PaulC Posted February 20, 2007 Posted February 20, 2007 Hi folks, inspired by KMOI's frankly awesome review of 8103 Sky Guardian I've finally decided to do one myself, so here's a kind of "review as battle" type thing. Part 1: 7714 Golden Guardian Instruction booklet no. 4509722: Front view, built as per instructions: What really makes this mech special is that it's the first to put on some weight where it counts: round the feet! The leg pods are, dare I say it, reminiscent of some Gundam designs and look as if they could take some real punishment. Also they lower the centre of gravity considerably. Always good for keeping your balance in battle. This is the first mech I put the stickers on, as they really add to the look of the thing, especially the EXTREME DANGER signs on the cannon. I left the stickers off the canopy though as I often re-use those pieces. WARNING: The instructions have the shoulder decals on the other way round to all photos of this and the other human mechs, so mine are on the wrong way round too! Doh! Rear view: Minor modifcation: The spring powered missile launcher is one of the few "action" parts I have any time for. It works well and flies a good distance. However, it has a hair trigger so on display models I usually remove these parts. Fortunately in this case it's really easy. Just replace it with two technic half pins and a with 2x6 curvy brick. Like so: Action pose 1: The Guardian is easy to pose dynamically and there is absolutely no messing with that giant cannon and razor shield! Action pose 2: Despite the heavy leg pods the Golden Guardian can just about stand on one leg. Cockpit open: Hayato's other face: Kind of a self-satisfied smirk. Overall, it's very difficult to fault this set. It's a complex and satisfying build using a large number of parts with an awesome looking end product, so I do think it's worth the extra money. Some flexibility could have been added by giving the mech a hand to hold the shield with, but building the gun and shield on also have their own advantages, like not losing your grip in the heat of battle! Also Hayato's cockpit doesn't have much side protection, but minor gripes like that and the incorrect sticker placement in the instructions aside I would still give this set 5/5. Part two coming soon! Quote
mutex Posted February 20, 2007 Posted February 20, 2007 Thank you for this nice review. At last some good quality pictures ! *y* I'm impressed by the width of the red shoulder pieces, they are wider than I expected. I think Lego did a good job on this mecha, more standard pieces and less bionicle meta pieces, it's always welcome. As always with Exo-force the back feels a little empty but it's like a design principle so it doesn't really matter. X-D I guess They should have add an articulation on the right arm (the one with the big gun) for even more "poseability" Anyway , I can't wait to get my hand on one of those. *wub* Question : What does the exo-code unlock on the site ? Quote
PaulC Posted February 20, 2007 Author Posted February 20, 2007 Question : What does the exo-code unlock on the site ?Nothing yet it seems. I typed it in and it was accepted, but nothing new appeared. I guess they have to add the Golden Guardian to the garage before you can unlock it's features. Quote
Kikuichimonji Posted February 20, 2007 Posted February 20, 2007 I love those legs. Let's hope TLC continues the trend and makes better mechs each wave. Thanks for the review! Quote
PaulC Posted February 20, 2007 Author Posted February 20, 2007 Thanks for the coments guys, here comes... Part 2: 8104 Shadow Crawler Instruction booklet no. 4508175: The completed shadow crawler as designed: This is the first small robot set to get away from having two arms and two legs, a very human concept that I wonder why the robots don't ignore more often. The insect-like design makes a very mean looking battle machine, and for looks alone is my favourite of the 2007 robot army. The one part of the set I really hate: The rubbishy disc "launcher" just has to go! >:-( The first time I tried it I got a disc to fly all of 5cm, and subsequently I couldn't get it to fire at all. I don't mind action features, but they should at least work well! Fortunately it's very easy to get rid of this monumental waste of plastic crap. Much better! Side view showing those very cool looking guns: Rear view showing the prison bubble, an awesome detail: And here comes my second problem with this set. Although it looks cool, the legs can't move very much at all and poseability is severely limited. Also there's a question of balance. A three legged machine where the legs are as far as they can be from it's centre of gravity could have some real problems in combat. Observe the Golden Guardian giving it the old one-two. One: Two: Oh dear, you're not going to be getting up after that, are you Mr. Crawler. Final detail, the devastator with the transparent yellow chest: This was the set I wanted most out of all of this year's robot mechs, as it looked the absolute coolest from the pictures. It's awesome looks are sadly compromised by the addition of the crap-launcher and lack of leg mobility, so I can only give it 3/5. But wait, we're not finished yet! Wait till you get a loada part three! X-D Quote
xenologer Posted February 20, 2007 Posted February 20, 2007 Yup I definetly agree with your points on Shadow Crawler's articulation I'm seriously thinking of re-concepting mine... maybe if we take the ball joints from the guns, and relocate them as hip joints on two of the legs it would work better. this of course means the guns would no longer independantly rotate... but i guess having better legs means the body itself could be aimed like a turret of sorts.... Quote
