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    Discuss This Story ReviewFriday, April 24th, 2015 at 10:26pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager
    [Source: Ta-metru_defender]

    Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron is only about a week away, so let's take a look at one of the other LEGO sets based on the movie. BZPower Blog Assistant Ta-metru_defender today reviews 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown, one of the smaller sets in the line featuring Thor and Hawkeye. Will they succeed in taking down Hydra on their way to defeating Ultron? Or will their jeep crash and burn? You'll just have to read on 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.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 01

    Avengers! Hydra! A showdown! It's happening on the box! We've got Hawkeye in a jeep pursuing a Hydra goon in a buggy as Thor hurtles hammer-first towards the villain. There's action, there's conflict, and you're getting two vehicles. A lot to love at first blush.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 02

    Back of the box shows the Super Jumper play mechanic. Then there's a little scene playing out where Thor and Hawkeye are teaming up against a poor Hydra henchman.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 03 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 04

    Actual size stuff on the top, as usual. Also one of the inside tabs has a cool comicbook-ish pattern.

    Anyway. Enough about the box.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 05 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 06

    Two numbered bags, a small sticker sheet for all your decal-ing needs, instructions, and the same comic as was in Quinjet City Chase. Let's build the set.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    The pieces are split into two bags, one for each faction's vehicle and minifigs.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 07

    The Hydra-buggy is built first. It's straightforward enough. I do like the way the sides are filled out with some spiffy SNOT techniques.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 08

    The jeep also comes together quickly. Again, not much here that makes it terribly special from what I figure has become the norm in LEGO vehicles. Both vehicles' tires go on 'backwards,' that is the detailed sides are sticking in. I guess it's to make them look more rugged? Anyway. Set's built.

    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.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 09 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 10

    What struck me first about the Hydra Henchman is what looks like Chitauri armor on his torso, head, and back. Is Von Strucker and Hydra using parts from the Chitauri Invasion to outfit his henchmen? Or is LEGO throwing red herrings our way? We may never know.

    There's some cool digital-camo print on the torso beneath the armor, as well as a tiny Hydra symbol on the back. Because if there's one thing Hydra knows, it's that you simply cannot skimp on your branding budget.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 11 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 12

    Thor and Hawkeye both get new minifigs. Thor's sporting a slightly different new head and torso, as well as one of those new fancy cloth capes.

    Hawkeye, meanwhile, finally gets a hairpiece more appropriate to his film look. His head's also the opposite of the one from 2012, with his angry face featuring sunglasses and his normal not. He's also got a trench-coat printed on him. Now, last time he had a quiver printed on his back, but this time there's no quiver piece or one even printed. So he better hope he makes that one arrow in his bow count.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 13

    You can really see the changes when you compare them to their old selves, particularly the crazy amount of extra detailing on Thor's torso.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 14

    There's a nice chunk of extra parts in this set, probably best used for detailing MOC's or the back of phone cases.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 15 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 16

    The buggy's, well, a buggy. It's a very normal build, very normally put together, with a very normal cannon on top. Well, mostly normal. The cannon's got a stud shooter - which is fun - and can also be made loose to be knocked over by a Super Jumper.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 17

    Also, the roll cage opens up so you can stick a minifig in there. The headrest and rear engine are nice touches.

    There is one slight problem with the cannon, though.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 18

    I get that Hydra's evil, but I feel like they'd get better worker retention if their vehicles' weapons didn't sometimes tilt down towards them.

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 19 76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 20

    The Avengers' jeep is also pretty standard. It certainly feels really solid, but it's a bit lacking in some parts. My biggest problem is that the back is just a sort of rear-dashboard, rather than having a proper storage space for tools or more Avengers. Given the jeep's build it'd be really easy to make a little more space in the back.

    Second, is the flick-fire turret. It's a cool play feature, sure, but I find that it throws off the overall look of the jeep. After taking the photos for this review I took them off and find that it looks a lot better.

    Also, the vehicle as a whole reminds me of Loki's Cosmic Cube Escape from 2012, in that both are really solidly built vehicles with obnoxious weaponry.

    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?

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 21

    Flickfire missile flick, studshooters shoot studs, and Super Jumpers jump super. There aren't any hidden features in this set. You can make a minifig Super Jump to knock off the Hydra's cannon, which is the intended included game.

    The most fun, I think, comes with having two vehicles that can chase each other. I know I don't buy a lot of LEGO anymore, but getting two vehicles for $20 - when both are solid, strong builds - feels like a steal.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    76030 Avengers Hydra Showdown Review 22

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Hawkeye and Thor!
    • Spiffy vehicles
    • TWO vehicles for $20, man, that sounds like...
    • ...great value for price

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Really not feeling the turret on the Avengers jeep
    • Some of the play features feel kinda gimmicky?

    At the end of the day, I was really surprised by this set. I bought it because I wanted Thor and Hawkeye (who I've been wanting to refer to as Hawkguy for this entire review for various reasons), but wasn't expecting both vehicles to be so, well decent.

    Compared to Iron Man vs Ultron where the Ultron craft felt like a throwaway, this set's vehicles definitely earn their right to be in the set. Especially since it's a $20 set. I'm very happy with this set, and it's definitely worth your money.

    A big thanks to Ta-metru_defender for putting this review together - join me in thanking him in the Talkback. While you're there you can ask any questions about the set that you may have too. And of course, keep checking back on BZPower for more set reviews and LEGO news!

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