Author: BrankotheFather

They took a car to the moon! 42182 Apollo LRV

BrankotheFather 18+, Lego, Review, technic , , , , , , ,

Admittedly, I like space, especially space science. I was prepared to be disappointed by this set, mostly because of the wheels. Initial photos showed that LEGO had decided to create these wheels as regular rubber tyres, whereas the real original wheels are made from really nifty mesh with metal strips.

I expected a somewhat shallow display model that missed most of the key elements that made the Lunar Roving Vehicle such a special machine. This is a battery electric vehicle (like a Tesla EV) with four individually driven wheels providing about 0.25hp each (much unlike a Tesla). This vehicle was used on Apollo 15, 16 and 17 in the early 1970’s to traverse the moon scape.

Despite my trepidation I was delighted by this set; it does not just provide a surprising accurate model of the LRV; but it also demonstrates how it was packed to travel to the moon, and highlights a lot of the components that are mounted on it. (yes; the rovers should still be sitting there, on the moon, waiting for someone to take it for another spin).

Seeing the back of the box I initially thought there would be 4 alternate models in the box, but no; there are two ways of presenting the final build; in packed configuration or in assembled form. There are heaps of details that stimulated me into reading up on the vehicle a bit more and the finished builds makes for a striking (and LARGE) model.

The set contains 1913 pieces, which is not a historic reference as far as I can tell, and has a recommended price of $AUD349.99/£189.99/US$219.99/€219.99. I am very grateful to the LEGO Group for providing this set to review ; I might have passed it by otherwise, much to my loss! All opinions are my own.

I suspect that by expecting to be disappointed, I set myself up to be delighted by the lack of disappointing aspects and the inclusion of delightful details.

Are you confused about this rambling about delight and disappointment yet? Read on to see why this set is one of the best demonstrations of what a Technic model should be, learn a few things about space travel more than half a century ago, and convince yourself to give this set good consideration in your budget.

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Gaga with 10334 Retro Radio

BrankotheFather 18+, ICONS, Lego, Review , , , , , ,

Let me be blunt; when I saw images of this set I was entirely uninterested and some famous words of Lord Rambling Brick rang through my ears “If I liked every set LEGO makes, they are not doing their job right.” Although I admire that the principles of radio created by Marconi still underpin much of modern day society, and I remember using devices like this in ‘the olden days’, I just could not feel a connection with this build.

That said, recently, I was given the opportunity to investigate this display model closely courtesy of the LEGO-certified store in Castle Hill (NSW, Australia). Given my utter lack of desire to buy the set, I felt this was a great way to see if I was correct in my assessment.

This set is available from the 1st of June for AU$169.99/£89.99/US$99.99/€99.99, and it contains 906 (!) parts.

As I am writing this, my wife expressed her concern that I may now want to buy one of these radios for myself. What happened? What did this display model do to make me reconsider its merit? Read on to find out.

Let’s be clear: This will not be a thorough review but rather a rapid look at this set.

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Space: but not as I’m used to. 10422 3in1 Space Shuttle Adventure

BrankotheFather duplo, Lego, Review, space , , , , , , ,

Like me, Branko is a long-standing fan of Space LEGO. Today, he looks at a set that is just a little different from the rest of this year’s space offerings…

Growing up with Space LEGO (not yet labelled Classic Space at this time) and a strong love for Science Fiction, especially of the space-faring kind, I was very excited about LEGO’s space-themed push this year. Many themes this year have some sets tagged with the ‘Space’ corner on the box, somehow tied to this central topic. Duplo is no different with 10422 3in1 Space Shuttle Adventure. The box contains 58 pieces and retails for AU$89.99/£59.99/US$59.99/€64.99, which is more than $1 per piece! Clearly, this set cannot be considered by such an ‘AFOL’ standard; we need to consider things a little differently.

