Set Review ➟ LEGO 76911 Aston Martin DB5® & Set Review ➟ LEGO 76912 Fast & furious 1970 Dodge Charger R/T ®
In this first double review I will showcase the new Speed Champions, which to my pleasant surprise brings us two minifigures of actors. Let's hope that the LEGO group will follow this line and keep delighting us not only with beautiful vehicles but also with rewarding minifigures. Can you tell I'm a mega minifigure fan? No, I don't think anyone has noticed yet. Here you can see what the vehicles look like in their boxes.
We'll start with Vin Diesel's Dodge :). As always we see the contents, two bags, the build manual and a damn (sorry) instruction sheet. I wish they had been printed parts but as you can see, fortunately there are also printed parts in both models.
But well... it's not all bad! Here I find some new pieces for me, two are new moulds, the other two printed :D
We start riding the tough guy fast and furious. The scowling mouth expression wins me over. It gives him that tough, sly look.
The new base mould has a configuration of 6 studs plus sides, which makes it 8 studs wide if we put plate + tile on the sides, something that many car AFOLS argue is the right size. It all depends on how much you like vintage :). Once the rear of the Dodge is assembled I have to say that the technique here is fantastic, I never cease to be amazed by the LEGO designers' ways of solving it. It looks simple, yes... but would you have thought of it?
I get to step 39 of the manual and what do I find? More printed pieces! In this case they are the trans-red tiles ^^
We continue with the interior of the vehicle. Here the driver's seat, gear lever and the mixture canister for the extra propulsion are implemented. extra propulsion.
And we move on to the second bag and there it is! Here I find that the wheels are a bicomponent reference, i.e. tyre and rims in one. It doesn't end here, another printed part will be shown at the end of the construction.
The truth is that practically every two pages of the manual we can see how well they have been able to find the right place for each part of the car. From how the headlights fit, to the engine, the radiator, etc... I love the rear and the front, how the rear glass looks and the final result, here you can see that the printed part I was talking about before are the hubcaps :). Also for playability the roof is fitted and it's very easy to remove and insert the minifigure, it will go in and out without any problem. If I have to find something negative is that the vehicle is a bit square when looking at it both from the front and from behind but it is impossible to recreate at this scale in more rounded shapes and look like the model it represents, and also affects this scale in the sense that the car is too high for the minifigure, but inside it looks great!
The next set as you already know is the James Bond Aston Martin. For the lovers of the Creator theme, you may already have it in a bigger size and the truth is that it is a delight but as I said at the beginning, the minifigures get to me.... look how small they are and the strength they have in me. So I'll stick with this scale :). We'll see what this new construction has in store for us. Already the first detail of the box I like, the pilot as a good Englishman who drives from the right side of the passenger compartment as it could not be otherwise. The contents match the Dodge, two bags, manual and a sheet of stickers, but at least when I took a look at it I was happy because both the headlights and taillights are printed and the 1x1 plates with some of their hacks are also printed, plus the rear window that looks like a new mold, another one... A couple of pictures and we will see these pieces, very tasty, aren't they?
As in the previous model we start with the same piece, although I always start with the minifigure, what do you think of Daniel Craig? This piece at the beginning of the vehicle is perfect to make a car of 8 studs wide because putting plate + tile on each side you get the perfect width, I insist on this because for the lover of 8 stud cars this reference will be coveted. We start detailing the interior and so far everything is spacious and not weak construction.
I love it when I see these details that raise the classic questions... What about this stud? We'll see but it looks like there could be a piece to cover the gap and give it a fine shape. Maybe not and it will stay as it is.
New ways for me to put the composite parts with these relatively new references.
The back of the silver tiles is fantastic, how they have been fitted and secured is just fantastic.
And we get to the second and last bag, and voila! We find a printed plate :), it looks like it will be the upper part of the radiator.
The interior is gaining a lot of points, folding seats and the pilot's seat with a small lever-shaped spring.
Look at the detail in the configuration of the front bumper at the bottom. A luxury of millimetric technique.
There are no words... well yes, exceptional.
The bonnet is not to be missed either.
Finally we get to the roof of the car, the configuration is very similar to the Dodge, the roof fits to remove it in a very easy and safe way without falling apart in our hands. The wheels however are in the classic way, rims and tyres separately and hubcaps which by the way are new ;) As any good spy should have different number plates to throw people off the scent :D. What do you think about the final result?
The Speed champions line is a line that has never caught my attention... until now. I must admit that because of these models and those reviewed by Adrian Barbour in his day I have been captivated. Not only because of the result but also because of the complex techniques they contain. I think they are marvellous and now every time I see one I will know how to see it in a much fairer way.
We thank LEGO for providing both sets for this review. Opinions are ours alone and LEGO neither endorses nor supports them in any way.
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