This is one of the largest movie sets released so far, and consists of three quite distinct models. Inside the box we have: 3 x numbered instruction booklets 7 x numbered bags of parts 1 x Sticker Sheet 2 x firehoses (one is spare) There are 858 parts in this set, as shown in the full inventory. There are no new parts in this set, just a few new prints for the minifigs and the pig. There is also a printed 1x4 tile with a unique code printed on it. The back of the box indicates that this code can be used in The LEGO Movie Videogame to unlock a "Surprise Item". I am still waiting on my videogame as the Australian release dates are so unfair... plus for some reason there is no Steam release... so waiting for my snail mail to arrive :(. In the meantime, I'm still publishing this review but ask people not to steal my code :) There are five minifigs in this set: Blaze Firefighter, Blacktron Fan, Fabu-Fan, Hank Haystack and Robo SWAT. Not much to say here, I guess the Blacktron/Fabuland references will win some fans.
There are three main models in this set, each of which get their own instruction booklet. First up, we have the Robo-Firetruck. It makes use of the ball/socket joints to provide some great flexibility while remaining rigid and stable. The right arm has four water canons, while the left arm has a large claw. The use of the flexible hoses really works here to give a good impression of water flowing around its body. The legs look great but I felt the feet should be a bit bigger to give just a tad more balance. The two yellow 2x2 round bricks sticking out of the back of each feet are obviously there to help with the balance, as are the small wing parts sticking out the sides. The entire body is able to swivel around 360 degrees, but the hoses in the back prevent it from doing so. This isn't a bad thing, and gives it a more realistic feeling when you turn the body. The finished robo-suit is actually quite large, easily larger than Metalbeard from Metalbeard's Duel. The Micro Manager in this set is also quite large.
Although it is very similar in design to the one from Metalbeard's Duel, it is a tad larger due to the additional greebling on the sides. Plus it has three arms. It comes with the standard flick-powered missiles, accessible once the sides of the robot are raised. The third model is quite interesting with a few nice features. There is a basket of fruit hanging by chains on one side. The other side has two saloon style doors. Once opened, the tray of carrots inside can be slid out which causes the carrots to fall through a hole in the bottom of the tray to bomb anything below. It's a bit fiddly to actually use, but a nice idea. There are two flick-powered missiles under the bottom wings, as well as an anchor for some reason. Not sure what that is for considering it's a farmhouse converted into a helicopter. The pilot controls are made from pneumatic T-pieces and fit the farmer's hands perfectly. The top and rear rotors turn effortlessly, with the rear rotors turning independently of each other.
Of the three models in this set, my personal favourite is the robo-mech-firetruck-thing. It definitely looks like it was built from pure firetruck parts, while still looking great. The flying farmhouse is interesting and fun to play with too. The Micro Manager makes a good bad guy to be destroyed by the two good guys, but is otherwise much the same as the other movie set ones. Check out the rest of the photos taken during this review at my Bricksafe page. This set is now available for sale for USD $69.99 via Amazon, eBay, LEGO Shop, or check the country specific links on the set's details page. /2014/01/03/review-70813-rescue-reinforcements/ on this server. Your technical support key is: 3697-8e1a-1756-6707 Somewhat delayed by life in general, here at last is my final review completing the first wave of The LEGO® Movie sets; You get a lot in this set (it has the greatest piece count of this first wave) and the completed build consists of a Micro Manager, a chunky mech made from a fire truck and a kooky helicopter made from a windmill.
You don't get to see the 'original' forms of these as the set doesn't have the alternate instructions to build them. Nor did I spot them in the film itself - only the transformed versions - but perhaps like so much else in the film it was a case of blink and you'll miss it. Movement of the upper arms is a bit restricted, but they're nice sub-builds with attractive detailing - wheels, gauges and accessories like helmets and air tanks are used. One of the hands appears a bit clumsy as each finger is a fire hydrant; cute idea but looks odd to me. The other hand is way more exciting, having four squirting hoses on a rotating plate. The four yellow cylinders used as hoses would fall off very easily if it were not for a neat method of attachment; the projecting handle at the base of each cylinder is attached to a 1X1 clip tile, providing two points of connection. A good little trick to remember. Faced with high pressure water sure to rust his innards, Micro Manager begs for mech mercy.
