Kre-O Reviews by Scrapper6 Redux

[Scrapper6]

Over on Cybertron.ca I'm taking up the task of reviewing Hasbro's foray into building block style toys with Kre-O Transformers.

But Kre-O is more than just Transformers. So here in this thread I will review everything I pick up that is not Cybertronian related.

Hasbro took a step into a much larger world when they introduced the Kre-O concept to the masses in 2011, to compete with named brands such as LEGO and Mega Blocks, they wanted to maximize their profits. And so they took their tried and true franchise and introduced the world at large to Kre-O. Transformers to be exact.

Then they decided to cash in on their next big blockbuster franchise (hopeful big blockbuster franchise at any rate) and introduced another run of Kre-O sets, this time featuring the characters and situations found in the feature film, Battleship.

Battleship the movie did not meet the expectations they set out to, sad to say, and while I personally don't see too much wrong with Battleship as far as films go (I mean I bought the DVD/BR Combo pack the week of release) I will admit that the marketing strategy of Hasbro's accompanying toyline idea left a lot to be desired.

Battleship has a total of nine Kre-O sets, ranging from sets drawing directly from ships and scenes in the film and then others which focus on alternative play options for children. Ignoring the film and its continuity these Kre-O sets are actually fairly damn impressive.

Hasbro has taken the Battleship storyline and managed to do something that not even LEGO has attempted yet, make realistic looking military vehicles in brick built form.

That being said however we shall start from the bottom and work our way up. (Since I currently own only a few of the smaller price point sets, but hope to change that in the near future.)

We begin with the first offering from Kre-O Battleship, set #38952 Ocean Attack (I still don't understand Hasbro's reasons for giving these Kre-O sets a numbering system like LEGO system. I mean besides the blatantly obvious cloneing aspects it gives off compared to their competitor.)

With Ocean Attack this is the bulk of what you get once you finish opening the box.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Admittedly it isn't much, you have two Kreons, a small piece of under water scenery, a mini-sub (Which never actually appears in the film) and two underwater mines.

At a price point of 9.99$ CND and a grand total of 66 pieces, compared to the smaller Optimus and Bumblebee models of the previous wave of sets the price-per-piece ratio is a bit high. Considering most 9.99$ LEGO sets, if memory serves, at leasts gives you more than 70 pieces.

This is the type of set you might find small kids demanding from their parents on shopping trips, it is also one you might consider buying when a BOGO type sale involving Kre-O is going on, but paying full price for it isn't worth your dime. (Unless you really happen to like Battleship.)

I do think however that it offers up a lot of fun elements. We'll start with the Alien Kreon...


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The packaging refers to this Kreon as the Alien Warrior, say what you will about the film, it does lend itself well to the Kre-O experience. These alien Kreons are sturdy looking little dudes, semi-indicative of the actual aliens found in the film.

To mimic the armor they wore, and the fancy weapon arm transformation gimmick they had, this Kreon actually doesn't dissapoint. The designs of the aliens in the film may not be exactly represented, but this is Kre-O, it really doesn't have to be exact.

I'm actually kind of surprised Hasbro didn't make a standard 3 3/4' action figure line with this movie. But except for Kre-O and the movie version of the classic boardgame they really didn't try to support this thing as much as they did Transformers.

Guess that's why fans and critics alike consider it to have coasted along on the coattails of Transformers' success.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Anyway, the alien itself is built in a style similar to how LEGO has made certain alien body types, while the upper torso maintains the same level of poseability as the Kreons from Transformers, the legs are a bit more rigid and LEGO-like in their poseability. In point of fact there is none to speak of.

Some might consider this a detriment to the Kreon form, however considering that most of the aliens wear simialr styled large backpacks as this one, representing everything from underwater jet propulsion systems to the Alien Scout's Scorponok-esque tail, the lack of poseability helps stabilize the Kreon much better.

Alien Warriors apparently include bladed arm attachments and energy projectile launching weapons in their arms. This Kreon doesn't have standard hands, I don't really think he needs them.

He's going to fight the united states naval officers just fine without needing to actually be able to hold a gun of any kind.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Before touching upon the other Kreon, let us discuss the buildable models found in this set.

Here we have... Uh... Some sort of underwater scenery. Hmmm, how nice, nothing says cloned from LEGO like your typical 9 piece model tossed in for the sake of giving the kiddies something to build and use when playing with the set.

It is really one of the weakest aspects of this particular Kre-O set, in fact out of everything I currently own I believe this is the weakest Kre-O model you can build, except for possibly the underwater mines.

And yet there is one thing about this model that redeems it a small amount, the unique looking seaweed pieces that Hasbro and Oxford have created, these tiny fronds do a surprisingly good job of mimicking seaweed. They do a much better job in my opinion than similar seaweed green parts found in my LEGO Atlantis sets.

I really like them and think they add a lot of value to this Kre-O set. Something unique, and now I'm getting a bit repeptitive with words, that you can use in MOCs if you're into that sort of aspect of LEGO collecting.

On to the meat and potatoes model of this set.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

You'd probably find something a lot similar to this in LEGO's Atlantis theme or other underwater themed sets. It's a simple looking Mini-Sub, open of course so it isn't meant to reach bone crushing depths. It's a short range assault craft used, fictionally mind you, to attack the aliens at or near the water's surface.

Again this never happened in the movie, someone was really stretching things out with their imaginations to try and get kids invested in the Battleship franchise.

If some of the stuff found in the Kre-O sets actually happened in the film, maybe it wouldn't have been panned as badly. (I mean look at that Mine Stryker set, or the Battle Base... We'll get to those eventually.)

This model, as I said, might be something you'd see offered up by LEGO, except there is something uniquely Hasbro about it. Not only is it meant to be a naval military vessel on a small scale, but it introduces us to a new type of Kre-O function/piece.

The missile launching weapons on either side of it, brought to the table by Hasbro these simple pressure style launchers, built out of two distinct pieces, allow for the child to actually shoot missiles without relying on flicking their fingers.

Let's face it, while the flick-fire missiles of LEGO fame are functional, they are not always fun to shoot. These puppies are a blast, just push the top down in the rear and it pops the missile out like a champaigne bottle launching a cork.

Mind you on this tiny model you may have fall-apart-syndrome aplenty when you try to launch the missiles. Kre-O bricks are a match for LEGO, but the clutch power on such a small model is a bit to be desired.

I still think it's jolly good fun, and something that ups the value of this set a wee margin too.

Of course stickers are involved, these are much improved from the initial batch of sticker sheets used by 2011's Kre-O Transformers. They are made from a better paper stock, I beleive, and have been made glossy so as to not wear and tear so easily.

While printed detailing might have been preferred, stickers aren't too bad. And this small set only has three so it isn't like you have to carefully place loads of them all over the place.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Next up... Uh... Yeah, glorified accessories and nothing much to write home about, hell you could build these with LEGO pieces too if you wanted to. Designwise I feel this set suffered a bit as perhaps being one of the first forays into off-screen expansion via the Battleship name.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here is Kreon #2, a real looker isn't he, just check out that detailed scuba gear and outfit painted onto his torso.

Called the Commando Diver on the box, this is again another off-screen character. But this Kreon is a real gem, not only is he a great looking military officer, he comes with some wicked cool accessories.

He's got a harpoon gun, which is kind of odd for a navy officer to be wielding, I mean he isn't going Shark Hunting or something like that, though I suppose as a Commando silent weaponry would be better suited for stalking alien prey.

Also he's got the missiles on his mini-sub, this weapon is more for close quarters combat.

Then he has flippers which attach to his feet. These things are BOSS! Seriously, have you played with LEGO under water themes before? Do you know how thin and flimsy they make their flippers? My Aquazone sets from the 90's suffered a lot of issues with broken flippers and such when I played with them, and I was a teenager at the time.

These things a shorter than typical LEGO flippers (I believe though not by much, I'd have to compare the two and I haven't tried to at this point yet), and thicker all around. They look like something you'd see a naval diver wearing.

They, along with the scuba helmet and rebreathing device/oxygen tank really suit the military feel of the Kreon, I'd go so far as to say they work better at being practical diving gear than the typical LEGO offerings. This thing is all one piece, not the backpack that slips over a Mini-Figure's neck and the standard race helmet with clear goggles that LEGO makes.

I am highly impressed. You know how LEGO is considered a child's toy by some, even though there is a very large community of adult fans who make goregous looking models out of bricks? I feel that Hasbro's Kre-O brand makes stuff that looks a bit more adult friendly for collectors.

Still toys mind you, but not just kids' toys if you catch my drift.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is what the instruction booklet looks like all folded up, I should have photographed it open too to show it off better, but I tend to think of these as an afterthought to the review. I do apologize for that.

This smaller set doesn't use the book style that the Transformers sets of the same size had last year, which is good because while impressive looking the thick booklets got bent inside the too small boxes.

This is more size friendly when it comes to the box, it folds out to showcase the building instructions. If you are at all familiar with Kre-O sets you know how highly detail oriented they can be, showing every little detail from beginning to end. With such tiny models in this set, it can be a bit of overkill on Hasbro's part, but to see them not skimping out on even one set makes me proud to be a supporter of Kre-O as a brand.

Then again I'm a highly detail oriented person, so I may be slightly biased.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Lastly, the box. All Kre-O boxes are designed to allow for building straight out of the box, they all open up like a carrying case and allow the builder to open the bags and leave the pieces inside while building.

A design choice that I applaud Hasbro for, this takes something you ordinarily ignore and toss out into the recycling bin with LEGO and offers up some functionality and reusability.

As a bonus the box designs have improved greatly from the 2011 Transformers boxes, both 2012 Battleship and TF boxes now have a much richer, fuller look to the outside. It attracts your eye better, and showcases the set in a fun, exciting way that will make children just scream for them. (I would hope, I'm not sure how well these things go over with kids to be honest. Do the parents buy them or do they ignore them in favor of the tried and true LEGO? Which would be a real shame, as Kre-O is just as good quality wise as LEGO.)

A few final items of note. The Battleship sets were the first to improve upon the basic flaws found with the Kreons of the 2011 sets. I haven't noticed any stress marks on the arms by the wrist sockets on these sets, although the hip/pelvic area still do have some stressing issues with the plastics.

Also, the hands had been modified, the stems/pegs that plug into the sockets have been curved, I do not know if this design element helps reduce stressing and breaking, I will continue to pay attention to them all to see if this is the case, but why change it to this method if it doesn't improve the quality of the figure?

Overall, I would have to say this. Ocean Attack is a fun little set, with some nice pieces for MOC enthusiasts, some great Kreons and decent enough models for the source material being used here.

I noticed a price increase on all the Battleship sets, some sets, like the Combat Chopper for instance are pretty much identical in piece counts to sets like Prowl, but instead of being 19.99$ most places were charging around 29.99$ for them. I can only surmise that this is due to the Universal Pictures cut of the profits.

If not for that, perhaps this set would have been priced in league with similar small LEGO sets, 5.99-6.99$ at most major retailers. As that is pretty much what this set is, a Kre-O version of such sets as LEGO City's Small Car, or LEGO Super Heroes Poly Bagged Batman Jet Ski.

My rating for this set is a sold 3 out of 5, I will say though that it recieves this score because I did get mine while on sale, and indeed i bought two of them. I may even pick up a few more at discount pricing, this set is a great army builder for Kreons, and... Well you really do not have to be a fan of Battleship to appreciate these Kre-O sets, if you really can't stand the film I'd say just ignore the fiction behind it and make up your own.

All of these sets offer up something LEGO hasn't done yet, provide realistic military vessels to combat an alien threat. I can't wait to snag that USS Missouri set, a real naval battleship made out of buildable bricks. What's not to love?

