lego: emmet's construct-o-mech

Three weeks ago I bought myself Emmet's Construct-o-Mech from The Lego Movie range. I've actually been kind of obsessed with this model ever since I saw it in the movie. In fact I have a distinct memory of thinking "man that would make an awesome set" once the Construct-o-Mech appeared.

And while the set isn't exactly the same design as the movie, I've likewise been obsessed with this set since it came out (see my earlier confession about Lego mech obsession). So it seemed appropriate to get it as a birthday present to myself.

The set is five numbered bags and a big thick instruction book, plus the usual sheet of stickers. As always, I'll insert my general wish for the pieces to be printed rather than stickered, but in this instance they're actually not all that bad.

The first bag produces the basic frame of the Mech body, complete with custom license plate, along with all of the minifigs.

One of the best things about this set is some of the interesting building techniques as well as the fact that the majority of the studs are hidden from view (in this particular instance, if I'd been playing attention, those yellow plates should have been folded down to hide the grey studs).

This set also means that I now have three different Emmets (Construction Hat Emmet, Double Decker Couch Emmet and Construct-o-Emmet) and three UniKitties (Sad Couch Kitty, Super Angry Kitty and Angry Kitty).

Just the tiniest bit of love for these four grey tiles on the back of the Mech... they're reverse tiles, and this is the first time I've come across them in a set... and I just like the way they work, and how they help to finish off the back of a set.

Likewise, the finishing details of the second bag with the control cage and roof... and it's hard to see from this angle, but there is something almost rabbit-like about the roof... with these two long yellow struts sticking out of the back. Yeah, I know, anthropomorphising my Lego sets again.

Interestingly, there's no fixed spot for the roof and cage to be folded down to... I wanted to keep the plate exposed, but you could cover it completely too.

I'll say this about the legs... they're intricate and well engineered... but at the same time they kind of feel like they could be a little flimsy. And there is an extra little spur at the back that's used as a balance point to stop the model tipping over backwards.

And that pose on the box? I would even attempt that, because I'm pretty damn sure the model would just topple over sideways.

It was interesting, not just with the legs but also with both arms, to try and see where the various components in the model had come from... since the Mech itself is built by Emmet out of other construction vehicles, there are certain parts that make that very clear.

The arms are also interesting... I always feel like the mech arms are missing a joint, and in this case, the fact that the "hand" comes sideways off the arm felt weird.

But one of my favourite bits of detail is the hydraulic rod on the sides of the arms.

The other arm, however, that one didn't exactly live up to my expectations...

Firstly the fact that it has the rubber band is going to end badly at some later stage when the band rots through... and then there's the fact that the two scoops don't fit together well. If you rotate them further so that the teeth touch, then they're not locked into place, but if they're locked in place, then they're open pretty much like they're show in the photo above. 

I love these shoulder pauldrons though... not least of all because the two little antennas are made out of the fencing swords from the minifig series.

And they're just these great little contained units that then get added to the model with a very simple set of parts.

Likewise, the back mixers and the crane arms are fantastic... even more so because essentially the blue pieces are essentially used to hide all of the construction methods for the other pieces. And just that little bit of blue against all the yellow really makes them stand out.

And I will say that the crane arms really just finish off the model... they do make it incredibly tall, and fairly wide, but I don't think the piece would be the same without them.

From start to finish, the whole thing took me around three hours to build.

All things considered, I'm pretty damn happy with the finished model though... now I just need to work out a way to arrange the other Lego Movie sets and minifigs around the Mech.

Current Mood: