Head on over to BrickZone.net for a full photo review of what appears to be the very first set from the upcoming Indiana Jones line — 7620 Indiana Jones Motorcycle Escape.
Tag Archives: Reviews
Have I mentioned that I love 7036 Dwarves’ Mine? [Review]
Well, I do. I love 7036 Dwarves’ Mine! It may in fact be my favorite LEGO set in several years.
It’s got great play features that had me running over and showing my wife as I built the set, and as I discovered each new piece, I kept thinking about how I could use them in my own creations. I spent some time a couple weekends ago seeing what hats would fit with each of the new beards. Click the naked bearded guys (I used “blank” minifigs as mannequins) to see the results of my experiment:
This past weekend, I finally got around to taking pictures of the minifigs that use the new beards and helmets.
Valkyries and Yosemite Sam:
A marooned explorer and a biker (I really need to make one of Noddy’s bikes):
Finally, a pair of fearsome fictional pirates I’m too tired to name amusingly at the moment:
And if you want to see for yourself (and support The Brothers Brick while you’re at it), you can buy your own Dwarves’ Mine from the LEGO Store online.
(See what I did there boys and girls? That’s called “product placement.”)
Photo review of 7036 Dwarves’ Mine on BrickZone.net
The newest Castle set, 7036 Dwarves’ Mine, is starting to show up in stores and online. For those of us cursed to live near the end of The LEGO Company’s supply chain, we have the BrickZone.net photo review to make us jealous of the rest of you.
Of particular note is the fact that the two new beard pieces are wrap-arounds with ponytails on the back!
I’m going to be gravely disappointed if I don’t get this for my birthday next week…
BrickForge Barnyard Animals [Review]
Josh’s post earlier today reminded me that I hadn’t gotten around to posting a review of the new animals from BrickForge. Let’s get started.
Three animals are available from BrickForge:
- Cow (in screen-printed Holstein and black varieties): $5.00
- Pig (in pink, black, and white): $3.00
- Sheep (in white and black): $3.00
You can also buy white horns for $0.50 a pair, and pink udders for $0.50 each. (The brick and plate on the Holstein and the saddle on the steer are from my own collection.)
The Cows
BrickForge cows are comparable in size to official horses, but with shorter legs. Like LEGO horses, there’s a slot on the back where you can put a saddle (rodeo!), a hitch, or bricks to fill in the space. Unfortunately, you can’t put a barding on a cow. I tried.
The head, which is articulated, includes two holes where you can put any standard rod-sized element, such as Viking horns — and the BrickForge horns fit in holes of the same size on official elements:
The Holstein and the black cow integrate well with official LEGO, though they both feel a little lighter than a LEGO element of equivalent size. Without horns, the holes for horns look a little weird on the side of the head, but I’d rather have holes in my cows’ heads than no way to put horns on them! I think the Holstein looks great with an udder (which I haven’t tried removing, so I don’t know how easy that is), and the black cow looks great with a saddle or hitch.
Pigs and Sheep
BrickForge pigs and sheep are about the same size as LEGO dogs. Like dogs, they don’t have any articulation, but their feet fit on any sequence of 1×3 studs (or any pair of studs one stud apart). They look and feel very much like LEGO. I especially like the pink pig, and all the pigs’ curly tails:
Summary
The same fundamental criterion I used in my review of BrickForge weapons applies to these animals: “How well do these custom elements fit into my existing LEGO collection?”
My life would still be complete without historically accurate weapons or modern guns (though I think both BrickForge and BrickArms make some amazingly cool stuff), but I’ve been wanting more animals from LEGO for many years. Not only do they fit in well with my collection, these latest additions to the BrickForge product catalog fill a real gap in what’s been released so far by The LEGO Company. I wholeheartedly recommend them.
