Review: 40349 Brick Headz Puppy

This is the Valentine's Day 2019 Brick Headz set, purchased on Clearance.

Box.  MSRP was $9.99 for a $0.07 Price per
Piece.  (As you can see, my PpP was $0.03.)

Instructions.









Parts 1.  2x1.6 Bricks w/Studs on Side, Plates, Quarter  Round Plates,
4x3 Open Wedge w/Cutout, Mod. Tiles w/ Studs, Tiles, Studless Slopes,
Corner Plates, 2x2 Mod. Plates w/Studs on Side, Round Bricks, Bricks,
2x3 Plates w/Round End, Bar Plates, and Clip Plates.

Parts 2.  Plates, Studless Slopes, Clip Plates, Round Plates, Tiles, Jumper Plate, 1x1.6 Bricks w/Studs on Side, Leaf, Flower Stems, Bricks, Cones, Wedge Tiles, Round Tiles, Printed Round Tiles, Cheese Slopes, Tile Clip, Quarter Round Tiles, Flower Plates, Trans-Clear Round Plate w/Handle, Flowers, and Bars.

Build.  Two IO Frigates, or two flying Frames, or two Minifig swoop bikes, etc.

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+).  Some useful parts and a good price point.

Build Journal: STMP-A & Technic Scrambler

For the final new piece of the week, we're looking at a piece that actually dates back to 2019 but hasn't seen much use as it was first available in Lego Spike sets -- the 1x3x3 Pin Connector Block.  I've been interested in this piece since New Elementary introduced it in April of 2019.  I initially tried to make a centaur mech but that wasn't flowing for me. I then switched back to something more tank-like.  This reminded me of my old Stevens Technology frames so I went with that as a designation.















The set-up is pretty simple but as a "Budget Frame" we're not looking for a ton of super fiddly bits anyway.  I put 2Rd & 1B Attachments on it to get some idea of what it would look like kitted out.  I might just reignite the Budget Frame Wars.

And then I had another idea while I was sorting some Technic parts.  It came together fairly quick.  The main parts are Black and Dark Bley.  Attachments are Light Bley and Transparent colors.  Stats are 2Rd/2B/2W.

Size comparisons for posterity.

I've just scratched the surface with this piece and I can't wait to experiment with the other colors that are available.

Flickr page.

Build Journal: Quadcast

Another new part for 2020 is -- what I'm calling -- the Ninjago Bar Block.  It's an obvious starting piece for a quad mecha.  I first put it to use in the regular direction.  The problem with that is the projections surrounding the two studs on the top.  They prevent anything larger than a 1x1 Plate from attaching to those studs.  It's an annoyance but fairly easy to deal with.

Working forward from there, I built a standard centaur-type Frame.  The second method is inverted.  I attached a 2x2 Round Plate to the center and ran an Axle/Friction Pin through that.  The torso is attached via a 1x2 Technic Brick w/Hole.

Size comparisons to my standard measuring sticks.

Flickr page.

I have another idea I'm mulling over for using this part.  Hopefully it will work.

Build Journal: Taurus

There have been a few new pieces being released for 2020 from Lego.  The first of which that really caught my eye is a new minifig helmet being used in the Monkie Kid line.  I started with my Generic frame as a base.  The base color of the helmet is Dark Bley-ish so I went with that for the main color of the Frame.  Keying off the gold ring in the nose, I decided on that as the secondary color.

I made some changes to the ankle joint as I don't have very many Dark Bley 1x2 Female Ball Joint pieces and Dark Grey Pneuma-Ts are the third rarest type.  So I changed over to a 1x2 Bar Plate (open ends) and Bar Claw combination.  I feel like this has the same level of articulation as the original design and allows me to use the colors I want.  The colored clips on the shoulders are to differentiate Frames during games.

I have half a squad fully assembled at the moment.  It
will take me a little bit to come up with Attachments.

This is what it looks like in comparison to a Chub and a Classic.

Flickr page.

I can't wait to finish these up and get them on the table.

Review: 41904 Dots Picture Holders

This is one of the larger sets for the new Dots line from Lego.

Box.  I paid $14.99, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Pamphlet.

Parts 1.  Light Yellow Tiles, Quarter Round
Tiles, Yellow Tiles, Quarter Round Tiles.

