Redemption?

I've given the LEGO Super Heroes theme a bit of a kicking over the past year, truth be told. After starting 2013 so well with the excellent Arkham Asylum remake things rapidly went downhill, to the extent that come the end of 2013, LEGO Super Heroes scored an ignominious double, picking up my gongs for "Most disappointing theme" and "Most disappointing set" at the 2013 Gimme LEGO awards. While not terrible, the LEGO DC and Marvel Super Heroes offerings at the start of 2014 had also failed to excite me, so it's fair to say that I'm not exactly the theme's greatest advocate at the moment.

It was against this unsympathetic backdrop that I was recently asked whether I'd be interested in doing a LEGO Super Heroes set review on Gimme LEGO. Having established that the offer was genuine, my immediate reaction was to say "no thanks" but after a quick look through the Super Heroes offerings for the second half of the year my eye was drawn to Set 76021 The Milano Spaceship Rescue and I decided to take the plunge and request a review copy of the set. I'd not seen the related Guardians of the Galaxy movie at that point so I quickly arranged a visit to my local cinema to check it out before the set arrived; having reviewed a couple of LEGO Movie sets at the end of 2013 prior to seeing the actual movie itself, and having been confused as hell as a result, I vowed not to fall into the same trap again if possible....

The front of the box (above - click to enlarge) is colourful and eye-catching, featuring the eponymous Milano superimposed on an indigo starfield. The Milano's crew, not all of whom appear in this set, peer out from the top right of the box, while the minifigures which are contained within the set can be seen in the bottom left corner. The back of the box (below - click to enlarge) highlights play features of the set and showcases a battle between the forces of good and evil, or at least their minifigure incarnations.

The box is secured by way of a couple of tape seals on each end flap; cutting the seals reveals six numbered bags of elements, two instruction booklets, a comic book and a sticker sheet. Harking back to the bad old days, the instruction booklets and sticker sheet aren't sealed inside a cardboard-backed bag as is customary nowadays for sets of this size; as a consequence, the sticker sheet (below) was creased. The are 12 stickers in total, helpfully numbered to make sure you attach them in the right places.

You can see the cover of the first instruction booklet below. The cover art is pretty much identical to the front of the box apart from the removal of the set name and age rating and the addition of an icon denoting the booklet number. It's 62 pages from cover to cover and consists entirely of building instructions, apart from advertising for a product survey on the back cover.

The second instruction booklet is slightly longer than the first at 68 pages; in addition to building instructions it contains an overview of some of the set's play features, a 2-page inventory of parts, and advertising for the LEGO Club, the LEGO Marvel Superheroes game and the three Guardians of the Galaxy sets released to date (picture below).

In addition to the two instruction booklets the box contains a comic book. This is much smaller than the instruction booklets, both in terms of footprint and length, weighing in at 12 pages in total. The first 7 pages contain a Guardians of the Galaxy comic strip featuring the full Milano crew and a cast of baddies (below).

Flip the comic book over and you'll find a 5-page X-Men story featuring Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Magneto and The Sentinel (cover below). My assumption is that this back-to-back Guardians of the Galaxy/X-Men comic book also appears in Set 76022 X-Men vs. The Sentinel.

Those with an interest in less common elements will have a ball with this set - it's overflowing with them. When I give a rundown of uncommon parts appearing in a set I generally focus in on elements appearing in ten sets or less, but in this case there were so many meeting that criterion that I had to lower my cut-off to 5 sets or less so I could fit them all into the photograph below (click to enlarge). The blue 8 x 8 plate with cut corner is unique to the set as are a number of the flat silver elements including the 1 x 12 hinge plate with angled side extensions and all four fairings (Technic panels). The trans-light blue curved 10 x 6 x 2 windscreen is also a new arrival. The bright light orange webbed 6 x 6 dish, 1 x 1 tile and 4 x 9 wedge plate have only appeared in this set and one other, as has the small pearl dark gray blaster, while a number of elements including the blue 2 x 2 wedge slope, dark bley 4 x 4 fractured wedge, medium dark flesh 2 x 1 slope, metallic silver Technic ball joint, black 7L hose and large pearl dark gray blaster can be found in just two sets in addition to this one. All other elements in the photograph have appeared in either 4 or 5 sets in total. Both types of pearl dark gray blasters in the picture below are exclusive to the Guardians of the Galaxy sets at present.

The set contains 5 minifigures. My immediate reaction on seeing Star-Lord (below) a.k.a. Peter Quill was that he almost has an Iron Man thing going on by virtue of his mask, colour scheme and jet boots, although he obviously doesn't wear a metal all-body suit. This version is unique to the set, although it shares the mask and head with the other Star-Lord variant found in Set 76019 Starblaster Showdown.

