Legends Of Chima Lego - 70001 and 70115

I hadn't really bothered with Chima Lego because I felt my children were too old to get the enjoyment from the 'play' aspect, or too young to be able to put it together themselves, and the only appeal for us adults was a vague sense of nostalgia because of the similarity to Thundercats.

Grandma gave us all some vouchers for Christmas, which we went to spend last weekend. In the window was a huge display of Legends Of Chima Lego, this immediately drew our attention and 'in the flesh' we could see it was far more exciting than we'd expected. With the UK release of the Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets still another 2 1/2 weeks away on February 15th it seemed a great idea to have a closer look. We bought 2 sets in the end - 70001 Crawley’s Claw Ripper, and 70115 Ultimate Speedor Tournament.

Lego Legends Of Chima ~ 70001 ~ Crawley's Claw Ripper

This set has 139 pieces and retails at around £12.99.The recommended age range is 7-14. It has 2 minifigures of Crawley and Leonidas, 1 weapon and the Claw Ripper itself. 

This is a  really excellent working model vehicle.The 'crocodile' theme is fantastic, with an opening jaw and rotating wheels and huge claws which turn as the vehicle moves. 

The cockpit opens to let the figure sit down, and there is a chest at the back where he can keep his treasure. The minifigures themselves have heads with 2 different faces, plus unique 'masks' that go over them to make the crocodile and lion heads complete.

We are really pleased with this model and feel it represents excellent value for money. It is achievable for your average young person to be able to afford, and offers loads of play value.

Lego Legends Of Chima ~ 70115 ~Ultimate Speedor Tournament

 

This set has 246 pieces and retails at around £19.99. The recommended age range is 7-12. It has 2 minifigures of the Croc and Lion in full battle regalia, 2 themed Speedors vehicles with rip cords, 4 weapons, 2 torches, a Chi Orb pedestal, 2 Chi orbs, game cards and Chi (jewels) and a large lion themed target with a huge mane. 
 

 This set has far more going on than you'd realise at first glance. The Chi can be prizes which you win by knocking balls (Chi orbs) from the pedestal or by hitting the target within the lions mouth using your Speedors, or 'lives' when playing the card game. The minifigures and Speedors are really beautifully done, and work really well. They travel very quickly, propelled by the rip cords in such a way that it's really easy for anyone to use them.

The way the minifigures sit in their Speedor means that they have never fallen off and are really secure, so you spend hardly any time at all rebuilding after crashes. The target within the lions mouth is really clear and spacious, and you can actually aim and hit it with only a modicum of skill and a little careful judgement. (Because I was playing with 2 young children I replaced the blue plastic Chi orbs with Maltesers to demonstrate on this occasion).
 

We've not yet had a proper game using the game cards supplied, but that will add another dimension to the simpler 'hit the targets' which we have been playing, introducing the idea of a finite number of turns before somebody has won 6 rounds and is announced the winner.

I think this set represents good value for money and offers tons of play value, and the 'game' element is easily adaptable for different abilities. The Speedors travel really well and are great fun to play with on their own!

Overall we're impressed with Lego Chima. It has several different levels of play available, from the build to the vehicles and characters, through to a very competitive game. It'll certainly keep us busy until the Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are available - and I forsee turtles v lions v crocs after February 15th!