Review - 7041 - Troll Battle Wheel

[Morgan19]

7041 - Troll Battle Wheel
508 pieces
$39.99 (MSRP)

Box
The whole hulking battle wheel
Just the battle
Just the wheels
Knights' barricade
Good guys
Nasty stinky orcses

• Gallery (once moderated)

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Parts: 6/10
The first thing that jumped out at me are the 2x6 plates that make up the wheels– they're a dark brown color I hadn't seen before, or at least not in a large quantity like this. They're somewhere between regular brown and black and give a nice evil edge to the model. There are also plenty of black hinge bricks, silvery tooth pieces, brown 2x2 cylinders, and silvery spears. I could easily see building MOCers getting some good use out of the brown and dark brown parts.

Minifigs: 8/10
You get three crown knights (two with the new Impulse "cloth" torso) and three "trolls" (orcs, from here on out). The knights come with several weapons and a shield, while the orcs have one of the new bronze blades, a black skull armor, and three new orc helmets– two speckled silver, one bronze. The crown knights what we've come to expect from other Castle sets with the only exciting bit being the Impulse torsos. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the new orc helmets– I think I'd like them better if they were just black or dark bley rather than shiny or speckled. One big annoyance is that, because the helmets lay flush against a minfig's body, putting one on an armored fig will more often than not end with the helmet wobbling off when you pick the fig up because it sits so high. Very annoying. Overall, getting three mostly generic figs for each side is nice in that both groups can fill in an army nicely.

Detail: 5/10
I'll be honest: it looked a lot better on the box. The wheels are massive and creatively built, but once you get beyond them there really isn't a whole lot to the set: unless you're looking at the set at the angle depicted on the box, the whole thing just looks "there". I was one of the people that thought it was a very funny idea and seemed very "crazy goblin"-like, but in person it just isn't that impressive. The knight's barricade isn't anything to write home about.

Playability: 8/10
I'm trying to think from a kid's perspective for this one, and I think TLC got it right. You've got knights getting ready to smooshed flat, crazy orcs riding around a massive war machine, a firing missile (of course...?) to poke your sister's eye out, and enough figs to arm both halves of the conflict. From an AFOL's perspective, I think the set serves a better role of inspiring alternate building ideas: I can imagine a ridiculously menacing six-wheeled battle machine using these same wheels, for example.

Price to parts: 5/10
Simply put, this "limited edition" set seems way overpriced for what you end up with. I don't know if it's because it's a TRU thing again, but if I had the choice I would not buy it again when the best parts (the minifigs) are all going to be readily available in 2008.

Availability: 5/10
It's still hard to find, from what I hear.

OVERALL RATING: 5/10
After I purchased this set, I gave myself a couple days debating whether I wanted to return it or not but (obviously) decided to keep and build it for this review. I took it apart almost immediately after taking the pictures and have put most of the pieces in my storage bin for parts. Being a minifig enthusiast I'm happy to have more crown knights and a few of the newly armored orcs, but I'm hard-pressed to find other positives. For a set that seemed like a lot of fun at first glance, it ultimately seems over-priced and flat.
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Ratings (on a scale of 1 to 10):

Parts: 6/10
Minifigs: 8/10
Detail: 5/10
Playability: 8/10
Price to parts: 5/10
Availability: 5/10
OVERALL RATING: 5/10

m19

[Athos]

I'm assuming this should go here...?

I'd have started a new post.

Nice review.

I'm not sure I like the new helmets. They look too much like the X-men for my taste. It's also rather silly that the orcs feet can't reach the wheel (though even if they did, the wheel'd roll backwards)

The wheels look well made. Are the plates a different color brown from the spokes? Or is that just the lighting?

The barracade looks nice, but I really don't need more spears...

Is that a Chinese pike, in a new color?

Steve

[Morgan19]

Yeah... Maybe a mod could split this one into a new thread, if it's warranted?

I'm not sure I like the new helmets. They look too much like the X-men for my taste.

I agree 100%-- the first thing that came to mind when I saw the helmets in person was making a custom Juggernaut fig. And I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Are the plates a different color brown from the spokes? Or is that just the lighting?

Yep! Like I wrote, they seem to be a dark brown color. I personally have never seen it before-- it's halfway between regular brown and black.

Is that a Chinese pike, in a new color?

It's the pearly silver color of the spears and swords. I think this is the first time it's been available in that...?

m19

[SavaTheAggie]

I've split the topic.

Thanks for the review! I'm on the fence about the new helmets - what do they look like on the ninja armor with the shoulder pads? I've used those in conjunction with other castle helmets in the past.

--Tony

[Morgan19]

Ask and receive!



It looks odd, if you ask me. On the plus side though, the helmet sits all the way down on the head-- the ninja armor doesn't push it up like euro armor does.

m19

[Paradosis]

Thanks for the review!

[Athos]

Are the plates a different color brown from the spokes? Or is that just the lighting?

Yep! Like I wrote, they seem to be a dark brown color. I personally have never seen it before-- it's halfway between regular brown and black.

Ah, right there in the first line... Guess you now know I didn't actually read the review, but only looked at the picutres.

Steve

[wunztwice]

Thanks for the review.

Still my biggest gripe with this set is the lack of shields. (Yea! one shield per 6 figs... )
I could dig those dark brown plates, but I'm sure they will appear of bricklink before too long.

I DO like that silver pike, I could go for a ton of those!!!

Well, I'm still not sure, but this set looks like not so much win to me, but with some as ok part/fig fodder.

[Norro]

It's also rather silly that the orcs feet can't reach the wheel (though even if they did, the wheel'd roll backwards)

Finally someone agrees with me! The dynamics of this set have been bothering me since the first leaked pics...

God Bless,

Nathan

[shoggoth666]

Thanks for the review. Where did you find this set in Virginia : Is it coming out here soon : Really looking forward to it.

[Morgan19]

I found it at the Fair Lakes TRU this past weekend.

m19

[RebelRock]

I still can't get into the new helmets. They just don't look right to me. It looks more like some kind of dwarf helm but unfortunately it won't fit with the dwarf beards. I might pass on this set. It's got too many duplicate parts that I don't need.

Thanks for the review!

[Horak the Great]

Thanks for the excellent review. I like the design of the wheels and general concept, but it seems overpriced; I think that this is a set in the USD$25 range. The mid-section seems to be lacking, but of course it can be modified. It has excellent steampunk potential.

[doodstormer]

What does the torso under the orc's breastplate look like? I think I saw a different torso.

[Bruce N H]

Hey,

Could you take a photo of these dark brown plates sitting next to old brown, new brown, and black for a good color comparison?

Thanks,
Bruce