You can see Star-Lord below without his mask. In addition to the mask he's supplied with the medium dark flesh hair you can see below; this is so far exclusive to the two versions of the Star-Lord minifigure, which is also the case for his stubbly head print. His dark red torso, which features silver side buttons and a gold badge print, is unique to this minifigure, while his printed legs are the same as those found in two other minifigures appearing in this set as we'll see shortly.

Star-Lord's torso features a detailed back-print which you can see below, along with his alternate expression, described as "Angry Clenched Teeth Pattern" by Bricklink.

Green-skinned Gamora (below), who according to Wikipedia is the adopted daughter of the supervillain Thanos and the last of her species, is exclusive to this set. Her torso, head and hair are exclusive to this minifigure although she has the same printed legs as Star-Lord. The minifigure design incorporates Gamora's facial scarring and purple hair extensions from the movie, although I must say that the minifigure version looks rather more affable than her on-screen persona....

Her alternate expression, which you can see in the picture below, is I think much more representative of her fierce on-screen demeanour. Her torso is backprinted with a variation of the design which adorns the back of Star-Lord's torso.

The final member of Star-Lord's crew to feature in this set is Drax, otherwise known as Arthur Douglas. A cursory look on the internet for more information about this guy revealed one of the more bizarre character backstories that I've encountered - attacked and killed by Thanos while driving with his family, Arthur's spirit was apparently captured and placed in a powerful new body, and Drax the Destroyer was born....

Drax is exclusive to the set, and his tattooed, back-printed torso and head are predictably unique to this minifigure. Interestingly, his arms are also printed with a tattoo pattern complementary to that on his torso and head. Drax has the same printed legs as Star-Lord and Gamora.

Kree fanatic and bad guy Ronan the Accuser (below) is exclusive to this set. His hood, which comes complete with shoulder pads, is a new mould and hasn't appeared elsewhere to date, and his torso, head and printed legs are similarly unique to this minifigure, although his plain black cape is of a standard design and is widely available elsewhere.

Ronan's alternate expression and torso back-print can be seen below; Bricklink describes the dark red slashes on the front and back of his torso as wounds, but the slashes appear to be on top of his armour rather than cut through it so I suspect it's someone else's blood rather than Ronan's....

The final minifigure in the set is a Sakaaran (below). In the Guardians of the Galaxy movie the Sakaarans are Ronan's foot soldiers, and their first appearance is right at the start of the film. This minifigure can be found in all three Guardians of the Galaxy sets. The Sakaaran's legs and hood are unremarkable and appear as a constituent part of many other minifigures, but the torso and head are unique to this figure. Bricklink describes the detailed torso print as "Silver Exoskeleton and Dark Red Claw Scratch Marks Pattern", while the sinister head features a skull-like print with silver eyes and insectoid mandibles.

The intricate printing on the back of the torso and head can be seen in the picture below. I'm not entirely clear what the reverse head-print is supposed to represent; depending on which internet source you choose to believe it's either a mask made of shell-like material or or an exoskeleton with eye pattern, so take your pick.

Once the minifigures have been assembled it's time to build Ronan's Necrocraft. This somewhat bizarre-looking conveyance has a 2x2-stud platform at the front (below) which is occupied by Ronan in many of the publicity shots. The Necrocraft features an opening cockpit large enough to accommodate Ronan if he gets tired of standing at the front and a pair of adjustable wings. There's also a trans-red spring-loaded missile on either side of the cockpit.

You can see the back of the Necrocraft below. You're unfortunately supposed to attach stickers either side of the cockpit windscreen. I say "unfortunately" as I always struggle to neatly apply stickers to curved surfaces and this was no exception; the stakes are even higher here as the curved surface in question is transparent, so if you don't nail it first time and need to peel the sticker off and reapply it you run the risk of leaving an unsightly residue on the windscreen.

Finally it's time to build the Milano itself. Stage 1 (below - click to enlarge) involves construction of the interior of the Milano's cockpit and fuselage, complete with instrument panel and passenger seating; notably, there's more seating than there are crew members in this set, so if you decide to buy the other Guardians of the Galaxy sets then the Milano is ready to accommodate Rocket Raccoon at least. A pair of moveable stud shooters are attached either side of the cockpit, with a couple of fixed weapons below.

During Stage 2 of the build (below) additional interior detail is added such as a fire extinguisher and the pilot's chair complete with headrest. Also, a Technic frame is constructed around the cockpit and fuselage to which body panels and wings will shortly be attached, while at the back a central main engine is constructed, flanked by what appear to be a couple of thrusters; these can be rotated by up to 180 degrees if desired so the thrusters point upwards.

Not visible in the picture above is Star-Lord's cassette tape deck (below). This is attached to one of the interior walls of the fuselage via a couple of Technic pins. Those of you who are yet to catch the movie may be wondering why on earth this archaic piece of technology is specifically called out in the build, but trust me - it plays a memorable role in proceedings.

