Let’s get right to it, while there are some unique techniques to this set, and some interesting Nice Brixx’s, the overall build itself is complete mayhem. The end product – The Iron Monger – looks fantastic but is better used as a display on your shelf than having it be broken apart during any play you may get out of it. My comments may turn you away from reading on but trust me, there are some Nice Brixx’s and an abundance of creativity put into this call back set featuring the main villain from Iron Man I – Obadiah Stone.
Without question, the best part of this entire set are the three Minifigures that are included. Iron Man in his Mark III, a variant of Pepper Potts looking professional in her business attire and, as usual, a suited Obadiah Stone. Lego did a nice job here with the details on the figures. Tony comes with his usual head piece attachment and, as seen in the pictures, repulsor blasters to make the armor come to life. The hue of sky blue and the dimensions added are extremely creative and really make Iron Man feel like Iron Man. Obadiah’s grey beard is nice tough but gives off a bit of a Bain vibe from Batman. Pepper comes with her usual red haired pony-tail with a black suit. I really wish Lego and the developers took Pepper to the next level and had her base look like a skirt to give her that true to movie feeling. Either way, it’s good to see Pepper get some Lego callout so glad she was included. All in, the Minifigures get our Nice Brixx approval as must haves to your collection.
The Iron Monger itself is a true to Minifigure scale build with a ton of complexities along the way in an attempt to make this beast mobile and be configured in any pose or action scene you’d like. I think Lego struck gold with offering unique approaches to creating mobility for the Monger with one flaw. While the arms bend, shoulders rotate, hips rotates, there is no movement in the knee joint which limits the character and is an obvious opportunity for improvement in a future iteration of this set or another similar set Lego develops. Read my review of the Iron Man Hall of Armor where we look at IGOR, Tony’s mech. Every limb is mobile which makes for better play and reality. Although a smaller scale, something that could have been incorporated into the Monger.
What’s great about the Iron Man, the absolute attention to detail, from the piston drivers for movement, the internal complexities of the build, all the way down the repulsor hands with attached weapons. The attached weapons are a fun addition. Both the heavy caliber gun on his right hand, and the blaster on the left can provide live action play which a depth to the character.
The downside to this build is there are way too many internal techniques that feel over utilized to make this come to life. My biggest disappointment is the hip attachment, which kept coming apart as I attempted to mobilize the Monger. With a rotational attachment, this piece is simply attached using a flat 4×4 brick with a red internal 2 length axle from the Technic series. Now, the use of those pieces are perfect for display purposes but as a play product, Lego could’ve done better here. Otherwise, the joints are somewhat difficult to maneuver, again perfect for display, bad for play. They are sturdy and won’t come apart like the hips but not easy movement.
There are quite a few Nice Brixx in this set. Starting with Iron Man’s repulsor power bursts. Piece #6334268 is the base of the Iron Man Minifigure and can be used for any explosion, shield, or propulsion you want to visualize. In the same series, the transparent blue weapons add height and depth to Iron Man and show his artillery in battle. Piece #6133811 is an A-frame attachment that I’ve only seen heavily used with Lego trains but not really seen in day to day sets like this. These are used to create the knee joints for the Monger but can be used in combination to create cross-point connects that you want to seem like hinges but won’t move when together. A nice addition. My favorite of this is piece #6276848, a flat 2×2 with a technic connect point to act as an axle. Used on the Mongers arms, this allowed us create more bulk to size up the character.
The Iron Monger Mayhem is a tough set to figure out on our Nice Brixx scale. While it has fantastic detail, great depth, it lacks in mobility and play worthiness. Overall, I give this a 6/10 on the Nice Brixx scale. This Monger is better for display and is a 10/10 for collectors but a 5/10 for those looking to use for creative play. The piece complexities earn a 4/10 for low mobility and over development. But, on the positive side, there a quite a few Nice Brixx along the way that can be utilized in other builds so I give an 8/10 for brick uniqueness. With 479 pieces and a price tag of $39.99 (US), the price per piece value is worth it. I haven’t seen this set go on sale yet, and this time is out of stock on the Lego website. If you see, buy it, take advantage of any sale you can find on it. It’s a great addition to your collection and wonderful callback to the movie that started it all.