Review: 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan
Posted by CapnRex101,76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan features an outstanding selection of characters, with the Hulk chief among them, given he rarely appears in such affordable sets, relatively. Moreover, the Leviathan makes a welcome return from 76269 Avengers Tower.
For owners of that spectacular model produced last year, there is little of interest here, but for everyone else, this set provides fantastic potential.
Summary
76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan, 347 pieces.
£44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 | 13.0p/14.4c/14.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Though repetitive for 76290 Avengers Tower owners, this is an appealing set
- Exceptional character selection
- Superb armour texture
- Somewhat limited articulation
- Display stands are too short
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Bigfigs were updated with rotating heads in 2021, beginning with Thanos in 76192 Avengers: Endgame Final Battle. Hulk received exactly the same treatment last year and returns with a unique angry expression here, replacing his earlier grin. This expression is more versatile and the hair element looks marvellous, with plenty of intricate texture.
The sculpted muscles look excellent too, closely resembling those on older bigfigs. Four studs are found on the back though, which are a new feature and provide a welcome opportunity for some customisation. Sand blue is not my preferred colour for Hulk's tattered trousers, as I like the more vibrant dark blue, but this shade works in relation to his onscreen appearance.
A new Captain America minifigure was introduced in 76248 The Avengers Quinjet, based on The Avengers. This is the figure's third appearance and the combination of dark blue and blue panels across the torso is effective, as always. The red and white stripes underneath look good as well, but dual-moulded legs are not included to represent boots, unfortunately.
Black Widow includes printed legs though, improving on her minifigure from the Quinjet and returning from 76269 Avengers Tower. The straps and buckles look perfect and I like the dark red design on her belt, matching the film. Of course, this minifigure also stands out because of the printed arms, with the SHIELD emblem on each shoulder.
The double-sided head could probably be improved, as the snarling expression does not suit Black Widow at all. More importantly, however, the flesh printing for Captain America's face is extremely washed out, which remains a consistent issue. The printed shield looks nice though, while Natasha wields a stud shooter.
Loki is another character with elements returning from 76248 The Avengers Quinjet, between his pearl gold helmet and detailed torso and legs. I love the green and metallic gold highlights, alongside some bronze patterns. Furthermore, an evil grin mirrors Loki's personality from The Avengers and the Asgardian collar, used to muzzle prisoners, looks splendid on the other side.
Unlike his prior appearances, this version of Loki wears a rubber cape instead of a fabric one. Fabric may have been preferable here because the rubber piece interferes with turning Loki's head, although its moulded texture looks great. A lone Chitauri accompanies the troublesome God of Mischief and features a similar level of detail.
This is certainly my favourite Chitauri minifigure, which has appeared many times before. The metallic gold armour on the head and torso is lovely, although I wish the legs were printed too, as they look rather plain by comparison. This figure wields a brick-built laser weapon and Loki comes with his staff and the Tesseract, represented by a trans-light blue Minecraft head.
The Completed Model
Leviathans serve as extremely heavy cavalry and transports in the Chitauri army, protected by golden armour, like the Chitauri themselves. This model measures 37cm in length, which is an appropriate size for play, although I would be interested in a larger design, given the enormous size of these animals in the films.
Two ball joints link the Leviathan's body segments together, so they can only move sideways, unlike the creature from 76269 Avengers Tower. More articulation is always helpful, obviously, but lateral motion alone gives plenty of options for display, particularly since the wings are also fully articulated.
In fact, there are a surprising number of differences between this model and its precursor. As well as their varied articulation and display bases, the new Leviathan includes another pair of wings and the armour on its back has been simplified, with fewer moving pieces, so it is easier to handle. Nevertheless, the pair definitely appear similar enough to be displayed together.
The head is connected to a single ball joint, which feels looser than I would like. However, the head does not have far to droop down, especially with the mouth open. The armour protecting the head also looks reasonable and two stud shooters are mounted further back, offering some more play value.
A few studs are available to place a minifigure on the Leviathan's back, which looks a bit silly, but is another nice inclusion for play. I like the series of dark tan spines and the use of golden claws along each side is impressive, very similar to the Leviathan available in 76269 Avengers Tower. Considering the size of the model, I am pleased with this armour texture.
Two trans-clear columns raise the Leviathan off the ground. I appreciate their subtle integration underneath the body, although these columns are rather short. Even a couple more trans-clear 2x2 round bricks would have improved the situation because lifting the Leviathan makes it look bigger. Also, adding a little more height would hardly affect its overall stability.
Overall
As mentioned at the beginning of the review, this set will not appeal to everyone. After all, the minifigures and Leviathan have already appeared in 76269 Avengers Tower, but that is a very expensive set. On that basis, 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan serves as an impressive alternative, particularly to acquire the Hulk, who rarely appears in smaller sets.
As expected for bigfigs, the Hulk's presence has undoubtedly increased the price, as £44.99, $49.99 or €49.99 seems slightly too expensive to me. I would also have liked larger supports beneath the Leviathan to improve the sense of scale. Even so, this is an enjoyable set overall, especially for play, as expected for a 7+ set.
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30 comments on this article
Horribly overpriced.
(insert obligatory pricing complaint here)
(insert obligatory "fix the f***ing printing of lighter on darker colours, Lego" comment)
(insert obligatory "too stingy for dual molded or printed Captain America legs?" comment)
That's a $40 set IMHO. Nice to see these minifigs available again though.
Too dang small. Should have made it a UCS styled-ish set or something and gave us a big one.
But how does it compare to the Shadow Box version..?
They are still yet to do the leviathan justice - a true good one would need to be £150+
This feels like it comes 10+ years late lol
"...the flesh printing for Captain America's face is extremely washed out"
I thought "washed out" meant that the layer of printed ink was too thin or not opaque enough so that the color of the plastic underneath showed through. In the photo of Captain America's face, I don't see any dark blue coming through the face print.
Seems like a pretty good way to get some iconic Avengers characters, but the Leviathan still seems ridiculously small to me - especially compared to Hulk!
I’ll probably get this to have another leviathan for my marvel diorama, maybe wait for a sale but the price doesn’t bother me too much. Frankly what upsets me is the inclusion of Cap and Widow again. After they were both in the quinjet AND Avengers Tower, I would’ve appreciated og Clint making an appearance in a cheaper set instead. Not everyone can get Avengers Tower, and being able to collect all of the main 6 Avengers outside of that set would’ve given this set a huge selling point.
Hopefully, with a discount of at least 30% off, I'll manage to get my first Hulk.
Updated hugefig mold is SO MUCH BETTER
All the August Marvel sets look quite good.
But the prices....
I don't think this set is horribly overpriced. I think it would be a $40 set without the bigfig so $50 seems pretty fair. I like these Leviathan builds a lot but it definitely needed taller supports.
Justice for fabric capes!
Looks very cool to have. Especially to add to the UCS Avengers Tower or the older scaled down Avengers Tower; 76038 Attack on Avengers Tower or even 76166 Avengers Tower Battle.
So 4 figs - $5/each for $20 bucks.
One big fig - $10
The Leviathan - $10
So $40 would be just right for this.
$10 for the Disney license probably gets it to $50.
I'll wait for an Amazon sale down the road.
Loving the rubber capes!
Puny God...
And puny Leviathan...
@Rabrickzel said:
" @Ephseb said:
"(insert obligatory pricing complaint here)
(insert obligatory "fix the f***ing printing of lighter on darker colours, Lego" comment)
(insert obligatory "too stingy for dual molded or printed Captain America legs?" comment)"
So we should just consume and don't complain about anything. Just order the set build it be happy get that sweet dopamine from it then move to next product. Get couple more work shifts so you can afford it since prices gone up."
no, of course not. I was just doing a meme-version of my usual comments instead of writing them out properly bc everyone already knows what's wrong with this set.
Question: Why do they print light colour onto dark bricks, and not print the darker colour onto light bricks, which would probably take and hold the colour better?
So have a flesh coloured minifig head and paint on the dark blue (black if it's a Batman figure)
@Rabrickzel said:
" @Ephseb said:
"(insert obligatory pricing complaint here)
(insert obligatory "fix the f***ing printing of lighter on darker colours, Lego" comment)
(insert obligatory "too stingy for dual molded or printed Captain America legs?" comment)"
So we should just consume and don't complain about anything. Just order the set build it be happy get that sweet dopamine from it then move to next product. Get couple more work shifts so you can afford it since prices gone up."
I've consistently flamed Lego for the extreme price-gouging. So here, a properly written complaint for you: this set may have 350 pieces but these are all very small besides the BigFig. For what you actually get in terms of substance, this should cost no more than 30€ RRP.
@lost_scotsman said:
"Question: Why do they print light colour onto dark bricks, and not print the darker colour onto light bricks, which would probably take and hold the colour better?
So have a flesh coloured minifig head and paint on the dark blue (black if it's a Batman figure)"
Because you can't print the entire minifig head except for one small area.
I could buy a real leviathan for that price.
I don't know who this set is for, because the Leviathan from the Avengers Tower is super finicky and breaks apart super easily. I destroyed it soon after building it and took it out of the display. I can't imagine a child playing with this.
Just got this but Hulk's hair falls off so easily. Not sure if I got a bad piece or it's a design flaw.
@Phoenixio said:
"I don't know who this set is for, because the Leviathan from the Avengers Tower is super finicky and breaks apart super easily. I destroyed it soon after building it and took it out of the display. I can't imagine a child playing with this."
Exactly, which is why this model is designed differently. They are cosmetically similar, but the construction of the claws along either side and the joints between body segments are totally different.
@legoDad42 said:
"Looks very cool to have. Especially to add to the UCS Avengers Tower or the older scaled down Avengers Tower; 76038 Attack on Avengers Tower or even 76166 Avengers Tower Battle.
So 4 figs - $5/each for $20 bucks.
One big fig - $10
The Leviathan - $10
So $40 would be just right for this.
$10 for the Disney license probably gets it to $50.
I'll wait for an Amazon sale down the road."
The leviathan contains 300+ parts; this math is undercutting the build by $10-20. There's seldom been a set under $50 with a bigfig, so to have a big plus this many additional minifigs, it's actually not too bad.
I am also team wait-for-a-sale all the way though, but that's for every set I get.
I have Deja Vu as I'm building 76269 from few days.
@Ephseb said:
"(insert obligatory pricing complaint here)
(insert obligatory "fix the f***ing printing of lighter on darker colours, Lego" comment)
(insert obligatory "too stingy for dual molded or printed Captain America legs?" comment)"
Always. And will continue until either Lego gets better (the printing quality is a genuine issue) or Lego fans (AFOLs mostly) become less whiny online (no, not everything needs dual-molded legs). Prices obviously should be cheaper for a lot of sets (not all), but you do have to keep in mind that Lego is a premium product (which is why the printing is a issue, that's not premium yet it's priced as such), and has always been expensive.
Great set! lovely review. Mainly bought this set to create an orc out of the big hulk ;) and ofcourse use it as hulk himself.