Tank/Radar/Transport/Jeep/Helicopter - Oxford Review

[crossmr]

Name: NCM0872

Theme: Cobra Military

Pieces: About 1000

Price: 55000 won ($46.42 USD)

Minifigs: 10

Time: Hours..many..many..

Well I finally went out and got the big daddy of the modern military theme. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I don't exactly remember finishing last night, but I dreamed of olive colored blocks... As I became consumed by the construction I stopped taking photos of the construction itself.

Box

The box is massive. It has a lifting front flap that shows a couple token figures and a couple random pieces. Inside the trade is separated into two sides. One for pieces and one for the plastic insert that was showing off the parts. There are 17 different bags of pieces in here. It is helpful to note that pieces of the exact same type are confined to a single bag, but each bag contains a mishmash of pieces. There are no alternate builds shown. The back does show the designations of the real vehicles these are based off of.

Instructions

This is more a novel than an instruction book. It is thick. Containing instructions for 5 different vehicles even though multiple steps are on a page, it feels like one of those 2 year calendars you might buy. I've never felt a book so thick and I had the original black seas barracuda.

Pieces

Mass amounts of everything. Actually a good supply of thick blocks. Lots of wheels, doors, windshiels, hoods, rotors, radars, joints, rails, turrets, etc.

After I was done there was a handful of translucents left over and a couple of other non-special pieces.

Minifigs

10 total. This is a great amount of figures. We have 3 of the commander type guys, 2 pilot helmet guys, and 5 regular helmets. There are also 2 backpacks included. Oddly enough there are only 2 weapon sprues included. I would have expected them to double up the 4 gun sprue, but they didn't. It works out there because once you get everyone driving something you don't really need a lot of guns. Plus I have a ton left over from other sets.

Real Vehicles

Here are some comparison shots from the real vehicles

AH-64D

K131 Jeep

K511 Transport Truck

XK-2 Black Panther

Radar Truck

I'm not entirely sure this is the right model since they didn't include a designation number, but it looks close.

Construction

What a marathon. The sorting for this was crazy. Start to finish it took somewhere around 4 hours. At one point I may have started hallucinating. The first model was the jeep and I had to delve into 15 of the 17 bags to get all the pieces for it because of the way they were spread out. I even had to move off my desk to the kitchen table because I just didn't have room to set up to that here. There still wasn't enough room to do it comfortably there. Honestly I'm yawning just thinking about it.

Finished Models

Jeep

Well this is ever so slightly different than the stand-alone model. It has a different piece on the back. Instead of being topped with a 2x1 flat and 2 2x1 rounded pieces it is a 1x6 flat. The clutch on the windshield is great on this one. I may have just gotten a bum windshield on the stand-alone one. Not much else to say about it. Oxford loves their jeeps. You can barely buy a set without getting one.

Radar Truck

This actually has a bit of an interior. Kind of a cool model. There is a hatch on the front but it isn't much use. The 3 doors on the body all open up and are adequate to get inside. The roof comes off pretty easy, just 2 big flats. So if you want to do stuff inside you can. I put a couple computer stickers in there. The dish rotates of course. It has a very solid feel to it. There are lots of hand holds that you can attach soldiers to if you want.

Transport Truck

While it is just a truck, with no weapons, it just seems to fit very well. It is a great truck to transport troops in and feels very solid. The back gate goes up and down. it is different than the truck that comes with NCM48000 which is nice. While the jeep gets duplicated in every set, and the XK-2 tank is also available in NCM35000, it is nice to see them not be lazy and make different trucks for these two sets.

Helicopter

This is a very decent helicopter. It actually has some weapons on board and can have 1 pilot. There is a tail rotor, and a couple sets of landing wheels. The rotor spins nicely. The hatch is good and it is easy to get the guy in and out. All of the guns are on joints so they can be adjusted, and I think it does a nice job of capturing the look of the real chopper. I still wish I could get a hold of the chinook chopper from the old series though..

XK-2 Black Panther

This tank is 2 wider than the K1A1 but more or less the same length. it gives it a squatter tougher look. It can hold up to 3 people inside and isn't completely smoothed over so you can put guys on the armor for transport. This tank is also available as NCM35000 and comes with a jeep in that set. It has a main gun and a machine gun that rotates. It drives well and looks nice. Has armor skirts like the K1A1. The middle piece between the top two soldiers could be lower I think. it is hard to put their arms down lower.

Conclusion

Minifigs - 10/10 Lots of everything here. Ample figures for the set, accessories, backpacks, helmets, etc

Parts - 9/10 so much here. I'm deducting a point for their not so great sorting. There is something to be said for Lego's bag numbering

Playability - 10/10 5 vehicles.. come on. Tanks, radar, choppers, transport trucks and oh hey look a jeep

Design - 10/10 All based off real world stuff. All of these vehicles are solid and nice. Yes the jeep is not the best design ever, but the others easily make up for it.

Price - 10/10 5 vehicles, $46.. we all know what Lego would come up with for something of this magnitude. Quality, price, this set has it all.

Total 49/50 - best set I've gotten yet. If you're into military this has to be on your wishlist somewhere. Just take a day off work if you plan to put it together..

if you need more photos of anything let me know.

Edited July 30, 2010 by crossmr

[lightningtiger]

Actually I feel the copter is this sets weak point - but the trucks rock totally - dam I would like to get the instructions for these clone sets and make them out of TRUE Lego !

Thanks for the review 'crossmr' - see it didn't finish you off now did it !

I'm a conformist! !

[crossmr]

Actually I feel the copter is this sets weak point - but the trucks rock totally - dam I would like to get the instructions for these clone sets and make them out of TRUE Lego !

Thanks for the review 'crossmr' - see it didn't finish you off now did it !

I'm a conformist! !

I haven't kept up with new pieces Lego has introduced since the late 90s, but I wonder how much luck you'd have making this out of true Lego.

There are quite a few custom pieces in most of the sets. Like the hoods, the rails on the truck, the doors with mirror mounts on them, the wheels are a bit different and quite beefier than any Lego stuff I've seen. Headlights and those exhaust type things on the roof. Does lego have any kind of license plate mounting piece like Oxford does? I think you might be better off eyeballing it.

If you want I'll scan up the truck just for you if you'll see if it can be duplicated in Lego

There you go, try it out!

Edited July 30, 2010 by crossmr

[prateek]

Awesome. This is so cool, but it wouldn't feel right buying a set that isn't Lego for $46.

[ThatGuyWithTheBricks]

I'd like to see some of these in lego.

[crossmr]

Awesome. This is so cool, but it wouldn't feel right buying a set that isn't Lego for $46.

As I've said before, the Oxford quality is actually pretty high. After trying some Enlighten and Ligao, I can see why people would be worried, but Oxford is right up there. They also don't bootleg Lego sets. With that in mind they're just a compatible competitor who offers things Lego refuses to.