Meet the Mixels, part 1
Posted by Huw,I now have in hand, the most anticipated (by me, anyway) new releases of the year: series 1 of Mixels. Why was I anticipating them so much? They look charming and full of character; they are chock-full of useful and new parts; they are very collectable; the price, £3, is fantastic and finally there is a lot of scope for creating fun MOCs by combining two or more of them together.
In summary, they capture the very essence of everything that's good about LEGO in a small and perfectly formed package...
I won't bore you with the Mixels back-story, as you can read all that at the microsite at LEGO.com, but suffice to say that each series of nine Mixels consists of three creatures from three tribes which are based on some sort of 'element'. In the case of series 1, these are fire, electricity and rock.
In this first review, I'll look at one from each tribe, then do the same for the other sets over the next few days.
First up then, is 41502 Zorch. He has the new ball-and-socket joints for legs and hinged arms. The eyes are a printed version of the ball joint with technic axle hole, which in this case are mounted on jumper plates.
Round the back, he's sprouting a couple of flames.
41503 Krader, from the rock tribe, is a strange little chap. For one thing, he's asymmetrical, having one large hand and one tiny one. There's a turntable in his body allowing his head to rotate.
I guess all the randomness on the top of his head is supposed to look like rocks.
41507 Zaptor is the tallest of the three. Like Zorch he uses the new 1x2 plate with three teeth and the new ball-and-socket joints. As noted when we reviewed the Chima Legend Beasts, these are not perfect because joint movement is somewhat restricted by their design. In Zaptor's case, he can spread his legs but not move them back and forth very far without also needing to rotate his body.
He's predominantly yellow, as you can see, but also contains a few 'Chima light orange' parts (LEGO calls it Fl.Yell-Ora).
One of the sets in each tribe contains a Nixel. This one was in 41503 Krader. Apparently they are some sort of mischievous character that the Mixels want to get rid of.
Having built these three, I am not disappointed at all. They have lived up to my expectations and, while some are better than others, they are all very cool. I particularly like the way they've been made to look like scary monsters -- googly eyes and teeth -- but also gormless as well, so as a result they ooze character and personality.
I'll give each Mixel a score of 1-5 based on how cool they look and whether I enjoyed building them.
- 41502 Zorch - 4 - a cute little monster.
- 41503 Krader - 2 - I didn't like his asymmetry.
- 41503 Zaptor - 4 - the best parts selection of this three.
In the UK, these are officially launched on 1st March and apparently the cartoon has already aired on Cartoon Network. A quick search at YouTube revealed this video that gives some idea of what it's like. I'm sure kids will love it, and the models, and I reckon LEGO has another hit on its hands.
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31 comments on this article
Will you also review the "mixed" monsters you are able to create by combining two or three monsters together (based on the instructions from Lego's website)?
You're not the only one who was waiting for them. I just need to wait a couple week so as to order them all (multiple copies of each) at once. How fast do these usually sell out? (I guess they could be compared with the small animals from the Friends line, in terms of cuteness and price)
Thanks for a great little introduction to these adorable little monsters.
Hadn't heard anything about the Nixels yet, nice extra bonus.
Am certainly looking forward to getting my hands on these.
^^ Probably yes, I downloaded the instructions yesterday.
The nixels are an unexpected treat! Love that printed tile and the eye-printed balls on the others. With Argos already having these I may have to detour on the way home from work as I think they look great and there is a great mix of parts and colours for moccing. 2014 is lining up to be an expensive year....
^ There is only one stock number so if you want all 9 you had better check with the warehouse they have them all before buying.
"I didn't like his asymmetry"
That's a bit harsh... D:
I can't really judge the three based on the parts, but in terms of design, he seems very interesting.
All I know is that I want tonnes of yellow bushes and googly eyes. No idea what I will do with them, though ...
@Huw - thanks for the heads up! Just went online to check stock and they only have the code for Flain so i'll nip into the store and see what I can spy.
And maybe the Cinderella carriage too ;)
The Lego store in Westfield (Shepherds Bush, London) has all nine for sale. I snapped up a full set yesterday.
