Star Wars MOC Tatooine Radar Base Building Review

 

Hey brick fans, welcome back to Bricks and Figs, my blog about interesting MOCs, minifigures and other building block sets.  Back in the summer, I saw this set on Aliexpress, maybe it's been there for awhile but I've never noticed it until now. It's a MOC building that you would find in a Star Wars Mos Eisley layout.  It would look right at home next to the Cantina set.

There are quite a few MOC Tatooine sets on Aliexpress that have been copied from Rebrickable, from designers The_Minikit_Guy, gabizon, and Legat_of_Legion, and others to name a few.  

This particular MOC set is listed on Aliexpress as the >Desert Radar Base , and I found it intriguing because I couldn't find where this set originated from.  I searched for Tatooine and Mos Eisley on Rebrickable, and while there were nearly 300 MOC entries, this set wasn't one of them.  I also did a google image search but the only matches I found, came from Aliexpress.

Anyways, I ordered the set to review it and it came in about a month or so.  Mine cost a smidgen over $40 CAD ($30 USD), so it's not like really cheap for the 453 pieces.  I would have preferred if this set was in the $20 price range.

You get a bag of parts and a 16x32 baseplate.  The instructions for the set are obtained by scanning the QR code on the bag and downloading it to your phone.

There are 453 brick pieces, comprised of mostly tan bricks with a few brown and gray bricks.  No stickers or minifigures come with this set.

The set isn't that difficult to build, I would estimate you should be able to finish it in about 30 mins to 1 hour.  Brick quality and clutch was generally fine.  In my picture above, I've added my own parts, namely the black girder on the roof and the brown bin.  I also added a stormtrooper minifigure so you can see the scale of the building. I replaced the original 16x32 stud baseplate with my own 32x32 stud baseplate because I wanted a display area in front of the buildings.

There were a few extra pieces leftover from the build.

This radar building set is composed of two buildings joined by an archway.  The smaller building has a doorway that is blocked by chain links.  There are a couple of radar dishes on the roof.  The larger building has a large archway with a brown door and a small tower on the roof.  There's also 3 more smaller communication antennas on the roof.

There's not much going on in the rear of the buildings.  The roofs haven't been designed to come off because there's no interior in either building.

There's some pipes on the front and either side of the buildings, the red flowers are supposed to be shut-off valves, I think.

Not sure if this is a window or door.  Here's a few more pics.

Fortunately, there are some pipes on the sides of the buildings for visual interest, otherwise this would be a pretty bland build.

If you are interested in getting this building or similar ones for your Star Wars Mos Eisley/Tatooine diorama, you can find it by searching for "Tatooine house" on Aliexpress.

In summary, while I think this building is nice enough to make a display out of it, there's not much in the way of play value. I think it definitely needs to be changed so that the roofs can be removed and furnished with some kind of interior,  like some computer terminals or monitoring stations inside the radar base.  I would also replace the pipe valves with some flat circular tiles, maybe in light gray colour.  Oh and maybe add some lighting for a nice effect.

Anyways, that's it for this post.  Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks for checking it out, bye for now!

Today's Review: Play Day Expressions Oceans Adventure aka Sluban M38-B0867 Girls Dream Yacht

 

Hi there alt Lego fans!  Today, I'll be reviewing the Sluban M38-B0867 Girls Dream Yacht set being sold as the Walmart Play Day Expressions Oceans Adventure.  It's not a copy of any Lego set.

I found this set on clearance in the Walmart toy aisle for around $14 Cdn.  According to the box it has 301 pieces and is compatible with other leading brands.  I'm guessing that this set should have a retail price of around $25 Cdn or so.

On the side of the box flap is the set number which has the Sluban set code of M38-B0867.  A quick google search reveals that the set is called Girls Dream Yacht. I tried to find the Sluban set on Amazon, but it's not currently available for sale.  I did find it on Aliexpress in the Puzzles and Toys store.

The box is bigger than it needs to be as there are only a few bags of parts inside.

The building block set unboxed consists of 5 bags of parts, an instruction booklet and sticker sheet.

The sticker sheet confirms that this is really the Sluban M38-B0867 set. I think I shall save the stickers for another day.

Parts dump!  Mostly white bricks with a smattering of blue and yellow pieces.  

Sluban minifigures are not compatible with Lego style figures. However they still have a certain charm about them, so I think I will keep them on a go forward basis. I used to have a lot of Sluban minifigures but now regret having giving them all away.

Oh, by the way,  the minifigs come unassembled, so you have to put them together yourself.

The 30 page instruction booklet has large, clear and colourful instructions.

Building the set is easy and straightforward, great for the kids.  No clutch issues but I did notice that some of my bricks were dirty, as was one of the minifigure's hair piece.

The yacht is double hulled and can seat one figure to operate the craft.  In behind there is another lounge area.  The roof is removable in two pieces, one for the sail and another for the upper seating section.

