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Set Review: 44016 Jaw Beast vs Stormer


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Good review. This set really shows that a model doesn't have to be terribly complex in construction to look unique and aesthetically pleasing. I like how this set uses its torso shell on the back, which makes the back less hollow than some sets and the front less flat than that torso shell would have been on its own (as it is on Flyer Beast). This decision, together with the proportions, helps the model feel a bit more "beastly" than your typical humanoid.

 

Those feet are nice, and can be combined with the large feet from Flyer Beast to make an even bigger foot (something that is actually used in the combi model). I like that both foot styles have the ridges between the handles point down at the bottom, so they can make nice claws with or without additional parts added to serve as toes. And the feet are well-proportioned, without an awkwardly protruding heel like a lot of feet (1.0 Hero, Piraka, Inika, and even Toa Metru to an extent) have had. It's good to be getting some new foot designs, even better that they're ones that will probably remain useful for quite a while. Though I'd probably have preferred if the feet had the ball cup one module lower so that they so the ankles wouldn't look awkward when used with a friction joint for larger models.

 

The colors are quite a draw, though I honestly don't know whether I like the Transparent Light Blue beams better than I would have liked Medium Azur ones in a new size. Thankfully, as this set and others have demonstrated, Medium Azur and Transparent Light Blue are a pretty good match, and can be used together, even if they aren't 100% interchangeable.

 

Overall, this set is quite impressive despite being at the lowest price point ($10). I do wonder somewhat how much innovation will be possible at the lowest price point in the summer wave, given how basic this set is, but I suppose previous sets like Thornraxx, Jawblade, Toxic Reapa, and Jawblade were priced even lower and still managed to be quite diverse in terms of construction. Even Evo Walker shows that the LEGO Group isn't simply going to use this price point for standard humanoids.

Edited by Aanchir: Rachira of Time
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I'm seriously considering not getting any other set in the wave, and just getting three of this.

 

"Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?"

 

TBH, I have never found a set 'challenging', even in the slightest. The only way it can be challenging is if you build without instructions, and it's too easy to do that with HF. With instructions, sets are maximized for ease of build; no technic set or even the UCS millenium falcon has ever posed any threat to me.

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I'm seriously considering not getting any other set in the wave, and just getting three of this. "Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?" TBH, I have never found a set 'challenging', even in the slightest. The only way it can be challenging is if you build without instructions, and it's too easy to do that with HF. With instructions, sets are maximized for ease of build; no technic set or even the UCS millenium falcon has ever posed any threat to me.

Keep in mind that LEGO building comes more naturally to some people than others. Sure, the instructions are generally very clear, but the pictures and numbers and colored boxes are a sort of a language, and not everyone is fluent in that language from the very beginning. Younger builders also often have a hard time grasping certain building techniques.In this case, I think challenging refers less to "knowing what to do" and more to "understanding what you're doing". With a simple BIONICLE or Hero Factory figure, you might be able to build it just from looking at photographs of the model from a couple different angles. The same goes for a small System set. In contrast, often you start building a complex Technic set with the interior mechanisms, and it might take several dozen steps before you realize where the structure you've been patiently assembling is actually going to go or what it is going to do.For a kid, this sense of understanding can be a big deal. This is why a lot of sets aimed at younger kids break the build up into modular sections that the kids will be able to recognize (like the chassis, cab, and tipper bed of a dump truck, for example). Think of an activity other than LEGO building and you might be able to relate a bit better. If somebody were giving you one instruction after another without you being able to understand how those instructions moved you closer to your goal, wouldn't you start to get a little bit frustrated or fed up?But this sense of complexity can be just as important for adults. Where this challenge to relate the parts to the whole can easily frustrate a young child, it provides a thrilling sense of mystery for adults. An older and more experienced builder is generally willing to sit through the confusion and tedium of building something they can't quite understand in exchange for that rewarding feeling of accomplishment when the parts finally start to come together. And when they know that reward is inevitable, it can make even the initial confusion exciting.Anecdote time: my seventh birthday party was LEGO-themed and my dad managed to score some brand-new Throwbots sets as party favors. I was naturally thrilled — I had been building Technic sets for a couple years, was fascinated with robots, and loved the bright and sometimes rare colors those sets offered. In contrast, a lot of the other kids I invited to the party were downright bewildered by the instructions. I don't know how many were already LEGO builders, but some had never built anything from Technic before. Building consistently in three dimensions, not just by stacking parts on the parts beneath them, was downright alien to them.So remember: being an AFOL or TFOL generally means you already have the sense of visual-spatial awareness and delayed gratification that makes LEGO building so rewarding. Some people take a lot longer to develop those things. Even some of my older relatives are fascinated with how quick and deliberate LEGO building is for me. They see the little tiny pieces and the pictures in the building instructions, but still can't immediately understand how the parts relate to the whole.
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That makes sense. I remember getting a backhoe loader technic set, and for the first several minutes of building, I had no idea what it was having me make, and when I finally got to a point where I could tell that it was a crazy complicated way to lift the bucket and tilt it at the same time, you get that sense of solving a little mystery I guess.

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