Name: The Nether Fortress
Theme: Minecraft
Year: 2015
Pieces: 571
Minifigs: 3
Brick Seperator: Yes
Price: US $79.99 / CAN $99.99 / UK £69,99
The Box:
The front of the box (this is the european version so the set name and piece count are not included)
The back of the box showing some of the play features.
The Pieces:
There are six bags of parts and two loose plates.
The instruction book comes in a plastic bag to prevent wrinkling.
The part inventory from the back of the instructions.
While most of the non-minifigure parts are relatively common one part stood out to me, the 1x5x6 window piece in trans purple only appears in one other set.(70172)
The Minifigures:
There are three minifigures, a blaze and a ghast. The zombie pigman and his gold sword are unique to this set, as well as the printed parts on the blaze and ghast.
The ghast has a firing mechanism that shoots 1x1 round plates.
Steve and Alex without their armor.
Alex is the only figure with printing on the back.
The ghast's expression can be changed to it's peaceful form by switching out the front tiles.
The Build:
The nether is one of the most distinctly different places in minecraft and this set captures the feel of it even though it's only a small slice of the world.
Some of the elements seen in this set are: nether quartz, glowstone (built with glow-in-the-dark studs), nether wart, mushrooms (red and brown) and burning netherrack.
The Nether quartz is also part of a disguised mechanism that releases the lava flow.
Extra pieces.
Conclusion:
DESIGN 9/10 - This set is instantly recognizable as part of the nether and has most of the elements found there.
BUILD 7/10 - the build is easy and straightforward, a simple build even for beginners.
MINIFIGURES 8/10 - Steve is exactly the same as in every other set but alex is a new figure found in only one other set. the zombie pigman is the most detailed figure and is unique to this set, which is probably the biggest reason to get this set.
PLAYABILITY 7/10 - With a lava flow function, a ghast with a shooting ability, three minifigs and a blaze, this set offers a lot of playability. But when I tried to pick it up it started falling apart. There are additional instructions in the booklet to rebuild part of the set differently to inspire creativity.
PARTS 8/10 - There are a lot of basic brick pieces but quite a few of them are dark red which is nice. for those that don't have a large collection yet. Also there are no stickers, only printed pieces.
PRICE 5/10 - 571 parts for $80 comes out to 14 cents a piece, and while it does have some nice parts most of them are basic bricks and plates which make it hard to justify buying at full price.
OVERALL 7.3/10
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