As part of their grand launch and major push for the new for 2013 LEGO Legends Chima theme, LEGO is giving away a free polybag set with any purchase of $75 or more for the entire month of January 2013: LEGO Legends of Chima Ewar’s Acro Fighter 30250! I’d been looking forward to the set (and Legends of Chima in general) since I saw the theme for the first time on the January calendar given out last month, so I made my local LEGO Store my first destination of the new year! And am I impressed with LEGO’s newest stroke of creative genius? Yes I am…

The Right:

Giving out a free polybag set to hook consumers on new themes has become a favorite tactic of LEGO in recent years, and it’s definitely one of my favorites too! As you might expect since the set is only 33 pieces, Ewar’s Acro Fighter is a quick and easy build. It took me less than two minutes to build the set, and that was with stopping to take photos of each step. It’s a cute set that will hopefully whet the appetites of LEGO collectors enough to entice them to buy the larger and more complex Legends of Chima 2013 sets.

The free Legends of Chima polybag set includes one minifigure: Ewar of the Eagle Tribe. Ewar is otherwise only included in the shared store exclusive Razar’s CHI Raider 70012 set that not all buyers have access to locally, so I think he was a good choice for the polybag set.

Ewar is more complex than your typical LEGO minifigure, as he has a white “helmet” that represents his eagle head, chest armor with a clear blue round block on it for decor, and swivel-able eagle wings on his back. Ewar has printing on both the front and back of his torso, as well as the front of his legs. I think his little yellow talons are especially adorable. Ewar even has a reversible head with one side wearing flight goggles and one side without!

The main component of this LEGO 30250 set is the title vehicle: a Legends of Chima Acro Fighter. It seems a tad strange at first for an eagle person to fly on a little jet, but it makes sense that during warfare the Eagle Tribe would want a burst of speed beyond their natural capabilities.

Ewar’s Acro Fighter is very simplistic, as you might expect from a free polybag set. It’s more of an “air jet ski” than anything else. Even so, it primarily uses the same colors as Ewar (and the Eagle Tribe in general), and I love the 1×1 yellow brick “beak” on the jet. I can easily visualize this little Acro Fighter in my mind doing tricks and fancy acrobatics in the air to avoid enemy fire.

Though Ewar’s Acro Fighter is small, it looks like it will make a sleek counterpart to Razcal’s Glider 70000. There are no other small flying Eagle Tribe vehicles in the initial LEGO Legends of Chima wave of sets, so the Acro Fighter fills a niche in the collection that would otherwise be vacant.

The Wrong:

Nothing, really. Ewar’s Acro Fighter 30250 is a well-done free polybag set that gives LEGO fans a taste of Legends of Chima in microcosm.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”
The LEGO Legends of Chima Ewar’s Acro Fighter 30250 set is not available to purchase individually at any price: you can only have this mini Legends of Chima polybag set for free with any $75 or more purchase from the online LEGO Shop or official LEGO Stores during the month of January 2013. Just add $75 or more in LEGO products to your online cart and the set will appear in your cart automatically!

Overall: It’s hard to criticize a free LEGO set to begin with, and this particular Legends of Chima polybag set is especially hard to find fault with. If you’re spending at least $75 on LEGOs this month (and with all the awesome new LEGO 2013 sets launching this month, who isn’t?), LEGO 30250 Ewar’s Acro Fighter is a fun and worthwhile addition to the Legends of Chima theme, and a great incentive to hopefully spark some popularity for the new theme.

GRADE: A