So I made Craggers Ship (70006) today. It took me under one and a half hours, with lots of breaks, watching the cricket and taking my sweet time. For a box and set this large it should have taken far longer, something maybe closer to double that.
If you are not a fan of large pre constructed pieces, this is not a set for you. The main boat is (as I expected) one large pre finished piece. The two smaller croc boats are also premade. There are alot of larger pieces in the set, that while they look great, diminish the build enjoyment massively. On the flip side there are plenty of cool pieces in new colours, and the set is the nice olive green, rather than the brighter green it looks on the box.
As a build, this set is a fail, as a display piece it is okay (but the smaller bird sets are superior), but as a toy (especially for kids) this is FREAKING AWESOME!!! it has everything you need, good and bad characters, lots of different and awesome looking weapons, heaps of vehicles with plenty of play value. There is a jail part to capture the lions, flick missiles that flick okay and lots of story potential.
Minor annoyances:
- No storage for weapons when the characters are driving the vehicles.
- female Croc gets no weapon! (used a spare spear and red translucent axe head)
- gunship weapons are too low and will fire into the back of the pilot. Another full block raise will alleviate, I have to find suitable colours first.
- front pod (where the red windscreens are) is weakly held on to the boat frame.
Make no mistake that this is a brilliant set for kids, but loses lots of points as a display or build piece. However the crapload of teeth/claws will fall off often, even in careful play, and some parts are barely held on, so expect lots of rebuilds if the kids are a bit rougher on it. Certainly worth around $100, but not more, just does not have the finished feel of the Bird sets. Compared to owning 5/6 of the wheel sets, it is a bargain!
Looking For: Wreckers Saga TPB Collection (with Requiem)