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 Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021 at 7:25am by Benjamin, BZPower ReporterThe Minions are back in a new movie Minions: The Rise of Gru, and LEGO has a bunch of long-awaited sets to tie in with the release. Today we look at playset: Minions Kung Fu Battle, where the titular characters have their own version of LEGO's recently popular dragon dance and street festival sets. Will they have a good time in the festivities, or will the event be a dud? Read, and watch, on to see.
First, thank you to The LEGO Group for sending this set so I can share my opinions on it. I've enjoyed the first few Despicable Me movies, and this reminds me I need to catch up. This set was just released and retails for $40 with 310 pieces, unfortunately below the 10-cents-per-piece ratio, but it is a licensed set with some large character fig molds. Let's see what it's all about. Presentation
This nice, square box shows off everything quite well. The movie title, the characters included, and a few action features (with more showcased on the back). I've never really tried to figure out the Minions' names, so the labels on the box are a help. Building
The build is pretty basic, but I wasn't bored while building it. It just didn't take too long. It is a 6+ set, but I didn't find that a problem when enjoying things like the dragon kite or any part of the stage. I did elect to leave off the stickers for the dragon, as those red Nexo Knights shields will be a fine addition to my collection. The real meat of the set is the stage. Lots of red, gold, and teal adorn the build, and pretty soon we start to see some play features. It's pretty solid and comes together quickly and with ease. I thought the builds were pretty clever, like getting the sloping details on the roof with the bananas or having the side stages secured in place. Every now and then you see some play features coming together and admire how something like the stage's backdrop is seamless while also being able to open up for the catapult. Set Design
There are a nice amount of new and interesting parts here. We'll look at the minifig parts in a moment, but seeing things like gold and red bananas, the new fence in red, and some dark turquoise slopes are all welcome to my collection.
The set is a full stage with decorations and shows. Every character has a role and place. The colors really pop. You can see the technic bits in the back to help the backdrop fall, but that doesn't detract from the display when looking at the front.
Each character is unique. They vary in height, eye style, hair, and pant color. They look pretty good for LEGO versions of the minions. Playability
There are three main play features, besides being a street festival scene in itself. On the left is the dragon dance, with a great small dragon flag. Unfortunately it might take two minifigs to hold it, but even then you risk them falling over with the dragon being so heavy and so high. On the right is a sparring practice, with swords and bananas (of course). Rotating the gears have the characters clash in battle. On the center stage is a catapult from behind the curtain wall. A small flick of the front will open the wall and fling out the minion in position. This unfortunatley only kind of works (see the video). But kudos for the attempt. Final Thoughts
If you like Despicable Me and Minions, this is a strong set that showcases three favorite characters. It has quite a few play features in vibrant colors to make it stand out in a lineup of toys. As a builder, I appreciate the variety of parts and colors that compose the set. It has a decent price tag for the amount of parts, even with the new molds for the minifigs. So while it might not appeal to the average AFOL, it is great for kids and still has a few surprises for any adult to receive the set.
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