LEGO Legends of Chima: Crawley's Claw Ripper #70001

Crawley's Claw Ripper is a good introduction set to LEGO's newest theme, Legends of Chima.  At 139 total pieces and 2 mini-figures and just under $20, it's a fun set.

I was excited about this series when it first launched, and although my interest has waned a bit, I look back on this set and remember how fun it was to build and to play around with.

Starting with Crawley himself, LEGO has done a fantastic job with these mini-figures.  I love the new sculpted alligator "helmet" for the figures.  I should also mention that there are two different sets of eyes on the head.  You can display Crawley with his more sinister eyes as such in the photo, or turn the head around for a larger, more frightened set of eyes!

Leonidas comes in this set too as the lion kingdom appears to be the main rivals of the alligators (or is it crocodiles?).  Unlike Crawley, Leonidas comes with a cool sword weapon for him to wield.  As with Crawley, he too has a new sculpted lion "helmet" and two different sets of eyes/face on the head.

One of the neat things about most of these Chima sets are that the vehicles are modeled after their animal pilots.  In this case the Claw Ripper looks like a alligator of sorts.  You have two large free rolling wheels in the rear of the vehicle along w/ rubber treads that move the front set of smaller wheels.

When pushed forward, the rubber treads roll and spin the triangular claws on each side.  The front "mouth" of the vehicle also opens and closes displaying large teeth.  Also note the flat red bricks used inside the mouth for the tongue...nice touch!

Located in the rear of the Claw Ripper is a small red storage compartment that hides the stolen Chima crystal.  Perhaps this is why Leonidas is packaged in this set...Crawley just looted this crystal from the lion kingdom!

What's for dinner?  Why, lion of course!

This is a fun and inexpensive set.  If you've been on the fence or just want to build a new LEGO set, then I highly recommend picking up this set.  There may be better and bigger Chima sets out there on store shelves now, but this little set packs a lot of punch.

LEGO Legends of Chima: Wakz' Pack Tracker #70004

As much as I like the lion and eagle / raven groups of Chima figures, the wolves were the group that intrigued me the most.  When I saw this set I knew it was one of the first sets I'd buy.  How can you not like the resemblance of the wolf in this 4WD off road vehicle?

I haven't built a lot of non-City themed sets so I found this a very enjoyable build.  I'm always surprised at how the designers come up with new uses of existing bricks to come to a particular outcome or look.  I'm also still not use to all the moving pieces that modern day LEGO sets feature.  As a kid the toys were mostly static, so with some many "action features" worked into the toys is very appealing to me.  Obviously the Pack Tracker is modeled after wolf's head and the designers absolutely nailed it.  The mouth opens to show off the large white teeth, you can position the "eye brows" however you wish, rotate the large flame spewing engines, fire the rocket or activate the chain claw on the back.  And did I mention the real working suspension?  Awesome.

Wakz himself can sit in the driver seat located just behind the "eye brows" while his partner, Winzar can man the rotate rocket launcher.  Like most modern LEGO sets, the rocket can launch just by pressing the end.

Also included in the set is the eagle, Equila.  The back of the box shows her being captured by the chain claw on the back of Pack Tracker as she tries to steal the Chima crystal.  I love how Wakz and Winzar differ in color, even though they both wield the same swords.  The three large claw marks across the face of Winzar is a very nice touch.  For $30 you get a fantastic mid-sized vehicle and 3 minifigures which is an awesome deal in my book.  I've got several more sets that I still need to build so keep your eye out for the next Legends of Chima post.

LEGO Legends of Chima: Winzar's Pack Patrol #30251

It's been awhile since I've done a LEGO set, so let's take a quick look at one of the many poly bag sets available for the Legend of Chima theme.

The best part of the poly bag sets are they are affordable and best of all you get a mini figure.  Sometimes these figures are unique and exclusive to that set while other times it's just a cheaper way of getting that figure that also comes packed in with a larger, more expensive set.

I love the new Legends of Chima theme and the wolves in particular are one of my favorite animal kingdoms in the series.  Winzar in particular looks pretty fierce with the claw marks across his face.  Set #30251 is Winzar's Pack Patrol...a small sled type vehicle.  From the image on the front of the packaging it appears the sled is transitioning from water to land so perhaps it's more of a hovercraft than a sled.  Who cares, its a fun little build.  38 pieces total.

At only 38 pieces I'm surprised how much detail the designer crammed in.  The front suspension bar is actually a large bone!  I don't think I've seen such a large LEGO bone piece before so this was a nice surprise in terms of piece variety.  The front ski pieces are the same ones that traditionally come in the City sets for water skiing or snow skiing.  The back skis however are blade like pieces lending to the idea of this craft being a sled.  There are two small round red translucent pieces that double as thrusters.  The craft itself is of course powered by Chi.  The set does come with a Chi crystal, but there isn't anywhere to store the piece so I forgot to include it in the pictures.  One of the neatest designs is the front nose.  Yes, it looks like a canine's snout...well kinda.  The clever use of the black triangular piece does give the resemblance of a wolf's nose in this case.

The Winzar minifigure is the same one that is included in Wakz' Pack Tracker and he's also available in one of those Speedorz sets.  Winzar does not come with any additional accessories.

This set can be had for less than $5 in most cases.  I believe the poly bag sets retail for $3.99 unless you are shopping at Toys R Us.  I've built two of the Chima poly bags thus far and they all have been worth the purchase.

