This week I will be taking a look at another Legends of Chima set: Lavertus’ Twin Blade. This set includes one vehicle build, one regular minifigure, one minifigure build, and a couple simple weapons builds. For the first time in a long time, a Chima set has left me very “meh” at the end of building. There are some high points and some very confusing low points for me with this set. If you read last week’s review, Rogon’s Rock Flinger, you know that I LOVE Chima, but I am at a loss with this build.
Let’s check out those figures first.
The one normal minifigure in this set is our heroic lion Lavertus. I love love love his coloring. He stands out more than the other lions that have been released. He includes a gold CHI powered armor and two guns. He has two faces, one showing his teeth and one with no expression. The other minifigure is more of a half minifigure on the top of a scorpion-build bottom half. Scutter is his name, and he is the huge bright spot of this set. His black-and-green color scheme is a nice contrast to the more bright colors of the lions. He has six legs and a long articulated scorpion tail. He comes with a hammer weapon.
The weapon builds in this set are not the most amazing, but the “maCHIguns” that Lavertus carries look great in each hand. And, no, I did not come up with that name; blame that on LEGO. Scutter comes with his “Sting Hammer.” It’s a pretty cool hammer/axe build, but nothing earth shattering.
On to the main build of the set — the Twin Blade. From a distance it has all the right Chima vehicle parts. Lion head? Check. Cool decals? Check. Sweet action feature? Check. So you may ask what my issue with this set is. The best way to describe it is that the Twin Blade is too flat. It almost feels unfinished, like there is suppose to be a cool bottom to this.
Part of the issue is the way they designed the play feature. It has this big, ugly piece sticking up, and when you push it down it spins both blades. There are little rubber bands attached to this piece that make the blades spin. It feels like the whole back half of the vehicle is really just a handle to zoom this thing around with. Maybe for a kid this would be really cool, but for me as a fan of the building, it left me feeling very “meh.”
It does have a spot to store both of Lavertus’ “maCHIguns.” This is something EVERY build should have on it.
The set retails for $20, which sometimes can be too much money for two minifigures, but the fact that Scutter is so cool makes me somewhat OK with paying $20 for this set. So maybe wait for a BOGO sale to get this set just for the minifigures. I love Chima, and I guess all the builds cannot be winners, but I have a feeling this set may be taken apart and put in a baggie. Come back next week and I will have a set featured that I really enjoyed!
Retail $19.99
Piece count 183