Review:76020 Knowhere Escape Mission
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$39.99
€49.99
£44.99
$79.99
$49.99
Reviews
DC Comic Nerd
DC Comic Nerd
Country: USA Age Group: 14-16 Gender: Male
Joined: 2012 
№ of Reviews: 1 
№ of Featured reviews: 0
Building Experience: Adequate
76020 Knowhere Escape Mission
Preface
Before I start this review, I'd like to thank Brickimedia and LEGO for holding such a wonderful contest for us on Brickimedia in August. I got a prize that I love, now as this is a preface I'd like to give some background to this scene without spoiling. So the Guardians escape the dreaded space prison also known as the Kyln. Now with that they fly away to sell the orb (that is in all three of the sets) to the Collector on Knowhere. Knowhere is a mining district for criminals. Rather than it being a planet, it is actually a head of a celestial. Which hopefully Marvel will dive deeper into that lore. Anyways. Drax in a haze summons Ronan. Thus having the Sakaarans and Nebula attack the Guardians on the criminal planet... Some basic info about the set is that... This is the second largest set of the Guardians of the Galaxy subtheme. Clocking in at $39.99 with a nice 433 piece count. That's pretty impressive for about 9 cents a piece. The set includes two exclusive minifigures. Those two being Nebula and Rocket Raccoon. A recurring character is the generic Sakaaran soldier. Now, shall we get into the set?
The Minifigures
- The Sakaaran is pretty average to compared to the others. In this photo we see it's front printing which has some very nice detail that is very Man of Steel Kryptonian-esque. Although this is Marvel I'm fondly reminded by the soft hints of bronze and silver on the figure. It also includes three blood streaks (presumably, unless that is some dirt.) The head is just so great and full of detail. I love the lines and the creepy singular eye, same with the alternate face which is if not creepier. It's really great. Although I would enjoy some leg printing or even some sort of continuation of the design onto the hips. I kinda feel like the Sakaarans were overlooked on the lower side of their bodies... The back is pretty much the same as the front just without the three blood lines which is kinda sad but I didn't pay too much attention to the Sakaaran's back detail so I can't really judge it as much as I'd enjoy doing so.
- Nebula is mainly purple, blue, and silver. Some more rare colors. I didn't exactly enjoy the character in the movie as much as I probably should have. But this minifigure is pretty good, again. The same issues as the Sakaaran. I love the detailing on her and the subtle bronze/silver hints. But still no continuation onto the legs. I feel like LEGO was kinda overlooking some potential on her. This doesn't take all the glory away from her minifigure though as it is excellent for what is printed. Lots of detail, the back is pretty much the same and redeems the minifigure. Nothing screams awesome more than Emmet except back head printing that is probably the most detailed I've seen yet. Back printing is also pretty satisfactory and does a great job at not copying the front like the Sakaaran.
- Rocket Raccoon is my favorite minifigure of the set. I can only think of one flaw but it was probably pretty hard to try and do. So, Rocket consists of mainly orange and dark grey with hints of black and brown. This figure is surprisingly movie accurate for what LEGO has right now for short minifigure printing. The face is excellent and I can't think of any problems with the minifigure. I may be a bit biased because it's the hero but my complaint was foot printing which infact isn't too rare for short LEGO minifigures and would've been a nice touch. Onto the back, also very spot on with the movie's design just loving the subtle details! The rubber tail piece is a great addition also. But, I would enjoy seeing some sort of compromise for the tail piece. That being that the brackets are also dark grey making the minifigure look awkward as it cuts off the orange suit. Not that big of a deal but it's noticeable... Nevertheless it's a great minifigure.
Groot
- Now this is where the set lacks. Every set has a critical mistake and Groot is the mistake. But this can and is really taken two ways. Groot should've been a minifigure. Upping this to a $50 set in my opinion would've been nice to give us a chance at either Drax or Ronan. I feel like LEGO should make a second wave to give us a proper Ravager suited Rocket and some pre-Kyln attire for the team. But aside from my rambling, a big Groot seems sorta fitting for this set as LEGO probably wanted to-scale builds.
