Review: 76128 Molten Man Battle
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO has produced a remarkable range of lava-based characters, including villains from Power Miners and NEXO Knights which vary in scale and design. For that reason, 76128 Molten Man Battle seems somewhat familiar and this model looks marvellous in official images.
Furthermore, this set contains some impressive minifigures, the most notable of which is Spider-Man wearing his unique stealth suit from Spider-Man: Far From Home. The price of £24.99 or $29.99 also seems reasonable for a set including 294 pieces, hence my expectations are high.
Please note that this review is spoiler free.
Minifigures
Numerous versions of Spider-Man have appeared in Marvel comics but most minifigures portray his traditional red and blue attire. This distinctive stealth suit therefore marks a welcome change and looks good when compared with the source material, combining dark bluish grey armour panels with a black fabric layer underneath. The detail on the mask is particularly striking and I love the metallic dark grey goggles.
Furthermore, the chest armour seems remarkably faithful to the movie, surpassing many other Marvel Super Heroes minifigures in that regard. The central fastener and belt both look perfect. However, the predominant dark bluish grey colour scheme appears fairly bright so greater emphasis on black might have been effective, albeit potentially reducing the level of detail. Even so, this is an excellent figure.
Mysterio appears in three Spider-Man: Far From Home sets and this minifigure looks fantastic. I love its dark green and magenta colour scheme, although the chest armour appears to include more gold during trailers for the movie. The pale blue highlights are perfectly accurate though and the intricate printed designs are outstanding, continuing across both sides of the torso and onto the legs.
A new trans-clear helmet has been produced for Mysterio and this component looks superb, distorting the pearl silver head underneath and replicating its smoky onscreen appearance. This design is extremely effective but means that you cannot remove the helmet to reveal Quentin Beck underneath. An alternative head should have been provided, especially since Mysterio appears frequently without his helmet in the movie. Two trans-light blue Power Blasts are provided for this enigmatic character.
Molten Man presents an obvious risk to anything flammable, hence a Firefighter has been included to assist Spider-Man and Mysterio! This minifigure borrows elements from the City range and looks great, wearing a black uniform with high-visibility strips across each side. The red torch strapped to his chest is a particularly notable detail.
The reddish brown head appears in nine other sets, including 76083 Beware the Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is slightly disappointing. A unique component would have been preferable. The firefighter does include an interesting accessory though as this fire extinguisher makes clever use of a pearl dark grey flintlock pistol.
The Completed Model
Spider-Man has already encountered some intimidating villains within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the latest of whom is Molten Man. This model stands 18cm in height so towers above minifigures and the colour combination of trans-orange with dark bluish grey is superb. The character lacks consistent form but this bipedal design looks good, replicating the molten appearance of its onscreen counterpart.
Molten Man's head is formed using a pearl dark grey shoulder armour component which lacks texture but incorporates outstanding printed detail. The flame yellowish orange lava pouring through cracks is effective and I love the metallic gold rocks as well, corresponding with other parts of the figure that are similarly decorated with golden highlights.
The head is mounted on two separate ball joints that provide an impressive range of motion, although the entire structure projects forward from the body so appears slightly odd when viewed from the side. The stickers placed behind the head look lovely though and the rocky texture surrounding Molten Man's head is remarkably intricate, despite being partially hidden.
Additional textured detail continues across the torso, combining large 4x4 rock elements with smaller curved slopes. Trans-orange aerials represent dripping lava and Molten Man incorporates some road signage alongside the front of a car, presumably because he has risen from the pavement. These fun details look brilliant and distinguish this lava-based figure from its aforementioned predecessors.
This model appears plain by comparison when viewed from behind, although the trans-orange, dark bluish grey and golden colour scheme remains consistent. I am particularly satisfied with the glowing chains which link different sections of the model, complimenting the trans-orange aerials mounted on the front.
Each limb is secured using ball joints which offer extensive articulation and Molten Man's right arm is formed into a claw with individually articulated fingers. Furthermore, the girder and traffic light fixed to this arm are both adjustable. They stand out against the dominant trans-orange pieces and the green Krater Road sign looks superb, although trailers for Spider-Man: Far From Home suggest that Molten Man will emerge in London whereas this road sign appears more suitable for New York.
Some different building techniques are combined for the left arm, helping to convey the asymmetrical appearance of this villain. The worn road sign protruding from his shoulder is wonderful and I like how the rotary stud shooter has been integrated. In fact, this cylindrical structure appears reasonably faithful to the source material and presumably launches lava bombs, represented here by 1x1 round plates.
Molten Man's legs are less detailed, consisting entirely of trans-orange and dark bluish grey elements. The textured detail looks reasonable though and I think their comparative stubbiness is quite effective, particularly in combination with the broad feet which appear to be melting into the surface underneath as the villain advances!
Overall
Despite the apparent prevalence of lava-based LEGO characters, 76128 Molten Man Battle definitely stands out. Molten Man appears incredibly detailed and some unusual building techniques have been employed, capturing the appearance of a villain whose body is constantly changing. The trans-orange chains and aerials seem particularly impressive in that respect.
Mysterio looks brilliant too and I like this Spider-Man minifigure, even though its colour scheme could potentially have been improved. The only area for notable improvement on Molten Man is around his head which looks somewhat awkward from certain angles. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable, albeit unusual, addition to the Marvel Super Heroes theme.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your opinion of the set in the comments below.
79 likes
22 comments on this article
Good review!
Good review.
A good set and good review but molten man himself looks nothing like he does in the movie
I got this set straight away because of Mysterio and Spider-Man's stealth suit. The stealth suit reminds me of Spider-Man Noir (I believe that it was an inspiration for the suit). I'm also glad that Mysterio is available in all of the sets and not just the most expensive one: he's been missing as a minifigure for so long and now everyone has the chance to get him.
Built mine last night and really enjoyed it. Great details with the signs, chains and aerials etc.
Also brilliant articulation. Only improvement - Mysterio with normal head in one of the three sets.
Take away the minifigs n it just looks like a nexo knights mech but its constructed well, I'd probably buy if for the parts and for mysterio..
Haven't seen the movie so got no idea on accuracy, but that Molten Man with the bits of sidewalk sticking out looks really fun. I wish that fire man with the tiny extinguisher a lot of luck.
Great review! This is one of the best marvel set recently! I recommend it. My full thoughts: https://youtu.be/fRfJK6vpKUo
Great review
For the record? He doesn't pop up in London. But I don't want to spoil anybody. It's a good movie, I saw it yesterday. I love the Mysterio figure, I Bricklinked him, like, a month ago, heh.
Awesome, thanks for the review! I just saw the movie today to celebrate my birthday, and it was amazing! One note though (hopefully this isn't a spoiler, if so I will remove this bit): Molten Man appears in Prague in the movie, not London. Overall this is a super neat set, it would make a great trans-orange parts pack!
^Hey happy birthday pal!
I love all the translucent orange pieces of this set. It adds to the effect.
Love the way this looks. Will be purchasing for Mysterio 100% as he is my favorite Marvel Villain of all time.
The model itself is fairly accurate to the actual film. Probably one of the better sequences in the movie itself, which I must add was absolutely incredible.
Yeah that's a buy.
That looks...horrendous.
This set is all about the stealth suit. Def could be improved by being more black. Still very cool.
“These stickers look lovely though ”. Which stickers, and where. The quoted text is the first and only mention of them.
Actually, the movie version does not have that many traffic accessories sticking out, so I remove all of them and it looks so much better! I love the trans orange chains and rock parts.
As Rock riders\Power miners fan I love him.
He can be Lava king. The hero for Magma monsters!
Mysterio's blasts should be green I think. Apart from that it looks great. I saw the film on opening night and this is a fairly good representation of the monster.
Typo: "rotary stud shooter has bee integrated"
I think the stealth suit should have been pearl dark gray instead of just dark gray because parts of it weren't quite black but the dark gray isn't dark enough
Suprisingly disappointing set. The head is basically a sphere with print. No actual "texture" whatsoever. It looks like an ice-hockey mask with no skull, looking especially bad from behind. No match whatsoever to nicely built monstrosities like Clayface (70904). And it is not like we have not had specialized monster head pieces (not only in Bionicle, but also for example in Nexo Knights).