Review: LEGO Marvel 76198 Spider-Man & Doctor Octopus Mech Battle

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Marvel set 76198 Spider-Man & Doctor Octopus Mech Battle, a small box of 305 pieces that will be available from April 26 at the public price of € 19.99. In the packaging, enough to assemble two mechs in the spirit of the half-dozen robots already marketed so far individually by LEGO.

This is not the first Spider-mech imagined by LEGO on this scale, the reference 76146 Spider-Man Mech, launched in 2020 and still available, already makes it possible to assemble an exoskeleton for the spider-man. The version offered in this new box which brings together two of these machines is different from that of set 76146, it is also simplified and a little less successful.

The star of the set which respects the usual codes of this mini-range of mechs is the robot used by Doctor Octopus, it is designed on the same model as the mechs sold individually with feet a little more detailed than those of the Spider -mech and three-point articulation arms with real shoulders. The four mechanical arms attached to the back of the robot are very well designed, they are orientable and repositionable, the whole thing really looks great.

The Spider-Man mech delivered here struggles to compare with that of Doctor Octopus: the legs are a bit frail, the feet are ridiculously narrow like the ones in the set. 76171 Miles Morales Mech and arms without real shoulders are content with two joints on Ball Seals instead of three. Even though LEGO charges double the regular price for these two mechs, we feel that Spider-Man's is a low-inventory budget version. The narrowness of the feet slightly harms the stability of the construction, we will seek the point of balance for a longer time.

The accessories that allow you to throw a few cobwebs are transparent here instead of being white as in the set 76146 Spider-Man Mech. Thinking about it, I prefer the other version of these pieces, I find that the white better embodies the canvases launched by the character.

The only finishing detail that seems awkward to me here: The Plate 2x2 used on the hands of Doctor Octopus' mech with its two extensions, only one of which is used for the thumb, the other remaining visible at the back. However, it was enough to use the Plate 1 x 2 with a single equivalent extension to remove this outgrowth. There are five stickers to stick on Doctor Octopus' mech, the Nexo Knights shield plastered on the torso of Spider-Man's mech is nicely pad printed.

On the minifig side, the Spider-Man figurine combines here elements that are generally difficult to find in the same box: the torso with its pad-printed arms and the head available since the beginning of the year are here associated with the legs injected in two colors that we obtained for the first time in 2015 in the set 76037 Rhino & Sandman Supervillain Team-up. This version of the minifigure is the most successful of the moment, to be able to obtain it in a set at a relatively modest public price is good news.

Doctor Octopus minifig is the one seen in the set 76174 Spider-Man's Monster Truck vs. Mysterio marketed since the beginning of the year. Nothing is planned to fix the four mechanical arms of the mech to the back of the figurine and it's a bit of a shame, it would have been interesting to be able to use these appendages without the exoskeleton.

In short, these little mechs seem to be a hit with young fans of the Marvel universe and this new set should easily find its audience. If the initial idea might seem a little crazy, it turns out that these mechs are well articulated, that it is possible to make them take some original poses without breaking everything and that the gameplay is maximum.

The most creative can also have fun creating their own mechs by combining the different elements, the possibilities are endless. For 20 €, I think that we are sure to please here: there is a bit of construction, two successful minifigs and enough to play for two without having to go back to the cash register.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 3th May 2021 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.