Review - PlayTek Construction and Military Set (Lego clone brand)

Last week I stopped by the local Five Below store to look for pipe straws (for a Necromunda terrain project - which will hopefully be the subject of a later post), when I stumbled across a display of construction and military toy sets using bricks similar to Lego bricks. There is no brand name displayed on the box, just a small logo on the rear for  a company called PlayTek. At $4 each I could not pass them up and bought one from each series to evaluate. This is what I found...

First up, the small Dump Truck. The set is one of a series of eight, that when combined can be used to build a large crane with a trailer and a smaller crane. The box shows the dump truck on the front, and the back shows the entire series that is available.

Front of package.

Back of package.

The set comes in three bags, which unlike Lego sets are not numbered. And it includes a large instruction sheet. The images in the instructions are small, and at times hard to make out, but the overall build is relatively simple so it is easy to figure out. The sheet also has the instructions for the large crane.

Parts and instructions.

Upon examining the bricks, I found them to be good, but not great. The plates had a small dimple on in of the studs. And the tires had little bits of rubber peeling off on one side, the other side was perfectly smooth. Not major defects, in my opinion, but not quite Lego quality. I did find that the bricks held together well, and these issues did not have any impact on building the set.

Plates with dimples in studs.

Tires with rubber "flash."

A bigger issue, I feel, is that the top of the truck has printing on it - a date and a number! I solved this problem (details later) but it definitely is something I was not expecting.

Printing on top of the truck!

The cab of the truck was very straightforward to assemble, and the style of it matches that of many Lego truck designs. The next portion of the build was the real surprise, at least to me. The whole dump trailer is built "upside down," that is to say, the studs all point downwards when it is complete! It's very interesting, and works quite well.

Dump bin completed.

The dump trailer is build "upside down."

As far as the color of the bricks, they are quite close to Lego's light orange color. (The wedge plate is Lego.)

Color comparison with Lego light orange.

The set also came with a small sticker sheet, a sprue with a set of tools, and one extra piece - an axle plate.

Extras.

All in all, this is a nice little set that will be very useful in my cityscape. I plan on adding a couple more of the small dump trucks, and based on my experience with this set I will also look to get the cement mixer and one of the small crane or dozers. I'd actually be tempted to get more, but I already have a lot of Lego construction vehicles.

Job's complete!

The other set I bought is for a theme that Lego does not do at all - military. It is a small pickup truck with a gun mounted on top - I guess it would be called a "technical" in certain areas.

Again, the series of eight sets can be combined to build a larger model, in this case an aircraft carrier.

Front of box.

Back of box.

In many aspects, this set is the same as the dump truck. The box contains three bags of parts, not numbered, as well as the instruction sheet for this model and the aircraft carrier.

Contents of box.

Once again, the roof piece had a date and number printed on it... although oddly there are two of that piece in the set and only one has the printing.

Again, printing on the roof piece!

This set did contain a very interesting little part - a 1x2 brick with a grill pattern on one side and a masonry pattern on the opposite side. Lego of course makes both of these, but they are separate parts.

1x2 brick with different patterns on opposite sides.

The gun itself is a neat design, using tap pieces on the sides to secure the shielding.

Detail of gun.

This set had several extra parts, in addition to a sprue of weapons, though no stickers.

Completed set.

The weapon sprue includes a headset, combat knife, tactical baton, billy club, machete, walkie talkie, flashlight, pistol, and two types of grenades. I think these will be very useful for my Lego police/military figures.

Weapon sprue detail.

As with the construction sets, I think I will pick up a couple more from this series - the other vehicle and a chopper for certain.

Once assembled, the only thing left to do was deal with the silly printing. I took some extremely fine grit sandpaper that I use for modeling and gently rubbed the printing off. I suspect that I could get an even smoother finish if I used Brasso or a similar product, but I was in a hurry and the job falls under "good enough."

Models after sanding off the printing on the roofs.

