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: Forever Clever PR3521-02 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Blue Battle Bike

Forever Clever is back again with another series of sets based on a different intellectual property.

Box.  I paid $5.00 at 5 Below, for a $0.10 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Minifig.

Parts.  Motorcycle Body, 2x4x1.3 Curved Brick, Slopes, Plates,

Tires, Slope w/Cutout, 1x2 Curved Bricks, Panel, Inverted Slope w/

Cutout, Jumpers, Tiles, Hexagonal "Round" Plate, Rims, Taps, Base,

 Lever, Round Brick, Brackets, and Inverted Large Cheese Slope.

  

Build.  Battlebike.  I managed to balance it without any sort of kickstand.

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).  Considering that the minifig and stickers take up a full eleven pieces of the 50 in this set, this is closer to a $0.13 PpA which downgrades the score to a +5 (B+).  Also, since you can't build much beyond modifying the bike from the set -- maybe a Station -- I'm having serious thoughts about bringing the score down even further.

Review: Forever Clever GJ3521-01 Cobra Ferret

After the first Forever Clever G.I. Joe review I went out and tracked down as many sets as I could.  Let's take a look at the smaller sets this week.  I bought all of these at Marshalls.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.  

Instructions & Stickers.

Minifig. This are always annoying to assemble.  And Storm

Shadow is Grey as opposed to the White shown on the box.

Parts.  Plates, Tires, Rims, Grille Tiles, Bricks, Slopes, Axle

Plates, Tiles, Motor Brick, Bracket, Cone, Taps, and Antenna.

Build.  Another 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?  Over.  (-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-).  Better in quality than the last two but not a great selection of parts.

Review: Forever Clever GJ3521-03 Ninja Speed Cycle

After the first Forever Clever G.I. Joe review I went out and tracked down as many sets as I could.  Let's take a look at the smaller sets this week.  I bought all of these at Marshalls.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.  

Instructions & Stickers.

Minifig. These are always annoying to assemble.  While it's an old school version

of Snake Eyes pictured in the box art, it's a post-issue 53 version in the box.

Parts.  Motorcycle, Wedge Plates, Plates (Not sure if you can see it but the Anti-Stud in the bottom of that 2x3 Plate is nonexistent.) Tiles, Slope w/Cutout, Slope, Tires, Inverted Slope, Windscreen, Jumper, Round Bricks w/Pinhole, Double Cone w/Ball Joint, Taps, 2/3 Brick w/Stud on Side, Brackets, and Rims.

Build.  Another IO Frigate (2Ras/1B).

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-).  More poor quality control cancels out the interesting parts.

Review: Forever Clever GJ3521-02 Cobra FANG

After the last Forever Clever G.I. Joe review I went out and tracked down as many sets as I could.  Let's take a look at the smaller sets this week.  I bought all of these at Marshalls.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.  

Instructions & Stickers.

Minifig. This was annoying to assemble again.  While it shows

a Cobra trooper on the box art, that's Cobra Commander.

Parts.  Plates, Inverted Slopes, Bricks, Curved Brick, Slopes,

Jumpers, Clip Plates, Truncated Cones, Pyramid "Tile",

Hinge Brick Top, Hinge Brick Base, Brick w/Studs on Side,

Cone, Double Cone w/Ball Joint, Taps, and Minifig RPGs.

Build.  IO Frigate (2Ras/1Y).

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-).  That melted brick is just awful.  The price isn't bad but the parts count isn't great.

Purity: Forever Clever GJ3522-01Cobra HISS Tank Review

I found this at a local TJ Maxx last week.  I almost walked past it, thinking it was a standard G.I.Joe toy, until I took a second glance.  It's made in China, though it's not a Kre-O set.  According to HISSTank.com, they're from "Forever Clever".  Looking at the post date these are brand new.  And according to another post, the line will be expanding and carried at multiple retailers.

Box.  MSRP is $7.99, for a $0.08 Price per Piece.  

Instructions & Stickers.

Parts in the box.  It has a cardboard sleeve to prevent

the parts bags from bouncing around the box.

Minifig.  This was a bit annoying to assemble.

Parts 1.  Rubber Treads, Bricks, Turntable Base, Turntable Top, Hinged

Windscreen, Headlight Bricks, Inverted Slopes (Check out how they're

different from Lego ones.), Bracket, Axle Plates, Rims, and Plates.

Parts 2.  Plates, Wedge Plates, Slopes, Corner Slopes, Bricks,

Brackets, Inverted Slopes, Tiles, more Plates (Check out

the 1x5 ones.), Translucent Hinge Plate, and Antenna.

Unfortunately there's flash on some of the Plates and Tiles.

Build.  Frame (2Rd+d8 [guns] 1B [front armor] 1G

[treads]), two 1 Hit pieces of Cover, 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+).  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  On one hand there are some interesting parts at a decent price point.  On the other the quality is not impressive.  I guess I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself.