Review: 71238 Fun Pack: Cyberman
Posted by CapnRex101,
There was much excitement when LEGO Dimensions was released in September of 2015 but that seems to have ebbed quite quickly and subsequent waves have not drawn the same level of anticipation on the whole. It will be interesting to see whether the latest selection is able to reinvigorate the entire line.
However, the range still has a great deal to offer. I have been excited about 71238 Fun Pack: Cyberman since it was first revealed last summer and it has now been released at last to complement 71204 Level Pack: Doctor Who as well as 21304 Doctor Who. The Cybermen have been among my favourite villains from the television series for many years, so the prospect of seeing these cyborgs in minifigure form is a real treat.
Minifigures
The Cyberman features a brand new plastic head component which accurately recreates their appearance in episodes produced since 2013. I prefer the Cybus Industries model but am delighted to see any kind of Cyberman represented as a minifigure! The famous 'handlebars' are present along with the teardrop details beneath the eyes and the shaping of the faceplate is included in the head sculpt.
I am equally impressed by the torso printing which features layered armour plating on the front and back and these designs continue onto the hips and legs. The level of detail is extraordinary and I am particularly pleased with the design of the flexible mid-section as this is extremely accurate to their onscreen appearance. The entire figure is cast in pearl silver which I did not expect but it works perfectly.
Although the Dalek included is not strictly a minifigure, I am going to class it as such for the purposes of this review. While the Daleks included in 21304 Doctor Who consist of 38 pieces, this one contains 35 and is constructed almost entirely differently despite the similar piece counts. You can see the many differences between the two designs in the image below.
The dome of the Dalek uses the same printed element as the previous model but the eyestalk is simplified a little and has a trans-blue eyepiece rather than a trans-clear one, so is accurate to their current incarnation in the television series.
Exposed studs are used to represent the hemispheres which cover the lower half of a Dalek. This is an effective technique in my opinion and I am pleased that it is used on both versions. The base, on the other hand, is weaker than the previous design as there is an unsightly gap between it and the skirt.
There are features of both designs which I like but I think the model from 21304 Doctor Who is the best. The shaping and scale are a little more faithful to the source material and I favour the method of mounting the weaponry on the earlier one.
Overall
This is an excellent Fun Pack and one which I certainly recommend for both the physical and gameplay content. The Cyberman minifigure which drew me to this set is very impressive and the Dalek is also rather nice, althoughnot quite as good as the version in 21304 Doctor Who in my opinion.
Pleasingly, this pack also provides plenty of abilities to be used within the game such as hacking terminals, destroying gold and silver objects, swimming underwater and seeing through green walls with X-ray vision! Some of these abilities require upgrades to be made to the Dalek but most can be used immediately, allowing the player to access previously locked areas for a relatively low price.
Whether or not this pack is worth the £14.99 or $14.99 price point depends on what you are looking for. The presence of a Cyberman minifigure alone justifies the cost for me and I suspect it will for other Doctor Who fans given the quality of the figure. If you are looking to advance in the game then this is a fairly inexpensive way of unlocking lots of new abilities, but you might already have other sets which can provide the same service.
JANGBRiCKS' Video Review
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35 comments on this article
Nice review, good to see the Dimensions Fun Packs still drawing excitement. Lots of abilities on the Cyberman in-game also helps tremendously with its value.
Note to everyone, right now on Amazon this Fun Pack is only $7.50 in the US.
That Cyberman is so cool! I hope I can get this set!
I agree with the Capn about the Daleks. I really hope that they have a regular Doctor Who line based on the upcoming seasons.
What do the alternate builds for the Dalek look like?
Indeed - I created my own Daleks using a combination of the two styles to incorporate the best features of both.
As I don't have the tan 2x2 plates with studs on the side, whatever they're called, I built mine in both grey and black. Black looks cool :-)
Oh, and when can we buy this in the UK??
I would be very happy if Lego released a Doctor Who line and some of the sets were battlepacks for the Cybermen, Daleks, and UNIT Soldiers
The Cybermen is extremly awesome for such a small figure, it has what looks an Iron Man print on both its torso and legs but given the fact that both are robotic in nature this is to be expected. I am crossing my fingers for a Sauron minifigure to come in the future.
Cyberman looks great, now to figure out how to build a 7th Doctor-era Cyberman head...
I immediately bagged this after seeing that Amazon was selling them for $7.49!
I am very excited about this - less to do with Dimensions directly as I have little interest in the game, but because the presence of a specially-moulded Cyberman hints that a full Doctor Who range might be a distinct possibility....
I'm not a Dr. Who fan, but I want that Cyberman for an Iron Man Mark II armor fig...
Is the Cyberman head made out of a rubbery material or hard ABS plastic? Doesn't matter either way, I'd prefer hard plastic but I'll be getting it anyway, just wondering really.
Aww, no Special Weapons Dalek alternate.
"destroying gold and silver objects" I thought Cybermen were allergic to gold :P
Good review Capn, I can't wait to pick multiples of this up. Like many others I really hope that a full wave of Doctor Who sets is on the horizon.
@ Lukeskywalker
It is hard plastic. It is a very nice minifig.
Even though I'm not playing the actual game, this set was another *must-get*. There's more than a few instructions floating around for custom Daleks (I already have a small army of those) but the Cyberman is a great fig. And definitely, the foundations are there for an outright DW line at some point in the future, which would be likely-overpriced, but still nifty.
Love the Cyberman, looks exactly like the upgraded ones from 2013's episode Nightmare in Silver.
Dalek... doesn't look anywhere near as good as the 21304 ones. Can we see the alt models please?
