Review: 70700 Space Swarmer

 

  • Review: 70700 Space Swarmer

    Posted by Huw, 12 Feb 2013 04:10. Filed under Set review.

    70700 Space Swarmer Galaxy Squad sets appeared in the shops in North America before Christmas but, as I discovered at the London toy fair, they are not going to be available in Europe until the summer, when all 10 boxed sets will be released.

    I am therefore very grateful to Jeff from BrickPicker.com, the LEGO price and investing guide, for bringing three of them over from the US for me when we met in London last week.

    70700 is the smallest of the Galaxy Squad sets, containing 86 pieces, including two minifigs. It's $11.99 in the USA and I imagine it'll be £9.99 or so in the UK.

    Box and contents

    The box is almost square and this being from the USA, like all US boxes but unlike European ones, it states the number of pieces on the front. I'm guessing that it's some sort of requirement to do so in the USA, but I wonder why LEGO don't print it on European boxes. It's useful information for the consumer, after all.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    As usual, the back shows what moves and suggests ways to play with it.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The parts are in two, unnumbered, bags. There's one instruction manual.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The minifigs

    The 'good' minifig in the set is 'Dark Azure Robot Sidekick with Jet Pack' which features some superb torso and leg printing, and some serious military hardware in the form of a bazooka-style weapon.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    His jet pack makes him a bit back-heavy when he's not holding his gun, but he can just about stand up unaided if you tilt him forward.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The four-eyed bug is equally as impressive. BrickLink calls him 'Alien Buggoid': I don't know if that's an official name but it seems appropriate. Printing on his torso and legs makes him look suitably bug-like.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The back of his head extends down his spine.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The Space Swarmer

    The space swarmer itself is a quick and easy build. There are some interesting parts in it, including two of the new-this-year 'Plade 1X2 M. Van. Hul Ø 4,8' [SIC], used to connect the wings to the sides.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The four legs barely support the weight of the body which, in these photos, is touching the ground. It is possible to pose it without it doing so, but it's not easy. For the cost of a few extra pence I would have preferred 6 legs which, as we know, all insects have (at least on Earth :-) ). It's east enough to add them because they clip onto this part, although the 'Silver Metallic Blade 5M W/Ø3.2' isn't in many sets so you might not have any spares.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    The Buggoid sits snugly in the cockpit. I was pleased to see that the 2x2 tile control panel, and the 2x2 round tile 'mouth' at the front of the ship are printed, not stickers.

    The Buggoid's ray gun clips to the back, which is good, it'll save it getting lost.

    70700 Space Swarmer

    Overall opinion

    There's nothing much to dislike about this set: 2 great minifigs and an interesting bug-like ship that looks good and is fun to play with, and for a reasonable price. With 6 legs it would have been even better.

    It's a good introduction to the theme and I look forward to building the other two Jeff brought over.

    Update: here's the bug-craft with 6 legs and robot in its clutches:

    With 6 legs


    28 comments, latest one posted 3 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Russian-Rafytch in Russian Federation, 12 Feb 2013 04:32

Quite interesting set.
I see, LEGO use the specially moulded heads for Droid and Buggiod, not the set "standard head + moulded headgear-mask" as they use for CHIMA.
The craft closely reminds of classical INSECTOIDS, but more similar to real bug, not a vehicles, styled as bugs of INSECTOIDS

Posted by CzechMate in Australia, 12 Feb 2013 04:32

Great review, as per usual, and epic final pic :D

The sets are to be released here in April - which is pretty good, but why are the sets delayed for so long in the UK?

Posted by Hygrotus in Poland, 12 Feb 2013 04:44

Through the polish version of internet official Lego shop 70703 is already available (bought it), but only this set. All rest according to official polish catalog will be available in Poland in march .

Posted by Haga in Hungary, 12 Feb 2013 07:06

Very nice set, I think I would get it along with the 70000 Chima small bird-airplane, and the Ninjago mech.

Anyway, If anyone interested buying it in the EU, there are several Hungarian webshops that do have 5-6 of the Galaxy Squad sets for very reasonable prices!

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 12 Feb 2013 07:18

It's Chima in Space, isn't it?

Posted by lego613master in United States, 12 Feb 2013 09:10

^ROFL, richselby. Good one!!!!!!

Posted by stevethebandit in Norway, 12 Feb 2013 09:32

Whoa that alien-bug-thing looks like a Collector from Mass Effect

Posted by Graham2912 in United States, 12 Feb 2013 10:02

I really don't like the alien ship, it looks very unrealistic but great for parts

Posted by rosconiner1 in United Kingdom, 12 Feb 2013 10:17

30251 Winzer's Pack Patrol comes with 2 of the Silver Metallic Blade 5M. It is a polybag and not too expensive, so it's a good, cheap way to get some spares for alterations if they are available in your area. There's lots of the polybag in the Target Valentine seasonal section for anyone looking for them in the US.

