Posted June 3, 201212 yr This is SilentMode, aka Mr Hand Over Them Gorillas, and here's another review. Minifigure Presentation Boxes Set 850423 Release year: 2012 # of parts: 89 # of figures: 1 RRP: GBP 9.99 / USD 9.99 Links: LEGO S@H Brickset Build a mini display for 4 LEGO® minifigures! Display your favorite LEGO® minifigures than with this ionic set of 4 display boxes built from LEGO bricks. This 89-piece set includes 1 prebuilt box and building instructions for the rest. Also includes a minifigure ready to display! Makes a great gift for LEGO minifigure collectors. Features 1 prebuilt display box with minifigure and building instructions with LEGO® bricks for 3 more boxes Display your minifigures in buildable boxes! Makes a great gift for LEGO minifigure collectors! Each measure 2” (5cm) high and 1.5” (4cm) wide Promotional image I bought this set as part of my spending spree during today's "AFOL Shopping Day" (or rather hour) at the LEGO store in Stratford. Having seen pictures of it beforehand on the web, I knew that the only way I'd purchase one was if I'd gotten a discount. The purpose of this review is to determine whether or not it was a wise choice, as - from the outset - many don't think so. It appears that the first wave of Friends sets has started a new pricing trend for The LEGO Group: just charge the same number of pounds and Euros as the price in the States. Right now this works out at around a 40% increase before charges. The Box Back of the box As shown also on the front of the box, this set's major selling point is the inclusion of a minifigure: a throwback to Classic Space. The box itself is very similar to the one for the Minifigure Wedding Favour Set, with a similar design and thick card compared to the usual packaging. Sides of the box One of the long sides has the barcode/price on it, and not much else. The other long side has a 1:1 scale picture of the minifigure (just in case you missed it at the front!), along with a warning for all you China-phobes. Very interesting is that while the manufacturing takes place in Denmark, distribution is also handled by the States. The short sides have the usual warning about choking on small parts, as well as a plain background (apart from the logo and set number). It makes sense, because everything we have to know about this set is shown on the front and back anyway. The Contents A little surprise awaits in the form of a strip of card, the same thickness as the box, but other than that here's what's inside: Just like the Minifigure Wedding Favour Set, there are essentially no frills. Apart from one of the display boxes that has been supplied built, all the brand new parts are stuffed into one bag (though not as tightly packed as the aforementioned set!). The instructions, folded into sixths, is as crisp as we'd expect. But take a look at the packaging around the figure and the assembled box... The first part is this, which forms the transparent window shown at the front of the box, and houses both the box and the figure. Take off the first part, and there's a second part that sits between the sides of the box and the base. We'll have to carefully remove the sides from the base to remove the plastic from the box. The plastic houses the main selling point of this set, the minifigure. The way it's been packaged, you'd almost think this is an incredibly valuable figure, wouldn't you? Well the figure, as mentioned before, is a tribute to one of the most (if not the most) iconic minifigures that ever existed, the Classic Space figure. As it's a new set, the classic helmet has obviously been replaced with a modern version, but the torso is virtually the same design as the original - although the Space logo is slightly larger (compare with this torso). With five colours to choose from (the others being black, red, yellow and white), for whatever reason LEGO decided on blue - and that's the only one available. One major thing I noticed on looking at the figure - and it may not be noticeable from the photo - is that the legs and torso are of a different shade than the helmet, oxygen tanks and hands. Yes folks, it looks like the curse of Chinese plastic. To add to the woes, I've just noticed a very noticeable join at the front bottom of the helmet. In terms of quality, that's no good. But there's more... The included figure uses LEGO's modern basic head with the eyebrows. However, the box clearly shows a version of the classic head (with pupils) with no eyebrows, which I think looks far better on the figure, even without considering that it's a tribute to the classic. As probably the only Jubilee-related pun I'll use today: I am not amused. As I've just finished shaking my head in disapproval, let's move on to the parts selection. Bearing in mind that one of the display boxes comes pre-assembled (which will be unassembled in order to remove the packaged figure), the set contains a total of 12 of these 1x4x6 door frames, each with a "glass" piece. The remaining glass pieces are packaged in a small plastic bag to protect against scratches, which was a wise move on LEGO's part. In terms of plates: we have these beautifully squeaky clean offerings, most of which form the bases. The 1-wide plates will probably be the most useful out of these for other exploits. But in my opinion, the most valuable of the parts in this set are the tiles (although the jumper plates are classified as modified plates). Who couldn't use more 1x2 and 1x4 White tiles? The 16 White 2x2 jumper plates - for me - are the highlight of this set. While it appears in 10 other official sets, this set has by far the highest quantity (twice as many as in