Next time we'll discuss the Land Defense set, another 'Troop Builder' style set. What fun!

EDIT: Here are a few quick shots of all four Ocean Attack sets I planned on picking up, troop building this set was a great deal of fun.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is one idea I had for taking the four little undersea scenery sets and combining them together, first I reversed two of their builds so that they would be assymetrical then I combined them using the mines temporarily until I can figure out other pieces to use.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Scrapper6]

Moving on up a price point, today we shall discuss the Battleship Kre-O set named Land Defense... Or is it?


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

As you can see by the box, which is a standard sized Kre-O box in the 12.99$ price range (unless you're shopping at Zellers, in which case the set is priced 13.99$ for some god awful reason [GREED]) Hasbro has mispelled the name of the set.

And it isn't just relegated to the boxes.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Even the instructions suffer this odd typo, instead of spelling it the correct way every set uses the term Defence. Now I'm not sure if this is an American thing, quite frankly I've never heard of anyone spelling it this way, the word Defenstrate exists, and I have to wonder if this word is possibly related to that. (Defenestrate, Defence, like some kind of action or something in the past tense... Or whatever, I'm not very good with grammar.)

Nope, even MS Word doesn't recognize the spelling as a correct spelling. Guess someone at the design floor mistype the thing when making up the packaging design and the thing stuck.

It makes for a hilarious piece of packaged blunder from Hasbro though, similar to the Crap Iron from ROC packaged Scrap Iron with the Snake-Trax vehicle.

Anyway, the instructions and the box are your standard Kre-O designed items. The box serves its purpose well, and the image looks great. Really actiony, and the instructions are simple to follow, easy to use for any age range and fairly fun. I also realized much later in my photoshooting for these reviews that I wasn't showing the back of the boxes, this will be rectified with the Decepticon Ambush set, which I will be reviewing eventually. Until then you'll just have to keep looking at the front of the box.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Land Defence, as Hasbro calls it, is another Troop Building style set for you Kreon enthusiasts out there, it is priced as I said before regularly at 12.99$ and features 4 Kreons, three humans and an alien. (I'll get to the specific names of each one shortly.)

As troop builders go it isn't too bad, it may be a bit sparser compared to LEGO Star Wars equivalent troop builders, as far as the models and piece count go, but it is still a serviceable troop buildable set.

There are a total of six things included with this set, the 4 Kreons and two different types of land based artillery.

Once again Hasbro is using creative license to flesh out the Battleship Kre-O line, at no point during the film does the US Military ever get involved with the alien assault, in fact the named Kreon in this set (Colonel Beret) isn't even in the film as an actual character. (As far as I can tell.)

IMO you could have a lot more fun making up your own stories with the Battleship Kre-O line than following the storyline of the film, to the letter. And quite frankly, aside from a few aspects of the film, I did not feel that it was that bad.

However we're here to discuss the toyline based on the film, not the film itself. Let us continue shall we?

Human Kreons...


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

As mentioned above one of these three Kreons is known by the uninspired name Colonel Beret (can you guess which one he is?) the other two are referred to as Army Attacker (the dude in the baseball style cap with the bazooka and grenades) and Stealth Soldier. (The one with the helmet and goggle attachment.)

Unlike most of my reviews I did not photograph them individually, for the sake of cutting down on the number of images used, so we'll discuss them all with the group shot above as reference.

Alphabetically!

Army Attacker is the standard soldier type, he has regular army fatigues with a camo print pattern, his face includes some detailed scar work and he has the lion's share of the accessories in this set.

First off he comes with a rocket firing bazooka, much like you would expect, this weapon has flick-firing features. Now, unlike with LEGO flick-fire weapons, this one is pretty hit or miss. You have a thinner piece to flick with and so you have to hit it just right to get it to fly out of the barrel properly.

It is also top heavy, so when the Kreon is holding the weapon the missile likes to slide out. He also includes a bandolier, this accessory is just awesome looking, the detailing on it makes it stand out at that scale when placed next to any similar styled LEGO accessories, and the bullets actually look like bullets.

Last, but certainly not least, he includes three grenades. You won't find these in a LEGO set, the only downside to the grenades is the way they are placed in Kreon hands. You have to slide one end in first and then the other will snap in, this to me could potentially lead to broken Kreon hands, although I could be over-paranoid about it. I'm not eager to test out the theory seeing as how it would mean purposefully breaking a toy for no reason.

Colonel Beret is the only Kreon out of the group who is based on a named character, and who doesn't have green pants. He comes with two different weapons, a semi-automatic and a rifle of some kind. (He also get's to wear that impressive looking beret piece, which looks slightly better scaled compared to the one found in the Collectible Mini-Figure line, but I don't own that piece yet from LEGO so I could be off on my assessment.)

Stealth Soldier has no hand-held weapons to speak of, as he is more likely designed to interact with one of the models you build in this set. He does however come with accessories, a thick tac vest and a helmet with flip down night-vision goggles.

Overall I'd have to say these Kreons are great, and can interact quite nicely as army personnel against your Transformers Kre-Os or the Aliens from Battleship and their vehicles. The detail on the army fatigues are particularly impressive, even the Stealth Soldier has a nice printed torso underneath his tac vest/bullet proof armor thing. On top of that they really look like military personnel.

It gives me hope for any future G.I.Joe Kre-O they might some day give us.

Model #1:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Land Defence... Sorry I know it's not spelled that way, just can't help being Hasbro specific (lol) includes pieces to build two models

In fact, since I forgot to mention it so far, the piece count is 81, which is roughly close to the same piece count found in LEGO brand troop builder sets.

The first piece of artiller is a remote operated missile launcher, or something like that, although the Kreons can stand behind it, and in fact Colonel Beret is doing just that on the box, I think this is more like an unmanned weapon, since there are no triggering mechanisms included in the build for people to interact with.

Scale wise it looks a little bit puny as far as ground defense artillery is concerned. But then again I don't pay too much attention to scale in Hasbro products.

