Set Review: 21116 Crafting Box

[Hapori Tohu]

Once again it's time to bring you guys another set review. Today we're taking a look at 21116 Crafting Box from the upcoming Minecraft minifig-scale line. LEGO has given BZPower a sneak peek before these sets are widely available, which is always awesome. So is this a set that will get you mining and farming and building and more? Or will you send it to the Netherworld and never look at it again? You'll have to read on to find out!

 

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[Aanchir]

The first bag creates a bunch of details that are used in the various models. There's a door, some railings, crops, flowers, mushrooms, torches, an oven, dynamite, and some things I can't identify.

Did you not get a Block Translator poster? The set's supposed to include one, according to the back of the box. From left to right those "things you can't identify" are two blocks of Redstone Ore and a block of Lapis Lazuli Ore.

 

Anyway, I think this is an awesome set that really breaks from typical licensed theme design principles. Instead of designing things to be specific and accurate to a particular subject, this theme is designed with lots of interchangeable features and encourages builders to free build, using the game's visual language as a starting point. It really showcases why the LEGO and Minecraft brands are such a great match.

[Nescent]

Awesome, made me want to buy it. This looks a lot more fun than the first few Minecraft sets that came out.

[Tamarutoe]

That was the best description of a Mooshroom I've ever heard.

[Ektris]

Yeah... I don't think I'll be getting this one personally... but it's a pretty neat concept still. Although those instructions sound quite frustratingly confusing.

 

I do so totally really want a mooshroom. <3

 

~|ET|~

Edited October 28, 2014 by Electric Turahk

[Click]

Yeah, I think I'll pass on these. I'm a huge Minecraft fan, and when I heard Lego was doing some larger sets, I was hoping for something better than the microworlds. Their designs were fantastic, and it was fun how you could snap them all together, but in essence, it was an overpriced bunch of small, basic pieces with a few unique printed ones.

 

I think I preferred them over this. The figures are pretty plain, the builds look random and gappy, and once again, it's just an overpriced bunch of basic parts. If there were some more unique molds, or a bigger emphasis on cohesiveness, I might consider it. I wish the designers made the modules like scaled up versions of the microworlds, with attachment points that flowed well and a design that looked solid, even if they would have to sacrifice set size.

[believe victims]

I find it rather hilarious when I see people complaining about the Minecraft sets' focus on basic bricks, especially when it overlaps with the kind of AFOLs that complain about LEGO never using basic bricks enough.

 

For some reason, there's no exact piece count on this box, but the "500+" figure does suggest this approaches the sweet spot of 10 cents per piece, though as a licensed set, I doubt it hits it. Still, it seems like a great way to get a large amount of basic bricks in interesting, earthy colors.

 

The only thing that's getting me is the minifigures. Yes, I know minifigs are the bread and butter of the set for a lot of AFOLs, and minifigs are pretty standard, but it just doesn't feel right. The minifig has slants and round parts and basically doesn't quite match the blocky minecraft aesthetic. It looks kinda weird with a cube for a head. The skeleton is slightly better because minecraft skeletons have special bodies similar to this one, but it still feels off. I didn't expect them to make a completely new figure for this, but it just doesn't feel right to use minifigures for this.

 

The tools are certainly an interesting take on translating them into the real world. The pickaxe fares better than the bow. The bow's thin pixel lines had to be strengthened with a curve around them, which takes away from the look.

 

The Mooshroom is adorable.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

I never really understood the appeal of Minecraft. And I really don't understand the appeal of Minecraft Lego sets. Okay, so we take some square Lego bricks, and then we combine them... into a larger square that's a Minecraft unit, which we then make things out of. So for some reason a weird recursive adaptation is worth it's own theme?

 

Also, those square minifig heads look dreadful.

 

~B~

Edited October 28, 2014 by Ballom

[J46 Nui]

I'll probably pick some of the Minecraft sets up. The Micro scaled ones did not do it for me. I just wish that they made a new straight arm piece for these sets.

[Zeb]

If I can afford it, I'll definitely try to get this set. It provides a lot of useful things for building Minecraft-themed creations, and even as just a parts pack it's great! Also, that stove thing is called a Furnace, one of the most essential blocks in Minecraft, as it is used to cook/bake/grill/smelt literally everything from foods to metals. Kinda funny when you think about it... the same tool you use to smelt your ore is the tool you use to grill you steak. It's the ultimate all-in-one cooker!

[Mysterious Minifig]

The only thing that's getting me is the minifigures. Yes, I know minifigs are the bread and butter of the set for a lot of AFOLs, and minifigs are pretty standard, but it just doesn't feel right. The minifig has slants and round parts and basically doesn't quite match the blocky minecraft aesthetic. It looks kinda weird with a cube for a head. The skeleton is slightly better because minecraft skeletons have special bodies similar to this one, but it still feels off. I didn't expect them to make a completely new figure for this, but it just doesn't feel right to use minifigures for this.

It possible the designers looked at something different for the minifigs but weren't able to. I remember a few years back when Agents and maybe Toy Story came out that there was an article about how LEGO needed to be careful about changing things with the minifigure so that wouldn't violate their own trademark. It's possible that was the issue here.

 

The set looks okay, but I'm not a huge fan of minecraft, so I'm going to have to pass on this set.

 

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I'll pass on this set as well. Even though I think the minifigs look cool and having all those bricks would be great, there are other sets I would rather get than this one.

 

Thanks for reviewing the set though!

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Pretty cool sets, definitely captures the Minecraft feel (which honestly is not difficult with LEGO ). Regardless, I would be surprised if they don't cash in and make a LEGO Minecraft game (or DLC pack).

 

-NotS