Review: Racing Championship - Wange model no 040917

I knew I had done this post before but can't seem to find it for some reason.

I also lost the original shots I made when building this.

The set was a commission from the officemate of my girlfriend.  She had bought a Wange Formula Race set and then after opening decide that she doesn't have the patience to build the whole thing.  So I ended up building it.

Well on to the set!


Here's a top view of the Champion's platform!

I had a tough time with this since the instructions were off by about two pegs.  I had to do adjustments to fit the platform on to the supporting structures at the bottom.

Still turned out well.  Minus points to Wange for the confusing instructions and the wrong brick length for the portions you see below.  Again off by 2 pegs.

This is the first time I've encountered a brick set that had the wrong length.  Very strange indeed

Here's a view of the finish line!

So from this picture you can see the three major structures included in the set:  The crew pit on the left,  The finish line and the Champion's podium on the left.

In the middle of course is the Formula race car with the pull back motor.  The car looks very sweet from here.


The podium.

Sweet since it has the weird laser looking spotlight on top! I found it ingenious to use the alternating black and white bricks to form the checkered background.

Another complaint I have with this set.  The minifigs totaled about 3 race drivers.  But the box and instructions also showed a reporter and one pit crew.  Apparently there were only 3 minifigs.  Again its the first time I've had a problem with a set like this

Another view of the podium.  Very nice!  Notice that the foreground support beam (the white brick beneath the platform) is set about two pegs back.  This was what I was mentioning earlier about the instructions being wrong or the supplied bricks being wrong.  That white support strut is supposed to be two pegs forward.  I adjusted it backwards because the red platform bricks were short by 2 pegs.

A better view of the whole set.  Not bad looking at all!

The Crew Pit:

Finishing the race

From behind the podium:

Winner!

Overall not a bad set.  Just two major complaints: 1.  The red platform plates were lacking 2 pegs in length. 2. The minifig count was less than expected.

But it was nice to look at when done.  And the Race car has a pull back motor!  Awesome.

Review: Ausini Police Patrol Boat # 23309

Ausini has somehow gotten the bulk of my current alternative brick toys purchase.  Recently I bought a couple of their Farmland series because of the Lego styled farm animals as well as the minifig sized farm implements.


And then I saw this and decided to give it a try.  The Ausini Patrol Boat from their Police Series.

The kit comes in at 179 pesos or about 4 US$.  Not bad for a kit that has 2 minifgs and a boat.
 

83 pieces eh?

Yeah cheap brick toys!

Hmm that helicopter in the small box looks good too!

Opening the package you have the usual mess of bricks and GUNS!  Guns on a sprue like when you build Gundam kits.  Lego of course would not bother with molds of real guns except for the scifi type guns so I have the alternative brick toys to supply the gun needs of my minifigs.  This kit had 4!  Awesome!

4 Guns!

Well the instructions looked good enough.  Although we still get occasionally confused with the system of greying out the sections you have finished already.  Especially when you have grey bricks for parts.

Did I say 4 guns?

Ah more guns for the armory!  These Chinese manufacturers always have great guns for minifigs. :)

The sticker sheet for application after completing the model.

Decent enough bricks.  A bit on the glossy plastic side though.

Ah I love this ship frame.

The kit comes with a good sized ship frame that can be used for a whole lot of other models later on.  Haven't tested though if this will float in water like a lot of Lego ships.

We look like Lego minifigs as long as they don't look at our faces!

We have real guns! And I took Ackbar's Lego mug! HAHAHA!

Yep them ausini minifigs can pass off as LEgo as long as they cover their faces :)

Guest appearance of my brother's GF :)

Yeah she seems happy enough with building this kit!

Ha!  Guns!

Somewhat in the middle

That ship is fast shaping up!  Some of the stickers applied.

Lego on top!

Here we have some Lego bricks for comparision (The red model on top is a Lego Creator set).

Almost done with the ship!

View from the back,

Kaiju ATTACK! NOOO!

This is the POLICE!

Side view~

Kaiju Attack!  Lego and Ausini side by side

Overall this was another fun Ausini set to build and the gun accesories are really nice though a bit out of proportion.

Review: Star Diamond Series Building Electric Crane #80605

Finally I get around to getting a Star Diamond set again.  Even though it's a small one its been a long time since  I procured a Star Diamond kit.

Star Diamond is still the second best brick toy out there after Lego if you ask me.  It has top notch brick quality and is the best among the China brick toys.   

This model is pretty small with 1 minifigure but it was fun to build.  Besides it was a free toss in among a bunch of Lego I procured from a friend over the weekend.

Nice a construction guy!

The flimsy manual!

The bricks on my bed

The minifigure has to be assembled.  He is in pieces right now!

Well that wasn't so hard to build

Nice expression on the fig.

 I like the screw driver that came with the minifigure.  Awesome.

Nice articulation on the crane.  Just like Lego the arm locks into position and you can hear an audible click when you lock the arm.

Be sure to look for more Star Diamond sir!

Yep I must find more Star Diamond sets in the future!

Review: Ausini Farm Series No. 28501

Yep me and my girlfriend are officially into Ausini's Farm series of brick toy kits.

We bought our second set today because it was a:

PIG FARM!

Who can resist 4 pigs, a dog and a cow that are all compatible with Lego.

(Apologies in advance since I only had my phone camera when building this)



First the box:

Wow Ausini actually has a branded seal for the box.  Nice.

Sprues for the tools!  Reminds me of my other hobby Gundams!  Nice set of tools here!

Stickers for the animals which I will most likely not use.

I like Ausini since their figs are almost Lego like!  Except for the weird expressions and the general color choice :)

Do It Yourself Cow!

The lego like minifigs!

I get to build the cow!  Just like I had to build the horse in the first farm set!

With the cows and the pigs!  One pig is a different color!

Well she sure is enjoying herself!

A black dog and the tools in a barrel.

The pig shed partly done.

Unfortunately the wheel barrow is not the Lego wheel barrow

Carrots all around!

The pig pen is done!

Now for the carrot planter box!

Nice farm!

The cow over the fence!

The full pig pen!

Let;s herd them!

The carrot planter box. Nice!

A little parkour action into the pen.

OVerall it was a fun set to build as my girlfriend will attest to!  I like all the animal inclusions as well as the accesories in the box.

Great buy at 349 pesos