Mega Construx Call of Duty Armories Cover Showcase for MF0

MEGA Bloks/Mega Construx have a released a small line of Cargo Containers, one dark red and metal gray. Usually they are $12.99, sort of pricey for essentially pretty one hit cover. Let's take a closer look and get to know the sets.

The Box

That is what you look for, the other is the same but the gray with a green MW on it. So the container is made up of seven sections.

Side Walls, floor and Roof

The Doors, Back Wall

There are studs/holes as you can see that you can stick stuff too. Each version comes with two minifigs, accessories for them and a pieces for a bit of set dressing. What's inside big red?

I really like these sand bag blocks.

Her it is assembled with everything minus the minifigs and their stuff.

Probably wondering about the other one?

Like that grating 2x4 plate/tile

Honestly I love them just for the cargo containers but I don't like the price. I say keep an eye out for sales. Have fun!

Mega Bloks CoD Nuketown 6878 Showcase for MF0

The Set

So I picked this set up awhile ago when Mantis King and myself first started talking about meeting up at PAX East to do a 14p or minifig scale game for fun and promotion of all our favorite LEGO War Game. Original Price $39.99

Parts List

It was a fun piece to put together and if it isn't obvious I am planning to put this out there as cover minus the Welcome Sign and clock tower but the Fence might be a cute detail to leave out despite not being tall enough.

The Set

Maybe keep the Town Sign for some one hit flash cover?

For Fun

Mega Bloks Call of Duty Juggernaut Review for MF0

The Box

So I have been eyeing this one for awhile because of the shield but never picked it up because it was a horrible price ratio. When I had earned some TRU bucks I figure I go ahead and pick it up! Sorry about the poor lighting in the photos.

Can you build some sort of creation right away?

No, I couldn't but I was expecting to honestly. There are some good parts in here but not enough to get something out of it. -5 points

Parts 1

Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part

$6.99 / 47 = $0.15 per part. Certainly one of the worse over ratio I have seen which is why I did not buy it without some 'free money'. -10 points

Parts 2

If you can't build something right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?

This is a yes, look at Parts 1 but it low but the pillar could be for some fun cover or such. +5 points

The Set

Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? 

No, not at all. As I said, a few but not enough to give it yes in any shape. -5 points

Chub using Shield 1

Total: C set, one of the worse and very very close to being a C-. I only got this for the Shield and only paid a dollar for it. If there was a BrickLink for Mega Bloks where I could buy just the shields, I would! This thing looks great in the hands of a Chub!

MEGA Bloks Dome Battleground Review for MFZ: RA

Our Big Box!

So let's be straight forward about this review. Our usual review system isn't going to work, even the modified one I use for terrain. This set is very unique, specially with my purpose in buying it so I am just going to talk about but there is some old topics to discuss as well.

The Golden Ratio? I picked this up on sale from Target at $46 or $47 but it looks like it has gone back up on the market for $49.99 so we will go with that and we have 527 pieces in the box. Do the math real quick and we have $0.09 per piece so just a penny under the Golden (aka $0.10 per piece). Now, it is mostly brick which is an interesting camo color which could be a great use for building interesting pieces of terrain or stations along with some very unique pieces that could prove usual for building frames or stations. These unique pieces I am talking about are found outside of LEGOs and will be discussed more in my parts break down.

There are also guns, knifes and a turret to build in this set that at a first glance might be usual because the Call of Duty figures look like they might be the same height as our Chubs, more about this further in the post.

This is most likely the most expensive brick building set I have bought myself and certainly the most expensive one I have bought for Mobile Frame Zero. I saw it and instantly thought it could be usual in getting a start on interesting table terrain. Of course something like this would tap into the expanded rules section of MFZ.

So many bags!

So the parts break down! I am going to make this pretty straight forward by showing pictures and slapping captions on them. First I will start with part layout pictures, starting with a wide shot with following closer shots then up close of the pieces that are unique or very similar to some common used parts from the LEGO sets.

