Mega Bloks Modern TMNT Small Sets Series Two Review
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When I reviewed the first four small Mega Bloks sets I mentioned that there were two other patrol buggy sets starting to show up in
stores. It took me a while to find them, and even longer to get around to writing this review. And in the meantime Mega Bloks
released yet another small set, Chinatown Chase with Mikey. So now I get to check out all three.
Packaging - 7/10The packaging for this second round of sets is unchanged from the first four. The large CG image on the front shows off the completed set in action while the included figure is on display in a small window in the upper left corner. The back shows the completed set and its features and a photo of all of the sets in the modern line. I like the graphical design. The artwork on the front has a great sense of whimsy/fun. It's also nice to see them actually show the ability of the vehicles to connect together on the back. But there are a couple of short comings as well. The image of the complete line on the back is great in theory. But the line is so large that each set is far too small in the photo. (And it shows two sets that haven't even been released.) The material for the package is a bit too thin and prone to being damaged as a result. But both of those are relatively minor complaints.
Sculpting/Design - Raph 8/10, Leo 7/10, Chinatown Chase 4/10The two patrol buggy based sets recycle a lot of the designs from Michelangelo and Donatello's buggies which I reviewed previously. There are a few aesthtic changes. They dropped some of the sillier gimmicks like the pizza on the front and bouncing bo staff. Instead he has a much simplier projectile launcher. But that is enough to get the job done and all of the other detail work that I really liked in the design is still there. Meanwhile Leo's buggy did away with the large pizza launcher in favor of a rubber band powered catapult. And they added a mechanism to turn Leo's swords into a spinning wheel of death. I don't think it is going to get OSHA approval. But it looks cool and give you a use for the connection mechanism when the buggies are seperated. I just wish they had also included a means of storing, or better yet, using it when the buggies are connected. Finally there is the Chinatown Chase set which showed up later in the year. There's really not a lot to it. There's two columns of bricks in the back with poles going between the gaps upon which some lanterns are hung. There could be some significance in chinese tradition, but if there is, I don't know what it is. There is also a device to cause an "explosion". But it is just stuck onto the side with no attempt to incorporate it at all. That just feels like lazy design.
Paint - Leo 4/10 Raph & Mikey 5/10There's not much here in terms of decoration. Outside of the Turtles themselves, the only paint or decoration are chinese symbols on three bricks in the Chinatown Chase set. That's not as bad as it sounds. The sets turn out reasonably well just with the color selection of the bricks. Both Leonardo's and Raphael's buggies are better looking than their predecessor. For Raphael it is a subtle change as they used a more appropriate tan color for the seat. Leo's buggy follows the same color design as Michelangelo's with the frame in Leo's signature blue and the other parts adding some accent color. But where Michelangelo's orange was increddibly garish, blue seems like a perfectly natural color for a vehicle.I think it would look better with a grey frame and blue accents. But this isn't bad. The Chinatown chase play set isn't bad either. It's just extremely simple. The printed characters keep it from looking completely generic, and the accessories add a bit of color and variety. Without them it would be a very dull looking set.
Accessories - Mikey 8/10, Raph & Leo 6/10The two patrol buggies each come with weapons for the Turtles and a slice of pizza. Raphael's also has a projectile to launch. That's not anything too exciting or interesting. But it covers the basic necessities for both sets. It's the Chinatown Chase set that shines when it comes to accessories. Of course it includes a pair of nunchuks for Mikey. It also has a couple of rockets which I assume are suppose to be fireworks. There's a crate with some colorful studs to fling into the air. And there is a bowl of what I think are suppose to be noodles. While none of those accessories are all that impressive on their own, all together they give your mini figures lots of opportunities to cause trouble.
Value - Mikey 6/10, others 10/10These sets sell for $10 to $12 depending upon the store. That's not a bad price for the buggies, especially now that all four are available and you can make full use of the combining fuction. The Chinatown Chase set's value is a bit more subjective. The play set itself is quite plain and isn't going to fit in well with anything else in the line so far. So a lot of its value comes from the accessories that are included. If you are the type of person that likes to have lots of accessories as I do, that may be enought to make it worth buying. If you don't care about accessories, then this set doesn't have much to offer you.
Happy Hunting:Leo's Pizza Roadster and Raph's Pizza Speedster have been shipping to stores for most of the latter half of 2016 while Mikey's Chinatown Chase set didn't start shipping until later in the fall. Depending upon how well the first series of sets sold in your area, these may or may not be common. You can still order them online. But they aren't even all that common online either.
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