Review - 21122 LEGO Minecraft:The Nether Fortress από BRICKSET

Ακολουθεί review από το Brickset για το παραπάνω Minecraft σετάκι

The first wave of minifigure-scale Minecraft sets proved enormously popular with fans and they flew off the shelves during the weeks before Christmas. The four new sets will be released on the 1st of August but we have been sent a couple of them to review courtesy of the CEE Team.

One of few criticisms levelled at the first wave of sets was that they only represented two biomes. The second wave fares far better in that regard, including sets based on the Desert, Ice Plain and Nether regions. The largest of these is 21122 The Nether Fortress which is priced at £69.99 or $79.99 and contains 571 pieces.

The most appealing aspect of the set for me is the inclusion of so many dark red bricks, although the Ghast and Zombie Pigman are excellent too. I think the set is successful in capturing the many key features of the Nether including the portal, lava and abundant natural resources but it feels quite small in relation to the price.



Box and Contents
The box artwork is quite attractive as the red of the Nether contrasts with the green border. The play features are shown off on the back and an alternate build is advertised, instructions for which are included. Inside is a single instruction manual and three numbered bags, but no stickers as we have come to expect from the Minecraft theme.

Minifigures
Steve has appeared in every Minecraft set so far, this time in Diamond Armour. A similar minifigure appeared in 21117 The Ender Dragon last year although on this occasion he just wears a helmet and breastplate rather than full armour on his arms and legs too. I quite like the Minecraft minifigures and they look even better when wearing armour in my opinion so this is my favourite of all the Steve variants released so far. Beneath the armour his head and torso feature the usual printing and he is armed with a diamond pickaxe which is exclusive to this set and 21116 Crafting Box.



When images of the Minecraft sets arrived from the New York Toy Fair back in February the inclusion of Alex in two sets this summer garnered a great deal of excitement. This figure is far more detailed than Steve with pixilated printing on the head and both sides of the torso. Like her male counterpart she wears a diamond helmet but unlike him she carries a diamond sword for fending off the many dangers that can be found in the Nether.



One such danger is the Zombie Pigman. This is by far the most detailed minifigure released in a Minecraft set so far with head, torso and leg printing. The design is perfectly accurate with bones and flesh visible just like in the video game as well as a sword cast in pearl gold for the first time. A second golden sword is included in a chest hidden inside the Nether fortress. I am sure this minifigure will be one of the most appealing elements of the set but given its exclusivity it might be rather expensive to assemble a group of them.



The Blaze is another enemy commonly encountered in the Nether. The complex shape of Blazes and the fact that they have no solid body must have made them difficult to design in LEGO form but I think the use of a blocky head, Erling bricks and yellow hose nozzles is very effective. This is probably about the best that can be done without creating any new pieces.



Perhaps the most appealing part of the entire set is the Ghast, which is superb. The model is constructed using brackets and tiles in the main, although there is a simple mechanism inside which allows fireballs to be launched from its mouth.



Printed 2x4 tiles form the Ghast's face which looks very accurate. A couple of alternate tiles are included so you change the expression from calm to angry and all eight tentacles are poseable. Ghasts have nine tentacles in the video game so this is slightly inaccurate, although it isn't really noticeable when on display.



The Completed Model

The Nether is an instantly recognisable location in Minecraft and I think this set represents it very well on the whole, perfectly capturing the infernal landscape. A Nether portal is included to access the region from the Overworld and makes use of a 1x6x5 panel, appearing in trans-purple. The same piece is found in 70172 Antimatter's Portal Hideout from the Ultra Agents line.



Beside the Nether Portal is a lava flow which can be dropped onto any unfortunate mob standing underneath by pulling on a Glowstone block mounted on the wall.



Lots more naturally occurring resources are spread around the set including mushrooms, Nether warts and Nether quartz. Each block is mounted on a 2x2 tile with one stud so they can easily be removed and reorganised if you like.



The Nether Fortress itself consists simply of a bridge and a tower, which is a little disappointing as a more elaborate structure would been preferable. Personally I think the set looks more impressive when it is hinged into an 'L' shape as this gives the impression that there are several walls. The divide leaves jagged edges which look great and a couple of torches are included to break up the dark red colour a bit.



At the end of the bridge is a chest containing a golden sword and two diamonds as well as a pair of Nether warts. The top level is fairly plain but offers a good place to display the Ghast as it fits onto the 2x2 tiles with one stud nicely.



Overall

I am quite pleased with this set overall, more so than I had anticipated in fact. The minifigure selection is outstanding and there are plenty of new elements included, although the price seems high considering the size of the set.

For display I think this is one of the stronger Minecraft sets as the model presents a wide front when fully extended but can be altered to fill a certain space on a shelf if need be. Other than the price, which would be more appropriately set at around £59.99 in my opinion, my only criticisms are very minor. I think a Blaze spawner should have been included like the Zombie spawner in 21119 The Dungeon to increase the play value a little and the standard treasure chest components look slightly out of place to me in the cubic world of Minecraft. Perhaps a new rectangular lid could have been cast which would improve the accuracy a little.



The level of detail is impressive and there are lots of features of the Nether in the game included here which will delight fans I am sure. With a significantly reduced price I think this would be just about the best set in the range to date, but even at £69.99 or $79.99 21122 The Nether Fortress is well worth purchasing if you are a Minecraft fan.

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