It wasn’t that long ago the Guardians of the Galaxy were a little known entity of the Marvel universe. After all, a group of intergalactic misfits which include a talking racoon and a humanoid tree with a limited vocabulary doesn’t seem like it would make for a movie on par with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America. Then in 2014, the Guardians burst onto the scene and took the world by storm. Now they command two high grossing blockbusters with a third on the way. An upcoming holiday special, theme park rides, video games and plenty of LEGO® sets. The latest of which is inspired by one of the more loveable members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Groot has appeared in many forms from this full-grown debut in the first film and his toddler phase in Vol. 2, it’s that version of Groot which has been recreated in this fun new LEGO set. But is this a flarking good set or one to eject into space? Here’s my review of the I Am Groot set.
Product Details
Put a movable model of Baby Groot from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the hands of kids aged 10 and up with LEGO® Marvel I am Groot (76217).
Play-and-display Groot
Every fan of Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will know the famous scene where Baby Groot dances. Now kids can recreate this scene and others with this detailed, movable recreation of the lovable and mischievous toddler. The buildable model is easy to position and pose, and there’s even a pretend cassette tape included for make-believe music! In addition, the free LEGO Building Instructions app lets kids view, zoom and rotate the model as they build, providing an amazing sense of immersion and interaction during the construction process.
- Set Name: I Am Groot
- Set Number: 76217
- Pieces: 476
- RRP: £44.99/$49.99/49.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 3
- Stickers: Sheet x 1
- Minifigures: N/A
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Release from June 1st
A lot is being said about the new direction the standard LEGO instruction booklet design is heading. A vocal few are overly outraged by the minimal design. I agree they could be better but it doesn’t really affect the build process. However, the image used for this set is awful. If you were to see this on the box or product page, it would put you off the set. In fact, unlike the other sets, the image found on the cover isn’t found anyway else thankfully. I don’t have an issue with a uniform design for standard set instructions but the chosen image certainly needs a rethink. There’s also a sheet of stickers, this features the sticker used on the information plate, as well as the retro cassette tape and on Baby Groot.
There have been a couple of buildable props inspired by Marvel films and although Groot is not an object, he is certainly more aligned with those sorts of sets compared to the average LEGO playset. That includes the addition of a small information plaque. This UCS-plate lists important information on Groot, all listed in Groot’s unique speech pattern.
The Guardians of the Galaxy films are famed for their awesome mixes of popular music. Peter Quill has a classic Walkman player and a couple of prized cassettes given to him by his mother. One of those is included as a buildable element. It’s an almost 1:1 recreation of a cassette tape. It’s actually a great little build, with clever use of simple elements to recreate the tape. It does feature a few stickers, but these add to the effect of the retro media format.
Groot is featured in his baby form as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This is perfectly suited for a LEGO build. The scale used results in Groot being around the same size as he would be in the films. There’s nothing too exciting with the build, it follows a similar style to most buildable figures such as characters and mechs. So the body acts as a base for Groot and the limbs and head are all connected via ball joints. This allows for plenty of posing options, in fact, I was quite surprised by how well Groot can be displayed in different poses.
Due to the size of the head, it’s quite heavy and to support this there’s a taller section building into the back section of Groot’s body. This does result in the head having limited movement but the arms and legs have plenty of range. After trying to recreate Baby Groot’s pose seen during the opening battle of Vol. 2, I managed to get Baby Groot to stand on one leg.
The head section feels a little like a BrickHeadz build, complete with a pink brick brain. It’s also one of the tricker parts of the build as you have to connect sections in unique ways to allow the head to have a decent shape. The eyes finish of the cute look of Groot and they are simply two shield elements with a little print detail on them.
Review Round-up
I don’t think I appreciated the set as I was building it but as I was taking pictures of it for this review, its character started to come through. The clever touches used to capture his loveable smile and bright eyes as well as the ability to create some cute poses result in another unique Marvel set. With rumours of more buildable Marvel props on the way, Groot is a great addition to them. I will say the price does seem a little high but this is an unfortunate trend with licensed sets.
For
+ Surprisingly poseable
+ Almost a 1:1 recreation of Baby Groot
+ Perfect companion piece for Infinity Gauntlet & Thor’s Hammer
+ I am Groot
Against
– Seems a little costly for what it is
– Instruction booklet image is shockingly bad
Coming June 1st: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
