Review: 30694 Space Science Mech

This thing looks so good wow. We've come a long way from the Exo-Force polybags.

I try to collect whole theme. Thank you for this review!

I will try to add this to the collection, my LEGO World needs more construction mechas.

I assumed it was for handling things to do some experiments on, so it does seem a bit weird that there is nothing to hold or use in the mech suit. Even a rock with some gems inside would be suggestive enough. But I wonder if it is because the claws / hands cannot pick anything up.

Normally I don't like LEGO Mechs because they often seem stupid and there for no apparent reason, like those Superhero ones, but in case of a Space theme they actually make sense. And this one doesn't look as over the top as some of the others either.

I definitely want to pick this one up, but I haven't found it anywhere yet. I find it amusing that it has better articulation than 60428 !

EDIT: I take it back, they're finally in stock at Brick-a-brac! I picked a couple up.

Delicious. Exactly what small mechs should be, hyper-posable little constructs.

I think it would benefit from a 2x2 inverted slope on the back.

Anything is scientific equipment if the range if acceptable answers for "field of study" is broad enough.

@CCC said:
"I assumed it was for handling things to do some experiments on, so it does seem a bit weird that there is nothing to hold or use in the mech suit. Even a rock with some gems inside would be suggestive enough. But I wonder if it is because the claws / hands cannot pick anything up."

It looks like it might be capable of picking another minifig up by the waist, and chucking him across the room.

I'm looking forward to getting this one. I saw them at the store yesterday.

The printing on those paper bags seriously threw me off though. The sand blue ingots were indistinguishable from an oplascent color and the color bleeding reminded me of stuff I printed in 2007 on an old school printer. I get that it's not going to be as shiny as on a plastic polybag but that printing looked baaad.

I seriously had to look up online what you actually get. It was that bad.

Ultimately I still want to get one but I'll wait for a nice cycling trip. They're sold everywhere, which is usually not the case for polybags I want. Such as the previous year's polybag which was rare over here unless you bought it in a 3-pack. I already had the others in said 3-pack unfortunately.

the wammy is at the end when you realise this is just a polybag. Sure, it could be nicer but that's fantastic for a polybag!

While I'm sure this set is already pushing the limits of how big/complex it could be as a polybag, I can't help but wish there was a small brick-built robot included for the science faction. So far there's been three blue explorer robots, three yellow construction robots, but only one green science robot.

But it's still a very nice set, and I like the comparison you shared with the larger construction mech (which emphasizes both the similarities and differences between the two).

@MisterBrickster said:
"
EDIT: I take it back, they're finally in stock at Brick-a-brac! I picked a couple up."

Nice rhymes man

@Goujon said:
"eco force "
I would buy a line of environmentally friendly battle mechs.

@whiteghost said:
"I understand the concept of a paper bag impulse set and I've been collecting the latest space line religiously. However, this is not a good mech. It's very blocky and aesthetically nowhere near as pleasing as last year's hoverbike. 60428 has obviously a lot going in its favor, too, starting with its piece count."

I don’t know, I think we have to consider how the target audience would respond to something like this. I imagine 6-year-old me would love something like this; it’s not aesthetically stunning, but in this context I don’t think it has to be when the playability is clearly there. I do wonder if the feet are a bit fragile, though.

Ripley : Hey, I feel like kind of a fifth wheel around here. Is there anything I can do?
Sergeant Apone : I don't know, is there anything you can do?
Ripley : ...Well, I can drive that loader. I have a Class-2 rating.
Sergeant Apone : Be my guest.
[Ripley mounts the second loader, activates it, then casually drives it to pick up a cargo container]
Ripley : [nonchalantly] Where do you want it?
[Hicks grins, and Apone booms with laughter]
Sergeant Apone : Bay Twelve, please.

@whiteghost said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @whiteghost said:
"I understand the concept of a paper bag impulse set and I've been collecting the latest space line religiously. However, this is not a good mech. It's very blocky and aesthetically nowhere near as pleasing as last year's hoverbike. 60428 has obviously a lot going in its favor, too, starting with its piece count."

I don’t know, I think we have to consider how the target audience would respond to something like this. I imagine 6-year-old me would love something like this; it’s not aesthetically stunning, but in this context I don’t think it has to be when the playability is clearly there. I do wonder if the feet are a bit fragile, though."

I understand your argument but 30663 was a better deal in every regard imo."

I mean, this set is very similar in size, weight, and piece count to that one, so even if you don't care for the aesthetics (which obviously come down largely to personal taste) the value still seems pretty similar to me.

The main relative drawback I see is the lack of any space rocks or crystals for the scientist to collect/analyze, but at 49 pieces including a minifig I'm guessing there just wasn't room in the budget for additional scenery or accessories like that.

On the other hand, I don't think the mech necessarily needs any scanning tools like the review suggests, because based on its targeting reticle I believe the tablet used as a control interface already has some scanning functionality of its own. I can certainly imagine the operator using the claw arms to hold a scientific sample in front of this tablet for analysis.

@Lyichir said:
"While I'm sure this set is already pushing the limits of how big/complex it could be as a polybag, I can't help but wish there was a small brick-built robot included for the science faction. So far there's been three blue explorer robots, three yellow construction robots, but only one green science robot."

I agree that more science bots would be nice to see, but I think that would be a big ask for any polybag that also includes a vehicle build. If anything, that's the sort of thing that I think could have fit better in 60446 in place of or in addition to the drilling robot.

These City space sets are great. I hope they continue to make them in the future.