Nexo Knights: Ultimate Robin 70333

With the new year come a slew of new Lego sets included a new theme: Nexo Knights. Rumor is, that the Chima line is retiring and the Knights are to take its place. The Nexo Knights are not really a throw back to the Classic Castle sets, but they are not true Steampunk themed either. At first I absolutely hated the idea, but the theme is growing on me. Sets in the theme range from the 1140 piece Fortrex to these small 75 piece sets. The 75 piece Ultimate Robin is what I wanted to look at today.

At MSRP $9.99 I was really curious on what one would be getting for their money. At first glance it looks like a glorified minifigure, but priced higher than a traditional polybag and double that of a Mixel set, I really wanted to know what I am getting for my money. The sets come in cardboard "boxes" that are a lot different than traditional lego sets, similar to some Hero Factory and Bionicle, but overall, not very practical, and not easy to open without destroying the packaging.

Inside the packaging are two unnumbered bags and instructions. Although small, the instruction book is pretty hefty for just 75 pieces.

At first glance, the minifigure has great coloring, a lot brighter than I thought it would be, and cool printing. The armor has a little cutout in the front for his "emblem" that is pretty cool. I am not sure why, but Robin apparently is a juvenile and comes with the child non movable legs. I believe the shields and the armor are new lego pieces, as this theme will introduce a fair amount of new molds. The downside to this is that, a lot of the new peices are not MOC friendly and won't have many practical uses outside of this theme.

The main part of the build is his armor. It is pretty simple build and has two of the longer shooters that attach to his back. The completed armor reminded me of Mechwarrior, and getting upgrades. In Lego form it is kinda cool, but very impractical. Tried as I might, I couldn't get him to balance without attaching him to the stand that is built in the second part of the build. I think it isn't very possible with the smaller legs and the giant unbalanced shooters on Robin's back.

To finish the build, the remaining pieces are used to make a sort of a stand for Robin. To the left are his helmet and some chicken, off to the right are more shooters and another shield. When it was all completed, I was a bit confused. It don't fit in well with my minifigure display, and it isn't really a "set" either. I tried as I might to figure out why Lego priced this set at $9.99 and the only reason I can think (other than more money) is from the Nexo Knight Powers that can be scanned into the app. To get the full effect I did download the game and play a few levels. At appropriate time I was able to scan in the three "powers" that came with this set. Worth it? No, not at all. Adding three powers in game isn't even worth the typical $0.99 game add on that consumers have gotten used to. In the in-app previews it appears scannable powers will be appearing in Lego magazines, on TV and a host of other places. I seriously doubt kids are begging mom and dad for these so they can be fully decked out in game (it appears that there are at least 65 powers that are upgrade-able). 

In conclusion, I believe these are headed to clearance bins everywhere, as the $9.99 price tag is just too much for what you are getting. For investing, stay away for a while. To build, I personally like other options out there including the larger Nexo Knights sets.