The model itself is fairly simple to build, won't take you longer than five minutes, and features the ingenious missile launcher created by Oxford/Hasbro in the Kre-O brand. It also uses two stickers for detailing, to make the pieces look like metal instead of simply pieces.

The missile firing gimmic works quite nicely, and the weapon is sitting on a turn-style peice for easy mobility. It can not aim upwards however, making it impractical for use against aerial assailants. (Unlike what the image on the box would make you or your children believe.)

Model #2:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This, in my opinion, is the better of the two models included with the Kreons. I beleive this is commonly known as a Howitzer, a mobile unit designed to be installed at defensive positions.

And it is a realy beauty, it sits on a ball-joint so it can turn 360 degrees and can pivot up or down depending on targets of opposition. A Kreon can sit inside of it, in fact this is where the Stealth Soldier is meant to go as the operator of same.

Look at the design of this thing, with a few simple pieces you have a wicked looking weapon capable of dealing tons of damage. It is awesome and worth picking up at least one of these sets up if you're in to artillery for your LEGO/Kre-O universe.

Alien Sniper Kreon:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Much like the previous, Alien Warrior, the Alien Sniper is a Kreon of a different sort. And with different accessories.

This one has one regular hand and another gun hand, unlike the Warrior this one is grey and orange in color instead of yellow and grey. He also includes pieces to build a jet-pack, which is where the other two stickers included with this set will go for detailing.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

As you can see this tends to make the Kreon back-heavy, and yet he is pretty stable once you get him in the right pose. The design and look of these Alien kreons are just stunning to behold, as a fan of Mini-Figures in general I have to say Hasbro/Oxford have done a brilliant job in designing a Kreon that really makes you want to pick up and play with them. Or just army build in order to display a massive swarm of attacking aliens in your Brick-Built Displays/MOCs.

They just look all around fun, and it is a real shame that Hasbro did not see their full potential to help move the Battleship concept into the hearts and minds of children and adult collectors alike. For every Battleship set you get, you'll either have an equal number of aliens to humans, or more humans than aliens depending on the set.

Making you want to buy and buy just to build up an army of these awesome looking little dudes. But Hasbro did not include an Alien Troop Building set with their Battleship line, unlike with this one which is more geared for army building humans as opposed to aliens.

I'm kind of hoping they'll expand this line next year, or at the least include a sub-line of their Micro-Change assortment that includes Battleship Aliens in blind packed form.

I don't care if the line is based on a mediocre box office flop (in the states) I want to see more sets for the Aliens in the future. This is sadly a very underappreciated toyline from what I've seen on the matter, and it doesn't deserve to be.

However I'm getting off a bit from the review here.

I would have to say that this set is well worth your time to include in your collection, the weapons may be simple looking models without much pieces, but their playability and displayability factor alone is worth the price of admission.

On top of that you have 4 awesome looking Kreons, three great Military soldiers and one impressive looking alien.

Definitely try to pick up at least one, and if there's a sale you can't go wrong with more than one. Because this set shows us what may happen if Hasbro starts to include G.I.Joe in their Kre-O brand toyline.

I rate this set a solid 5 out of 5. It's fun to build, fun to display, and fun to fiddle and play with. The Kreons are great, the accessories are all perfect and it works as a troop builder. Don't believe me... Well take a look.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Yep, I've got two. I even swapped around the Kreons so they'd look different. If you're on the fence with Kre-O or simply didn't care enough for the movie this toyline is based on to support it, you owe yourself the chance to take another look at it. Find someone who has Battleship sets and get a feel for them that way if you can, I guarantee you'll fall in love with these designs, these Kreons and even the franchise. (Possibly, your results may vary.)

When next I return to the world of Kre-O Battleship, be prepared to see the awesomeness that is... KRE-O BATTLESHIP: COMBAT CHOPPER! I guarantee this is another set well worth investigating.

(In case you are wondering, with few exceptions I'll probably grab two of every Battleship set simply because I dig the overall look of the series/theme. And want more Aliens. 30% off at Zellers and climbing, sure hope they'll still have a bunch when we hit 50-70% off so I can take advantage of the opportunity.)

[Scrapper6]

Need to be catching up with all these reviews if I aim to have them all done by the end of the year.

Onwards folks to the next exciting set in the Battleship Kre-O line.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is the combat chopper, featuring 174 pieces, 2 Kreons and a singular model to build this set would be the equivalent of Prowl size class wise from the first year of Transformers Kre-O sets. My one problem with this is that unlike Prowl who was priced at a reasonable 19.99$ before taxes all stores raised the price of this set to (I believe) 24.99$

I do not know if this some odd mandate from Universal, or some sign of rising costs for the more unique pieces introduced with Battleship, whatever the case I find this price to be a bit high when in 2011 you could get Prowl for 20$ with taxes and his pieces can be used to build not one, but two models.

Hell I think TRU is even charging a little bit more for this set than that, then again I haven't seen it at TRU recently... Or maybe I'm thinking of the full retail price at Zellers? Actually I believe I am.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Like all Battleship sets Hasbro improved upon the box design, the instructions and the appeal of these sets. The Kreons now feature a new style of hand, designed to prevent them from popping out so easily when they turn (I think) it's quite unfortunate that they didn't modify the wrist joints to prevent the stressing out that can occur with them.

Still, these sets are a sign of some interesting engineering and you won't be finding any of them with LEGO any time soon, in fact, despite some criticising them for it Hasbro is reusing some of the model designs (tweaked of course) to build their G.I.Joe ARAH inspired sets coming out February of next year as TRU Exclusives. (I shudder to think how overpriced those things might be, still I really dig the Joes and plan on getting all of them.)


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here is the final build of the set, this is what you will have once you've completed the model. A nifty looking military chopper and two Kreons, Fighter Pilot and Alien Scout.

