Review: 77002 Cyclone vs Metal Sonic
Posted by SetToBuild,
Someone at LEGO is clearly listening to what the fans want—and apparently, what they want is more sets based on Sonic Adventure 2! Another special minifigure is introduced alongside this excellent and detailed build. However, fans familiar with Tail’s vehicle might expect more than the set has to offer…
Summary
77002 Cyclone vs. Metal Sonic, 290 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 8.6p/10.3c/10.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Metal Sonic is the highlight of this sturdy play set.
- Amazing Metal Sonic minifig
- Solid build
- Figures had some imperfections out of the box
- Vehicle transformation could be better
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
We’ve had Tails a few times before, and the moulds used here are the same as in the prior sets. Unfortunately, my copy had some blue marks on the rubbery tail element.
Tails gets a new facial expression in this set. The partly closed eyes which cover his pupils slightly look a little tired, but it’s probably meant to be an angry frown when paired with the bared teeth.
Metal Sonic is a major antagonist in the game, a Badnik robot created by Doctor Eggman. Modelled after Sonic the Hedgehog, Metal Sonic can imitate Sonic's abilities, but has a dark side. You can tell he’s evil by the red eyes, of course! This is a fantastic figure—really my only complaint is that the bottom edge of the torso was damaged in transit in my copy of the set.
For everyone wondering: yes, this hole on the back of his head is an anti-stud. I wonder if MOC builders will come up with clever uses for this mould. (Note: the connected piece pictured isn’t included in the set.)
But wait—the real reason for this hole is so that Metal Sonic can fly. How, you ask? His head can be repositioned on his body to allow a streamlined ‘flight mode’! This feels truly revolutionary, and left me wondering if long discussions in LEGO boardrooms were had on whether this was even allowed within the rules of the Minifigure.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can’t think of any previous examples of something like this ever being done before. The only remotely similar example that comes to mind is this Hidden Side double-neck piece. Metal Sonic does, unfortunately, look a bit cursed from the front in this arrangement!
Often regarded as one of Eggman's greatest creations, the LEGO version of Metal Sonic is also a top-tier creation with a brilliant head sculpt, shaping, and specialised prints. The added details, like intricate silver arm printing, make this feel like a premium figure in a fairly priced set.
Completed Model
The Cyclone is a transforming vehicle created and piloted by Miles "Tails" Prower. Canonically it has three separate modes: plane, walker, and car, but in the LEGO set, the walker form is the primary build.
It’s a fairly detailed and accurate build (to the walker form, that is) for its scale, with much of the detailing achieved through small parts—only two printed ‘cyclone’ logos complete the look. It has a quite basic transformation ability, to fold up the legs revealing small wheels on the back of the ‘heels’. The rolling version can be seen in the main image of this article.
It is a real shame that a greater transformation ability wasn’t included, with just the little winglets on the side hinting at the plane form. The walker does have good articulation though, and the inclusion of the chaos emerald power source is a nice hidden detail.
Very few extra pieces are present, but a spare chaos emerald and red bar are welcome.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a really fun set, even with the minor flaws on the figures in my copy. The Cyclone itself is a solid build suitable for action-packed play while also conveying the details of the source material. This is definitely my favourite set in the wave.
The price is fairly reasonable, although I do get the impression we’re paying a £5 premium for the special Metal Sonic figure when you consider the size of the completed vehicle.
Let’s hope that this set will attach to the front of a suitably massive future Tails’ spaceship model!
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20 comments on this article
I'll have to remember to vote on that Metal Sonic as this year's best minifig when the time comes. It already looked top-tier BEFORE you showed us flight mode!
I really liked this set. I do wish it had a full plane mode, but I found it surprisingly fun to simply roll it around on my desk with the wheel mode. The movement with the smooth bottoms of the feet feels great. I do wish Metal Sonic got dual molded legs to help emphasize his red boots, the legs look rather plain without it.
The design is also a bit of a mix between the Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Frontiers models for the Cyclone.
$25 would've been fair. $30 feels somewhat overpriced, especially for a Sonic set.
Wonder if they couldn't have done that head piece with a hinged neck instead of two holes?