All in all, I enjoyed building these sets. While they are not quite up to Lego quality, they're not bad. I was also impressed that they are not copies of Lego designs, but rather original. Considering the price point (the dump truck is $4 for a 136 piece set), they're a good value and I am looking forward to adding more to my collection.

'Til next time.

Lego 70607 - Ninjago City Chase - Review

Lego set 70607 - Ninjago City Chase

For this post, I thought I'd do something a little different... a review of a Lego set. If people like it, I'll do more.

The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn't come out until September, but the affiliated Lego sets have just hit the streets. I've seen the trailer for the movie, and it looks like it will be the usual fun Lego romp with lots of laughs along the way to learning a lesson about the importance of family. (If that doesn't sound familiar, it's because you haven't seen the Lego Batman Movie yet!)

I've never been a huge fan of the Lego Ninjago sets. My main interests have always been City sets and Trains. But recently a friend recommended the Temple of Airjitsu, and this combined with the upcoming massive Ninjago City set, have convinced me to add a Ninjago area to my layout.

Since I likely won't have mechs or airships battling over the neighborhood, I was looking for a set that could fit in with the Ninjago area while also being able to mesh with the overall city theme. I found what I was looking for in this set - Ninjago City Chase (70607). It's one of the smaller Ninjago sets out, and I picked it up locally for just under $19.

So, where to start with the review... Well, with the box and contents of course!

The front of the box for set 70607.

The front of the box shows a scene of mayhem on a city street as Officer Toque and Nya chase down a Shark Army Thug, while Lloyd Garmadon leaps from the top of the police tuc-tuc, and Ham laments the destruction to his fish and fruit stand! It also has an inset image detailing the five, yes five (!) minifigures that come with this set.

The back of the box for set 70607.

As usual, the back of the box shows more scenes you can recreate and different ways to play with this set.

So, the box looks great, but what's inside?

Instructions, two bags, and a sticker sheet.

Just like almost every other Lego set ever made, you get an instruction book. There's a set of stickers and two numbered bags. Bag 1 will build the police tuc-tuc, while Bag 2 contains the parts for the fish and fruit stand and lampposts.

Police tuc-tuc and (from left) Shark Army Thug, Officer Toque, and Lloyd.

In addition to the tuc-tuc, Bag 1 contains Lloyd Garmadon, Officer Toque, and a Shark Army Thug. I mention them here for the sake of completeness, but I'll review all the minifigures together later on in this post.

The tuc-tuc is a great little build. It's small, but has a lot of character, and will look great in the Ninjago neighborhood. I also think it will look at home anywhere on the layout, as it is a unique police vehicle that is very useful. From neighborhood patrols to parking ticket duty, you can expect to see this little guy all around town. It won't be my first choice for high-speed pursuits, but you can't have everything.

The tuc-tuc has room for a driver and one passenger or prisoner in the back. Additional officers can catch a ride by grabbing onto the bars on the side of the vehicle. There's a clip behind the driver to hold an extra set of handcuffs. The only stickers that go on the tuc-tuc are the badges on the front sides and the police signs on the top and rear. These are written in a font that gives them a lot of Asian flavor, while still being clearly legible as "Police."

2x2 tile with two studs.

Reverse curved 2x1 slope.

The tuc-tuc has a couple of parts that I believe are brand new with the release of this theme. There's a 2x2 tile with two studs in black, and a reverse curved 2x1 slope in light bluish gray. Both are fantastic additions to the Lego builder's arsenal.

Spare parts from Bag 1.

As usual, Lego provides spares of some of the smaller parts. Among the spares in bag 1, you get an extra pop-top for a soda can (which is a great piece to have extras of) and 1x1 "cheese" slopes in white, transparent blue, and transparent red. All are very useful parts that will quickly make their way into other builds.

Fish and fruit stand with Nya (left) and Ham.

Bag 2, as previously mentioned, contains the fish and fruit stand, a pair of lampposts with signs, and the Nya and Ham minifigures.

