Review: 70208 CHI Panthar

[VBBN]

Set name: CHI Panthar

Set number: 70208

Piece Count: 59

Year Released: 2014

Price: $14.99 USD, 12,99 EUR (?)

Useful Links:

Hello everyone and welcome to a review of CHI Panthar. Before I begin, as always I want to thank the people at Lego and Eurobricks staff who made it possible for me to bring you guys these reviews. My gratitude for this opportunity is furthered due to an unfortunate bit of news that we have all heard by this point: The 2014 Chima Constraction sets will not be released in North America. I have the prices listed above in both EUR and USD, however this is for completion sake and does not mean anything.

Bag Front

The front of the bag shows Panthar in a rather..well, boring pose. It doesn't really show any of his strong design choices and he looks rather odd just floating there. Anyway, the color is dominantly orange due to being a fire set, and it is sure to do a better job of catching peoples eyes on store shelves. We also have the set number and age, however some information like piece count is left out as a result of being European packaging.

Bag Back

The back shows off the dropping orb, a size comparison with his head, as well as Panthar himself set against a blue background.

It's worth noting that there is a very interesting combiner at the bottom, and that each set has a different combiner displayed. For each of the smaller sets, they combine with the larger set of their respective team (Either Fluminox or Fangar) to create a sort of powered up form. That combo model will use their head to give the appearance that they are the mind of the form. For Fangar and Fluminox, they combine with one smaller figure in a similar fashion.

Contents

Two bags of parts, the torso, and his head components.

Instructions

The instructions, showing the same image as we saw before.

Random Instruction Image

These sets don't have nearly enough parts to be concerned about the colorization in the manuals, however for those curious you can see the color differentiation of black, dark bley, and pearl dark gray.

Head

The head is two components so it does have an opening jaw. A few things worth noting the lower jaw is the same as Fangars, and a very cool print on the top of his head.

Head (view 1)

Head (view 2)

A very cool looking head, with a menacing face and the eyes really help to bring it to life.

Weapon

The new bladed piece. While many do not like the ornamental design, I quite like it and it's shape has quite a few interesting possibilities.

Claws

Here are some claw pieces that will add on to the new beast foot- They create quite a cool look overall as you'll see.

Torso Armor

The new torso armor. It is much larger, and features a hole for a zamor sphere or "chi orb" (let's face it, to us it'll always be called the zamor sphere) When you push the cut out button beneath it, the orb will fall out. While I love the look and the new shaping of this part, it only has one point of connection because it loses the two bar-holes that the older piece includes.

CHI Orb

The recolored zamor sphere at first glance appears to be what we received with the Fire Lord wave of sets in 2011. That sphere was red and yellow mixed, whereas this sphere is yellow and trans neon orange mixed. When held up to a light, it gives off a neat glow due to the slight transparency of the orange.

Armor Add-on and Bones

The new armor add on piece looks really cool, however it's only color is gold which could limit it's uses. Let's hope that it becomes more common in sets in coming years. In terms of recolored bones, Panthar has the shortest and third shortest length of lower bone in a trans neon orange.

Torso

The torso begins fairly simple, however one thing to notice is that he uses the longer titan sized torso base.

Legs

His legs use longer lengths of upper and lower bones, and at this point his height is getting quite impressive.

Bulking Up

Similar to Cragger, you build up a mount that his head will attach to, giving him a sort of werewolf-hunchback look.

Claw

For those who didn't like the large claws of 2011 that the Hero Factory sets had, you may dislike this similar construct. Personally I don't mind it, the overall look is very threatening and adds to that werewolf/wolverine clawed look.

Armoring

Usually I'm not a fan of longer legs and the longer torso because I feel a lot of figures end up looking very lanky and awkward (I'm looking at you, Jet Rocka... ) however there is a good amount of bulk here and really fills out the look.

Front

A front view of the figure isn't too bad, however when he isn't in a pose he seems somewhat empty in a few areas. His chest seems a bit lacking, a bit more bulk to even out the shoulder gaps might have helped, but perhaps they wanted the more slender form of a panther here.

Side 1

The hair piece on his back helps to give him a more interesting profile shot, and the tail is a unique design with the tip.

Side 2

The golden claw gives an entirely different feel to this side of the figure.

Back

His back is armored, though there is a rather odd gap where the neck armor is.

Pose 1

When posed, the gaps fill in and he can pull off some really cool looking stances. His head and general shape have a lot of personality, something I really like with some of these Chima figures.

Pose 2

As I have said before, I love figures with opening mouths. If this mouth was permanently closed, this pose would look like an uncomfortable trip to the bathroom.

Pose 3

Panthers are a somewhat beefy animal, and this figure certainly has some bulk to it. The larger legs and torso not only make him vertically large, but his bulkier armor and body structure give him a very sturdy looking frame.

