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Disclaimer: I’m not particularly TMNT-savvy, so I’m not conversant with all of
the lore and mythology of that universe, but I’ve seen the cartoon once or twice
(and probably saw the first movie, way back when). With that in mind, there may
be matters for criticism that I’m not equipped to make re: accuracy, etc.
First, the arithmetic: 145 pieces, including 3 minifigs and accessories, for
about $12.99.
Minifigs: They’re sort of like Alien Agency figures, complete with poseable
hands and the now-standard MEGABLOKS leg design (closely mirroring LEGO minifig
legs, with subtle but patent-friendly differences)
Michelangelo: A really good representation, IMO. He’s green (obviously) with
a sculpted (non-removeable) shell and chestplate, as well as an orange
headband. His head is also sculpted and is more bulbous than a standard
minifig, but it really seems to capture the character well. It’s much better,
for instance, than LEGO’s “Racer” printed minifig heads that strike me as too
unappealingly goofy to be useful.
Casey Jones: Likewise a good design. The arms are pale-flesh-colored and
well-muscled, with brown gloves. The torso is non-sculpted brown and the legs
are blue. The head has two separate, sculpted faces: his regular-guy face and
a hockey-mask face. LEGO fans might object that this too closely copies the
idea from LEGO, but LEGO certainly didn’t pioneer the multi-face design. Casey
has removeable, sculpted black hair that’s softer than brick-plastic.
Foot Soldier: Also nicely done in mostly black, with a headband streaming
behind his head. I’d give a better description, but I accidentally left him in
my car.
Accessories: Very, very cool. Michelangelo comes with nunchaku joined by a
six-link chain. The Foot Soldier has a long katana with a textured handle, and
Casey Jones has a well-worn baseball bat and hockeystick, as well as a sort of
golf bag with shoulder sling for storing them. There’s also a skateboard, as
featured in previous Xtreme Sports sets. These accessories are standard
minifig-scale and would work well with LEGO minfigs, too. Also included are a
large oil drum (a la Alien Agency) and a yellow-and-black checkpoint gate (ib
id).
Set Colors: Mostly blue, brown, orange, gray, and black.
Design: A little spartan, but playable. The set is centered on a curved blue
ramp (the 1/4 pipe, I guess) and a pair of rails on which a sort of hod or
scuttle can slide back and forth. The whole thing is more of a setting for a
battle than an actual structure, but it has some cool features. The set
includes two 1x12 and two 1x6 rail elements seen in Alien Agency and Command
Ops sets, as well as two new (to me) 1x4 bricks designed to slide on the
rails. The hod is on a hinge so that it can dump a load of light green “Ooze”
onto unwary passersby. The Ooze is essentially the “slime” product of the
70’s and 80’s. Also included is a “stunt stick” as seen in Xtreme Sports
sets, presumably for use in executing the more radical acrobatics on the
skateboard.
Instructions: Quite good. They include the now-standard graphic parts
inventory and are clearer than some instructions I’ve seen. The “ghosting” of
previous steps is less confusing to the eye, for some reason. As a nice touch,
the page numbers are printed on little turtles in the corner of the page.
In summary:
Overall Design: 6
Minifigs: 9
Accessories: 10
Colors: 7
Playability: 8
Piece:price value: 9 (about $0.09 per piece)
Alternate models: None
I plan to render the hod and the rail-slider elements ASAP, and I’ll post pics
once I have them.
Dave!
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Review of set 1401: 1/4 Pipe Fight
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| In lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, Dave Schuler wrote another characteristically comprehensive review. Mmmmm. I note that that this, the go cart set and the truck have also turned up in Australia (Big W). Our pricing is not so convivial though. The (...) (21 years ago, 5-Mar-04, to lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands)
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