While the display stand is certainly welcome, I think the Benatar looks marvellous without the support. No landing gear is included, unfortunately, but the underside is relatively smooth and the drooped control surfaces remain above the ground. Detaching the vessel is simple as well, since four Technic axles are plugged into the belly. These provide a secure connection but are easily separated when necessary.

Drax has a bald light grey head printed with lines to give his face shape, red lines around the eyes, and a scowl. The light torso is printed with red lines to represent tattoo, and a muscular printed, his arms are printed with the red lines to also continue the tattoos. He has a hip printed with a belt and dark red pants printed with with detail.

Overall

Seasonal and exclusive minifigures make up a huge part of the modern LEGO advent calendars and 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar is no exception. Most of the team is featured behind the doors of this set, including a new version of Drax, who has been one of the rarest members of the Guardians of the Galaxy in minifigure form. Dark Elf | The Destroyer | Ego the Living Planet | Enchantress | Executioner | Frost Giant | Kurse | Laufey | Malekith the Accursed | Mr. Hyde | Radioactive Man | Ragnarok | Surtur

There’s a mix of miniature ships including the Milano and Benatar behind some of the doors, and smaller ships referencing other films too. In the potential context of the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, these could easily be toys and their builds are surprisingly challenging for how few pieces they use. That’s no bad thing, as it helps extend the building time for select days.

The Completed Model

Each boom is connected to the fuselage using two ball joints, with cosmetic support from the articulated actuators. They can accordingly move outwards which reflects the original vehicle and reveals twin cylindrical engine housings. These thruster booms cannot move downwards though, as exhibited before Thor's departure at the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame. Theme: LEGO Marvel Set name: 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar Release: September 1, 2022

Substantial changes have also been introduced for Groot, whose constituent pieces are now dark tan instead of reddish brown. Either colour works nicely, although the lighter shade does show the printing more clearly. This is fortunate because the texture looks absolutely fantastic, covering the head, torso, legs and feet. Groot's unusual head component looks marvellous too. Both minifigures are great additions to the LEGO Marvel 2022 advent calendar and a vast improvement over the exclusive minifigures in the 2021 version, of which only one was appropriately festive. — LEGO Marvel 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar price — The Guardians' Ship shares definite similarities with Ultimate Collector Series models, resting on an elegant display stand and exploiting the substantial scale to integrate extensive detail. The wingspan reaches nearly 59cm and the organic shaping looks spectacular, closely resembling the source material. The coalescing between the fuselage and the wings appears particularly outstanding. Thanks for pointing it out. That is a cool part, indeed! Don't know what to do with it yet, but at least now I can safely cut all my pneumatic tubes into small pieces (hoping 78258 will fit)."

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Aleta Ogord | Charlie-27 | Cosmo the Space-Dog | Kraglin Obfonteri | Major Vance Astro | Martinex | Moondragon | Nikki | Starhawk Accurate manoeuvring flaps are also included, matching those which extend as the Benatar prepares to land. These panels appear almost seamless and I appreciate the tiny body flaps below the aforementioned actuators, demonstrating excellent attention to detail. Opening the flaps also reveals continued texture underneath, flanking numerous round thrusters. You’ve probably noticed that one member of the team wasn’t listed in that line-up, as Gamora is missing from 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar following the events of Avengers: Endgame. If anything, it’s the only downside of this calendar taking inspiration from the MCU, in which the current version of Gamora has no memory of the Guardians.

Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar features 24 days of builds and minifigures to count down to Christmas, all revolving around a specific theme. The current line-up of these seasonal sets ranges from Star Wars to CITY with Marvel being the newest addition to the annual range. However, 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar is the first to be based on a Marvel Studios project rather than Marvel overall, raising expectations from the 2021 version. Enormous thruster booms are connected behind the fuselage. These were completely missing from the previous creation and they look fantastic, again combining curved slopes and studded plates to good effect. Additionally, two articulated actuators are located on each side, linking the fuselage to the twin thruster booms and therefore replicating the source material. Furthermore, the stand includes a turntable underneath the spacecraft, enabling rotation which is excellent for display. The vessel appears exceptionally dynamic when realistically angled and adjusting the position reveals additional detail. Fortunately, attention has evidently been focused upon every surface, hence the model looks equally impressive when viewed from any angle. She does make an appearance of sorts, though. 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar’s minifigure highlights include two seasonal variants for Drax and Nebula, both of whom are wearing a festive sweater – much like Iron Man in 2021’s 76196 The Avengers Advent Calendar.Ghost Spider ( Gwen Stacy) | Iron Spider | Scarlet Spider | Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon) | Spider-Girl (Jessica Drew) | Spider-Ham | Spider-Man (Miles Morales) | Spider-Man ( Peter Parker) | Spider-Man Noir | Spider-Man 2099 | Spider-Woman Carnom | Demogoblin | Electro 2099 | Green Goblin 2099 | Hammerhead | Human Fly | Kingpin | Kingpin Henchman | Lizard ( Curt Connors) | Miles Warren | Mister Negative | Norman Osborn | Sandman Goon | Silvermane | Symbiote Scientist | Tinkerer | Venom 2099 Avengers: Infinity War introduced an impressive new spacecraft, replacing the marvellous Milano which sustained damage when absconding from the Sovereign. This attractive vehicle, named the Benatar, includes existing and innovative design features to achieve distinction. Opening the trans-purple canopy provides adequate access to the interior, although reaching inside becomes easier after opening the complete forward section. Two seats are included for minifigures and their tandem arrangement is appropriate, with articulated control yokes beside the second seat. Additional room would have been welcome for improved accuracy though, of course.