Well, it's been about two weeks since I've finished my "Basic Writing" course, so lessee how I handle writing a review. I have two Lego sets on my plate for ya'll tonight. First off, brand new on Toys R Us' shelves, not yet released anywhere else, is the Exo-Force "Gate Assault" (7705)
set, and the X-Pod Robo Pod (4416) set. (Note: pictures might NOT resemble fresh from the box construction. These pics were taken after I made slight modifications in construction.)
Exo-Force is much akin to Dino Attack and Bionicle for Lego's non-licensed lines, it's more action oriented than the "Knights Kingdom"(Though, there is action...but it's mostly outwitting the enemy with brains, than brawn.), "City" and "Creator" lines. It's also inspired Japanese Animation. (Click on the images to make them larger!)
Exo- Force Gate Assault (7705)
This is a brand new set and at the price of $29.99($32 w/taxes here), it's an excellent set to get to start off the line. It includes five minifigures(3 robots, 2 humans), a vehicle, two mechas, and the 'playset' title gate. A quick take for the set, well worth it for the mech and vehicle...not so much for the base. The alternate constructions is a Human flying vehicle called "Swift", and a Robot vehicle called "Blockade Bulldozer".
Onto the details, in order of construction.
set, and the X-Pod Robo Pod (4416) set. (Note: pictures might NOT resemble fresh from the box construction. These pics were taken after I made slight modifications in construction.)
Exo-Force is much akin to Dino Attack and Bionicle for Lego's non-licensed lines, it's more action oriented than the "Knights Kingdom"(Though, there is action...but it's mostly outwitting the enemy with brains, than brawn.), "City" and "Creator" lines. It's also inspired Japanese Animation. (Click on the images to make them larger!)
Exo- Force Gate Assault (7705)
This is a brand new set and at the price of $29.99($32 w/taxes here), it's an excellent set to get to start off the line. It includes five minifigures(3 robots, 2 humans), a vehicle, two mechas, and the 'playset' title gate. A quick take for the set, well worth it for the mech and vehicle...not so much for the base. The alternate constructions is a Human flying vehicle called "Swift", and a Robot vehicle called "Blockade Bulldozer".
Onto the details, in order of construction.
Mini-Figures!
First off, the robots are completely new designs. The body and head is one piece. The body has a stud, but the clearance between it and the head doesn't allow much to be attached. The back of the head also has a spot to insert an axle...but more on that later. Also new is the arms and legs.
The legs are one piece, with a two stud wide opening. The arms have a flat end, with a hole to put items in. (in particular, claws.)
Now, if you've noticed..the robots have no eyes, while in much of the promotional artwork; they are red...which brings us back to that axle hole. The set comes with numerous 2-stud length axles. So, if you have a spare or could switch one out from another set, here's your red eyes.
Another option, would be to take some Lego gems and place them in the axle hole.
It has a bit of a light piping effect, making it seem like the eyes are lit up.
The robots control a mecha, and an assault vehicle. ( I rate them a B+)
On the other side, you have two humans. One named, Ha-ya-to, and the other a nameless soldier. They both have dual printed faces, to represent a calm mood, and the other to represent an angry/in-battle mood. The hair is new in more ways than one, being more "anime" themed, they're also rubber..which doesn't stay as well as the plastic pieces do.
(the In-battle face, uncovered.)
Ha-ya-to is one of the first humans you'll meet in this set. He has a dual printed face, one showed a calm face, and the other in-battle. His red hair piece, covers the "not-in-use" face..I can't pick any anime character in particular, as a basis for his hair style. His body is mostly white, with a few navy pieces(hands, waist). There's also a printing that looks to take influence from the Macross Valkrye, and the Evangelion plug suit. He pilots the Falcon A.02 unit. (I give him an A)
Unamed Solider: There's not much to say about him, as he's unnamed. His hair is black, and appears to take design cues from Son Goku, the super-famous character from Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" series. It also doesn't cover his head completely, so if your using his calm face, his "in-battle" teeth, are still visable. His body is orange, and grey(Just the hands and waist). The print on his body, reminds me of Gordon Freeman's outfit from the Half-Life series of games. For this reason, I'm considering to either call him Son Gordon, or Goku Freeman. He's the Gate's gunner. (gets a B, for the hairline error.)
First off, the robots are completely new designs. The body and head is one piece. The body has a stud, but the clearance between it and the head doesn't allow much to be attached. The back of the head also has a spot to insert an axle...but more on that later. Also new is the arms and legs.
The legs are one piece, with a two stud wide opening. The arms have a flat end, with a hole to put items in. (in particular, claws.)
Now, if you've noticed..the robots have no eyes, while in much of the promotional artwork; they are red...which brings us back to that axle hole. The set comes with numerous 2-stud length axles. So, if you have a spare or could switch one out from another set, here's your red eyes.
Another option, would be to take some Lego gems and place them in the axle hole.
