This was another one of those sets that wound up on store shelves near me long after most Chima sets were retired. Since it was on clearance, it was only a matter of time before I would pick it up, and today I did just that.

Box/Instructions

No issues with the box, it's the expected size, and shows everything it could reasonably show about the final product. The set has two manuals so that one person can work on the figures and snow mobile, while a second person works on the main construction. Very clear directions as usual.

Parts

A good mix of colors and rare pieces. Tons of technic parts. The parts that stood out to me in particular were this set of very large fire pieces which end up the vehicle's back side. I hadn't ever seen these pieces before, despite owning a number of other fire-themed sets. Of course, also notable is that you get those three large wheels.

EDIT: I just realized that those fire pieces in question appear in much larger numbers in the $20 set Flinx's Ultimate Phoenix, in case you want a lot of them.

Minifigures

All three minifigures are relatively rare. Bladvic the bear doesn't appear in any other sets. Iceklaw the ice bear only appears in this set and a small polybag. Vornon the vulture only has three sets, all of which came towards the second half of Chima's life, and he doesn't appear in any cheap sets. It's a great mix of seldom-seen figures for a set at this price point. It's also a breath of fresh air that Iceklaw has a holder for his gun on his back. I'm always afraid I'm going to lose the weapons that go with each figure if they get played with. Bladvic is also given a place to put his accessories once the build is complete.

The build

You get a small "bag 1" to make the figures and the small snow vehicle, and then it's on to the Rumble Bear, which takes 3 bags. As this is a transforming vehicle, it has a very large amount of technic elements in its mid-section. This is one thing I have always enjoyed about Chima vehicles is seeing how all the moving parts are designed. For me, these vehicles are always fun to build.

The completed model

The first thing most people probably noticed when looking at the box is the three huge wheels that make up the Rumble Bear's chest when it's standing - it's a little odd looking. However, they really did a good job with this concept, and I don't think much could have been done to cover the wheels without making the transformation overly complicated. Even to balance it on only three wheels while it's driving took a little bit of thought on the designer's part, because this is a huge bear.

When you finish your construction, the Rumble Bear will be in driving mode, and you realize that having a giant bear on wheels in a Superman pose driving towards you would be pretty terrifying.

I should also mention that the head moves, the mouth can be opened, and the hands are posable with short articulating fingers.

All in all it's a pretty unique vehicle that mostly looks really good, and all the technic pieces are well covered up. If you don't like the wheels on the chest, there's no reason you can't display it in driving mode.

I almost forgot to mention the snow mobile, but it's such a tiny vehicle. My preferred way to pose this set will be to have Iceklaw trying to escape the bear on wheels that's 10x the size of his vehicle. It's a funny scene.

Overall opinion

Another unique Chima set that looks cool, and has a variety of ways it can be played with. Especially given the rare minifigures in this set, it's hard to advise any Chima fans not to pick this up.