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    Discuss This Story ReviewSaturday, June 7th, 2014 at 3:46am by Jason, BZPower Reporter

    Today we dive into the second wave of Mixel sets by taking a look at the blue Frosticons. BZPower Reporter Xccj takes a look at 41509 Slumbo, 41510 Lunk, and 41511 Flurr in both a video and pictorial review. Should you brave the ice to get these, or will their designs just put you to sleep? Read on or watch the video 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.

    Image of Bags Front Image of Bag Back

    The front of each package features the Frosticon in all their glory, with a cartoon version present in the upper right corner. Another neat thing is a clear bit on the bottom left corner where you can see some of the pieces inside the bag. The back shows off the Frosticon Max character, who can be made by combining the three Frosticons, as well as the whole set of wave two Mixels.

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

    The builds are decent; detailed enough without being too difficult. In general, the Frosticons use fewer ball joints and SNOT designs than some in the first wave, but they also achieve new shapes and designs that still work pretty well. Each one will only take a minute or so to construct, and afterwards there's always the potential of rebuilding them using your own creativity.

    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.

    Image of Slumbo Parts Image of Slumbo Front Image of Slumbo Back
    Image of Slumbo Arms Image of Slumbo Legs

    First we have 41509 Slumbo, the sleepy giant. He comes with 61 pieces, which includes those that make up the Nixel who also comes with him. Some interesting pieces include the trans medium blue cheese slopes and crystal, medium azure wedge and plates, and the trans light blue blade weapons seen in Galaxy Squad. The newest piece here is the minifig head with a single eyeball printed on it. There are also some nice pieces in blue, dark blue, and black for the Nixel.

    Slumbo has 6 points of articulation, at his hips, shoulders, and elbows. Similar to Volectro, he uses the swivel plates on his arms, helping make him more articulate than his fellow Frosticons. However, his movements are limited, especially with the ball jointed legs, which has been an issue with most of the Mixels so far who use that hip design. The blue helmets over the minifig head eyeballs give Slumbo the look of a giant who's sleepy, and it's a very awesome parts usage.

    Image of Nixel

    The Nixel is a nice addition with some cool parts, including the printed face on the 2x2 round tile. However, this design is being reused from the first wave of Mixels. It seems that all the Nixels in wave two are repeats from wave one, which is slightly disappointing. On the other hand, how many decent Nixel designs are there really?

    Image of Lunk Parts Image of Lunk Front Image of Lunk Back
    Image of Lunk Neck Image of Lunk Legs

    Next is 41510 Lunk, the lanky one. Lunk comes with 51 pieces. He contains the most medium azure plates of the Frosticons, in addition to some 1x2 45 degree slopes and cheese slopes in that color. He also has some blue SNOT (studs not on top) bricks, ball joint eyes, and trans medium blue cheese slopes. The most interesting inclusion here are the two trans clear Ninjago swords from last year, which were previously only available in the more expensive sets.

    Lunk is the tallest of the Frosticons thanks to his long neck. His neck has three points of articulation, but only the bottom one is in the new ball joint style, with the other two being click hinges. So he can achieve a decent curve on his neck, but side-to-side movement is limited. He doesn't so much have legs as feet connected to his hips. It uses the old axel ball joint piece connected to a technic brick, similar to the style used on Flain. Couples with his wide feet, Lunk has very limited movement with his "legs" that seems even worse than those Mixels who include an extra stud of two of height on their feet. His arms are just clips, so nothing too special there. He has a goofy looking head, complete with the two Ninjago swords posing as horns. He certainly has character with a dopey, unique design, but he seems a little clunky compared to the other Frosticons and Mixels in general.

    Image of Flurr Parts Image of Flurr Front Image of Flurr Back
    Image of Flurr Head Image of Flurr Side Image of Flurr Wings

    Finally we have 41511 Flurr, the flyer. Flurr only has 46 pieces to him, which is the fewest of the Frosticons. Among those pieces are nine cheese slopes in medium azure, as well as two 1x2 45 degree slopes and one 1x3 curved slope in that color. Also of interest is another clear Ninjago sword, two old style dragon wings, ball joint eyes, and the new tooth pieces.

