LEGO43109 VIDIYO Metal Dragon BeatBox Music Video Maker Musical Toy for Kids, Augmented Reality Set with App

First of all I have not downloaded the Vidiyo App and I am actually not likely to. I know that is what they are designed for but I will admit I got these more for the Minifigures than for any interest in making music videos through the App. This does make the set seem expensive, however, if you are going to be using the Vidiyo App then you have to factor in the actual licensing costs to Universal and their Artists that make the App possible by uploading their back catalogue on there.Beyond that the set is actually pretty fun.The box itself is simple to build and even comes with a little storage box for those additional beatbit tiles. The lid for this storage compartment is decoratable and each instruction leaflet gives you three options for a design. Alternatively you could make your own from the pieces included (you do get a few spares) or raid your stash and do something truely unique. The box clips together firmly and the handle feels strongly attached. You could deifnitely use the box to transport your beatbits and minifigure around with no problems.The minifigure itself is nicely detailed and has a front, side and back print to the torso. The accessories reflect the figure's Vidiyo role and you can easily store the figure with accessories in place in the Beat Box. The included hard plastic wings do cover up the torso back print but really elevate this figure.The 16 included beatbit tiles are well printed and come in a variety of colours so you can change them out based on the image on the front or their colour. Alternatively you can use them for what they are meant for - special actions within the App. Personally I think they will be a great resource for MOcs, particularly wall art or for using as book covers or vinyl album covers.Number Of Pieces: 86Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.21Build Time: 10 Minutes

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The media could not be loaded.  This is an interesting idea from Lego and one that both me and my kids enjoyed.The actual build wasn't too difficult and doesn't take long. I've included a little timelapse video of me making it which I hope you find helpful.Once the character is built you will need to download the LEGO VIDIYO app. I'm using Android and had no problems doing it and apart from entering my date of birth, no further registration details were required. One thing to note is that it does require quite a few updates and content downloads which can be several hundred MB in size so best to do it on WiFi.Once done, open the app and follow the onscreen instructions, scanning your figure and then selecting the music video. The augmented reality then kicks in with your lego figure coming to life and performing in front of you on the carpet. The chosen LPs that you stuck next to the figure when building, now are button options for various custom special effects. When finished you can then play back your newly created music video.It's all good fun and you can definitely have a laugh with it.When finished with playing I like that the real Lego figure is "contained" and can be then displayed on the bedroom shelf.Though it says 7+ on the box, with adult supervision I think this appeals to ages from maybe 5 and up as it is good fun. From a parental point, it is a happy compromise in an age where kids are drawn constantly to the tablet/phone. This at least involves a bit of physical motor skills in the build part combined with that technological screen time.My only concern is for how long Lego keep the VIDIYO app updated and current. After all if they decide to pull the app then that augmented reality function goes and you are left with a (albeit still cool) Lego display figure.

Generally, I would say that you can’t go wrong with Lego and I am a big fan. I think it is educational and creative and would wholly recommend it…but that sentiment isn’t reflected in this particular build. It is around 85 pieces that builds a finely detailed dragon that sits inside a beatbox – basically a box with clear front and some small tile pieces - just to bump up the count. In respect of the Lego that is pretty much it. It does nothing and is not worth the current price tag of £12.To enhance it you need to download the app – so your child needs a smartphone too, and judging by the complaints, there will be lots that don’t work, so you may need the latest Samsung or iPhone to go with the set…see where I am going with this? I got the app and was told I need to download an additional 455mb of data….so now you need a smart phone with a half gig free space.When you have everything installed and updated you present the dragon and a selection of tiles on the opening shutters (spare tiles stored behind). The phone then creates an augmented reality with the selected tiles as clickable icons. You then film a friend dancing singing or whatever and the augmented reality creates a video, as you tap the tile icons they apply sound or video effects.It is far too much of a faff. I get it that Lego needs to be brought into the next generation of electronic gadget fans, but I am a purist. Lego is Lego, you build stuff and learn to construct. Leave the dance moves to TikTok. It will appeal to some people, but I can’t help thinking that the selling point here is the augmented reality and the Lego is just an incidental part of this.I am just not seeing the appeal and don’t think it is worth the money. I love Lego and I think it is a timeless classic and educational. I encourage my children to build with it, but this is one set that I wouldn’t waste my money on.

