This July, with the release of Thor Love and Thunder, Thor becomes the first individual in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe to get a fourth feature-length film with his name in the title. But just because the Avengers aren’t around, it doesn’t mean Thor is flying solo. His longtime love interest Jane Foster will return to wield Mjolnir herself. At their side will be fan-favorite Korg and the king of New Asgard, Valkyrie. And they’ll all be up against Gorr the God Butcher who, I assume, will be looking to butcher himself some gods. That’s bad news for our favorite Asgardians. The good news is that Taika Waititi is back in the director’s chair, and it’s a safe bet he’ll be bringing the same blend of action and whimsy that he delivered in Thor Ragnarok. Who else would make a movie with as bizarre a tie-in set as LEGO 76208 The Goat Boat? But bizarre might be just what the doctor ordered after countless MCU tie-in sets featuring mostly SHIELD vehicles and spaceships. This 564-piece set will be available on April 26th from the LEGO Shop Online for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Unboxing the parts and instructions

The set comes in a large, thumb punch-style box. The front of the box depicts the Goat Boat flying through the bifrost energy that is a trademark of the Thor franchise. The included minifigures are highlighted at the bottom, as is standard, and Thor and Jane Foster in her powered-up form appear as promotional art on the right-hand side.

The back of the box features the Goat Boat having landed on what appears to be the moon, as the included goats wander around and Jane-as-Thor engages in battle with Gorr. An inset image demonstrates the hinged roof of the Goat Boat’s cabin section.

Inside the box are six individually numbered bags, a sheet of stickers, a perfect bound set of instructions, and one loose 16×8 plate in dark tan.

The parts

There are a few unique/rare parts in this set, primarily in the form of eight 3x4x3 curved panels, available in dark tan for the first time. Two inverted curved slopes that are unique to this set are printed with the goats’ faces, one in white and one in reddish-brown. There are also some Technic ½ pins in red and a white 1x1x2/3 brick. Both of these are not exclusive to this set but are still relatively rare.

The build

Bag 1 of the build is focused on the goats Toothbarer and Toothgrinder. These are, presumably, the MCU versions of the Marvel comic goats Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder who are, in turn, based on the actual Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr of Norse mythology. (The set, unfortunately, gives no indication as to which is which.)

In mythology, these are the goats known for pulling Thor’s chariot through the sky like the magic reindeer do for Santa Claus. But in this set, they’re hauling a Viking boat with room enough for Thor and several of his pals. The bodies of both goats are made from identical construction, with only the colors changing. The heads use some slightly different techniques to give the white goat a set of floppy ears and some slightly thicker horns. The final goats are surprisingly articulated. Their heads can turn from side to side and lift up and down at the neck. Considering the rarity of molded LEGO goats, these two might make an effectively economical snack for any T-Rexes you might be building.

Bag 2 is devoted to the rear of the Viking ship, using a lot of Studs Not On Top bricks, onto which wedges and curved slopes get attached to create that classic Viking ship profile.

Bag 3 is devoted to the front half of the ship, which is built in a very similar manner as the rear. Bag 4 adorns the front of the ship with its twin dragon heads and brings the two halves of the ship together.

Bag 5 fills in the ship’s center, using those dark tan curved panels to fill out what remains of the hull. This is also where we begin construction of the ship’s cabin, which hides a few extra accessories within it. Inside the cabin are a map of New Asgard, a bottle, a gemstone, a golden scepter, and the fire extinguisher which has become a sort of trademark of these larger MCU-themed sets.

Once the cabin is built, you secure it into the center of the boat to bring the whole craft together, nice and sturdy.

Bag 6 deals with the cabin’s roof and the harness Toothbarer and Toothgrinder use to pull the ship. The cabin roof is built using several Studs Not On Top elements to create a frame which then gets covered with multiple plates, wedges, and tiles. The identical roof sections then get clipped onto the top of the cabin in a nice crisscrossing effect.

