A few years ago someone posted about some Lego style Stargate sets from a company called Best Lock. At the time they were only available in Canada and overseas but this holiday season it seems a few of the sets have found their way to U.S. stores. This set was found at Target in the Holiday "stocking stuffer" section for $4.99. They had a few other Best Lock sets as well but this was the only Stargate set I found. Also, there are a few other of these sets available at Big Lots. The Big Lots sets are boxed where the Target set comes in a bag. Also the Big Lots sets range from $5 to $15. I picked up all of the Big Lots sets I could find (4 of them) for Amanda for Christmas. Anyway, I digress...
This set, as I said was found at Target in the stocking stuffer section and I had to have one for my G.I. Joe Kre-O figures. It's in a great scale to the Kreons and looks really good for $5. If you are unfamiliar with Best Lock, they are a knock off Lego brand. The quality of the parts isn't as good as Lego or Kre-O but I didn't have too much difficulty putting the kit together. Honestly the bricks feel a lot like I remember the old "vintage" Lego blocks being but that might just be my nostalgia. It will take some force to get some of the bricks to go together but they fit together pretty well.
This set is "Jack on Abydos" which refers to the planet from the movie. It contains parts to create a "MALP" (mis-named MALF in the instructions), a DHD (dial home device), a Stargate with steps and a very disturbing looking minifig.
The minifig is, I think, supposed to be Jack in tan BDUs with a black vest. To me it looks like a cousin of Jabba's fat slave girl. The quality is low. It's a solid figure but the lack of paint applications or molded color just kills any potential it could have. The hair isn't removable at least on mine so it's not even good for parts. Just chuck this in a bin and forget about it.
The MALP is a cool little build. I had to fiddle with the camera on the front and use an extra piece to get it to fit right. But it has some nice details like the radar antenna and camera. And the wheels spin albeit reluctantly. It's a nice piece and even has a clip on the back to carry a weapon or some other gear.
The Dial Home Device or DHD as it's referred to in the show, is a pretty cool build. It has a sticker for all the symbols and a red clear stud to go in the center for the activation button. And it is in a good scale to minifigures, not too big, not to small.
But the real star, and the reason you'll want to pick this up, is the Stargate itself. It is a rather complex build for such a cheap set. It comes in 9 different pieces for the rings and then the 7 chevrons attach. The event horizon is printed on a sheet of paper and pre-cut to fit inbetween the bricks. The ring with the glyphs on it is one solid piece and the glyphs are a sticker already applied.
The chevrons could use a paint application to make them more screen accurate but as is they are really well detailed.
The steps are made from smaller support pieces and then planks across the top for the steps so the steps themselves aren't just a solid chunk. I wasn't sure why they threw in some green pieces until I realized they are probably supposed to be moss.
Overall, for $4.99 this is a no-brainer. For the Stargate alone $5 is a small price to pay. The quality, as I said isn't Lego or Kre-O caliber but you can make it work. The detail on the Gate and DHD is well done and the MALP is a great little dio piece. If you can find this set and are a Kre-O or Lego collector you'll want one of these just for the novelty.
:mayor: