Jay's Brick Blog

A blog about LEGO bricks

  • Home
  • About Me
  • LEGO Reviews
  • News
  • SW Advent Calendar
  • HP Advent Calendar

Review: LEGO Movie 70807 – Metalbeard’s Duel

April 9, 2014 By Jay 5 Comments

Boys are predictable. As a general rule of thumb, we tend to like guns, robots, pirates and swords. When you combine all of these elements together into one single entity, the results are spectacular and you can be damn sure that our little man-hearts enter into a state of euphoric adolescent joy.

When The LEGO Movie sets were unveiled, Metalbeard’s Duel instantly made an impression on me and I knew that I had to have it. Details of the movie was scant, but the premise of a Mecha-Pirate decked out in a pegged leg, twin hand cannons (literal cannons, I might add) AND a shark on the opposing hand was impossible to resist.

Warning: Since the movie is out in Australia, I will include some mild spoilers in the review. Take note and avert your eyes if you don’t to read about minor plot details.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Box

Is it worth the hype?

Name: Metalbeard’s Duel
Set Number: 70807
Pieces: 412
Price: AU$49.99 (LEGO.com link)
Exclusive to: N/A
Ages: 8-14
Minifigs: 3 (I consider it 2½)
Theme: The LEGO Movie
Year of Release: 2014

I had high expectations about the set as I’ve been a huge fan of LEGO mechas ever since I got back into LEGO. Some days I still regret missing out on the Anime-inspired Exo-Force theme where LEGO went all out with brick-built Mechs.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Micro Manager

You begin putting together Metalbeard’s Duel by constructing the Micro Manager, a black boxy robotic creation of Lord Business engineered to force the inhabitants of The LEGO Movie into submission and order. Micro managers occupy the role of “villainous constructs”, terrorising in tandem with Lord Business’ legion of robots and skele-bots.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Micro Manager 2

Building a Micro Manager is a lot like piecing a crude mech together. The Micro Manager consists of two main sections, the squarish “head” which has two clawed tentacles erupting from the front, and its legs.  The claws are rigid cannot be flexed but that doesn’t stop the Micro Manager from being able to pick up minifigures (at the right angle), like poor Frank here.

The Micro Manager’s “arms” are moderately flexible and you’re able to bend and twist the make it look as menacing as possible. Mr Manager’s legs are a lot less forgiving and I initially had some issues striking the right pose to make it stand up straight given that the Robot Black Box’s centre of gravity is a little wonky. The Micro Managers remind of the AT-STs from Star Wars, which isn’t too shabby a comparison.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Micro Manager Flick FiresThere’s not a lot going on in Mr Manager’s head – there’s a hatch that pops up which allows you to fit a lone minfigure as some sort of pilot and two flick fire missile launchers which conveniently fold out from each side like pop-out ears. Strange seeing as how Micro Managers in the movie didn’t do much except manage and didn’t seem to display any sort of ballistics weaponry. LEGO, unless your projectiles are powered by springs, let’s cool off on the forced flick fires, okay?

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Frank the Foreman

 “He’s a cookie cutter construction worker which may or may not be a good thing”

We get three (well more like 2.5) minifigures in this set, starting with Frank the Foreman. For the life of me, I cannot even remember Frank from the movie so I’m just going to assume that he’s one of the many thousands of construction workers that work alongside Emmet. There’s nothing especially notable about Frank – he’s a cookie cutter construction worker which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your personal tastes.

He has quite the majestic beard on him  which can be repurposed for other characters but it’s only an alright minifigure. He has a macho construction torso with offers a small peek at his sculpted chest muscles and hints of chest hair, but like most torso prints, the skin colour is off as per usual. I’d have preferred it if LEGO included a regular non-construction civilian to mix it up a little.

LEGO Robo SWAT SkeletronYou can’t have a LEGO set these days without some villians and we get a Robo SWAT minifigure in addition to a Skeletron – a lazy portmanteau of Skeleton and Tron? If you’ve been buying LEGO Movie sets, you’ve probably amassed quite a large number of these robotic henchmen. They’re both kinda exclusive to this set with the exception of Robo SWAT who appears in a promotional polybag (available at Village Cinemas) but they are nothing to shout about.

Mr. Swat comes decked out in standard issue Bricksburg police uniform complete with a helmet printed with the Robo Police insignia which is a nice consolation. I’m not a fan of these new skeletons as their arms are rather rigid and boring.

LEGO Frank The Foreman Robo Swat BackBoth Frank and Robo Swat feature back printing which is stock standard these days for most minifigures found in boxed sets. I especially like Robo Swat’s back with the walkie talkie printed behind him. The torso is multi-functional and should easily fit into any City or Law Enforcement-related builds once you switch out the grey hands.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Minifigs

Introducing the supreme commander of the Seven Seas… Metalbeard

LEGO Metalbeard

 “I cannot think of a more apt description than “gloriously bad-ass”.

