Welcome to another installment of 90s LEGO set reviews! This entry's review is of the 6496 Whirling Time Warper of the Time Twisters theme!
Presentation
From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
The box features a shot of the titular Time Warper flying through a dark backdrop with what looks like a portal to a city in the sky and a dark forest near the bottom. Behind some mountains, a moon or other celestial object appears to be setting. There's a flying ghost and bat along with other objects flying around the vehicle. I have to say, I really like the backdrops for the Time Twisters sets. The give a good dark edge to the appearance.
Building
Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
This set contains 147 pieces, of which 142 are shown here. This set is missing two TrRed magic wands, one black airplane rudder piece, and two chrome daggers (this is what happens when you own a set for a long time and leave it apart for a while). You'll notice that this has significantly more pieces than the Time Tunnelator, and for an originally $22 set, it better have more pieces. The build time for this set was around twenty minutes or so, which isn't too bad.
There are two figs to obtain in this set: Professor Millennium, Tony Twister's brother and fellow Time Twister, and the Ghost. Note that this ghost, which has a smiling face, is different than the one coming with the upcoming Monster Hunters sets, which features a more spooky moaning face. Also, you may notice that the ghost's arms are not quite as white as they should be. Being an old piece, it got a little too much sun over the years, and the body is faded.
Set Design
Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
The set foundation is a white bathtub piece which premiered in Belville theme. This piece has only ever been released in three sets: this set (1997), 5895 Family House (1996), and 5837 Flora's Bubbling Bath (2002). I'm guessing that the rarity of this piece is why BrickLink has this set at relatively higher prices compared to its original MSRP than those of other Time Twisters sets.
You also get some cool minifig accessories, such as the bugles, coins, magic wands (not shown), a chrome crystal, and a bunch of 1 × 1 clear round pieces.
Playability
The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?
Again, pretty cool functionality. In this set, like the Time Tunnelator, the rear wheels drive the moving parts of the set. The propeller is connected by a rubber band to the wheel axle to make it spin, and the propeller is connected to the "power drum" on top to spin the container and swirly disk around.
The skulls on the side also bob up and down exactly out of phase with one another due to the wheels having a peg that moves the side "arms" (for lack of a better word) up and down. Thus, you get a spinning propeller, rotating container of stuff, and bobbing skulls that make this vehicle come to life. I would rate the functionality of this set higher than that of the Time Tunnelator, since it simply does more stuff.
Final Thoughts
Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
Again, fans of functionality will like this set. It comes with two minifigures, both of which are different from the Time Tunnelator, and it comes with that unique bathtub piece, so anyone wanting to do a vignette of a bathroom would love that. This model is also more filled-in than the Tunnelator, so this set may be preferred simply from an aesthetic point of view.
What about Price? Well, as stated earlier, the MSRP was $22 in 1997. Sets available on BrickLink that are in the US are all above that price, with the lowest at $25, while most of the lots in Europe are < $20. So, if you're willing to spend a little extra on shipping, you can get a good deal.
Pros
What's to like?
- Functionality! (again)
- Cool looking vehicle
- Has good pieces to plunder
Cons
What's not to like?
- Price may be high.
If you can find a good deal on this one, pick it up. It's a good set with quite a bit to offer.
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