LEGO Legends of Chima: Razcal's Glider #70000

I'm a casual LEGO collector.  I say casual because for one I already buy and collect a lot of other things.  I also don't buy more because of the higher price tag on most sets.  However I still love to browse the building block aisle when I'm at Target or Walmart just to see what is currently on the shelves.  A few times a year I'll even buy a set that catches my eye.

I grew up with the Town / City theme and it has always been my favorite.  The few sets I still own hail from that theme.  I love the other themes that LEGO comes up with, but I've never really attempted to collect much of those non-City sets.  I liked the past Castle sets with the dwarves and trolls and last year's Dino theme was fantastic, but I only bought one or two sets from each theme.  2013 brings yet another new theme and I'm afraid this one really has captivated me.  Legend of Chima.  So awesome.

I think I may have seen a glimpse of this new theme in a catalog I received in the mail, but I didn't really pay it much attention.  However on a recent trip to Walmart I saw most of these new sets on the shelves and I was in awe.  During my free time later that evening (i.e. - after the wife & kids were in bed!) I headed over to Lego.com to check out what this new Legend of Chima was all about.

Basically the premise of the story is a world where animals have lived together in harmony in the Kingdom of Chima.  However all is not as it was anymore as the different animal tribes are in battle against each other - fighting over the Kingdom's natural resource, Chi, which is their source of life.  Like a lot of fantasy situations this resource is just as dangerous (in the wrong hands).  The lions were appointed guardians of Chi after they were the first animal tribe to drink from the ancient pool of Chi.  Of course the other animal tribes weren't happy and chaos as ensued across the land.

There is a lot more to the story, but you should get the point.  What is really cool about this new theme are the mini figures of course.  And the new vehicles are pretty cool looking as well.  After browsing the website and looking at the various products both online and in store, I'm getting a major Battle Beasts / Beast Saga vibe.  This is a good thing...well for me at least.  At this point there was no way I could turn back.  I had to grab at least one set to see if my excitement was authentic or if I was just over hyping these in my mind.  Like a lot of you that may be on the fence when it comes to a new theme, I grabbed the smallest (cheapest) set for my trial run - Razcal's Glider.

As we take a look at this set please keep in mind that in my excitement to get this up on the blog, all photos were taken with my phone.

Alright.  Look at this beautiful blue packaging.  I love it.  Something I noticed while standing in the store was the upper right corner is different from set to set.  Each set has it's own animal pictured in the corner that is most appropriate for the set - in this case a raven.

In typical LEGO fashion the back of the box shows off the model and it's action features.  In this case a launching chain type weapon to still Chi from the other animal tribes!

  

The main draw for many will be mini figure(s).  I wasn't sure at first how the animal heads would be done.  Would they be solid like some of the past non-human figures or would they be more like masks or helmets?  As it turns out the animal heads are more helmet like, but it they look fantastic.  Most of the figures have shoulder and chest armor that fits on the upper torso.  The flat rounded blue piece I'm assuming is a small piece of Chi.  Perhaps this powers the armor or the weapons?  The wings are done by two small pieces that fit on the back of the armor.  I believe these are the same wings that the flying mummies used in the Pharoah's Quest sets.

  

After seeing the animal helmet I figured the actual head piece wouldn't have much detail.  I was wrong.  Of course the head piece would need some good eyes since they show throw the helmet piece, but to see the level of detail along with a painted beak was unexpected.  Flip the head around and you go from an evil stare to a bloodshot look of surprise (or is that insanity?).  Of course the rest of the body sports some nice paint apps.  The talons on the toes are a nice touch.

Razcal's weapon is comprised of 5 pieces.  It looks pretty fierce in his hands and it's a nice touch over a sword or pistol or some other kind of conventional weapon.  This weapon will break down and be stored on his glider, but more on that later.

Razcal's Glider is modeled after a raven and I have to say looks pretty nice.  The mixture of black and gray with splashes of red and purple looks really good.  The question I keep asking myself is why would a raven creature that has wings need a flying vehicle?  According to LEGO's website the kingdom of Chima is quite large and the vehicles are needed to cover the expansive grounds.

Look at the cockpit and you'll see that the steering wheel is actually a small bone.  Nice.  On the back of the glider sits a Chi crystal that I assume powers the glider.  If you look at the "tail feathers" you may notice the two purple pieces are actually the blades to Razcal's weapon.  The other section of the weapon attaches to the side opposite the chain.

The glider's beak is actually cast out of a softer plastic.  I don't ever remember assembling a LEGO set that had soft plastic pieces before.  I'm sure this was done because of child safety requirements.  I love how they incorporated red translucent pieces to resemble the eyes of the raven.  Just underneath the front of the glider you'll see what looks like a missile.  You actually flick this piece and a small rod with a chain attached launches from the rear.  From the back of the box this looks as if it is used to steal Chi crystals from their enemies.

The claws underneath the glider along with the wings are all moveable and positionable to your liking.  So far this is the smallest set (minus the coming poly bag sets) released, but don't let it's small size deter you from checking it out.  I believe this is the only set that the Razcal mini figure currently appears in so if you want all of the figures, then you may have to eventually pick up this set.

I like what LEGO is doing with this theme and if I can afford to I'll be picking up more sets in the near future.