Review: 76316 Fantastic Four vs. Galactus Construction Figure
Posted by CapnRex101,
76316 Fantastic Four vs. Galactus Construction Figure is certainly an interesting set for Marvel fans, finally introducing both Galactus and the Fantastic Four in LEGO form. Admittedly, there may be greater excitement for comic iterations, although these are welcome too.
The execution of Galactus as a large articulated figure is unsurprising and effective in some respects, though not particularly creative. I think an up-scaled minifigure would be more interesting. Even so, the minifigures are extremely desirable and the Galactus figure definitely has some positive qualities.
Summary
76316 Fantastic Four vs. Galactus Construction Figure, 427 pieces.
£54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 | 12.9p/14.0c/14.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This is certainly an appealing set, but there is considerable room for improvement
- Much-anticipated characters
- Galactus is highly articulated
- Great play value
- Minifigures could be improved
- Galactus' proportions are awkward
- Quite expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
All four members of the Fantastic Four are included, starting with their leader, Reed Richards. Portrayed by Pedro Pascal in the upcoming movie, I think warm tan is a suitable choice for his skin tone and the printed beard looks good, although the double-sided head features smiles on both sides, which is a strange decision when a grimace would have been useful.
Sue Storm, meanwhile, does not even receive a new head, instead including the piece often used for Black Widow and others. Though a unique design would have been great, I think the existing head works for Vanessa Kirby's portrayal of the character and her hairstyle looks fairly accurate too. Additionally, the torso is nicely detailed and features a white collar, distinct from Reed's garb.
Sue carries a pair of trans-clear 2x2 dishes to denote her forcefield manipulation ability, while Reed's stretching is represented by brick-built stilts. These are completely ineffective, as their proportions seem ridiculous and they are extremely fragile for play. I think the longer arms and legs developed for Avatar would have worked, or the rubbery arms used for previous stretchy characters.
I like the hair element chosen for Johnny Storm, which is new in tan and matches Sue's hair colour, appropriately for the siblings. Unfortunately, this minifigure includes a re-used head as well, usually belonging to Peter Parker in Marvel sets. Also, the lack of dual-moulded legs and printed arms is disappointing, especially since Reed's longer legs do have white boots.
Ben Grimm, also known as The Thing, has received heavier criticism than the other Fantastic Four, but is actually my favourite. Ben is approximately the same height as his fellow heroes in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, so I think a standard minifigure was a good choice, topped with a unique rocky head piece and featuring large medium nougat fists.
There is certainly scope for improvement, as the white gloves visible underneath the fists are irritating and the rocky element could fit more seamlessly on the head. However, its texture is impressive, as is the head decoration. Human Torch carries a couple of Power Blasts and you can attach flames to his feet, but a complete 'flame on' minifigure would have been ideal.
The Completed Model
Galactus is an iconic Marvel character, never represented in LEGO form outside video games, until now. Among this villain's near-limitless abilities is changing his size, from looming over an entire planet to around the size of skyscrapers in trailers for the upcoming movie. This model is accordingly quite small by comparison, measuring 28cm in height beside the minifigures.
I hope to see a much bigger rendition of Galactus in the future, perhaps comparable to 77078 Mecha Team Leader. However, I think the established Construction Figure scale is enough for this situation, conveying Galactus' overwhelming size and power, without the design becoming unmanageable for play or its articulation being compromised.
Fortunately, the articulation is quite extensive. As expected for figures of this scale, the ankles, knees, hips, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers and neck are all articulated, with the only hindrance being the segmented faulds around Galactus' waist. These are connected to hinges, so are adjustable, but still obstruct the leg motion to some degree.
Furthermore, I wish the legs were bulkier. The ridges on the magenta boots are excellent, but the legs otherwise seem far too thin for a character of Galactus' strength, particularly since he wears such heavy armour. The same issue has affected previous Construction Figures, so this repeated design should really be updated.