    Flurr ditches the humanoid design concept and goes for a bird-like design. He has 7 points of articulation: 2 for his wings, 2 for his feet, 2 in his tail, and 1 for his neck. The legs have the same attachment as Lunk's, but given that Flurr is a flyer, their limited mobility is acceptable. His head has decent mobility, with the Ninjago sword acting as a decent beak or tongue, depending on your perspective. The cheese slopes and other slope elements do a nice job of giving him a rounded body, and the dragon wings are perfect for his size. Personally, Flurr is my favorite design, with an overall cool character look plus swoosh-ability. (He's not a spaceship but he can fly and that's what matters most for swoosh-ability.)

    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?

    Image of Group Image of Group Sleeping Image of Group vs Nixel Image of Group Tower

    The Frosticons come together to make a great new tribe of Mixels. Each one has a design that's varied and unique to give them personality. And with decent mobility, they can get into various poses that increase their role-play potential. They can curl up and take a long nap, or they can stack on top of each other to intimidate the Nixel.

    But the Frosticon Mixels aren't just one-trick ice ponies. No, they can be rebuilt and combined into Mixes, Murps, and Maxs! (For reference, a Mix is when two or more Mixels combine, a Murp is when that combination is just bad, and a Max is when all three of a single tribe merge.) LEGO is really pushing for creative alternate builds with the Mixels, which is an awesome idea to help inspire kids to build with their own imaginations. But for an official model, Slumbo, Lunk, and Flurr come together to form the Frosticon Max.

    Image of Max Front Image of Max Back Image of Max vs Nixel

    First off, when I put this review together, LEGO had yet to upload exact instructions on their Mixels webpage, so I based this design entirely off the pictures of the Max included in the instructions and on the back of the bags. As such, while I am confident that the head and limbs are correct, the inner body seems to be a bit off from the official design.

    The Frosticon Max does indeed look like a sleepy beast. His legs are tall enough that they work better than Lunk's, but they still suffer from the design that doesn't allow for forward or backward movement. The arms are clipped at the shoulders and use swivel plates at the elbows, and utilize the Galaxy Squad and Ninjago blades in each hand. The head design allows for an articulate jaw, while the reuse of Slumbo's eye design makes this Max look ready for a nap. He also has a lengthy tail. Overall, he's a nice alternative model that makes use of all the best pieces from the Frosticon Mixels.

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

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Colors: Lots of nice shades of blue, including trans blue colors and medium azure
    • Lots of useful parts, including slopes and wedges, as well as the Galaxy Squad weapons and clear Ninjago swords
    • Different character designs, with Lunk's long neck and Flurr as a flyer
    • Slumbo's minifig-head eyes and helmet gives him great personality
    • The Frosticon Max model is a decent combiner, with potential for many more custom builds
    • Easily affordable at $4.99 USD

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Fewer of the new style of socket pieces than wave 1
    • Limited mobility, especially with Lunk and Flurr's feet
    • Lunk just doesn't look as cool as Flurr or Slumbo
    • Besides looking unintimidating, the Nixel design is reused from wave 1
    • Fills you with an uncontrollable urge to collect them all

    I am very impressed with the Frosticon Mixels. They all have unique character designs that reflect the creativity of the entire Mixel line, plus I love the use of the semi-rare medium azure color with the other shades of blues. Beyond that, they also include the Galaxy Squad and Ninjago weapon pieces, which were previously only available in the more expensive sets from those themes. All three of them work great as parts packs, as each seems to contain some relatively rare elements. The three character designs are also nice, although Lunk is a little lackluster in comparison to the other two in my opinion. They certainly make for great impulse purchases at $4.99 USD.

    Image of Group Pals

    Thanks again for reading and/or watching this review! Stay tuned to BZPower for more LEGO Set reviews, including more of the Mixels!

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