So we are starting the New Year off with something pretty unique out of China.
After Lego kicked open the door for Lego Books with the Ideas Pop Up Book last year, the Chinese Block-Off community saw the build idea and capitalized on it.
There have been a few sets now that use the same book design, sans the popup aspect.
The first of which was this awesome set from SY, the Iron Book.
It contains over 50 of Iron Man’s suits from over the years, all the way back to the Mark 1.
Coming in at a whopping 2000 pieces, I expected the set to be way bigger, but upon closer inspection, it is primarily due o the way Chinese blocks are counted.
Mini figures from Lego are just 3 pieces, head, torso and legs.
In China, it is Head, left arm, right arm, left hand, right hand, torso, waist, left leg, right leg.
So each Iron Man iteration is 9 parts, not including his accessories.
So with 52 figures, that is already over 500 pieces just for the mini-figs.
One aspect I really appreciates about this set is the numbered bags, MOC sets rarely have numbered sections, so it was wonderful to see.
The book build is very similar to the popup book, with the exception of the cover.
Another surprise is the use of stickers. I had assumed (incorrectly I might add) that the big Iron Man logo was a printed part. It is not.
It is one of the biggest stickers I have ever applied to a set.
I highly suggest you have some form of flattening tool available to take out the bubbles, because you will only be getting 1 shot at applying it.
The cover us adorned with a fantastic 3d Iron Man helmet.
I have seen a couple mods that have his eyes wired in to glow, the effect is pretty cool if you have the time and cash to do it.
The minifigs themselves are of exceptional quality for a Chinese knockoff.
The clutch is good all around, and there is a TON of accessories included.
Everything pictured below is just the figs and accessories!
The figure build was a bit tedious as nothing is numbered.
So if you want to put them all in chronological order, you will have to painstakingly compare each fig to the layout in the book or online.
As so many of the figures are similar, it can be a bit challenging.
All in all it was a fun set to build, and I hope we see more branching out like this in the future.
I have seen already there is a DC vs Marvel Chess set book which is a really neat idea as well.
A solid build, with great display-ability.
A 8/10 and a must have for Iron Man fans like myself.
The Compulsive Canadian Gamer 