Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes

The set

The Lego Marvel Superheroes set Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes (Set number 76077) is, in my opinion, one of the most anticipated yet controversial Lego Marvel superheroes sets to date which makes the decision to buy it a difficult one. The set costs £29.99 ($29.99). The set features approximately 376 pieces (including minifigure parts/accessories), three minifigures, and two builds. One build is Lola the car which seats one minifigure and the other build is the Detroit Steel mechanical suit which one minifigure can be placed inside. There are very few play features included in the set and the Detroit Steel Mech is not visually pleasing, however I believe that it looks better in person than it does in picture. The set has two instruction books, the first for Lola which is 57 pages long, and the other is for the Detroit Steel mech which is 66 pages long. One play feature is included in Lola as the build allows for the wheels to be turned so that they point downwards which places the vehicle in 'flight mode'. Two other play features are included in the Detroit Steel mech. These are a 6 stud shooter on one arm and a chainsaw build on the other. Lola's doors can open and the arms, legs, and back wings of the Detroit Steel mech are movable. The play features are simple but that is to be expected in a set of this size. The three minifigures included are Agent Phil Coulson, Justin Hammer, and Tony Stark A.K.A Iron Man.

Agent Phil Coulson

 One of the biggest draws to the set is the inclusion of the Agent Phil Coulson minifigure. As the character and designs for the minifigure have been featured in games since October 2013, it comes as a surprise that it has taken so long for the character to appear in a set. The character is much loved by Marvel fans and has been featured in four films and four seasons of his own spin-off T.V series 'Agents of Shield'. The minifigure has a double printed head, one side shows him smile without glasses, the other shows him looking serious with glasses. I believe the hair mould is unique as I haven't seen it be featured in any other set and the gun mould also seems new. The printing on his face and torso is simple, although detailed as reflection marks are included in the glasses, stripes are included on his tie, and a small printed badge is positioned on his left side.

Tony Stark A.K.A Iron Man

The second minifigure included in the set is Tony Stark A.K.A Iron man. This character is no stranger to the Lego Marvel Superhero line as many versions of him have been featured in previous sets. In this set Tony is featured in his Invincible Iron Man armour and he comes with a black hair piece and helmet. Tony also has a double printed head as one side shows him happy and smiling, and the other shows him angry and ready for battle. Pictures of the complete armour and descriptions will be featured later in the blog.

Justin Hammer

The third minifigure to be featured in the set is Justin Hammer. This character is the villain of the set and comes with both a helmet and hair piece, just like Tony. The hair piece appears to be unique as I haven't seen it in any other set before and this is the character's first appearance in Lego form. The minifigure, just like the other two featured in the set, has a double printed head. One side of the minifigure's head shows the character smile and the other side shows him frown. Pictures of the complete armour and descriptions will be featured later in the blog.

This is the first inclusion of the Invincible Iron Man armour and unfortunately the helmet mould is different in comparison to other Iron Man helmets. At first I was not sure on the look of this Iron Man figure as, to me, it appeared cartoony in colour and appearance as instead of the dark red which has been used in previous sets, this version uses a bright red colour. The helmet mould is different as where the other helmets can be opened on a hinge at the front to reveal Tony's face, this one cannot. At first I was slightly put off of buying the set because of this minifigure, however the appearance has grown on me and the armour does look like an upgrade in comparison to past armours because of it's bright colouring. The set features a power blast shooter which is a new feature for 2017 and this can be seen on his right arm in the pictures. When pushed against the side of the minifigure's arm (whilst he is holding it) the shooter will fire forwards a short distance. The printing is simple but detailed on the torso as many lines are used to indicate the 'layers' of the armour.

This is the first inclusion of Detroit Steel in a Lego set. The only things which can be changes about the minifigure are the face, and the helmet can be swapped for hair. The helmet is the same mould as the Invincible Iron Man helmet which means that there is no front hinge for the face to be revealed. The printing on this minifigure is remarkably detailed and complex as it even includes details as small as screw holes. The minifigure does not look as cartoony as the Invincible Iron man armour as it uses a combination of bright red and dark blue.

