Review: 76204 Black Panther Mech Armour
Posted by CapnRex101,Mechs are rarely associated with Black Panther, although Wakandan technology provides some appealing potential. 76204 Black Panther Mech Armour does not wholly embrace this potential though, notably resembling previous character mechs instead.
The purple and black colour combination looks outstanding though, while the addition of sickle-shaped claws suits Black Panther. Hopefully the associated minifigure also proves appealing, improving upon past Black Panther designs.
Summary
76204 Black Panther Mech Armor, 124 pieces.
£8.99 / $9.99 / €9.99 | 7.3p/8.1c/8.1c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
76204 Black Panther Mech Armour exceeds expectations, but the minifigure is mediocre.
- Appealing colour scheme
- Great articulation
- Distinctive claws
- Disappointing minifigure
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigure
Black Panther minifigures rarely achieve considerable variation and this design resembles its predecessors, although it is unique. The metallic silver chest armour and necklace look superb, while the head features similar metallic silver designs. However, the black legs are undecorated and seem relatively bland.
The same issue has affected previous Black Panther minifigures, but the newest example is particularly underwhelming, in my opinion. Adding some purple accents or decorating the ear component have both proven successful before, but I think leg printing alone would have been sufficient here.
Fortunately, the minifigure does include a pair of claws and an alternative head, which I think looks much better than the masked design. The hair piece was designed for the T'Challa Star Lord Collectable Minifigure, while the cheerful head returns from 10291 Queer Eye - The Fab 5 Loft. This element lacks a second expression, but is otherwise quite effective.
The Completed Model
Given their shared construction methods, conveying character is paramount for each Marvel mech. Black Panther's design fares quite well in that regard, featuring a fitting combination of black and purple, with pearl silver accents. The claws are disproportionately large, which suits this character, but the mech's overall height of 11cm is standard.
This model includes the normal ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles, along with hinged fingers and thumbs. These joints are more than adequate to create differing poses, although the narrow feet could yield stability issues. Careful posing should avoid issues though, with even the below stance remaining perfectly steady.
Wakandan technology is famously advanced and I welcome reference to that technology, as a trans-purple book cover forms a heads-up display! Ideally, the screen would have been printed, but the 2x2 curved slope underneath is decorated and looks great. This metallic silver necklace design corresponds with the minifigure's necklace, alongside purple detailing.
As usual, there are no controls inside. There is ample space for Black Panther though, stood between pearl silver tooth plates. Similar details are present across this mech, again recalling that distinctive necklace. Moreover, the interior makes splendid use of colour, as the minifigure contrasts against purple slopes on the backrest.
The reverse conforms to the standard for these Marvel mechs too, although the addition of a simple 2x2 inverted curved slope is effective, nicely finishing the model. The black 1x1 plates with overhanging teeth mounted on the shoulders are also appealing, as such texture is often reserved for the front.
Black Panther's claws are among his most distinguishing features, so these curved claws are appealing. Their articulation is good for display, but I am disappointed by the continued use of 2x2 plates with axles on both hands, leaving one axle awkwardly vacant. The similar 1x2 plate with axle avoids this issue and even appeared on 76141 Thanos Mech, so should surely have been used on this occasion.
The hip construction has been changed this year, now including stacked 1x2 plates with ball joints. They create an irritating offset between the legs, although that can easily be disguised with posing. The narrow feet return from 76171 Miles Morales Mech Armour, where they were not universally liked, but I think this design works nicely for the nimble Black Panther.
Overall
76204 Black Panther Mech Armour satisfies my requirements for these collectable mechs, reflecting the character and including some unique features. This colour combination looks marvellous and I love the trans-purple screen on the chest, alongside the spectacular claws. Imperfections remain though, notably including the empty wheel bearings on each hand.
I find the Black Panther minifigure disappointing as well, lacking decorated legs or the printed ear element that appeared in 76047 Black Panther Pursuit. Despite those flaws, I am pleased with this addition to the Marvel mech series and the price of £8.99, $9.99 or €9.99 provides fair value, so matches other models from the selection.
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19 comments on this article
Reviewer: would be nice to have printed legs.
LEGO: we don’t do that here.
The timing of this review is hilarious to me, as I literally just rebuilt 76144, which has an identical HUD on the larger Chitauri craft. Makes you wonder who's stealing whose technology.
Interesting design, as with the rest of the mechs in this line, I dig the color scheme. While there were purple elements with the force field thing on his suit, I never really associated the color that much with T’Challa but it works well.
I haven’t gotten a Black Panther minifigure, so um happy he is in this set! I almost got the one based of the Avengers game, but I just couldn’t at the price.
I'm glad they didn't do purple or blue highlights as my favourite black panther suit is the one from Civil War which was just plain black. I could have used some more silver detailing and definitely some leg printing
So tired of all these Marvel Mechs when there are plenty of cool ships, sets, and vehicles they could make from the movies. I guess kids like them though.
@TheOtherMike said:
"The timing of this review is hilarious to me, as I literally just rebuilt 76144, which has an identical HUD on the larger Chitauri craft. Makes you wonder who's stealing whose technology."
well, in the mcu that is actually quite possible, we haven't seen anything from wakanda after the battle
I'll fix the first sentence for you:
"Mechs are rarely associated with Marvel at all".
Aside from, I suppose, Hulkbuster. For $10 I guess we can't expect too much, but these just seem like easy-button color swaps.
@FinBrick: True, Black Panther's introduction to the MCU didn't happen until years after Avengers.
Honestly, the empty axles (on the bottom of the mech hands) also bother me a little bit, particularly since they have pieces they could use to avoid that problem, but they just ... don't.
Only the best is good enough, right?
The leg printing on black panther will be an easy fix for me as I can use the legs from Zod from 76002
@jlc76 said:
"So tired of all these Marvel Mechs when there are plenty of cool ships, sets, and vehicles they could make from the movies. I guess kids like them though."
LEGO really needs to fill out that lower price-point to continue appeal for younger builders that don't have their own disposable income. Vehicles of any significance seem to be 3-4x more nowadays
The theme was great
The arms and the hands look disproportionately large, and I don't much like it. And Black Panther minifigures really need leg printing. Seems lacking for most of the recent Marvel minifigures.
boring mech, I know there is a difference with licensing but surely we can get better lower price point sets than this. Star Wars seems to manage it
The colour scheme is so meh. And the design itself too. Looks more like a base for a mech than a complete model.
the legs look a little wimpy compared to the rest of the mech. makes me think of the dad from the incredibles
As others have stated, LEGO had two attempts at the hip joints, and still managed to screw it up. Why couldn't they have just stuck to the tried and tested method that they've used for the last few years!? I'm sure everyone would have been fine with that. The lack leg printing on the Minifigure is somewhat disappointing, and I feel as if the mech itself could have had a few additional features like shoulder cannons. I too am not a huge fan of the skinny feet, and previous mechs such as Miles Morales are tricky to balance. I would have paid a little more for this set had they solved these minor irritations.
Though they do provide some texture on the back of the shoulders I'm pretty sure the overhanging teeth are an illegal technique. They can't sit flush with the brick they're on thanks to the length of the underside of that bracket.