What does Duplo offer to the Space realm? We will explore how this set can be enjoyed by older children; the ones who learned to read in a century that started with ’19’. How does it compare to half-sized LEGO (in comparison to Duplo), and why might you consider this set? We will also consider briefly if this set might be enjoyable by children of a new generation: the ones who are currently counting their age in single digits.

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Please, Let me X-Plane [76281 X-Men Jet – Review]

BrankotheFather Lego, Marvel Superheroes, Review , , , , ,

The final episode of the first season of X-Men’97 – an animated series on Disney Plus – drops today. Branko has taken a look at the latest version of the X-Men Jet. How does it shape up on its own, or in comparison with the previous version?

Today, we will be exploring one of the background heroes from the X-Men universe (X-maniverse?), the X-Men Jet. This jet shows up in many X-Men comics and movies but never really takes the lead. Like many X-Men characters, the jet changes appearance regularly, so we’ll have a look at how swooshable and showable this new jet is. In doing so, we will also compare it to a previous incarnation: 76022 X-Men vs The Sentinel.

This 76281 X-men jet contains 359 pieces retailing at AU$99.99/ £74.99/US$84.99/€84.99, which, let’s be plain, is expensive. The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. All opinions are our own. And that opinion is: It’s very expensive, but is there more?

What makes this Jet tick? Is it worth the upgrade if you already have the previous one? How about the mini figures? Do they offer anything special? Why don’t you come along for a meander across various aspects of this 76281 X-men jet after the break.

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Zooming without vroom in the 42169 NEOM McLaren Formula E Team

BrankotheFather Lego, Review, technic , , , , , , ,

Branko has taken a look at the twin engined NEOM MCLAREN Formula E… will this twin engined pullback car impress him? Or just startle members of his family?

For me, pullback cars have been a bit of a hidden theme in the LEGO catalogue for nearly 10 years. I’ve always enjoyed the clean simplicity of pullback action but most of the LEGO sets with pullback action have been quite simple and didn’t quite attract my attention. I must admit that this year was no different until I was handed this 42169 NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, containing 452 pieces and retailing for AU$69.99/£46.99/US$49.99/€52.99. For a pullback vehicle this is quite a sizeable set and at a reasonable price too!

The box shows the play features available: pullback action and steering. There is also a reference photo of the source material, the real Formula E car with some stats; 470hp (lots), 320km/h (lots) at 854kg (less than I expected!).

Is this car is able to provide a good classic pullback ‘zoom’ experience or is it perhaps too heavy with so many pieces? Will this electric vehicle (sic) outshine old-fashioned petrol cars, as seems to have become so common, or is this just an over-hyped piece of plastic? What if you just like racing cars; does the pullback effect get in the way of a nice display?

This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, all opinions are our own.

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Illawarra Annual Brick Show 2024 Celebrity Brick Battle!

BrankotheFather Lego, LEGO Event , , , ,

Last weekend, Branko headed off to the Illawarra Brick Show. Along the way, he got caught up in a celebrity brick battle…

On the weekend of 20-21 April 2024, the Illawarra Annual Brick Show took place in Berkeley NSW. Organised by Gonglug, the event was raising funds for Kidswish, a charity in the Illawarra region which is committed to fulfilling the lives of children with disability or illness and their families through supportive programs, special events and community-impact projects, with a goal of building an inclusive community that can be enjoyed by all.

The show has a great vibe, more akin to a LEGO theme park than a LEGO display show, which I really enjoyed. Aside from many LEGO displays there were a lot of activities related to LEGO to keep kids entertained.

From memory there was:

Read on to see what the ‘Celebrity Brick Battle’ was about. No, it did not involve throwing bricks at each other… much.

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Yep, that’s Kawasaki green: 42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R Review.

BrankotheFather Lego, Review, technic , , , , , , , ,

Branko’s been away for a couple of weeks too. He took the 42170 to the Netherlands, while visiting his family… Reasons follow!

When receiving the LEGO® 42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R motorcycle I considered how qualified I was to review a motorcycle. While my sons, wife and me all ride (or have ridden) motorbikes, it seemed appropriate to bring this set with me when visiting my dad, who has ridden motorcycles for more than half a century and is more knowledgeable and passionate about these two wheelers than anyone I know. Apologies upfront for the quality of photos; I was not able to bring a photo setup; my dad lives on the other side of the planet.

The new 42170 Kawasaki Ninja H2R contains 643 pieces with a recommended retail price of AU$99.99/£69.99/US$84.99/€79.99. This is the spiritual successor in the mid-sized-Technic-motorcyle-class to the 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure from 2017 and the 42107 Ducati Panigale V4 R from 2020. These are not to be confused with the BIG motorcycles from LEGO like the 42159: Yamaha MT-10 SP and 42130: BMW M 1000 RR that contain almost three times more pieces.

First thing my dad noted when seeing the set was “Yep, that’s Kawasaki green, strange they are usually more green, but I guess they make black ones too.” As it turns out this particular model is indeed sold as largely black with some Kawasaki green accents which are captured nicely in the LEGO model. How does the rest of the model stack up compared to the real thing? Read on to see if this set is worth adding to your collection.
This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, all opinions are our own.

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42180 Mars Crew Exploration Rover:Does size matter?

BrankotheFather Lego, Review, space, technic , , , , , , , ,

Today, Branko returns to look at the largest of the LEGO Technic 2024 Space sets. It keeps the white, light grey and reddish orange of City Space sets, but does it fit in? Read on to find out!

This year LEGO is really pushing the space concept across a lot of different themes which reminds us that LEGO plays across borders and you can mix an match to your heart’s content. For Technic it is quite new to offer such a clear connection for play to the minifig scaled worlds of LEGO City and Heartlake City. As we explored recently with 42178 Surface Space Loader, the space themed Technic sets promise to provide a playing platform for minifigs, although no minifigs are included in the sets.

How does this behemoth fit in this idea? Does it integrate nicely with other themes or is the scale not right? Join us on a journey to explore how minifigures and minidolls experience the largest of the Space Technic play-sets released so far, and how this set fares by itself, without minifigs.

The 42180 Mars Crew Exploration Rover contains 1599 pieces (a lot of pins) and retails for AU$ 199.99/£129.99/US$149.99/€149.99, which puts it among the range of largest Technic sets. It is not exactly cheap, even by Technic standards, but there is a lot happening in this set which we will explore further below.

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For Science! 42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit

BrankotheFather Lego, space, technic , , , , , , ,

Branko is back to check out another Technic Set: this time its an Orrery – 42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit

My expectations for this set were very high; I have a fascination with space and I love an orrery (that is essentially what this set is) as a way of illustrating movements of our planet. This set allows you to explain several of the main impacts of the solar system on life on our planet, but it falls flat on one important point.

This 526 piece solar system containing a sun a moon and a the real estate of a whole planet, will set you back $AUD99.99/£69.99/$USD74.99/€79.99 which, considering current real estate prices in Australia, is not a bad deal!

Read on to find out why you should absolutely get this set to learn or teach about seasons while also having a neat display model, but also what my concern is with one aspect of the set.

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We’re committed to recycling: 42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck

BrankotheFather Lego, Review, technic , , , , , , , , ,

Branko is back with another review. This time its the Technic 42167 MACK LR ELECTRIC GARBAGE TRUCK, part of the January 2024 Technic range. Interestingly, the scale appears just about right for some other play themes…

LEGO communities have been committed to cleanliness, garbage disposal and emission reduction, expressed historically with cleaning and garbage vehicles and, in recent times, with electric vehicles and even electric recycling trucks! Until now, most of these vehicles seem a bit undersized for serious garbage management until now; introducing 42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck available for AUD 59.99/£29.99/US$32.99/€34.99 containing 503 pieces*. The arrival of this truck certainly caught the attention of Friends Emma and River, who felt that their own (albeit colourful) truck looked a bit underwhelming in comparison.

*Technic sets typically contain a lot of pins and connectors that I would not equate to a full ‘piece’. More on this below.

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