As I continued my online protest of the delay in opening the LEGO Movie 2 in Australia until the 21st of March. (compared with 7th February 2019 in much of the Western world), I turned my eye to Twitch, a streaming platform often used for streaming live video game , to broadcast his live build stream. This time the set of choice was 70830 Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Starship. The stream took place on Sunday, March 17 2019. My Twitch channel can be found at twitch.tv/ramblingbrick
Twitch offers some advantages and disavantages compared with Instagram and Facebook Live! The most compelling reason for me is that you do not need to be a member of Facebook or Instagram to watch it. And you do not need to log in to watch it. Although you do to comment. Google (who own youtube) and Facebook (who own Facebook and Instagram) do not need to know about it. However, at my end it is not as simple as opening the app and hitting “stream.”
Enter Lightstream. To stream to Twitch, you need a streaming/broadcast frontend. Fortunately, there are a number that are free to use, including OBS, and Lightstream. Both are free. Lightstream runs within a web browser, and I set it up fairly quickly to allow streaming from both the camera built into my laptop, and an external webcam, precariously positioned over my build area. The external webcam meant that I did not need a tripod impinging on my personal space. But is was relatively upside down, leading to a weird ‘hands entering from above’ scenario. this will be fixed for the next broadcast. I was able to set up a text overlay, with set details, include the Rambling Brick logo and have the two cameras on screen simultaneously. It was also possible to switch between different scenes. Lightstream also allows others to join the stream, which I am likely to attempt with BricktasticBlog over the next few days, in preparation for our Speed Build Battle.
This stream ran reasonably smoothly. Some technical aspects of the setup including lighting can be improved, and and some viewers found twitch a little less friendly than facebook for allowing comments.
The biggest drawbacks of the Twitch stream were the difficulties for viewers who were not logged in to make comments, and the stream video does is not stored indefinitely, but merely for two weeks (so long as you remember to activate ‘save stream’) it can be downloaded, and sent in other directions if you wish.
Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Starship 20830
- 502 pieces
- 9+
- Two minifigures, One minidoll and a Roll of Stickers
- $AUD99.99 $USD69.99 £GBP59.99
The Figures.
This set comes with 3 figures: Emmet and Lucy are minifigures, while Sweet General Mayhem is a minidoll.
This version of Emmet is seen in one other set (Rex’s Rexplorer! 70835). He has the standard overalls that we have seen in all of the TLM2 appearances, but the head is limited to these sets for the time being. On one side he seems to smile and wink, while on the other he appears a little scared.
Lucy is the same as in Lucy vs Alien Invader Polybag 30527; Ultrakatty and Warrior Lucy! 70827) as well as the Dream House Rescue Rocket we looked at last week (70831). She features an open mouth smile, and an angry expression. The head appears in the collectable minifigure, Lucy’s Builder Box 70833, and the 70823 Movie Maker set. It is disappointing that we seem to have a significantly reduced range of expression for Lucy , compared to characters such as Emmet and Rex. She features her hood with goggles, and caries a quiver of arrows.
Sweet Mayhem features shoulder armour, with attached wings. Her helmet is is swept back with a retro look, and its visor is blacked out, revealing nothing of the horror within. We are also given rubbery hair in pigtails – light royal blue, with a reflective coating on it. It will be interesting to see how this elements lasts the test of time. Her face has a slight smile – this face is also featured in 853875:Sweet Mayhem’s Disco Pod. The wings have a trans light blue insert, which is speckled. She also come with some speckled trans blue flame elements to resemble jet trails from her boots.
The Build
We start building a central core for our ship, by joining two castle balconies – appearing here in white for the first time (Design ID 6066)- and the actual directionality for our ship is uncertain. At the end of the first few steps, we had build a cube like structure and the actual way up and forward remains vague for sometime. We also see many elements in Teal/ Bright Bluish Green for the first time in years, including some printed quarter circles, a 2×2 dome, a number of curves and brackets, otherwise only available in other colours until now. Other new elements include the 1×1 heart tile, the 3×3 heart plate, and a star. There is also a round 2×2 tile with a star printed on.
The total build took about two hours, while otherwise distracted by conversation with viewers. The ship is strangely spherical, an effect enhanced through the creative use of hot air balloon panels. The craft has a teal dorsal fin, and white lateral stabilisers mounted over teal and azure dishes, forming the doors. These doors on each side open to reveal a holding cell, The printed transparent medium reddish violet cockpit hatch opens on the from, and allows plenty of room for Sweet mayhem to sit firmly. This printed element is terrific and really adds to the character of the craft.
The lateral stabilisers rotate up and down, allowing the ship to rest in a stable fashion on the tabletop, and not just roll away! There is also a slot, allowing the printed circular disc to be fired as a missile.
And then there are the stickers – the ship comes with a roll – just what you need if you wish to capture errant minifigures.
Compared with the other spaceship, I have built so far in this range- the dream house/rescue rocket – this has a very different feel, lacking all of the nostalgic vibes that were brought to me with that one. It is also quite different from the Rexplorer ship.The round shape is unusual, and remarkably stable while resting on the bench. I like the selection of minifigures, although I would have liked to see a little more variation in Lucy/Wildstyle’s faces across the range.
I give this build four out of five (4/5) arbitrary praise units. It is an interesting colour scheme, and quite swooshable. Sweet Mayhem is a great figure, and her helmet also looks good on a minifigure! And any set enhancing the parts palette of a new colour is always welcome.
In context, I like the mixing of minifigs and minidoll in this set. Having now seen the film, it works well in context, but the ship could easily be piloted by one of Benny’s friends, who may well choose to let his/her hair down….
What do you think of this set? Leave your comments below, and follow The Rambling Brick for news, reviews, and discussion. Until next time,
Play Well.
This set was provided by the LEGO® Adult Engagement Team for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.