>>9352703The Eternals sets had a notably tumultuous development cycle - we know specifically that LEGO was delayed in receiving the necessary concept art, as it was the lagtime waiting for the Eternals sauce material that gave the Daily Bugle designer the week off he needed to build and pitch the prototype of the Bugle. We also know the sets have been sitting in their completed form in a warehouse for literally a year+ since they were included in fully rendered, finished form in the January 2021 catalog before being held back to sync with the movie release a full 9 months later - and that in itself was a heavy delay from when they originally would have launched before COVID fucked the timeline. Other little details also show the long development cycle - Ikaris is bizarrely dirty blonde and lacks facial hair, despite being the flagship character in 3 out of 4 sets, and the concept art used on the box itself has the vibe of a pre-production mockup.
All things considered, it's surprising the sets are as robust as they are, especially since Marvel sets are usually minifig packs first and foremost. The two smaller kits are pretty whatever, but even in them I appreciate the commitment to consistency in depicting the Deviants in LEGO form - if you buy the whole wave, you have quite the motley crew of Deviants to do battle with your full Eternals lineup, and if you don't give a shit about them, they're definitely good parts packs that finally break the trend of "set with truck" "set with base" "set with airplane" that dominates superhero LEGO. Arishem demonstrates rare cross-brand appeal even to fans who couldn't give a shit about the weird niches of the MCU, and I respect the Star Dorito for being a pretty damn good value - $90 for 1040 pieces. Hell, it has more interior space than the Light Cruiser over in Star Wars for $70 less. When you look at how much it opens up, that actually looks like a fun toy to interact with.
