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    Discuss This Story ReviewSunday, June 13th, 2010 at 12:21pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager
    [Source: Bfahome]

    It is time again for another BZPower Set Review - this time Blog Assistant Bfahome shares his thoughts on the rather small Manta Warrior set. Is this set a worthy addition to your collection, or is it merely small change? You'll have to read on to find out!

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    8073 Manta Warrior 1

    The front of the box is set up in the same way as most other boxes, with the image of Manny (full name Mr. Magnificent Manta Man) in the center, the title along the top, the LEGO logo in the upper-left corner, and the set number/piece count/suggested age (bah! who needs it?) down the left. Like the boxes of other Atlantis sets, these are bordered by the gold rock things.

    8073 Manta Warrior 2

    The back of the box serves as ad space for the two most expensive sets in this Atlantis wave, as well as detailing the set's extensive list of functions. Other than that, there's nothing on the box besides the legal stuff you probably never read and "don't choke your kids with this" warnings.

    8073 Manta Warrior 3 8073 Manta Warrior 4

    Oh look, the set comes with an advertisement! It shows seven of the other sets, with both this set and the Sea Jet set strangely absent.

    Oh, and they decided to stick some instructions on the back of it.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    8073 Manta Warrior 5

    First you throw together Manny.

    8073 Manta Warrior 6 8073 Manta Warrior 7 8073 Manta Warrior 8

    Then his rock. This part of the build may take you a few hours, as the techniques used are very difficult to get accustomed to.

    8073 Manta Warrior 9

    And you're done.

    8073 Manta Warrior 10

    Surprisingly, there is one spare part. Which is a good thing, because you can put it...

    8073 Manta Warrior 11

    ...right here!

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    8073 Manta Warrior 12

    These are all the parts in the set. Join me in gawking at the sheer number of them.

    The more interesting parts are the Minifig Zaktan spine, the one-stud-on-the-side 1x1 brick, Manny's headgear, and his trident.

    8073 Manta Warrior 13 8073 Manta Warrior 14 8073 Manta Warrior 15

    First up for design we have Manny. He's just a normal minifigure except for his Manta head attachment, which slips over his grey minifig head. Manny's head has a nice black-eyed blue-spotted mouthless head (which is partially/mostly obscured by the manta piece), and his torso has a strange design on it that looks like a decaying blue coat. I doubt that's what it is, but it makes me wonder what it's supposed to be. There's no leg or back printing on this figure. As for the headgear, it's a molded rubbery piece (harder than Krana rubber) with some nice Atlantean printing on the top. The sides curve up to represent a ray's "wings", while out from the back sticks a tail with spikes and what I assume is a stinger on the end.

    8073 Manta Warrior 16 8073 Manta Warrior 17

    As for Manny's rock, well... it's a rock. With a piece of seaweed on it. At least it serves its purpose well, and actually looks rather rock-like.

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

    8073 Manta Warrior 18 8073 Manta Warrior 19

    Um... Manny has seven points of articulation? And he can stand on his rock? This set has pretty much zero playability on its own, and is meant more as a supplement to other Atlantis sets. However, if you have multiples of this set...

    8073 Manta Warrior 20 8073 Manta Warrior 21 8073 Manta Warrior 22 8073 Manta Warrior 23

    You can combine the rocks! You can overwhelm Ace Speedman and his Wreck Raider! You can take command of a massive flagship (with some help from Sharkie)! And much, much more!

    Basically, how much you can play with this set is pretty much tied to how many other sets you have and how many ways you can think to use it on those sets. It's not a stand-alone set by any means.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Cheap minifigure/trident
    • Good army builder
    • It rocks (HA HA)
    • Nice supplement to sets you may already have

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Tridents are still rubbery and easily damaged
    • It's a rock
    • You need other sets to go with it

    So pretty much this comes down to whether or not you think it's worth the $3.50 price tag. I think it is, as it contains a minifigure that's only available in this set and two other sets (or three, counting the summer wave). It's definitely affordable for most people, and is something that you can just throw into a purchase without driving the price up too much. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants more strange figures, rocks, and/or tridents.

    8073 Manta Warrior 24
    MANTA PILE

    And that wraps it up for this little guy. Be sure to leave your questions, comments, and thanks to Bfahome in the Talkback. As always, you can expect more reviews to be forthcoming, along with all the latest LEGO and Bionicle news - right here on BZPower!

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