The LEGO® build ecosystem is famously made up of three different build systems. The majority of LEGO sets use the original System, which is based on standard LEGO elements, this was later joined by Technic and DUPLO. But the LEGO Group has dabbled with others and perhaps the most welcome known of these is the ‘constraction’ system or CCBS. These offshoots introduced unique elements to allow the creation of action figure-like builds. Famously it was used to create Bionicle and along with a few other niche themes. Buildable action figures have evolved a great deal over the years and the latest versions use far more System bricks compared to their earlier counterparts. Over the past couple of years, buildable figures or Construction Figures as they are officially dubbed, have focused on superhero characters, mainly those from the Marvel universe. The latest is inspired by the last live-action Spider-Man movie, No Way Home and transforms both the MCU’s Spidey and Sony’s Green Goblin into LEGO Construction Figures. Here’s an early look at both of these upcoming sets.
With the high level of secrecy surrounding the third MCU out for Spider-Man, the first set based on the film felt a little disconnected to what was eventually seen on screen. Thankfully, Marvel sets have come later and fully embraced the returning legacy characters from beyond the MCU and who first appeared in Sony’s early Spider-Man films. In the MCU, Peter Parker is mentored by Tony Stark and this results in Spider-Man donning what is known as the Iron Spider armour. Thanks to a spell cast by Doctor Strange, the multiverse is thrown into chaos and characters first seen in no-MCU Marvel films start to be pulled into the long-running reality. One of those characters is Norman Osborne aka the Green Goblin. Both the Iron Spider armour and Oscorp’s Green Goblin suit are the focus of these two new sets. The basic build of both is quite similar with a two-part torso, arms and legs with multiple points of articulation and a head. Although they do use several ball-joint connections, the use of unique elements is minimal. The most obvious of these special pieces are the heads and shoulder plates. These have previously been used in other character figures. Another unique feature of the sets is the lack of stickers. Instead, any parts requiring extra details are printed. What sets these apart from other sets, are the additional accessories. Spider-Man includes the spider legs and Green Goblin rides his gilder board.
Product Details
Set Name: Green Goblin Construction Figure | Set Number: 76284 | Pieces: 471 | Theme: Marvel
Number of Bags: Bags x 3 (paper/plastic) | Instructions: Paper sheet + Builder App | Stickers: N/A
RRP: £31.99/$34.99/37.99€/69.99AUD/79.99NZD/44.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail from April 1st
This version of the Green Goblin first appeared in 2002’s Spider-Man. Back then the character was portrayed as menacing-looking armour, created by Norman Osborne, who was somewhat of a scientist himself. The same design was used for the character in No Way Home. This version of the character works nicely for this style of build. The layering of bright green elements over darker ones does a good job of looking like an armoured suit. The head is a little less successful. While the unique plate used for the head of these styles of sets is great, extending it with additional pieces doesn’t look as good as it did on the An-Man and Wolverine figures.
Along with the figure, the Green Goblin set also includes a glider board. As with the figure, this buildable accessory uses a mix of standard and Technic pieces, including a couple of fin plates. It’s certainly an interesting mix of parts, I especially like the use of orc swords along the front of the glider. The Green Goblin figure can be mounted onto the glider, via a couple of Technic pins.
Product Details
Set Name: Iron Spider-Man Construction Figure | Set Number: 76298 | Pieces: 303 | Theme: Marvel
Number of Bags: Bags x 2 (paper) | Instructions: Paper sheet + Builder App | Stickers: N/A
RRP: £31.99/$34.99/37.99€/69.99AUD/79.99NZD/44.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail from April 1st
Spider-Man has already been featured in the Construction Figures line. As you’d expect Iron Spider-Man is very similar to previous versions of the characters. The obvious difference is the colour scheme. The Iron Spider Armour is features darker red and blues, trimmed with golden detail. The spider symbol on the suit is mostly created from printed elements. Four are used on the chest section of the torso. One of the less obvious changes is the hands. Instead of the tube holder clips being used for the fingers, claw-like clips are used instead. They offer the same sort of articulation but I think I prefer the older style, especially on the Spider-Man characters.
Along with the armour-like spider suit, Tony Stark adds several Iron Man-themed gadgets including nano-tech spider legs. These long claw-like appendages emerge from Spider-Man’s back. They are crafted by a series of gold-coloured elements and can be positioned in different ways. They might be fairly simple but they do look great and they can easily be removed by popping the brick they are connected to, from the back of the figure.
These are much better styles of buildable figures compared to earlier attempts. The minimal use of unique pieces, makes them feel like LEGO sets but still offer something new. They are the perfect scale for kids to play with them as they would action figures but also make fun display pieces especially as they can be posed in cool ways. Both the new LEGO Marvel Construction Figures can be pre-ordered now, ahead of their release in April 1st.
Green Goblin: UKIrelandUSCanadaMexicoGermanyFranceDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
Iron Spider-Man: UKIrelandUSCanadaMexicoGermanyFranceDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
These sets were provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Marvel. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