this year's City Alarm game). By the way, I'm pretty sure all of these parts (apart from the "glass" parts) are White, unless it's some new variant I haven't heard of. If they're not, it may be time for me to retire. The instructions are incredibly brief, and like other sets with the same packaging there are no advertisements for other LEGO products. The Build The instructions show you how to build one of the boxes, as demonstrated by the pre-built one that comes with the set. It really is very simple: just make sure you don't lose any of those pieces. Congratulations, you've built your very own display box, just like the professionals. Now do it two more times. As is shown in all three cases, you have three walls with windows surrounding the base, and plenty of space at the front to place and show off your minifigures. The jumper plates on top of the box can be used to attach other boxes to form any kind of display you can think of. The only issue here is that, without a baseplate or some spare plates, it's not possible to attach these horizontally. It really is that simple! Collect and build even more sets to build even bigger displays! Although a tiny bit fiddly, the jumper plates are fairly simple to fix on the underside of another box, and do a good job at holding the boxes in place, while making them easy to remove. It's a technique I'd used in my custom version of LEGO's calendar set. Demonstration I've included this picture to demonstrate how one can show off their minifigures, whether custom or purist. As you can see there is ample room for your Friends minidoll collection, even ones with larger-than-usual hairpieces. The Verdict To be honest, I'm not really sure why this set exists. There are already minifigure storage and display products (with and without LEGO branding) available, and most people who want a brick-built solution would invariably build their own, either of their own design or by following someone else's instructions. I'm not sure what to make of the design of these minifigure display boxes. On the one hand, the set includes some very useful parts in White, as well as those elusive panes of glass which I so crave for my other projects. It's also quite impressive that there isn't a single brick used in the set. But as grateful as I am that these parts all come together in this one set, I don't think I would have used them to build a displaying solution for minifigures. I wouldn't have used these parts to build a display box, and put together they don't look that great in the photos or up close and personal. By far the biggest crime is with the included figure. Now I wasn't expecting an actual classic figure from the 1980s in this set (those will set you back around GBP 13.56 on average on BrickLink!), and I suppose the issue of Chinese plastic - in terms of discolouration and quality - is something that has been around for a while now, particularly with the collectible minifigures. The issue is with the difference between the minifigure head shown on the box and the actual item - which sounds like I'm making a big deal over nothing, but if not addressed could lead to other issues in the future with chopping and changing. One of the set's other strengths lie in a price comparison for all the parts with BrickLink and LEGO S@H's Pick-A-Brick service. Take it for what it's worth. Design: 4/10 Although they have the benefit of being able to hold minidolls, I just don't like the overall design of the display boxes. I suppose one's opinion of the design depends on their requirements for displaying/storing figures, but one major thing pointed out elsewhere was that there's not much dust protection. Build: 7/10 A simple build with only the smaller parts to look out for when constructing the boxes, as all the parts (apart from the glass) are White. The minifigure comes pre-assembled, so nothing to worry about there. Parts: 7/10 There are a number of very useful parts in this set, although I get the impression someone really badly wanted to use White versions of the collectible minifigure display tiles. The quality of the included figure (and the incorrect head!) lets things down a lot. By the way: there are no spares. Playability: 1/10 Although not really intended for playability, the stacking options for these boxes are fairly limited on their own. Price: 8/10 It works out cheaper to buy this set than the same parts separately from BrickLink or LEGO S@H, but would you use these parts to build a minifigure display solution? Not me. Based on these scores I'd give this set a 5/10 - maybe worth picking up if it's discounted or for parts, but for a brick-built solution I would go for something else. Perhaps something like this: Thanks for watching. Edited June 4, 201212 yr by SilentMode
June 3, 201212 yr Thanks for the very detailed review! I appreciate the attempt at brick-built display boxes for figs, but unfortunately (as you pointed out) this set misses the mark. I know figs sell sets, but in this case I think we'd have been better off without the spaceman. I'd have packaged the set without the fig, and used what he would have cost to instead include 4 more window panes to at least make the boxes dust proof. Oh well. Nice to hear that the set is at least a decent value.
June 3, 201212 yr Excellent review, 'SilentMode'! Since the moment I spotted this set, I always thought it is a bit half-a*sed. There's no dust protector, and the figure is barely a Classic Space figure.
June 4, 201212 yr Nice review. Overall, I'd say that it's cool that a brick built display solution is offered, but I've seen many other MOC solutions for displaying CMFs that are better.
