Review: 30454 Shang-Chi and The Great Protector
Posted by CapnRex101,
Marvel Super Heroes purchases exceeding £40, $40 USD or €40 presently qualify to receive the new 30454 Shang-Chi and The Great Protector. The polybag features an outstanding miniature rendition of this enigmatic dragon.
Minifigure
Unsurprisingly, the titular Shang-Chi is provided in all three Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sets, including this polybag. The minifigure sports detailed red attire which matches the onscreen character, featuring intricate texture with accurate black accents across the torso. Dual-moulded arms could have improved the design, but these plain legs seem appropriate.
However, the head appears relatively bland and has appeared on many previous characters. Both expressions are reasonable, but I think LEGO should have produced an exclusive head when representing the protagonist. Furthermore, the flesh skin tone deviates from most Asian minifigures which is somewhat surprising, although either shade works in my opinion.
The Completed Model
The mysterious Great Protector is presumably allied with Shang-Chi and appears impressive, closely resembling the creature from 76177 Battle at the Ancient Village. The design captures excellent detail when compared with its larger counterpart, exhibiting the same colour scheme and organic shaping. Additionally, this creation features extensive articulation.
Appealing detail decorates the head, including elaborate crests. Their positions are adjustable and the jaw opens too, continuing the aforementioned articulation. Furthermore, I love the 1x1 rounded plate which integrates a hollow stud, somewhat resembling a single nostril. The trans-light blue eye also appears attractive, complementing the base under this dragon.
That trans-light blue display base further resembles the bigger model, although such support was probably unnecessary given the scale. The dragon also provides an attachment point for securing Shang-Chi, perhaps revealing that the Great Protector can adjust its size, depending on the situation.
Overall
30454 Shang-Chi and The Great Protector exemplifies a successful polybag. This rendition of the animal certainly compares favourably with 76177 Battle at the Ancient Village and features several joints, providing exceptional articulation which is ideal for display. I think the Shang-Chi minifigure leaves something to be desired, but I welcome his presence in a polybag.
This polybag is currently available at LEGO.com with Marvel purchases exceeding £40, $40 USD or €40.
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38 comments on this article
Great review as always, and its nice to see the Joey Tribiani minifig appearing in more sets
I have $60 in my cart and nothing is showing up. Maybe in store only?
FYI, I have found this poly at retail here in the US, I don't think this is supposed to be an exclusive.
@Knighty said:
"I have $60 in my cart and nothing is showing up. Maybe in store only?"
I got one in store on August first, and today I added $40+ of marvel sets to my cart on Lego .com and nothing showed up either. Lego probably ran out of stock, because every gwp is while supplies last.
@Knighty said:
"I have $60 in my cart and nothing is showing up. Maybe in store only?"
Is it marvel sets?
My only question is, since this Milk Dragon's udders clearly release Blue Milk, doesn't it belong in the Star Wars Universe? ;)
@CapnRex101, Thank you for yet another great review and set of pictures.
As for the set, clever use of inversion along the dragon’s body. If I can find this sold separately (not GWP) for a reasonable price, I might pick it up.
@PigeonBricks said:
" @Knighty said:
"I have $60 in my cart and nothing is showing up. Maybe in store only?"
Is it marvel sets?"
Yes marvel only
I ordered the 76191 the morning of August 1 on line, and this set did not appear in my cart so, perhaps it was in-store only or they ran out very quickly.
@bricksaber said:
"FYI, I have found this poly at retail here in the US, I don't think this is supposed to be an exclusive."
What store did you find this polybag, Target? I'd get the bag on it's own.
Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies.
@Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
This polybag is probably being advertised pretty widely, I don't think it's feasible to avoid all mention of it even if Brickset were to blur it out.
Besides, does knowing there's a dragon in Shang-Chi really spoil anything?
@Mister_Jonny said:
" @Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
This polybag is probably being advertised pretty widely, I don't think it's feasible to avoid all mention of it even if Brickset were to blur it out.
Besides, does knowing there's a dragon in Shang-Chi really spoil anything?"
People get WAY too sensitive to minor spoilers
@Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
Hey there's no guarantee it is a spoiler and there is a dragon in the movie anyway - do you remember everyone's favourite scene in Iron man 3, when the Mandarin chases Tony around in his flame thrower go-kart XD 76008
"Furthermore, the flesh skin tone deviates from most Asian minifigures which is somewhat surprising, although either shade works in my opinion."
Interestingly, Lego seems to go back and forth. Mulan, Rose Tico, Chirrut Îmwe, and a few others have light nougat skin tones, while others like Baze Malbus, Dr. Wu, Cho Chang, and Wong have nougat skin tones. While I think Lego should introduce at least one more skin tone for East Asian people, their treatment of skin color has long been a little odd. Heck, they've even given the same actor two different skin tones before (Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster vs Ian Malcolm), so it seems a little inconsistent.
@Terreneflame said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
This polybag is probably being advertised pretty widely, I don't think it's feasible to avoid all mention of it even if Brickset were to blur it out.
Besides, does knowing there's a dragon in Shang-Chi really spoil anything?"
People get WAY too sensitive to minor spoilers"
Just as well Batman isn't in this polybag as well, that'd be a major spoiler! :)
@bricksaber said:
"FYI, I have found this poly at retail here in the US, I don't think this is supposed to be an exclusive."
It's not, it's just a promotion. Here in Canada it's for sale for more than a month now.
@Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
You can see the dragon in the trailer, so even if you consider it a spoiler, the consensus is that if it's part of the official marketing (trailer, poster, tv spots etc) it's not a spoiler.
This did not show up in my bag in the US when I added 2 items totaling over US$40, and it didn't show up on Aug. 1 when I bought the new Guardian ship, which should have triggered it all by itself (did get the sailboat though).
Sold out in first few hours according to customer service, also heard shop at home only has promo for sailboat until today.
think she might be referring to for vips (just saying because she made it sound like limited quantity)
I tried to qualify for this on the evening of Aug. 1st but it had already sold out. According to another source it only lasted 8 hours. Hopefully it might show up for retail purchase somewhere else.
@Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
You're being sarcastic, aren't you?
No way that little tidbit is going ruin your enjoyment of the movie?
unironically this is better than the actual set
Having the other two sets, I didn't really need this one, since I don't need another Shang-Chi. But it is actually a decent polybag. The larger version of the dragon was pretty neat too.
I've heard from different message boards it sold out pretty quickly. Which is interesting since I'm surprised the sailboat is still around.
I picked this up from an end cap at meijer, it's a neat little dragon. I removed the blue energy stand parts and he stands just fine on all fours or just the hind legs
@Schmopiesdad said:
"I ordered the 76191 the morning of August 1 on line, and this set did not appear in my cart so, perhaps it was in-store only or they ran out very quickly."
I was ordering 12AM it was there on line. I was seeing this polybag promotion on the lego shop homepage. But brickfan reported polybag was sold out after couple hours...and I couldn't find the polybag promotion from the lego homepage that morning...!
Fortunately there are nice people on Bricklink that have this polybag for a reasonable price--which saves me having to buy sets I don't really want to get this!
The Great Protector is conveniently a Dragon, yet not an Eruptidon. Sad.
LOL.
@elangab said:
" @Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
You can see the dragon in the trailer, so even if you consider it a spoiler, the consensus is that if it's part of the official marketing (trailer, poster, tv spots etc) it's not a spoiler."
I find that most trailers give away WAY too much of the movie lately. If I really want to avoid spoilers and enjoy a movie, I have to steer clear of all trailers and ads. Sometimes, you don’t even really need to see the movie because it’s just a longer version of the trailer.
Seems like making a good trailer that both creates interest and does not reveal too much is a dying art form.
That being said, I feel that knowing there’s a dragon in this movie is not a spoiler. Knowing the dragon is actually Keyser Söze would be a spoiler.
@Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
The dragon in Shang-Chi debuted in Marvel Comics' book Strange Tales issue number 89 back in 1961. *1961!* "Spoilers" for 60 year old characters are a misnomer. Calm down.
@CarolinaOnMyMind said:
" @elangab said:
" @Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
You can see the dragon in the trailer, so even if you consider it a spoiler, the consensus is that if it's part of the official marketing (trailer, poster, tv spots etc) it's not a spoiler."
I find that most trailers give away WAY too much of the movie lately. If I really want to avoid spoilers and enjoy a movie, I have to steer clear of all trailers and ads. Sometimes, you don’t even really need to see the movie because it’s just a longer version of the trailer.
Seems like making a good trailer that both creates interest and does not reveal too much is a dying art form."
Not sure that trailers-as-spoilers are anything new. I remember assiduously avoiding LotR trailers so as not to ruin the films for myself (even though I knew the plot from having read the book many years before).
@graymattr said:
" @Fcboettcher_gmail_com said:
"Great! I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the upcoming Marvel Movies. Now I know that there's a dragon in the movie. Thank you for ruining that moment for me.
PLEASE consider a spoiler blur mode for images that picture sets for not yet released movies."
The dragon in Shang-Chi debuted in Marvel Comics' book Strange Tales issue number 89 back in 1961. *1961!* "Spoilers" for 60 year old characters are a misnomer."
Respectfully, I disagree. The age of the source material is not a reason to ruin it for others. I inadvertently spoiled Beowulf for some friends by oafishly blurting what happens. The fact that the story is about a thousand years old was no excuse. It was no less ruined than if it had been written yesterday.
This DID show up in my cart early on Aug. 1 when I ordered the Guardians' Ship. Status went to "Waiting for new stock" and now says "Canceled." First time anytime like this has happened. FWIW, when I placed the order the Guardians' Ship said "Available Now" but I'm stuck waiting for a backorder of that, too.
Shang-chi is basically the Monkie Kid theme but with lower price points.
I wish LEGO would stop reusing generic face prints for Marvel characters, especially East Asian ones. The inconsistent skin tone is irritating already but when multiple characters in the same theme are using the same face print that looks nothing like them it gets ridiculous.
The Dragon is such a lovely design! Already made it with my own pieces! Looks great next to other mini dragons!
I bought over $100 in Marvel Sets Sunday online but had to call for the polybag add on. I was told by one it would be added to the order. Another just gave me 2600 points. The funny part is I will find this polybag at Target\Walmart for sale for 4.99.
Mine arrived today...can't wait to build it!!
@CapnRex101 I think you meant the 1x2 rounded plate? (Instead of 1x1)
And thnx for the nice review.