Stage 3 of the Milano build (picture below - click to enlarge) involves construction of one of the front body panels and one of the wings. The wings are large and complex, featuring an array of flat silver wing extensions most of which can be angled and repositioned to some extent; these are adorned by some fairly large stickers which should be attached with particular care as they're very prominent and have the potential to be a real eyesore if they're not positioned straight.

The penultimate stage of the Milano build is basically a mirror of Stage 3, involving construction of the remaining front body panel and wing. With both front body panels in place the bird-like appearance of the front of the ship becomes evident, complete with a 'beak' made up of bright light orange 3 x 2 wedge plates, and flat silver 3 x 3 inverted dish 'eyes'.

We're on the home straight now. The cockpit windscreen is attached, the fuselage roof is constructed, additional detail is added to the wing tips, and we're done (picture below - click to enlarge). The cockpit windscreen doesn't open as such; instead, the whole roof section complete with windscreen lifts off in one piece. It's a slightly clunky arrangement, although understandable given that the inside of the ship with its seating and interior detail is one of the set's play-features. The roof section features the light bley 5 x 6 hexagonal flag, which gains a sticker along the way, and flat silver 1 x 12 hinge plates with angled side extensions that I highlighted earlier when discussing parts of interest. These can be angled upwards if desired in the manner of flaps or air brakes.

The finished build is a reasonable approximation of the Milano (Guardians of the Galaxy screengrab below); the designer has done a fair job of capturing the overall shape, colour scheme and key features such as the complex wings. At around 45 cm from wing-tip to wing-tip the model is actually wider than it is long. From the perspective of 'realism' the fuselage is perhaps bulkier than it should be, a consequence of LEGO's desire to provide the ship with a useable interior.

From http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com

You can get a better look at the rear of the ship below (click to enlarge), notably the main engine, moveable thrusters and complex wing-tip arrangement. Bare black Technic beams are exposed at the back of the wings which is a bit untidy, but otherwise the back looks OK.

If you look at the model from above (picture below - click to enlarge) you can better inspect the efforts made to reproduce the Milano's colour scheme, principally the bright light orange pattern; you'll also see the lime green roundel if you look closely at the screengrab above. There's a little hint of Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit from above, although obviously not with respect to the colour scheme....

There's an unexpected level of detail on the underside of the model (below - click to enlarge). LEGO often neglects this aspect of their models, so the attention to detail here is particularly welcome. Details include a number of trans orange-tipped missiles, of which the two missiles flanking the fuselage halfway back are of the flick-fire variety. I assume that the two large circular structures, each of which has a bright light orange webbed 6 x 6 dish at its base, are large vertical thrusters. The rounded lower aspect of the fuselage provides something to grab hold of if you decide to swoosh the model; having done this more than a few times since I built it I can vouch for the model's stability - it's surprisingly robust.

You can see all the different elements of the set below (click to enlarge) including the five minifigures with their respective weapons and accessories. Of particular note, Ronan carries the silver orb - a powerful ancient artifact containing an infinity stone - in his right hand and his Cosmi-Rod in his left, while Star-Lord is holding his Hadron Enforcer space blaster.

Set 76021 Milano Spaceship Rescue contains 665 pieces and retails for £69.99/US$74.99. I don't generally get too excited about minifigs but I'm quite impressed with the quality, attention to detail and selection here. Some will no doubt complain about the absence of Rocket Raccoon and Groot but it's understandable that LEGO wouldn't want to include all the key characters in just one set. The build was enjoyable, with the obvious caveat that there's some repetition due to the ship's symmetry. Overall, from an AFOL perspective I don't think the end result is too bad given that it's primarily intended to be a play-set, although to be honest I probably won't keep it built and on display for long. Even so, I reckon that this set, along with the likes of the stunning Ultimate Collector Series Tumbler, marks a welcome improvement in LEGO's Super Heroes offerings; it's a safe bet that the theme won't be winning my "Most disappointing theme" award again this year.

Many thanks to Argos for providing this LEGO Super Heroes set for me to review; you can browse the full range of LEGO at Argos here, and in case you weren't aware there's a 3-for-2 promotion on toys starting at Argos tomorrow (Wednesday 5th November) so get in there quick and reserve some sets.... In addition to the review set, Argos have also generously provided Gimme LEGO with two additional copies of this set to give away to readers - a rather nice prize considering that the set retails for seventy quid. To be in with a chance of winning a set, please e-mail the answer to the question below plus your contact details and location to me at gimmelego@virginmedia.com; I'll draw two names out of a hat, and they'll get the sets. The question is as follows:

Who played Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie?

Entry is limited to UK-based folks only on this occasion due to the size of the set and the cost of sending overseas. Only one entry per person, and the decision of the judge (that's me) is final. Entrants must agree to their names being announced on Gimme LEGO if they win. Closing date is midnight GMT on Tuesday 18th of November. Good luck!