I never saw the original Voltron TV show. It came out before I was born and it’s one of those pop-culture properties that while I was aware of it, I had never experienced it. When this LEGO Ideas Voltron set was announced I was clearly less excited than some hardcore fans. It was clear though that this was a particularly impressive model.
I’ve since binge watched the entire Netflix series (it’s great) and got a much better understanding of the Voltron concept.
Voltron has defeated some powerful enemies but can it overcome the toughest challenge yet – convincing you to part with your hard earned money?
Build Experience
The Yellow Lion
Construction of the Yellow Lion features a fantastic mix of different techniques – you are constantly flipping the model around for SNOT sections, then making a complex sub-build. Overall I really enjoyed this build and as the first of the five it’s a brilliant introduction to this model.
The Blue Lion
Unsurprisingly the build for the Blue Lion is nearly identical to the Yellow Lion, as both will eventually form legs. It’s a good build but it does feel a little familiar as you are going through the steps.
The Black Lion
The Black Lion is a nice change of pace after two nearly identical builds. This lion is massive and the build is longer and more involved than the two previous ones. There are a lot of complex sub-builds that all come together to make for an overall brilliant build. As you are building this lion you get lots of indicators that this will become a key part of the assembled Voltron.
The Green & Red Lions
The arms of Voltron are obviously less bulky than the legs, so these two builds are actually fairly small compared to the previous lions. They are still fun to assemble but with both being identical in terms of actual structure you’re probably not going to savour this part of the build.
Overall
When the five lions assemble to create Voltron the end result is a giant humanoid mech – which means two arms and two legs. Some repetition in the build simply can’t be avoided. I do think the designers have made an effort to ensure there are enough differences to keep you engaged with the build. I never felt bored or frustrated.
Overall this was one of my favourite build experiences.
Play/Display
The Lions of Voltron
The designers of this set have done a fantastic job of ensuring that the five lions all look impressive on their own. When you’ve got all five lined up together it’s quite the display.
It’s almost a shame that it’ll probably never get displayed like that – because the assembled Voltron is just so cool!
Assembling Voltron
Pictures don’t really do the combination justice, so here’s a quick video of me putting the lions together (including me trying to put the wrong leg on). Overall it took me about 3 minutes to combine the lions, so it’s not tricky.
- The legs of the yellow and blue lions get folded up, then the heads are snapped into place to form the feet. These have a nice clunk as they clip into place so you can be sure they are properly secured.
- Next the Black Lion is converted into the torso. This is done by removing the rear legs, rotating them and then reattaching them. The same is then done with the front legs, reversing them.
- The legs are then attached. The way the clips are designed you can’t accidentally place a leg on the wrong side as it won’t clip into place.
- The Red and Green lions also have their legs folded up before they are attached to the shoulders with technic pins. These lions provide some posability not found on the legs.
- Voltron’s face is then flipped down, exposing his printed lips.
- It’s at this point that you can then opt to add the sword and shield builds.
Voltron
Wow. That is really the only word that comes to mind when it comes to the completed assembled Voltron. This thing is huge and stunning. The way that each lion becomes a limb is genius design and matches the source material. There are so many great design elements from the numbered stickers on each lion to Voltron’s chest and face. I don’t even think you need the sword and shield but I love that they are there.
This is an outstanding display piece that actually has a really great play feature – assembling Voltron is fairly quick and easy. It’s something that you’d be able to show off to a fellow LEGO fan or a Voltron fan that isn’t an AFOL.
Affordability
With an Australian RRP of $289.99 this set is not cheap, but even at RRP I think that the quality of the build and how fantastic this is to display make this worth the price. Currently this set is exclusive to Myer, David Jones and independents. Myer have a bit of a trend of excluding Ideas sets from their sales so David Jones is your best bet for getting this set on sale. At 20% off this set is a must buy in my opinion.
A few people have managed to get this during a David Jones 25% off sale which is outstanding if you can pull it off.
You can find some product links here:
Verdict
I am giving this set a tick for all three criteria (Build Experience, Play/Display and Affordability). For me, it’s a must-buy.
This set was provided to me by The LEGO® AFOL Engagement team at my request. Opinions expressed above are my own.
Nicely presented review.
Nice one. I’m similar to you in that Voltron was before my time. I’m keen to get this set though and may have the series playing in the background as I build. Great review!
Great review. next sale!
Excellent review- I love your photos.
Great review for my brain. Terrible review for my wallet!