Posted by brix in United Kingdom, 12 Feb 2013 11:04

@Graham2912 - unrealistic compared to what?

Posted by Graysmith in Sweden, 12 Feb 2013 11:09

Love this set.

Hate LEGO for not releasing these in (most of) Europe until the summer. Very cruel.

Posted by LukeSkywalker in Ireland, 12 Feb 2013 11:34

@Huw I've spotted the tiniest of errors in your build of the model. The "eyes" of the space swarmer should be composed of pink/magenta round studs, but you gave it a red right eye, and used pink and red studs in the robot's bazooka (which looks quite cool actually). Was this a deliberate Easter egg for us to find, and if so, do I win a pancake? ;)

Posted by The Green Brick Giant in United States, 12 Feb 2013 13:18

How is 86 pieces for $12 a reasonable price? I think it's outrageous. The next size set up is $20 and for the extra $8 you get 132 more pieces.

Which is why I think LEGO doesn't put the piece count on the European sets, they don't have to show you how much they are ripping you off.

Posted by Clan Stonebraker in United States, 12 Feb 2013 13:33

Space themes should be one of my favorite themes but I haven't been fond of past Lego space sets. I really like these sets though, especially that each "team" or "squad" has it's own color scheme. Also sharing a surname with a minifig is an added bonus (http://galaxysquad.lego.com/en-us/squad/#green), going to have to make sure I have multiples of that minifig for the kids, maybe some customs. I would have preferred "typical" aliens such as those from Alien Conquest, but other than that I really enjoy this theme. My set 70701 seems a little crammed tightly in the box. I do prefer to have smaller boxes with less air, but either mine was packed poorly or the box design was a little off.

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 12 Feb 2013 13:57

Looks a nice little set in the series. I'm hoping it'll be £7.99 as it looks similar size to the fire mech and raven folder, but will have to see.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 12 Feb 2013 14:18

@LukeSkywalker, I didn't notice the difference to be honest :)

Posted by rosney in United States, 12 Feb 2013 14:49

What do the minifig heads look like (if anything)?

Posted by rosney in United States, 12 Feb 2013 14:52

I wonder if they'll do some kind of theme mash-up set or two like Monster Fighters & Galaxy Squad vs Monsters & Buggoids. Silly maybe, but it would be a first (I think), and they did connect the themes/universes in the comic book.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 12 Feb 2013 17:11

^^ They don't have normal heads, just the new-shaped ones.

Posted by mars4life in United States, 12 Feb 2013 18:40

So far I have three Galaxy Squad sets, and I'm pretty happy with them. Seems like a good theme.

Posted by Zrath in United States, 12 Feb 2013 18:59

I can't blame Huw too much for the slight assembly error. To be honest, it's hard to tell the difference between the trans-red and 'trans-pink' 1x1 rounds in the instruction manual. I had to look at the box to figure out which one goes where.
I'm pretty happy with Galaxy Squad and I can't wait for the Galactic Titan set to come out!

Posted by SI Builder in Canada, 12 Feb 2013 19:30

I agree, it would have been better if it had 6 legs. But overall it looks like a great set! I'm very happy that there are no stickers, only printed bricks, and I love the mini figures! I will definitely be picking this up. Thanks for the review!

Posted by that guy from that show in United States, 12 Feb 2013 20:15

It's an awesome set. I was worried it would be a waste of my money but it was well worth it. I actually prefer the set with four legs. My only complaint is the weird shade of blue the robot is.

Posted by mo123567 in United States, 12 Feb 2013 20:39

6 legs would have looked better aesthetically, but the 4 legs had no issues supporting the weight on mine. I wonder if there is a slight discrepancy in the tightness of the clips.

Posted by cinemajay in United States, 13 Feb 2013 13:01

Galaxy Squad is one of my favorite non-licensed themes in years. Really fun designs and great colors. I just picked up the Warp Stinger and it's my fav of the line so far.

Posted by LuvLegos_Cool_J in United States, 13 Feb 2013 14:21

Huw, I didn't know the differences between the European and US boxes. I wonder why the US boxes state the number of pieces in each set. Why is that? For me personally, I like to know the number of pieces I'm buying. LOL. For folks in Europe, do they refer to lego.com for that kind of information? I love your reviews--I look forward to another one of this theme.

Posted by michpan in Greece, 15 Feb 2013 12:32

The sets 70700, 70701, 70702, 70703, 70704 and 70705 are available already in Greece since December. I've already bought this one and I'm thinking of buying a couple more. It's one of my favorite sets so far as well!!

Posted by M-Tron Hero Kodiak in United States, 15 Feb 2013 13:38

Good Review! Thank you!
I rushed out to my nearest lego store (which is two hours away) as soon as the store said they had them and got them all.
I did a review of 70704. The set does look better with six legs. Being a space fan, I love these. That and LEGO going back to a space theme instead of just star wars.
The bugs vehicles as they get bigger look flimsy but actually hold up well.

Commenting has ended on this article.