Galactus' feet could also be improved, as their proportions just look strange. Their size is very important for stability, but these again need bulking up because they are currently too flat. The studs on top can be useful, though I am not entirely convinced posing figures here was actually needed.
Based on the few images and products revealed so far, it is hard to judge exactly what colours Galactus will be onscreen. Dark red appears to feature though, so the colour's use on the back of the legs and the feet is reasonable. Otherwise, the legs are nicely finished from behind.
I am pleased with the design of the waist armour too. These faulds are among Galactus' most distinctive visual features, second only to his famed helmet, so recreating their shape properly was vital. A couple of elements borrowed from Star Wars work brilliantly here, although the use of large stickers is unfortunate. I would much rather these pieces had been printed.
The black spearheads on the belt are a nice detail, approximating hexagonal details adorning Galactus' belt in the movie. In addition, I like the balance of magenta and dark blue across the torso, aided by a stickered 3x3 round tile in the middle, which displays a perfect continuation of the surrounding patterns.
Sadly, I think the arms suffer from a similar issue to the legs. Once again, the magenta ridges look superb, but the arms should be chunkier and the design of the hands is notably awkward, with only three fingers on each. I appreciate that designing realistic hands is a challenge at this scale, but these look dated in comparison to other mechs and large-scale figures.
However, the most important part of Galactus is his head and this is where the figure excels, in my opinion. The character's famed helmet is instantly recognisable, including decorative spikes attached to the sides, with 1x1 round plates for texture. The spikes are only secured with hinges, so can be bumped out of position quite easily, but they look fantastic when angled correctly.
The printed face looks impressive as well, complete with a serious expression suitable for the character and metallic lenses over the eyes. However, I dislike the dark red brackets on either side of the face and the exposed ball joint underneath is not ideal. The latter is required though, so Galactus can look down at his enemies before crushing them underfoot!
Not every character is limited to the ground, however. A curved support can be connected to a Technic piece on the figure's back, which is particularly useful with Johnny Storm. Alternatively, you can link this trans-clear support to Technic axle holes on Galactus' head.
Overall
Although far from my dream Galactus-focused LEGO set, 76316 Fantastic Four vs. Galactus Construction Figure is a satisfying set overall. LEGO Marvel fans have waited many years for Galactus and the Fantastic Four and these iterations of the characters are good, despite some definite areas for improvement, especially to Reed Richards.
However, I find it tricky to separate this set from imagined versions of Galactus, perhaps using the up-scaled minifigure format or heading into truly gigantic territory. Furthermore, the price of £54.99, $59.99 or €59.99 seems fairly expensive for a brick-built action figure, even though this one is a little more complex than many others.
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41 comments on this article
They really phoned it in for this one. Totally uninspired set design, especially for that price. But what else would you expect of the Fantastic Four?
Some head on Ben Grimm.
When did Lego start making women's hair in tan again, and not just lemon-curd-colour?
A truly disappointing entry for the F4 in LEGO, unfortunately bound by the constraints of the rapidly-deteriorating MCU. When comparing these minifigures to the designs in the first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game, it's no contest. I'll pass on this and wait for the next one.
Is Brickset in a rush to get all these June set reviews out before the month changes over? That's the third review today! :P
This set is okay. I'm a little sad that Galactus doesn't have minifig body shape/proportions, but it wouldn't surprise me if this action figure form factor is more popular with kids (not to mention more affordable than the 6x scale buildable figs they've been doing lately). Mister Fantastic's stilt legs leave something to be desired as well (I kind of expected them to reuse the long arm mold they'd used for Ms. Marvel and Elastigirl to represent his powers, but maybe that's less representative of how his powers will be used in the movie). I'm fine with Thing being regular fig-sized since bigfigs can be quite unwieldy (unlike Hulk, Thing doesn't change size, so this way it's easier for him to share scenes with the rest of his "family" without everything having to be built to accommodate a larger fig).
