Alright, let’s continue with the first wave combination models.
This is the only Power Miners combo model I’ve ever built previously, but that was roughly a decade ago so I can barely remember anything about it. Let’s see how it holds up.
As with before, the figure selection is the same as the component sets, in this case the Granite Grinder and Thunder Driller, so we’ll go straight to the actual build.
Unlike all the other combo models, this combination gives you two separate builds, so we’ll begin with this weird plane thing. I’ve made jokes about Rock Raiders’ underground helicopter before, but an underground jet plane is even more absurd and makes no logical sense at all. It doesn’t help that the build of this thing was extremely cobbled-together and boring, with parts just shoved on random places with little cohesion or purpose. The finished model is very fragile and quite ugly, very disappointing compared to the previous combiner.
The front end is little more than a pile of random pieces, with mudguards attached upside down in strange locations and no aerodynamic flow whatsoever.
Viewing the plane from the side reveals a hideous gap in the fuselage near the engines and the very poor design in general.
The cockpit interior is for some reason built inside the dump bed from the Granite Grinder… which has no studs inside it. This seat structure is incredibly fragile, and just looks atrocious, with random clips and stickers everywhere, along with the bizarre use of orange car mudguards near the top which look remarkably terrible.
The back of the vehicle is very much just the front end of the Thunder Driller with a flame stuck in it. Overall, this model is awful and does absolutely nothing that the individual models can’t, lacking any functions or notable playability. Let’s see how the smaller vehicle fares.
The smaller vehicle is similarly horrific in appearance, with questionable parts use and downright appalling shaping. It very much looks slapped together out of whatever pieces were leftover from the plane, and as such has an unfinished and fairly ridiculous appearance. The Granite Grinder’s treads look almost comically small , while the wheel thing in the front looks far too big. I can’t tell what this thing is even meant to be. Is it a steamroller? But the wheel’s uneven and spiky? I honestly don’t know.
The view from the opposite side is equally as horrible. A bizarre, gappy, box-like structure made out of basic bricks provides some simple framework, while the cockpit is little more than a floor panel with a roll cage on top of it.
Fitted next to the cockpit is this impressively unsightly Technic contraption, which is pretty much just an axle sticking straight up with random gear parts rammed on it. An orange prong sticks out the top at a very awkward 90 degree angle. Like the rest of the vehicle, I have no clue what this thing is meant to be. Is it a drilling tool? Then why is it on a flimsy rod held far above the rest of the machine?
The rear or the vehicle is also ugly, unsurprisingly. A huge gap in the box structure below the floor is visible from this angle, along with a pathetic attempt at exhaust detail. Another Technic mechanism can be seen here, strapped to a rubber band - a fairly janky-looking catapult.
The catapult actually functions quite well but its atrocious appearance can’t be ignored.
The only other function to speak of is the ability of the plane to pick up and carry the other vehicle with couple of chains attached to the bottom of the fuselage. This is difficult to set up and bends the Technic assembly at a frightening angle, so I would not recommend trying to pull this off at all.
Overall, this combination model is absolute trash, with both models being ugly, fragile, hideous messes of parts with little to no functionality and a very cobbled-together appearance. This model achieves nothing that the separate sets couldn’t do, and actually manages to do less. I would not ever recommend anyone build this, especially since one of the only functions involves stressing pieces to concerning amounts.
2/10 please never build this