Review 8190 Claw Catcher

[BrickBob Studpants]

I've always wanted to do a review here on EB, but since Switzerland isn't quite the country that gets new sets first, I've never had the chance to review a set nobody else had... But this time, I have the opportunity, so here's my review of 8190 Claw Catcher:

First, some general bits of information: I ordered this set on s@h alongside the other 2010 PM- sets and this one was 60 CHF, which is about 40 €. I guess the US-price will be about 30 $.

Now onto the boxart:

The box is about the same size as 8960. On the back are some action shots and a pic showing the accessories that come with the set, as usual.

Now that's the most sensible thing to do while exploring the center of the earth

Here we have the contents of that box: 3 bags, 2 of them numbered, one containing the wheels and Infernox, the instruction booklet and the sticker sheet (or shit, as some of you like to call it )

A random page of the instruction booklet and the inventory pages, nothing special here.

And here's a pic of the parts you get in this set, there are some useful pieces in lime and a lot of technic stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing

I don't think that these are new parts in general (I guess the claw parts have been in some Bionicle sets, but there's no inventory on bricklink yet to prove my assumption), but they're at least new to me. BTW: there are also one 2*4 and two 1*3 tiles, but those have been mentioned in several reviews so far, so I guess there's no need of taking pics of them.

Next topic: the minifigs

I really love the new figs, I even prefer them to last year's versions (and that's saying a lot ) The accessories are neat as well, we get a crystal (who would have guessed), a pick-axe, a shovel, dynamite, binoculars, a frying pan and a sausage. Those details are one of many reasons why I enjoy this theme so much

On this pic you can see how the mechanics work: pull the lime green part at the back and the claws close (and rise if you keep pulling).

And here's the completed model, it's a real beast

I love this sticker

And here are some leftover parts:

Now some action shots:

The mechanism works very well I have to say, but sometimes Infernox lands inside the cockpit:

Revenge is coming....

Final thoughts:

I love the whole 2010 PM line and this set in particular, it has a great look, neat parts, excellent minifigs and a fun play feature. I don't give it a rating since I don't think that kind of final verdict is useful (it's pretty hard to juge if the minifigs e.g. deserve 9 or 10 points, and what does it matter anyway?). So I just say it's highly recommended, especially if you are a PM fan (in that case you'd buy it anyway though )

Edited January 10, 2010 by WhiteFang
Indexed and poll added

[Topsy Cret]

Thanks for the review! I'd been wondering about this set, and hadn't quite liked the look of it. Your review, however, seems to have given me second thoughts. Thanks again!

[Big Cam]

I find it interesting that LEGO actually mass produced a red weiner for the LEGO folks to hold.

Thatnsk for the review, although not much of a power miners fan, I do like reading reviews.

[Aanchir]

This is a great review, and a great set! Love the humor of the sticker sheet. To answer one of your questions, the claw pieces are indeed from BIONICLE, although this is the first appearance of the blue claw pieces in blue. When that silver one came out it bugged me a great deal how often it was used in things where the texture didn't make sense (the original set used it for a squidlike warlord, so the texture made more sense there). Now I've largely gotten over that since the shape of that piece makes it so versatile, but I'm still kinda uncertain whether it's a good thing in this set.

The Magma Monster is pretty awesome. The orange eyes stand out just enough that they look cool beside the old monsters (granted, I haven't yet seen a pic of the two together, but I can have multiple pics in side-by-side windows for comparison). I can't wait until we get to see him in some commercials-- there's a snapshot of one from an animation as a wallpaper on the PM website, but it's not the same as seeing them in action.

The action feature is great, but what would make it better would be if the lid of the "water tank" would open and close by itself as you moved the claws. It'd make the back a lot chunkier, though, so I'm not sure if it's worthwhile to mod the set.

[user]

Thanks for this review! You really got me sold on that set! Now I have to go and get it.

[Nightshroud99]

Very cool set! Thanks for the review!!!

[EspEth12]

COOL! i want this even more because of your review! Nice review

[Bfahome]

(I guess the claw parts have been in some Bionicle sets, but there's no inventory on bricklink yet to prove my assumption)

Yep, debuted in 2007. Though the blue armor piece is new in that color and I wub it. <3

Also, that's a neat mechanism.

[Zarkan]

Thanks for the review.

Honestly, I don't think there's a single set in the 2010 Power Miners line that I like, and this one is no exception. Apart from the bad color scheme, weird design, and a total emphasis on catching monsters rather than mining, it's hard for me to view these sets with the same positivity that I did with the first year of the theme. Sure, the claw catching mechanism is nice, and the figures are great, but personally, it just doesn't compare to the original Power Miners sets.

Oh well, at least Atlantis has come to fill the need for a good action theme - otherwise 2010 would probably look a bit bare in comparison.

[Ratbat]

Damn, that's one nice vehicle.

Definitely going to have to get this.

[prateek]

I was a bit sceptic on the new line of PM, but now, I'm completely sold! This set is so cool, I love the cockpit, and the water bucket is cool too

[BrickBob Studpants]

The pics have been resized here as well

And thanks for the comments btw!

[squidman85]

I'm gonna buy this set somewhere in March.It's have a lot of nice pieces,but the price is very bad is Russia(somewhere about 40.99,though)

[metalandi]

Thanks for another PM 2010 review! As far as i can tell until now, this will be the only PM set i want to buy this year. Other than at the lavatraz set, the new colour scheme works very well here, also you get lots of good accesoires and i like the overall design of the vehicle.

[dabulls03]

After reading your review, I think that this is probably the best Power Miners set from the January wave.

It's probably the only new Power Miners set I would consider buying.

This set has way better construction then Lavatraz, the color scheme is a little better, and there are a lot of good pieces included.

I don't like the cockpit though; it doesn't look very protective and I don't like the lime green tubes on the sides.

I agree with you that the new rock monsters are way more detailed than last years, but that's about the only thing this wave has to offer.

Looking at the family portrait from your Lavatraz review, the old rock monsters look so dull in comparison to the new ones.

I love the fact that there is a picture of the wiener on every side of the box, as if that is the only reason you should buy this set.

[Delta 38]

Originally, I was getting this set mainly for the lava monster, and I still am. However the set itself isn't too bad. I'll definitely be picking this up.

Edited January 13, 2010 by Delta 38

[Dunjohn]

I'm building this set as I type (well, not literally; I'm using my fingers to type and I haven't mastered the art of building Lego with my teeth yet). I'd wanted to get Lavatraz but the shop wouldn't take the generic gift voucher I had so I could only afford this. Rather enjoying it so far. Lots of lovely greebley exhausts, vents and intakes on the top. What the heck they're all needed for.... Some nice bits I didn't have, nice chunky design, great minifigs, decent price.

[Zenox]

I love it! But, i think im changing his head after i get the set.

I have nothing against professors and glass guys, but i just don't like that head.

Sausage? I didn't even know they had sausages in lego...No, i did.