Shrimp Shack Attack (70422) Review

I recently heard from a young man who frequents True North Bricks. As it turns out, he is using the reviews to help build his Christmas list this year. Naturally, I was flattered that a fellow LEGO® enthusiast would use my reviews for such an important cause. Therefore, my wife and I sent him a picture of the backlog of LEGO® sets that I have to review. We asked which set he needs more information about for his decision making process. The enthusiastic reply was for Shrimp Shack Attack (70422) from Hidden Side. Alec, this one is for you!

NOTE: The LEGO® Group provided this set for review purposes. However, the provision of products does not guarantee a favorable review. I will use my usual rating system (click here to learn more), and provide my honest opinion.

Shrimp Shack Attack (70422) Summary

• NAME: Shrimp Shack Attack
• SET #: 70422
• THEME: Hidden Side
• COST: $69.99 CAD
• BRICK COUNT: 579
• MINIFIGURES: 5
• OF INTEREST: 1 ghost dog
• RELEASE DATE: August 1, 2019

Shrimp Shack Attack (70422) Quick Review

• VALUE: 88% (Good value overall, even at full price.)
• BUILD:90% (Detailed build, but the haunting features are not great.)
• MINIFIGURES: 94% (Decent designs, loads of accessories, good brick:fig.)
• ENTERTAINMENT: 95% (Nice design for your city, fun for play.)
• OVERALL SCORE: 92%

Shrimp Shack Attack (70422) Review

VALUE: 88%

Shrimp Shack Attack costs $69.99 in Canada, and comes with 579 pieces. Consequently, you are looking at a cost-per-brick of $0.12. My current average cost-per-brick is $0.14, so you are getting a good value on this set even at full price. It earns 87% in this category of the review.

Shrimp Shack Attack took me 106 minutes (1 hour and 46 minutes) to assemble. At $69.99, each minute of build time cost me $0.66. My average is $0.83/minute right now. Therefore, you also get a good value in terms of build-time. I rate that at 88%. Averaging the value-per-brick with the build-time gives an overall value score of 88%.

BUILD: 90%

There is a lot to love about Shrimp Shack Attack. I like the diner sign a lot. Additionally, the kitchen inside is nicely detailed. The slightly rundown exterior gives it an authentic bayou feel as well, complete with a little dock and a mangrove tree on prop roots. As a building, this set looks great.

The set also comes with a little swamp-buggy. There is a ghost hunting cannon mounted on the hood. The buggy has an interesting new design that I have not seen before. The cab section comes in one solid piece. I am not sure if this is a Juniors piece or not, but it is new for my collection. Overall, the buggy is a fun little build.

Shrimp Shack Attack features haunted… floors?

Shrimp Shack Attack falls a little short in the haunting category. A gear on the back of the set causes a mouth to open in the ground beside the shack. Additionally, that same stretch of ground extends sideways away from the building, revealing another mouth in the earth. The “open 24 hours” sign also rotates around to reveal an eyeball, and the shrimp sign swings sideways to reveal a haunted shrimp. The shrimp only swings 90 degrees though, so you do not get a great view of the haunted side. Overall, the building does not look very haunted when compared to the Newbury Juice Bar or even the haunted port-a-potty from the Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000.

Click here to read about the Newbury Juice Bar.

Click here to read about the Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000.

I enjoyed building this set a lot. It is nicely detailed. Additionally, the buggy does not feel like a waste of bricks. I am of the opinion that little side builds often sacrifice detail in other areas of a set. That was not the case with the Shrimp Shack Attack. However, the haunting play features were unimpressive in this case, which costs the set a point. I rate this build at 9/10 (90%).

MINIFIGURES: 94%

Shrimp Shack Attack comes with five Minifigures. According the LEGO.com, their names are Jack Davids, Parker L. Jackson, Chef Enzo, server Sally, and Ronny. Each character comes with all of the standard Minifigure parts, as well as front and back torso printing. All but the chef have double-sided faces, while all except Ronny have leg printing. Based on these specifications, these Minifigures earn 58/75 (77%).

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You get a number of Minifigure accessories in this kit. There are two printed cell phone tiles, a clear cup, a hotdog, a frying pan, a pot, two spoons, two machetes, three barrels, a chicken leg, an egg, two fish, a crate, a crab, a ghost dog, two ghost heads, and ghost hair. Finally, there is also a ghost torso that turns the chef into a four armed terror, similar to Garmadon from Ninjago. All of these treats easily bring the design score up to 100%.

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Five Minifigures in a 579-piece kit translates into a brick-to-Minifigure ratio of 116:1. Comparatively, my current average is 149:1. Therefore, this kit gives you a pretty solid number of characters for a set this size. I rate that at 87%. Averaging this ratio score with the design score gives Shrimp Shack Attack an overall Minifigure rating of 94%.

ENTERTAINMENT: 95%

As an adult collector, I really enjoy this set. While the “haunting” of the building leaves something be desired, the shack itself looks great. The kitchen is detailed, and the diner sign is perfect. I can easily see this being dropped somewhere in my LEGO® city. The one downside to that plan is that the rear of the building is open, and it would need a little customization. Of course, customization in itself is not a downside, I love doing it. However, since I rate sets here on ease of incorporation into my city, it does lose a touch there. I will give it an AFOL score of 4.5/5 (90%).

Given that this review was the first choice of a KFOL, I am going to assume that Shrimp Shack Attack holds a fair amount of appeal to the younger generation of collectors. Trying to imagine my own response to this set back in the day is not difficult either. I would have loved this, especially with the augmented reality aspect. I am pretty sure that AR would have found its way into my play pretty easily. The open rear of sets did not bother me much back then either, so I will go ahead and say Shrimp Shack Attack is a solid 5/5 (100%) for KFOL fun. Averaging the AFOL and KFOL scores gives an overall entertainment rating of 95%.

OVERALL SCORE: 92%

I really do not have many complaints about Shrimp Shack Attack. In truth, I like it more than the Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000. Both are great sets, but the Shrimp Shack has a more accessible design, and better detailing. Additionally, even if you buy it at full price, this set is a good value. Though Hidden Side sets are relatively new, I have seen them on sale as well. Even 20% off makes for a great deal in this case. Finally, for a set this size, you get a lot of Minifigures and loads of accessories to go with them. As far as I am concerned, Shrimp Shack Attack is a great buy.

As always, your opinion is important. I report it directly (and anonymously)  to the LEGO® Group when it comes to sets they send me. Therefore, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below, or give me a shout on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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What do others think?

Brick Insights is an awesome site that aggregates LEGO® set review scores from around the web. Based on their statistics, you can see what other reviewers think of Shrimp Shack Attack set below.

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