@PicnicBasketSam - The alternate models are shown here: http://cache.lego.com/r/www/r/dimensions/-/media/franchises/dimensions/products/product_details/carousel_images/04_fun_packs/cyberman/04_ld_pd_funpacks_carousel03_drwho_cyberman.jpg?l.r2=-1350741239
This pack really is very good. Cyberman sounds very cool in game.
Also, bit off topic here, but I was in Sainsbury's in Romford yesterday and they had the main dimensions starter pack on ps3 for only £50! Must have been an offer of some kind so if you live near a Sainsbury's why not check it out and see if your local is running it as well.
If you are thinking about getting the game of course. Which you should because it really is very good indeed.
Phase 3 level/team/fun packs (which includes Cyberman) became available in the UK from 22-Jan-2016
^ Strange that it's not listed on LEGO.com or Amazon yet, in that case. I can wait, but I definitely want a Cyberman!
Surely most players will want this because of his semi-exclusive remote-control-drone ability, and for being the much better option between the two.
i hope they make some sets with the dalek's and cyberman (along with some more Doctor sets).
by the way, is the minifig of the cyberman a special minifig (or just a regular minifig).
@ goalieboy82
What do you mean by "special minifig". All minifigures are normal, some just have special things about them. Minifigures in Dimensions sets are no different from any other, and can be used in any way or anywhere you want.
wasn't sure if it had any thing electric in it (or like the keychains).
A few thoughts:
1) I was admittedly slightly disappointed in the lack of the new specific piece for the eyestalk found in 21304 as I felt those made the Daleks much more impressive looking.
2) I haven't used them much in-game, but it would appear the Daleks have no scripted lines, which is unfortunate as they appear to be simply treated as vehicles and thus you can't have Batman riding a Dalek shouting Exterminate!
3) Multiple Fun Packs can be played together in-game, however you will have to save your Dalek to its toypad manually after the first build. For those who are interested in buying multiples. Personally I have two and may pick up a few more, just something about seeing a small squad of Cybermen running through a level or adventure world is just a quirky fun idea. Price wise this may not be to everybody's taste. However due to the nature of the RIF toy pad you can have more than one character in-game.
4) If they go ahead and make more sets within a Doctor Who Theme, which may wind up happening, I do hope they'll stick to one Dalek build in multiple colours if necessary for any army builders.
5) Is Dimensions really losing interest that quickly? I wouldn't have thought so, however I can see where the hype may have died down somewhat as the main storyline of the game can be completed with the Starter Pack and aside from a few puzzles that require future releases most of the other in-game events can be completed as well. I certainly hope the new 2016 waves/series of Dimensions that are listed on the site will do much to restore some of that Hype. By par, aside from certain complaints on prices, the game is one of the better toys-to-life style titles that are out there.
Just an FYI to all US folks that not only does Amazon still have all their fun packs, including the latest at 50% off so does Gamestop's brick and mortar stores. This dalek pack at $7.50 is a CRAZY good deal. Just hope this isn't a sign that dimensions is doing poorly.
It's interesting that among all the Dimensions themes represented ie. Doctor Who, Simpsons, Back to the Future, Portal 2, Scooby Doo, Marvel, DC superheroes LOTR, Jurassic World, the Lego Movie, and Ghostbusters, there's no Star Wars. I find that amazing because I can imagine a whole bunch of Fun Packs, etc based on real micro Star Wars vehicles like the X-wing, Darth Vader's TIE fighter, that sort of thing.
^Disney is withholding their properties so that the game does not competes with Disney Infinity, another Toys to life videogame.
Oh I see. Competition in business. Maybe Lord Business could sort that out........notice they haven't made a pack for him yet.....
$7.50 in the U.S.? Never have I been so jealous of Americans. Cannot see Amazon UK pricing it that cheaply (but I can live in hope).
@Odeinoichus
I think it's not so much that Dimensions is losing interest, but that "toys to life" is on a downswing in general, and Lego's marketing model kind of goes against what makes these get virally popular in the first place, namely the collectability/exclusivity, and in the case of Infinity or Amiibo, recognizable characters/franchises.
Now you may say "But Dimensions characters ARE recognizable", which is true, but they're not novel. The Lego franchises of Chima, Ninjago, The Lego Movie and already available IPs like DC Superheroes, Simpsons, LOTR, Scooby Doo and Jurassic World(even BTTF and Ghostbusters to some extent) are not minifigs you can't already get or already might have. This makes up roughly 90% or more of all Dimensions products. Also a lot of these franchises don't hold a candle to Disney or Nintendo in terms of popularity.
All toys to life have collectors that don't even USE them, probably the most well known being Amiibo. Dimensions definitely has these people, too, but they're likely collecting only the novel sets featuring minifigs you can't get elsewhere - Dr. Who, Portal, Ghostbusters. There is little to no collector's incentive to buy all Dimensions packs, so overall weak sales and huge early discounts aren't all that surprising to me.
That, and a saturated market of toys to life games suggests a less than stellar success of the line.
Prices have dropped for the Fun Packs across the boards here in the States. Best Buy has Fun Packs on sale for $7.50, and Toys R Us has been selling them at 2 for $15 for Rewards cardholders. This is widespread enough now that it looks the price going forward.
Team and level packs have not received similar discounts. If they can make the business math work with $7.50 Fun Packs, that's a good thing.
The fun packs were all on sale for $7.50 US at the local Gamestop. So, I picked up two of this set (one for my daughter) the day it came out. When I left, there was only one left to sell. I also wanted a Simpson's Level Pack and had to travel to another store because they're becoming hard to find.
So my conclusion is that these sets appear to be selling well. If they weren't, I'd expect stores to have much more in stock than they do.