Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks Eagle

At the midpoint of the week, we have the penultimate review from the "Animals" release.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.













Parts.  Wedge Plates, Angled Bar Plate, Hinge Plates, Inverted
Slopes w/Cutout, Curved Slope w/Cutout, Plates, Studless Slopes,
Click Hinge Plates, Tooth Plates, Round Plates, and Clip Plates.







Build.  IO Frigate.
 
The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Another thin set.  I like the new to Make-It Blocks parts though.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks Lion

Let's start this week's reviews with the first of the non-extinct animals from the "Animals" release.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.











Parts.  Slope, Plates, Bar Plate, Jumper, Curved Bricks w/Cutout,
Inverted Slopes, Tile, Studless Slopes, Cheese Slope, Round Plates,
Headlight Bricks, Round Bricks, Exo-Force Arm, and Bracket.







Build.  Frame.  It took me three tries to get something
I was okay with that wasn't just the set build. 
The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Another case of the scoring not being quite faithful with the results.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks Pterosaur

Let's finish this week's reviews with the last of the dinosaurs from the "Animals" release.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.












Parts.  Wedge Plates, Studless Slopes, Round Plates,
Inverted Slopes w/Cutout, Hinge Plates, Clip Plates, Cheese
Slopes, Plates, Translucent Round Plate, and Clip Tiles.






Build.   
The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I like the contents of the set but it feels more like a parts pack than anything else.  This might make for a good Double Set Challenge with Wednesday's review.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks T-Rex

Is it dinosaur week?  I feel like it's dinosaur week.  Here's another review.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.














Parts.  Studless Slopes, Inverted Slopes w/Cutout, Cheese Slopes, Bricks,
Hinge Plates, Clip Plates, Transparent Round Plate, and Plates.






Build.  IO Frigate styled after the "Firefly" class. 
The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Not bad but, I never like when there's an odd number of any parts in a set.

Monday, March 18, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks Triceratops

Switching from flora to fauna, let's look at another new line of Make-It Blocks sets for this week's reviews.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.













Parts.  Plates, Slopes, Wedge Plates, Hinge Plates, Clip Plates,
Curved Bricks w/Cutout, Travis Brick, Double Clip Plate,
Horns, Cheese Slopes, and Transparent Round Plates.






Build.  An Ijad Scorpion(!) mech.   

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I'd say it needs a handful more parts to be super awesome but this set is a really good, inexpensive way to start a squad.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks Flower Building Blocks 4

Finishing out a week of Make-It Blocks Flower Building Blocks sets let's swing back to other end of the parts count spectrum.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.01 Price per Piece.

Instructions.













Parts.  Quarter Curved Plates, Octagonal Bar Plates, Quarter Circle
Tiles, Hexagonal Windshields, Pin/Axle Connector, Bent Pin/Axle
Connector, Minifig Shields, Macaroni Bricks, Macaroni Tiles,
Round Plates, Round Large Jumper, 2x2 Round Plates w/Rounded
Bottom, Axles, Round Plates w/3 Leaves, Clip Plates, Bar Clips,
Half Pins, Apollo Studs, Clip Bar Holders, Bar, Bricks, and Tiles.




Build.  Frame, Armored Assault archetype [2Rd
(bazooka) 2B (wing panels) 1G (rocket)].


The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  This set has the most different types of parts of this release, a decent color divide, and plenty of useful bits.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Review: Make-It Blocks Flower Building Blocks 3

Continuing on with a week of Make-It Blocks Flower Building Blocks sets let's take a look at the set with the smallest parts count.


Box.  MSRP is
 $1.25, for a $0.01 Price per Piece.

Instructions.














Parts.  Quarter Curved Plates, Large Steering Wheel, Octagonal Bar Plate,
Bricks, Hexagonal Windshields, 2x2 Leaves w/4 Petals and Axle Hole, Bent
Pin/Axle Connector, Pin/Axle Connector, Macaroni Bricks, Macaroni Tiles,
Round Large Jumpers, Round Plates, Tiles, Clip Plates, Apollo Studs,
Half Pins, Axles, Flower, Bar Clips, Round Plates w/3 Leaves, and Bar



Build.  Frame. 
The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  
(The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  It might have the least amount of parts but I think this has the best combination of parts so far.