Review GT5000 Korean Hwacha - Oxford

[crossmr]

Name: Korean Hwacha

Theme: Castle/The Great King Gwang-ge-to

Pieces: 50-60 if you include weapons and other bits

Price: 3500 won ($2.91 USD)

Minifigs: 1

Construction time: 20 minutes

This is my first castle/fantasy set from Oxford. This is based on a real weapon that Korea invented in the 1500s. It's an anti-personnel weapon that launches 200 arrows with gunpowder strapped to them. It can do so at a range of 500 meters. This weapon apparently made an appearance on Mythbusters a couple years ago where they confirmed that it could do all those things.

Smaller sets are harder to come by in Korea, at least in stores. So I ordered this on top of some other stuff I was ordering for someone else.

Box

This box shows the 3 parts of the set on the front. A soldier on a horse, the Hwacha weapon and a small building/shrine/weapon rack. The back shows an alternative build. I'm not sure what the alternative build is supposed to be. The hwacha is mounted in a wall. I guess if you put those in a hallway in a castle it could be a nasty trap.

Instructions

Instructions include part lists for each step and are in 3 sections: Hwacha, Weapon rack and horse.

Pieces

Well, we have a horse. Several Hwacha arrows (6), some wagon wheels, a Hwacha launcher piece, a fire bowl with flame, and a couple Chinese stickers (I'll get them translated later). the shields are stickered (an extra sticker for the small size is included), as is the rock piece on the weapon rack.

Minifig

Castle soldier. Includes a horned helmet, 2 shields of different sizes, and 4 weapons. Oxford generally puts weapons on sprues, so when you get a set, you often get a ton of extra weapons and bits with them which is pretty cool. In this case you get 2 big bows, a big sword and a large 3 pronged staff weapon, similar to a trident. The figure has a printed pattern on his chest.

Construction

As usual construction of an Oxford model went smoothly. Good clutch on all pieces, no issues putting anything together. It didn't take too long. About 20 minutes since it was in 3 parts, and I had to do things like place weapons and put on stickers.

Real life Hwacha

Here are a couple pictures from wikipedia. It is interesting to see that Oxford doesn't just make replicas of real military vehicles they're also making replicas of historical ones.

Finished model

This is a pretty cool model. Especially considering the price. You get some serious ordinance for your castle/fantasy soldiers. While the replication isn't perfect, it would be difficult to simulate 200 arrows on a model this size. You could remove the parts behind the launcher to load all 6 if you really wanted. The model has a handle on the back so the soldier can position it to attack his enemies. It rolls smoothly and is of a decent size.

The horse is actually interesting. The head is not as printed as a Lego horse, but the body has printed armor. The horse also has two connectors on it's back. In this case used for the shield holders. Most of the other sets come with a saddle. But without a saddle you can ride two people on the horse. This is kind of neat for some dioramas.

The weapon rack is nice. It's very simple, but has an appealing look. The fire lamp could be useful, and I really like the Chinese character sticker (a spare is included). It can hold two weapons plus two Hwacha arrows.

I think playability is good with this. On its own, maybe not that much, but worked into a castle theme which is the intention there is a lot of options here. Extra weapons, a horse and some artillery, and a weapon rack to call all his own.

The mechanic gets a lift to his latest job

Conclusion

Minifig - 9/10 Lot's of accessories. He looks nice, has a nice torso piece. Arms and legs are very solid and even firmer than some of the other sets I've gotten.

Parts - 8/10 tons of accessories, a horse, not too many unique bits

Playability - 8/10 this will work very well in a castle theme

Design - 8/10 looks very nice I'd like to see the Hwacha look a little more like the picture. Perhaps drop those back pieces, and put a 6x4 instead of 4x4 flat on the top. It looks nice now, but doesn't resemble the real one as closely as it could. Mind you the real one was not that attractive

Price - 10/10 Really good value here. Lots of weapons and bits for a very low price.

Total - 43/50 If you're into castle, I recommend this set. For the price you just cannot go wrong.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review 'crossmr' - it is an interesting set - a model of a very early missile launcher - very COOL !

I wonder if I could build one out of Lego.....mmm I'll think about - call me purist I not overly a fan of clone sets - but I'll give this one some merit - it is very good indeed !

I'm a conformist! !

[crossmr]

Thanks for the review 'crossmr' - it is an interesting set - a model of a very early missile launcher - very COOL !

I wonder if I could build one out of Lego.....mmm I'll think about - call me purist I not overly a fan of clone sets - but I'll give this one some merit - it is very good indeed !

I'm a conformist! !

You might be able to.. at least close. There isn't too much special in this. Except the launcher piece. I haven't seen anything like that in Lego, but I haven't really kept up with new parts since the late 90s. I don't think you could duplicate the fire bowl or the arrows themselves of course.

Oxford is far better quality that you could imagine if you'd ever picked up something like brick lock or ligao. Don't be afraid!

here is another design that comes from an older set that is out of print, but I must find

Edited July 18, 2010 by crossmr

[crossmr]

I got the chinese translated. It is "Goguryeo" it is an old name for one of the three kingdoms of Korea. The king this set is named after was credited with expanding this kingdom to its largest size.