@GBP_Chris said:
"A truly disappointing entry for the F4 in LEGO, unfortunately bound by the constraints of the rapidly-deteriorating MCU. When comparing these minifigures to the designs in the first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game, it's no contest. I'll pass on this and wait for the next one. "
I'll wait for it to be on sale or clearance...
Great review, bad set.
Seems fine for the price and for kids, but obviously this isn't the deluxe treatment that a lot of AFOLs are really wanting from Marvel's First Family.
The minifigs in particular seem very phoned in - no "phasing" effects on Sue, no flame effects on Johnny. Ben is a hard one since I do think a big fig would be TOO big, but he just looks weird. Maybe it's time for LEGO to introduce bulkier torsos/arms for larger-sized characters. That might violate minifig "rules" but the current solution isn't working.
As for Galactus, I think this looks mostly fine but an upscaled minifig proportion would be more charming and probably would have sold better. Also wouldn't be shocked to hear LEGO is planning to release a $200+, 18+ Galactus set with truly massive proportions.
Adult collectors might be better off waiting to see if we get SOME kind of deluxe set in the future with better figs.
Cuban heels? Is this the first time a minifig has worn shoes? (not counting roller skates or ice skates)
These minifigures are really underwhelming but then again F4 had always been badly portrayed in the MCU so maybe it's fitting for yet another disappointing attempt ^^
Reed legs are ridiculous and if you don't print the boots why bother pricing them in Lego form ? That makes no sense. Ben deserved a proper mould for head and arms.
I'm both super happy to see a great Galactus and super disappointed to see him in such bag company
re-using heads for main charcaters in the same theme is kinda embarrassing. the Jyn Erso headprint has become the new Angry Clone headprint
I'm hoping we get a minifigure Galactus someday... for a reason that has nothing to do with Marvel.
@josekalel said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"A truly disappointing entry for the F4 in LEGO, unfortunately bound by the constraints of the rapidly-deteriorating MCU. When comparing these minifigures to the designs in the first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game, it's no contest. I'll pass on this and wait for the next one. "
I'll wait for it to be on sale or clearance...
Great review, bad set."
Fantastic 40% off
So pretty much what was said on the reveal that they're expecting us to pay too much for a set where they've really cheaped out on the minifigures, and Galactus is good, but has too many stickers.
Give Johnny Storm some trans orange hair and Ben Grimm some nougat hands.
Other flaws are not that easy to fix
@RogueWhistler said:
"When did Lego start making women's hair in tan again, and not just lemon-curd-colour?"
76948 21354 76232
Okay, so Galactus is veeeery cool (except the feet, those could be improved), but the figures... oh... And it's not about poor Ben (who looks great and bad at the same time), it's about the other three that could be improved significantly (transparrent limbs for Sue, absolute overhaul of Johnny, stretrchy arms for Reed).
Overall, clear 50/50: build - super awesome, figures - super lackluster.
Fantastic 4 out of ten
And if you wished you could leave Galactus unbuilt, in a messy shuffled pile, to represent his appearance in 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer.
I’m not sure -why- you would wish to do that but hey, option’s there!
Reed Richards looks hilarious wearing his white slippers. Seriously Lego, you could have done much better with this minifgure.
Shout out to the hyperlink "truly gigantic territory" at the end thats really cool lmao.
@GBP_Chris said:
" @josekalel said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"A truly disappointing entry for the F4 in LEGO, unfortunately bound by the constraints of the rapidly-deteriorating MCU. When comparing these minifigures to the designs in the first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game, it's no contest. I'll pass on this and wait for the next one. "
I'll wait for it to be on sale or clearance...
Great review, bad set."
Fantastic 40% off"
I reckon it’ll eventually reach £38 or 30% off in the UK. It may take a while though. There’ll be an initial surge of FOL buyers followed by the hype created by the film. That may or may not carry through until Christmas. After that, I expect the price to tumble, reaching a low point during the first half of 2026.
Galactus is one of my favourite villains. I'll probably be getting this.
I'm gonna grab this one day because we are overdue the fantastic four on Lego form I just hope we get A silver surfer fig one day!
