SingleBloks

For a very long time people have been wishing for a Bricklink-type service that catered to Clone Bricks.  Well, apparently someone was listening because SingleBloks now exists.  Yes, it's only for Mega Bloks.  Yes, the interface is clunky.  Yes, the selection is limited.  But it's a step in the right direction for those of us looking for -- one type of -- individual clone bricks.

Thanks to Zerovirus on the MFZ Discord for the info.

War College: Archetype Statistics

 I've been working for a while on compiling statistics on the most commonly used Archetypes in Rapid Attack.  Mainly for my own curiosity but also to maybe get a better understanding of the game itself.  This was assembled from the battle reports I've posted on my blog, comprised of 62 games over 9 years that had clear enough information to work with.  Most of these games are with players in my gaming group -- or would become part of my gaming group -- but there are 9 games with players I don't normally play against.  Hopefully other groups will keep start keeping track of this kind of information and we can generate a larger database for everyone to utilize.

To explain some of the terms in the Header; "Name" is the name the Archetype is commonly known by.  As you can see there are more than a few that remain nameless.  "Sys1", "Sys2", "Sys3", and "Sys4" are the Systems used by the Archetype, using standard System Notation.  "Quan.", short for quantity, is the number of times that Archetype appears.  "Games" is the number of game it appears in.  "% Chance" is the chance of seeing this Archetype on the table in any given game.  "Commonality" is the percentage of how many of any given squad will possibly be this Archetype.

I used the following formulas and numbers to derive this information.

% Chance = (# of games it appeared in) / (total games)

Commonality = (quantity) / (total quantity)

Total Games = 62.

Total Frames = 1127.

I hope that people find this information useful.

Review: 30650 Ninjago Kai & Rapton's Temple Battle Polybag

Let's finish out the week with another polybag review.  I found this set, along with the others from this week, in Walmart, in the Lego aisle as part of the "Fall Lineup"-- I guess.

Bag. MSRP is $4.97, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs.

Parts.  Half Circle Plate w/Cutout, Bracket, Plates, Tile w/Studs on

Ends, Bricks, Truncated Cone, Round Large Jumper, Bar Plates, Dishes,

Round Tile w/Hole, Round Plate w/3 Leaves, Padlocks, Cheese Slopes,

Jumper, Apollo Studs, Bar Clips, Minifig Frog, Round Plates, Candlesticks,

 Translucent Round Bricks, Translucent Katana, Katanas, and Sais.
 

Build.  Station and possible 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?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  Considering that ten of the listed parts are for minifigs, this one's a little disappointing.

Review: 30653 Batman 1992 Polybag

I found this set, along with the others from this week, in Walmart, in the Lego aisle as part of the "Fall Lineup" -- I guess.  Let's see what it has to offer.

Bag. MSRP is $4.97, for a $0.12 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Plates, Bricks, Tiles w/Studs, Large Jumper, Inverted Corner Slope, Travis 

 Brick, Masonry Bricks, Inverted Slopes, Rounded Plates, Clip Plate, Padlocks, Cheese  Slopes, Round Plates, Batarangs, Horns, Minifig Binoculars, and Clip Road Signs. 
 

 Build.  Station and 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?  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-).  It has some good parts but I wouldn't buy it unless you really want the Batman minifig.  If you want it, I'd hurry out and find it though.  The store where I bought this was cleaned out four days later when I went back.

Review: 30636 Z-Blob & Bunchu Spider Escape Polybag

This is a "Free with Purchase" with $40 USD/$50 CAD or more purchase in City, Dreamzzz, Friends, Harry Potter,

Monkie Kid, or Ninjago sets at the Lego store from August 11-21, 2023.  Orrrrrrrr, you could just go to Walmart and purchase it there with less hassle.

Bag. MSRP is $4.97, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs?

Parts.  Half Circle Plate, Octagonal Bar Plate, Curled Antenna, Tiles

 w/Studs, Inverted Studless Slope, Clip Plates, Vertical Clip Plates, 2x2

 Wedges, Translucent 2x2 Round Brick, 2x2 Round Plates Ingot, Bar

 Holders w/Bar, Printed Round Tiles, Medium Claw/Barbs, Exo-Force

 Arms, Round Plates, Translucent 1x1 Round Brick, and Dome Tops.
 

Build.  Armored Fast Spotter {1B (carapace)

1G (extra legs) 2Y (antenna)} and Station.

Size Comparison.  Someone on Discord conjectured that the new 

figures from the Dreamzzz line could function as Ijad on the

tabletop.  I'm not sure why but, here's a look at how big it is

compared to a 6P Microfig and 4P Nanofig.  And the bunny.

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-).  It does have a bunch of useful bits, and you can make a Frame out of it, but I'm not feeling this set.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 16

Let's finish out the week with a build I'm pretty proud of.  It has it's roots in one of the builds I made for TW: Trees 6.

It begins with two 2x2 Round Brick 45 Deg. Elbow, and a Tail/Horn Section Stepped, all of which are connected with 2L Notched Axles -- including one that goes into the base.  Then an Axle/Pin connects a Travis Brick to the top of the Tail/Horn, and four 6x5 Plant Leaves are connected to that.  That is a total of twelve pieces which is 2 Hits.  In 6P Scale it's 5 feet thick, 35 feet tall, and 20 feet from edge to edge.