Something between Bionicle and Creator? Well, that's fun, I remember I used to create lots of similar little robots when I was a child.
Are Nixels a kind of surprise? Are they in more expensive sets, or in random ones?
^ Not random, in yellow 41506, red 41501 and black 41503.
The only complaint I have about the Mixels is the fact that the ball joints are gray and don't match the character(of course it's okay with the rock tribe). Would have been nice if they made them yellow and red...
^MOCDoc, judging by your name I imagine you should be glad they made the most MOCable parts in a more MOC-friendly colour than red and yellow! ;)
You like MOCing and creativity but don't like asymmetry?
I think my head just asploded.
I'll definably pick a few up just for parts.
Good review! I think Krader's my favorite of these three. He has a wonderfully dopey expression, some clever asymmetry, and even an action feature (the turntable in his body, which lets him throw an exaggerated punch with that giant fist of his). Plus, he comes with a Nixel! How cool is that?
Zaptor and Zorch would have much better articulation if you switched the legs around completely (so the ball forms the hip joint and the ball cup forms the ankle joint). Other than rotating the yellow and red parts around to the sides of the legs rather than the front, this would not impact the proportions or appearance of the figure, and would allow for much better articulation (there's a reason that BIONICLE figures started using a ball rather than a ball cup for the hips back in 2004). I'm not entirely sure why the designers didn't do this.
The Nixels are a nifty bonus, and I can imagine the designers wanted them to feel semi-random, hence why only one in every three Mixels includes them. At the same time, their choice not to advertise which Mixels come with Nixels is somewhat odd. Until the building instructions were posted to the Mixels site, it wasn't clear just how the Nixel models were supposed to be obtained — for instance, whether they might be a promotional item or special series later in the year. Seems odd not to promote them as a selling point for the sets at all. But maybe TLG is hoping that the "surprise factor" will create repeat customers.
Overall, I think these guys are a great concept. I hope they sell well so we will be sure to see more wacky sets like these in the future.
My personal take on the Cragsters : http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/12572272154/ as well as the Cragsters Max : http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/12599898684/ I am totally going to have some much fun with MOC Mixels and Nixels this year as part of my regular building.
^ Very cool -- now pose the red ones in their natural environment :-0
Just in case I'm not the only one who was clueless:
"gormless/gaumless: (British informal) lacking intelligence and vitality"
If I were to buy a Mixel , what one is the best to start with? :)
^
I say either Teslo or Zorch
I picked up Flain, Volectro and Seismo today. Having just got home and built all of them already, they are great little sets! I love the character of them, and the parts. They are, dare I say, adorable. So Muppet-like and fun. It's the spirit of LEGO in one little bag!
Thanks for the first review!
I picked up three of them on my lunch break too! These promise to be some of the most fun little sets I've got in a while. Wish I'd got the yellow guy pictured above though.
Oh well, the LEGO store is just blocks away.
@robb, thanks for that, it's easy to forget that we don't quite share the same language :-)
@Huw - I have plans for the Infernites (Red) in front of a fire pit/place/source and the Electroids (Yellow) in front of a electrical equipment/power grid transformers.
I'm so p???? off right now... I just decided to finally order them, and I find they are sold out on lego.ca?!? Please tell me it's just a glitch with the site (you can still find them by using the search feature, and it indicates they should be available on March 1st...)!
UK shoppers going to Argos, I had to ask at customer services because there is only the code for Flain in the system, however the kind staff brought the box through to the counter for me! All 9 secured and I'll be having a mass opening and build with my son later. I am loving the parts in these for the price.
^ Yes, that's the way to do it.
@wiredforsound, cool. BTW, did you go to LEGOWorld CPH this year?
They look pretty cool.
When I heard of these as another TV-orientated theme, I wasn't too excited. However, seeing them has really changed my mind! The models look great! Simple but detailed, playable but rebuildable, in my opinion they've got to be one of the best LEGO themse of my lifetime!
My wife got me Volectro today and I love him, cant wait to get the rest :)