Set Review: 70813 Rescue Reinforcements
Sunday, January 26th, 2014 at 8:17pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager [Source: Sisen]
It's been a little bit since our last LEGO Movie review, but we're not done yet. Today BZPower Forum Assistant Sisen takes a look at 70813 Rescue Reinforcements, one of the largest sets in the line. How does this model stack up and should it be on your shopping list? Read on to find out!
The LEGO group has once again provided us with some wonderful sets to review. This time some of the creations from The Lego Movie have graced our presence.
Presentation
From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
One of the larger sets in the movie series set line, the rescue reinforcements pack quite a punch. The typical lingo is featured on the front of the box and the rear. The nice thing about the box is the callout of the included minifies on the bottom right hand corner and the top side of the box. The sets are teased at upon the box with some mecha fire truck fighter, an evil black robot box, and a flying country man helicopter house farm, that one sort of got away from me.
The back of the box shows a little bit more of the features from the set, such as the ladder on the fire truck, carrot bombs, and rocket launchers.
Building
Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
The rescue reinforcements set consists of SEVEN bags. The suggested age range is eight to fourteen, but none of the builds are overly complex. There is just a lot to build for the contents of the packaging. This box equates to almost three regular mediums sized sets and contains a manual for each individual build.
The first bag results in the construction of the fire truck mecha cockpit. Building the housing unit for the fire fighter pilot is straightforward, with the most complicated task being rolling up the water hose spool. Bag two contains the pieces to construct the arms of the mech. Each arm is a slightly unique build as one contains the gatling water gun, and the other an actual hand.
Lastly, the third bag concludes the construction of the fire truck. The foot construction is unique and adds an interesting form to the overall build.
With the finished build of the fire truck mecha, the next lineup of bags outlines the build for the bad robot. Bag four creates an interesting black box with evil red eyes and retractable missile launcher bays.
Bag five consists of the remainder of the evil black and red box of destruction. The final bag results in the addition of walker legs reminiscent of an AT-ST. OOOOOO. THE CLAW CHOOSE WHO WILL STAY AND WHO WILL GO. (There are actually two claws and a ray gun.)
The final two bags of the set involve constructing the flying barn household of our friendly farmer fella. (Try saying that five times fast!) Bag six involves making the main box construct of the building, while bag seven adds on the main flight essentials such as tail rotor and rotor.
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.
Overall the fire truck fighter mecha has a neat design. It integrates some of the common features you would find on a fire truck in interesting ways. The arm movement is somewhat limited, but there is more arm playability than leg movement. The typical fire fighter tools spread across the unit are really nice touches and add to the overall aesthetic. Personally I would have liked a transforming fire truck, but this mech is fairly awesome.
What the black box lacks in expression, in makes up with its slate intimidation. While the fire mech leg movement is somewhat limited, the walker is restricted more so. It is a cool walking box with flick-fire missiles and claw arms.
The real gem of this set is the flying country man helicopter house farm thingamajig. It has everything you could ask for. The overall construction is unique and original in design. You have standard flick-fire missiles, but who would use those when you can bombard people from above with carrots? Plus! I'm pretty sure this thing is powered by pig farts. Pigfarts, pigfarts here I come... Pigfarts, pigfarts yum yum yum. There are apples too! An apple a day keeps the doctor away right?
The next best thing following the aforementioned gem is the mini-figures. There are five figs total, including a fire fighter, farmer, corrupted robo cop, Blacktron fan dude, and Fabuland chick. Almost all of the torsos are printed on both sides. The super-secret police officer is my favorite figure out of the batch. The officer has a super duper police issued firearm, that somewhat resembles an NES Zapper Gun. There's also an attachment placement on the top to add-on extra equipment such as a scope.
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?
It is somewhat hard to show off some of the set playability. A majority of the flying farmhouse functionality revolves around opening compartments and dropping carrot bombs, or shooting flick-fire missiles from the bad robot. All LEGO sets have playability, but this is where you get to let your mind wander and create various scenarios. Two people could be out on a date and an evil robot shows up with a corrupt police officer to lay waste to the town...
One thing is for sure though. Don't trust that dude in the Blacktron shirt. He seems suspicious and way too happy that there is an evil robot looming overhead.
Final Thoughts
Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
Pros
What's to like?
- Minifigs!
- Pigfarts? Pigfarts! (flying country man helicopter house farm thingamajig)
- Almost three regular sized sets
- Unique builds and overall designs
Cons
What's not to like?
- Limited maneuverability
- Somewhat constrained playability with limited maneuverability
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There are a ton of pieces in the set and a lot of real elements and features overall. It really just comes down to what you are interested in, and how you make the most of the set. The one flying whirl kabob made the entire set interesting for me.
(Oh and one last picture of the pigfart powered flying whirl kabob country man helicopter house farm thingamajig it's just so darn cool!)
I hope you all enjoyed reading our review. Be sure to thank Sisen in the Talkback for taking the time to put it together. We're not quite done with The LEGO Movie yet, so keep checking back for more reviews and LEGO news, right here on BZPower!
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