The final model

The final Goat Boat is an impressive Viking ship that would feel very much at home in LEGO’s Castle subline, but for a few MCU-specific details. There are trans-light blue round tiles on the bottom of the ship, implying it has some sort of hover jets. And an “Asgard Tours” logo is present in the front, suggesting this boat was primarily used to entertain tourists before Thor and his friends get it involved in their adventure. The ship is nice and sturdy, and swooshing it around is surprisingly satisfying.

The cabin roof is hinged and opens easily for access. Two clips on the back of the cabin can be used for weapon storage.

A droid arm between the dragon heads can also be used to mount Thor’s Stormbreaker axe. This might just be a storage solution, but it feels more like a reference to the movie that we’re not privy to, yet. Maybe these twin dragon heads are really one head cleaved in half by the axe, and it becomes stuck between them? Or maybe the Stormbreaker plugs in to power the aforementioned hover devices on the bottom of the boat? Whatever the reason, it clips in nice and easy.

The minifigures

The set includes five minifigures – Jane Foster (billed as ‘Mighty Thor’ on the box), Thor, King Valkyrie, Korg, and Gorr. They’re an impressive lot, with each figure sporting newly printed torsos. And there are several new colors and molds at use as well. Let’s take an up-close look at each of them.

Jane Foster – the Mighty Thor – is appearing as a minifigure for the first time, despite being a part of the MCU since 2011. Jane reuses a head with printing on both sides that has served as several cinematic characters in the past, including Black Widow, Jyn Erso, and Vikki Vale. But Jane is sporting a new, double-sided torso and printed legs that depict her Asgardian armor. Her accessories include Mjolnir, a cape, and a new winged helmet piece. The helmet is dual-molded, silver with blonde hair flowing from the back. It has a mask portion that covers the top of her face like a cowl, and the minifigures eyes are easily visible through the holes. There’s also a copper symbol printed on the forehead.

Thor returns with his double-sided head from the Avengers Endgame sets, but with all new printing on his blue torso and legs. He’s also sporting the “long hair pulled back” mold that originated with Qui-Gon Jinn, cast in dark tan for the first time. His accessories include a cape and his Stormbreaker axe, built slightly differently from previous versions.

As befits a king, Valkyrie is an all-new figure. While Valkyrie did appear in sets related to Thor Ragnarok, none of those pieces are reused here. Her head, legs, and torso all feature new prints, and even her hair is a brand-new piece that I believe is exclusive to this set, for now. She sports a cape and a Roman sword as accessories.

Korg, the lovable rock alien we met in Thor Ragnarok, is also sporting some new duds. His goat-headed belt buckle leads me to suspect that he’s the captain of the Goat Boat. Which means that what looks a bit like barbarian gear might actually be a tour guide’s uniform. He’s also rocking a fluffy collar and a mace. His head appears to be the same as the one included in the 40525 Endgame Battle set.

Gorr is the main villain of the film, but he’s the least interesting of the minifigures in the set. His torso features a new print of some mummy-like rags, but his legs are the only non-printed ones in the set. His head is also dual-printed, but features an expression on only one side. He’s a decent figure, but in this set he comes up a little short. I know licensed minifigures are limited by their source material, but if we couldn’t get more printing on him, then another accessory, like maybe a hood, would have really helped him feel more complete when compared to the others. He comes with a black sword that I’m assuming is his Necrosword from the comics.

Conclusion and recommendation

The Goat Boat is a refreshing change of pace for superhero movie tie-in sets. The Viking boat will appeal to fans of medieval LEGO scenes in addition to superhero fans, and the new minifigures will be hard for collectors to resist. Plus, 564 pieces for the price is a really decent value for a licensed set. If this set is tempting you even a little, I don’t think you’ll regret picking it up.

76208 The Goat Boat contains 564 pieces and will be available starting April 26 from the LEGO shop online for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99. It may also be available on Amazon and eBay.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.