks, Bricks
 w/Studs on both sides, Levers & Bases,
 Minifig Telescopes, Flickfire Missiles, a
Turntable, a Dish, a Hinge Brick, a
Technic Axle, and a Technic Hinge

Build.  A Frame, a Station,

and a 1 Hit piece of Cover.

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+).  A few more parts would have gotten this a better score.  As it stands, it's a decent set.

Purity: Mega Bloks FNL87 Pokeball Rattata Review

I grabbed this Pokeball set because I thought the purple parts might match the Crabrawler.

Box.  MSRP is $6.99 for a $0.25 Price per Piece.

Instructions 1.  These are in a bag.

Instructions 2.  Here's why.

Parts 1.  Those are Inverted Clip
Tiles over on the bottom right.

Parts 2.  The Ball Joint Plates in the top right are double sided.

Build.

Size Comparison.

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: -5 (B-).  I like the Magenta pieces but the actual build isn't that great.

Review: 71285 Dimensions Marceline the Vampire Queen Fun Pack

I picked up a bunch of these the other day at TRU for cheap, so I decided to do a quick review.

Box.  MSRP was $11.99 for a $0.20 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Octagonal Bar Plate, Motor Bricks, Clip
 Plates.  The Dimensions Bases can be fun too.

Parts 2.  Bar Plates, Apollo Studs,
Exo-Force Arms, Bar Holders
w/Clip, and some Purple pieces.

Build.  A 2Rd+d8/2Rh/1G 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?  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+).  An Ijad frame in a box, or at least I think so.

Review: 41071 Elves Aira's Creative Workshop

Digging into the archives for an old set to review, mainly because I need the parts to complete a squad I'm working on.  Apparently this is the first Elves set I've reviewed.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $0.10 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs.

Parts 1.  Not really much of note here.

Parts 2.  The translucent Bricks are nice as is the 1x2 Plate w/Bars.
Minifig Wings are always useful as are the 1x3 Studless Slopes.

Parts 3.  Two Pneuma-Ts, two Taps,
four Lampholders, two Headlights,
one New Headlight, and assorted
Tiles, Plates, Slopes, and other bits.

Build.  Cover, Frame (2Ra+d8),
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?  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).  Not bad if you're looking for quick, simple builds.  Otherwise this is an accent piece set.

Sales Alert

Target has a 20% off select LEGO Super Heroes, Duplo, Friends and City sets sale running this week.

Good hunting.

Purity: Arcade Classics Asteroids Arcade Cabinet Set Review

There's another group of Arcade Classics sets from "The Bridge Direct".  These are brick built versions of old arcade game cabinets.  As before the only real source of information is a Youtube video.  I originally thought these were all the same pieces with different stickers but turns out I was completely wrong on that count.

Box.  I paid $3.99 at Toys'R'Us for a $0.10 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Stickers.

Parts 1.  Those 1x1 Round Tiles in the bottom row are like the Brick Forge versions rather than the regular Lego ones.  Everything else is bog standard.

Build.  Station and a 2 Hit piece of Cover.

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: +5 (B+).  A cheap way to score some Terrain type clone brick pieces.