Parts 2.  White Round Tiles, Tan Quarter
Round Tiles, Pink Quarter Round Tiles.

Parts 3.  Aqua Tiles, Quarter Round Tiles,
Medium Azure Tiles, Quarter Round Tiles.

Parts 4.  Pink Tiles, Lavender
Tiles, Quarter Round Tiles.

Parts 5.  Caramel, Pink, Light Bley, Hot Pink,
Black, Dark Bley, and White.  Jumpers,
Cheese Slopes, 1x1 Curved Top Brick,
Quarter Round Tiles, Round Tiles, Double
Cheese Slopes, Stadium Tiles, and Printed Round Tiles.

Parts 6.  White Quarter Round
Tiles, Medium Azure Tiles, Light
Bley Quarter Round Tiles.

Parts 7.  Plates, Tiles w/Studs,
Tiles, Bricks, 2x1x1.6 Bricks
w/4 Studs on Side, and the
new Picture Holder Bricks.

Parts 8.  White Bricks, Light
Bley Tiles, Aqua Plates.

Container.  I figured a better look at this was called for
as it might be good for transporting a small squad.

Build.  A boxy Frame and
a 2 Hit (to destroy) wall.

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+).  This one might be stretching it a bit.  I really like all the parts, I just wish there had been a fourth Picture Holder Brick.

Review: 41903 Dots Cosmic Wonder Bracelet

For the second review of Dots week we're going to look at one of the base(?) sets for the line.

Bag.  I paid $4.99, for a $0.15 Price per Piece.

Instructions.  None.

Parts 1.  Wristband.

Parts 2.  Printed Round Tiles, Printed Quarter Round
Tiles, Quarter Round Tiles, and Round Gems.

Build.  I bought a second bracelet
set, mainly because I wanted more
of the planet tile, to test out a theory
about building cylindrical terrain
with matching bracelets.

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 great score but, the tiles make great accent pieces and the bracelet has some intriguing possibilities.

Review: 41908 Extra Dots - Series 1 Polybag

This is a supplementary product for the new Dots line from Lego.

Bag.  I paid $3.99, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Parts.  The top row is Printed 1x1 Round
Tiles.  Second row is the new Opalescent
1x1 Round Tile.  The rows after that are
Quarter Circle Tiles in Pink, Teal, Greenish
 Yellow, and Magenta.  Looks like there
were six extra pieces in the bag.

Build.  None, as these are all accent parts.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  No.  (-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: +10 (A-).  I like that it's 95% pastels.

Purity: Mindbox Warframe Wrestling Reviews, an Outro

I really should have posted these reviews three and a half years ago when I bought the box.  The reviews all seem to be well liked, they have plenty of comments on Facebook and my pageviews didn't drop below 160 on the days they were posted.

Like the Crystal Bricks reviews, I disassembled all the review builds -- even my favorite one this time -- and used the parts to make a full squad.

Scorpions (2Rd/1B/1Y)

Cicadas (2Rh/1B/2Y+SSR)

Stations

So all the squad needs is a Ruler.

While I like the "All Killer, No Filler" nature of these sets, they really do need a couple of basic Plates or Bricks to provide a better foundation for some of the builds.  Other than that, I definitely recommend these sets if you can find them.

Purity: K22A-1 Mindbox Disillusion Wolf Review

The last set review in this series, with another cool name.

Box.  MSRP is $6.22, which gives us a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions and Stickers.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Four Rocket Fins and Tan Cheese Graters! 

Parts 2.  A smorgasbord of Blue parts here!

Build.  Two Frames (2Rd/
2Rh/SSR) plus 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+).  And we finish out the set reviews with another perfect score.

Purity: K22A-2 Mindbox Crazy Attack Review

Say what you will about the contents, but the names for these sets are pretty cool.

Box.  MSRP is $6.22, which gives us a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions and Stickers.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Hey, Lampholders!  More of
those 2 Plate tall Female Ball Joint, and
Vertical Female Ball Joint pieces too.

Parts 2.  A fair amount of Bar Plates and plenty
of Round Bricks and Lightsaber Blades

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+).  This set really needed Clip Plates to be awesome.