This makes me think of a bumblebee, in that it looks too fat to fly. The design achieves its goal of looking thrown together but the finished piece leaves me cold, especially the bizarre arrangement of slopes on the bottom. But it's an interesting enough build and contains a few parts in Dark Brown. The tail rotors are made of eight left-hand wedge plates and zero right-hand ones, which may prove irritating once you've assimilated the set into your parts collection. By happy coincidence however, I'm planning a model at the moment that uses hundreds of Reddish-Brown left-hand wedges and zero right-hand ones, so I'm alright! (I'm actually being serious.) What the finished model lacks in realism or beauty, it makes up for in humour and play features. Accompanying the farmer is a spotted pig (Element ID 6068981 | Design ID 17202, previously only seen in 7189 Mill Village Raid) and a chicken performing navigational duties up top, peering through a telescope! The weaponry is also funny, if you ignore the incongruous flick fire missiles.
Shutters open to reveal a bunch of carrots that slide out and fall on unsuspecting (carrot-fearing) enemies, and a basket hung on the other side will ditch a payload of apples. Rather meanly, you only get two apples when the basket can fit many more than that. At least one is red though (Element ID 6054438 | these are making a welcome return in 2014 in several sets, the others being in the Friends and Disney Princess themes. A very ordinary but totally new brick comes in this set in two exclusive colours, but is sure to appear in many more sets and hues. In their wisdom TLG have decided to create the 1X1X3 brick, and this set has four in Light Bluish Gray [BL]/Medium Stone Grey [TLG] (Element ID 6061702 | Design ID 14716) and two in Red [BL]/Bright Red [TLG] (Element ID 6061700). You'll also find it in White in other 2014 sets, by the way. I'm sure many of you will rile against the introduction of what could technically be classified as a POOP part - "Parts Out of Other Parts" as they're unaffectionately known - i.e. you can easily make one from three 1X1 bricks.
But I like this addition, partly as it removes that obsessive-compulsive hassle of aligning 1X1s perfectly, but mostly for the visual improvement of having a single piece without 'joins'. I guess we're now building a family of 1X1X bricks... the 1X1X5 was introduced way back in 1988 and of course The LEGO Movie has also brought us the 1X1X2, albeit with a random hole on one side. We also get a couple of parts that are new for 2014, but not exclusive to this set. There's the great new ribbed flexible tube (Element ID 6056596 | Design ID 14301) which we've discussed in previous posts and also the new grappling hook (Element ID 6055312 | This appears in a couple of City police sets and the big change is that it has a right-angled bend to connect it to a chain piece, rather than a hole for string. An unusual and unique element - unique to each copy of this set, I think - is the numbered 1X4 tile (Element ID 6083453 | Design ID 17204) which sits on the chest of the mech. They're laser engraved with individual numbers that "unlock special content" if you own The LEGO Movie Videogame.
This isn't the first time TLG have done this, so I guess it's proving worthy of the expense. As I'm not a gamer, I just find the inclusion of this piece a little irritating as the quality of the engraving is very poor and not something I'd like to use in a MOC. These background characters seen momentarily in the film have surely been chosen for inclusion in this set for the benefit of nostalgic AFOLs. There's a chap wearing a Blacktron logo t-shirt under his Dark Red checked shirt (Element ID 6068076) but cooler still is Fabu-fan, a lady sporting a funky Fabuland top! Hey, behind you, Fabu-fan, it's your hero! Or someone doing cosplay. Her ponytail hair in Black (Element ID 6008100) is rather rare having only previously appeared on the CMF red cheerleader. Both fans have great double-sided faces with freckles and braces on their teeth (Element IDs 6068070 & 6068064). The farmer (pictured earlier) is fun, but his prints aren't super-useful to me. The fireman and Robo-SWAT are unremarkable.
Having recently built several of the '2-in-1' sets, I found this set strange to build, as you're only getting half the story. I attempted reverse-engineering a fire engine from the mech, but quickly decided there didn't seem to be enough parts and that my efforts would look utterly rubbish compared to your average City fire set! Maybe once I have the film on disc I'll try it again, based on freeze-frames... if, indeed, you ever see the original fire engine in the film. I wonder if/when in the development process there was ever a fire engine designed that had the same parts as the mech. My guess is there was, but once it was decided this set would not be a '2-in-1', the mech was allowed to develop without the inherent restrictions of being tied to a shared inventory. Of course the three finished models all look very odd together, but hey, this is The LEGO Movie. It's a great set for kids acting out a scenario and the windmill helicopter injects some much-appreciated humour into proceedings.