Lego Dimensions Review, Starter Pack (71171). Can Batman, Gandalf & Wyldstyle Save The Day?

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Box

Lego Dimensions (71170, 71171, 71172, 71173, 71174) has been out for a while, and LegoGenre recently got its hands on the Starter Pack. The full price is about $100, but if you look around you can find the Starter Pack for sale around $65-$85. It’s usually for sale over on Amazon (here).

So lets do a Lego Dimensions review …

Name: Lego® Dimensions™ Playstation® 4 Starter Pack
Number: 71171
Pieces: 267
Minfigures: 3
Release: September 2015
Price: US: $99.99, CA $109.99, UK: £79.99, EU: €89.99

Official Lego Description:

With LEGO® Dimensions™, you’re gonna need a bigger imagination!

When a mysterious and powerful vortex suddenly appears in various LEGO® worlds, different characters from DC Comics™, The Lord of the Rings™ and THE LEGO MOVIE™ are swept away. In a bid to save their friends, Batman™, Gandalf™ and Wyldstyle™ bravely jump into the vortex, but soon find themselves fighting to save all of LEGO humanity. Let creativity be your guide to a building and gaming adventure—journey through unexpected worlds and team up with unlikely allies on a quest to defeat the evil LordVortech. Play with a range of characters from different worlds together in one LEGO video game, and help them use each other’s vehicles and gadgets in a way never before possible. Attach the minifigures to their LEGO Toy Tags and place them on the LEGO Toy Pad to bring them to life in the LEGO DIMENSIONS™ game. Activate each character’s special in-game abilities to solve puzzles and battle enemies, add the Batmobile for a boost of speed, and then rebuild it for upgraded abilities! When you’re ready for more, expand your collection with Level, Team and Fun Packs from the LEGO DIMENSIONS product line.

  • Includes buildable Batman, Wyldstyle and Gandalf minifigures and 3-in-1 Batmobile, each with a detachable LEGO Toy Tag.
  • Rebuild the 3-in-1 Batmobile into The Batblaster and Sonic Batray for extra in-game abilities.
  • Also includes Batman’s Batarang, Wyldstyle´s relic scanner and Gandalf’s staff.
  • Activate Batman’s special Grapple, Boomerang and Stealth abilities; Wyldstyle’s Relic Detector, Acrobat and Master Build abilities; and
  • Gandalf’s Magic, Magical Shield and Illumination abilities to crack puzzles and overpower enemies.
  • Place up to 7 LEGO DIMENSIONS toys on the LEGO Toy Pad simultaneously and set out on exciting in-game adventures.
  • Collect your favorite LEGO DIMENSIONS characters and use them in-game together for a crazy mash-up multiverse.
  • Visit LEGO.com/dimensions for more information on this exciting LEGO building and video gaming experience.
  • PLAYSTATION® 4 game system with a minimum of 20GB available hard disk space and Internet connection required.
  • Collect LEGO DIMENSIONS Team, Level and Fun Packs to unlock additional content.
  • LEGO DIMENSIONS characters and vehicles are required to interact with the LEGO DIMENSIONS video game.
  • LEGO Toy Pad with Gateway measures over 6” (16cm) high, 7” (19cm) wide and 4” (11cm) deep.
  • Batmobile measures over 1” (4cm) high, 2” (6cm) long and 1” (3cm) wide (alternative 3-in-1 vehicle builds vary in size).

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Box Back

The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack comes in a medium sized box. The whole thing feels very much like a normal Lego set. Once you find the correct version that you need (Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, or WiiU) you are ready to go. Note that the rating of Lego Dimensions is E (Everyone) 10+ by the ESRB. It contains Cartoon Violence, and Crude Humor. Typical Lego video game stuff.