I really am impressed by the design of the model, I am also quite enamored of all the different Alien Kreons.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is the model, Combat Chopper, I am not sure what scale Hasbro is intending this to represent as I don't follow military copter designs too closely. That being said this thing is great looking, it is loaded with ordinance and introduces a piece that I had hoped would have been included with Vortex to be honest.

The small red knob on the side is part of a spinning rotor gimic that is one solid piece, the entire assembly allows for the rotors to be placed on it and when pressed spin, quite well I might add.

The color tones of this helicopter are great, loads of olive green with red and black mixed in for detailing. The stickers are, as noted previously, a vast improvement over the first batch of Kre-O sets. And minimalistic, a great approach, why rely on stickers for all the detail work when only a few are truly needed to enhance the look of the model.

The weapons include two pressure styled missile luanchers, two ball jointed gattling cannons capable of rotating a full 360 degrees and two rockets clipped on the undercarriage, easily removed for pretend launch and payload drops.

This model is fun to build, fun to display and fun to fiddle with. The only issue some might have with it is, unlike Starscream, the landing gear do not fold up while in flight. Which means if you want to display it as a flying attack vehicle you will need to remove the landing gear.

Simple I suppose enough to do, I still prefer the inclusion of fold out/in landing gear as it means the model is a fully functioning toy. To each their own though.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is the Alien Scout Kreon, dark red and greys mostly in color the Alien Scout features a slightly different build compared to the others I've reviewed so far.

Instead of having his head connected to the torso giving an almost hunched over appearance, his is connected from above, the helmet design looks good either way, however the eyes are painted onto the face in such a fashion as to only look good one way or the other. This means you can have an army of Alien Kreons and the lower the caste type the different it will look, beefier fighters like Snipers and Warriors are hunchbacked while stronger and more agile units such as Scouts and others are taller and bulkier looking.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Using large flame pieces attached to small pieces clipped onto the shoulders this Alien Scout is given the impression of flight capabilities different from the large winged jetpack of the Sniper found in Land Defence.

It also evokes a scorpion like appearance with the back-mounted weapon, either some sort of energy blaster or perhaps a piercing tool, or indeed as this is a scout it is entirely possible this is meant to be some sort of advanced monitoring and surveillance equipment.

All in all the Kreon is pretty neat, not as back heavy as the Sniper and including a curved bladed weapon for close quarters combat. A great addition for Kreon enthusiasts.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Hasbro's first assortment of Human based Kreons were generic and almost far too bland in some instances with the detailing. They were only included with The Transformers though to bulk up the Kreon numbers, and some of them were kind of cool.

All this changed when Battleship arrived. Boasting more detail work, greater color choices and less generic looking faces, the human Kreons have improved upon the original take and given us a great deal of good looking soldiers and the like.

That is no exception with this Fighter Pilot, although not piloting a fighter this Kreon does have some weapons and impressive detail work. Wearing a flight suit and carrying a pistol along with our first Kreon knife, this guy looks armed and dangerous. I especially like the serrated edges on the knife, it reminds me of Rambo's knife, and it makes for a great accessory.

Rather than wearing a standard flight helmet though, this Kreon includes the clip-on, flip down night-vision goggles for nighttime combat. These ones lack the green paint that the Land Defence set boasted, however they are still a great looking accessory.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Our final image showcases the difference between Transformer designed sets and Battleship ones. As I'm certain this scale is a bit off, I am equally certain they look great together as it stands.

Overall I'd have to say Hasbro's Battleship sets are well worth looking into, while the prices are a bit higher at full retail, a sale of any sort improves upon that most readily.

Local Wal-Marts have been marking them down, I bought my first one at 15$ at one of the Local Wal-Marts and felt that was a fair enough price per piece ratio for what you get.

I'll update this later with a shot of both of my sets side-by-side (My seond one I found at Wal-Mart for 10$, a steal of a deal for a Kre-O set of this size and featuring this impressive of a model.)

While the upcoming Dragonhawk G.I.Joe set shares a lot of similar design elements in the build of the model, I think my two Combat Choppers will compliment it nicely once I snag the Dragonhawk. I mean the design is perfect, unlike Vortex the cockpit is not as open as his chopper mode, and in-spite of my minor complaint over the lack of functional retractable landing gear this model stands out as a fully loaded down and armed to the teeth combat chopper.

And if you wanted to build a diorama military air base you can't go wrong snagging a few of these things while they're being clearanced out.

This set get's a solid 4 out of 5 from me and a strong recomendation for military and Joe enthusiasts. Unfortunately my hope to modify Vortex's model in vehicle mode incorporating the parts from this set just don't seem to work out. Not that I've tried yet mind you, I just don't seem to have the vision capable of seeing how it could work though as the two models are so vastly different as to be almost impossible to combine.

Stay tuned for our next review where we take a look at the final set out of the first batch of Battleship sets. (Going by their number sequence at least.) The Alien Strike.

EDIT: As promised, both CC sets that I picked up in one shot.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[SIKKBONES]

can't wait to see what they do with the gijoes.

[DanM]

Re: the defense/defence thing, defence is British english and defense is American english. Canada usually follows the British version.

Oh and good review. Seeing as these sets are being recycled for the GI Joe Kre-Os it makes for a nice sneak peek.

[Cpl. Chrissandwich]

I have the striker one, the moblie assault vehicle. I like that one. I bought because I'm going to built a battle scence. Classic transformers fight with lego building destroyed, the battleship set as back up for Autobts, along any uncs mega bloks sets...My vision for this is huge!

[Scrapper6]

Good evening, we come to the end of one assortment of Battleship Kre-O sets tonight by reviewing the last in the numerical sequence begun with Ocean Attack.

This is Kre-O Battleship Alien Strike.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

As you can see from the box image above this set features four Kreons, our first named characters from the Battleship movie. It also features a model that I personally think is a fair aproximation for practical purposes of the three smaller ships that the aliens employed during the attack.

There are of course a few cutting measures being used for the model. The ship in question is definitely not as large as the one from the actual film, most of the detail work is handled fairly, while some is obviously omitted or changed to avoid uping the piece count too high.

