LEGO® Minecraft - The Desert Outpost

Alex and the wolf guard the outpost while Steve goes fishing. Typical Steve.

The Desert Outpost was not a set that I was initially interested in. It just didn't seem to have many structures to build (or rebuild) and I wasn't crazy about the desert elements in the game either. But, one day that changed and as I looked at the cool box art (below) I started thinking that this might be a fun set to have. I even built a similar house and tower in Minecraft!

The bedroom area swings open to reveal
a bed... and nothing else.

The set was actually an enjoyable build (except for the "cobblestone" wall, which has... I don't know, 900 million 1x1 jumper pieces). There is the tower section that has the TNT launcher, the walls going around the compound, and then an odd sleeping area at the back.

I say that it's odd because:
1: It's a very small, small space. The bed fits exactly wall to wall.
2: Instead of glass windows (there's sand everywhere!), they opted for the fence style windows, and then strangely, the cobblestone wall in the window space.
3: Finally, Instead of a door there is a gate. Who builds a house with a gate entrance?

The TNT falls.. and boom! You
hopefully only blow up the sand
and not your fort.

Actually, I kind of understand the reasoning for the gate. It needs to be easy for the person playing with the set to access this area, and another door would just be in the way. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!

On the tower, there is one of the main action features, a TNT launcher, which is powered by a Redstone torch. You launch the TNT by pushing a rod of the back where the TNT falls to the sand below blowing up the skeletons.

The back/side view of the set. There are hinged pieces that will expand
the set out to have a larger play area.

Overall, this is a nice set, although a little high at US $59.99. You get 519 pieces, and the bulk of

Sweet and loving one minute, horrifically
scary when they stare down a sheep.

these are just common 4x and 6x bricks in gray, brown and tan colors. Not too bad if you want those pieces, but if you're looking to get specialty pieces this is not the set for that.

You get three minifigs and one brick-built wolf/dog (which as of 2015 is the only set that includes that mob). This is the first set to include the female character Alex also! She also appears in the Nether Fortress set, with more armor.

Verdict: Fun to build, cool to play with, a little pricey. I think $49 would be fair for this set, considering that the Crafting Box is $49, and has 518 pieces. Oh, one last thing: the official instructions give the iron armor to one of the skeletons, but I gave mine to Steve.  More photos below.