@GBP_Chris said:
" @josekalel said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"A truly disappointing entry for the F4 in LEGO, unfortunately bound by the constraints of the rapidly-deteriorating MCU. When comparing these minifigures to the designs in the first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game, it's no contest. I'll pass on this and wait for the next one. "
I'll wait for it to be on sale or clearance...
Great review, bad set."
Fantastic 40% off"
Fantastic 4 bucks a figure on eBay
Probably in the minority, but I prefer when the Lego Super Hero Giant characters look like giant Lego minifigs vs. action figures. 76051 and 76075 did it just the way I would want. So if I decided to buy this on huge discount, it would only be for parts to build a proper minifig style Galactus.
I just built this last night (for weird reasons). I shucked the flight mount, added jumper plates to cover the holes in the feet (the _only_ suitable part I could identify where I have two spares), swapped out the side clips on the waist with 1x1 Technic bricks so I could swivel-mount those suckers, yellowed up his face, and added some clear elements to his palm so he can hold an ice cream cone. And sitting next to him will be Iron Squirrel, also eating ice cream (still waiting for her tail to arrive, and I need to either find my original pin vise or get a better array of drill bits for my new one so I can ponk a hole through a second hairpiece for her ears). And sitting next to her will be Tippy, wearing an Ironman helmet and glove. Got some ideas for that, but dark-red is proving to be a problem (in more ways than one).
Oh, and Johnny got the trans-red skull from 71047-11, a flame effect for his hand, and an array of Brickforge blood splats around him.
"...a stickered 3x3 round tile in the middle, which displays a perfect continuation of the surrounding patterns." Assuming, of course, that you can get the sticker to line up properly. I'm not of the opinion that pieces should always be printed and never stickered, unless we're talking about circular pieces. If I could change one thing about the way Lego designs sets, it would be that circular pieces would always be printed.
I like the way the skirt is done. It just looks right and feels like a NPU for once as they didn't use tiny bits of specialized shapes to make that. Just good part usage.
Good review.
C'mon Lego. Make good minifigures. It's not that hard.
@TheOtherMike said:
""...a stickered 3x3 round tile in the middle, which displays a perfect continuation of the surrounding patterns." Assuming, of course, that you can get the sticker to line up properly. I'm not of the opinion that pieces should always be printed and never stickered, unless we're talking about circular pieces. If I could change one thing about the way Lego designs sets, it would be that circular pieces would always be printed."
I was able to get it pretty easily by lining up the ends of the magenta arc at the top with the corners of matching parts on either side, but I can see how even that would be challenging for you, given your physical challenges following the stroke. I've met a few other AFOLs who have similar limitations for various reasons, and of course kids frequently can't even get square stickers applied straight on square parts. I actually found the triple stickers on the cockpits the most challenging, because you have to apply the center sticker first, and hope you have it positioned correctly so the pattern on the side stickers will line up nicely, without forcing the stickers off the edges of the part. For that, I started at the narrow end by the hinge bar, centered it, and tried to match the margin on the end with the ones on both sides, which turned out to be a pretty good spot. Problem is, then you have to match up four side stickers, and while they individually look okay, there's some variance in the margins between how all four of those stickers went down.
@Binnekamp:
I'd almost prefer the front and back ones be brickbuilt, because you have to spread his legs as wide as they'll go to allow him to sit down without first removing the flag from the front. If they'd even used a narrower element, that would have helped, but brickbuilt I could rebuild to change the overall shape.
Already 20% off at my local Meijer! Picked it up today since I won't see any better discount for it anytime soon. Haven't built it yet, but reviews of Galactus were all I needed to see. FF figures are just ok, but I do appreciate they finally exist.
Disappointing. …Perhaps could have been made more robust by including Silver Surfette?
It's in my list, but I just don't know. Galactus is well done overall. The figures are too similar (which I understand they have the same uniform), but as a minifig collector it doesn't really motivate me to pick them up. And $60...I just can't stomach that.
