Legends of Chima 2013

[DraikNova]

I don't think so.

[Algernon]

Mega Bloks would likely use a pre-fabricated piece for every one of the animal head motifs on the vehicles. The LEGO solution for the same vehicles is pure artistry-- the same sort of sculptural brilliance and innovative use of parts that's long been a part of the LEGO Creator theme.

Besides, if LEGO figures aren't supposed to be "chunky," then how would you describe them?

Here's what Megabloks have been up to lately, just to lay these comparisons at rest:

Megabloks is barely even a construction toy anymore. Legends of Chima uses a ton of classic LEGO parts in new colors and a small handful of new molds. They aren't even in the same ballpark and I think everybody knows that.

Seriously, every time a new theme comes out, people start clamoring about Megabloks comparisons, but I have yet to see LEGO come up with something that's even close. Besides perhaps Galidor.

[Shakar]

^ God, is that a recent Megablocks set? Seriously, they're getting worse and worse. ^

To continue with the LoC defense- how are the minifigs megablocky? Have you seen the close up Ebay pictures of Razar (the raven man with red face markings)? He's a regular (highly detailed) minifig, with a torso armour piece and a bird head shaped helmet. He's not much different from a Castle knight in terms of complexity- if he were made by Megablocks, the head would've been one piece, the armour would have been fused with the torso, and the wings might have been detachable.

The Eagles are going to have the same complex designs of the Ravens- we'll have to see about the other three factions (are they heads one piece or are those helmets?), but I bet they're following the same design.

[DraikNova]

It´s ridiculous. In the past, Megablocks sets were at least better than some of the other cheapo ripoffs.

Anyway, the only Chima part which seems even remotely megablocky is the lion head, and even that isn´t too bad.

Edited October 22, 2012 by DraikNova

[pagan]

Looks a bit like Thundercats.

[Algernon]

It´s ridiculous. In the past, Megablocks sets were at least better than some of the other cheapo ripoffs.

Anyway, the only Chima part which seems even remotely megablocky is the lion head, and even that isn´t too bad.

It's not even similar to Megabloks compared to past LEGO themes.

The fact that the lion head is brick-built should make the difference pretty clear.

[Zechariah Legio]

Hmmm...I like it. It is an interesting idea that varies from the traditional themes Lego has going. It reminds me of a mix between Thunder Cats ( humanoid animals wielding weapons) and Power Rangers (animal-like vehicles following a color scheme). I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[naugem]

Oooh. That Razar guy in ebay is the same one I saw at the flea-market. Wonder how it got there? Probably a leak from a factory...

Didn't like that one too much though, but the lions and the croc look cool in the pics.

[DraikNova]

It's not even similar to Megabloks compared to past LEGO themes.

The fact that the lion head is brick-built should make the difference pretty clear.

I meant the minifigure lion heads.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Ricecracker
Don't quote images

[Rumble Strike]

Perhaps the MegaBloks comparisons are because the theme has a resemblance to a recent Dragon-ish MegaBloks line which I can't remember the name of. It had flying bird like vehicles similar to these. I do appreciate that the vehicles here are brick-built which is great. I will certainly be looking to pick up several of these sets.

[DraikNova]

You mean Dragons Universe. Basically humans in Halo-esque battle suits using bird-like spaceships to fight dragons.

Back on topic, I´ll probably pick up Wakz Wolf Tracker and then decide whether I should buy more sets. I´m biased towards the Croc Boat, so I´ll probably get that either way.

Edited October 22, 2012 by DraikNova

[Algernon]

As always, it's not my desire to purchase these sets that will ultimately determine how many of them I pick up. Money is gonna be a big factor, and there are some other themes I'm interested in as well. But of what we've seen, I'm definitely partial to the Wolf Tracker, Raven Glider and Falcon Airplane (no idea if these are the real names). I like the smaller Croc set, too.

I still don't really "get" the Croc boat. It's kind of cool, but it seems a little all over the place to me. The only thing that I like about it is how it reminds me of K. Rool's helicopter from Donkey Kong (which was mentioned earlier in the thread).

Definitely don't get the appeal of the "Speedorz". Besides the minifigs, anyway.

[DraikNova]

Well, the appeal of the Croc Boat is the amount of detail put into it´s snout, together with it´s detachable parts. Not to mention the amount of recolors in the relatively rare olive green.

[Jargo]

The results of my afternoon of laptop monitor gazing with regards to how many characters there are:

4 Unique lions

4 unique Ravens

4 unique eagles

4 unique crocodiles + 2 re-uses

3 unique wolves

One of the crocodiles is re-used twice to create a soldier without armour and with a plain olive mask. Making the crocodiles the largest faction. There doesn't appear to be similar re-use of parts in the other factions. I disregarded the Speedorz sets as they just re-use the main character from the large sets and offer no different minifigs.

