Set Review: 44023 ROCKA Crawler

[Hapori Tohu]

It is time for our last summer Hero Factory set review. Today BZPower Forum Assistant Sisen sits down with 44023 ROCKA Crawler, the smallest set in the summer lineup. Will it crawl its way into your heart, and will it fare better than the previous smallest set EVO Walker? You'll have to read and watch on to find out!

 

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[Aanchir]

Typo: "The beast below sets previous released for Hero Factory contained some pretty rad comic art. The same style artwork can be found in the new instruction books! It is a really cool touch and satiates the inner nerd." Did you mean Invasion from Below, or did you have Doctor Who on the brain when writing this review?

 

But anyway, good review. This set doesn't totally excite me, since some of its already-small piece count is taken up by a hero, a jumper, and a cocoon — with the gun and hero detached, the machine itself is just 30 pieces! But the machine's small size is actually the source of its charm. Even with as few parts as it has, there is more than enough articulation for lots of fun to be had. It makes me hopeful that if BIONICLE does come back, we might even be able to see some $5 sets like Matoran or small Rahi with between 20 and 30 pieces each. Clearly the building system is perfectly suited to building small models with loads of personality.

 

I know a lot of people probably know this by now, but you failed to mention one of the coolest things about this new gun — its ammo is the basic 1x1 round System plate, a piece that is incredibly widely available! They're cheap, plentiful, and have been appearing in sets for over three decades. Bricklink lists 46 colors for that piece, and while some of those might be misentries, that's still an incredible variety.

 

Thanks so much for these reviews, and I look forward to the release of these sets! I haven't yet decided which of Rocka's machines I'll be getting — I'm leaning towards Surge & Rocka Combat Machine, but I wouldn't mind having another one in addition to that!

[Ford]

I like that this set comes with everything one would need out of the Invasion from Below line, being the minifigs, cocoon with jumper, and mech. It seems like a solid set to me.

[Fastcar800]

Well, thank you for giving us what might be the last Hero Factory set you'll ever review.

[Sisen]

 

Typo: "The beast below sets previous released for Hero Factory contained some pretty rad comic art. The same style artwork can be found in the new instruction books! It is a really cool touch and satiates the inner nerd." Did you mean Invasion from Below, or did you have Doctor Who on the brain when writing this review? 

Mayhaps. I sometimes make random pop culture references unintentionally, I'm just glad someone picked up on that one!

 

 

I know a lot of people probably know this by now, but you failed to mention one of the coolest things about this new gun — its ammo is the basic 1x1 round System plate, a piece that is incredibly widely available! They're cheap, plentiful, and have been appearing in sets for over three decades. Bricklink lists 46 colors for that piece, and while some of those might be misentries, that's still an incredible variety.

The new gun sorta brainwashed me into a loss for words. It is a really great piece, but the fact it uses such a common and simple setup for ammo is amazing. As long as you keep a 1x1 on there, you can use other pieces on top of that for some interesting looks. I attached one of the lady scientist minifig's Erlenmeyer flask to it. While the gun does not shoot as far, it still packs a punch and looks cooler. You can't use any of the 1x1 type studs that are hollow though. The firing mechanism does not have anything to press against.

 

Thanks for the feedback Aanchir!