Pose 4

I really was not a fan of the claws that the sets in 2011 Hero Factory had, but I do like this claw a lot more. it's fitting for his size, looks decent, and you really feel like this golden/trans orange arm is something powerful and could be the only weapon he needs.

Overall, Panthar is my favorite figure from the 2014 Chima constraction sets. While many people undoubtedly only care about some of these figures for the parts, I think Panthar is great for the set itself. His design is a well executed method of dealing with the larger torso and long legs, and his overall look can pull off a variety of poses- as well as give him a lot of personality. Many people may choose to skip over this guy due to his lack of significance in the system toyline, but I believe he is a worthy pick up and one of the best of the 2014 line.

What do you think?

VBBN

[obsidianheart]

Reminds me of the first wave Xevoz panther quite a bit.

[Mesonak]

I will concur wholeheartedly that this set is the best out of the wave. It feels very odd for me to type that considering I had previously written this guy as being incredibly bland and uninteresting. He's got it all, though. A well-armored build, excellent array of parts, some intriguing design choices, a menacing overall appearance, and good color balancing. I also absolutely LOVE the articulated jaws on him and Fangar.

Well done review, as per usual.

[Pate-keetongu]

Thanks for the review again! The link on the frontpage is broken though, leads to average TECHNIC forum MOC thread.

Not very big fan of this guy, having only 1 new armor, no printed parts and lack of interesting recolors. The feet are ace though, new claw pieces look useful. Hopefully they turn out common and I can bricklink them and left the panther on a shelf.

[Csacsa234]

When I first saw pics of this year constraction sets, I immediately fell in love with Panthar, and now I saw everything I wanted from him, On the next week I would pick him up, but now I can't wait for it Thanks for the review and the neat pictures, really shows everything that is interesting, I have to say those calws are really brutal, and maybe he is more interesting because we don't have him in minifig scale.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Csacsa234

[Agent Fusion]

Hmmm, I do quite like Panthar. Not my favourite, but he's up there!

[Aethersprite]

I feel this figure is the dark horse of the wave - from the pics we've seen so far, I didn't expect to like him much - but after reading your review, I'm pretty much sold on him! I was convinced that the only 2 I would get were Fluminox and Sir Fangar, but now I think I'll pick this guy up as well.

[DuckBricks]

I feel this figure is the dark horse of the wave - from the pics we've seen so far, I didn't expect to like him much - but after reading your review, I'm pretty much sold on him! I was convinced that the only 2 I would get were Fluminox and Sir Fangar, but now I think I'll pick this guy up as well.

My thoughts exactly. As you mentioned earlier, VBBN, the pose on the package is quite unflattering and it turned me off to this set the instant I saw the box art. However, the fantastic poses presented in this review have inclined me to purchase this excellent set.

[Leewan]

Thanks for the review ! Panthar seems to be a great set : interesting parts, interesting building, good looking final model... The only weird thing is the tip of his tail. And his awkward pose on the bag, but I don't really care, that won't prevent me from buying it as soon as I can.

[Mutant Orc]

Thanks for all the reviews! (I'll only comment here, to save repeated the message.)

This set has grown on me. I thnk I'll get it.

With the trans neon orange zamor sphere (or whatever it is), the immediate alternate use that came to me for it, that hasn't been mentioned, is as a Palantir. We got a black and greenish sphere in the Tower of Orthanc set that sits on a nice pedestal with a light brick beneath. The eye of Sauron turned the palantirs a reddish colour, like this version of the zamor sphere, so I'm curious to see what it'll look like in a LOTR scene/in Orthanc.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Mutant Orc

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Wow, aren't I lucky. I actually live in the UK so this isn't a problem.

In any case, I would have to agree. Out of all the wave, this figure is definitely my favourite and a standout. It doesn’t abuse the gold fetish the other heroes seem to have, and the less I talk about the unfinished ice zombies the better.

That gold arm does use that paw piece I loathe so much, but the very idea of an energy arm contained by gold armour is very awesome, and should I get this set I will probably revamp it with that motif in mind.

[Aethersprite]

Just curious - does Panthar have a minifig counterpart in the sets, or one in the show?

[Aanchir]

Just curious - does Panthar have a minifig counterpart in the sets, or one in the show?

None in the sets yet. Don't know about the show. Some people have speculated that he might be the exclusive fig from the upcoming Legends of Chima Visual Dictionary.

In any case, I figure his story role is probably similar to the other new big cat minifigures (Tormak, Lundor, and Li'ella) who are allies of the Phoenix tribe.