Ham's fish and fruit stand.

Ham's fish and fruit stand has a very Asian look. It uses three stickers: one for the fish sign, one for the fruit sign, and one for the name of Ham's business. From what I understand, the signs in Ninjago City are written in an imaginary alphabet, which looks Asian but is a 1-to-1 replacement for the English alphabet. Brickset.com has a great article on the language here.

The sign above Ham's stand says "Shop." The shop has two attached trays, one on each side, to hold a pair of fish or cherries. The stand also has a pair of red lights overhead.

Lampposts and signs.

The set includes a pair of lampposts, which are connected with a black string with climbing grips. The lamppost construction is very creative, and they look great, though they are quite tall. Each lamppost has a red light - which in this case is a transparent red minifigure head! Personally, I'd not seen that part in that color before, so I was pretty excited.

Each lamppost has a pair of signs, which is where the remaining four stickers are used. According to brickset.com, they read (from left): Newtown, Arlo, Hotel, Uptown.

Spare parts from Bag 2.

Again, Bag 2 has a nice selection of spares. Of note are the tan 1x1 slope, a cluster of cherries, a black lightsaber handle, and a pearl gold 1x1 tile with pin holder.

From left: Ham, Nya, Lloyd, Shark Army Thug, Officer Toque.

Rear view, from left: Ham, Nya, Lloyd Shark Army Thug, Officer Toque.

As promised, now I'll take a closer look at the minifigures. This set comes with five figures - which in my opinion is fantastic for a $20 set. Considering the collectible minifigures cost $4 each, this is a great value.

Ham comes with a tan conical Asian hat in a style not seen previously. Because of the style of the hat, he does not have a switch head, which is a bit of a pity as his only expression has him screaming in fear or anger.

Nya's figure is fantastic! She's got her hair up in a ponytail with a silver band, and is wearing a black jacket over a striped shirt. Her legs are her best feature - she has on a pair of ripped jeans! She does come with a switch head, so you can make her look happy or determined.

Lloyd is another great figure. He's got on a green hoodie and black pants. His switch head is less than exciting, as there is relatively small difference in the expressions on either side.

The Shark Army Thug does not have a switch head, so his only expression is a one-eyed scowl - which is quite appropriate for the villain in this set. His torso printing shows a web belt and pouches, and he's got on knee pads.

Last, but not least, we have Officer Toque. He's a cop with Asian features, and no switch head, under a police helmet. He's kind of generic in my opinion, but he's a welcome addition to my City police force.

I am sure Nya and Lloyd will provide torsos and pants to a great many minifigure conversions in cities and towns all over the world.  I'm thinking of picking up extras of the Shark Army Thug for my special operations troops.

Accessories.

Each minifig carries a unique accessory. The Shark Army Thug has a fish-hammer. Yes, apparently that is a thing. The cool part of this is the fish in a new color - light blue!

Officer Toque has handcuffs for securing the bad guys. Nya has a very cool light gray 1x2 tile with a phone printed on it, while Ham has a green 1x2 money tile. Lloyd is drinking a can of soda, with the previously mentioned 1x1 round tile with the pop top print.

Set 70607 assembled.

As I think you can tell from the tone of the review, I am very pleased with this set. It is worth the cost just for the figures, if nothing else. When you throw in the police tuc-tuc, the stand, lampposts and other parts, this set provides one of the best overall Lego values I've seen in quite some time. It also provides a great play experience, in my Adult Fan of Lego opinion, with a nice little scene and lots of options.

This is a set that I can see builders buying in multiples for the figure parts and accessories. I know one or two more will likely make their way into my collection, without a doubt.

So that's it, my first Lego set review. Tell me what you think in the comments below: good, bad or ugly. If there's enough positive response, you may see more posts like this in the future. Thanks for reading, and as always...

'Til next time!