Asuka Posted February 21, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 Yep, really a nice one but the leg articulation could need some improvement.... Quote
dillthepill Posted February 21, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 Thanks for these great reviews. The Golden Guardian looks awesome, I'm gonna try to go get it tonight at TRU.The Golden Guardian seems huge in comparison to the Shadow Crawler. Does the Golden Guardian have a spinning shield? Quote
Zaktan of the Shadows Posted February 21, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 Nice reviews! I especially like the Golden Guardian reveiw! I must get it... -ZotS Quote
PaulC Posted February 21, 2007 Author Posted February 21, 2007 The Golden Guardian seems huge in comparison to the Shadow Crawler.And so it should, considering it's twice the price! Actually on the table the two look like they could take each other on since the Golden Guardian is taller, but the Shadow Crawler takes up more space as it's legs are spread out.Does the Golden Guardian have a spinning shield?Well you can rotate it due to the arm having those new ball and socket type joints, but it doesn't spin as it's fixed firmly to the end of the arm. It would be a neat to make it spin though, especially as it's supposed to be a "razor shield". Quote
ReZourceman Posted February 21, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 I recieved the Golden Guardian last night.....Its one of my favourite Exo sets...it is SO awesome. Quote
Brainbox Posted February 21, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 The rubbishy disc "launcher" just has to go! >:-( The first time I tried it I got a disc to fly all of 5cm, and subsequently I couldn't get it to fire at all. I don't mind action features, but they should at least work well! Fortunately it's very easy to get rid of this monumental waste of plastic crap. The same happened to me when I bought Sentai Fortress last week. It 'launched' once, and then not at all. Although I don't think it even reached 5cm... Quote
PaulC Posted February 21, 2007 Author Posted February 21, 2007 YupI definetly agree with your points on Shadow Crawler's articulation I'm seriously thinking of re-concepting mine... maybe if we take the ball joints from the guns, and relocate them as hip joints on two of the legs it would work better. this of course means the guns would no longer independantly rotate... but i guess having better legs means the body itself could be aimed like a turret of sorts.... Improving the Crawler in the way you suggest sounds great, but there's the problem with the guns and the fact that it's still only got three legs. Yep, really a nice one but the leg articulation could need some improvement....Agreed! So here comes...Part 3: Beefing up your crawly guy Yessirree, part 3 with even more pictures to make your PC load this page slower than a dog in the desert on a hot day! Increased articulation and an extra leg mean more parts. Here are the ones I added: And here's my finished crawler. Notice that the main body is stripped down a bit so I can use those parts to make all four legs identical, but the articulation on the guns is retained: The new legs allow it go right up on tippy toes... ...And crouch right down close to the ground: So, what does our Golden Guardian make of this? One: Two: Which just proves I suppose that there's more than one way to squash a spider! :-D Quote
xenologer Posted February 21, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 Definetly better with 4 legs that Work. Why oh why couldnt they have just done it this way instead... toss out the useless disk shooter, and some of the complicated technic bits that were on the original... and this 4leg version probably comes out with fewer parts too... well actually I dont see 3legs as that big a problem, Provided they are manuverable enough to stay balanced(Shadow Crawler is not unfortunatly). just look at the Striders from HalfLife2 for example. Quote
PaulC Posted February 22, 2007 Author Posted February 22, 2007 I dont see 3legs as that big a problem, Provided they are manuverable enough to stay balanced(Shadow Crawler is not unfortunatly). just look at the Striders from HalfLife2 for example.Good point! Now that I think about it, a "real life" 3-legged mech would use it's momentum to stay balanced, and possibly an internal weight shifting mechanism.If you're just trying to put your lego model in an interesting pose though, 3 legs is definitely a problem! :-| Quote
mutex Posted February 22, 2007 Posted February 22, 2007 The 4 legs improvement is awesome, in fact I can remember in one of the comics that they draw a 4 legged shadow crawler. LMAO on part 3 "spider squashing". X-D that was very funny I wonder if they didn't make a 4 legged shadow crawler just to save some cost on pieces ? Quote
dillthepill Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 I got the Golden Guardian at TRU. *wub* I'm really excited, but my parents say that I can't open it until tomorrow because they paid $5 for it and I paid the other $20. I'll probably do a review for it. Quote
KMOI Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Glad you enjoyed my review, Paul! Awesome reviews you've got here! The poses you picked truly reflects the posability it has! Wow! That Golden Guardian looks far more impressive than I had imagined! I'm glad they used the longer KK connector piece for the upper legs. The small one would seriously hamper posability and it seems LEGO picked that up! I really hope this is a sign of things to come, because this set is simply amazing. I expected all mechs this year to be like this! :-D Quote
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