One clue that this is not a normal TT Games Lego game is the abundance of licensing logos and information. The box is covered in tiny print.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Boxes

After you open the box, you find two smaller boxes inside. There is very little wasted space here.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Contents

First is the plain white box. Which contains the Toy Pad, a poster, a flyer, and the game. This part of the packaging is so undesigned that it feels very un-Lego. The reason is that the Starter Pack has so many different versions, and the actual difference between all of them is entirely contained in the white box. It saves on costs.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Poster

The included poster is double sided. One side in English, the other side in Spanish and French. It’s printed on a medium thickness paper and is extremely glossy. The poster showcases the first 3 waves of Dimensions releases. From September 2015 through March 2016. It also acts like a check list if you are trying to collect them all.

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Opened

The other box looks like a mini version of the outer box. It is a little odd, as it appears that Lego could someday sell this separately from the other stuff. Maybe in the future there will be multiple variations of the Gateway released.

Inside is an instruction manual, 3 bags of Lego pieces, and an oddly shaped plate. This box is exactly like a normal Lego set (except the manual, see below).

Lego Dimensions 71171 Building

The first few pages of the manual show how to assemble the Minifigures. Wyldstyle, Gandalf, and Batman. You also get another one of those brick separators, which seems to be packed into almost every Lego set nowadays.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Continue

Everything is normal up to step 3. Once there, you are told to start playing the game. The rest of the set will be built as you progress through the story. A really cool idea that helps immerse yourself into the concept.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Batman Wyldstyle Gandalf

The three included Minifigures appear to be normal. No cheap quality plastic here. Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf each come with an accessory that they will use throughout the game. These are good looking Minifigs.

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Toy Tag

The key pieces here are the new Toy Tags. These transparent blue disks contain a little computer chip, and are unique to each Minifigure. They look great, and make for excellent Minifigure stands. Much nicer then the basic stand included with the Collectible Minifigures.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Toy Tag Back

The underside of the Toy tags are nifty. Ooo…

Lego Dimensions 71171 Manual

If you have no interest in playing the Lego Dimensions videogame, or if in the future you have no access to it (lost, obsolete) they did include instructions on how to assemble the Gateway in the manual. Nice.

It is worth skipping these though. The game will have you build it at a certain point in the story.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Gateway

The Gateway is built on top of the Toy Pad and looks good. It uses a good amount of gray, dark blue, and teal pieces. The only downside to it all is that there are five stickers that need to be applied. For a set like this, the stickers just feel cheap.

The build is easy enough, nothing too difficult. The nature of the design means that it is a little repetitive. But, it is small enough that it never gets boring.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Gateway 2

During the video game you have a few accessories. The main one is on its own Toy Tag, and can be interacted with during play. The whole Gateway and Toy Pad contains a fairly good amount of space for all the things you will need to do here.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Space

The Toy Pad and Gateway contains three active zones. Each section lights up in a variety of colors. It is with these zones that you bring Minifigures and accessories into the game.  One thing that Lego is doing different is that during gameplay you will need to move and arrange pieces to work around obstacles and boss fights.

Lego Dimensions Tile Screen

The video game itself is a refined version of the typical Lego games. The Starter Pack comes with everything you need to play.

It comes with 3 adventure levels. One for each Minifigure. There is Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings, Gotham from DC Comics, and the Lego Movie.

On top of these adventure levels is a whole lot of story levels. There are 15 levels to explore. Sending you across multiple dimensions in an effort to stop the evil Lord Vortech. As you play, there are levels that send you to dimensions like Springfield and Portal 2. These levels can be expanded upon once you purchase the required character. It is an interesting idea, and it is a sort of a long demo for what you could have in the future.

There is a lot going on in the game, and it will be interesting to see how it expands over the next year. Lego Dimensions can currently be upgraded with levels and characters from Jurassic World, Scooby-Doo!, Ninjago, Back to the Future, The Simpsons, Portal 2, and Doctor Who. There is also Chima, The Wizard of Oz, The Lego Movie, Midway Arcade, DC Comics, and Ghostbusters.

