Build Journal: "Damaged" Frames

Occasionally, when assembling a squad, you won't have enough pieces to finish a Frame.  Whether you didn't buy the right quantity, used them on another squad, or they are limited in availability, there's always some sort of reason you don't have enough.  In cases like this, I fall back on the fictional excuse of "Battle Damage" and kludge together some parts to replace the items I'm missing.  With any luck it ends up looking like something the repair crew slapped together on short notice to get the Frame operational and back into the field.  This storytelling angle also makes sense in a gaming perspective.  If you keep getting stuck as Defender because you don't have enough Frames and you need to mobilize one more on the table to change things up, this will allow you to do so.

The first time I did this was the ST-15 Hephaestus.  The Blue pneumatic pieces

in the leg were pretty rare at that point so I had to make do with something

else.  The title of the picture was also a callback to old toy marketing concepts.

The next time I used this idea was for a Goblin frame.  I ran out of the

part I used to make the shoulder so I swapped in another Modified Brick. 

This one has actually made it on to the table for aa full sized game.

A slightly different version of this technique is used on one of my

DF-2 Drakes.  The arm of one model was substituted with the

corresponding pieces in Light Bley to make it look "unpainted".

The latest example of this hack/work around/fun building technique is a Hybrid Mk.2 build.  I ran out of the pieces necessary to make the arm and the shoulder so I swapped in a Bar Clip and Bar Holder w/Clip to make up for the missing arm.

I don't usually offer advice on Frame building

so I hope people find this concept useful.

Review: Miniso Toys Flowers HWMC1016 Sunflower

Miniso now has a second line of Botanical sets.  According to the pictures on the back of the box there are nine sets in this line.  I managed to purchase three of them so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon.

Parts 2.  Round Plates, Clip Leaves, Tiles,  Stadium Tiles, Octagonal Bar

Plates, Large Round Jumper, Bar Clips, Angled Axle Connecter w/Pinhole,

Axle Connectors, Axle Connectors w/Pinhole, Bar w/Stop, Half Pins, 2L

Axles, Clip Plates, Cone, Inverted Studless Slopes, and Tooth Plates.

Build.  Frame (2W) 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?  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 really like those Clip Leaves, I just wish it had more of them.  More Octagonal Bar Plates is always a good thing.  It's a great parts pack if you need any of seven different pieces in Yellow though.  :-)

Review: Miniso Toys Flowers HWMC1005 Bellflower

Miniso now has a second line of Botanical sets.  According to the pictures on the back of the box there are nine sets in this line.  I managed to purchase three of them so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon.

Parts 2.  Studless Slopes, 2L Axles, Plates, Round Plates, Domes, Large

 Round Jumpers, Round Brick, Curved Slopes w/Wing, Axle Connectors,

 Bent Axle Connector w/Pinhole, Axle Connectors w/Pinhole, Bricks w/

 Studs on Corners, Round Bricks w/3 Leaves, Bar Clips, Padlocks, Bar

 Holders w/Bar, Round Plates w/Leaves, Apollo Studs, and Half Pins.

Build.  Two Proto-Frames (2W), 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+).  I'm sure a better builder than me could coax something more out of this set.  I like the colors but this seems like more of a parts pack than a core set.

Review: Miniso Toys Flowers HWMC1006 Multiflora Rose

Miniso now has a second line of Botanical sets.  According to the pictures on the back of the box there are nine sets in this line.  I managed to purchase three of them so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon.

Parts 2.  Curved Mudguards, Hexagonal Windscreens w/Bar, Axle Connectors,

2L Axles, Octagonal Bar Plates, Studless Slopes, Half Pin, Clip Plates, Round

Plates, Plates, Round Large Jumpers, Brackets, Pin Connector w/4 Clips,

3L Axle, Clip Claws, Flowers, Bar, Angled Axle Connectors, and Plant Stem.

Build.  Two Frames (2Rh+d8/2W), 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?  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 this set although I feel like it could do with a few more "filler" pieces to be really good.