The Soldiers have to be put together...I think I install the hands upside down...

These will make up our dome!

That is a lot of parts. I think it took be longer to make this spread then to build it.

I really like these sand bag pieces, I wish there was more...

Now for our parts close ups!

Here is the crate that came with it, I like it and we will talk more about it later.

Here we have a double sided stud 1x2 plate

Here we have a limited version of the Travis

2x2 Plate with studs on both sides

1x4 brick with studs on all the long sides but the bottom

It looks like a minifigure hand but straight and perhaps a bit longer.

1x1 plate with a rod sticking out

Looks cool...

Their version of the clip piece, the yellow is a separate piece.

Double Sided Peg Pieces and a Missile piece.

So what do all these parts make up to build? They build our dome!

The Front with some Chubs to Help with Scale

 So I just want to say that yes that is a satellite 'dish' inside the dome and that dome rotates which is pretty cool. I put some Chubs on it so we can get some idea of scale. As you can see the chubs are too tall to go under the bars but they could easily be fixed by adding some bricks or just removing them. Though they do seem a bit tall for the wall but again extra bricks could fix it if it bother you. The structure itself is 6 bricks tall so it is elevated terrain within the expanded rules for MFZ.

'Side View' With our turret and yes there is a ladder!

Here is the side view of our set including a shot of the turret. This is also where our ladder is, can you make it past the turret? More about that idea later :)

Back of Set open...and introducing my cat...

Back of the Set Closed

So my over all thoughts? I like it but when I played around with it I found some problems. When closed the dome gets in the way of trying to move frames around on the top. Also the space inside is too tight to move Chubs around. Most likely better off sealing it off. I am thinking of removing the dome and putting on a helipad (and here is your helicopter). With the right bricks added it could look like a base guarded by frames.

This isn't all though, there is more! We have a drone!

For Scale

Honestly, I got nothing. It looks cool but I don't know what to do with it...right now it is looking like parts.

Alright, let's talk about the Chub and the weapons that come in the set for the figures.

Here we have a Chub standing next to one of the figures and as you can see the Cub is very much taller. Looks like it could be a power suit for a guy. The Chub is also holding a machine gun and a knife from the set.

At this angle it is a bit easier to see the scale. I think both the knife and the gun are too small plus I had to take the stock off the gun just to make it fit into the Chub's hand. Though look at that crate!

I love this crates; I like the idea of crates made for frames to open and this looks perfect for that. Wish I could just buy a bag of these things.

There was also grenades (too small) and a trench shovel...

So final thoughts at the moment? I am happy with my purchase and I am looking forward to playing around with it to make it perfect for my needs. What about you MoF0s?

House Rule Special: Turret

So the set comes with a turret and it is something I would like to try to utilize but how? Houserules, that is how! Otherwise it could just be a cool station!

So first, mounted turret: A mounted turret is stationary. A turret first in a fixed 180 degree arch established at the start of game. The barrel of the gun should be used to show the middle of the firing arch. Taking control of a turret follows the rules of seizing a station but a frame must stay within melee range to keep using a turret.

A frame that controls a mounted turret may use the turret's d6Rd d6Rd d8Rd (too powerful?) instead of it's own weapon dice. If a frame is to use the turret's attack system then it must move after the attack. Turrets provide cover. Any confirm hit to a turret takes it out. (Maybe two, with a first hit reducing it to d6Rd d6Rd?).

Automated Turret: Automated turrets use the same rules as turrets except for the following rules. Turrets are not operated by frames but still can be seized. At the start of a game a turret is either allied to a squad (who they won't shoot) or independent (shoots everyone). When a turret is seized it changes its affiliation to the squad that just seized it. In special scenarios it may not be possible to seize an automated turret.

Moving into an automated turret's firing arch causes it turn to activate, shooting at the frame that just entered it's range. Like frames, an automated turret only actives once per round.

Not yet play tested, please let me know if you do!

Thoughts?