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Set Review: 70000 Razcal's Glider
 Friday, March 1st, 2013 at 1:56pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Bfahome] Legends of Chima is one of LEGO's biggest themes this year and today we're bringing you a related review. Blog Assistant Bfahome has taken a look at 70000 Razcal's Glider and will be sharing his thoughts on it with you all. Should this set fly into your hearts and shopping carts or is it more likely to go too close to the sun and crash and burn? Read on to find out! Presentation
The box is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It's definitely one of the smallest, and won't stand out on shelves as much as other sets. Nevertheless, Razcal's boldly charging ahead in his glider, trailing a chi crystal. Around the action shot are the set's info (for some reason, the fact that the set's number is 70000 feels special), an image of the minifigure, and at the top the Chima logo and a close-up of Razcal's face.
The back has your standard advertising of the set's features, like the movable wings and claws and flick-fire thingy. It also seems that having a "buildable weapon" is new, though I guess it's kind of true in the way they mean it. Building
This tiny set actually includes two instruction manuals, I suspect because of the small box size, though the steps were rather gradual as well. The first manual puts the usual end-of-booklet advertisements before the mid-final steps, though, so watch out for that.
The pieces start out in two separate bags, though they don't remain that way for long. The first step, as always, is to build the figure. Razcal is a normal figure with the new bird helmet and a pair of wings, and his weapon is custom-built using a battle droid torso piece as a base.
Next, you begin building the glider. You start with the body, building the main structure before adding some of the TECHNIC connections and detailing like the wings and the flick-fire thing on the bottom.
Eight spare pieces overall, including some useful ones such as the round tile. Set Design
An interesting assortment of pieces are included, mainly black and grey, but with some Metru red and a few hints of purple.
Pieces of interest include Razcal's components, the purple Ninjago blades (looks like I didn't need to buy Bytar after all, oh well!), the new Chima wing pieces, the new Chima "beak" piece, the new Chi crystal, trans-blue round tile, and the blue TECHNIC pneumatic connectors. There are also a couple of semi-new SNOT brackets and the "knuckle" piece.
Razcal is a pretty cool figure. He's a normal figure but birdified. He's got the cool raven helmet on, with a chrome gold beak and a wicked smile. The new armor he has is what attaches his wings, using a clip tile to attach each wing. This allows the wings to flap, which is good for posing (though tends to make him back-heavy).
Under the armor, he has some quite detailed printing. He's covered with belts and straps, with more shiny gold details, purple feathers here and there, and some claws on his feet. He has a two-sided head, as I assume all Chima figures do. One side has slitted eyes and a closed mouth, and the other has eyes wide open and a slightly open mouth. Quite frankly, I find the second face terrifying.
I like this set's design. It looks pretty cool with its four wings and giant tail. The claws on the bottom could use some work, as they stick out a bit too far and their two-toed nature seems a bit odd. On the ground it's fine, but it doesn't seem very aerodynamic.
The front has the consistent animal head look of most Chima vehicles, using the beak and a couple of red round tiles for the eyes. The beak's connection seems like it could have been better, though, perhaps by using the 1x2 brick with an axle hole instead of the pin hole.
The flick-fire seems wasted on the back. I see that they're going for a grappling hook-type system, but it doesn't actually work and it seems awkward to just trail behind the vehicle. I also think Razcal's weapon would be better if it stood on its own, rather than using parts from the tail, because the back of the glider looks better when it's complete. Playability
It's fun to swoosh! You can run around the house (or dorm in my case) making "whoosh" sounds until your feet fall off or the perplexed stares of strangers drive you back into seclusion. But really, it's small enough to be easily held, and it's enough of a glider that it looks capable of swooshing. The way the wings are attached, which allows them to swing rather than flap, seems a bit detrimental to playability in my opinion, but that's rather minor.
I could easily see this used in conjunction with another animal-themed line of sets like the snakes of Ninjago if you don't care about the Chima story. Final Thoughts
Honestly, I bought this set because it looked like it had pretty good parts, and because i wanted the wing pieces. But even as a set I find it enjoyable, and am now rather torn as to whether or not I want to tear it apart. Buyer beware: you might actually like it!
Thank you all for reading the latest addition to BZPower's review database; I hope you've found it insightful and enjoyable. Please be sure to thank Bfahome for putting it together in the Talkback as well as asking any questions you might have or leaving any comments. We've got a couple more reviews in the wings, so keep checking back for those and other LEGO news, here on BZPower!
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