Brick Bucket Review: 70410 Soldiers Outpost

2/5

Appearance - 3/5
Construction - 1/5
Pieces - 4/5
Playability - 3/5 
Minifigs/accessories - 3/5
Value for money - 2/5 

70410 Soldiers Outpost is one of the sets from the March 2015 reboot of the Pirates line. It retails for $19.99 and has 164 pieces, for a cost-per-piece of 12.19 cents.

Verdict: I had high hopes for the Pirates reboot, but unfortunately this set is pretty underwhelming. There are some good parts included, especially for Pirates/historical MOCers, but the main model's small size and highly questionable design aspects make it a shadow of what it could be. I don't own the other 20-dollar set from this release, 70411 Treasure Island, but judging from other reviews I've read, that seems to be the better set. That said, it might be hard to pass up a cheap set from a classic theme that at the very least will add some more parts to your collection and provide a little "soldiers vs. pirates" playability. 

Black as night

Rancorbait didn't give this vehicle a name, so I was forced to come up with a post title on my own. :) This truck and its occupants look prepared to infiltrate deep into enemy territory in the dead of night, so I went for something along those lines. But enough about me... check out the angles on this thing. The upper headlights and front grille look awesome. I also love the ladder element used as a protective screen, in the absence of a glass panel. 

Signing a treaty

This build by gid617 appears simple at first, so I nearly overlooked it. But the more I looked, the more I liked. First I saw the scroll on the table, created from a pair of rods and map tiles. Then I noticed the decorative overhang at the top of the build, the SNOT in the candle-holder, and the subtle pattern in the textured bricks in the wall. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. Very nice little build! 

Nature, uh, finds a way.

I'm getting pretty excited for Jurassic World (and the accompanying LEGO sets!), so forgive me if I'm a little heavy-handed with the Ian Malcolm quotes in the weeks to come. Tonight's dinosaur mood was triggered by vir-a-cocha's latest MOC popping up in my Flickr feed. Titled "Sunset," it shows a pair of small raptors that have come across a big T-Rex track in the primeval mud. The landscaping here looks really nice and the little dinos have plenty of character despite lacking any facial features. 

Batpod

First there was the Batmobile, then the Batcopter, and the Batboat, and eventually there'll probably be the Batunicycle or maybe the the Batsteamengine, but somewhere in there was the Batpod, which sounds weird and... well it also looks weird. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Maybe it's the perfect ride for a guy who wears spandex suits. 

Anyway, this model of Batman's two-wheeled doohickey was built by Joe Perez (MortalSwordsman), and I quite like it. It's got a very black/gray color scheme that makes it look fit for, well, Batman. I'm also a fan of the greebles, compact building in the vehicle's center, and some of those connection angles. 

And if you're like me and have never heard of the Batpod, you can check out the "real thing" here. 

Very small tractor

I know... imaginative post title. But this tractor and plow by Frantisek Hajdekr are really small. Really good, too, though - building's not easy when you limit yourself to such a small scale and so few pieces. 

How long can you hold a grudge?

Answer: doesn't matter. This mech will hold one for longer. Just when you're sure it can't possibly remember what you did, it will find you, and it will make you pay. Just look at that greebly armor... that down-to-earth military color scheme... that enormous machine gun... did I mention it fits a minifig too? 

This is just not a fair match, Rancorbait. 

“My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears..."

"...the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”
-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Behold this mighty sea dragon, an impressive sight over the open waters and - just as impressively - built by Cecilie Fritzvold (cecilihf) using only pieces from Mixels set 41534 Vampos. 

Alternate builds using only the parts from any set are difficult, but even more so for something as small as a Mixel - Vampos has only 59 pieces, and almost all of them have to have been used in this MOC. The large tooth plate used as the sail of a mythical Viking warship? Genius. 

Brick Bucket Review: 70753 Lava Falls

5/5

Appearance - 5/5

Construction - 4/5
Pieces - 4/5

Playability - 5/5

Minifigs/accessories - 4/5

Value for money - 5/5

70753 Lava Falls is part of the "Tournament of Elements" wave of Ninjago sets, released in March 2015. It retails for $7.99 and contains 94 pieces, for a CPP of 8.5 cents/piece.



Verdict: Great pieces, great minifigures, a great play feature, and the whole product just looks good. Plus, there's the fantastic price-to-parts ratio - I seriously can't think of another set where you can get 94 pieces for 8 bucks, especially not a set this good. Save for the two very minor flaws I discuss in the review, I couldn't have asked for anything more. 

Civilian Warthog

I don't play Halo but I like many of the game's vehicle designs, and I certainly recognize the M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, aka the Warthog, when I see it. This one by Nick Brick is different from the other LEGO versions I've seen with its flashy yellow color scheme. (Apparently this is the civilian model, not the military one.) 

The Technic work in the underbelly looks really nice, and those sides and central bar? One can only imagine how those are attached... oh wait, Nick also posted this breakdown image so we can have a closer look at his genius design: