Day 298

Day 298 October 25^th

**UPDATE**

M.A.X. Elite Heroes wave 2 Law Enforcement 2 pack Review

            This 2 pack is a rerelease of the law enforcement M.A.X. minimates from the first series.  This was done since the first release sold out so quickly DST wanted to ensure people could get their hands on these minimates.  What a great idea, kudos DST!

Packaging – This wave of M.A.X. is blister carded on a cardboard back much like the first wave.  The main difference is that while the first waves cards were a blueish purple colour these ones are more red/orange hued.  The back of the card gives a quick bio about what M.A.X. is all about as well as a write up about the set itself.  It also has pictures of the minimate in the various states of gear included in the set along with the ‘Gear Up!’ slogan.  As with all things exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us there is the nice silver exclusive sticker on the front of the package.  Inside the blister the minimates and the piles of extras are in the standard clear plastic tray, secured with tape if need be.  While the tape is nicer than the little twist ties it can sometimes leave a nasty tape residue on the parts it’s holding in.

 Law Enforcement Officer 1 – The first officer in the package is the one in full riot gear.  Much like the first release these guys have the great helmet and huge chest armour which includes two pistol holsters.  The chest armour looks like full on riot gear; being big and bulky and having all sorts of pouches for any kind of tools and equipment they might need.  The armour on the upper arm is a full sculpted piece along with removable forearm armour/gloves.  On the legs the armour and boots are both separate pieces, fully removable.  In his full gear he definitely looks ready to hold back any rioting hockey fans on the streets of downtown Vancouver or the mean streets of any Miniopolis.  The face under the helmet is a plain face with a more stern expression, a good face for a police officer.  The best part of the M.A.X. minimates is the fact that when you strip off the armour there are other pieces to put on for another look.  In this case once you take off the helmet there is a headpiece with a hat and hair.  Now in this release there is actually a uniform tampo on the chest block under the armour, a mistake corrected from the first wave.  The set includes an extra set of regular arms to swap with the sculpted arms as well as regular feet to switch with the boots.  So he can be completely transformed into a regular dress officer minus the belt piece that his partner in the set has; just a minor miss for this minimate.

UPDATE: The hat piece is actually not the same as the hat used in the first release.  The first release used the hat from the Blackhawk minimate where this release sees them use the hat used for General Ross; I thought it looked different but hadn't done a full on compare yet.  In the picture the series 2 officer is on your left, holding the phone and gun.  When discussing this with fellow collector, friend and genius behind Tales from the Minibar Eric, we made the discovery.

Law Enforcement Officer 2 – The second officer in this set is in a more plain uniform, the only added piece outside the hat/headpiece is a belt that looks very much like an officers belt would with various pockets for the things they have on their persons at all times.  The chest tampo is a great looking uniform top, a perfect look for a police officer.  Given that he has more of a on the street look I tend to have him posed with a pistol and the cell phone accessories. 

The Gear – In the M.A.X. sets this has to be a whole part unto itself since there is just so much extra gear included.  First and foremost in this set is the extra set of arms, boots, leg armour and chest armour included to make the second officer in full on riot gear as well.  One fun feature here is the fact that some of this gear is held on clear minimate body pieces.  In this set the gear is on a clear torso, crotch and a set of legs.  I know some customizers really love this little bonus in these sets.  This set also includes another riot helmet as well as a gas mask.  The gas mask is rather a needed touch since on the weapons is a gas grenade launcher.  The other weapons included in this set are a shotgun, a rifle and of course the standard pistols.

As a rerelease from the previous wave there has been an improvement in the fact of the missing uniform chest tampo has been added.  It would have been perfect if they had included the second belt piece for the second officer.  My only other issue with this set is still the fact that they have the same faces.  Easy to fix with a parts bin but still would have been nice to change them from the first release.  This is a minor issue though since they are mostly just background characters and if I want any to stand out I can make that happen pretty easily on my own.  I give this set a solid 5 out of 5!