Review by James Burnett (SAFOLs Members, CapeLUG Members)
The Chima theme is centred on the fictional world of Chima, a place inhabited by warring tribes of anthropomorphic animals. There are 12 main tribes living in the various parts of Chima. These are Bear, Beaver, Crawler (sub-divided into Bat, Scorpion, and Spider), Crocodile, Eagle, Fire (sub-divided into Phoenix, and Tiger), Gorilla, Ice Hunter (sub-divided into Ice-Bear, Mammoth, Saber-Tooth Tiger, and Vulture), Lion, Raven, Rhino, and Wolf Tribes.
The Eagle tribe is the most analytical of all the tribes. They live in the Eagle Spire which is a tall spire/pillar of rock jutting into the air with numerous buildings and towers near the top. The Eagle Spire has no windows, doors, or streets because Eagles can fly, making it obsolete.
Even though the tribe has a royal family, the tribe is ruled by a Ruling Council of Elders. The tribe consist of 5 members:
- Ewald (head of the Ruling Council)
- Eris (Princess of the Eagle Tribe)
- Equila (the tournament announcer)
- Eglor (the inventor of the tribe)
- Ewar (a soldier)
The tribe’s vehicles generally resemble white bird-heads with yellow beaks. The body will normally be different shades of blue and azure with white accents. Talons are also a common feature, either coloured pearl gold or black.
The Build
You first build the small glider of the Raven tribe. It consists of only 29 parts. Although it does somewhat resemble a raven, mainly due to the black colour, it is a very plain build and does not use any new or interesting techniques. Luckily it is only a support build and the main focus should be on the larger Eagle tribe vehicle.
Next you build the much larger vehicle of the Eagle tribe after which the set is named. The designers did an excellent job in making the vehicle resemble an eagle. The wings, tail, legs (with talons) and head articulate, making it easy to place the vehicle in different positions. The colours of blue, dark blue, and dark azure (with accents of white and yellow) creates an appealing aesthetic. The vehicle has numerous weapons, while the talons can also serve as a weapon to grab and hold enemies. The head of the vehicle can also detach and be a small recognisance vehicle with its own wings and weapons.
The Minifigures
The set comes with 3 minifigures. The first is Eris, the Princess of the Eagle tribe. As with all Chima figures, a lot of detail has gone into the printing detail. Her legs are white with yellow talons printed on them (showing the attention to detail as it links to the yellow used in the talons of the vehicle), as well as pearl gold printing on the legs and hips.
On the front of her torso is a blue circle (representing CHI), with a pearl gold armour printing. Lego does seem to have fallen into the trap in the fantasy realm where all female warriors have a lot of exposed flesh (compared to male warriors that are fully covered and protected by armour). This does however not take anything away from the quality of this minifigure. The back of the torso is the same armour print.
A pearl gold armour piece fits on the torso. I really appreciate the fact that even though the armour covers half of the torso, it did not limit the printing of the torso which allows you to display the minifigure with or without the armour. A trans-light blue round tile represents the CHI on the front. White wings can be attached to the back. As with all Chima minifigures, the head is double-sided with one side being calm, and the other appearing friendly. An eagle head-piece goes over the standard minifigure head in order to enhance the look of an eagle. The headpiece is mostly white is a beautiful pearl gold print that reminds me of a tiara (seeing as she is a princess).
The second minifigure is Razar (prince of the Raven tribe). His legs have dark bluish grey (DBG) talons printed on them with a red belt and silver buckles.
On the front of his torso is a blue circle (representing CHI), some DBG belts and dark purple feather prints. The back of the torso also has the DBG bels and dark purple feather. He lost his left hand which has been replaced with a flat silver hook.
A flat silver armour piece fits on the torso. A trans-light blue round tile represents the CHI on the front. Black wings can be attached to the back. The head is double-sided with red and silver printing. A raven head-piece goes over the standard minifigure head and has the same red and silver to match the head.
The third minifigure is Rizzo who is half raven and half cyborg. He has one flat silver pirate peg leg and one standard leg. Interestingly it is one of the few Chima legs with no printing on them. I don’t know what the reasoning was behind this/
His torso is almost identical to Razar, except he has a DBG belt printed onto his torso, while Razar has a red belt printing onto his hips. Rizzo also has both his dark purple hands.
A flat silver armour piece fits on the torso. A trans-light blue round tile represents the CHI on the front. Black wings can be attached to the back. The head is double-sided. Rizzo also lost his left eye so that has been replaced with a metal eye patch. A raven head-piece goes over the standard minifigure head which has a beautiful metal plate on the left side of his face.
Conclusion
While the glider of the Raven tribe is functional, the vehicle of the Eagle tribe is a fun and interesting build. The minifigures are also done really well, with enough variation between the two Raven tribe members to not appear monotonous. A definite must for any Chima fan.
