LEGO Power Miners Crystal Sweeper (8961)

DISCLAIMER: My son has not played with this set yet!!!My son is 12 years old and absolutely LOVES all the Power Miners sets that he has so far. I don't remember their names, but he has 3 "vehicles" and plays with them for hours on end. He may like them because he is older and can completely put them together himself and doesn't get too frustrated if they do fall apart. He begged me for this one for Christmas, so I have ordered it off of Amazon. I am reviewing it today just for parents and grandparents who maybe haven't bought Power Miners for their kids yet but are considering it for Christmas. Like I said, my 12 year old plays with his Power Miners every day, and two of his 12 year old friends also love Power Miners. It may be more appropriate for an older child instead of a younger child.[...] I kept looking back at my Amazon order because I couldn't believe I got it so cheap.

I bought this set mostly wanting to complete my Power Miners collection. A great, although small series with amazing price value and ease of build. This set however ruined the entire Power Miners line for me. With a price tag of about $[...] on average for under 400 pieces (factoring an average $[...] per piece for most sets) this was a huge disappointment, especially considering the rest of the entire series can be bought at less than this price. The set on its own isn't so bad. It mostly suffers from a disappointingly small sized end result, a little poor construction on its undercarriage, and a virtually pointless rock monster catapult. That not withstanding though, its a pretty decent set and worthy enough to fit in with the rest of the Power Miners line. The problem still comes back to the ridiculous overpricing of the set. Maybe this was to offset the low prices of the rest of the series, but it still only serves to hurt the line as a whole.

Though we are big LEGO fans, and have a houseful of them, this set is only good for display. The actions shown on the box cannot happen because the toy breaks as soon as you try to move it. You can make your own creations with it, and the rock monster is cool, and collectible, but the set is a disappointment. Thunder Driller and Claw Digger are much better.

too many small pieces

Our 6 year old grandson saw the Lego Power Miner Crystal Sweeper on youtube and asked for it for his birthday. It seemed expensive but based on the complexity and number of pieces it probably fits Legos pricing scheme. My grandson and I probably put 8 hours into the assembly. He is pretty good for a 6 year old but adult participation was a must. When we completed assembly the sweeper did not work. I think we did the assembly exactly according to the manual. We had to change it a bit in order to get the sweeper gear to engage properly. But when we finally got the sweeper to pickup the crystals he was sooo excited. He has continued to play with it.

Twin 20 month old boys fought over the "one" at grandma's house. We have had it for about 15 years. When the boys went home I sent "two" to their house. "They are the first things they play with in the morning and the last thing they play with at night," reports their dad. One little guy even takes his to bed with him! These toys are timeless!!

This was a gift he liked. Keep it up Lego! I am all for toys that are open ended and don't plug in.

I just put my 7 year old to sleep sobbing. After working very hard doing choores and saving every penny he could find, he finally bought the Crystal Sweeper. This poorly designed toy has been his first serious disappointment in the Lego brand. The design simply stinks!! There is no way to actually play with it without it falling apart. By the way, it is absurd to charge $69.99 for this!!! He is begging me to find a way to take it back. What a shame to lose a lego enthusiast at such a young age!! As a general rule, the ideas are great, and they are fun for children, but this failure is awfully expensive!! By the way his biggest chore was doing DOG POOP DUTY in our yard!!! I forgot to mention that we have several very big dogs!!!!!