A Lego review.... the final frontier. This is the review of Cars Movie 'Ultimate Build Mater - Special Edition' Set, Lego # 8677. I saw this set at Wal-Mart on an aisle end-cap, and was intrigued. Instantly I was drawn to how detailed it was. My resistance to purchase and build it was... futile!

Now on to the review...

Ultimate Build Mater

Set 8677

# of pieces: 288

Retail Price: GBP 25.53 / USD $29.99 / CAD $ 39.99

Links: Brickset , Peeron

I'm not usually one to buy these licensed products, or larger-than-minifig models, but something drew me into this and made me fall in love with it. I've decided to get into a new genre of Lego (larger scale models) and this was what brought me there. I don't quite know what it is about this model, but I think it appeals to both kids and adults.

The box

The front of the box

The back of the box

The side of the box, showing countries of origin. China is one of the countries listed, and I'm unsure which parts would have been sourced from there.

The Contents

Yes, just two bags.

Parts list page 1

Parts list page 2

First, the contents of bag 1:

Yes, there are some stickers, sadly. However, there is a surprise in regards to this. More on that, later... mater!

This is what bag #1 builds.

Some of the building TECHNIC(q)ues required.

Here are some of the steps required for the first part of the build:

The contents of bag #2.

Let's finish this thing!

I don't endorse applying stickers. Feel free to skip these steps. I know I did.

Thank goodness these aren't stickers! Nicely printed pieces featuring the classic "Cars Movie" style eyes and mouths. I will never look at another car the same again.

And...

We're done!

A minifig provided for scale. Never aim at face!

Bonus surprise!!!

This set is actually a 2-in-1! You can also make Classic Mater from the first Cars Movie!!!

The left-over bits.

Now, this review wouldn't be complete, unless I also showed you the model with the stickers applied. I know, but here you are, for those that prefer it with the stickers:

FINAL

While I normally don't buy sets that aren't minifig scale, or that don't fit into my Lego City, I have made a few notable exceptions. This set is one of those exceptions. The impressive model design, colours, instant recognizability among children and adults alike, and it's relatively low cost for its size, make it an exceptional value.

For some reason, my 8-year-old son had a hard time building this model. We had to disassemble and reassemble it from half-way through. I think some of the technic sections confused him, which is strange considering he built the 10188 Death Star all by himself. I had no problems with the model, however, and did not find any errors.

Design: 9.5 / 10

I think Lego did an awesome job at capturing the style, look, and colour of Mater from the Cars Movie.

Build: 8.5 / 10

While I enjoy technic parts and seeing them strengthen a set, I'm sure some of the children in the age group recommended (7-12) would disagree. It is not mentioned anywhere that you will be using technic pieces to build Mater, and if I were someone who disliked that type of build, I wouldn't have found out until after I had opened the box. Good thing I like a good challenge. Other than that, the only trouble was trying to tie a knot in the black string with my sausage fingers.

Parts: 9 / 10

Lego used a number of generic pieces in this set to create the look they desired. There are some custom pieces, but I think you couldn't get a way with not using them (like the windscreen). The printing on the windscreen and mouth on the front is a nice touch in lieu of stickers.

Playability: 7 / 10

While this set is intended for 7-12 year old children, in my opinion it's more of a display model than a play toy. The missile on Maters' rear is mainly for show. While it can be removed it doesn't fire. I think TLG could have added $5 to the cost of the set, and designed some sort of mechanism to really fire the missile. Or, maybe made the missile out of real rocket fuel to actually launch. Now that would have made this set get a 10 / 10 !!!

Price: 8 / 10

The price-per-piece is a little steep on this set compared to other Lego sets, however, considering it's licensed, not too bad. I knocked the price value down by 2 for the stickers it includes. I would rather have those pieces printed.

Overall: 8 / 10

There you are. How did I do on my first every Lego review?

For those of you who want bigger size photos, here is the entire photostream on Flickr (including some bonus shots not included above):

Flickr

What are you waiting for? Go buy it!

Locutis

This is definitely the best Cars set so far. It just recreates Mater so well. Francesco is too small and basic, and the shape of Lightning is wrong, but this is just perfect. Great review BTW

Great review 'Locutis', I agree with 'pratek' on this one.....Mater is a better design than the other two.

Oh, I'm glad you stickered him so he doesn't forget his name !

Update: Since doing this review about 2 weeks ago, the stickers on the curved piece on the door continue to peel off. The other stickers appear to be fine, just the two on the curved pieces are detaching themselves (starting from the top).

Is there usually a long delay before a review is posted in the review index? I'm just checking if that is normal, or maybe if it has slipped past someone.

I'm looking forward to doing some more reviews in the coming months.

Locutis

What? No machine guns?

This is a great set, I've seen it once or twice, but never bought it. It just doesn't interest me as much as SW, Nijago, or Collectible Minifigures.

Nice review, Locutis, even though I don't see where this review has gone where no review has gone before. Your pictures are nice and crisp, and I think you have the potential for a good reviewer, so why don't you join us in the Reviewers Academy?

And yes, it does take some time for reviews to be indexed in the Set Index. Sometimes they don't get added at all, so if that's the case, you can contact the admins about it.

Nice review, Locutis, even though I don't see where this review has gone where no review has gone before. Your pictures are nice and crisp, and I think you have the potential for a good reviewer, so why don't you join us in the Reviewers Academy?

And yes, it does take some time for reviews to be indexed in the Set Index. Sometimes they don't get added at all, so if that's the case, you can contact the admins about it.

I was trying to add a "Star Trek" label to the review as something different. What I meant is that no one has reviewed this set before, so I boldly went where no one has gone.

Thanks for the suggestion in joining the Reviewers Academy. I'll take it into consideration when I can find some time. If I plan on doing any more reviews, I'll have to find another place to dump my pictures, as I just discovered (through this review) that Flickr only lets you have a maximum of 200 files, and then they "ignore" anything older than your newest 200 photos.

Locutis