I guess I'll wait and see if I can justify it sometime over the next year. I'm torn on if I will even go to the F4 movie this summer. I'm Pedro'd out anymore. He's everywhere.
@Sethro3 said:
"I'm torn on if I will even go to the F4 movie this summer. I'm Pedro'd out anymore. He's everywhere."
He’s a minority actor who has recently appeared in at least three successful shows, twice as a main character. Hollywood can be even less adventurous about casting than they are about subject matter. Emily Blunt once noted that as soon as she had one successful action film under her belt, she was shortlisted for _EVERY_ female action role because nobody could think of anyone else to cast, and she had a proven track record…of one film.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Sethro3 said:
"I'm torn on if I will even go to the F4 movie this summer. I'm Pedro'd out anymore. He's everywhere."
He’s a minority actor who has recently appeared in at least three successful shows, twice as a main character. Hollywood can be even less adventurous about casting than they are about subject matter. Emily Blunt once noted that as soon as she had one successful action film under her belt, she was shortlisted for _EVERY_ female action role because nobody could think of anyone else to cast, and she had a proven track record…of one film."
Pedro really hasn’t visibly led much yet and Wonder Woman 84 is so easily forgotten.
I want to be oversaturated but he fell off Abbey Mountain so quickly and has been otherwise living in a Beskar burka.
@yellowcastle said:
"Pedro really hasn’t visibly led much yet and Wonder Woman 84 is so easily forgotten."
I’d honestly forgotten he was in WW84. The only two people I could have named from that film were Gal Gadot (obviously) and Kristen Wiig (whose only other credit I could cite was Ghostbusted).
No, Pascal first gained attention for a very memorable turn as the Sand Viper in Game of Thrones, before the series went off book. And besides The Mandalorian (where he gets lead credit as the titular character), he’s also in the critically acclaimed The Last Of Us, again as one of the two lead characters.
@PurpleDave said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"Pedro really hasn’t visibly led much yet and Wonder Woman 84 is so easily forgotten."
I’d honestly forgotten he was in WW84. The only two people I could have named from that film were Gal Gadot (obviously) and Kristen Wiig (whose only other credit I could cite was Ghostbusted).
No, Pascal first gained attention for a very memorable turn as the Sand Viper in Game of Thrones, before the series went off book. And besides The Mandalorian (where he gets lead credit as the titular character), he’s also in the critically acclaimed The Last Of Us, again as one of the two lead characters."
Just remembered that he also voiced Fink (one of the three main characters) in The Wild Robot. While that fact may not have registered on all moviegoers, it likely did within the Hollywood film industry.
Galactus is excellent, but Ben Grimm needs a bespoke sculptured head and oversize bespoke sculptured fists, and the Reed Richards legs should be the ones used in the "Avatar" sets.
IMO it's a weak set with weak minifigs.
Anyway, would love a a The Last of US set. In the way of the first set they did for Horizon (which was, again IMO, exceptional).
@DearMisterLegoBreaker said:
"IMO it's a weak set with weak minifigs.
Anyway, would love a a The Last of US set. In the way of the first set they did for Horizon (which was, again IMO, exceptional). "
Honestly, I just want a minifig of a mushroom zombie, to add to my quart-sized hunger of zombies. I mean, I could figbash one, but it would likely just end up being representative of one, rather than actually looking like one.
That Thing figure is just so sad and pathetic. Ben deserved a Big Fig. We’ve been wanting one for years. There are thousands of Chinese Bootleg Ben Grimm figs that all look 1000x better than this.
@Faefrost said:
"That Thing figure is just so sad and pathetic. Ben deserved a Big Fig. We’ve been wanting one for years. There are thousands of Chinese Bootleg Ben Grimm figs that all look 1000x better than this. "
If they did a comics Ben Grimm, he might be a bigfig (like he was in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes video game), but if you look at promotional materials from the movie, a bigfig would be dramatically oversized.