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Set Review: 76049 Avenjet Space Mission
 Friday, January 29th, 2016 at 2:58pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Ta-metru_defender] While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is often at the forefront of people's minds when they think of Captain America and Iron Man, the comics, TV shows and other media still exist too. Such is the case with 76049 Avenjet Space Mission, based on the Avengers Assemble TV show, featuring characters that haven't shown up yet in the films alongside MCU favorites. BZPower Blog Assistant Ta-metru_defender takes a look at the set today and shares his thoughts on the wide array of characters and the spaceship it contains. Should you blast off into orbit to pick this one up, or is it better left sitting on the launchpad? Read on to find out! Presentation
Spaceship! And Avengers! AND CAPTAIN FRIGGIN' MARVEL! Oh, and Thanos too. Back of the box has got the usual showing off of play features, an ad for the the LEGO Avengers game that's been advertised for the last forever, and the inclusion of a comic.
There's also a nifty drawing of Iron Man and Captain America pushing a new building initiative or something. I dig it.
Along the top we've got the characters charging into battle and Iron Man there for scale.
Inside the box is the usual stuff you've probably come to expect.
The comic is fun, albeit fairly typical of LEGO's superhero comics. But it does have Captain Marvel being awesome, so I'm cool with that.
The sticker sheet is one of those that can be repurposed to outfit anything you want, which I like. Of note is that the instruction manual isn't stapled but rather bound like a book, like the instruction manual for Wall-E. It means there's only one booklet instead of a whole bunch, which is nicer for storage and organization. Building
It goes together in batches, bag by bag. It's not the most complex build, but hey. It's got elements of the prior Quinjets that have been released, but still feels newish. Elements of space sets of yesteryear too, but I'll get into that later. Set Design
The new piece of most note is the rebreather/regulator thing that Captain America uses to breathe in space. It looks good on minifigs but also would do great as greebles on MOCs. ChocolateFrogs pointed out that the rebreather can fit under an Iron Man helmet (though without the faceplate). He figures there's some versatility there for custom figs, and I am inclined to agree. The round disks used on the wings are printed and also versatile, as is the 1x1 round tiles that have Captain America's star. You also get a bunch of extra pieces with the set, and that's grand.
Look at that range of minifigs!
Thanos is a bigfig, which works for him given his impressive stature. He's nicely molded and his purple face and ridged chin are printed wonderfully. Thanos is represented as being beautifully diabolical. He's recognizable.
I do kinda start to see the limitations of the bigfig here though. Besides his arms he can't really be posed too much, which does limit him. Especially if Drax the Destroyer comes to collect. Maybe it's time for LEGO to give the bigfigs head and leg articulation. And, Frogs wants to make sure I mention that the stiffness of the bigfigs means you can't make Thanos sit all menacingly in a throne. So yay, Thanos! Boo, bigfig.
So we have Space! Captain America and Tony Stark in his Mark 39. Captain America's torso is nothing new. The head's new and locked in a permanently ready-for-battle face, but it's partially covered by his rebreather. It's not my favorite minifig of his (that goes to Age of Ultron). His space jets/tanks are pretty cool, but, ultimately, Captain America proves the most uninteresting of the lineup. Someone else could have been added to the lot (Richard Rider's Nova, maybe?) which would have made it even more standout. Iron Man, however, is totally new. Well, except the Tony Stark head, but beyond that we have an Iron Man armor in WHITE. Sure, it doesn't quite look like the Mk 39 in the movies, and I would have loved Iron Man's latest Space Armor of the comics, but that doesn't diminish the minifig in any way. Of particular note is how the trans-clear bracket's thruster-studs match up with the printing on the torso. This is a great minifig.
I just wanna highlight how absolutely gorgeous the Iron Man helmet mold looks in white. And how the printing on the faceplate is exceptional. Dude. Just dude.
