Review of LEPIN 20005 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 Type B

Presenting the Type B for the Arocs Mercedes-Benz 3245. They are two similar designs but enough differences to make it an interesting build. 

All in all, it was a fun build, though just an FYI, the completed Type B is huge in length (around 0.5 m) so I suggest making Type A for display since it takes lesser space. 

Review of LEPIN 20004 Mobile Crane MK II Type B

After the 3D puzzle, back to LEPIN Technic series. This time is the LEPIN 20004 Mobile Crane MK II. This has a total of 2606 pieces and for a change does not have any pneumatic parts. 

The box size is approximately 60 x 50 x 10 cm with decent build quality and nice box art.

Inside the main box, the contents are packed in two white boxes with the usual mess of parts mixed up in unlabeled packets. Behold the mess below....

As usual, the Type B kit manual is not included so you have to do a quick search on Google and download it. I started off with the Type B kit because I wanted to make it first, dismantle and end up with the Type A later.

Usual construction with decent plastic quality and sturdy build. 

The cabin comes with the usual blue and grey seat and fixes nicely onto the main truck.

Sorry have been busy with life and work. Also was missing a few parts so had to wait for them to come in through bricklink. Anyway continuing now, we carry on with the crane part of Type B kit. 

Fixed the crane arm on and it is impressive. Very nice snap fit and no loose parts. The only issue with it is that one the long axle parts was a little bent during shipping so whenever the arm moves back and forth, it gives a very distinct irritating sound haha

Making the grasping mechanism for the crane with which to hold the cargo frame.

Finished one half of the Type B kit. Very impressive and everything works. That's my son hiding behind the crane. Now onto the other half of the kit.

The second half of the Type B kit ready and done. Great construction and really impressed by the quality.

Both pieces together. Next will be the Type A of the Mobile Crane.

Review of Daban PG 1/60 Red Frame Astray

Posting something that I have had a lot of fun putting together. One of my favorite plastic kits from my favorite anime series, Gundam SEED. The Red Frame Astray looks amazing in the series and putting it together was a lot of fun too. So without further ado, lets get into the review.

The box as expected is quite big but not as big as the newer PG kits like Unicorn or Banshee. The packing is not as sturdy as well but does a reasonable job of protecting the runners. 

Comes with the usual two booklets, one giving more details about the suit design and the other about the assembling. 

The Plastic is pretty standard Daban quality, nothing horrible and snaps fit together easily without any major issues. The plastic can get stressed while cutting off the runner so better to be careful about it. 

The finished legs with all the bells and whistles attached. Nice firm snap fit with no loose hanging pieces on it.

The finished waist attached to the legs. Pretty good snap fit and nice detailing on the legs. The articulation follows Bandai as much as I can tell.

The kit comes with an LED for the head which as expected will not last long with the LED on. I personally feel its too much of a hassle to change batteries when they run out but some may actually feel its worth the effort. You need to open the head carefully to pull out the LED and change battery. Not worth it, in my opinion.

Looks great so far, as always no loose pieces and snug snap fit.

Arms fixed and ready to snap on. I especially liked the articulation on the arms.

Finally all fixed together. Missing the weapons now

Since this isnt the kai version, it doesnt come with the second sword. So just one sword, beam rifle and shield. The sword looks very good though

Finished kit. Cheers!!

Review of CubicFun 3D Puzzle: Sultan Ahmet Camii Blue Mosque (321 Pieces)

The last 3D puzzle was a beer house so the next one should be the entirely opposite, a place of worship. One of the most famous landmarks in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the Sultan Ahmet Camii Blue Mosque or famously known as just the Blue Mosque. Lovely ottoman style architecture and comprises of 321 pieces. The box is quite bulky for this series (33 x 22.7 x 6 cm) with nice box art and firm packing to protect the paper and EPS board pieces in the runners.

The instruction manual is of nice quality, nicely printed and has a bit of history about the monument in both Turkish and English languages. Maybe they plan to target a Turkish audience with this kit.

The runners are nicely packed and the pieces are easy to take off. Just that since they are a little fragile, it is better to be very careful taking them off the runners. The pieces are labelled as well so that helps a lot, I think. The snapfit is quite secure and firm. So great job with the kit there. The finished product is quite big so prepared to make space for the kit after you are done.

Definitely recommend this kit to anyone interested in architecture. The kit is on the fragile side compared to a plastic block set. But the kit does things that a plastic box kit cannot do because of the material used.