[REVIEW] 40549 Brickheadz Eleven & Demogorgon

[MKJoshA]

INTRODUCTION
Since 2017 Brickheadz have been gracing (or cluttering) the shelves of toy stores. The Brickheadz line has covered numerous IPs, generic individuals, and animals. I've picked up a few Brickheadz myself over the years. It's certainly not my favorite Lego line, but when I heard there was going to be a Stranger Things set I got a little excited. I love The Upside Down set as both a Lego set and a representation of the Stranger Things show. So does the Brickheadz Stranger Things set live up to expectations? Let's find out.

SET INFORMATION
Number: 40549
Title: Eleven & Demogorgon
Theme: Brickheadz/Stranger Things
Released: 2022
Part Count: 192
Set Price (RRP): 17.99 EUR / 19.99 GBP / 19.99 USD
Price per Part: 9.4p / 10.4c / 10.4c
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

THE BOX
The box shows off some ominous looking trees in the background, the regular set info, and the Stranger Things logo. I find it interesting that while the Demogorgon is labeled as the 156th Brickheadz and Eleven is named as the 157th their positions are reversed on the box.

The back of the box is pretty typical.

CONTENTS OF THE BOX
Inside you'll find 4 numbered bags and 2 booklets. Once again the order is reversed for the characters. Bags for Eleven are labeled with a #1.

THE BUILD
The building process is going to be very familiar for anyone who's built a Brickheadz before.

Though the Demogorgon has a few neat techniques. Below you can see how the plate w/rail was used to offset the gap created to get the ladder pieces flush with the rest of the Demogorgon's front.

There is one small mistake in the instructions. The ladders are shown to have recessed studs but in reality have normal studs.

FINISHED PRODUCT
Here you can see what Eleven looks like compared to her minifigure counterpart.

With all the new flesh colored parts being produced I wonder why Lego didn't use some for Eleven. Traditionally Brickheadz have used tan for lighter skinned characters, so its use here is keeping with tradition. But I expect they will start using flesh bricks soon for future characters.

I appreciate the choice of short, brown hair for Eleven on the Brickheadz. The blonde wig that was included in The Upside Down set didn't quite work for me. So I'm glad they made this choice instead, even if it means a simpler build.

The Demogorgon Brickheadz makes fantastic use of printed shield tiles to create the face. Dual plate w/clips represents claws on each arm. Though in comparison to the claw pieces on the minifigure version this choice seems lacking.

These Brickheadz look best when viewed at an angle. Viewed face-on Eleven's ears look huge and the Demogorgon's proportions look odd.

The view from the back is nothing special.

OVERALL

If you're in the habit of buying Brickheadz already I imagine you'll pick these up too. If you're a fan of Stranger Things these make nice display pieces. I personally prefer to display the minifigures and will be parting this set out. But for $20 it's a decent Brickheadz set and I would recommend it.

SCORE
How do I rate this set?

DESIGN 9
I'm grading this part on a Brickheadz curve. For this style of set I think it's designed well.

BUILDING EXPERIENCE 5
There's not much to experience here. A few cool techniques on the Demogorgon, but nothing astounding.

FEATURES 3
Brickheadz don't come with features. I'm going a few points since you can display them.

PLAYABILITY 3
Brickheadz are also not designed to be played with. They are meant to be displayed.

PARTS 8
This set is a decent parts pack. You get some nice earth toned plates and tiles. The printed tiles on the Demogorgon are really nice. And of course there are a lot of SNOT bricks.

VALUE FOR MONEY 9
Coming in right at the magical 10c/piece ratio this set is a good value.

FINAL SCORE: 6
The low score is due to the nature of Brickheadz sets. If you're okay with those limitations then I'd recommend buying the set!

This set was provided for review purposes to Eurobricks by The LEGO Group. The opinions presented in this review are my own and do not reflect those of The LEGO Group. 

[BlueberryWaffles]

Might pick these up. I like Stranger Things but not quite enough for the $200 set, so this is more manageable. I wish the backs of the figures were a little more detailed, but I guess those really won't be seen on display anyway. I like the construction of the Demogorgon's mouth.

[Zakalwe]

Thanks for this review!

Brickheadz are not really my cup of tea, but the Demogorgon is interesting. Regarding Eleven, I must admit that without the Demogorgon by the side I would have no idea who that figure was supposed to be.

[MKJoshA]

4 hours ago, Zakalwe said:

Thanks for this review!

Brickheadz are not really my cup of tea, but the Demogorgon is interesting. Regarding Eleven, I must admit that without the Demogorgon by the side I would have no idea who that figure was supposed to be.

That's a good point. Really the only thing that makes her stand out is her Ego Waffle.