Now, I'm not that familiar with Hyperion outside of Hickman's run on (New) Avengers, in which he wore a decidedly different outfit. But my brother, who's read more of Hyperion's comics, assures me that this is a pretty dang spot on representation of the superhero. Less interesting, though, is the reuse of Superman's head. I mean, it works for him, but hey. He does have a new cape piece though, that's all swoopy shaped. That's spiffy. And now, the main attraction. Captain. Freaking. Marvel. Full disclosure beforehand, Captain Marvel's my favorite Marvel character. Carol Danvers is the best and it makes me SO happy to get a minifig of her. So I'm biased. And I love her minifig. Look, half the fun of minifigs is them being representations of their counterparts, and man, is Captain Marvel representative of hers. The printing is great an instantly recognizable. Now, her head is the Wonder Woman head, but it works well enough. The hairpiece, well, I do really wish they included a blonde mohawk part for when she has her helmet on, but alright. On that note, the set comes with an alternate head for her with her helmet/mask on. I really like this minifig and am incredibly freaking excited to have Earth's Mightiest Hero in ABS form. But anyway. On from the minifigs.
Sorta. Thanos gets a pair of rocket boots. They, well, I guess they'll get you through space and all. They're kinda unremarkable, and they have some completely bizarre stud shooters on the heels which, well, okay. Whatever. ON TO THE SPACESHIP!
Now, I don't watch Avengers Assemble, but I've googled the Avenjet a bunch of times and this has the right color scheme. It looks a bunch like the other Quinjets, at least in silhouette, so there's a common design language.
The Avenjet looks like a jet that can go in space, rather than a strict spaceship. I'm a bit disappointed by this, because I'm a spaceship man, but at the same time it makes sense. It also reminds me more than a little of the Avenjet of the comics, which is my main frame of reference. Either way, it's pretty cool. The white and red color scheme looks really good and some clever use of jump panels and stickers. Now, the cockpits aren't quite airtight, which is a bit of a bummer, but there' nothing too awful. Of note is that the blue flickfire missiles don't stand out anywhere nearly as bad as they could. Points for that!
The thruster design is simple, but effective. I'm not sure how much I like the use of trans-red, though; it tends to blend in with the rest of the set (that picture was right hard to get). Trans-orange or blue would have been better, I think.
The main cockpit is super simple, not fancy chairs like in the Milano or Quinjets. There is a targeting display with Thanos on it, which is a nice touch I think. There's also another one of those ubiquitous fire extinguishers. Also, anyone piloting the Avenjet has to lie down in it. It's a bit of a disappointment, really, after the last few Marvel jets have done such good jobs with their cockpits.
The mini-jet is a simple build. it's got some mild SNOT on the side that helps keep it slick. Besides that it's kinda unremarkable.
There are also clips on the back to hold on to Captain America's breathing tank and shield when he's not using it. As a whole, though, I do like the Avenjet. I've got gripes with it - and it's no 2012 Quinjet - but it still looks nice. Playability
So why does the Avenjet remind me of 90's era space sets? It's not just the double cockpit, it's that the second cockpit can detach.
It's done quite simply, but holds together quite well and won't go flying off at a moment's notice - always a good sign. It does leave a big hole in the center of the jet, though.
You can stash Iron Man in that hole, though, and then pop him up. I guess if you have a super fancy suit of armor they don't let you ride in the cabin. It does mean that all three heroes (Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Captain America) can ride in/beneath the Avenjet though. There aren't that many play features besides that. The flickfires fire, and the stud shooters shoot. The number of minifigs does make it great for roleplaying though.
Avengers Space Fight, go! Final Thoughts
My opinion of this set is very heavily influenced by the fact that we're getting a CAPTAIN MARVEL MINIFIG. That's the big reason I got this set. That said, the Avenjet itself seems a bit paltry for a $60 set, but that in turn is allayed by the impressive minifig lineup. Thanos is a big deal and I'm always happy to get a new Iron Man - especially one that's as radically different from the prior ones like this. Whether or not you get this set depends entirely on how much you want the minifigs. Unlike the Quinjets or the Milano, the vehicle itself isn't cool enough to justify the purchase alone. But there's a Captain Marvel minifig, and for me, that was more than enough reason to get the set.
Thanks as always to Ta-metru_defender for taking the time to put together this review. We hope you enjoyed it, and would appreciate your questions, comments, and feedback in the Talkback. We're working on more set reviews, so make sure you keep checking back on BZPower for those and all the latest Bionicle and LEGO news!
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