I want to incorporate these into the Oasis table-setting to give it a splash more color, add more terrain options, and maybe "sci-fi" it up a little more than it already is.  Flickr page.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 15

Continuing our trip through the forest, here are some new builds I hope to use soon.  I've had an idea in my head for a while of vegetation-type terrain based on the Olive Green color.  This is the first step towards working on that.

This one is pretty simple, two 1x1 Round Bricks, one Travis Brick, and five Plant Stems w/3 Leaves.  Unlike a lot of my builds, this one ceases to be Cover after 1 Hit.  You could sub out the two Round Bricks for six 1x1 Round Plates to make it 2 Hits but it wouldn't really matter in the long run.  In 6P scale it's roughly 10 feet tall and 10 feet from edge to edge, with a 2.5' thick trunk.

I think I have eleven of these built at the moment.  I'm considering using them in a revised version of my Sand & Trees table-setting.  I just have to figure out what the other pieces are going to look like.  Flickr page.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 14

Okay, let's go back to building terrain for a bit.  Specifically, trees.  Again.  The reaction to this one when I shared it to the MFZ Discord seemed to be really positive so I'm sharing the instructions.

Starting from the bottom, it's a 1x1 Round Plate, an Inkwell, a Tail/ Neck Middle Section w/Pin, a Pin Connector w/4 Clips, four Padlocks, and four Plant Leaves 4x3.  That's twelve pieces which is 2 Hits.  In 6P scale the trunk is roughly 2.5 feet thick and it can be up to 25 feet tall, depending on how you arrange the leaf sections.

I'll be honest, this was kind of a throwaway design for me.  I put it together on a whim while sorting bricks.  I may try to change up the color palette a little to make these fit in with the trees from this blog post at some point in the future.  Flickr page.

Review: Best Lock Tank

I picked this up a while back at Dollar Tree.  Todd Farnholtz in the MFZ Facebook group mentioned it so I had to have a look.  Best Lock doesn't have the best reputation in Lego circles.  The nickname "Worst Lock" should be a dead giveaway as to how people feel about it.

Box.  I think I paid $1.25 for this which gives a $0.02 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

 Parts 1.  Plates, Tires, Wedge Plates, Corner Plates, Double

 Sided Plates, Round Tile, Brackets,  Studless Slopes, Round

 Plate, Modified Headlight Bricks, Minifig Head, and Rims.

Parts 2.  Plates, Grille tiles, Axle Plates, Turntable Base Turntable 

 Top, Jumper, round Bricks, Slopes, and Headlight Bricks. 

Build.  Two Armored Cars, 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? 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+).  No minifig and a color Lego doesn't have is a step in the right direction but, molding flash on some of the parts drags it back in the other.

Review: Best Lock Harvester

I picked this up a while back at Dollar Tree.  Best Lock doesn't have the best reputation in Lego circles.  The nickname "Worst Lock" should be a dead giveaway as to how people feel about it.  I think this is another case of someone mentioning it on one of the MFZ social media sites and me tracking it down.

Box.  I think I paid $1.25 for this which gives a $0.02 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

 Minifig.  Yeah, that's all you get.

Parts 1.  Half Cylinder, Plates, Hinge Plates, Tires, Translucent Curved 

Slopes, Double Sided Plates, Wheels, Headlight Bricks, and Barbs. 

 Parts 2.  Plates, Axle Plates, Brackets, Cheese Slopes, Tiles,

 Inverted Slopes, Curved Slope w/Cutout, and Rims.

Build.  Battlecart! (2Rh+d8/1G+d8), 1 Hit piece of Cover, and an IO 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+).  The Half Cylinder, the Barbs, and the Double Sided Plates make this one worth it for me.

MFZ Battle Report PDF

There's been some interest in the form I use to keep track of what's happening in Mobile Frame Zero games so, with the permission of the creator of this document, here it is.

Review: Best Lock Fork Lifter

I picked this up a while back at Dollar Tree.  Best Lock doesn't have the best reputation in Lego circles.  The nickname "Worst Lock" should be a dead giveaway as to how people feel about it.

Box.  I think I paid $1.25 for this which gives a $0.02 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Windscreen, Triple Curved Wedge, Tires, Rims,

Axle Plates, Hinge Plates, Translucent Round Plates, Round

Plates, Steering Wheel Base, Brackets, and Steering Wheel.

Parts 2.  Plates, Tiles, Hinge Plates, Lampholders, and Cones.

Build.  Another IO Frigate.  This one looks cooler

than the ones from Wednesday though.

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+).  Maybe it's because I'm happier with the build but I like this set a little more than the prior one.  It's still just a bunch of Plates and a few useful bits though.

Review: Best Lock Fire Truck

I picked this up a while back at Dollar Tree.  Best Lock doesn't have the best reputation in Lego circles.  The nickname "Worst Lock" should be a dead giveaway as to how people feel about it.  But I saw a pair of Kre-O pieces in this so I bought it to see what it might be like.

Box.  I think I paid $1.25 for this which gives a $0.01 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Plates, Axle Plates, Panels, Turntable Base, Turntable Top, Bracket,  

Cones, Slopes, Bricks, Headlight Bricks, and Inverted Slopes. 

 Parts 2.  Plates, Windscreen, Brick, Mod. Brick/Round Brick, Wheels, Round Plate,

 Hinge Plates, Steering Wheel Base, Translucent Tiles, and Steering Wheel.

Build.  Two IO Frigates and a HVA.

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+).  Despite having a top score and one of my favorite parts -- yes, I bought this simply for the Mod. Brick/Round Brick bits -- this set feels boring.