On to the main course and star of the set, Metalbeard himself. I cannot think of a more apt description than “gloriously bad-ass”. Metalbeard is one of the major-ish characters in The LEGO Movie, a pirate who first attempted to storm Lord Business’ Octan Tower, an effort that proved unfruitful and cost him his “virile strapping young body”. According to his recounting of the failed assault, Metalbeard barely made it out alive, salvaging his head and a few vital organs which he then incorporated into this hodge podge pirate exoskeleton to prolong his life AND increase his awesomeness and raw brick appeal.

At first glance, the first thing that strikes you is how ridiculous this creation is – a theme shared with many LEGO movie sets. That’s a good thing, because I felt that LEGO has been erring on the safe side when it came to designs and I’m glad they were able to let their imaginations run wild when conceptualising the movie sets to deliver this bad ass Robo-pirate-cyborg-killing machine.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard FaceMetalbeard is all business, with what’s left of his piratey minifigure head protruding from his chest, held aloft by a metal beard. I love the little details that went into the design of his face such as the metallic eye patch, gold tooth and the modified Jolly Roger flag on his hat, comprised of a minfigure skull and crossed wrenches. Metalbeard is an excellent character in the movie, providing much needed piratey comic relief and overusage (in a good way) of pirate lingo and jokes.

Directly beneath Metalbeard’s face is a functioning treasure chest containing what I assume is Metalbeard’s vital organs. He is also the Captain of a massive pirate ship, The Sea Cow which is one of the main forms of transportation for Emmet & friends.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Treasure

Opening the chest reveals… a sausage and a bone. I simply cannot look past the innuendo of a bone and a sausage piece being chosen as Metalbeard’s most important organs. I fully believe this was intentional as Metalbeard makes it very clear that he was once a “virile” man in the movie.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Shark Twin Cannons

Metalbeard packs a boatload of heat on him, one of the biggest draws about the design. On his right arm, he has a shark mounted just above his hand, which I’m guessing is useful to bite his foes and on his left hand, two pirate ship cannons. Two. Not one, because one is lame. Two is cool. It certainly looks impressive and this is cannons down, my favourite part of Metalbeard. The cannons really do work and you can pull the “pin” end to launch 1×1 round bricks around the room.

Metalbeard’s arsenal looks and sounds terrific on paper and in pictures, but when I was posing and playing with him, I discovered that the cannons especially were not fastened to his arm securely, leading them to pop out every time I try and move his arms. They’re held precariously by a lone technic pin which explains the flimsiness.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Peg LegAnother great addition is his pirate’s peg leg. It’s probably a pirate thing keeping a peg leg on his reconstructed body. I guess you lose pirate-cred if you don’t have a stump for the leg. It may look wobbly but it holds up the entire body remarkably well. There’s also an anchor fastened to the back, in case Metalbeard needs to drop anchor in the ocean for some strange reason.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Front and Back

If you thought a shark and twin cannons are enough to satisfy Metalbeard, you thought wrong. He also wields a massive cutlass that is almost as tall as him. His fingers can easily grasp the hilt of the sword but it’s not a perfect fit so there’s a bit of effort in getting him to hold it. When not in use, his giant sword conveniently clips on to his back.

Putting Metalbeard together was a lot of fun. I enjoy putting Mechs together and due to the sheer number of little trinkets and tiny features such as binoculars, a ship’s wheel, pistols and even a chimney attached to his body, it never felt like a generic build. There’s a lot of detail packed into Metalbeard’s body which I can appreciate. Parts-wise, there’s a surprisingly large number of pearl gold elements used which complements the dark orange, brown and grey bits nicely.

LEGO Metalbeard vs Micro Manager

That said, the build doesn’t feel as secure or tight as I’d like it to be. I constantly found myself breaking parts of his body off, especially his twin cannons when I attempted to pose or move him about. His head also tends to dislodge itself easily. It’s not a shabby build but I had very high expectations about this set. It doesn’t feel like it will fall apart at any moment but I would caution against vigorous play when it comes to Metalbeard. Treat him gently, like a demure sea wench for best results.

LEGO Trans Red Bricks

I really liked the assortment of parts in the set, especially the large number of transparent red 2×1 bricks used in the micro manager. The pearl gold elements such as the binoculars and telescope are also welcome additions to my parts pool.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Spare PartsOverall, a generous supply of spare parts promises to greet you at the end of the build, including a printed 1×1 lock til as well as a short chain. Can’t complain about the spread as it’s certainly a step up from assorted cheese slopes or 1x1s.

