Review: 76253 Guardians of the Galaxy Headquarters
Posted by CapnRex101,
76253 Guardians of the Galaxy Headquarters is the smallest of the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sets, although features a pair of appealing minifigures. Star-Lord wears the new Guardians' garb, while the unique Groot minifigure reflects his physical growth.
The actual headquarters looks rather sparse, as perhaps expected because the set only includes 67 pieces. Nevertheless, given the desirable minifigures and the affordable price of £8.99, $9.99 or €9.99, this could be an interesting set.
Summary
76253 Guardians of the Galaxy Headquarters, 67 pieces.
£8.99 / $9.99 / €9.99 | 13.4p/14.9c/14.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Groot's new minifigure is enticing, despite an unremarkable model
- Great minifigures
- Detailed stickers
- Very affordable
- Relatively bland model
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Across the three Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sets, Star-Lord is the only minifigure to appear twice. The character looks superb though, featuring a new uniform inspired by the team's comic attire, which was introduced in 2008. The dark blue and red colour combination is attractive and I love the grey highlights, which make Star-Lord's updated garb seem very functional.
Groot has sometimes proven difficult for LEGO to depict in the past, as the character's size and proportions have changed. This iteration is reasonably successful, on the whole. I think retaining the brilliantly detailed torso and legs from his earlier appearances was a wise decision, while the head now displays a new expression and smaller eyes, so matches other adult minifigures.
Furthermore, a shoulder armour element gives this minifigure some extra bulk, reflecting Groot's apparent increase in strength onscreen. Without producing a specialised torso, I think this works relatively well. Star-Lord's double-sided head remains unchanged and he is equipped with pearl silver Quad Blasters, originating from 76193 The Guardians' Ship.
The Completed Model
The titular headquarters is represented by a wall and a table, relying substantially on stickers for detail. However, the small size of this set provides limited options and I like the scattered purple elements, breaking up what would otherwise be a uniformly grey model. Moreover, the designer has seemingly done their best to include some texture, using bricks with different profiles.
One such brick supports this table, with a couple of tools and a pearl silver mug on top. A shovel and wrench are clipped on the wall too, but accessories are otherwise surprisingly lacking. Even somewhere to keep Star-Lord's weapons would have been welcome, but there are no available clips.
While perhaps disappointing, as small sets rarely contain stickers, these decorations are perfect for the Guardians' headquarters. The sign, reading 'Guardians of the Galaxy' in the language of Knowhere, is my favourite of the pair. I love the bronze finish and the angled support underneath creates additional texture, alongside a curved pipe emerging from the ground.
As expected, the back of the model is completely plain, although this angle does reveal a couple of hinges, so you can adjust the angle of the wall. The support for the sign is also interesting, as the 1x1 round plate with bar is not actually attached to the 2x6 tile, instead resting against a 2x2 corner plate.
Overall
The minifigures are regularly considered the outstanding feature of Super Heroes sets and that is certainly the situation in 76253 Guardians of the Galaxy Headquarters. Groot is exclusive and looks good, while Star-Lord's availability outside the expensive 76255 The New Guardians' Ship is appreciated.
On the other hand, Gamora is completely missing from the new wave, so perhaps her minifigure could have replaced one of Star-Lord's appearances. The headquarters structure is rather bland too, but I am unsure how it could have been improved when so the budget is so restrictive. After all, this set only costs £8.99, $9.99 or €9.99, so is very affordable.
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39 comments on this article
I'm glad that we still get smaller $10 sets with a lot of value. Makes me wonder what the heck is going on with things like Star Wars!
It's always amusing when an alien language has an approximately 26-character alphabet that still exactly represents phonetic English. (Looking at you, Aurebesh. This also happens whenever a Marvel comic wants to use alien text--you can tell that all they do is change the font.)
(Edit: yes, I know Aurebesh isn't exactly 26 letters. Every time I see it applied, though, it's effectively treated as "English with different letters." There was an issue of Marvel's Darth Vader comic where Vader is reviewing a list of Order 66 survivors. Readers were able to *very easily* translate it even without an Aurebesh cypher.)
I really wish they gave us more $10 Super Hero sets with a couple minifigures. For this price, the bland build is acceptable.
My only criticism is another Starlord without his iconic helmet. It's famous enough for the helmet collection but not for minifigure scale...
Noting, again: Groot is essentially the same figure as the one in the Advent Calendar that was so divisive. The primary change is the shoulder pads, and I think there's a slight change in the printing.
Would love to see more sets in a similar or lower price range. Its so rare now.
Picking this up for Groot. Gonna use him to replace my Groot Big Fig in my Guardians lineup. I know he's not fully grown yet, but I honestly think Adult Groot should just be this. Maybe give him Avatar-long legs and that's it.
I can't stand Big Figs, personally.
Calling this a set is about as generous as giving away all your money.
@Zink said:
"Stickers are a positive now? C'mon guys...."
