Review:76026 Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas
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$49.99
Reviews
Berrybrick
Country: America the Beautiful Gender: Male
Joined: February 2010 
№ of Reviews: 46 
№ of Featured reviews: 1
Building Experience: Enough is enough
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- Set: 76026 Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas
- Theme: DC Universe Super Heroes
- Pieces: 347
- Minifigures: 6
- Price: 49.99 USD / 49.99 GBP
- Brickipedia / Brickset
The DC sets which fall on the $50 price point have not had a great legacy. I thought that the Two-Face Chase was pretty solid for the time, but Battle of Smallville was a dud and The Joker Steamroller was dragged down by a dreadful rendition of the Batplane. Like other sets this year, 76026 Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas stands out because rather than Batman stealing all of the spotlight, we are at last getting some Justice League inspired kits. As great as that is, Grodd doesn't seem to be breaking the trend of bad sets at this price point.
The Build
You know it's bad when the Banana Truck is the best thing you build. It's quick and easy, but satisfying enough for what it is. The Invisible Jet isn't much worse, though the fun of building with a rare color is kind of tempered by white and gray being used for the base. What makes up the bulk of the set, the bat-mech, is just awful. That mostly stems from the use of the TIE-Fighter piece on the torso, and from there it feels like you are just attaching hinges in a vain attempt to make it more interesting by adding detail. LEGO is perfectly capable of making a good mech, but this one is just really boring. I don't like the word "juniorized" but it is very simple.
Parts
It's the invisible jet's time to shine. Sort of. There aren't as many transparent pieces as I expected, and honestly, they aren't in the most useful shapes. Those blue-mixed flames are cool though.
There isn't much else I feel the need to comment on. There is the mech's chest--which I was actually hoping had a sticker so it would be more useful with BIONICLE builds--but it still found a place as a Batmobile hood. The mech does have some pieces I find useful for Batman and just in general (a lot of hinges) but it's not worth buying the set for.
Apparently the truck's base is exclusive to this set in blue, as are the jet's angle plates and fins.
Final Model
You know it's bad when the Banana Truck is the best thing about this set. It's cute, small, and easy to drop into a city layout, superpowered or not.
The Invisible Jet isn't as good as I thought it would be. I like that it is shaped like Wonder Woman's logo and the designers did an okay job of plating it transparent, but it kind of looks ugly. That was why I feared we would never get one. That in mind, it's okay, and I like those spring loaded shooters (though the blue doesn't match anything...it's kind of an eyesore). The nose is ugly and the white undercarriage poking out (especially in the back) is distracting. Interestingly, the jet doesn't seem to have any controls...I guess they are invisible.
The mech is bad. Really bad. I don't have Lex Luthor's mech together anymore, but I think that it was designed more as a counterpart to that than to Gorilla Grodd. It towers over him and seems like a really bad match. Something cooler and more compact could have probably been accomplished with Mixels joints. But aside from size, it is just really ugly. That TIE base does nothing to help it. The detailing is boorish and the net gun doesn't work so fantastically. It really could have done without forcing the super chest too; give it a real cockpit instead.
Minifigures
Well, here's one last chance for the set. The only returning figure is The Flash was previously released in The Riddler Chase, a set which I thought was pretty much only good for him and would have skipped if I knew about this one, though, admittedly, TRC is better than this set. Flash isn't a terrible minifigure to have multiples of, and he is a nice design, but it would be nice if he could get boots.
Batman's new costume is based on 2011's The New 52 reboot, so it is about time we get this costume. They do something different with his torso, rather than giving him the same muscle pattern as The Flash (and practically every other man in this theme) they print all of those seams that The New 52 is (unfavorably) known for and then use a lighter gray to add muscle texture. It kind of makes the suit look padded, and looking at pictures of Nu Batman, I don't really see where they got the idea, but I like that part. The seams are sort of messy though. Batman also gets a new cowl with shorter ears, which is nice, but also a bit of a mixed opportunity. With recent be-cowled and -helmeted characters like Nova, Wolverine, and Hawkman getting helmets which match up with their eyes, Batman still has the headband printed on his forehead. I suppose it was probably to make the old heads backwards compatible, which I guess I should be thankful for, because after all this time, when Batman finally gets a new face, it turns out horrible. The design itself is okay (and has an angry face rather than that stupid grin which got old after it kept showing up) the skin is printed really dark, like some shade of darker nougat instead of light flesh. Batman's cape is of the spongier fabric, but, unlike Superman's, it doesn't bunch up around his neck very much, so that's appreciated.
Wonder Woman is also sporting her design from The New 52. Kind of. She was originally supposed to wear pants in the reboot (see here), but people complained that an Amazon shouldn't be afraid to show skin (Amazons actually did wear pants in Greek mythology, but whatever), so DC gave her the shorts back. That was four years ago, and we are getting the scrapped design now...I can't say I'm unhappy about it, since I never really liked the shorts (or her classic WWII pin-up, for what it's worth). The whole thing is printed better than the previous Wonder Woman figure, with the belt slipping down onto her hips giving her a more proportioned look. I could see why some people would prefer the cleaner design of the old one though, and I would prefer if the pants were either a brighter blue (which would be inaccurate, but hey, this costume technically never existed) or black. The inclusion of the sword is a nice touch, though I prefer some of the Hobbit molds, since I think they are more accurate. It would have been nice to get the Lasso of Truth again (maybe in a coil) or her bracelets printed on, but the minifigure is a good alternate costume.
Captain Cold, a Flash villain, is appreciated. Rather than the Nu version, they went with a more classic design with a parka. If it means they aren't going to take his heavy, cold-weather sleeveless vest which fits so tightly that it shows off his abs (I always thought of the character as too old for that to be attractive)...I'm okay with it. There isn't as much to say about Cold as Batman and Wonder Woman, I think, but the figure makes up for the disappointing Mr. Freeze from a few years back.
I'm not sure where the Banana Guy comes from and while I would have liked one of Cold's gang members (like Heatwave or Mirror Master), another hero like Shazam, one of Wonder Woman's villains like Cheetah, or an actual supporting character like Steve Trevor (so pretty much anyone), he is a nice novelty civilian. His hairpiece is appreciated, since it has been rare in that color. The face is disappointing. Though it is new, it is permanently in a state of shock. Couldn't they have reused something from The Lord of the Rings? I guess he is just allergic to bananas, and always sneezing....
This set also includes Gorilla Grodd. I kind of foret about him because I was more in this set for Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain Cold, but yeah, he's there, driving up the price tag. It is nice to get two big-figs a year, and another Flash villain too (rather than Batman). I'm not really sure where this look comes from, with nothing but the diodes, since he usually either wears a helmet or looks like a normal gorilla, though I guess that would be too versatile for LEGO. This action figure is the closest look I could find. Honestly, I'm not particularly impressed with the design, especially since Darkseid is so good, but Grodd is one step closer to a complete Legion of Doom.
Conclusion
1 / 5
2 / 5
2 / 5
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1½ / 5
2 / 5
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