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel

Final Thoughts: This was a really enjoyable build and you’ll be hard pressed to find a more wacky and zany pirate design. There’s nothing not to like about a pirate-mech. Metalbeard is one of the more popular characters in the movie so if you’re a collector, having him in your stable of characters is a huge plus. For $50, I felt that this set packed a ton of value, both in terms of the final product and the assortment of special parts such as cannons, a shark and other neat little pieces thrown in. I do wish they’d have thrown in more minifigures as I’m tired of construction people and robots but Metalbeard itself is the main draw of the set so I can see why they wouldn’t pack in too much value. It looks fantastic on display like all Mechs. Build sturdiness aside, I still felt that this is one of the top LEGO Movie sets on the market for now.

Should You Buy It?: Loved the LEGO Movie? Definitely pick this up. The minifigures department is lacking but Metalbeard’s hulking exoskeleton more than makes up for the lack of interesting minifigs. If you come across this on sale, you’d be hard pressed to pass up Metalbeard’s Duel. I normally wait till I get a minimum of 20% off LEGO when I pick sets up, but I felt it was fair to drop the full price for Metalbeard’s Duel because frankly: it’s a robotic pirate mech with sharks and twin cannons for arms. How does that not make you want to buy it?

Thanks for reading! Do you own this set or plan to buy it? Let me know what you thought about Metalbeard’s Duel in the comments section or if you have any pressing questions about the set!

LEGO 70807 Metalbeard's Duel Micro Manager Chase

Filed Under: LEGO Reviews, The LEGO Movie Tagged With: 2014, frank the foreman, lego 70807, lego movie, mech, metalbeard, metalbeard's duel, review, robo swat

« Australian LEGO Sales: The LEGO Movie Edition – April 2014
LEGO Store Spotlight: Brick Sanctuary (Malaysia) »

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Ye Xuzhi says

    May 24, 2019 at 12:36 PM

    I noticed your perch on the flag pole is loose too, just fixed mine and i thought its a problem with my set lol. Great review!

    Reply
  2. Daniel says

    September 4, 2014 at 11:32 PM

    Great review! Picked up this set today and loved building it. One question though – does anyone know what the grey 2×2 attachment point is for on the back of the micro manager?

    Reply
    • Jay says

      September 5, 2014 at 12:07 AM

      Thanks! Great to hear that you enjoyed putting it together.

      I don’t think it serves a particular purpose other than to break the monotony of the back. I guess you could also use it to attach minifigs or other parts?

      It definitely feels like a cosmetic feature than a functional one. What do you think?

      Reply
      • Daniel says

        September 5, 2014 at 12:11 AM

        I haven’t got any of the other sets with the micro managers in them, but I’ve seen some reviews saying that the other ones have them on their backs too. Would be cool if LEGO was planning a way to connect them all together, Megazord-style!

        Reply
        • Jay says

          September 5, 2014 at 12:12 AM

          Haha neat! The big one could be called Macro Manager!

          Reply

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Jay's Brick Blog. In here, you'll find independent LEGO set reviews, commentary on LEGO trends & news, bargain hunting tips and an inside look into the life of an average LEGO fan. Find out more about me here

Subscribe for updates

Enter your email address here to receive updates about new posts from Jay's Brick Blog - straight to your inbox!

Join 1,788 other subscribers

Like my page on Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Buy LEGO

Buy LEGO

jayong28

Jay Ong | Jay's Brick Blog
New favourite t-shirt, and new favourite @LEGO set New favourite t-shirt, and new favourite @LEGO set! 🍯 

Review of the new #LEGOIdeas Winnie the Pooh set coming soon!

Spoiler warning: it's sensational
Pack your walking stick because we're going on an Pack your walking stick because we're going on an adventure to explore the LEGO Hundred Acre Wood with @lego LEGO 21326 Winnie the Pooh!

To celebrate its 95th anniversary, Winnie the Pooh & friends will make their LEGO debut in this 1,265-piece set that will retail for US$99.99 / AU$159.99 / £89.99.

The set's release date is 18 March 2021 for LEGO VIP members, and 1 April 2021 for a wider release and will be available on LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store. 

It's pretty clear that LEGO have yet another winner on their hands with Winnie the Pooh. An eternal favourite of any generation, Winnie the Pooh's carefree, joyous nature is just the antidote we need in these troubling times, and I'm so glad that LEGO have done a terrific job with this set. 

Stay tuned for my full review tomorrow!
8 years ago, our lives changed forever as we embar 8 years ago, our lives changed forever as we embarked on this crazy adventure as husband and wife!