Finally, be sure to check out Mark Larson’s review on BrickZone.net, the discussion on Classic-Castle.com, and Martin Jaspers’ review on Brickshelf. Martin’s review includes color comparisons I couldn’t do in the poor lighting I’m stuck with at the moment:
BrickForge Minifig Accessories [Review]
Reminded by the pictures of their upcoming livestock shown during BrickWorld, I recently ordered a rather substantial number of weapons and accessories from BrickForge.
I wrote a review here on The Brothers Brick of modern weapons from BrickArms last February, so I thought I’d do the same with my new collection of BrickForge products. BrickForge primarily sells historical and fantasy accessories, including Greek, medieval, and “Elven” armor, as well as unique hair and beards.
The Photos
First up, Greek Hoplites and Norse warriors:
Next, a bunch of knights and dwarfs (or “dwarves,” if you prefer):
A wizard and Robin Hood:
Finally, “The Mysterious M” and some partially LEGO Nazis:
Click the individual pictures for descriptions that include which BrickForge products I used, and check out the full photoset, where I’ll be adding some minifigs I didn’t get to when I wrote this review.
My Review
As with the BrickArms weapons I’d bought before, the test for any “LEGO-compatible” accessories is how well they integrate with official LEGO elements. (And it’s going to be difficult not to compare BrickForge with BrickArms, since that’s my only other point of reference.) For me, this has to do with several factors:
- How well the colors match (or are distinct from) LEGO colors.
- How the custom pieces [i]feel[/i] to the touch.
- How well the custom pieces photograph alongside LEGO.
- The durability of the custom pieces.
BrickArms solves most of these challenges by using ABS (the same plastic as most LEGO) and only selling its products in black, the easiest color to match. A major difference about BrickForge is that it has far more products in many more colors. BrickForge accessories are durable, feel pretty much like “real” LEGO, and photograph well (as proven by Armothe, Kaminoan, and other customizers).
The only remaining potential problem, then, is their color. Here’s what I observed about the BrickForge colors when compared with LEGO colors:
- Black: 100% match with black LEGO.
- Bronze: Color unique to BrickForge, so no clashing issues. Really a beautiful color for the Greek accessories.
- Brown: Matches “old” brown nicely.
- Dark Gray: Good match with old dark gray, but slightly lighter.
- Dark Orange: Matches the dark orange LEGO hair color nicely. (Only available in beards.)
- Light Gray: Forgot to order an accessory in this color. :oops:
- Red: Good match with red LEGO (and red is apparently a hard color to match).
- Tan: 100% match to tan LEGO.
- Silver: Color unique to BrickForge, but close enough to some pearl silver colors (with a slight blue tinge) that you might not want to use both in the same minifig.
- White: 100% match to white LEGO.
So, in nearly every case, BrickForge produces accessories that match official LEGO elements well, and therefore BrickForge weapons do indeed meet all of my criteria for great “LEGO-compatible” products.
My one qualm is that some of the colors don’t seem 100% appropriate for the accessories that they’re available in (though perhaps I’m not thinking creatively enough). That’s just a matter of choice when you buy them, so a “problem” that’s easy enough to solve from the buyer side.
Ultimately, I think what makes BrickForge products so great is how they enable builders to extend LEGO in ways that using only official parts can’t (“Duh,” all the customizers say). The prime example of this is their Greek set. For $3.00, you get a helmet with a plume, a javelin, and a big round shield. Many builders have approximated these with the dragon helmets, regular spears, and other round shields, but the effect isn’t the same, and the BrickForge versions are so much more authentic.
Another of my favorite accessories is the beards. Available in 10 colors and two lengths, they’re much more realistic than the long white and gray (and non-production black) official beards. Perhaps we’ll see some new colors with the upcoming 7036 Dwarfs Mining set, but I doubt we’ll get new, shorter beard molds. BrickForge beards are the perfect solution.
Overall, I’m very happy with the selection and quality of BrickForge accessories, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next. Oh yeah, we already know: Livestock! :D
Photo Review of 7029 Skeleton Ship Attack
The Brickster has found an early copy of 7029 Skeleton Ship Attack at a local (not sure where) Toys R Us and has created a photo review on Eurobricks:
How to Spot a Pirate
What’s wrong with this picture?
