LEGO Monster Fighters roundup - (eBay binge!) - Part 2

Halloween approaches and the Monsters keep on coming!

In this update I'm continuing my look at some sets from the short lived Monster Fighters line from 2012. There are 2 used sets in this update, one was perfect, the other?... Well let's read on. 

9464 The Vampyre Hearse 

For this set I did things a little differently! I actually bought the Hearse itself, along with the 2 monster minifigs in one auction. And the motorbike and Dr. Rodney Rathbone were 2 additional separate purchases. The piece count for the complete set is listed as 314 pieces.

The Hearse arrived in 2 bags with no instructions.

The Hearse itself is the centerpiece of this set, my used version cost me £19.99 and came with both the Monster minifigs and all the parts needed to build this big imposing vehicle. I had already downloaded the PDF instructions as this listing stated there were none included.

The Basic Framework

Construction on this one is a little more complex than most of the city cars I'm more used to building. The vehicle itself is 8 studs wide and has some very nice detailing, It's mostly black in colour as you would expect, but it makes good use of the few coloured pieces that there are. 

The Engine and front seats start to take shape.

I particularly like the bone pieces that run along the side of the exposed engine. The sticker on the front roof section is another of the glow in the dark elements in this line, and the roof section itself is easy enough to pop open to place the driver.

The finished hearse

The boot of the vehicle features a coffin large enough to hold Lord Vampyre, the play feature for this set is the silver bionicle levers at the sides, which can be used to launch the villain through the opening roof to attack the hero.

Lord Vampyre lives!

There is another moonstone included here and used (rather boldly) as a hood ornament. This blood red piece features an image of a bat.

The Moon Stone.

Lord Vampyre himself

Finally my Monsters have their leader! I thought the cape was missing but a quick search revealed that this version of him never came with one originally, He does, however, come with his sword, Lord Vampyre features a glow in the dark head piece. He has an alt. face with a closed mouth, and a mostly black outfit with the kind of suit print you would expect from a vampire minifig.

The other figure that came with this auction was Lord Vampyre's loyal Zombie Chauffeur. He wears a flat black cap and a dark blue tattered uniform. He comes with one brown hand (representing a driving glove) and a grey hand to match his grey zombie, single sided head piece. 

The Hero from this set and the leader of the Monster Fighters is Dr Rodney Rathbone. A swashbuckler looking minifig with one robotic leg, a bowler hat and fetching sideburns. He fights using a fencing sword and a pistol, neither of which was included in my £2.49 purchase, he's a nicely printed minifig and I believe his robotic leg is unique. I managed to find a sword for him in my spare accessories. Again we only get the single sided head piece.

Dr Rathbone rides his dark red motorcycle into battle, this was another separate purchase. slightly pricey at £3.59 but it has only appeared in a handful of sets. the extra pieces that are specific to this set (including the dynamite clipped to the back) were from my own spares collection.

The set is complete!

This is my favourite so far from the Monster Fighters theme, Construction on the Hearse is unique with some interesting part usage, the vehicle is large and impressive and the minifigs are some of the best I've purchased. I'm really wishing this theme had been given a longer life.

9462 The Mummy

After the high point of the Vampyre Hearse, we come to one of the worst eBay purchases I've ever had. This set was listed as complete, the Monster Fighting Hero minifigure was missing one of her crossbow bolts but that was the least of this sets problems..

Wrong coloured pieces (Old dark grey mixed with Dark grey, Trans Orange Cones instead of solid red) Mismatched colour on the spears (one black, one dark grey) and a mummy minifig that looked like a dog had chewed his head, all added up to a miserable experience. 

This is only a 90 piece set, how can the seller get it so wrong?!

Most of the mismatched colours were on the small gyro-copter the hero uses, this is a tiny, and frankly quite poor, vehicle anyway, and I've already decided I'll be upgrading my Monster Fighters to better or custom vehicles.

