Flying high.
More MEGA Bloks, and
yet another product line; this time Assassin’s Creed. Whereas the
Halo and Call of Duty lines of building sets are all about futurist
and gritty war, the Assassin’s Creed sets are bit more Oldie
Worldie. That is no better demonstrated than in the Da Vinci’sFlying Machine set.
Containing a mere 95
parts and just one micro action figure, the set involves the dear
builder to create a pretty replica of one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s
sketched, yet never built, flying machines, as it appeared in-game.
This small but interesting set took us only about 20 minutes to put
together and actually included very few traditional ‘bricks’. But
look at it – it’s damn striking. First up though, the figure…
Introducing the named
character (which is always nice to get in a MEGA Bloks set) Ezio
Auditore. This flash chap is an awesome little figure, being based
upon the same modern micro action figure system that came with the
post-2014 Halo sets. Yes, the ones we bloody love.
Ezio, and apparently
all Assassin’s Creed figures, are a touch different to the figures
in the other product lines (just like how the astronauts in the ODIN set were slightly different to the Halo toys). The most noticeable
difference is the use of soft-rubber clothing and accessories. Ezio’s
red sash is actually a very flexible sword holder, which both keeps
the weapon secure while letting you move it around to get it out of
the way of the figure’s arms. The rest of his outer layer clothing
(all of which can be removed and swapped out) is also flexible,
allowing you to pose him in very convincing and realistic positions.
Costume change! Ezio
also comes with a removable hood and some replacement hair, letting
you pose him in a more au natural position. Ah, how nice to
fly about in one’s glider, warm Italian breeze rushing through your
hair…
The flying machine
itself is actually very special, as although it recreates a vehicle
used in the game, it is also a very faithful model of Da Vinci’s
real sketches. This makes the set desirable to those of us who might
not be all that bothered about Assassin’s Creed (or indeed MEGA
Bloks), and popping this on your desk will certainly garner a few
interested comments. As you can see the glider uses three separate
canvas-like pieces of cloth for the wings and the tail.
The underside shows how
it is all put together. Thin pole parts and small clips create the
shape of the wings, and the body is made from mostly single-row plate
pieces. A great choice of colour, as well as a touch of texture in
the plastic, makes it appear very woody and authentic.
Of course, dear Ezio
can fit in there, happily gripping the cross bar. Due to the shape of
the figure, and the position that he needs to get into, you tend not
to be able to see his face all that much. Luckily MEGA saw fit to
include a simple stand consisting of a small base plate and a long
transparent rod with a clip at the end. You can tilt the glider quite
far backwards, and there is enough tension in the clip to hold it
still.
As you can see from the
side, Ezio is held in quite comfortably and naturally thanks to a
small T-bar piece at his feet. Getting him in and out of the flying
machine is also easy as pie, as his hands are the only parts that
physically connect to the model.
And there’s still
enough space for him up there to be posed and moved around a little.
Even at a lower angle, with Ezio’s face partially concealed, it
still looks really cool and very Assassin’s Creed-y. Wave hello!
This
is a cool little set that will provide you with not only a decent toy
and figure, but also a very attractive model. Although the parts are
mostly poles and clips, Ezio is an excellent figure, and being a
named character will make him highly sought-after by collectors,
especially considering that the set has now been discontinued by MEGA
Bloks (as has the Assassin’s Creed line, as far as we can tell).
Available from www.amazon.co.uk