Final Thoughts

  • Design: 10/10 — The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack is a great concept that comes together surprisingly well. The Gateway and stuff look great.
  • Build: 8/10 — The Gateway gets a little repetitive to build, and has a small selection of colors. A good start, but it has a few ways to improve.
  • Minifigures: 8/10 — The three include Minifigs, Gandalf, Batman, and Wyldstyle cover all of the basic stuff. They are good quality.
  • Playablility: 10/10 — The Gateway is fun to build. The game is fun to play. And it keeps it interesting through the experience.
  • Price: 6/10 — 267 pieces, 3 Minifigures, a Toy Pad and a Gateway for $100. It feels expensive for that price but with a good discount the value goes way up.
  • Overall: 8/10 — I would say this is the most interesting and fun version of a Lego videogame. It contains most of their recent licenses, and covers a lot of ground. Plus you get a lot of pieces and a few Minifigs!

The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack is a great thing. If you have access to a video game console it is a must purchase for any Lego fan. The Gateway is fun to build, there are a good selection of Minifigures, and an extensive videogame included. The possibilities are endless. There are a lot of different dimensions to play through. Something for everyone. The only thing missing is any of the Lego themes based on Disney licensed stuff. No Star Wars, no Marvel, no Pixar, no Princesses.

The biggest problem about the system is that it costs $500 +/- to collect it all. And every month that goes by more is added. It is worth the $100 in order to experience the Starter Pack, and if it gets into your soul there is a few hundred dollars of additional content. Lego Dimensions is not cheap.

If you can find the Starter Pack for about $60-80 (here), then the Overall Score goes up to 9/10.

***

Lego Dimensions on Amazon: Here!

Official Lego link: http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-DIMENSIONS-PLAYSTATION-4-Starter-Pack-71171

More Lego Dimensions Review stuff here: http://everydaybricks.com/tag/lego-dimensions/

Stranded With The Lego Green Arrow

Nexus Lego Green Arrow Stranded

Flickr user [Nexus] has recently revealed their newest project. This vignette is titled Stranded and features a Lego Green Arrow lost on an island. A very plentiful island by the looks of it. Fish, birds, frogs, bananas, and mushrooms. Green Arrow is not going to starve here. The whole beach scene is finished with a great base/border. By building a base the whole scene feels complete. No detail unfinished. This type of treatment is always awesome on smaller MOCs.

Check out Stranded over on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/94823306@N03/16327448838/

The Lego Super Friends Project: 31 Custom Figures

JustJon's Custom Lego Super Friends, Superheroes

The Lego Friends figures have proven to be extremely customizable. These 31 custom figures that make up the Lego Super Friends Project prove just that. Created by JustJon, this project was revealed over the 31 days of July. In order to curate a list of possible customs figures, social media was heavily used to reach a wide audience with a wide variety of opinions. The 31 superheroes contain a good mix of characters from DC Comics and Marvel Comics. These figures were made with the use of Lego Minifigures accessories, hair pieces, and a little bit of paint. The larger size (compared to a Minifigure) makes it a whole lot easier to do custom paint work.

“I began the project surreptitiously by posing the question “Who is your favorite super heroine?” on my social networks. I took note of the characters people named and started creating a list on my white board, with the left side containing numbers for the days they were released on and the right side a list of potential characters to make. Once I began creating the custom minifigures, I made sure that each fit into the role of super heroine (as some people did request villains), that no character would be repeated in alternate costumes, and that I would release one per day for the entire month of July. I tried to vary the characters to appease to different audiences and keep things interesting for myself by using characters who were well known in the popular culture and those who were lesser known.” — JustJon

The complete roster of the Lego Super Friends Project includes: Supergirl, Phoenix, Black Widow, Sue Storm, Polaris, Storm, Batgirl, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Captain Marvel, X-23, Stargirl, Zatanna, Psylocke, Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Mary Marvel, Catwoman, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, Saturn Girl, Dazzler, Firestar, Kabuki, Hawkeye, Black Cat, Gamora, Jubilee, Black Canary, Hit-Girl, and Raven.

