Wednesday, 17 February 2016

Sheng Yuan SY363A Batman's Mecha

Hi guys! This is more like pics sharing because I do not have any new post in the past week so I was a bit in a hurry to make reviews of these mecha (SY363A, SY363B and Iron Man MK1). Oh my kids and I also in the process of assembling Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle (by Lepin). We took some time to assemble it because a bit busy with several family trip during school holidays last week (during Chinese New Year). 

Hey, I hope it's not too late for me to wish Happy Chinese New Year to our fellow chinese friends :)

Have you seen the final trailer of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice that has been released a few days ago? (Quick countdown: 35 days to go for the movie yeay!!) However, these robots are not from Batman vs Superman LEGO sets (#76044, #76045 or #76046). 
Batman vs Superman LEGO set


In this SY363A, Batman is fighting Joker while in SY363B  Superman is fighting with General Zod. I got this set and SY363B both from local shop at RM60 ($14). That is $7/set. You can get both SY363A&B at Aliexpress from as low as $21.59(without box) to $26.09 (with box) inclusive free shipping :).






Items in the box: Instructions booklet and lego parts in 7 sealed bags.





Printed parts. 



A few work in progress photos:





Assembled set:



Front, side and rear view of the mecha:



Lower the windshield to expose Batman in the cockpit.



SY use rotation joint ball half to connect the thigh with the hip. Different technique and parts used in Super Heroes's mecha that we have ever seen before (for example The Hulk Buster Smash #76031 and some other mecha(SY's)) that use ball joint to connect the arm/leg.




This kinda remind me of some Exo-Force robot that i used to have. Look at those thigh connected at the hip:
pic: google


However, they still use ball-joint for the feet.



**Weakness detected!**. For some reason this left foot will easily detached from the hip while I was trying to style some pose :(. Maybe changing them with original  LEGO parts will solve the problem.



The big gun:



The big gun is connected to two tanks behind the mecha.



It's time to bully The Joker. what a fair fight :)))




Printed parts:






Size comparison with Superman's mecha from SY363B:






Assembled minifigures.




The Joker looks like a copy from LEGO #76023 (The Tumbler) but when viewed more closely, they are actually different. The face and hair color is different. and the purple suit design is also different.



source: bricklink

Batman also is not a copy from LEGO. The bat logo on the chest is from new design (fat bat lol) but the torso is definitely different from LEGO. 
source: Bricklink.



Now, now boys, let's play nice.



This is Gotham!


Please proceed here for another part - SY363B; Superman's Mecha.

Some other mecha by SY that may interest you:
SY360A Chubby Iron Man's Mecha
SY360B Thor's Mecha
SY361A Hulk's Mecha
SY361B Captain America's Mecha
SY362A Ant Man's Mecha
SY362B Wolverine's Mecha

Sunday, 7 February 2016

LEPIN #05003 LEGO Star Wars First Order Transporter

My first LEPIN's STAR WNRS set. I'm sure it should be written or read as Star Wars. As usual these China brand change the label on the box to show slight variations despite the fact that it is the same thing inside. It's 100% imitation of LEGO #75103. 

The original LEGO set will cost you $89.99 (RM374 direct conversion) or RM449.90 official price in Malaysia.  I got  this imitation at 22% of the price of the original LEGO. That is RM100 ($24) from local shop. You may get it from Aliexpress at $25 (without box) or $36 (with box). Ugh.. enough with numbers. I've worked with them 5 days a week from 8am to 5pm. haha. let's focus on the content, shall we?

The images on the box is the same as LEGO. Only "STAR WARS" label was changed to STAR WNRS. Different pieces count (LEPIN's 845 pcs vs LEGO 792 pcs) are also possible because of  extra weapons/parts that has been given. Forgive me because I will not count them one by one. It will take a long time if I want to do that. (^_^)"


They even change the word "LEGO" in this logo to their name ahaha. Please don't waste your time to google about it. I did and it doesn't exist.



This is how you will get them with the box:



14 bags of LEGO parts, 5 set of weapons still attached to the rack and an instructions booklet:



The box is huge (Dimensions: 33cm x 53.5cm x 5.5cm) but the actual weight (1.30 kg) is not much different from its volumetric weight (1.6kg).



..and the nightmare began. unless you like to live dangerously (please imagine austin power's meme) here. lol. I remembered there was instructions in LEGO booklet not to rip open all the bags and mix all the pieces together but with these knock off set, you have no choice but to pass this dangerous path. (^_^)"



Copy of same sticker as LEGO.



The easiest step: start with the minifigures ahaha



Here are some in progress pictures:










Assembled set:



Side, front and rear view of the transporter:





If viewed from the bottom side, you can see the technic mechanism where you can turn the gear to lower the ramp. Come with four transparent wheels to make it easy to hover the transporter back and forth.




Top section can be removed for easy access the interior:




Spacious bay for the troopers. You also may clipped a few weapons/accessories to the walls.




Standby..and action!




Parts where the sticker was applied:



You can send a minifigure bursting through a hatch to operate the top-mounted turret by twisting a piece on the side of the model.




Here's the pilot cabin with opening hatch.




You may slide the base in/out to fit the pilot.



Just like the original LEGO set, you will get one extra spring shooter dart and handful of stud for the ammo. Unfortunately one of the spring shooter can't hold the ammo :( but you can still manually launch them 3-4 meters ahead (^_^)".



Here's my 2nd -ve point on this set: LEPIN has made a mistake with these two types of parts. I received 5x 87087 but only 6x 6541 :(. This set should require only 1x 87087 and 8x 6541. 


source: bricklink

So i need to find extra 2x 6541 to fix one of the engine.




Weapons for the minifigures:



Minifigures in this set: LEGO Captain Phasma, 2x LEGO First Order Flametroopers, 2x LEGO First Order Stormtroopers and Male and Female LEGO Resistance Soldiers.







I personally think that the print on the torso is great but they have very bad hair piece for the female (it should be slicked back ponytail) and very ugly helmet for the troopers and Capt.Phasma :(. Need to import a few troopers from Doll's D120OK 1047 or Dargo 867.

Conclusion: I am hugely impressed by this imitation, especially since it came from a newcomer. It was such a pleasure to build too.  There's no sharp edges on the parts and every pieces fit perfectly.  I repeat.. perfectly! It's been a while since I had a feeling like this.

This is how the transporter looks like after i left it with my kids to play. The transporter still intact, one piece! The top section is designed to be easy to open thus it is not to wonder.



The moving parts also smooth and precise, i have no problem pulling the gear to lower the ramp even after repeated and quite violent attempt (^_^)". I'm just grateful that the missing parts in this set is easy to find but i don't deny that I have little doubt that their other set will also face the same problem (missing pieces) like this. Now I know the advantages of LEPIN compared to other competitor is on the quality of the LEGO parts but they really need to improve on the minifigures to make them unbeatable.

[update on Feb 26th, 2016]
comparison of stormtrooper from all 4 brands. 


for reference: LEGO figure from Bricklink :p