June 4, 201212 yr Nice review of this unique set. When you say that the figure on the box has a different head than the one you got, are you sure that the helmet isn't just covering the eyebrows of the box model?
June 4, 201212 yr Nice review of a set I'll never get. I was thinking about the eyebrowless figure before I scrolled down to the minifigs picture. I was disappointed by that. This set somehow reminds me of a beach house.
June 4, 201212 yr Author Nice review of this unique set. When you say that the figure on the box has a different head than the one you got, are you sure that the helmet isn't just covering the eyebrows of the box model? Not only are there no eyebrows on the box art (see spacing between eyebrows and eyes), but they have different mouths. Thanks very much for the feedback!
June 4, 201212 yr Excellent review SilentMode! I agree that the design of the display cases, while passable, are somewhat lacking in protection of the minifigures. I may just pick up one or three of these for the deal on the white parts alone...and having a few new-type Classic Space figs certainly helps too.
June 4, 201212 yr Excellent review. I looked at this set a couple weeks ago but did not pick it up. I'm just not liking the design for display and as a parts pack I think $10 is too much. Maybe if I have a 30% off I'll pick it up for parts. I do like that classic space styled torso and only have one original in blue.
June 4, 201212 yr Thanks for the review. I must admit, I'm not fond at all of this set, though. I rate it "below average" instead of "poor" because of the fig. I don't find it aesthetic, I'm not satisfied at the lack of front protection (the fig is still not well protected against dust), and the fig didn't get the classic face.
June 4, 201212 yr Great review, especially given there's not much to work with! Love the shot of blue spaceman booted out and landed flat on his silly eyebrowed face.
June 7, 201212 yr I considered picking this up just for the minifigure, but, as I built my own display case ages ago, I decided against it. I agree with you, I'm not really sure why this one was made.
June 7, 201212 yr The only downsize of this set is that it is white... Black would be a lot better... I just afraid it will go yellow after some time...
June 7, 201212 yr Great review and pictures, SilentMode! "To be honest, I'm not really sure why this set exists." Kinda says it all. While I'm generally positively inclined towards TLG as a company, I really can't stand brands and stores that 'sterlingise'. Yes, I know UK prices include VAT at 20% and US prices exclude sales tax, but there's no justification for it. It's not as if the £ and $ are close to parity. Sorry for the rant. Amps
June 7, 201212 yr I suppose this set is geared toward the more casual Lego collector that may not have spare bricks laying around to build their own display. The lack of a front cover to protect against dust is a small oversight. At least with the front open it won't interfere with some of the larger accessories like fishing poles, and there won't be any glare on the front which makes for easier viewing. The thing I like about it is that they corrected a major flaw I saw with the first set of display cases. That is, the first cases were closed off on the back and sides so that little light could come in. However, they neglected to make the top clear which should have been a priority above the back and sides. The price seems to be reasonable for the number of parts and the fact that it comes with a minifigure. Overall, a decent display case and gives someone another option in displaying their minifigures. It's completely modular and can be configured in various ways. That's step above the previous display offering. It's more hit than miss IMO.
June 21, 201212 yr I picked up this set yesterday for two reasons. First, I don't ever recall having a blue space minifig. Second, it is a cheap parts pack for some window frames in white which don't usually come with too many sets. At least from what I have seen. I built it and now have my red, white, yellow (all original from way back when, and the blue fig that came with the set. Above them all are the recent CMF space related figs.
June 21, 201212 yr THis set is all the more desirable because of the minifig! I love those old space dudes! And Blue is my favorite color!
June 22, 201212 yr I really like the design of the set,but wish that the prototype on the bottom of the box was included instead
June 25, 201212 yr Looks like I'm going to pass on this one. I like the "glass" walls and the classic looking instructions and figure, but there's a reason they've made newer versions I fell like that at $10, you should have gotten 6 boxes, not 4 (with on of them being a "you better put the astronaut in or your set ist'y complete!!). Edited June 25, 201212 yr by Percabeth
June 27, 201212 yr Excellent review ! I really like the comparisisons. According to my opinion, this set is quite poor and it doesn't even prevent dust from coming on the minifigure. The main point are the extra pieces for M.O.C. (such as windows etc.). Keep on reviewing, you make great job !
June 27, 201212 yr Just the back round behind you is the fig's background pretty plain, wish it was black.
July 15, 201212 yr I almost bought these when I was at the Downtown Disney LEGO Store the other day. I'm looking for a good way to display my rare minifigs, and this seems like a decent option (although I wasn't thrilled about the fact that they aren't 100% dust proof, either). But reading through this review, it seems there are better display case options out there. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
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