It has a bit of a light piping effect, making it seem like the eyes are lit up.
The robots control a mecha, and an assault vehicle. ( I rate them a B+)
On the other side, you have two humans. One named, Ha-ya-to, and the other a nameless soldier. They both have dual printed faces, to represent a calm mood, and the other to represent an angry/in-battle mood. The hair is new in more ways than one, being more "anime" themed, they're also rubber..which doesn't stay as well as the plastic pieces do.
(the In-battle face, uncovered.)
Ha-ya-to is one of the first humans you'll meet in this set. He has a dual printed face, one showed a calm face, and the other in-battle. His red hair piece, covers the "not-in-use" face..I can't pick any anime character in particular, as a basis for his hair style. His body is mostly white, with a few navy pieces(hands, waist). There's also a printing that looks to take influence from the Macross Valkrye, and the Evangelion plug suit. He pilots the Falcon A.02 unit. (I give him an A)
Unamed Solider: There's not much to say about him, as he's unnamed. His hair is black, and appears to take design cues from Son Goku, the super-famous character from Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" series. It also doesn't cover his head completely, so if your using his calm face, his "in-battle" teeth, are still visable. His body is orange, and grey(Just the hands and waist). The print on his body, reminds me of Gordon Freeman's outfit from the Half-Life series of games. For this reason, I'm considering to either call him Son Gordon, or Goku Freeman. He's the Gate's gunner. (gets a B, for the hairline error.)
The Vehicles
Robot Assault Vehicle: The RAV is a small-ish vehicle for two robots, one driver and one gunner. The front of the vehicle, has a similar design to the robots themselves, which leads me to believe, he might actually be a robot as well. (Gets a B rating, the gun sometimes falls off the gunner station.)
Robot Mecha: The packaging comic seems to indicate this might be a commanding vehicle amongst small groups. Even though it's a commanding unit, it can still be considered a "light weight" unit. It has a small amount of armor, only on the shoulders, and legs. It has an anntenna for communication. Missles and flame throwers for attacking purposes. It also has a green item next to the anntena. I'm unsure if this is a power source, or another weapon. (A Rating)
Human Mecha:
The Falcon A.02 could also be considered a light-weight mech. It's color scheme is mostly white, grey and a few blue details tossed in. It has a bit more to offer, than the Robot Mecha. Mostly for the fact, it's slightly better protected, with what looks to be more armor, and a canopy to cover the pilot, Ha-Ya-To. It also has wings, that allow for flights over short distances(or long, if you so prefer while playing with it. ^_^ ). It's also standard with an antenna for communication. It's weaponary is slightly lacking, in the fact that it has a missle launcher, and a semi-articulated hand. It features the Japanese symbol for "Falcon" on the front of his right shoulder, and Japanese writing that says "Flying Unit" on the side of his right shoulder.
(Gets a B, intially. After a slight alteration with these two pieces, to give it elbows, he gets an A-.)
The Base: Here we are! This is what's being assaulted. The toy promotional image makes this seem sort of like a "dummy" enterance, to lure the robots into a trap...it's quite apparent it's been frequently attacked, with the decals showing numerous bulletholes. On the sides of the gate, on the left there's a Japanese writing for "Light", and on the right, there's a writing for "Base". Perhaps this particular gate is for a "Light Base"? It's well protected, with a duo-missle launcher on one side of the base, and the nameless soldier taking up the gunner's seat. The door themselves have a laser cannons/cameras on each side. The next bit of defense, is what leads me to belive that this is dummy gate, if any robots do manage to storm the gate; they're staring down a giant cannon, with a banner that says "Entry Forbidden", written in Japanese. The cannon is activated by the left door hitting a switch. (For a grade, I'm going to have to give it a C-.
Initially, the gate's doors would drop off at the slight-ish touch. I fixed that by adding a four stud plate ontop of the door hinge to reinforce the connection. Even then, the gate as a whole, is a bit flimsy. The next bit, is also what gives a it a minus, and saves it from being a D. Besides the cannon, the area is waaay too open with not enough detail...it's also a perk, as it provides a good amount of space to play with the figures...but it's dull to look at.)
Robot Assault Vehicle: The RAV is a small-ish vehicle for two robots, one driver and one gunner. The front of the vehicle, has a similar design to the robots themselves, which leads me to believe, he might actually be a robot as well. (Gets a B rating, the gun sometimes falls off the gunner station.)
