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Set Review: 76029 Iron Man vs. Ultron
 Monday, March 16th, 2015 at 8:30am by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Ta-metru_defender] The Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out on May 1st, around a month and a half away, which means the LEGO tie-in sets are already on store shelves. Today we're looking at one such set, 76029 Iron Man vs. Ultron, as reviewed by BZPower Blog Assistant Ta-metru_defender. It's the smallest set in the line, but it packs in four minifigs - is it worth your time and money? Read on to find out! Presentation
It's Iron Man! Vs Ultron! Or Ultrons. Like 'Captain America's Avenging Cycle' a few years back, the set's got one of the Avengers and a few badguys for him to fight. On the box we've got Iron Man fighting some Ultron vehicle gestalt. Interestingly, I've seen pictures of the box with the brickified group shot of the Avengers (or at least the main-er male ones) in the top-right, but mine has the live-action picture that appears on non-Lego merch. Which is a bit of a bummer. I really liked the personality the Lego-y ones.
On the back are the usual "this is what the set does!" pictures, showing off the new Super Jumper feature as well as the three Ultron Sentries busting out.
The 'actual size' thingy features Iron Man, though the scale shows him from a 3/4 view, rather than dead on.
Inside the box are two bags and the instruction manual. So far, so normal. Let's build it! Building
Most remarkable to me about building the set is that the Ultron Sentries are integrated into the Ultron-mobile. While you build Iron Man during the usual minifig part of the instructions, the Ultron Sentries are built as part of the vehicle. Otherwise, it's as straightforward as it gets. Set Design
Alright, minifigs.
We get a new Iron Man in this set, but it's not the Mark 43 we've been seeing in the Age of Ultron trailers or in a lot of the merch. Shop At Home calls this the Mark 45 (which we get a glimpse of in the latest trailer). The printing on him is incredibly intricate and it makes me really eager to see it proper in the movie. Underneath the helmet is the usual double-sided Tony Stark head from the first run of Avengers sets.
The Ultron Sentries are, as you'd expect, also wonderfully detailed. The bits of blue bring a really cool contrast to them, making them pop much more than if they were plain gray. The torsos (and even the heads) are generic enough that they can be used in a space MOC or something without looking out of place. They've also got trans-blue bricks for their propulsion, darker than Iron Man's. The Ultron Sentry Officer has the spiffy Ultron helmet part as well as a communications backpack of some sort. The backpack (which is attached by a new clear piece) adds a lot of height to it and I'm not entirely sure if I'm a big fan of it.
Cannon fodder, meet new cannon fodder.
We get a couple new pieces in this set. The Super Jumper part, the Ultron Helmet, a 2x2 curved slope (which isn't brand new), and the new neck bracket for the Ultron Sentry Officer. Besides the Super Jumper, they're all quite cool parts, particularly the new helmet which seems to be rife with potential.
It's not a replacement Iron Man helmet though.
The Ultron-mobile itself is actually pretty nifty. I like it more than the vehicle from the similarly priced Iron Man vs Mandarin set from 2013, if only because it looks like a sleek flying thing. The antennas from the captain make it a pain to photograph though, especially if you've a small space.
What I think makes the ship-thing particularly interesting is how the minifigs are integrated. Torsos and legs make cannons and thrusters for the ship.
When you want the minifigs off, you end up sorta disassembling the Ultron-mobile, which is a little odd by Lego standards.
Without the Ultron Sentries it looks quite nondescript. Could fit in in a Star Wars scene or really anything science fiction-ish. It's a solid build though, so that's always nice. Still, would've liked some more personality. Playability
Due to being a broke college kid/living in New York I haven't had much money/space for Lego in recent years so this was my first experience with the stud-shooters. These things work surprisingly well: when I fired one it ricocheted off the back of my desk and onto the floor. They're more fun and reliabtle than flickfires and pack a more substantial punch, though I'm not big on them replacing actual weapons on minifigs. On to the new feature of this year's superhero sets: The Super Jumper.
It's a clear plastic piece that's flexible so you can use it as a sort of spring. It does as much, to say the least.
It also gives the set an innate little game. On the Ultron-mobile, the Ultron Sentry Captain is on a slope brick and isn't connected to anything but is rather held on by a handle connected to a battle droid arm. If you lift the handle off the antenna backpack it'll just be sitting there - perfect for you to Super Jump Iron Man into and knock off. It's a nifty feature, though not one that I tried much myself. The jumper part is quite hard to get off the minifig's feet though. Part of me was worried I'd break the minifig's legs. Final Thoughts
Compared to the Iron Man vs Mandarin set from 2013 and Captain America's Avenging Cycle in 2012, this one is streets ahead. More minifigs and a better vehicle for the same $13 is pretty great and it'd work great as an army builder. I may pick up another one for that exact purpose. That said, the minifigs are your main reason for getting it as there's not much else going on here. Can't really complain about that, though. Plus hey, another Iron Man armor. Please join me in thanking Ta-metru_defender for putting together this review in the Talkback, and ask any questions or leave any comments you might have too. Hopefully you enjoyed the review and found it informative. Keep checking back on BZPower for more set reviews and LEGO news!
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