LEGO and Magazines go together so well and have been apart of our brick lives for Years now, so when a new one comes along it’s a given that it’ll do well, right?
Europe is currently on issue 4 of this magazine, while us here in the UK have only just been graced with the very first issue. So sitting down to compile a review of the LEGO Explorer: Marvellous Machines magazine seems a little late to the party. Never-the-less here is my take on this new addition to the LEGO family.
Front cover
Starting with the magazine itself it’s chocka-block (excuse the pun) with great ideas and tips for building your own robots, every page seems to feature a small construction of some sort which you could easily put together with a basic set of bricks. I particularly like the ‘design a robot‘ sketch area. Great for younger fans to create their dream robot before the building commences.
Sketch & plan
Amongst all the LEGO you get treated to facts and information on real-life robots and how they function. From drones and flying machines to four legged beasts, something to really get your imagination going!
Towards the back there is another section where it allows you to jot down a list of potential things to add to you robot, like wings or rockets.
Create a list of bits to be added
On the page ‘how to build better robots‘ you’ll find tips and more from actual LEGO Designers.
Build a better bot!
The above pictured robot does look pretty good and would be one to try and replicate, dependant on if you have the parts that is.
I personally like Mechs, especially LEGO ones. So there are several Ideas I can use when cresting my own.
Brilliant Builds!
If you’re familiar with the LEGO Life app then you could possibly see your child’s masterpiece featured in a future issue.
Unlike other iterations of LEGO magazines there aren’t any comic stories, there are however a game or two that will teach you as you play.
Onto the freebie, which is a polybag featuring the star of the show ED!
ED Polybag 11938
I’ve been waiting patiently for this to become available here in the UK for awhile, after seeing images surface in Europe. I must say this polybag is definitely a treat and well worth the wait!
Polybags are great in themselves but when we get them free with a magazine it makes them just that bit more special. This is one of those polybags. It’s new and it’s exclusive, two things a LEGO fan wants to hear.
Instructions
The instructions are situated towards the back of the magazine and can be cut-out if needs be. I usually remove and store them in a folder for safe keeping, if I ever want to rebuild the set at a later date.
Bits & pieces
Crack the polybag and tip the contents out and you’re presented with quite a substantial amount of bits & pieces. A few Technic pins, 1×2 bricks with holes, and a white letter box piece.
The build, sorry ED, is quite enjoyable with the use of some good techniques. You start from the ground up, the feet/tread first, followed by the body which is a white letter box piece, the head, and then the arms.
The finished result looks really nice and has signs of classic robot about it.
Introducing ED!
ED has some basic articulation but it’s very limited. The slot in the torso is for inserting floppy disks, that’s what I like to think they are anyway!
Insert disk here…
There are a couple of gripes that I have with the build, one is where the head joins the body – It’s quite easy to dislodge and many times during the build and photography session it would fall off without much help. It could be limited to the parts I received and not having much clutch-power. The other is when positioning the arms you need to be careful and not move them in certain ways, having the arms point up results in the head section (directly about the arms) becoming gappy, this is because the sockets are slightly wider than they are tall, so positioning ED to reach up to grabs objects isn’t ideal.
Hello!
Putting those slight down points to one side I do honestly think this is a great Magazine & polybag, and for the cost of £3.99 you can’t go wrong, even if you decided not to build ED and simply add the parts to your spares box.
If you want to pick up this magazine then head to your nearest newsagents/supermarket, alternatively there is a subscription deal the publishers are offers where you get three issues for £5, making your first lot of polybags an absolute bargain!
https://legoexplorer.imbmsubscriptions.com/
Subscription deal
Let us know your thoughts and reaction to the above review using the comments and icons below.
LEGO Explorer Marvellous Machines Magazine Issue 1
The Magazine is good and has a lot of facts & information on Robots. The LEGO designs and builds are great for younger fans to copy and get there imagination started. The Polybag (11938) is also good and the overall build is satisfactory. There are a couple of points that could be improved. For the price, £3.99, its a great deal and well worth the money. The current subscription deal makes this even better value at 3 issues for £5!
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Good magazine but would like to find issue 1234 as no seems to back issues
Hi Linda, it would be best to contact the publisher directly and see if they can help. You can lso subscribe and never miss an issue.
Just sad that you don’t do back issues as there must be quite a few people who would want back issues.
Hi Linda, sadly we can’t seem to find any service for back ordering too. We usually see and aquire them from newsagents when they release. We also only review them and not supply them. Thank you for your comment.