Review: Block Tech 24-2365 Bunny Animal Blocks

I found these at 5 Below recently.  I'd seen them online but I didn't realize how compact the boxes actually are.  These sets can be found either in the Toy section with the rest of the building block sets, or on a rack by the entrance, or in the aisle to the checkout with other sub $5 items.

Box.  MSRP is $1.00, for a $0.02 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, Round Plate, Double Slope, Jumper, Brick, Curved Slope w/Cutout,

Bricks w/Stud on Side, Bar Plates, Padlock, Ball Joint Stud, Double Sided Plate,

Studless Slopes, Large Cheese Slopes, Tiles, Brackets, Clip Tiles, Round Tiles,

Printed Round Tiles, Apollo Studs, 1x1x0.6 Curved Slope, Corner Plate, 1x1x1

Curved Sloped, Angled Curved Slopes, 1x2x1 Curved Slope, and Cones.

Build.  Frame.

 

Size Comparison?  As you can

see, the box is fairly tiny.

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 has a few really useful parts at a dirt cheap price but, what sets it apart for me is the Maxifig Hand that we haven't seen from Lego since the resurgence of small Ball Joints after the debut of the Mixels line.

Battle Report: Road to Nowhere @ PAX Unplugged

Once again, a few people gathered at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia to wage battle in miniature.  I wasn't sure it was going to happen so when Ed and Fuzzpacho showed up at the Glyphpress booth on Saturday I was happy and a little surprised.  This game was a Skirmish.

Fuzzpacho (4 Frames & 15 Systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 42 points.

   Grey Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.

   Tan Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.

   Blue Soldier -- 2B/1Gd8/2Y/2W + SSR.

   White Armored Spotter -- 1B/1d8/2Y/2W.

Ed (4 Frames & 16 Systems) = (6 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 36 points.
   Sniper (Red Anvil) -- 2Rd+d8/1B/1Y/2W.
   Thumper (White Artillerist) -- 2Ra+d8/2B/2W.
   Chopper (Blue Swarmer) -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1Gd8/1Y/2W +SSR(x2).
   Scope (Grey Squad Leader) -- 2Rd/1B/2Y/2W + SSR.

Me (5 Frames & 20 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 21 points.  (Invictus)
   Purple Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.

   Yellow Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.

   Brown Soldier -- 2B/1Gd8/2Y/2W + SSR.
   Orange Delegator -- 2Ra/1B/2Y/2W.

   Blue Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W.

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

Events of Round 1 (DDC@11):  Fuzzpacho's Tan frame captures Ed's Sand Green Station before the game starts.  Fuzzpacho's Blue frame hits the tree in front of my Purple frame for 1.  My Brown frame hits Fuzzpacho's Tan frame for 2.  (I got distracted and forgot to take pictures at the end of this round.)

Fuzzpacho: 49 Points.

Ed: 30 points.

Me: 21 points.

Events of Round 2 (DDC @ 8): Fuzzpacho's Tan frame hits my Blue frame for 2.  My Blue frame then captures one of Fuzzpacho's Stations.  Ed's Grey frame recaptures his Sand Green Station, then hits the tree in front of my Blue frame for 1, and my Blue frame for 1, Station Dance.  My Yellow frame hits the tree in front of Ed's Grey frame for 1.  Ed's White frame hits my Blue frame for 4, destroying it.  My Purple frame hits Fuzzpacho's Blue frame for 1.  Ed's Blue frame hits the tree in front of Fuzzpacho's Tan frame for 1 with a SSR.  Fuzzpacho's Grey frame hits Ed's Grey frame for 2, and Ed's Blue frame for 2 -- Ed's Grey frame was the Target.  Ed's Red frame hits Fuzzpacho's Grey frame for 1.  My Brown frame hits the tree in front of Ed's Grey frame for 1, destroying it, and Ed's Grey frame for 3.

Ed: 36 points.

Fuzzpacho: 35 Points.

Me: 21 points.

Events of Round 3 (DDC @ 4): My Yellow frame runs across the road and captures Ed's Sand Green Station.  Ed's White frame moves down the road and hits Fuzzpacho's Grey frame for 2.  Fuzzpacho's Tan frame hits Ed's Blue frame for 3.  My Purple frame moves across the road, next to Fuzzpacho's Station, and hits Ed's Blue frame for 2, destroying it.  My Orange frame moves next to my Station and hits Ed's White frame for 1.  Ed's Red frame moves into cover behind a medium size tree and hits Fuzzpacho's Grey frame for 3, destroying it.  My Brown frame moves off the road and towards Fuzzpacho's second Station then hits the tree Fuzzpacho's White frame is in for 1.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked to zero.

Fuzzpacho: 28 Points.

Me: 24 points.

Ed: 18 points.

Here are several aftermath pictures.

Thoughts & Observations:

• This was a Skirmish.
• This was Fuzzpacho's first game.
• We had another case of Accidental Defender.
• I think that's the quietest first round I can recall.
• Although the second round seems to make up for it.
• We had a fair amount of people asking questions about the game.
• If my math is right, this was my 81st game of MFZ: Rapid Attack.
• If you look at the last picture on the lower left and the picture I used for the Flickr page you can see how things moved from start to finish.
• Flickr page.

PAX Unplugged 2023 Report

Another year and another con in the books.