There's just a few brick pieces that are pink in colour. Would you keep the pink pieces or remove them?  Let me know which way looks better in the comments below.

The sail mast and attachment to the roof is constructed from technic pieces.  The very tall sail itself is made of a very thin piece of plastic.  I'm probably wanting to replace the sail with a sheet of white paper.

Here's the starboard side view of the yacht.   Forgot to mention that the upper seating area has two seats and table.  Someone forgot to throw away the leftover coffee cup! There are a total of four life preservers on the boat.

Aft view of the boat.  This boat's not going anywhere because there's no motors included!

Forward view of the double hull.

So, I'm not sure if having an electric guitar on the water is a wise choice.  An acoustic guitar would have been a much better accessory.

Speaking of accessories, you get a paddleboard, some flippers and a blue dolphin in addition to the guitar.

These were the leftover parts after building the dream yacht.  The hearts are supposed to be attached to the boat, I left them off.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of the Sluban M38-B0867 Girls Dream Yacht / Walmart Play Day Expressions Ocean Adventure!

If Sluban mini figures don't do it for you, here's a bonus shot of some Lego style nautical figures with the boat.  Welcome aboard!

I'm giving this set 4.7 out of 5,  If it wasn't for the dirty bricks and the lack of propulsion, this set would have gotten a perfect score for build and play value.  I'm actually glad that there were stickers instead of printed parts on this set, because I could leave them off, along with the pink pieces and make the boat a bit more gender neutral.  I think this boat would look pretty nice in a city layout harbour.

As I mentioned earlier, this set was clearanced at my Walmart and is no longer available.  .   What are your thoughts on this set?  Love it or leave it?  Let me know!   Bye for now.

KOPF Toys KF6167 Stranger Things Mini Figures Review (Not Lego)

Kopf just released their latest Stranger Things mini figure set earlier this month and now they have found their way onto Aliexpress.  I chose to buy the figures individually instead of as a set because I have no need for the Demogorgon.  Also for the price of the mini figure, you also get a bicycle with each figure.  As an accessory, bicycles are priced about the same as mini figures on Aliexpress.  The entire set can be found if you search for KF6167 but if you are only looking for specific minifigures, you can search by their unique ids as well.

I ordered my figures from Aliexpress on August 3 and received them about 2 weeks later, so shipping speed was pretty good. Kopf KF6167 set is popping up all over Aliexpress, so selection is good right now, if you are a fan of Stranger Things.

Each figure is packaged in it's own cellophane bag, and you'll need to assemble the minifigure and bicycle yourself.  Every figure comes with one extra hand, a mini figure stand, and an accessory which you'll see when we look at the figures more closely.

If you bought the set in its entirety, you'd get the KF1763 Demogorgon figure but no extra bicycle.  Most of the characters in the set are based on Season 3 of Stranger Things.

KF1764 - Eleven wears a purple top and blue suspenders from Stranger Things season 3 and comes with a flashlight accessory.  All figures feature arm, leg printing as well as back printing.  I was hoping that the heads would have dual expressions, but that's not the case in this set.  She comes with a red bicycle.  

KF1765 - Dustin Henderson has the hat/hairpiece combo but the printing isn't great.  He's wearing a pink T-shirt under a blue jean vest that was featured in a promo for Stranger Things season 3.  Leg printing is good, but I don't like that the arms have gaps in the sleeves.  The walkie talkie is his accessory and he rides a green bicycle.

KF1766 - Will Byers wears a striped shirt from Stranger Things season 4 but the stripes don't go all the way around the arm.  Will gets pink bike and an axe for accessories.  His hair is accurate but should be a bit darker in colour.

KF1767 - Erica Sinclair is probably my favourite character in Stranger Things.  She wears blue overalls and a yellow T-shirt which I believe she wore in season 3 has a yellow bike and a slingshot.  Again, the sleeve printing is deficient.

KF1768 - Robin Buckley wears her Scoops Ahoy sailor outfit featured in Stranger Things season 3 but her hair style should be shorter and more ginger coloured.  She gets a white bike and flashlight as accessories.

KF1769 - Max Mayfield sports the purple sweatshirt and striped tee from Season 3.  Her accessories are a turquoise bicycle and walkie talkie.  Same issue with the sleeves as the other mini figures.

KF1770 - Mike Wheeler is wearing his Ghostbusters outfit from season 2.  He comes with a proton pack and particle thrower, and a blue bicycle.

Here's a look at the backs of the mini figures.

 

Top On Sale Product Recommendations!

KF6167 Building Blocks Stranger Dustin Henderson Mike Eleven Lucas Sinclair Will Byers Figures Bricks Toys for Kids CY1001

Original price: USD 1.80

Now: USD 0.81

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Search Code on AliExpress：AL2JA3X