I'm not sure how I feel about the CHI Panthar set. The design doesn't feel quite as unified or elegant as CHI Laval or CHI Cragger. But at the same time, like both versions of CHI Cragger, he has a creative torso build which is pulled off rather elegantly. I'm not too fond of the claw compared to the more reasonably-sized claws of CHI Lava. Nor am I fond of how he boasts only one articulated claw, unlike CHI Worriz, CHI Gorzan, and both CHI Laval sets, which boast two articulated hands AND full weapons. But on the other hand, it is kind of cool how one arm appears "energized" and has full golden armor while the other just has a single gold shell like his legs.

His yellow eyes are a bit peculiar. Normally, the eyes of the constraction sets are color-coded according to the character's moral alignment — blue for heroes, red for villains. Is the decision to break that rule with CHI Panthar an aesthetic consideration, or might he be meant to be morally ambiguous?

Edited May 29, 2014 by Aanchir

[VBBN]

Aanchir the eyes are most certainly curious. Panthar also lacks the printed piece that the other three fire sets have, and whether it's a storyline purpose or not he doesn't have the same suit of golden armor, but instead has gold as well as pearl dark gray.

He's also the odd one out in the back of the instructions where a photo of all the sets are shown, he is the one not fighting anyone and has no silhouetted enemy on the back of his bag.

It's quite possible he is unaligned yet fire powered, or perhaps he is with the fire characters but his loyalty isn't quite there. Or Lego just didn't pay attention to it and we are overthinking it- but personally I quite like the idea of a loose cannon character. Kind of like a "I'll fight with you because we face a common enemy but that's it" sort of thing

[dviddy]

This is my favourite of all of these, as far as judging from photos goes.

Also, your photos of this one are top-notch. Better than any that will show up on BZP this round, too. I should really not have fallen behind on my reviews so I could have gotten some too, haha.

[Aethersprite]

None in the sets yet. Don't know about the show. Some people have speculated that he might be the exclusive fig from the upcoming Legends of Chima Visual Dictionary.

In any case, I figure his story role is probably similar to the other new big cat minifigures (Tormak, Lundor, and Li'ella) who are allies of the Phoenix tribe.

I'm not sure how I feel about the CHI Panthar set. The design doesn't feel quite as unified or elegant as CHI Laval or CHI Cragger. But at the same time, like both versions of CHI Cragger, he has a creative torso build which is pulled off rather elegantly. I'm not too fond of the claw compared to the more reasonably-sized claws of CHI Lava. Nor am I fond of how he boasts only one articulated claw, unlike CHI Worriz, CHI Gorzan, and both CHI Laval sets, which boast two articulated hands AND full weapons. But on the other hand, it is kind of cool how one arm appears "energized" and has full golden armor while the other just has a single gold shell like his legs.

His yellow eyes are a bit peculiar. Normally, the eyes of the constraction sets are color-coded according to the character's moral alignment — blue for heroes, red for villains. Is the decision to break that rule with CHI Panthar an aesthetic consideration, or might he be meant to be morally ambiguous?

I see, good to know, thanks. I've yet to catch season 2 of the show, hopefully he does show up soon.

I have to agree with VBBN and DV here - Panthar has easily grown to be my favourite of the new Chima sets. The more I look at the pictures in this review, the more I want him! I, too, really like the idea of a rogue, 'independent' character.

[beartrapper]

This head would make for a great cerberus moc. The new claws are great as well, but as you pointed out the build is lacking in a few areas.

[Csacsa234]

Aanchir the eyes are most certainly curious. Panthar also lacks the printed piece that the other three fire sets have, and whether it's a storyline purpose or not he doesn't have the same suit of golden armor, but instead has gold as well as pearl dark gray.

He's also the odd one out in the back of the instructions where a photo of all the sets are shown, he is the one not fighting anyone and has no silhouetted enemy on the back of his bag.

It's quite possible he is unaligned yet fire powered, or perhaps he is with the fire characters but his loyalty isn't quite there. Or Lego just didn't pay attention to it and we are overthinking it- but personally I quite like the idea of a loose cannon character. Kind of like a "I'll fight with you because we face a common enemy but that's it" sort of thing

That is really curious, I hope you are right about that, because this could make him a really interesting character, although I saw the leaked episodes (the first 4) from the new seasons in the Tv series thread and so far there is no Panthar . He is my favoruite from the constraction line and this opportunity that he can play a more complicated role is just made me love this guy more

[MakutaDreadscythe]

In hindsight I find it hilarious that the favourite of the wave is the one that screams "afterthought". Noone knows who Panthar is, he has no printed shells, no enemy to fight, the only exclusive parts really are his head. Just goes to show shoving in a load of recolours doesn't make for a good set, likewise a good set can be made with minimal new parts.

[TheOrcKing]

Good review, VBBN. This was the one I wanted the most from the wave at the start but unfortunately now I will not be able to obtain it just like the others. Ah well.