JustJon's Custom Lego Super Friends, Superheroes, Batgirl JustJon's Custom Lego Friends Superheroes, Jubilee JustJon's Custom Lego Friends Superheroes, Hit Girl JustJon's Custom Lego Friends Superheroes, Black Widow

The creator of this project, JustJon, has opened up an Etsy store where some of these custom figures (and more) are available for purchase: https://www.etsy.com/shop/justjon

More details on the Lego Super Friends Project can be found here: http://www.justjon.net/lego/the-lego-super-friends-project/

Paradise Lost in this Lego Wonder Woman vs. Ares Vignette

Tim Lydy's Lego Wonder Woman vs Ares

A lot of the DC Comics superheroes have had a lot of attention lately. Especially Batman and Superman. But there are many more that seem not make the jump from comic book to film. Wonder Woman is one of those superheroes. She will finally get her own film in a few years, but until then fans will have to create their own stories. This Lego Wonder Woman vs. Ares vignette is the creation of Tim Lydy. This MOC started out as an adaption of an episode of Justice League titled “Paradise Lost.” Which lead the builder to replace Hades, with Ares (a more famous Wonder Woman villain). Ares is sporting the new helmet from the Hobbit theme.

“The god of war, Ares, has kidnapped the Amazonian Queen Hippolyta—and it’s up to the queen’s own daughter Diana; otherwise known as Wonder Woman; to save her and all of Themyscira from the mighty god’s wrath!”

Tim Lydy's Lego Wonder Woman vs Ares Detail

Check out this Lego Wonder Woman vs. Ares vignette over on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/72036844@N04/15674501957/

Lincoln Memorial & Flatiron Building: 2015 Lego Architecture Sets

2015 Lego Architecture, Lincoln Memorial (21022)

For the past few years now Lego has been releasing about 4 official Architecture sets a year, with a few special exemptions (Marina Bay Sands, The Lego House). With that in mind it has been revealed that the first new sets released in 2015 for the Lego Architecture theme will be the Lincoln Memorial and the Flatiron Building. The first new set is the Lincoln Memorial (21022) which will be built with 274 Lego pieces. Making this an extremely small build, especially compared to the previously released White House. The price point is not known yet, but should be somewhere between $19.99 and $29.99.

2015 Lego Architecture, Lincoln Memorial (21022) Box

The next new Lego Architecture set for 2015 will be the Flatiron Building (21023). This one is a lot more obscure then the Lincoln Memorial. This is a triangular skyscraper located in New York City. The Lego version does its best to replicate this building, using some funky connection techniques to achieve the weird angles. This set will include 471 Lego pieces, and should be priced somewhere between $39.99 and $49.99.

2015 Lego Architecture, Flatiron Building (21023)

Keep and eye out for these. Lego Architecture sets have a habit of sneaking onto shelves without anyone noticing. Then selling out, because they are extremely popular.

2015 Lego Architecture, Flatiron Building (21023) Box
Lincoln Memorial and Flatiron Building images from Gizmodo: http://lego.gizmodo.com/builders-building-buildings-2015-lego-architecture-set-1644322082

Lego Comics With The Hulk and Captain America, or “I remember when comics were 30 cents”

monsterbrick's Lego Comics, The Hulk 59

Hulk Smash Lego bricks. These Lego versions of comic book covers are the creation of monsterbricks. The Lego comic book covers are also relief sculptures. Where a 3D image/figure is sculpted in front of the background. In this case it is The Incredible Hulk breaking through the ground, literally breaking out of the background and into your face. This is even more pronounced with the Captain America cover below. These Comic-Bricks (Lego Comics) are extremely fun. The overall design is greatly supported by the typography and logos, which is difficult to replicate with Lego bricks. Here the lettering is using a combination of brick built letters, and custom printed tiles. The end result is great. Check out the custom UPCs, price tags, publisher icons, etc. These are great recreations of their real life comic book inspirations; The Incredible Hulk #59, and Captain America #109.

