the magma mech is a great set here are the pros and cons

Pros

• very fun
• small set
• …

Cons

• very hard to build
• easy to break
• …

this set is any kids dream

I had too right another review because in the first one I left out some very important details.

The Claw: It was a great thought. It snaps done hard but since it closes at a doneward angle, there is no way it can grab a small lava monster (or a regular rock monster). It is not useless though, it can still grab the Crystal King or Rock Throwing Monsters arms. I don't think the hinges are loose, they work just fine for me.

The Hose: Is so Awesome! It just looks so cool, and tank is also a very nice part. The water coming out of it some people think is too small, but I think it looks good with or with out a big water spray.

The Legs: They look good, but they have no knees. Kind of hard to play with with out the knees. They have cool rocket jets on the back and contain some neat pieces.

Other: The minifigures are Awesome! Firax is great and the new lava suit is so cool. The miner fits in the cockpit nice and I like how it opens. There are so many cool new pieces and I'm glad I bought this set.

Overall, 4/5

My latest little phase in LEGO's franchises is the 2010 Power Miners sets, and since I live in the USA and this review is being made in mid-April, I can only grab the Fire Blaster and Magma Mech. This is my thoughts on the Magma Mech.

PROS

As in both my Power Miners review and my SPIII reviews, I do praise the minifigures. They really look impressive with their more detailed faces (often with dual expressions) back and front printed torsos and printed legs. In this set, the Power Miner figure is equipped with a "LEGO Agents" style suit of armor coated in brilliant metallic silver. This is covering the figure's excellent overall appearance. The face of the Miner doesn't appear to be any one of the four main Miners (Doc, Duke, Brains, Rex) but just another engineer of the team. Firax, the lava monster that comes in this set is a nice figure, though I always wished LEGO had made the Monsters look a little less comical. Alas, I love how LEGO always included a crystal of matching color to the monster, and this is true with Firax.

This set has a wonderful appearance overall. I've never complained about stickers, though inconvenient they may be. The stickers on this set mesh perfectly with its color and design. I also have enjoyed the "water tank" features of the new sets, and especially in this one because of its placement on the back of the mech which looks so believable. Also, I think the use of a blue colored drill piece as a massive water cannon is perfect and truly appears its part. The monster grabbing claw, despite incoming cons about it, does look nice when its unfolded and held in place and the folding mechanisms do manage to work decently. The Miner figure also fits relatively easily inside of the cockpit, which opens easily and looks very spiffy with its metallic silver side plates.

CONS

Unfortunately, I do have a good number of cons on this set that I for one noticed. First, I was a little disappointed with the piece they used to represent the water coming out of the cannon; a tiny blue "fire" piece. Now this small piece looked just fine when used on the Fire Blaster's water gun, but proportionately on the Magma Mech it looks pitiful. I would've expected more of a "blast" of water from that large of a water cannon. For instance, the flame piece included on the back of Kranxx's hot-rod bike in the SPIII set "Freeze Ray Frenzy" in a blue color would've done a far better job on this set IMO.

Also, the legs which I must say looked quite manageable on the box's image are just terrible. Poseability is limited heavily because the legs have no "knee" joint in them. Also, the bottom portion of the legs can easily fall apart because of the weak securing pieces on the backs of them. However, I feel I should mention that because I saw that the feet were ball-jointed that that alone would compensate with all of the legs' flaws. I was wrong. It may have been able to achieve that if the leg thruster pieces on the back of the legs were removed or repositioned; they get in the way of the feet so frequently.

The back of the cockpit turns out to be on the unstable side. True, that nice TECHNIC piece in the back does keep it in place most of the time, the part that attached to the cockpit often begins to slide off when you grab the mech by the cockpit.

Now for the biggest con of the entire set; the monster-grabbing claw. First of all, the set obviously claims it to be used to grab and pick up the lava monsters, but that seemingly simple task is nearly impossible. It's a wonder if you can manage to pick up a monster, but it is a miracle if you can try and hold him in there whilst moving the Magma Mech. This is but the smaller flaw of the claw. The most annoying factor about it is how terribly loose it is. Tilt the arm down just a little and the claw flings open. Indeed, you must swing the arm back far in order to keep the arm from unintentionally unfolding. However I found a highly useful way of countering this. On the gray TECHNIC bar that the arm is based on top off, if you can replace the loose gray axles with stiff black and blue ones, you can make the claw only open when you want to open it.

OVERALL

I hate to bash LEGO in any way, and this is true with this set. My advice to you; if you're a fan of Power Miners, this set is worth the money. If you aren't, maybe look for another twenty dollar set.

I managed to get this set at the LEGO Shop a few weeks ago, and despite the excitement surrounding the new Power Miners theme, I was disappointed with the Magma Mech.

That's the downer out of the way for now, so I'll get on. I opened this set when I got home and began to work on the Mech. It should be said that building the vehicle is an entertaining experience. I love the combination of chunky, older parts with an array of newer parts - it really makes for a great model. The high point is definitely the use of track parts as armour - what a concept! The figure in heatproof armor and Lava Monster Firax are also a great addition, as is the silver tube and the parts.

Unfotunately, the greatness is overshadowed by some detrimental cons.

First off, the legs are nearly immobile. There is no flexibility in the main parts of the legs apart from joints that attach the legs to the body of the Mech. This is a problem when moving it, as the legs manoevre in a clumsy fashion that is hard to play with.

Another huge problem is inherent in the way the tank is attached to the cockpit, and this is noticeable by way of the arms. If the arms are moved in any way, the back of the cockpit will come off. This is an elementary flaw that could have been detected in the early design stages, and really brings the model down. Lastly, the 'claw' function is awful. Using it is near to impossible unless the Mech is being held sideways, which is ridiculous, and the claws do not hold onto Firax that well.

It's really disheartening that LEGO makes such terrible mistakes, especially with a model that could so easily have been a classic. Oh, well. Better luck next time, eh?

If you really want this, it has some super accessories and figures. Just don't expect too much from the model itself.

-maaboo35