Christmas 2015 - Lego Trains Holiday Village Layout

We've been in quite a lull in terms of wargaming at our house -  life has definitely kept us from gaming nearly as much as we'd like. But, we have been able to have fun with plastic figures - of the Lego variety!

The kids and I have been collecting the Winter Village sets over the past several years, and can put together quite a nice little town for Christmas. (Much nicer than the Dept. 56 buildings, IMO .)

Last year, we added a loop of track around the village, which sat on a 3'x4' board. It was a little tight, space-wise, so this year we decided to expand! After a shameless land grab in the middle of the family room, we were able to place a 6'x4' board. This allowed us to add a smaller, nested loop, inside the outer one.


The frame for the 4x6 table.


Since i have a small car, I used three 2'x4' boards for the top.


The downside of using separate boards, caulking the gaps and the screw holes. Next time I'll borrow the van and grab a larger board.


I used a textured spray paint to cover the whole surface of the table. It took several cans, but I just don't have enough white Lego!


In its place of honor in the center of the family room, with the track laid.

I picked up the 60051 High Speed Passenger Train (aka the Candy Cane Express) to run around the outside of the village. That's what connects the Winter Village with the "big city." The inner loop, and the switches, are 9v track. We have the 4535 Lego Express Deluxe running around the inside as a "tourist train." I think next year, we're going to tray to make that into a tram, as the full train is a bit much. I love Miro Dudas' Winter Village Tram.

We chose to have a small mountain in the corner, to give us an elevated area to set up Santa's Workshop at the North Pole, and because I love tunnels!


I laid out a template for the "mountain" before building it.




The mountain still needs to be painted, and a slope built to cover the hole facing the village. That's being built up out of styrofoam sheets, and will be added to the display soon. I'll have an updated photo to show that.


The old and the new, side by side.

I was recently fortunate enough to win an ebay auction for a set of Lego Super Chief cars and a Santa Fe locomotive. I like the look of this much better than the high speed train, so that will replace that train on the outer loop.

But first I'll need to convert one of the locomotives (I already had a pair bought from Lego when they first came out) to ruin off PF, or get enough 9v track to make the outer loop electric. Right now, I have enough to do one or the other loops in 9v track, but not both. (Here's a short youtube video of the Super Chief in action.)



I still need two more of the original cars, and I'd love to add an MOC dome car and B-unit locomotive... maybe for next Christmas.

As mentioned, we're combining the 9V and plastic track, and it works as long as we can throw the switch fast enough that the steamer does not get sent to the unpowered track! This video shows my daughter handling the switching duties.




One of the hazards of railroading with Lego. This NEVER happened on my old N-scale layout.

We are by no means "theme purists" and often mix and blend  - in fact, I think the Empire has scheduled a stormtrooper raid on the village to control the scourge of hobbits (they love to pilfer goodies from the bakery) later today!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lord of the Desert!

My son (10 y.o.) invented  a new game - Lord of the Desert! We played today after lunch.

 
We used mummies and dwarfs from Lego .

The dwarfs (me) began by advancing against their implacable undead foes - the mummies (my son)! 

But the mummies struck first, killing a brave dwarf warrior...

The dwarfs retaliated, clearing a path for their leader to escape...

A dwarf victory was all but assured...

But in the end, the dwarfs fall one by one to the last mummy warrior (thanks to my usual miserable dice-rolling luck!), leaving their lord to fight on alone! Who will win?

A tie! The dwarf couldn't risk losing in combat, and the mummy didn't want to risk dying in a dwarf trap. So they both danced around their side of the board until a draw was declared. They will live to fight again!

It's a fun game, kind of a cross between chess and Stratego with a die-rolling mechanic added. Fairly basic - three kinds of troops: leaders, bodyguards and warriors. Leaders are not that good in combat (roll a d4 but can re-roll), bodyguards are better (roll a d6, but can die in place of losing your leader), and warriors are the best fighters (roll a d6+1 in combat) but have no special abilities.

I can't wait to see what else my son comes up with!

'Til next time!