monsterbrick's Lego Comics, Captain America by Jack Kirby. Comic Bricks 109

Lego has had great success with their Super Heroes theme. It is a little bit weird that they have managed to license both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Lego has been releasing mostly modern themed comic book stuff. With just a little of the classic or silver-age represented (The 1966 Batmobile). It would be awesome if Lego were to release 1 or 2 sets a year based on the golden-age or silver-age stuff. Imagine all the possibilities with Minifigures based on Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, and John Romita designs.

monsterbrick's Lego Comics, Approved By The Comics Code Authority

This post has been approved by the Comics Code Authority.

Check out monsterbrick’s Brick-Comics (Lego Comics) over on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/monsterbrick/15408223229/

Lego Batman and Robin, Joker’s Funhouse / Gotham Park. Fully Animated MOC.

Brickbaron's Lego Batman and Robin, Joker's Funhouse

Batman and Joker go together like peanut butter and jam. No other hero / villain duo are as famous or an entertaining. It seems that in every version of Batman (the Comics, original TV show, the Tim Burton films, the Animated Series, the various video games or the recent Christopher Nolan film trilogy) these two eventually have an all out showdown. Usually involving some sort of abandoned theme park or funhouse. Lego has released their own version of the funhouse with “The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape (6957).” As awesome as that set is, one has to wonder what it would be like if money was not an issue. For instance, Brickbaron created “Lego Batman and Robin, Joker’s Funhouse” as a tribute to several Batman video games. This giant automaton funhouse is so much fun. This is Lego at its best.

Joker’s Funhouse is a fully animatronic and extremely well lit MOC. Make sure to check out this YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/95gUCiT_-A8

There are three levels built into Joker’s Funhouse, and each one contains a story. On the left side is the entrance to “Gotham Park.” At one time this little seaside park would have been a blast, but has since rundown and has been taken over by Joker and his goons. The entrance to the park features an intense fight with Batman, 2 goons, Killer Croc, and the Scarecrow. There are many hidden features, such as Robin up on the roof ready to surprise some bad guys.

Brickbaron's Lego Batman and Robin. Joker's Funhouse, Goons

The whole scene is topped off with a dilapidated roller coaster. Which leads over to the right side of the pier, where a spinning ride has been taken over by Joker and the Penguin. Here Batman and Robin are in a desperate fight for their lives as an army of armed penguins is closing in. The simple spinning mechanism add a lot to the energy of the funhouse.

Brickbaron's Lego Batman and Robin, Joker's Funhouse, GamesBrickbaron's Lego Batman and Robin, Joker's Funhouse, Ride

The interior of the Gotham Park is by far the most deadly. Robin is in a fight for his life against Poisen Ivy and her carnivorous plants. While Harley Quinn is holding Commissioner Gordon hostage over a boiling pot of Lego. Which is not distracting Two Face from torturing an innocent girl with explosives. The Riddler seems to be hosting some sort of decoding game show, while Catwoman is off in the corner stealing diamonds. The whole time this is going on, Batman is fighting a giant robotic version of the Joker in the center. Whew. Even more impressive is that everything is animated with technic and lit with fancy dramatic lighting.

Brickbaron's Lego Batman and Robin, Joker's Funhouse, Two Face

Gotham Park is a masterpiece MOC. It perfectly captures the mood and feeling of a funhouse thats been taken over by the Joker. Brickbaron spent some two months working on this creation. And has since been bringing it around to various Lego conventions. Joker’s Funhouse made its debut at Brickcon 2013 in Seattle.

Brickbaron's Lego Batman and Robin, Joker's Funhouse, Gotham Park

Make sure to check out all the photos over on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14964802@N07/10989059253/