Featuring a total of 277 pieces and typically ringing up around the 29.99$ price (Unless you are TRU in which case it is a few dollars above suggested retail price.) This set is pretty impressive. I can't do a full on comparison, however I believe most LEGO sets featuring this many pieces are usually closer to the 40-50$ price range depending on Theme. So you are definitely getting a good bargain on this set price to piece wise. (Hell if I remember right one of my previous LEGO City purchases was a set priced at 29.99$ and coming up to about 177 pieces, if I recall correctly. Probably wrong though. Maybe.)


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The instruction manuals are always broken down pretty much the exact same way with Kre-O sets. First you build the Kreons, then you build smaller set pieces or parts of the model (or of course Vehicle modes in the case of TFs) and then the main model herself.

Something I noticed while collecting these Battleship sets is that the first numbered batch, from #38952 to #38955 had standard instructions, the second batch I've picked up so far, #38974-#38976 seems to have included a table of contents at the beginning of the manual. Which some of the Quest for Energon sets have carried over. Prooving that once again Hasbro is always evolving these things to make them better and easier to follow.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And here is what you will find when you open one box. (Or in the picture's case, two.) Since there were three vessels in the film I am interested in three of this set, naturally. I managed to score two at Liquidation Zellers, unfortunately by now at 50% off the sets are pretty much all gone. So I've decided to hold off until a decent sale or discount at Wal-Mart/TRU to pick up the third one.

Being that these represent a key scene in the film the set is pure Battleship, there won't be any recycling over to G.I.Joe with these models.

The set also includes two of the only named characters in Kreon form so far from the film, while most of the other sets except for the Missouri feature generic soldiers (and Land Defence who comes with non-screen Colonel Beret) here you will find two key characters from the film.

Which two? I'll get to that very shortly.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

As you will recall in the film, these ships acted like water insects when on Earth's surface, or below it in the ocean. If you haven't seen the film or checked out the special features in which they make reference to this fact, well now you know.

The model in the film was much larger, featured multiple weapons systems and numerous small hoses and grappling devices which hung down. In essence they were very busy models, much like the CGI Robots of Live Action Transformers.

In order to simplify and add playability to this toy Hasbro went with a slightly smaller form, the basic body of this ship is never going to cut it for an alien spacecraft, it has numerous open-air sections where pieces can't go due to the necessity of the design and cockpit, and so it makes more sense as some sort of flying craft the way it is presented.

The four 'wings' you see in the photos are actually legs, used to simulate the hopping motion of water insects, as mentioned before. The rear legs are shorter and use balljoints from the Transformers, naturally, while the forward sweeping larger legs are on a double set of hinge joints.

They can sweep forward and move up and down, all of the legs have decent range of motion, the only problem is getting these things to actually sit on a shelf and not tip backwards, for whatever reason this model is back heavy. More then likely because there are more pieces in the back than the front, naturally.

I found a decent way for it to sit on the shelf without constantly tipping backwards, however I haven't done much experimenting yet to find the perfect dynamic pose.

The vessel in the movie launched Battleship styled peg missiles, as you can see Kre-O versions of these missiles are clipped onto the front 'leg/wings', while in front are two flick-fire missile launchers that launch ordinary missiles. Which are also on the balljoints. EDIT: Correction, the missiles are attached to the body via C-Clips, I erroneously thought it was ball joints, although you can clearly see in the picture they are just clipped on. My mistake. So they go up and down, not all around, which makes more sense honestly.

Stickers make up the bulk of detail work on the transparent red wings and other areas, there are three control consoles which show the shot from the movie of a Destroyer in red, two small ones and one bigger one.

Other play features include:

Opening front cockpit.
Rear gunner station with rotating guns, a very fragile piece due to how it is built, if you don't move it from the joint piece it tends to fall apart in your hands.
Mobile grabbling claw weapon for picking up Kreons. This is a great play feature, the claw-arm is long enough to achieve decent poses and it holds Kreons quite snuggly.

Overall while this model does have a few problems they are not deal breakers, one final note, since the Alien Kreons do not sit because of their different designs they stand in their cockpit areas, and these buggers are a nuissance to get in there. Once you do manage to get them in though they aren't going to pop out.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

A secondary model included with this set is the small launch, a vessel which captures the vehicle seen in the movie used by the main characters when investigating the mother ship.

Again it is smaller than its counterpart, however the detail work and the solid bottom piece for the boat are great looking from this kit. Again it is a bit of a tight fit for the two human Kreons, and the gunner won't be able to grip the triggers very well without first properly positioning the thing so it won't fall apart (it is, much like the gunner station on the ship a tad flimsy for play, perfect for a display/diorama though that won't be constantly moving the weapon to track the enemy).

A pretty decent navy vessel for your display though. Of course it doesn't float, none of these aquatic vessels do, a shame they would have made great bath toys if they could have included that feature. Or pool toys. For the kids of course.

On with the Kreons.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is the main protagonist, just called Hopper on the box I'll be honest I can't remember his first name right this moment.

As you can see the figure includes a black life-jacket, which doubles as a bullet-proof bodyvest in other sets. (And has recently appeared on Micro-Changers to help with the transformations.) These pieces are pretty neat honeslty, they look great even though they tend to cover up the impressive chest detailing on the Kreons.

Hopper is in Navy Blues, with camo styled printing on the pants, and a cap with the navy logo on it. Or what I'm assuming is the navy logo, he also includes a small pistol, or can use the harpoon gun and hand-held gattling weapon attached to the boat. (Or grenade launcher/sub-machine gun thing, whatever it is.)

As far as Kreons go he's neat.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The Alien Gunner is suitably menacing looking, he has a light grey and red deco and a nasty looking drill weapon on either arm. (it's up to you which side you want it to be on.) He mans the gunnery post in the rear of the ship, and again we see that the head is situatied above the shoulders instead of hunched forward.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The Alien Pilot on the other hand is a slightly different pattern of red and grey, also with the head above the shoulders, and features two distinct arm attachments. Both of which get in the way when you want him to fit into the cockpit, unless they're turned sideways of course.