Not particularly interested in Sonic stuff, but it looks quite cool and for once the price doesn't seem that unreasonable, at least compared to other recent sets.
Frankly, a version of the Cyclone that can transform to accurate car and plane modes is not plausible in Lego. (I'm not sure it'd be plausible *without* the Lego requirement. Cheaty transformation is cheaty.) The Lego version *can* achieve hovering mode, though, which is the important one since you use it frequently in gameplay.
This was an instant purchase for me, so nostalgic and having a Metal Sonic in my collection was a must!
@Robot99 said:
"I'll have to remember to vote on that Metal Sonic as this year's best minifig when the time comes. It already looked top-tier BEFORE you showed us flight mode!"
Yes! This is amazing stuff. I feel like this set would be top-tier even without the IP. That vehicle is perfectly suited to the kinds of in-house themes we used to get from TLG.
I'm not crazy about the Metal Sonic minifigure personally. The "flight mode" possibility I absolutely agree is revolutionary, an amazing feature, even if it isn't easy to see how it's going to be used much elsewhere. But there's something about it that doesn't quite look right to me. I think it's the legs. It looks like a regular minifigure wearing a Metal Sonic onesie.
Its kinda odd that this has the STF Tails logo on it other than the SA2 logo...
Thats a positive btw, I love Sonic The Fighters :D
Not really into Sonic at all but that Metal Sonic minifigure is fantastic! I'll pick one up just due to it's revolutionary design. Nice move, LEGO!
Really want to pick this up and probably will. I sure do wish Metal Sonic had dual molded legs for his red shoes though.
The Tails figure goes under the radar a bit. It's an incredible figure.
I’ve got a couple minifigs lately with flaws in the print too. Has this always happened and I haven’t been aware of it or is Lego getting sloppy?
@MandoEli37 said:
"I’ve got a couple minifigs lately with flaws in the print too. Has this always happened and I haven’t been aware of it or is Lego getting sloppy?"
Is it possible that the rubbery material used for Tails' tails can pick up stray ink stains? It's a problem I've had with other things made out of similar-feeling soft plastics.
That 'flight mode' approach to Metal Sonic's head does remind me of another Lego figure - Bionicle's 8596 Takanuva used exactly the same approach, although on a larger scale of figure!
@ChocolateCrisps said:
"That 'flight mode' approach to Metal Sonic's head does remind me of another Lego figure - Bionicle's 8596 Takanuva used exactly the same approach, although on a larger scale of figure!"
I was going to mention 8596 as the only example I know of and I guess it still remains as such. But you beat me to the punch! It was specifically advertised as using such a method in order to use the Ussanui vehicle.
The 2006 Bionicle minifigs (from the playsets such as 8894 Piraka Stronghold) might also count unofficially, as those do have a hole at the back of the head. The hole is near the top though. To be clear, that was not a deliberate feature as those holes were there for the Piraka spines and the Inika just had a consistent design.
I just want to give a shout-out to minifig designers (and collectors) - thanks to the Metal Sonic being so well-executed, it seems to command most of the value of this set!
When it came out, I knew I had to have it: it's done in a perfect ADU colour scheme, and brings to mind a technological leap forward from 30140 and 30141 .
...and owing to the aforementioned awesomeness of Metal Sonic, Alien Conquest afficionados can purchase this set on eBay, new with no minifigs, for less than a third of its retail price...!
Oh wow I wasn’t expecting a review of this set, but as someone who grew up on sonic adventure 2, this is a very pleasant surprise! Definitely going to be picking this up eventually
@Robot99 said:
"I'll have to remember to vote on that Metal Sonic as this year's best minifig when the time comes. It already looked top-tier BEFORE you showed us flight mode!"
Likewise! This is a great minifigure! I also really like this version of Tales. The build is my least favourite thing in the box, although it's pretty nice too.
@ChocolateCrisps said:
"That 'flight mode' approach to Metal Sonic's head does remind me of another Lego figure - Bionicle's 8596 Takanuva used exactly the same approach, although on a larger scale of figure!"
I'm so happy someone picked up on this hahahahaha