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Set Review: 40049 Mini Sopwith Camel
 Saturday, June 30th, 2012 at 11:44pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Sumiki] Today brings us a review of a rather unique set. We announced earlier the new Sopwith Camel D2C set, as well as the miniature version being released as a promotional item. Forum Mentor Sumiki was able to snag a copy of 40049 Mini Sopwith Camel and has reviewed it for your reading pleasure. Go take a look and see if this is something you need to add to your collection! Presentation
It's a bag. It's a very nice bag, but it's still a bag. The front looks sort of nice but the back is pure, unadulterated Legalese, a language I am not particularly fluent in. I felt that there was no reason to take a picture of that; no one buys sets for the package backs in the first place. Moving swiftly along.
As usual for sets with small parts, they come in their own little clear bag. There's also the instruction manual, which for some reason I think is nostalgic - probably because it folds out.
I don't believe any of these parts are new, but there are some molds and parts that, as of yet, I have not encountered. Plus, sand green is pretty darn awesome, and there are thirteen plates of it in the model. Building
It wasn't the most straightforward build I've ever tackled (those would be the first wave of HF heroes), but it wasn't complex either. It's a free set, so I didn't anticipate anything challenging on the build front. I accidentally put an extra sand green 1x3 tile on its left wing instead of more towards the center of the wing, but that was my mistake and it only appeared in one picture. I'm not sure how (or why) I did that, but fortunately I was able to rectify it. Set Design
It looks remarkably like a plane. As I've said, it's a free set, so I didn't expect a whole lot from it. However, after the build was over, I stepped back and said to myself "this is actually pretty darn good." Yeah, it's small, but that doesn't make it bad. If you want a bigger version, then all you have to do is buy it. It's solid and lightweight, and there are four extra parts left over. The "target" design that's emulated on the wings sticks up strangely, but the only way to do it otherwise would be to print (or provide stickers for - ugh) 2x2 round tiles. But it's only a minor qualm and doesn't detract from the set's design or playability. I like the tail, but it'd be better if an inverse cheese slope existed. As it is, the tail's bottom ends abruptly, but it's even more minor than the target issue. There are so few things I don't like about this set that I have to really nitpick to find something. Playability
STRAFE ALL THE HEROES Being a simple set, there's hardly a function to be found on it aside from its wheels and propellor, which aren't really "functions" in the true sense of the term. Now, it really would have been nice if it came with some sort of working machine gun. (No, I don't care if they would have been both ridiculously oversized and historically inaccurate; I can dream, can't I?)
It's fun to spin the propellor, make airplane-like noises, and have it fly around the room once or twice. It would have been nice if I had another plane of the same scale to recreate a dogfight, but c'est la vie. Final Thoughts
I cannot, in good conscience, bring myself to dislike this set. However, the only way you're going to get it is if you get it for free, and I don't think that it's worth getting something that you don't want just for the sake of getting this. Thanks of course go to Sumiki for taking the time to review this set (even if it's a small one :P). Be sure to leave any questions, comments, or feedback you may have in the Talkback. And don't forget to keep checking back for more reviews and all the latest LEGO news!
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