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Today we’ll be looking at the Granite Grinder, the last of the small sets from wave 1 of Power Miners.
As with before, we’ll start with the instructions.
The instructions continue to increase in size with each set, with these being very slightly larger than the Mine Mech’s. Here we see a Glaciator attempting to commandeer a tray of minerals while the Granite Grinder’s driver hurls dynamite at him.
These instructions are odd in that they open horizontally as opposed to vertically.
This set includes two figures, an unnamed Power Miner and a Glaciator with a corresponding blue crystal. The miner has a fairly well-detailed and expressive face, covered in dirt and scars. He’s also got a very thick monobrow that makes him much more unique than other minifigures.
His alternate expression is equally characterful, probably the best scared face so far.
Glaciators are the most cunning and vicious of all Rock Monsters, and are feared even by other monsters. They often take advantage of the single-minded nature of Meltroxes and Boulderaxes to get them to attack and distract the miners while they feast on the crystals. If there’s any major trouble underground, Glaciators are usually behind it. When they eat blue crystals, they gain ice powers which they can use for various purposes.
The Glaciator figure itself is the same as every other Rock Monster, only with a trans-blue body piece.
As such, it has all the same functionality, allowing you to make it ‘eat’ crystals by placing one inside the hollow torso and closing their hinged mouth.
The Granite Grinder itself is a fairly compact vehicle, dominated by the huge orange jackhammer at the front, a very nice recolour of Lerahk’s Staff of Poison. More glow-in-the-dark hazard stripes are present here, alongside some headlights and a roll cage to protect the driver. We can also see a single giant floodlight attached to one side of the vehicle for some extra visibility.
From a profile view we can see just how significant the jackhammer is, more than doubling the length of the vehicle! A small axe is stored here for less heavy-duty mining operations, right above the vehicle’s number, 3, and a small rubber tread stretching the length of the main body.
A rear view provides us with a look at the vehicle’s engine, nestled in between a pair of stickered gas tanks, each of which has a wheel on top for minifigures to operate. We can also see some fairly conspicuous knob gears sticking out the back of the chassis, related to this sets function.
While the previous two sets had manual functions due to their small size, this set is large enough to include an automatic, gear-driven function: when pushed along, the jackhammer quickly and powerfully reciprocates back and forth. It’s not captured too well here, but it’s much more noticeable in person, especially due to the chittering noise it makes and the vibrations it creates through the vehicle.
The roll cage hinges open at the front for access, allowing us to get a better look at the stickered control panel.
The final inclusion in the set is a bright orange tipper bed with a chain attached, intended for containing and transporting any collected material. A single bundle of dynamite is stored in this bed already.
The bed can be hooked up to the Granite Grinder using a hook behind the engine, allowing you to pull it along for transportation.
That’s it for the set itself, so let’s take a look at pricing.
This set retailed for £8.99 at time of release, which I feel is a very reasonable price for a set with so much functionality and things to do. It’s currently valued at £8, even less than the already decent price before.
I’d recommend this one over either of the other small sets from Power Miners. It’s easily the best, has a cool function and plenty of playability for such a tiny set. 8/10.
Next time…