I feel we should get behind the wolves as they are the minority and Lego are discriminating by giving them one less fighter.

There really should be a monkey faction. Armoured monkeys would be sweet.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Jargo

[Kai NRG]

I still don't really "get" the Croc boat. It's kind of cool, but it seems a little all over the place to me. The only thing that I like about it is how it reminds me of K. Rool's helicopter from Donkey Kong (which was mentioned earlier in the thread).

I don't get it either. Since when do crocs have big red eyes? Or such short tails, for that matter? I do like the helicoper function though.

[Algernon]

I don't get it either. Since when do crocs have big red eyes? Or such short tails, for that matter? I do like the helicoper function though.

Agreed - I get what they're going for, but I'm kind of on the fence. The probable high price point doesn't help much, either.

Once we get some hi-res photos I'll make up my mind. My little brother really likes it.

[Studs Not On Top]

I'm pretty excited for this line. The animal theme was a great idea on LEGO's part, I can tell that kids will like it. Looks like each faction has an even army, though I would've liked a set with more balanced vehicles.

So from the pictures, I think Speedorz is a battler similar to Ninjago, but with motorized rip-cord vehicles? I'm glad that more comes to a booster pack in this series than Ninjago. I'll pick up a couple of them.

I agree, Jargo, give us monkeys!

[Venkefedo]

Monkeys would be nice...and make these that much closer to "LEGO Thundercats" (if you fudge the crocs into lizards and the wolves into jackals). Not that it needs to be close to Thundercats to be cool! There's a lot to like.

The small lion 4x4 looks a little 'Tinkertoy'-ish, to borrow the description someone else used, but the lion tank looks really good. The wolf 4x4 works better, and all the bird vehicles look like fun. Not as big a fan of the croc vehicles, but the boat--which I initially took to be an airship--has promise, and the small vehicle will be fun on its own (needs a little customizing in the midsection to beef it up, maybe).

I didn't expect to like this line as much as I do so far!

[Arigomi]

I'm impressed with the amount of colors used in this theme. TLG usually adheres to a very narrow color palette to keep costs under control.

I wish the lions had a proper mane instead of the Dragonball Z hair.

The speedorz sets looks interesting. Each of them includes brick built obstacles. Maybe the game is designed around launching a speedorz through an obstacle course.

[Lord Insanity]

The teaser lion figure really didn't do anything for me but those bird people are awesome. The way the wings are attached is perfect. By using seperate clip pieces the armor becomes far more useful.

The single best thing is the heads. Molded helmets over printed heads is the best way to do any "alien" head. That alone makes these figues 10 times more useful to me. The ability take off the molded helmet and use the printed heads with say castle helmets or space helmets is awesome and should be the default for all non-standard shaped heads.

The flying bird vehicles and figures are by far and away my favorite. I am really glad the smallest (army building) set is a raven flyer. I used to play with my Black Falcon figures in a very similar way, minus the technoloy of course. A couple of bird wizards that flew by magic.

The Croc Ship is awesome only for is massive supply of olive green parts. If it was lime green I doubt it would be getting nearly as much attention. Olive green on the other hand is a military builder's holy grail color.

[weasel47]

The speedorz sets looks interesting. Each of them includes brick built obstacles. Maybe the game is designed around launching a speedorz through an obstacle course.

I think it's more like "things to crash into in just the right way" as opposed to "obstacles," but that's nit-picking. :-)

It looks like fun. And yeah, those colors are impressive!

[DraikNova]

Personally, I would like another reptilian faction. We´ve got two bird factions and two mammalian factions. A dragon faction would be nice, as Ninjago already has a snake faction.

[Algernon]

I think a dragon faction would feel a little out of place, since the other factions are all based on real animal species.

A bat faction would be cool. Or an insect faction, but that might overlap with the upcoming Space theme (according to rumor).

[Vindicare]

I'm not completely sold on the Crocs. The minifigs I love, as with all the minifigs of this line, but the vehicles just don't grab my attention like the others. That little bike thing is strange looking, and not very safe for the driver. The boat is pretty cool, but a bit of a jumbled mess. The size/price is really the determining factor(s) for me. I'm not too into LEGO boats either. We'll see though.

[Big T]

Wow, these look a lot better than I was expecting. I had kinda written this theme off in my head as something I wouldn't be interested in, but after seeing these pics I'm not so sure. The minifigs look brilliant, and even if I don't collect the sets I might have to forge an army of the Croc figures, even without hi res shots that look adorably awesome (in that Lego way). As someone said, I'm getting a definite Kremling vibe, not just from the boat but the figures as well. Makes me wish somehow that Lego had gotten hold of the Donkey Kong license haha.

Can't wait to see high res pics and reviews for these! My wallet can tho...