Coming as a lot of 4 mechs, we are revisiting a company I haven't bought from since the early days of BootLego; Enlighten. They mostly focus on space ships and mini military vehicles, but the sets we'll be looking at today are undeniably Mobile Frames, under the theme of "MECHA LEAGUE: Super Mecha Warrior!
Our first Mecha League frame up for inspection is Anti-Tank Soldier, and this one is definitely my least favorite. However the parts count is a respectable 67 pieces, all in a nice purple and lime color scheme.
HPIM4830The first thing that stands out, and is the one common part of each member of Mecha League is this piece right here. I have never seen this piece in any Lego set (not saying it doesn't exist though), but wow! Clips and pegs galore make this a very versatile piece!
HPIM4831Eh...what can I say, I'm just not personally a fan of 2-wheel mobile frame designs. Luckily there's plenty of pieces to experiment with, and it functions fine as-is. Of note, you kinda have to mix-and-match studs on the bottom to hold that ski piece on. It seems Enlighten's stud quality hasn't really improved all that much.
HPIM4832Up next is Sniper Robot who uses the same core piece in a slightly different way, and uses some interesting build techniques, especially on the ankles. This set has a much smaller piece count at 54 pieces.
HPIM4834 Sniper Robot also comes with a pretty great base for a gun (for those of us who have zero skill in building guns).
HPIM4833The look on this guy is really great, however, I would say that this is the most flawed of the Mecha League line. The clips holding the legs onto the core piece are just a tad too loose, causing the legs to flop, and the overall build of the figure limits the posability, specifically in the arms. Also, the technic pin used to put the head on is incredibly loose, causing the head to flop around as you move it, and can actually slide out of the pin hole under the right circumstances. Kudos on using binoculars for those ankles, though!
HPIM4835Armored Trooper is the third Mecha League member, and there's quite a bit to say about this guy. But, to start things off, lets look at the 68 pieces that make up Armored Trooper.
HPIM4836A slightly different take on using that core piece makes this probably my favorite set overall. It has a very solid look, and everything holds together really well. But...wait...don't those legs seem just a bit...familiar? Yes! Those legs are nearly part-for-part copies of a standard Chub's legs! Now, I'm not saying that we have a monopoly on certain build techniques (I mean, we aren't the degenerate Bionicle MOC community *cough*), but I find it very interesting that as time moves on, we are beginning to see more and more techniques within BootLego sets that are shockingly similar to Mobile Frame designs. I swear I've also seen that car hood technique for shoulders used before somewhere...same with those gun-barrel arms...
HPIM4837Finally, we have our last member of the Mecha League, the Battletech Marau--I mean...High-Power Battery, coming in at a hefty 80 pieces.
HPIM4838 Okay, let's not kid ourselves. This is a very OBVIOUS bootleg of Pascal's MFZ Battletech Marauder. I guess we should be glad that there's a tiny bit of variation and they at least did it in a different color than Pascal's?
HPIM4839And, of course, all four of these guys can combine in typical BootLego fashion into a giant mecha, which is equal parts fiddly and unsuitable for Mobile Frame Zero, so it is not pictured. Here's a group-shot instead.
HPIM4840Okay, with that out of the way, here's the breakdown. A total of 10 USD fetched us 269 pieces all total not counting the sticker sheets. That gives us a Price Per Piece of just under 4 cents; a tad higher than the past couple of sets I've reviewed, but still less than half of the standard LEGO PPP of 10 cents.
The last time I had reviewed offerings from Enlighten, their production quality was bit hit or miss; depending on how new the set was, you could deal with any level of loose pieces, discoloration, and flashing that needed to be trimmed. Coming back to them years later, there is definite improvement, though Enlighten still leaves something to be desired in brick quality. While we've finally gotten out of the awkward flashing stage, the clips and pins are still a bit loose for my taste, and can cause issues for posing or holding together securely.
As for my thoughts on these? Well, this is pretty tricky. As I've come across in the past with MFZ designs being copied (shout out to you, Eduty), this whole business sits on a fine line between flattering, and stealing. So while I'm willing go into the breakdown of Price Per Piece and overall brick quality, I'll hold of on suggesting whether or not you, the reader, should pick these up. For that, I leave it to your discression and discussion in the comments below.
