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    Discuss This Story ReviewWednesday, April 23rd, 2014 at 3:20am by Jason, BZPower Reporter

    It's time for yet another Legends of Chima set review. Today BZPower Reporter Xccj reviews 70133 Spinlyn's Cavern. Will you get entrapped by this set's arachnid beauty, or is this one you'll want to swat away. Read on or watch the set review video to find out!

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    Image of Box Front Image of Box Back

    This is what the box looks like. Generally this is what you'd see on the store shelves; if the store is rather selling you individual bags of parts, there may be something wrong there. The package does a good job of showing off some of the set's details, including the minifigures (Rogon, Eris, and Spinlyn) and some of the action features (and there's even some writing on the back describing said action features.) But it's mostly just a box, and it's not like there's anything super exciting about it that I could tell you here that you couldn't figure out on your own. But while we're here, let's go over some of the set's statistics. It's $39.99 USD, has three minifigures and 407 parts, is part of the Outlands wave of Legend of Chima sets, and is recommended for ages 8 to 14, although we all know that's just a suggestion.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    There are three things to build here; Rogon's Rhino Bike, the cave's entrance, and the rocky mountain. There's some nice SNOT (studs not on top) techniques used, and the mountain is well reinforced with Technic. There are a lot of stickers to add onto slopes and tiles, and that can be a bit of a pain. But far worst is tying the white string onto the spool, which I found to be more difficult. But if you're not fat-fingered like me, those bits might not be so tough to pull off.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    Image of Pieces

    There are a lot of pieces that come with this set, as well as a good amount of small extras. There are a couple of rare colors included here, which consist of the trans bright green elements (which previously only existed in the trans neon green color, and not the trans bright green that first appeared in Atlantis sets) as well as olive green pieces. These elements give a sickly feel to the whole landscape, making it fitting for the spider queen. Other interesting pieces include the dark brown Technic tri connector, the giant grey wheels, the trans light blue round bits, the Technic 5L lift-arm, the trans green dishes with webbing printed on them, the 2x4 tile with the mirror sticker, and the golden Chi piece. Nothing is exceptionally rare (except for some of the olive green and trans bright green elements) but it's still a nice collection of parts.

    Image of Rogon and Eris Front Image of Rogon and Eris Back Image of Rogon and Eris No Helmet

    The minifigures are amazing. First up is Rogon the Rhinoceros, who is a new minifigure this year, even if his character was in the first season of the TV show. The head mold is awesome, and even includes a bandage for his chipped horn, as well as some decent dark green highlights on his torso and leg printing. His weapon also utilizes the fist-hammer seen with the Gorillas last year. He exists in one other set (fittingly, Rogon's Rock Flinger) and the figures are exactly the same, but he's still a cool character to collect.

    Next is Eris the Eagle. Eris is the main female character from the series, and she's appearing in plenty of sets this year. The head and armor are the same (with the white eagle wings) but her torso and legs have new printing, and her weapon includes a piece that looks like a classic space blaster with a handle. Although this is the most expensive set she comes in with this wave (she comes in two smaller sets in her new armor, plus in her original form with the Eagle Legend Beast), Eris does tip the gender balance of figs in this set towards the female side, which is rare for a non-Friends set. Plus, she and Rogon have a crush on each other in the show, so it's nice to include both of them in this set.

    Image of Spinlyn Front Image of Spinlyn Back Image of Spinlyn No Helmet

    However, the star of this set is clearly Spinlyn. She takes meshing minifigs with creatures to a whole new level. Her body is build using Exo Force arms and the new spider leg pieces, as well as a brown meteor which is exclusive to this set in that color. She also comes with a torso, face, and mask with creepy new printing. Overall, she does look like a very creepy spider, and will probably fool a few people from a distance. (Plus, she even has a full eight legs; six of the new spider legs plus her two arms.) She's large, detailed, and very spider-like, and she alone is almost worth the cost of the set.

    Image of Rhino Bike Front Image of Rhino Bike Back

    As mentioned earlier, there are three parts to this set, and the first is Rogon's Rhino Bike. It's not a huge vehicle, but the big, bulky wheels do make it look tough, like a Rhino. The head is pretty detailed too, although much of it comes from the sticker designs. One problem I kept facing was that the large horn piece used on the vehicle does not have a very strong connection, causing it to fall off quite easily.

    Image of Cave Entrance Front Image of Cave Entrance Back

    The next part is the cave's entrance. It's kind of hard to call this a cave when there's not an actual ceiling... or walls, or anything to really suggest that this playset is confined and underground. (Still, that would probably not make a good LEGO playset, so I guess we'll have to use our imagination.) The entrance is just big enough for Spinlyn to squeeze through, and Rogon can ride his bike through it too. But, as with almost all the Chima designs, the cavern looks similar to a spider, including two long legs, 6 creepy eyes, and a couple of feelers. It's almost like its supposed to be a spider's giant mouth. I especially like the use of the trans red diamond pieces as the eyes. Overall, this landscape piece is pretty unsubstantial, but it gives off the general feel of a cave opening with (apparently) as few pieces as possible.

