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    Discuss This Story ReviewWednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 2:57pm by Benjamin, BZPower Reporter

    Things get sparky with the latest form of Surge. You can even see it on his chest! He's got a nice new gun, is equipped with tons of armor, and has a fancy new pair of handcuffs. Read on to see what other enhancements he has been given and if this set is worth your holiday gift money!

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

    Bag Front Bag back

    Ah, the new set bag. I want to say this is controversial, but there has not been much chatter about it. It is what it is, though I do not feel compelled to hold on to it after building the set, unlike the canisters.

    It does, of course, have the necessary info on the front except for a piece count. Which I find unsettling because that is the best way to determine price-to-piece ratio (however, I do not know the price of the set itself). The back of the bag highlights the new Zamor launcher and handcuffs and displays what happens with the code on the back of the new Hero Core.

    Contents

    Most of the pieces come in one poly bag. Most, but not all, which means Surge can not, unfortunately, be built entirely in the bag. But generally everything is mostly self contained.

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

    Frame 1 Frame with more armuor

    Instantly we see that Surge has a small built just like the Heroes 2.0 and 3.0. He is not even any taller like Bill Furno was. Small and standardized, the beginning build is not anything exciting.

    Cool gun Gun on the right hand

    But then the Zamor gun shows up! That itself looks pretty awesome. Unlike Bill, this gun is gunmetal (see what I did there?) and looks fantastic. In my excited hurry I put it on his actual hand, which I found surprisingly fits, so now I wonde why he was not given a second hand piece. C'mon, LEGO, we like symmetry in our pieces received! Still looks pretty cool in its proper place.

    Ready to go

    Pretty soon Surge is assembled and ready to take to the skies, or probably space if his bag's front has anything to hint at when it comes to fighting a Splitface menace. But in the end, putting him together was no challenge and could easily be done without instructions.

    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.

    Pieces galore Fancy new and cool stuff

    The big blue and lime armor pieces may or may not be new, but they are definitely notable. As are the big silver USS Defiants (credit: Arpy � 2010). And that electrical sword. And an original Surge helmet. And if you are interested in limb pieces, well here are some too. Yup, the pieces are pretty exciting, the only downside I see being that the yellow electrical design on his chest is painted on and can not be removed.

    New Hero Core

    And of course, there is the new Hero core with special code on the back. We'll see what happens with those once the 2012 Hero Factory website kicks in.

    Ow!

    The biggest flaw I see with the set design is how Surge's armor smacks into his head if he tries to move his arms around. It is a flaw that can change simply by flipping those silver pieces around to give and layer to the shoulder armor.

    Front Left Back Right

    Overall, the build is pretty basic. He looks almost like any other hero. Plus, the way the lime green and blue clash is a major turn-off. This color scheme just does not work out too well. Too much lime in the arms, at least. And then there is the mixing of silver and gunmetal. Plus the grey ankle limbs? Pretty much anywhere that is not blue or black is a mess.

    But hey, at least he has some nice pieces.

    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.

    LEGO seems to be lacking in the functions department right about now. Surge has a cool Zamor-like launcher and looks pretty cool when posed in different fighting positions. And those handcuffs will be great in playing with other sets. But standalone, he just stands there. This set continues to let me down when I hope to build and play with a LEGO set.

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

    Surge seemed like a pretty cool guy, especially when looking at all the nice pieces he comes with. But he is nothing new when it comes to design and function. When it comes down to the final say, it depends on how badly you want the figure and/or the pieces.

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Nice pieces
    • Poses well
    • Zamor gun looks cool

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Nothing out of the ordinary
    • Weird colors
    • LEGO could have done better with pieces and colors
    • Painted chest design

    Wanna fight?

    Like I said, do you really want this set? How badly? I figure there are plenty of other sets to get that look plenty cooler, however Surge does have a nice selection of blue and lime pieces. But he is not going to give you much. Better to wait for a sale.

    Discuss This Story

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