Review: 75161 Star Wars Microfighter Series 4 TIE Striker

Still working my way through my backlog of Microfighter reviews.

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

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Plates, Wedge Plates, Round Plates,
Modified Plates, Modified Bricks, Brackets,
Dishes, Inverted Slopes, and Stud Shooters.

Parts 2.  Plates, Slopes, Grille Tiles, Clip Plates, Bar Plates, Wedge Plates, Boat Studs, A Dish, a Jumper, A Printed Slope, and a Minifig Blaster.

Build. (2Rd+d8/2G)
  

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+).  Eleven more pieces would have given this set a better score.  Still, not bad.

Review: 41608 Brick Headz Han Solo

Here's a review to start out the week.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99.  This yields a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  This was
loose inside the box.

Parts 2.  Plates, Bricks, Tiles,
Brackets, Slopes, Mod. Bricks,
Mod. Plates, Round Bricks, a
Round Plate, and a Printed Brick.

Parts 3.  Tiles, Slopes, Plates, Round Plates, Rounded Tiles, Printed Round Tiles, a Cone, a Clip Tile, a Brick, a Printed Brick, and Minifig Nozzles.

Build.  I built a mech this time.  2Rd+d8/1G/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+).  It's a good value for the money but I'm not loving the parts selection.

Battle Report: Oasis 2

After meeting P.J. Nicht at Totalcon "End of Summer Sizzler", I tried to arrange a meet'n'greet between our two groups for October.  That didn't happen -- I still have hopes that it will -- but I managed to organize a game instead.

Narbey (4 Frames & 16 Systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 42 points.  (Gators)
   Red Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Blue Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Green Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Orange Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W.

Me (5 Frames & 18 Systems) = (4 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 24 points.  (Zeroes)
   White Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Black Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Silver Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Red Brawler -- 2Rh/2B/1Gd8/2W.
   Orange Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1Gd8/2W.

PJ_Nichts (5 Frames & 19 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 21 points.  (mechs)

   Dark Blue Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W.
   Orange Delegator -- 2Ra/1B/2Y/2W.
   Magenta Armored Spotter -- 1B/1Gd8/2Y/2W.
   Lime -- 1B/2G+d8/1Y/2W + SSR (x3).
   Light Blue -- 2Rd/2G/1Y/2W.

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

Events of Turn 1 (DDC@11): My White frame jumps down from the Moai it was on, moves into cover behind another, and hits Narbey's Orange frame for 1.  Narbey's Red frame hits my Orange frame for 1, it lurches forward in an attempt to counter-attack but comes up short.  PJ Nicht's Orange frame hits my Orange frame for 3.  Narbey's Green frame hits my Orange frame for 1, destroying it.  My Silver frame moves around the tower then does 3 damage to a Moai that PJ Nicht's Magenta frame was taking cover behind.  Narbey's Blue frame jumps from one platform to another and tries to attack my Black frame.  In response my Black frame moves into cover behind an assault gun and shoots the platform that Narbey's Blue frame is standing on, destroying it, and the Frame falls for 2 damage.  It then seizes my Orange station that it fell next to.  PJ Nicht's Lime frame moves out from behind a Moai and hits Narbey's Orange frame for 2.  PJ Nicht's Dark Blue frame shifts slightly and hits my Silver frame for 2.  My Red frame tries to run forward and attack PJ Nicht's Lime frame but can't cover the distance.

Narbey: 49 points.

PJ_Nichts: 21 points.
Me: 20 points.

Events of Turn 2 (DDC@9): Narbey's Blue frame squeaks between the platform structure and the edge of the battlefield and captures my White station.  Narbey's Green frame moves into the abandoned temple and hits PJ Nicht's Lime frame for 1.  PJ Nicht's Lime frame tries to find cover in the convoy.  Narbey's Red frame moves into cover behind the abandoned temple and hits PJ Nicht's Lime frame for 1.  PJ Nicht's Orange frame hits Narbey's Orange frame for 2.  My White frame moves towards the oasis and hits Narbey's Green frame for 1.  My Red frame runs over, slashes Narbey's Orange frame for 2, destroys it, and captures his White station.

Narbey: 42 points.

PJ_Nichts: 21 points.
Me: 20 points.

Events of Turn 3 (DDC@7): Narbey's Red frame hits my White frame for 3.  PJ Nicht's Lime frame moves through the convoy and hits Narbey's Green frame for 3, destroying it.  Narbey's Blue frame moves around the platform structure and hits PJ Nicht's Dark Blue frame for 1 and the wall in front of it for 2.  My Red frame moves away from the Station it captured last turn and slashes Narbey's Red frame for 3.

Narbey: 42 points.

PJ_Nichts: 21 points.
Me: 20 points.

Events of Turn 4 (DDC@4): PJ Nicht's Light Blue frame -- after a long journey that started beside one of the Moai at the beginning of the game -- hits Narbey's Red frame for 1 then captures Narbey's Green station.  PJ Nicht's Lime frame hits Narbey's Green frame for 3, destroying it, then moves away from the abandoned temple and captures Narbey's White station.  My Red frame turns, steps back to the Station it had abandoned, and slashes PJ Nicht's Lime frame for 1.  My White frame moves away from the oasis and punches PJ Nicht's Lime frame for 1.

Narbey: 28 points.

PJ_Nichts: 27 points.
Me: 16 points.

Events of Turn 5 (DDC@1): PJ Nicht's Orange frame moves out of cover and hits Narbey's Red frame for 1.  PJ Nicht's Light Blue frame hits Narbey's Red frame for 2, destroying it.  My White frame punches PJ Nicht's Lime frame for 5, destroying it.  My Silver frame moves towards Narbey's White station and punches PJ Nicht's Magenta frame for 2.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked to zero.

PJ_Nichts: 24 points.
Narbey: 21 points.

Me: 16 points.

Here's a few pictures of the aftermath.

Thoughts & Observations:

• As with the last game, I added some setting elements from a different table setting.
• A lot of terrain got destroyed in this game, intentionally.
• By the end of the game I had dropped the Direct Fire attachment on all of my Soldier frames in favor of the Green d8.

Overwatch

Back in May of this year it was announced that Lego teaming was with Blizzard to create sets for the Overwatch video game.

After that came a teaser video for Overwatch minifigs.

Almost two weeks ago information was released of a Blizzard exclusive set, Omnic Bastion.  At 182 pieces for $25 USD this was more than a little disappointing.

Monday night spoiler images of the new sets broke.  The Brick Fan.  Brothers Brick.  Brickset.

Unfortunately the two sets that might be of interest to the community are on the larger, more expensive side.  75973 D.Va & Reinhardt ($39.99, 455 pieces) and 75974 Bastion ($49.99, 602 pieces) are both under the Golden Ratio but a little expensive for a casual purchase.

Let's hope there will be more interesting sets for the MFZ crowd in the future.

Purity: Mega Bloks FNL89 Magnemite Pokeball Review

I found this in a Series 6 of the Pokeball sidekick display along with Monday's review.  It looks like it has some weird parts so I figured I'd grab it and see.

Box.  MSRP is $6.99 for a $0.26 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Those printed parts
are neat.  The Round Plate in
the lower left is double sided.

Parts 2.  Those are double
sided 1x1 Brackets!

Build.  Yup, it's weird.

Size Comparison.  It seems to
be the same size as the Classic.

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-).  Not sure this one is worth it unless you really want the parts.

Sales Alert

Target has a sale this week of 20% off select Superhero, Friends, Duplo, and City sets.  I saw the Friends Advent Calendar on that list and, the Mighty Micros look to be right at the Golden Ratio with this sale.  As does the Arctic Ice Crawler.

Good hunting.

Purity: Mega Bloks FNL90 Shellder Pokeball Review

I found this in a Series 6 of the Pokeball sidekick display.  Figured I'd grab it and see if the color matches the Ekans pokeball.  (It  does, in case you're curious.)

Box.  MSRP is $6.99 for a $0.22 Price per Piece.

Instructions and rubber tongue piece.

Parts 1.  Those flanged 2x2 Plates
 are cool, as are the U-Clips.

Parts 2.  Cheese Slopes w/
Stud!  Large Jumper!  1x1
Round Plate w/Horizontal Clip!

Build.  It's put together with a really interesting technique.

Size Comparison.  A little blurry but you can see it's the same size as a Classic.

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-).  This has some interesting parts in a cool color.  Worth getting on sale in my opinion.

Purity: Mega Bloks DYF22 Destiny EV-37 Racing Sparrow Review

We're at the end of the "trifecta" review week so let's nail down that Mega Construx review.

Box.  MSRP is $15.99 for a Price per Piece of $0.16.

Instructions.

Minifig 1.

Minifig 2.  I've already stated you could field this Minifig next to Chubs.

Parts 1.  The 1x4 Brick w/Studs on both sides is useful.  As is that T Plate and the 1x2 Cheese Slope w/Studs.

Parts 2.  Bar Studs!  1x1 Bracket!  Mega Bloks had 'em first!

Parts 3.  The Printed Tile is nice, as
are the molded framework/wing
pieces.  The Slopes are good too.

Build.  Another IO Frigate

like the last Sparrow review.

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+).  I like the colors in these sets but what I'm really tempted by is that giant minifig.  I want to track down a bunch of them and put a squad together.