    Image of Mountain Front Image of Mountain Back
    Image of Chi Stand Image of Prison

    Finally, we get to the main rocky mountain inside the "cavern." This build is substantially tall, and utilizes BURPs (Big Ugly Rock Pieces) and Technic beams to keep it sturdy. There are two primary levels; on the ground level is a little stand for a piece of Chi, but beware for it might be booby trapped! The second level serves as a small prison for Eris, who is trapped by the spider web. The prison is spacious enough to allow room for her large wings behind it, although it can still be tough to fit her in. The top features the spool of string and the hanger. And attached to the back of the side web piece is the elusive golden Chi. It's a decent mountain piece that makes a great play feature for the Chima characters. And it's stocked full of play features, which we'll look into next.

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

    Image of Full Set

    As always, there's plenty of role-play potential. You have Rogon and Eris, who have to work through their relationship difficulties to battle Spinlyn. Spinlyn may be outnumbered, but she's big and mean enough to hold her own! Although Rogon can tip the balance by speeding around on his Rhino Bike. But beyond that, there are lots of fun play features hidden in this set.

    Image of Bike Catipult

    The bike has the obvious play feature of having wheels, and although animal-themed vehicles are of plenty in Chima, it never hurts to have another one. The Rhino Bike does have one feature... the little brown catapult on the side. This is the worst. These catapults in general never fire very well, and bits of the bike limit its movement even more so. It feels too much like an add-on, so you can just ignore it and zoom the Rhino Bike around on your own.

    Image of Cave Flick Fire Missle Image of Mirror

    The cave entrance has a few nice bits. You can move the side legs on a hinge, as well as the feelers underneath the eyes, to make the cave seem more alive. Hidden within the entrance is a flick fire missile topped with the web-covered dish piece, so I assume it's used on anybody who tries to sneak into the cave. The more interesting part is the mirror on the inside of the cave. The sticker is very reflective, enough so that Spinlyn can admire herself in it while standing guard at the cave's entrance. This nicely highlights Spinlyn's attention to beauty, as seen in the show, and is a great touch for the set. Besides, how often do you get working mirror stickers from LEGO?

    Image of Booby Trap Image of Prison Escape

    The mountain piece has even more play features. The Chi on the bottom level is indeed booby trapped; if you push on the back, the Chi pops up to reveal a flick fire missile with another web covered dish on it. It's a non-standard method for utilizing flick fire missiles, which is nice, as it does have an Indiana Jones vibe to it with the whole "touching the Idol sets off a trap" thing. Above that, you have the prison where you can trap Eris behind a spiderweb. But if you push in the lever on the back, the spiderweb gets launched away via... you guessed it!... a flick fire missile! Now Eris is free to fly off and help Rogon.

    Image of Spinlyn Webbing

    And then there's the winch string. This serves two primary purposes. First, the stopper piece on the end of the string could be attached to Spinlyn's body and used to lower her down into the cavern in a very spider-like fashion. This is a great idea, except the string doesn't really extend far enough off the mountain, so Spinlyn tends to bump into the wall on her way down. Still, it's hard to fault such a cool idea.

    Image of Zipline

    The other purpose of the string is to make it a zip line. You can attach the stopper piece to the top of the cave entrance, and then use the included zip line holder to send a minifigure sliding down. So after Rogon frees Eris, he can go down the zip line to safety, while she flies behind him. The cave entrance can be attached to the mountain to create a full playset, or it can be out on it's own to give a longer zip line run. And there's plenty of string to spare. This has to be the best part of the set; although it can be a little tricky to get the character on the string properly, it's fun when it works. Although LEGO has done zip lines before (in some of the Batman sets, I believe) it's a relatively rare feature, and I applaud its inclusion here.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Great Spinlyn figure
    • Rogon and Eris are good too
    • Some nice pieces in olive green and trans bright green
    • Fun little detailed Rhino Bike
    • Cave entrance looks like a spider's mouth
    • Mirror sticker works!
    • Some of the flick fire mechanisms are cool
    • String allows Spinlyn to descend like a spider
    • But also makes a great zip line!

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Not really much of a cave, what with no walls or roof
    • Stickers somewhat of a pain to put on, string difficult to tie on small parts
    • Catapult on the Rhino Bike is just the worst
    • The string is not hung far enough away from the mountain, so Spinlyn bumps into it on her way down.
    • Among the more expensive of the Chima sets

    Overall, I think this is a good, fun set. It comes with some great figures from a collector's standpoint, especially the spidery Spinlyn, and the landscape pieces have enough cool play features to keep it interesting for a while, especially with the zip line. There are some nice parts included as well, such as in olive green and trans bright green. But it is one of the more costlier sets, at $39.99 USD, and I could see that price turning some people away. But in the end, it fulfills our need to have an adventure with animal figures going after the elusive Chi.

    Thanks for reading and / or watching our review. We have even more Chima set reviews in the works, and plenty of ways to win free sets. Check out some of our other video reviews for chances to win a free set, or check out some of the raffles BZPower currently has going. Not a member of BZPower yet? Join before the end of the month and get in on a raffle to win a free Chima set! And stay tuned to BZPower for more LEGO, Bionicle, and Legend of Chima news!

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