It would've been nice to change the head piece to be like Chewbacca's and then fix it by having a tall minifigure body for Groot and a smaller brick built solution that you can add onto. It'd be really grand if we got some of that. But I simply cannot complain because I love the Groot anyways. The printed tiles are great, the new ball joints are great, and the upper body piece is surprisingly great it detail!
The back however is not... I just don't enjoy the back at all, the figure is supposed to be facing forward so you have no problem but it kinda bugs me and brings be back to my size argument. I feel like Groot was just made for the piece ratio and then scale. I can't really complain at all though because as I mentioned before I finally have some new ball joints and some nice brown/dark brown pieces.
Mining Vehicle and Sakaaran Turret
- This nifty little mining robot/craft. It's colors are very nice and different which is a touch I enjoyed in the set and the movie. Now just a preface to this set again, I don't apply stickers to the majority of my sets. I'm sorry for the absence of them. So the craft is full of fun parts like the silver grilles, the transparent flagpoles, and all the light blue pieces are just fantastic. Yet I do have gripes with it... The bottom seems very under-done and with the cockpit in play it doesn't seem very round. The build for this was pretty interesting too. But hey, it gets the job done and it doesn't look that bad.
Now, the back has a pretty nice smooth surface that is rounded very well. And it includes a play feature that I will get to in a second, with this looking very simple. The build is actually pretty complex with props to LEGO for accomplishing that. with very minor flaws that really is just by my OCD like the cutoff on the back (the top section to the back section isn't smooth) but I myself couldn't think of a possible solution so it is indeed a minor setback.
Here is the feature. Now, I don't really understand it at all. I can understand that it is liquid minerals that are valuable but the ship never had any weapons nor did they drop the liquid on any enemies that I'm vaguely aware of. I do in fact remember that these vehicles were basically used for bumper cars in that action sequence. But asking for a set like that is crazy and absurd so I don't see too much trouble with the set's function as long as kids and other FOls enjoy dropping 1x1 cylinders on enemies...
- The Turret is pretty basic, it's really just a spring shooter with some covering. Although, it is pretty movie accurate and the build is genius. Well executed I really enjoy the hints of trans light blue too! Spring launchers are new to me in my collection and are really interesting pieces. I like how we get two missiles because I actually lost the first one after taking pictures!
The Main Building
- The main building is really spectacular for the pieces that are provided from the piece count.Very nicely detailed everything from the small walkways section to the pit of liquid minerals. No complaints at all except for the top. The detailing there would've been nice but seeing as it would've been impossible because of an existing play feature and the ability to put the turret on the top of the main tower. Anyways, this is a great build that doesn't take too long or is too complex. We get some great pieces along with that.
- Showcasing the first play feature as it is very simplistic for it's purpose. It mainly drops down the turret and/or the villains. Nothing much to say about this other than it is used way too often in Superhero sets particularly... I think another solution could've been put in for it.
- This feature is a catapult. A new piece to me also. As it is also in a new color. The function is very simplistic and surprisingly fun for me!
- Now this is the main feature of this tower. It's very basic and quite fun also. I love how all three features can be used effectively and are quite interesting. All different. Nothing is a lie about it. It's pretty awesome!
Here we see the function working and it is quite grand. I wish LEGO added more feature like that into sets. It's actually very fun to just topple the tower!
Overall
Over all, this is a pretty good set. If you want a great scene from Guardians of the Galaxy and exclusive minifigures, buy it without hesitation. But it does have it's flaws. They can be easily overlooked but still it's a flaw... On a scale to 40 here we are. It includes Minifigures, Build, Playability, and Pricing
- Minifigures: 7.5/10
Love the minifigures but they just lack leg printing which I shouldn't mind but it would've been nice... And Rocket's tail issue... Annnd the Sakaaran's torso issue.
- Build: 8.5/10
While I complimented it. The mining vehicle was quite sloppy. I think if it was $49.99 the main section would've been better. As the functions really make the tower and such.
- Playability: 9.5/10
Lots of things to do with this set. I really enjoy that, everything is play friendly which is great for kids!
- Pricing: 8/10
While I too said it was great I think it could've used more detail and used my Groot idea.
Now is the time for a free funny.
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