I am sure that many were both delighted and surprised to hear that Lola was to be introduced in Lego form. The car has only made brief appearances on 'Agents of Shield' but is closely connected with Phil Coulson. Five sticker pieces are included in the build and the wheels can turn so that they face the floor. The doors can open and one minifigure can be placed inside it. The build is pleasant, however it takes a while for the vehicle to become distinguishable. The car has a smooth and curved surface at the back and a flat and almost smooth surface at the front. One printed piece is included and this is the Lola number plate at the front of the vehicle.

When in 'flight mode' four of the stickers used in this build can be seen. The stickers are positioned just above the wheels on the four wheel rim pieces. The stickers are very detailed as the show the inner mechanics of the vehicle such as pipes, however they are extremely difficult to place. The rim part of the piece prevents easy access to the area the stickers go and as the stickers are extremely small, they are hard to hold. Another downside of the build is that the wheels don't face perfectly flat on the ground as they slope upwards to the sides slightly. The underside of the vehicle can easily be modified to fix this issue as it only requires removing two pieces.

Another sticker is featured inside the car and acts as a dashboard for the driver . The driver has room on either side for their arms to move, plus there is enough space for them to hold a small weapon of some sort. Beneath the vehicle are two circular dark blue translucent pieces on the underside of the vehicle which act as engines.

The Detroit Steel mech is definitely not one of the best looking builds that I own as in pictures it tends to look clunky and ragged, however from what I have seen of this mech in Marvel comics, it is supposed to have that feel to it and it does look better in person. In my opinion, the things which make it look clunky are the chainsaw and the 6 stud shooter but luckily, these can be removed. It is easier to remove the shooter than it is to remove the chainsaw but the shooter is the larger item of the two. The two back wings can be moved and repositioned but this can be difficult to do without them coming off. The arms and legs have lots of movability which means the build can easily be repositioned, however it can be awkward to balance. The mech cannot hold Lola like it does in various images as the fingers cannot properly grip the car and the car makes the mech top heavy and prone to falling over. Five stickers are included in this build, all of them quite simple. There is a sticker on each arm and each leg, and the front chest-plate is a sticker.

One minifigure can be stood in the mech, leaving only the head visible. I am not overly fond of the Detroit Steel helmet printing as the mouth reminds me of a beetle, but besides from that and the fact the head looks really small in comparison to the mech, the mech suits the minifigure well. The arms and legs of the minifigure are not visible from the front and are barely visible from the sides, hence convincing you that the arms and legs of the mech either are the arms and legs of the minifigure or contain the arms and legs of the minifigure.

Conclusion

The Lego Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes set makes for an uncertain buy because as it includes the long awaited Phil Coulson minifigure, complete with Lola, it also includes yet another Iron Man figure which looks cartoony and doesn't have a helmet which opens, and it comes with a not particularly well known villain and a clunky looking mech. I, as I am sure many others did, bought this set just for the Coulson figure and his car. The car is very impressive and included stickers, which I did not expect, that are cool but unnecessary details in comparison to the final build. Coulson looks amazing and the Justin Hammer and Tony Stark minifigures look much better than I had originally expected. The Detroit Steel mech still looks clunky but better than in picture. I am glad that the 6 stud shooter and chainsaw can be removed as they do no favours for appearance and the chainsaw itself is unnecessary and hard to use. Overall the set is a disappointing one to use as Coulson's debut set because of the mech. This leaves half of the set as being very good because I like Phil's printing and how slick Lola looks, however the other half is bad because the stickers can be unnecessary and hard to place plus the mech is unimpressive and clunky. The only good things I can find in the mech is that, besides from the back wings, it has high movability. I would recommend this set to fans of mechs as the minifigure is a perfect fit in the mech, and I would recommend it to fans of Phil Coulson and Lola because of how accurate they look. Collectors should also pay interest in this set because I imagine that once it stops being sold, unless Phil is used in future sets with the same printing, I can see the set being worth much more than it is currently valued at.





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