One is an open claw (re-used for Scorponok) the other is, I think, some sort of alien saw weapon. Now the claw weapon doesn't actually come inside of the same bag as the rest of the Kreon parts, instead it is one of the larger bags with the ship parts. This is because inside of the cockpit (which I neglected to photograph) you are told to place a small clip and the extra arm attachment for storage.

A great idea, the instructions however tell you to put the saw weapon there, which is in the Kreon bag, instead of the claw, which is in the parts bag. Kind of backwards if you ask me.

As I may have said before these Alien Kreons are just plain awesome, I love the design of them, the way they are built and all the little various attachments and things you can use with them. I really think Hasbro missed a perfect opportunity for troop builder enthusiasts by not including them in their own troop buildable set.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Kre-O collectors, meet your first female Kreon, yes that is correct. In case you couldn't tell (or make it out) from the torso detailing this is Raikes. (Rhianna's character from the film.)

She is also wearing a hat, and a vest, but also sports a cool pair of shades. Her lips also feature lipstick.

The only thing this Kreon is missing to be perfect is the arm tattoos Rhianna's character sports in the movie and a spare hairpiece so you can take off the hat and not have her being bald. (Then again most Kreons do not include alternative hairpieces. A crying shame.)

Well that's everything for this set, I am going to break up the photos between posts and show off various comparison shots between the alien ship and the other vehicles I have so far from the Battleship line.

What do I think of this set overall? Being highly playable, and featuring some impressive detail work, even if they did have to cheat with the scale a little to make the designs from the film work as building kit toys. I'd have to say that the Alien Strike set is a very good set to add in your collection.

The ship is unique looking, different from anything else in the line, and the minatirue launch/boat is perfect for Kre-O/LEGO navys. The Kreons, as always, are awsome fun little things and this is the only toy you're ever going to own of Rhianna, so why not pick her up?

My rating of this set, a solid 3.5 out of 5, I do unfortunately have to dock it just a little bit because of the fragility of some of the features (gunners weapons.) and the back-heavy nature of the ship. It is also a little ungainly for sitting on a shelf, though I'm certain once I've fiddle around with it enough I can get it to stand for some decent dynamic poses. (If you have spare parts from LEGO or happen to own one of those Star Wars TIE Fighters with the starfighter holding tower things you might want to see if it will balance this thing right.)

Well that's all from me this time, I've edited my Ocean Attack and Combat Chopper reviews with a few new pics showcasing the whole collection of them I've got/am planning to get currently. And as I said I'll be adding another post as soon as this one finishes loading with comparison shots.

I'll tell you which of the three remaining sets I'll be reviewing next time in that one. Until then, keep on building.

[Scrapper6]

Comparison Shots of Alien Strike Vessel/Main Model.

1)Combat Chopper
2) Air Assault Jet Fighter
3) Air Assault Alien Vehicle
4) Mine Stryker
5) Battle Base Small Alien Vehicle
6) Battle Base Small Assault Copter


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Next time we'll be reviewing Air Assault.

[Scrapper6]

A bit of a delay with this one, however it's time for another review. Kre-O Battleship Air Assault.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Box and instructions images show us that once again Kre-O has some decent looking packaging and really high quality instruction booklets.

The Air Assault set represents another 'what if' or 'off screen' event from the film Battleship.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here's everything you get in the set once its all built up, a small one-being alien craft, the two Kreons of course and a Jet Fighter.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The Jet Fighter is the bulk of the pieces in this set, it uses some pretty interesting new style of pieces for the wings, with great design elements used instead of just having everything be connectible. Or ending in a stud.

The model includes three sets of landing gear, just like with the Combat Chopper this landing gear is stationary and doesn't fold up. You'll need to disassemble them if you want to display it 'in-flight'. This model also has limited sticker use, so that is a definite plus, and you get four firing missile launchers. Two pressure styled launchers, push on the back of the missiles and they fire, and two of the press-down-to-fire launchers which I really dig from these Kre-O sets.

You can move the tailfins up and down and of course the cockpit opens. With mostly two different shades of gray and a dark blue color used in its construction the vehicle is pretty uniform looking.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here's a shot from the side showing off some of the decal work. The best aspect about this model is its size honestly, you can hold it in one hand and swish it through the sky so kids are going to love that.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

You can see here the difference in size between fighter designs, on the left you have the Battleship Fighter and on the right is Starscream.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This secondary model is extremely odd looking, it appears to be some sort of alien sky-sled or something with huge wings and a bunch of moveable laser launching weaponry.

The alien Kreon fits onto the rear of the vessel and then lays flat against the chassis, the wings on this model can move slightly to be curved or flat/straight allowing it to sit on the shelf better.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

As indicated in this image here, the piece where the Kreon is attached can also fold backwards so that the Kreon is standing up in the rear. It looks really odd so I didn't bother photographing it in that state.

Overall I think this thing is, ok, it's not like the ship in Alien Strike, it's more like something out of your generic sci-fi assault squadron. The wings being poseable allow it to achieve many alternate configurations and it does appear quite maneuverable, even if it doesn't exactly have any shields to protect the pilot.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The Kreons in this set are really generic when it comes to their names, this is the Pilot, that's it. He doesn't get called anything, however there is a curious thing about him.

You'll notice he's got some really impressive printing on his torso and legs, he's dressed in a pilot's uniform that shows tons of pockets, accessories and even the breathing hose that allows oxygen into his system. But...


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Notice his facial print, this Kreon has a distinctive looking almost Asian styled face, leading me to wonder if perhaps he's meant to represent the Japanese character from the film in Kreon form.

