As I discussed at length in my review of The Swamp Creature, the Monster Fighters theme was not a huge success for LEGO. I imagine that there have been stacks of these sets sitting unsold in warehouses across the planet for the last two years, which is why you may see a few of them for sale at a discount at your local retail outlets this holiday season. It took a 40% discount to trigger my impulse purchase reflex, so without further preamble, let’s take a look at The Werewolf.
One of the odd things about this kit is that the monster fighter isn’t introduced on the box or in the instruction manual. You have to go online to learn that he is Major Quinton Steele. (In retrospect, this was true of the guy from The Swamp Creature, too.) We aren’t told why the Werewolf is the major’s arch nemesis, but since Quinton is missing an eye (see the photo below), I think we have to assume that they have some bad history.
Major Quinton Steele and Werewolf
Build Review
The Werewolf kit has 243 pieces that you assemble into a car and a creepy tree lair. The car was a straightforward build that I really enjoyed right up to the point that I added the wheels and tires. As you can see in the photo below, the tires belong on a tractor, which is a shame, because the car itself is really stylish. It looks to me like something from the 1930’s, and the silver frog hood ornament is absolutely brilliant. Ah well — on to the Werewolf’s tree.
Major Quinton Steele’s stylish ride needs different tires
Most of the bricks in this kit are devoted to Werewolf’s lair. It has a mechanism that you can activate to hurl the werewolf out of an ambush, which is a fun play feature. Making the tree sturdy enough to play with, however, requires a lot of pieces at the top of the tree, so the whole thing ends up out of proportion. The best part of the tree lair, in my opinion, is the dangling moss. I wish they’d made it grey, though. Looking on the bright side, you end up with a good quantity of dark brown slopes and seven of the leafy pieces.
The Werewolf’s Lair
Kit Ratings
** Playability: 2 out of 5 bricks. The Monster Fighter’s car is a strange mash-up of stylish chassis and Farmer Joe’s tractor wheels, but some of the younger builders will enjoy zooming it around the floor. The tree lair derives all of its playability from the built-in catapult. After you’ve launched your werewolf a few times and have lost one or more of his claws, you’ll probably decide to disassemble it.
** Minifigures: 4 out of 5 bricks. The set has a favourable bricks-to-minifgure ratio (121:1), both for the theme and the year it was released. In addition, both minifigures feature printing on the legs and both sides of the torso. Werewolf has glow in the dark claws, and his head is well sculpted. In summary, this is a better than average effort from our friends at LEGO.
** Brick Value: 4 out of 5 bricks. If you bought this set at its original retail price ($24.99 in our market), then you would have rejoiced in an excellent price per brick of $0.10. If, like me, you buy this set at a steep discount, then you’re really going to love the nice mix of brick types and colors. For “specials”, let me call your attention to the grill, hood ornament, and trunk of the major’s car.
** Overall: 10 out of 15 bricks. This set’s above average rating is the result of a high brick value and good minifigures. Its sub-par playability drags down the overall score. If you can find the set at a discount and you’re a fan of monster movies from a bygone era, then you will enjoy The Werewolf. If those two conditions aren’t met, then you may want to spend your LEGO dollars on something else.
Brick Radar 