Last year was definitely the most unprecedented™ one yet, but one that I will treasure forever.

It was an incredibly challenging year, having had to navigate through multiple job changes, yet you have never once wavered with your support and faith that I would find my feet eventually.

I might have caused some sleepless nights when work was uncertain, yet you continued to be a pillar of strength to our family, and by God's eternal grace, we always seem to come out on top. 

Working from home has been truly enjoyable, especially now that you get a glimpse into the banality of work life, Zoom calls, meetings that could be emails, corporate jargon and why there must always at least 2 mugs on my desk at all times.

Thanks for taking on a second job as WFH Office Manager, tolerating my Amazon addiction and sticking around in spite of my crippling caffeine addiction.

Happy anniversary, love and here's to many more happy years ❤️
Treat yo self 💫 January was a massive month, s Treat yo self 💫

January was a massive month, so I decided to finally take the MF plunge.
Today is "Chap Goh Meh" or the Lantern Festival, t Today is "Chap Goh Meh" or the Lantern Festival, the final day of Chinese New Year. 🏮

It's a bit of a strange one this year, with the pandemic throwing plans into disarray, and my family being further away than usual, so celebrations were a little different in 2021.

Thank you @LEGO for an excellent range of Chinese Traditional Festival sets. 🙏

@little.ong (and myself) really loved the Duplo Happy Childhood Moments set, and I especially enjoyed the new dumplings element! 🥟

Spring Lantern Festival is one of the best LEGO sets I've had the pleasure of building, and I also appreciated the foray into the mythological origins of Lunar New Year with Story of Nian. 🧨🧧🎆

More sets that celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the world, please! 🌏
More photos of the upcoming #LEGO Amelia Earhart T More photos of the upcoming #LEGO Amelia Earhart Tribute are now available!

Coming March 2021 globally, but if you're in Australia, it's available from today onwards from @legocertifiedstores_anz!
Very impressed by the minifigure designs of Chief Very impressed by the minifigure designs of Chief Mammatus and Thunder Keeper from the new #LEGONinjago 71747 The Keeper's Village.

Love the Polynesian influences that have inspired #ninjagoseason14 - The Island!
Hey @lego, I think i understand what #vidiyo is al Hey @lego, I think i understand what #vidiyo is all about now.

Step aside @musicbyllama!
Really enjoyed building and reviewing the new #LEG Really enjoyed building and reviewing the new #LEGONinjago 71747 The Keeper's Village from Season 14 - The Island 

Hit the link in bio to read the full review

For #Ninjago fans, it doesn’t get much better than this. 71747 The Keeper’s Village is packed with value and is a great centerpiece to Season 14 – The Island.

I have a soft spot for location, or structure-based Ninjago builds, so The Keeper’s Village strikes that itch in the best of ways.

The jungle lair sets the scene and provides a rich backdrop that works really well as a small playset and display piece.

Combined with a very generous helping of 5 minifigures, there’s a ton of value and playability built into the set, especially the stone pillar which works remarkably well as a “big enemy” for the Ninjas to deal with – it very much gives off a “mini-boss in a video game vibe”.

The highlights for me would be Chief Mammatus and Thunder Keeper’s designs. As a big fan of the Islanders theme, I love that #LEGO could callback to those designs in a fresh new way, utilising the tech and innovation that’s now possible through minifigure design.

Whether you’re an adult fan looking for a set that’s a bit more kiddy, outlandish and fun, or you’re planning to buy this for a young child who wants an engaging playset, I can highly recommend 71747 The Keeper’s Village.

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • Review: LEGO 21326 Winnie the Pooh
  • The LEGO 21326 Winnie the Pooh Ideas set is as sweet as hunny
  • Review: LEGO 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute (Gift with Purchase)
  • LEGO Power Rankings – February 2021
  • LEGO 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute Gift with Purchase revealed!
  • Review: LEGO Brickheadz Pets German Shepherd, Shorthair Cats, Goldfish & Budgie (40440, 40441, 40442, 40443)
  • Is LEGO planning to announce a NASA Mars Perseverance Rover?

LEGO Reviews

Review: LEGO 60159 Jungle Halftrack Mission

Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 17

Review: LEGO 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner

Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 15

Review: 71245 LEGO Dimensions Adventure Time Level Pack

Review: LEGO 76011 Batman: Man-Bat Attack

Review: LEGO 76039 – Ant-Man Final Battle

Categories

Archives

Jay

Jay is passionate about LEGO and the endless creative adventures made possible by this complex interlocking brick system.
Learn more →

Popular Posts

Copyright © 2021 · WordPress · Log in We may earn a commission when you use one of our offers/links to make a purchase.