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Hey Y'all:
There are some WAY cool new Mega Bloks sets out right now. Fail to buy them
at your own risk -- they are better by far than Lego's own Throwbots or Znap
lines, are about even with some other system sets, and are even better than
some others. They may not in the same league as Lego's best sets, but they
are getting pretty darn good! And how can you pass on chrome engine elements,
2x2 trans tiles (yes, trans tiles in antifreeze green, ruby red, and dark
blue), and trans plates?!
Overall, the Transforming bots are VERY cool, and while not as good as some of
the designs of our own Mecha enthusiasts( Sandlin, Mladen, etc.) -- they are a
great value for the price. Still not as high quality as Lego, but totally
worth the price. I defy any real Mecha enthusiast to dislike the designs,
even if there might be complaints as to the quality of the bricks themselves.
There are plenty of unusual items here to make the investment worthwhile.
I almost always like the small space sets, so no change here really.
And the new hot rod sets just rock! You really must go look at the quality of
the sets available. Even the boxes are very nicely designed. And then try a
blind building test: close your eyes and have someone hand you a series of 2x4
bricks and see if you can tell the difference between Lego and Mega Bloks from
a tactile perspective only -- I bet you can't! When you look at the bricks
you can tell which is which by a slight difference in visual quality -- and I
agree that Mega Bloks still don't look quite as well made as lego bricks. But
the difference is getting pretty slight.
Lego had better get it's head out of THAT dark place and pay attention. With
sets like these from a competitor and at a cost far below Lego prices, Lego
could disappear tomorrow and who would care? Harsh realities loom. And I am
just not listening to that quality costs argument anymore. They need to cut
prices across the board to reflect something like the prices they are wanting
for the Star Wars theme -- around $.10 USD a brick and not just pluck the
prices out of hat anymore. That's still more costly than Mega Bloks -- but
the quality is worth the cost at that point to put up with juniorization and
lame/short-lived themes.
Below you will find some brief descriptions of the new Mega Bloks sets.
.........................................................
#9332 SWAT Transforming Blok Bots -- 185 pcs. for $13 USD
Main colors:
dark grey (going towards silver), black with touches of trans blue and trans
red
Amazing elements:
new socket elements -- 4 dark grey, 2 black, 1 double-sided black.
eight male counterparts to the above sockets in grey and black that have
rotating and swiveling click hinges on either end
Stiff turning black 4x4 extra high turntable with ribbed edge
2 double-sided 2x2 male black plates!!! (1 1/2 traditional plate height)
4 2x2 trans red tiles
4 2x2 trans blue tiles
4 1x2 trans red bricks
4 1x2 trans blue bricks
Juniorization:
Head and face elements, both hand elements, both feet elements
things to like:
matt finished bricks, plates, and tiles.
Crisp sharp top edges to tiles.
Nice click of the face plate.
The usually great 3D modeled instructions
The finished project reminds of the Baron Karza Micronauts figure from the 70s-
80s
The transformed gun tank might be even cooler than the Karza look
Gripes:
while pieces are tighter fitting, some are difficult to fit into place, and
some don't want to make a perfect seal with adjoining elements. Getting
better, but this area still needs work.
Some of the 1x1 brick elements seem a little brittle and take on stress
fractures
.........................................................
#9331 SPACE Transforming Blok Bots -- 195 pcs. for $13 USD
Main colors:
violet/purple, silver, black, flourescent green
Amazing elements:
new socket elements -- six silver ones, 1 double-sided black.
eight male counterparts to the above sockets in violet, black, and grey that
have rotating and swiveling click hinges on either end
Stiff turning black 4x4 extra high turntable with ribbed edge
2 double-sided 2x2 male violet plates!!! (1 1/2 traditional plate height)
cool new wing elements (flat like tiles) - 2 violet
Solid top black 1x1 cylinders
violet slopes (1x2, 2x2, and inverse 2x2)
5 2x2 violet tiles
3 2x2 silver tiles
cool trans black hatch bubble
best Mega Bloks mini ever! The little fella has a gritted teeth, silver
printed shades, a copper face shielded helmet, and a dark grey breast
plate/jet pack that will fit VERY snugly on a Lego minifigure (I might file
down the clips in the front).
Juniorization:
Head and face elements, both hand elements, both feet elements
things to like:
matt finished bricks, plates, and tiles.
Crisp sharp top edges to tiles.
Nice click of the face plate.
The usually great 3D modeled instructions
Finished design looks great. I have rigged up a hand attachment so that this
mighty warrior can hold an old chrome Voltron sword -- looks pretty cool this
way! Having wings on this model is a nice touch. I am not as intrigued by
the alternate spacecraft model.
Gripes:
while pieces are tighter fitting, some are difficult to fit into place, and
some don't want to make a perfect seal with adjoining elements. Getting
better, but this area still needs work.
Some of the 1x1 brick elements seem a little brittle and take on stress
fractures
.........................................................
#9143 HAWK Grip 'n' Clip 70 pcs. for around $5 USD
Main colors:
violet and light grey
Amazing elements:
cool trans black hatch bubble
cool new wing elements (flat like tiles) - 4 light grey
4 2x3 inverse violet slopes
Juniorization:
none
things to like:
great little set -- plenty of "swooshability"
excellent compact design
Gripes:
my set was missing the mini -- not usually a huge loss in the case of Mega
Bloks
maybe I was tired, but I was finding the instructions for building hard to
follow while also eating and watching the Newshour.
otherwise no complaints...bricks were of solid quality
.........................................................
#9704 MUSCLE CAR Pro-Builder Collector Series 245 pcs. for $10 USD
Main colors:
violet and yellow
Amazing elements:
a TRULY amazing assortment of chrome elements for rollbars, shocks, intake
scoop, valve covers, exhaust pipes, etc.
2 1x2 trans plates (clear)
2 2x4 trans plates (clear)
2 1x4 trans hinge plates (clear)
2 2x2 double-sided male black plates!!! (1 1/2 traditional plate height)
Juniorization:
very little worth mentioning, mostly just specialty elements
things to like:
everything is just so cool -- if only it were Lego! Lego is only this good in
the more expensive Technic sets, and then they are even better of course!
A great value for the money! (Lugnuts like Stangl take note)
Gripes:
none, except maybe the usual brick quality thing.
And that's enough for one dinner hour on my own...
-- Richard
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