Set Review: 30281 Micro Manager Battle
Friday, January 31st, 2014 at 2:07pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager
Today we continue our reviews of The LEGO Movie polybags. On the block today is 30281 Micro Manager Battle, donated kindly to us by LEGO. Is Wyldstyle up to the challenge of taking on this micro manager in hand-to-hand combat? Will you win a free copy of this set? Well, you'll just have to continue on to watch our video and read the review 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.
The polybag is the most basic type of packaging LEGO has. The front shows you the set you're getting and has the logo for The LEGO Movie plastered front and center. The back is full of legal and safety warnings along with the set's name in several languages. But does anyone really look at the back of polybags?
Building
Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
This is a really fast build. I suppose you could say there's some SNOT techniques in it, but it's nothing impressive. It goes together in a jiffy, but that means all the sooner you can start playing with it!
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.
There are quite a few useful pieces in here. You get two each of the normal and inverted SNOT brackets in black, a whole bunch of black battle droid arms, a couple of black telescopes, and a silver 2x2 plate with bars around it. Plus, who can resist a red 2x2 brick? I really like that they put that in there instead of using a black one, it just makes me smile.
The micro manager is the main build here, and he's a cool-looking little guy. I'm not sure what he's going to do with that wrench and chainsaw, but he manages to look cute and menacing while doing it. I think I'm a little disappointed that only one of the four sides has any pieces on it, because why use the SNOT brackets if you're not going to build on them? They definitely capture the cube look of the larger micro managers at least, and he fits the precedent set by the other movie sets.
Wyldstyle is the sole minifigure in the set, and appears to be exactly the same as the version in 70808 Super Cycle Chase. That doesn't make her less cool though, and I love the printing on her right foot and arm. The hoodie piece is great too and I look forward to seeing it in other, more generic colors.
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?
There aren't really any play features in this set, it's mainly up to you and your imagination. The micro manager's legs and arms each have one point of articulation, allowing him to be posed a bit, but it's nothing crazy. I'm not sure if we'll see a scene like this in the movie, but I'm sure kids will have no problems imagining Wyldstyle going up against a micro manager on her own and taking it down. She's just that awesome!
Final Thoughts
Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
Pros
What's to like?
- Both sides are represented for role-playing action
- Awesome minifig
- Useful pieces
Cons
What's not to like?
- Not a unique Wyldstyle print
- Lack of play features
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This is a nice little set, although I feel like it has less value than 30280 The Piece of Resistance. It's a nice way to get Wyldstyle with her hoodie cheap, and there's a lot of fun that can be had pitting the characters against each other. If it's easy to snag, have at it, but you won't feel bad if you miss out or skip on it. But you can't beat free, so make sure you watch the video to see how you can win a copy of this set!
Thanks again to LEGO for providing us with two copies of the set. I hope you all enjoyed the review - your questions and feedback are most welcome and appreciated in the Talkback. And don't forget to keep checking back on BZPower for more LEGO Movie set reviews and LEGO news!
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