This is such an original concept and a fun new musical range of sets from Lego. These are small 'BeatBoxes' which contain one figure and a stage setting for you to decorate with the beat bits which don't make any sense initially until you use them with the app and then it all comes alive.This is definitely my favourite so far, I'm a fan of rock and metal so this is great fun and looks fantastic eve on its own to display!The app works fine on my iPhone, I have mixed feelings about using toys with apps because I'd prefer to keep my little ones off my phone because firstly it is annoying when they insist on having my phone and also as I'd rather they used their imagination but as a treat it's OK and this does open up a whole other world once the app is installed.The app basically brings the stage setting to life as on its own it really doesn't have a lot of play value, once it's through the app though you can trigger special effects through the BeatBits and make music - this is a metal themed set with an awesome dragon holding a mic. It' great fun and you can make music videos and create music which as a musical family has a lot of appeal - myself and my Partner have even played around with these!Great fun, the app was fine on my iPhone and the app was free with no purchase options which is good and does bring the set to life so if you're not keen on having the app, this set will not produce it's intended purpose on its own.Recommended for budding musicians and Lego fans, a lot of fun!

My son is a fan of rock music, this week at least, though I think he would rock out to Kylie or Take That if we turned them up loud enough for him. He’s also a fan of Lego, so of course this was an instant hit, and we now have a collection of little video clips of him bouncing around the living room with a level of energy I don’t think I ever had.It’s not especially ‘metal’ overall, let’s be fair. Yes it’s a dragon (perfect in Wales) and yes there are spikes (or horns?) on the outside of the box, but it’s unlikely to be seen as devilish or offend anyone. And the Vidiyo app allows you to pick from the full music range in the system, so it can just as easily be a hip-hop or K-pop dragon if you prefer.A continued frustration with Vidiyo is the wobbly nature of the app. It requires a high spec of phone, on Android at least, which is understandable considering the complex real-time AR work it’s doing- but it has stability issues, and will crunch out unexpectedly every once in a while, even on operations that it has just done successfully a few minutes earlier. It’s a frustrating process (as well as a large, storage-space-hogging download) that I very much hope they’ll be able to fix in an update.This is a fun little Lego travel pack, and a good introduction to AR for kids as well, but unfortunately the app is a bit of a novelty item and the novelty does wear off.

This is a pretty interesting toy and quite unique but it does feel like a little too much trouble for very little reward.The LEGO part of this is very minimal, you get to put together the main toy (the dragon) and there's a few extra bits for the box and that's all the building done. Not very impressive nor does it take very long. I find with LEGO it feels rewarding when finish building something but with this, you don't get that same effect.It seems to me, the main part of this toy is the app which you have to make sure is compatible with your device (thankfully, they've made it easy to see if it's compatible, just check your iOS or Android 'number' and you're good: iOS 13 & Android 9 or higher will work).The app takes up a huge amount of space as you need to download more stuff once it's installed and it's fairly underwhelming once you're done with it all. I feel like they've tried to make LEGO into a cool, hip Internet thing and it hasn't worked. I don't really think LEGO needs to be modernised, it is very, very popular and both adults and children love buying and building new sets from their favourite films, videogames, etc.If you're buying this for somebody who is into dancing and that sort of thing and they like LEGO this will do fine but it's not the best toy ever.

I note the price has dropped to a more reasonable £10 at the moment. For that you get a small box, a minifigure, some interactive tiles. To make it work you need the app. On the top of the box is a QR code to check if your device is compatible. Only a £1000+ iPhone or recent iPad was according to that QR; however, curisosly, going to the PlayStore and searching Google told me my mid-range Android phone (Motorola) was compatible - which turned out to be true, although it didn't run particularly well. Which brings up the question, do you want your children (a) glued to another screen and (b) an expensive one at that?Once you have the small neat box assembled with the minifigure, you can play with the figure - or use some of the inbuilt ones. Using augmented reality, it overlays the figures into your actual space, which it does really well. It's quite a big download, almost half a gigabyte so you'll need wifi.Not being eight years old, I wouldn't like to estimate the play value of the App. Apparently I can make things dance, make music and so on. But I think it might be what my mother called a 'five-minute-wonder'. The Lego brick part is nice, but limited, you need a lot of extra bricks to build anything other than what's in the box. It's not what I get Lego for, and I suspect limited appeal; but then I'm not eight.