Day 0: I met Joshua in the mid-morning and we drove down together.  Arriving mid-afternoon, we ended up waiting in line with all the other vendors looking to get into the conference center and set up.  After getting through the line we set up, found out hotel rooms, then had dinner -- Megumi Ramen & Sushi.  Afterwards I did some exploring and bargain shopping.  A little later I met Dom, one of my booth-mates, and gave him his badge.  I then settled in for the night.

Day 1: I managed to get into the con sort of early, after a quick breakfast we reset the booth layout a bit.  After the con opened I ran multiple demos -- in the booth -- before lunch, which was a new experience for me.  I had lunch at Oishii Poke again, then did some shopping at Ebisu.  Came back and ran more demos until the Vendor Hall closed.  I sat outside the Vendor Hall for a while and decompressed, met Dom and Joshua for dinner at Ocean City, went to Target for a few things I forgot to pack, then called it a night.  I gave out 13 participation packs and ran seven or eight demos.

Hotel view.

Hotel view.

A different House of Dragons.

Day 2: I slept in by accident -- always check your alarm boys and girls -- had leftovers for breakfast, and still managed to make it in to the con early-ish.  I demoed for two hours which seemed to go by in an eyeblink.  Ed and his niece showed up so we went over to the Miniatures section in the main hall and started setting up for a full scale game.  I wasn't expecting anyone to show so this was a nice surprise.  We played until 4pm or so -- that's set-up to tear-down -- as there were a lot of people asking questions and we had a new player.  Then I went back to the booth for the final two vendor hours.  After hall close I tried to visit Fat Jack Comics but got blocked by a parade.  I managed to make it to Pho Mi Rittenhouse for dinner, then limped back to the hotel on tired, aching legs.  I only gave out 4 participation packs and I'm not sure how many demos I ran.

Day 3: Got up on time, packed up, then went to the con.  Found the "Fantastic Knickknackery" booth that I was looking for last year.  Con opened.  Had an excellent conversation with one of the creators of an "Infinity of Ships".  The rest of the day was kind of a blur.  I know I ran a few demos and talked about MFZ a fair amount.  Lunch was Crown Fried Chicken.  The con closed, we broke down the booth, loaded the car, had dinner at Terakawa Ramen -- which is always pretty busy -- then headed home.  I gave out 5 participation packs.

Con loot (pictures taken at home).

In Con purchases.

Snowy Owlbear from Metal Weave Games.

d20 from Fantastic Knickknackery.

Out of Con Purchases.

The Lazer Blocks and Mega Bloks sets are from

Burlington.  The others I bought at Ebisu.

Post Con Thoughts:

• The lead up to this con was stressful, and I know that I was not the only one that felt that way.
• It was nice to meet Dom from the Xenophilia discord for the first time.
• I sold 11 Rulers, 8 copies of Dinosaur Planet, 5 Starter Kits, and 4 Dice Kits.
• I gave out 22 participation packs.
• I quickly lost track of the number of demos I ran.
• I didn't see much of the con, I spent most of my time in the booth.

Review: Miniso 103280 Steel Acier Blue

I found these at my local Miniso store.  I haven't been able to track down any information about these sets online though.  This is a series of four sets that can combine and transform.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Back of the box.

Parts 1.  Studless Slopes, Wedge Plate, Wedge Tile, Corner Tiles,

Plates, Inverted Rounded Tile, Ingots, Wedge Studless Slope, Bar

Plates, Transparent Cheese Slope, Stadium Tiles, Tiles, Round Tiles,

Pins, Axles, Bar Clip, U Clips, Double Ball Joint Plates, Hinge Plates,

Minifig Binoculars, Exo Force Arms, Travis Brick, and Slope w/Cutout.

Parts 2.  Studless Slopes, Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Inverted Tile, Inverted

Round Tile, Double Sided Round Plate, Bar Plates (closed ends), Bar Plate

(open ends), Octagon Tiles, Round Plates, Tiles, Hinge Brick Tops, Tile w/Studs,

Double Slopes, Wedge Plates, Corner Tiles, Bricks w/Pinhole, Bricks, Hinge

Brick Base, Large Ingot, Wedge Studless Slope, Clip Plate (vertical) Clip

Plates, Hinge Plates, Wedge Tile, and Axle Connector w/Ball Joint Socket.

 

Parts 3.  Plates, Windscreen, Tiles w/Pin, Ball Joint Socket Bricks, Click

Hinge Bricks, Bricks w/Pinhole and Dual Liftarms, Ball Joint Brick, Printed

Transparent Studless Slope, Brackets, Tires, Rims, Slopes w/Cutout,

Minifig Bucket Handle, 10L Propellor Blades, and Technic Ball Joint.

Build.  Two Frames (2Rh/1B/1Gd8/1Y)

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+).  Two Frames and a Station with tons of leftover parts for $10 is a great deal.  The 1x4 Hinge Plates are a little fragile but the two different Ball Joint Plates make up for that.

PAX Unplugged 2023

For the next three days I'll be helping demonstrate Mobile Frame Zero at PAX Unplugged.  I'll also be selling Rulers, Starter Kits, Dice Kits, and something else.  We'll be at booth # 4054 under the Glyphpress banner.  The booth is by the Northeast corner of the Vendor's Hall.

I'm trying to get a big game of Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack scheduled for Saturday, starting some time between Noon and 1pm.  I'll try to get us a table in the Miniatures area or near it.  I brought two sets of terrain so if we get any more interest I'll be able to cover a second table.  I'll even have a spare squad!

If you're going to be at the con, please stop by. It's been too long since I've had the chance to meet MoF0s from outside my gaming group in person.  Let's talk Lego, mecha, and gaming!