Robot Mecha: The packaging comic seems to indicate this might be a commanding vehicle amongst small groups. Even though it's a commanding unit, it can still be considered a "light weight" unit. It has a small amount of armor, only on the shoulders, and legs. It has an anntenna for communication. Missles and flame throwers for attacking purposes. It also has a green item next to the anntena. I'm unsure if this is a power source, or another weapon. (A Rating)
Human Mecha:
The Falcon A.02 could also be considered a light-weight mech. It's color scheme is mostly white, grey and a few blue details tossed in. It has a bit more to offer, than the Robot Mecha. Mostly for the fact, it's slightly better protected, with what looks to be more armor, and a canopy to cover the pilot, Ha-Ya-To. It also has wings, that allow for flights over short distances(or long, if you so prefer while playing with it. ^_^ ). It's also standard with an antenna for communication. It's weaponary is slightly lacking, in the fact that it has a missle launcher, and a semi-articulated hand. It features the Japanese symbol for "Falcon" on the front of his right shoulder, and Japanese writing that says "Flying Unit" on the side of his right shoulder.
(Gets a B, intially. After a slight alteration with these two pieces, to give it elbows, he gets an A-.)
The Base: Here we are! This is what's being assaulted. The toy promotional image makes this seem sort of like a "dummy" enterance, to lure the robots into a trap...it's quite apparent it's been frequently attacked, with the decals showing numerous bulletholes. On the sides of the gate, on the left there's a Japanese writing for "Light", and on the right, there's a writing for "Base". Perhaps this particular gate is for a "Light Base"? It's well protected, with a duo-missle launcher on one side of the base, and the nameless soldier taking up the gunner's seat. The door themselves have a laser cannons/cameras on each side. The next bit of defense, is what leads me to belive that this is dummy gate, if any robots do manage to storm the gate; they're staring down a giant cannon, with a banner that says "Entry Forbidden", written in Japanese. The cannon is activated by the left door hitting a switch. (For a grade, I'm going to have to give it a C-.
Initially, the gate's doors would drop off at the slight-ish touch. I fixed that by adding a four stud plate ontop of the door hinge to reinforce the connection. Even then, the gate as a whole, is a bit flimsy. The next bit, is also what gives a it a minus, and saves it from being a D. Besides the cannon, the area is waaay too open with not enough detail...it's also a perk, as it provides a good amount of space to play with the figures...but it's dull to look at.)
-X-Pod Robo Pod
This is actually the "Third" Robo Pod for the X-Pod lineup. The first one was released in a green pod, and mostly green color scheme, in 2004. It was reissued in Black, in 2004...so this is really the Second original Robo design. The pod it comes in has a white lid and bottom, and translucent blue middle/container. This comes in to make things slightly tough later on. The color scheme of the robot himself is mostly black and white, with some silver. There's also a few translucent blue pieces. This color schemes mirror that of the Exo-Force Stealth Hunter(7700) and the Falcon A.02 in the Gate Assault set(7705). But did you notice how I said it comes with translucent blue pieces, and a translucent blue container? If you keep your pieces inside the pod, the pieces will blend in perfectly, making it slightly tough to find.
Anyways, the set builds a tall robot with a laser cannon. (It can sit down and ride in the pod as well.) For an alternate constructions, you have a choice of a squatier robot with heavy weapons or a robot that incorperates the plastic Lego pod. For suggested constructions, there's images of an alternately built Robo-Pod, a small medium armed robot, a pod lifter robot, and a robo-dog. I've built the main design, and the robo-dog. Maybe at a future date, I'll take pictures of the alternate and suggested designs. (Lego design pictured, is a slightly altered design, using all the left over pieces.)
Whew, that's certainly a lot to digest. Either Sunday, or Monday..I plan on doing a Ketchup on the Lego Advent Calendar, following that..I'll try and do a weekly update.
Aoi
4416-
This is actually the "Third" Robo Pod for the X-Pod lineup. The first one was released in a green pod, and mostly green color scheme, in 2004. It was reissued in Black, in 2004...so this is really the Second original Robo design. The pod it comes in has a white lid and bottom, and translucent blue middle/container. This comes in to make things slightly tough later on. The color scheme of the robot himself is mostly black and white, with some silver. There's also a few translucent blue pieces. This color schemes mirror that of the Exo-Force Stealth Hunter(7700) and the Falcon A.02 in the Gate Assault set(7705). But did you notice how I said it comes with translucent blue pieces, and a translucent blue container? If you keep your pieces inside the pod, the pieces will blend in perfectly, making it slightly tough to find.
Anyways, the set builds a tall robot with a laser cannon. (It can sit down and ride in the pod as well.) For an alternate constructions, you have a choice of a squatier robot with heavy weapons or a robot that incorperates the plastic Lego pod. For suggested constructions, there's images of an alternately built Robo-Pod, a small medium armed robot, a pod lifter robot, and a robo-dog. I've built the main design, and the robo-dog. Maybe at a future date, I'll take pictures of the alternate and suggested designs. (Lego design pictured, is a slightly altered design, using all the left over pieces.)
Whew, that's certainly a lot to digest. Either Sunday, or Monday..I plan on doing a Ketchup on the Lego Advent Calendar, following that..I'll try and do a weekly update.
Aoi
posted by Ted Aaron at
12:29 AM
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