Summary

One of the more 'normal' vehicles in the Lego Movie 2 universe is Emmet and Lucy's Escape Buggy (set 70829). The possibility to combine this set with Ultrakatty & Warrior Lucy (set 70827) makes this quite an attractive set to get as part of the duo (which is what I did).

The build is nice, there are some interesting construction techniques used, and the end result looks good. It is also well suited for play, with nice minifigures included in this set. All of this for a reasonable price, compared to other similar sets, even though $50 is quite a bit. Luckily, this set can already be found for a discount in some places.

Build experience

The build is not difficult at all, the 8+ recommended age seems perfectly reasonable to me. The first thing to be noted is the small sticker sheet: there are relatively few stickers to apply - especially when comparing it to similar vehicles from the Lego Batman Movie series. Construction is broken down in 152 steps, and the pieces are divided over 4 bags. The division is logical, though for many adults it will probably feel as if two bags would have sufficed as well.

In general, I like the construction techniques used for the bed of the truck (taken up by the engine), as well as the general core of the vehicle. There is a clever use of Technic pieces to make it extremely rigid and solid. There is also a whole lot of plate stacking involved, especially when looking at the construction of the bonnet and cabin of the truck. Overall, the build never felt tedious at any point.Highlight for me was the construction of the dashboard.

The special pieces in this set are the Technic spring and the three orange rear lights, with printed direction pointer. The three trans-orange rounded-modified 1x1 are nice as well.

The minifigures

There are four minifigures included in this set. Emmet and Lucy (of course), and Sharkira and MetalBeard.

Emmet is extremely common (found in seven sets), dressed in his common work overalls, with a badge on his legs, brown hair, and dual face print. The overall printing is nice and in register. The orange of the legs seems to bleed through the white ID-card a little.

This version of Lucy Wildstyle is only found in two sets (so far), one of them being Welcome to Apocalypseburg! (set 70840). The primary difference with other Lucy minifigures seems to be the face print. Here one side shows a smirk, where the other side shows a tight-lipped angry expression. The printing of the legs and torso (back and front) is well done, quite colourful and detailed and in register. Her legs are dual moulded. A nice addition is the brown sarfe piece. I like the colourful hair print a lot, and I can imagine many using that for dressing up 'regular' minifigures.

Sharkira is one of the two unique figures included in this set. The most notable is the 'dual-molded' legs, with one gun-metal and the other brown. She only has a single face print (I see no reason why she could not have had a second). The one face print is nicely done, with the silver band across the eyes. I like the helmet and the 'shark'-visor. The torso print is IMHO very nice in design, and quite good in execution. there is a lot going on, and a lot of decoration. Everything also seems to be in register. That excellence is in part undone by the dark brown background somewhat bleeding through the yellow belly button print. The arms do not have that problem because they are yellow plastic pieces, with brown hands/gloves. She is armed with a cross bow and a stop sign as a shield.

The other unique minifigure is MetalBeard. The construction of this minifigure is fun, and the design of his chest/body is cleverly done. There is only one face print, and a print for the head. Unfortunately, the print for the lock seems to be off-center.

The build

Overall, I think the vehicle looks very good. To me, in design and redicilousness, it reminded me a bit of the Batmobile (set 70905) and especially the Killer Croc Tail-Gator (set 70907) of the Lego Batman Movie sets. The high suspension, aggressive looks, IMHO it all works out very well. The designer has done a good job covering off-colour core pieces, and makes IMHO very good use of Technic elements for the core of the truck, and subsequently covering them up. I like the use of the sand-blue revers slopes to widen the body, as well as the construction of the exhausts. At the same time, there is quite a bit of colour variation, suggesting the bodge job that this vehicle ultimately is. The few stickers definitely add to the overall looks of the car. The front panel of the interior is also more interesting than often seen.

Emmet and Lucy can fit inside quite comfortably though - unfortunately - there is no place to stow away Lucy's crossbow and shield.

Play vs display

This set IMHO works well as a play and as a display set. It is easy to ride around, the front suspension works well, there are four minifigures, a pretend rocket-launcher... all of it IMHO good for quite a bit of fun. The separate 'pieces launcher' does not work well, but is mostly to provide spares for the merge with the very angry Ultrakatty (of which most pieces of the truck are used). On the other hand, a Star and Heart are also included to chase the buggy.

The buggy is also big enough and well designed enough to work as a display piece, IMHO. What Technic pieces are on display are not distracting enough to make it unusable as a display piece. Arguably, the vehicle combined with Ultrakatty would make a better display piece.

The verdict

Overall this is, IMHO, is a good set. The build is nice, the selection of minifigures is good, the buggy is sizable and quite ridable, and there are nice pieces included in this set. The price is also good - especially, IMHO compared to some other vehicles of this type. There are also a number of bif pieces, like wheels, the spring... The $50 price seems reasonable, even though I have seen a number of places where the set is available for a lower price. As such, this set makes for a good gift, and also worth saving for.