His accessories include a small pistol and knife, similar to those wielded by the Combat Chopper's Fighter Pilot if memory serves. I guess they're standard army/navy issue for pilots who have to eject and do battle up-close.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Again in this set the Kreon is simply called Alien, so he's generic and perfect for troop building. He's a similar shade of plastic to the aliens found in the Alien Assault set, I believe he's a lighter tone of gray and red however. You can see he uses the same claw-hand weapon as the Alien Pilot, only this time in black.

Air Assault is perfect for building your army of military grade aircraft in the end run, the price if I recall before sale/discounts is 29.99$ at TRU, oddly 32.99$ at Zellers back in the day so you're better off picking it up at TRU. Especially on discount/clearance when the time comes.

While the alien vessel is an odd design, and was never in the film, we did see a few jet fighters on the deck of the carrier helmed by Admiral Shane. The call sign for this fighter is 09371H, a sticker that you might want to leave off if you buy more than one of these for alternate fighters in the squadron. Speaking of which the sleek design of the fighter is a great look to it, I'm not entirely sure seeing as how I don't own that particular set, however I'd wager it would look great next to the larg 3-1 LEGO Creator set that also builds a fighter style jet. (Provided you MOC it to feature a real working Mini-Fig scaled cockpit.

My rating for this set, 4 out of 5 Bricks.

Tomorrow I'll review a real gem of a set, the Battleship Mine Stryker. Until then, keep on creating/building.

[Scrapper6]

Well it's tomorrow, and as promised here is a review of one of the all-time coolest sets being offered from the Battleship line.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is yet another 'off-screen scene' As you can tell from the box this time we're only going to be building the one vehicle. With three Kreons this set is one higher than the Air Assault set reviewed yesterday. And yet it is the exact same price. 29.99$ retail, even better on sale.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Instructions of course. Standard thoughts from me on those as expressed elsewhere in this thread.





Here it is, everything included in the set in all its glory. Isn't it wonderful? The tan coloring, the Kreons, everything looks great. The Mine Styker model build is to be the Cobra HISS tank in next years' G.I.Joe Kre-O sets exclusive at TRU. Some fans consider this to be a big let-down because it doesn't evoke the iconic look of the HISS Tanks.

Personally the fact that this model, with a few different parts for weapons and such, is going to be all in blue next year as a Cobra HISS just excites me further.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The Mine Stryker model is based on a mine detecting vehicle of some sort I suppose, I don't know my military vehicles very well. As you can see in this picture it opens up in two different areas in the front, the larger opening is to place the Kreon in the driver's seat. The smaller is so you can have him pop up and aim his weapon out to repel attacking enemies.

The model featurs a tiny bit of sticker detailing for the control interface and that's about it. It rolls ecellently on all six wheels and it includes those cage style protective pieces on the side for added protection. It also features a missile launcher with pressure fired missile, just push on the back and it goes flying.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The rear of the vehicle also features an opening door, for the mine detecting/disposing robot drone to roll up and down in. There is also a clip to store one of the Kreons' weapons and, I believe you can see it in this shot very well, the first ever printed element from Kre-O. That's right, the small sloped piece in the back of the Mine Stryker is actually printed with those details of a control interface. A first in all of Kre-O, hopefully not to be a last once the Joes sets roll out next year. Stickers are all well and good, but nothing beats a good printed piece.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And here's a closer shot of the little mine deploying robot/rover vehicle. Small and equipped with a tiny robot arm this ting lays out the mines, or if enemy mines are in the area it can be sent in kamikaze style to detect them and perhaps inadvertantly set one off.

Recognize the mines? Yes this set does come with two of its own, in total I now own ten mines, two from this set and eight in total from the four Ocean Attack sets I picked up. I'll have an even dozen when I pick up my second Mine Stryker.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here we have a close-up shot of our first Kreon, the Desert Fighter. Wearing a tac vest and carrying an impressive looking piece of artillery you don't have to be told this dude is cool, just check out those shades.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here's a shot without the vest on so you can see the great detail work put into his torso print and leg printing. No two torsos or legs ever seem to get the exact same printing, unless you buy doubles of the set for troop building you'll never get the exact same print on the exact same torso/legs. (As far as I know currently from what I've picked up.)


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Meet the Tank Sergeant, another Kreon with the bandolier of bullets and a small RPM (That does stand for Rocket Propelled Missile doesn't it?) flick it and he can launch a rocket at the enemy.

He also carries another regular rifle style weapon which you may have noticed clipped into the Mine Stryker's rear compartment for storage and easy access. Or I hope you noticed it. It wasn't easy to spot in the picture showing the interior of the rear compartment.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And this is the Alien Fighter, the whole reason why I want at least two of this set is to own two of this awesome looking Kreon. (The fact that the rest of the set is equally awesome in my books is a nice bonus.)

Gray and blue the Alien Fighter is the only Alien to feature these nifty colors, and that nifty weapon slung on his back. He also has the same blaster/weapon dealie that the Alien Warrior had for his arm/hand attachment.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here's a back shot of the weapin in question, a massive drill arm attached to his back, this dude is sporting some serious weaponry for dealing with army soldiers. And he could easily crack into the Mine Styker itself if given enough time, as we see him attempting on the box's image.

Overall while there are many great sets in the Battleship line, most of which expand upon the premise of the film with different styles of vehicles and enemies, this is one of the rare few I really dig. The model is built solidly, it rolls well, it has decent playabiliy, collectibilty and displayability for dioramas and it is a nice change of pace from all the aerial vehicles we get in most of the other sets.

My rating of this set is going to be high, a solid 5 out of 5 all around for this one. You've got a great model, awesome Kreons, fantastic accessories, very few stickers and best of all, the only piece with an actual printed piece of detailing on it. (To date.) You can't go wrong with Mine Stryker, pick up two or three on clearance and you've got the makings of a fine motor pool. Ready to go toe to toe with its Cobra counterpart coming out next year.

Our next review is going to feature the ultimate in Kre-O built playsets. At least from Battleship, yep on Thursday prepare to meet the Battle Base. (Which has so many images we'll have to cover it in two seperate posts.)