I have a few Hidden Side sets and Minifigures but tend not to go for the bigger ones as I have other larger sets to collect from other themes I like more. Which is kind of a shame as Hidden Side do have some good looking sets, notably the School Bus and the upcoming Haunted House.

As usual with LEGO’s most popular themes there is a Magazine to compliment it. The Hidden Side issue is a relatively new addition but it injects something new into the ever stale growing LEGO Magazines.

Front cover

Don’t get me wrong the Star Wars, Batman, and Jurassic World issues are great, but they do repeat themselves quite a bit, oh look another generic Batman Minifigure!

Anyway, back to the Hidden Side Issue 8 review, first off let’s look at the Magazine itself.

The Magazine:

As always we get the usual contents, several puzzles, which includes a Maze and Spot the Differences, the things you find in all of the LEGO Magazines.

Maze puzzle

The poster, located at the very centre, is double sided and features El Fuego himself, in Skelton form. One of the Minifigures included with this issue is El Fuego in ‘living’ form, but more on him later!

Poster

The two comics inside are also a good draw and a great read, either to your little LEGO fan or yourself! The first comic story features the Haunted Mechanic, which is the main freebie included with this issue.

Comic strip

The Freebies:

Onto the main feature now, and the only reason why us AFOLs purchase these magazines, the freebies!

Foil bags

There are two freebies with Issue 8, the main one is the Haunted Mechanic, which comes with a very cool grey Boom box, wrench, and two heads!

The Haunted Mechanic

I personally really like this Minifigure, it can have so many uses other than being in Hidden Side. I want to put him to work in my City as the resident Mechanic. Including two heads is a great move by LEGO, although the Ghostly head & hair does have very limited uses outside of its intended theme.

He has an alternate face too, a less happy expression shall we say.

Alternate face and back printing

The back printing is awesome and great to have such a cool design. I’m glad LEGO didn’t add any Ghostly elements to it and left it generic, makes him fit into a Cityscape more easily.

The second freebie is El Fuego, before he’s presumably dead and a Skeleton. We’ve actually had him before as a freebie, issue 2 or 3 I recall.

El Fuego

None the less another good Minifigure to have. He’s sporting a Green overall with knee pads, belt and other bits hanging out of his pockets.

He’s accompanied by an extinguisher and a small fire. He’saa professional Stunt man and seems to love fire, maybe that’s how he meets his end, a Stunt gone wrong!

Alternate face and back printing

He too has an alternate face, which is a ‘cocky’ type expression. Both faces have a plaster on the left cheek, which is a great little detail, showing he’s gotten into some scrapes along the way.

For those of you that want to know, here’s a peek at next issues freebies:

Jack & Spencer freebie

Do you collect the LEGO Magazines or do you stay clear of them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Thank you for taking the time to read this review, it’s truly appreciated!

JB’s Submarine (70433)

Supernatural Race Car (70434)

Abandoned Prison of Newbury – (70435)

Ghost Firetruck 3000 (70436)

LEGO Hidden Side 70437 – Castle of Mystery

Are you a fan of Hidden Side, do you like these new sets? Let us know in the comments below.

At first glance this freebie seems like a small set, but as freebies go it’s a cracker!

Box front

Box back

Box side

The set contains 134 pieces and comes divided into two bags, with a loose 2×16 grey plate. Thankfully no stickers to be seen here, which goes against the grain a little with LEGO’s current releases.

Instruction booklet

The main build:

The Drag Racer itself is very  straightforward and simple, no real tricky construction techniques here.

The main body has that distinct Dragster shape, with the front sloping bonnet and smaller wheels at the front and, only slightly, bigger wheels at the back. The whole thing is based on a single 2×16 grey plate, making it very sturdy.

Drag Racer

Positioned at the rear is a Canon, which launches Dwayne into the air. This particularly looks out of place and bulky. Perhaps a smaller jet engine would of suited it better.

Launching Dwayne

The engine features four exhausts each with a flame shooting out of it. The exhausts work really well and fit into the whole Racer feel of the set.

Three main head lights are situated midway and again look out of place. Not because they don’t suit, but because there are three of them. Perhaps, upon closer inspection, they are part of the overall engine design and are meant to represent valves? Either way, they don’t 100% work, for me.

Engine

The Hidden Side aspect of this Drag Racer comes into play when you fold the two side sections back to reveal a couple of spooky, fluorescent yellow Eyes.

The Hidden Side

Nothing else flicks or opens up in this set to reveal anymore hidden features.

With just enough room to seat a single driver, it’s kind of perfect Minifigure scale, which is what is intended.

Interior

The Minifigures:

Jack Davids and Dwayne the Biker

Starting off with the main Minifigure Jack Davids.

Dressed in his alternate White hoodie combo, complete with his Ghost catching smartphone. Jack features two faces, one being his usual cocky smirk and the other a more scared/shocked expression.

The printing on Jack is minimal but well done. And his dual-moulded hoodie and cap piece never gets old.

Alternate faces

Dwayne is also the same as his past appearances, with his classic biker outfit, menacing Hares of Havoc biker club jacket. The printing on Dwayne is especially good. He however doesn’t come with a normal head, and no alternate face.

Jack and Dwayne

Conclusion:

This set is great, it has its down points sure but it is a decent set. It’s surprising LEGO let this one go as a gift with purchase instead of issuing it as a standalone set on the shelves!

The two Minifigures are excellent, but we’ve seen them before. Something/one different would of been nicer.

If you missed out on this set, then the secondary market is your friend. Using a popular auction site wisely will land you this for a very decent price indeed!

We’ll worth it!

Do you own this set? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

There are two Hidden Side Polybags released and today we’ll be reviewing El Fuego’s Stunt Cannon (30464)!

Polybag front

The main build is a Canon, with a play feature, you can actually launch El Fuego (we presume) into the air!

The base of the Canon is mounted on wheels for easy movement, it’s also hinged to alter the trajectory.

Bits and pieces

The play feature I mentioned above is a basic push/flick system, give the green end a flick and out shoots El Fuego. This may have been better if LEGO provided a spring loaded piece or a pull & release mechanism instead.

Final build

The Minifigure included in this Polybag is a generic Skelton, with black boots.

The Helmet is printed with a target & flame emblem.

Light the fuse!

Ready to fire!

Separated sections

Overall this 45 piece polybag is a fun but basic build, easy enough for even the youngest of LEGO fans. Getting the Skelton to sit correctly in the Canon can be a bit fiddly but you’ll soon find a way that works.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!