The answer is that these are a brand of construction toys from China called “Enlighten.” No, they’re not LEGO® brand building bricks. What’s the difference between Enlighten and construction toy brands that advertise themselves as “compatible with the leading brand,” such as Mega Bloks, Best-Lock, and Tyco? These latter companies all design and sell unique sets with distinct figures, while Enlighten manufactures almost-exact copies of LEGO sets with direct copies of the LEGO minifigure. Bear in mind that set designs are copyrighted, and that the LEGO minifigure is trademarked. In other words, Enlighten products are illegal.
So, pirated pirates? Yes indeed. To spot the differences, note that LEGO never produced chrome cutlasses, chrome flintlocks, brown rifles, yellow parrots, or wizard beards that don’t cover the minifig’s mouth. Of course, most Enlighten boxed sets we’ve seen aren’t labeled “LEGO,” so that makes spotting the pirate a bit easier.
If you’re traveling overseas and see some “cheap LEGO,” make sure you’re not buying illegally copied sets.
There, I’ve said my piece. Head on over to the Minifig Customization Network for an ongoing discussion.
News: Harry Potter 5378 Hogwarts Castle Photos
Millionaire Playboy has wonderfully detailed pictures of the new 5378 Hogwarts Castle set. Head on over there for the video podcast, but here are the highlights for me — the minifigs!
Dolores Umbridge and Hermione Granger both sport new hair:
The weirdest, coolest LEGO head ever on a mystery character (another Deatheater?), and a new Draco Malfoy:
And my favorite, Hermione holding a mandrake root:
New Weapons from BrickArms [Review]
BrickArms manufactures injection-molded ABS accessories compatible with LEGO. Now, I’m what most LEGO fans call a “purist“; I don’t cut, paint, glue, or otherwise harm LEGO, and I don’t generally use non-LEGO parts in my creations. After I attended a presentation at NWBrickCon last October, though, I couldn’t help but pick up a few BrickArms weapons, including the AK-47 and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) wielded by Rambo:
As Josh wrote earlier this week, BrickArms has released 13 new weapons. (See BrickArms.com for the full list of 21 weapons.) My weapons arrived on Thursday, and I’ve been building furiously ever since. Each photo in my Flickr photoset includes descriptions with links to the specific weapons I’ve used, like the Navy SEALs and Galactic Marines below:
My favorite new weapon by far is the M41A “Xeno” Pulse Rifle. I ordered two (shown above), and plan on ordering several more soon. Here’s a closeup on a futuristic S.W.A.T. officer:
One great thing about BrickArms is that the product line spans nearly all the classic and famous weapons from World War I through the present. Here are a trio of World War II soldiers from both sides of the conflict:
Other favorites include the Uzi and shotgun (go Lara Croft, go!):
In addition to looking very realistic, many weapons are designed with several points that fit into minifig hands. The shotgun’s pump fits in minifig hands, as do the barrels and stocks on several other guns.
BrickArms has also released several custom minifigs. I didn’t purchase any of the figs myself, but BrickArms was kind enough to send along one of the custom parts only available with “Spy Bond” — an ingenious suitcase with a hidden Uzi and spare clip. Typically, 007 blows something up as Q tries to show him his latest gadget:
Purchased individually at $1 each, BrickArms weapons are comparable to BrickLink prices for the newest Batman and Star Wars weapons. (Depending on the combination of weapons you want, you can also buy weapons packs at a discount.)
No, BrickArms weapons aren’t cheap, but that’s because they’re not cheap! Ultimately, I measure the success of any “custom” (non-LEGO) part by how well it integrates with my LEGO collection. BrickArms weapons look and feel like “real” LEGO, which is why a self-proclaimed purist like me can use them without guilt. ;-)