Classic-Castle.com

set information:
item number/9440
name/Venomari Shrine
piece count/86
age range/7-12
price/6.99
box:
front

back

side

instructions:
the instructions are the same as the box on the front but have the annoying screaming kid on the back

in the middle of the instructions they are interrupted by a advertisement-
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_425.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_427.jpg
-and a list of weapons.
parts:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_415.jpg
this set has a nice selection of dark tan and dark blay
pieces of interest:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_416.jpg
as you can see the set comes with 6 of the new brick pieces and the snake head is printed not sticker.
minifig:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_417.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_418.jpg
he look pretty good but his shoulder armor sicks out a bit
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_419.jpg
he has a new round sword holder(it can carry two swords but the set only comes with one)
the sword slides in with out a problem until it reaches the little lego word on the side,here some force is required.
back with out sword holder
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_421.jpg
the staff:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_422.jpg
the staff looks cool but does not have a good place to hold to use it as a weapon.
the green smooth round plate in on the staff has a circle with a drop printed on it which it think means venom.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_423.jpg
snakes:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_424.jpg
the new snakes look ok but are a little to cartoony for my taste
completed set:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/lord- ... re_430.jpg
the snake flipping function works for the most part but the snakes go up instead of forward

price: 8/10
playability: 6/10
build: 8/10 (short but not boring)
parts: 10/10 (a excellent selection for a small set)
overall: 32/40

please feel free to post your opinion of this set and tell me what you think of this review

Well, first of all, great review, aside from a few blurry photos, you did a nice job.

Secondly, I agree with your opinion on the snakes, they are a bit outlandish. The advertisement in the middle of the instructions is just plain silly. I noticed that it comes with some very interesting pieces, are those small thin black things in the 8th picture Fantasy Era black skeleton arms? If so, they alone make the set of interest to me (my black skeletons need new arms... ). The snake staff is pretty funny looking, and ridiculously big IMO. The shoulder armor (called pauldrons, just for anyone who didn't know that) actually looks pretty nice, but a little large.

Oh yeah, the drop actually does mean venom.

theboywarrior wrote:are those small thin black things in the 8th picture Fantasy Era black skeleton arms?

the lower two are, the other two are 1x2 plates with clips.

lord_of_orks wrote:

theboywarrior wrote:are those small thin black things in the 8th picture Fantasy Era black skeleton arms?

the lower two are, the other two are 1x2 plates with clips.

Yeah, that's what I meant, not the clips.

I must say one of the reasons I grabbed a copy of this set first time I saw one WAS the snakes :^)
As for the Staff, it's more of a magic casting staff verus a melee staff.
I also like and wanted to see the 'Brick faced' 1x2 bricks or as I've heard them called, Brick Bricks.... they are interesting, so far I've not doen anything other than build it per directions...

I can tell you this, as extensive as your review is, at CC we try to only post less than 4 pictures, and link the rest, or place a link to the gallery. If you could please go back and adjust that in some way, it would be helpful. Please see this thread for more details. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=19497 Thank you.

The snakes look a little silly, but expansions to the LEGO menagerie are always welcome. The snake staff is an interesting mold, and of course those new brick-textured bricks are fantastic. The snake head wedge will be excellent for building giant snake monsters. The minifig is surprisingly non-silly-looking for such a gimmicky theme. And all this at the low low price point of $6.99! I may get a couple more of these just for the parts selection.

Karalora wrote: And all this at the low low price point of $9.99!

it's only 6.99

You're right, of course. It was a typo. Fixed now.

Karalora wrote:The snakes look a little silly, but expansions to the LEGO menagerie are always welcome. The snake staff is an interesting mold, and of course those new brick-textured bricks are fantasti. The snake head wedge will be excellent for building giant snake monsters. The minifig is surprisingly non-silly-looking for such a gimmicky theme. And all this at the low low price point of $6.99! I may get a couple more of these just for the parts selection.

Exactly. I was happy to see the line continue if not for the parts potential alone. I'm thinking I could use the snake figures as "Yuanti" types. The minifig sword holders don't work; the sword blade is too thick to fit in them, which is too bad.
-Tower

Tower of Iron Will wrote:The minifig sword holders don't work; the sword blade is too thick to fit in them, which is too bad.
-Tower

I picked this up today and I was really annoyed at this. The stupid part is the instructions actually show you putting the sword into the holder on the back and yet it doesn't fit. I haven't tried the older, thinner style swords, maybe those ones will actually work.

It's a fun set, the snakes are pretty big, but they are something different and I'm sure I'll find a use for them somewhere. The staff is certainly different, but overall I think there are some fun new parts that could be useful in castle, more on the fantasy side.

Odd that people are having trouble getting the sword in the holder. Mine fits perfectly fine.

Karalora wrote:Odd that people are having trouble getting the sword in the holder. Mine fits perfectly fine.

I have three of them, 2 off of the Jay ZX booster pack, and one of the 9440 set, and all of them work perfectly fine. At first they were a little snug when you put them in though.