Review: Forever Clever PR3523-01 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mastodon Dinozord

The Forever Clever MMPR Battle Bike sets were so disappointing I gave up on reviewing them after one even though I bought all four.  The Dinozord sets are finally on store shelves so I'm going to look at them now.  The boxes are huge.  They rival the size of the title of this blog post.

Box.  MSRP is $5.00, for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Minifig.

The print on the helmet isn't great.  I think Lego

is having a similar problem so it's not a big deal.

Sleeve.  Like the first Forever Clever set I

reviewed, it has a divider to keep the parts

bags from rattling around in the giant box.

Parts 1.  Plates, Tiles, Clip Plate, Ball Joint Plate, Bricks, Bricks w/Stud on

Side, Cones, 2 Plate Tall Bricks, Bar Plates, Brackets, and Corner Plates.

Parts 2.  Slopes, Plates, Jumpers, Ball Joint Plates, Inverted Slopes, Wedge

Plates, Double Sided Plates, Curved Bricks w/Studs, Bricks, Tiles, 1x2x2/3

Bricks w/Studs on Side, Corner Slopes, Round Tiles, Bracket, and Clip Claws.

Build.  Two Frames (2W), 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+).  I don't know why I keep coming back to this manufacturer.  There's flashing on some of the parts -- you can see it in one of the pictures -- which means that quality control is lacking.  The pricing is good, and there are good parts, but beyond that there's an intangible "ick" to the plastic quality.  Is this what Mega Bloks used to be like back in the day?  I know it has a top score but there are so many other sets to better spend your money on.

Review: Gundam Converge RB-78 Ball Twin Set (296)

This is an interesting set.  It's the first time I've ever seen a "twofer" Gundam Converge kit.  This set is from the 

 25th wave of sets which was released in May of 2024.

Box.  I paid $10.99 at Newbury Comics for this.

Parts.

Disassembled.  The gun could be Direct, Artillery, or Spotting.  You

 could remove one of the mecha to represent White Die damage.

Assembled.

 

Size Comparison.

The Questions:

Is it below, at, or above $10 per Frame?  Above.  (-10)

Is it a good size to use in a game?  Yes.  About the size of a Classic.  (+5)

How many parts does it have to represent systems?  Two.  (0)

Does it have enough parts you can remove to represent White Dice damage?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: 0 (B).  I thought this could be a good set to represent the "Two to a Plate" Rule but only having two possible Systems makes it a bit weak for that purpose.  Other than that they look pretty neat and it's a good set to use in case you want to mess around with the PpA algorithm.

Review: Mega Bloks HKF93 Hot Wheels Audi R8 LMS GT2

It's been a while since I've done a regular Mega Construx review but I grabbed this the other day in Wegman's so let's take a look.  For some reason this is part of the Canadian Hot Wheels line, not the American.  Weird.  Probably good that I grabbed it then.  This is the first Medium-sized(?) Hot Wheels set I've reviewed specifically based off a real world car.

Box.  I paid $12.99, for a $0.18 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Rounded Tile w/Studs, Printed Wedge w/Cutout, Windscreen,

 Printed Tail, Inverted Slopes w/Cutout, Bracket, Printed Double

 Studless Slopes, Panel w/Studs, Modified Plate w/Projection.

Parts 2.  Vehicle Base, Printed Mudguards, Wheels, Plates, Mudguards, Bricks, Door Rail Plates, Steering Wheel, Axle Plates, Triple Curved

Slopes, Wedge Studless Slopes, Wedge Plate, Slope, Studless

Slopes, Bar Plate, Tiles, Jumper, Brackets, and Slope w/Cutout.

Package.  This is the bag for the second set of parts.  A little overkill.  Speaking

of parts -- including the instructions and the minfig -- I only count 70 pieces.  ??

Build. IO Cruiser.  I just had an idea on how to make this a little better.

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 find the number of parts with odd dimensions in this set interesting.  I'll have to keep an eye out for more copies.