Army (Guard War Max) Headquarters
Set Number 22703567 Pieces and 6 Minifigures
Introduction
Along with Ausini's Fairyland and Construction lines, my local Sam's Warehouse store was also selling this single Army-themed set, a base with two vehicles and six minifigures. I had already bought two smaller Ausini Army sets in the past, but still haven't opened them because I was waiting to get another set or two, and construct them all together, setting up a war scene with my other brand military models. This base set was originally $24.99 when I first saw it, but was reduced down to $14.99 after about a week during a toy sale, which is when I purchased it for myself.
Box/Instructions
The set comes packed inside a green and olive patterned box showing a large computer-generated image of the completed models together, the logos, a difficulty rating of three out of five stars, contains 567 pieces, and is recommended for ages 6+. There is a plastic handle poking through the top of the box so it can be carried around like a suitcase, and inside the main box is a sturdier cardboard box containing the pieces which unfortunately can't be used as a tray to hold the pieces (it's just a regular box with flaps on the side). On the back of the box there are three more images of the set in various configurations, but no alternate builds. Funnily it has two perforated semi-circles cut out of the side that are intended to be pressed with your thumbs in so the box can be opened, but the flaps are held in place by a piece of tape (with a colour Ausini logo on it) rather than glued in place.
The instruction booklet has the same images as the box printed on the front and back. All packets of pieces have no numbering, so were opened and combined into a single pile. The instructions list several parts which are needed for each step, and grey out the already-built parts so you can clearly see where each new brick is placed. One thing to note is that the minifigures aren't shown anywhere in the instructions, however it wasn't hard to guess which hats went on which heads. The only problem I can find is that the stickers are also not mentioned anywhere in the instructions, so you will have to refer to the cover images, guess and apply a little logic to find where all the stickers need to be placed. The instructions have you building the base first, followed by the two vehicles.
Minifigures
I've built and reviewed one other Ausini set before, and was disappointed with the dark, greyish skin tone of the minifigs, so I was pleasantly relieved to find that the minifigs in this set had a more realistic colour to them, however it still appears slightly darker than the CGI box art. Unlike most other brands, the minifigs come pre-assembled except for their hats and hair pieces. The plastic quality is quite nice, the joints are tight and the printing, which is limited to black and some white on these figures is average; sometimes the printing can be slightly wonky, off-centre, and one of the faces looks a bit mong so I put him inside the van when I was finished building. There are plenty of weapons for the guys to hold with spares left over, but there are no small guns or walkie talkies like there are on the box image.
The Build
I've always preferred to get the smaller parts of a build out of the way first before moving onto the main model, so I flipped through the instructions a bit and started by building the van first. The construction is quite simple and the van is only four studs wide, which makes it a little narrow and boxy. Some of the pieces already had printing on them while other pieces required stickers to be applied to complete the decoration. The rockets on top of the van were a little tricky to keep together while I was building them, but stay on fine after the build is complete. There isn't enough room for a driver to sit inside the van, so I had to remove Mongo's legs and stick them in the back of the van, attaching his torso to the floor so he's level with the steering wheel and windscreen.
Next up I built the jeep. The jeep is six studs wide, plus the tires protrude out the sides so it's quite a nice, chunky model. The construction took a little longer with the jeep, but felt more satisfying as there was more detail built into this model. There is a gun attached for someone in the back to operate, but it seems that it should be located further back so he can reach it, and room for a driver in front of the steering wheel which has the gear shifter beside it. Again there is a combination of printed pieces and stickers to complete the look, including four stickers that are placed over multiple pieces. It's a bit of a shame the jeep ends up being larger than the van, but I'm glad it's a very nice design and was fun to build.
Finally it was time to build the base. It sits on top of two 20x10 stud plates, which are held together by some plates making up the front steps and a pillar in the back of the base. The construction reminded me of a cross between something from LEGO Space and LEGO Castle, and produces quite a modern-looking building in the end. I didn't worry about the stickers as I went, so the model had to be partially pulled apart and reconstructed after I had finished so that some of the stickers could be applied. They all went on nicely and didn't tear, but most of them don't leave much room around the sides so must be carefully centered. The control panel sticker in the room at the top of the base slightly overlaps the brick it's on.
The clutch power is just about perfect, and the plastic is shiny and opaque apart from the red, and in fact I find it very close to LEGO and Oxford quality.
The Completed Model
What a cool set! The base itself is a decent size and has plenty of room inside, although only the top floor has any furniture and detailing. I used the pillars in the ground floor as gun cabinets for the extra weapons since there were so many with this set. I love how there is a ladder leading up to the second floor, however the men would have to jump over the console to get inside, so I ended up swapping the side the console sits on since there's already a storage area blocking the way out on the other side. There's a clear door acting as a window on the top level, as well as another door-sized window and a regular sized window on the ground floor either side of the swinging front door. I really like the swiveling security camera near the flag and the really cute video screen and security keypad on either side of the main entrance, they're a great touch.
Outside the base there is a small barricade of sandbags for the soldiers to duck behind while shooting at the enemy. There was some room left on the baseplate so I put these in the corner at the front. There's no car port or garage for the vehicles, so the jeep and van are parked out the front and side of the base. Their khaki green colour contrasts nicely with the two-toned grey base, and we get a decent amount of minifigs to populate the playset, both soldiers and officers.
The van is a little disappointing due to the smaller scale, but it still looks nice. The jeep however is superb! I've built a few jeeps from various sets before, and this is by far my favourite design yet. It's got room for a passenger/gunner in the back as well as the driver, the bonnet has a nice slope to each side which gives it less of a boxy look than some jeeps. The only thing it's missing is a windscreen, but I think some Army jeeps might not have had them anyway.
Pros
• Heaps of play value with the multi-roomed base, two vehicles, four soldiers and two officers, the stack of sandbags and heaps of weapons• Colours are good, plenty of printed pieces
• Plastic is very nice quality, so are the stickers
• Skin colour is better than other Ausini sets, although still perhaps a little too tan
• Cool jeep feels great to roll around
• Great value even at full price
Cons
• Ground floor of base has no furniture or decoration• Van is a little small
• No walkie talkie or smaller guns
• No pictures of alternate builds
Conclusion
This great set has plenty of play value, and didn't cost much at all considering how many pieces it comes with, which thanks to the amount of grey pieces would probably make it a good set to buy for pieces to use in castle building. The build was satisfying though, and the playset and vehicles are fun to play with afterwards. It's going to fit in well with my other Chinese-brand military sets, which I'll hopefully have enough of eventually to set up a war scene display. It may not be worth going out of your way to order one online since there are some better sets to be found, but I think if you see this set in the shops for the same price or lower than I paid, I'd say grab it for sure, you won't regret it.Ausini Trade Site - http://ausini.en.alibaba.com
Ausini Army Base - http://ausini.en.alibaba.com/product/520176362-212232950/AUSINI_424pcs_army_building_block_toys.html
Ausini English Site - http://003.tsdn.net/en/main.aspx
Ausini Army Base - http://003.tsdn.net/en/ProductShow.aspx?id=283&type=
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