Additionally, after a quick check, I found that I had most of the correct colours in my spares so after contacting the seller and receiving a partial refund from my £6.50 purchase price, I opted to keep this set and just order a replacement Mummy minifig.

At least I have an extra weapon now!

The Mummy himself or The Mummy King as he is referred to in the fiction is a great fig, the detail on the print and the evil eyes really make it a standout, and I've already decided the series 19 female mummy will be his bride! There are 2 variations of this minifig. Unfortunately, neither the damaged one I received originally, or the replacement one I purchased were the glow in the dark version.

From L to R: The damaged Mummy I received, the replacement and the female Mummy from the series 19 CMF

Ann Lee herself Carries a standard crossbow piece, and has a rarely used hair piece that contains a clip to hold the crossbow bolt. She has a double sided head print featuring a facial scar under her left eye. Her white and red torso has a print that features a bodice over an slightly unbuttoned shirt revealing a silver necklace. Her blue leg piece features a print of garlic and wooden stakes hanging from her belt. A shame she is the only female Hero in this theme, she is very nice though and rounds my Monster Fighting crew to almost completion. One more to go!

Smirking Face

Stern face, ready for action.

The last part of this set is the Mummy's chariot, a simple little build in mostly tan and grey, with some gold highlights, the real standout of this build is the skeletal horse, other than the earlier release of the mummy minifig, this was the other glow in the dark element from this set. The horse has 2 small flame pieces representing his fiery eyes and his harness features a golden scorpion protecting the Mummy moon stone. This one is purple and features an image of an Egyptian eye Hieroglyph.

After all my issues, I ended up with something approximating a finished set (I still need a replacement spear and an additional crossbow bolt.) 

The completed build is actually quite neat, this one was obviously aimed at the budget end of the line, nonetheless there is plenty to like here, I'm not a fan of the Gyro-copter but the rest of the set will definitely find a place in my display.

Monsters Minifigs (continued)

Continuing our look at the Monster themed series 14 of the CMF minifigs that will be displayed alongside my Monster Fighters collection..

Actually starting off with a minifig from series 16 here with the 'Spooky Boy' This is a minifig that's been lurking around my main display for some time (Usually hanging around outside the Palace Cinema) He comes with a black spider and a book of 'Spooky Tales'.

This great little figure has a single sided, slightly concerned pale face with a black hair piece. His black and Grey torso features the image of a minifig skull, and he has a printed chain hanging from his grey trousers. He has no back print but his arm and leg print continues around the sides

.

Another one that's been part of my collection (Specifically my kids minifigs) for a while is the 'Mad Scientist'. Though he originally came with a beaker, this has been misplaced over time. His large head and goggles/hair is actually an additional piece that fits over a standard single sided minifig head, He wears a white overall, splattered with pink and black boots and gloves. He makes a great companion piece to the 'Rocking Monster' I looked at in my previous update.

A new addition to my collection is 'The Specter' this ghostly minifig features a slightly dopey face print on a pale head, a standard dark grey hood peace and a tattered shroud made from felt cloth, his leg piece is a dual molded grey and trans clear ghost trail and he has a dark grey chain as an accessory. I really like this one and he will be right at home as part of my Hidden Side graveyard.

And lastly for this update we have the 'Spider Lady' This nicely detailed minifig comes with a white head piece featuring a well detailed face with red lips and protruding fangs, she has a beehive hair piece in black (which gives her a bit of an Amy Winehouse look!) her torso and dress piece are black with red weblines and silver spider prints. She has a clear vinyl cape and collar featuring black weblines, and she comes with a red spider for her accessory. As the Dracula's Bride minifig only comes in the more expensive Monster Fighters sets, I will use the Spider Lady as a substitute/

That's it for now for Monster Fighters, The Lepin version of the Haunted House will be reviewed here at some point, and I will add more of the series 14 minifigs as well as the final Monster Fighters Hero (I may do minifig only again for that one) as I find them, but there are lots more reviews to come, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and Happy Halloween.