Yes, when used effectively.
My attitude towards stickers is fairly simple. Printed elements are nearly always preferred, but are not always practical because of budgeting or very occasionally because printing machines cannot accommodate certain parts. When a reasonable number of stickers provide detail that would otherwise be omitted, I am happy.
I dislike stickers when a model becomes too reliant on them or I think they should have been printed for a specific reason. That could be because the design is repeated several times, as with some of the stickers in 77015 Temple of the Golden Idol, or when applying a sticker is extremely difficult. The canopy on 10240 Red Five X-wing Starfighter from 2013 is the most notable example of this issue.
Stickers, like many things with LEGO, can be good or bad.
It’s the headquarters because there’s not enough room for the rest of the body parts.
We needed more of these "bland sets" with interesting figures and small value. In times where 100-part SW sets are costing $25 and the Marvel mechs are going for $20, a small "wall build" for $10 is fair even if it is simple.
Until I saw the “stickers” part I could have sworn this was designed as a 4+ Set but they changed the age recommendation to 7+ upon deciding the film wasn’t appropriate for that demographic. That kind of explains the faults in the build but this would be a markedly good deal for a 4+ set this year, particularly since both Quill and Groot are included. $10 is easy to swallow, odds are I’m getting this.
This is something that could have been incorporated into the ship, might get it to add to my own HQ but meh, whatever.
@Lordmoral said:
"This is something that could have been incorporated into the ship, might get it to add to my own HQ but meh, whatever."
I want to know more about your HQ now. What sets does it use? Or is it entirely a MOC?
I love $10 licensed sets and actually really like the build here! Some clips for weapons would've made it perfect but it's a great little playset with just enough detail. I really wanted a Gamora minifigure in this wave, though. Maybe we'll get a polybag this summer?
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Noting, again: Groot is essentially the same figure as the one in the Advent Calendar that was so divisive. The primary change is the shoulder pads, and I think there's a slight change in the printing."
What was the issue with Groot from the calendar?
@Ridgeheart Well done.
@B_Space_Man said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Noting, again: Groot is essentially the same figure as the one in the Advent Calendar that was so divisive. The primary change is the shoulder pads, and I think there's a slight change in the printing."
What was the issue with Groot from the calendar?
@Ridgeheart Well done. "
Oh, I just meant that people were divided on the calendar itself. They didn't think it was a great value for the money. I personally enjoyed it--base price was a little high (if it's still available, I bet it's at a great discount by now), but it had some minifigs that were previously only in expensive sets, and some fun Easter eggs (like Rocket's box o' parts).
@Ridgeheart said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
""English with different letters.""
That's a cipher, and the good folks at Marvel are some of the biggest fans (or: main offenders) when it comes to using ciphers. See also: Asgardian, Krakoan, Skrull, basically anything that Reed Richards forgot to plug into his Universal Translator. When that doesn't work, well, they actually have a dude NAMED 'Cypher', whose mutant power is Google Translate."
Oh, I know. It's just that realistically, language is pretty varied in how it works, and usually ciphering between alphabets wouldn't work in the real world. If I'm understanding Tolkien correctly, the various Middle Earth languages he came up with weren't just ciphers--he actually created entire linguistic structures. I *think* the Klingon that the Star Trek people developed was actually a functional language and not just a cipher as well. (Somebody rewrote Hamlet into a Klingon translation once.)
I might get this set just for Groot and that sticker - looks like it would make a good plaque for the bowie and bennatar
@B_Space_Man:
Groot got some flak because you got Groot on one day, and he sprouted a Christmas tree from his back the next day. But even that was better than Rocket, who too something like five days to cook a turkey.
@ResIpsaLoquitur:
Tolkien went a little overboard on Elvish. And by a little, I mean all the way. He didn’t just create _Elvish_ (although there’s at least one college/university that offers it as a foreign language class), but a family tree of ten different Elven languages (some more than others), kinda like how Spanish, French, and Italian are considered to be “Romance languages”, having grown out of Latin. He did a lot of work on the languages of Numenor, the Dwarves, and Black Speech, and dabbled in about half a dozen others. Then he also cheated a bit and just mapped Middle Earth languages to various European languages (English = Hobbit, Old English = Rohan, Old Norse = Dale, etc).
Klingon was an odd one in that someone fully developed the language as a test case to see if it was possible to craft a functional language that omitted the verb “to be”. They succeeded. So what happens? Someone translates the play with the most famous line that revolves around the verb “to be”. Oh, and somewhere you can also take Klingon for college credit.
I just realized that even 76255 doesn’t come with a helmet for Starlord, unless it’s hidden from all photos or something.
The only Guardians set worth buying at full price
@PixelTheDragon said:
"I'm glad that we still get smaller $10 sets with a lot of value. Makes me wonder what the heck is going on with things like Star Wars! "
Star Wars Lego charges $10 just to read their press releases for sets. That's why the new dioramas haven't been formally released. You have to pay, baby! ;(
One unusual thing I noticed are the mis-matched colours for the 2 parts of the hinges. Don't see that very often.
I'm liking the whole GotG wave.
@Trigger_ said:
" @Lordmoral said:
"This is something that could have been incorporated into the ship, might get it to add to my own HQ but meh, whatever."
I want to know more about your HQ now. What sets does it use? Or is it entirely a MOC?"
It is using Avengers Compound but will be used by the Galactic Empire in a snow HQ, I have been stopping a lot of my work in LEGO as I run out of bricks and pay attention to gaming and the job.
Man, just two mini figures alone is $10. This is a deal
Comparing this to Star Wars and even Harry Potter with its recent $35 banner entries is embarrassing... I guess it really just is Star Wars price hikes, huh?
@gatorbug6 said:
"Comparing this to Star Wars and even Harry Potter with its recent $35 banner entries is embarrassing... I guess it really just is Star Wars price hikes, huh? "
Unfortunately, this is the way...
I got this set at $14 AUD which is a good price down here, and am yet to open it, but this review made me all the more eager to do so.
Only 29 more days until the movie!
@B_Space_Man said:
"I just realized that even 76255 doesn’t come with a helmet for Starlord, unless it’s hidden from all photos or something."
It's been a while since we got a minifig helmet for him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last one was on 71031-11 in 2021, and in a proper set it was back in the 2017 waves for Vol 2. Besides T'challa, it hasn't shown up for 6 years!
@B_Space_Man
If you look at https://brickset.com/sets/76255-1, the parts list is up and the guardian ship (the bowie) does not have a hidden star lord helmet sorry.
Definitely one of the better $10 superhero sets in my eyes. This set is a really good value, and I love that Groot is in the cheapest set of the wave. If only Star Lord came with his helmet.
Things have changed so much. A lot of the comments here are extremely positive because of the fantastic value of the set, but at reveal so may viewed it as a waste because it was insubstantial.
I think of this as the "Guardians of the Galaxy Self-Storage Unit" - it only needs a roll-up gate and the guys from Storage Wars on the outside, ready to clip the lock.
Re the lack of places to put weapons and tools, can't the thing on the top of the wall hold four of them (maybe moving it to the floor for convenience)?
@axeleng said:
"I think of this as the "Guardians of the Galaxy Self-Storage Unit" - it only needs a roll-up gate and the guys from Storage Wars on the outside, ready to clip the lock.
Re the lack of places to put weapons and tools, can't the thing on the top of the wall hold four of them (maybe moving it to the floor for convenience)?"
Storage Wars?! That's still a thing?!!
I figured all those dudes would be dead or in perpetual rehab by now.
This is such a bad set, and thius comes from guy who likes location sets.
Maybe it’s just me, but those tools positioned on the table initially looked like a sawed off shotgun and I was like whoa. :o)
I love the cheap price point of this set. I thought that LEGO had quit making $10 sets for licensed themes but I am very glad to see this is not the case.
Because my girlfriend had claimed the Groot from the 2022 GotG Advent Calendar, I will be able to replenish the character from here. So happy that it includes two minifigures!
Also, @CapnRex101 , a while back you replied to a ticket that I sent, that you were preparing a review of 75337 AT-TE Walker. I know that there's probably a lot more sets to be covered and the AT-TE is fairly old news, but it'd still be interesting to see your review.
Do you plan on publishing it anytime?
I’m picking up up the ship for sure (Adam Warlock!) so the smaller sets rounding out the team being affordable is great. I was never a fan of the whole team having the same uniform in the comics but what can you do.
@Zink said:
"Technical practicality or budgeting are not really pro-sticker arguments, when you look at what competitors on the market are doing with printed pieces. Its possible, it ain't expensive, TLC just doesn't want to do it. And I think we as a community need to start calling them out for it."
I think you might underestimate how divided "we” “as a community" might feel about this topic.
I for one do not care that much for prints and actually prefer stickers in many cases;
Mostly just because I can leave them off if they don't look right or feel unnecessary. With printed pieces I would have to replace them with my own bricks, provided I even have the matching ones in my inventory.
While one can find a use in one’s own creations for many (often generic) printed pieces when one gets a little creative, I nevertheless also have a pretty well-stocked container of (often very specific) printed pieces I can’t find a use for.
Conversely, I often find use for stickers on pieces that don’t necessarily have the same shape as the piece they were intended to go on. Stickers can also be cut if only a certain part of it is useful or if you desire a certain shape. Much harder to do with prints.
I do find prints preferrable in certain cases: on small tiles, very large surfaces, round shapes (certainly if orientation is important) and complex shapes (such as canopies).
There are many other (quality-related) things worth calling TLG out for, such as poor colour matching between stickers, prints and the pieces; I’m with you there!
But I can’t be bothered to get worked up about stickers in a $10 set; certainly when I’m not convinced prints are by default superior in all cases.