Category: LEGO Speed Champions

  • Mattel is bringing the HEAT with their Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels sets

    Mattel is bringing the HEAT with their Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels sets

    And giving LEGO a run for its money. I mean just look at that gorgeous Acura NSX set.  Here’s a picture of the set’s namesake, the first generation NSX:

    rickImage lifted from moter1.com

    No one can deny how close the set replicates the original. Honestly, I kind of doubt LEGO could do anything that looks as good or even comes close. Let’s do some comparisons shall we?

    If we go by piece count, this mid-range set includes 876 pieces. My first instinct was to check out something from LEGO Speed Champions theme, but sets with similar pieces counts are geared more for play than display, and you get two cars in one set instead of one large set. So then I checked out the Technic line which foregoes the traditional bricks and System elements for more complex Technic elements. And to try and keep this as fair as possible, let’s compare Japanese import to Japanese import. I present to you, the 810-piece Toyota Supra MK IV from the Fast and the Furious franchise:

    Look at those dumb headlight lenses. Image lifted from LEGO.com 42204 Fast and Furious Toyota Supra MK4

    Just atrocious. And for reference, this was the real life vehicle the set is based on:

    Image lifted from Robb Report

    One does not look like the other. Well, maybe if you squint your eyes and stare at the sun for a bit (I’m kidding, don’t stare at the sun).

    Okay maybe you’re thinking to yourself this is not a fair comparison. The LEGO set should be a System set, and not a Technic one. Fine. To do that kind of comparison I poked around and the best set I can compare Mattel’s NSX to was the Creator Expert 10271 Fiat 500 from 2020. It’s not a JDM import but close in terms of piece count weighing in at 960 pieces:

    And for reference, the source material:

    Image lifted from Wikipedia

    So in this sense, LEGO can hold its own but the Creator Expert line is somewhat dead for car sets. They are released under LEGO Icons now and the cheapest car sets from that theme are a pair of $80 F1 race cars. The majority of the cars that look realistic are priced well above $150.

    Did I mention the NSX set is only $50? And that they come with metal parts? There are swappable metal wheel covers, a metal name plate, and a die-cast NSX. There’s also a decal sheet and you can switch between right-hand and left-hand drive configurations. They tout this feature is differentiating between Honda and Acura versions of the car, but it doesn’t seem to include any Honda badges which is a bit of an oversight. There’s also extra parts to turn your NSX into a pace car.

    This picture makes me want to get four sets. One for each model, one to keep in package, and one for just in case.

    Now the only other point of comparison to make is the quality of the bricks. MEGA, bought by Mattel back in 2014, was an inferior product back in the day. I never bought any but it’s been known to have serious quality control issues with clutch power, element tolerances, and color consistency. Have things improved since then? I honestly don’t know but I’m willing to risk $50 bucks for a display piece of one of my dream cars.

    The Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels sets come in three price points: $20 for a Maserati MC20 or a Cadillac Project GTP Hypercar, $50 for an Acura NSX or a Corvette Grand Sport, and $120 for a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Unfortunately the entire line is sold out right now at Mattel’s site. You can pre-order the Corvette and the Cadillac over at Amazon. Click through those affiliate links and help me get rich!

    These sets look great, and Mattel is honestly giving LEGO some real competition. Even the higher priced set, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, seems on par with LEGO’s higher priced sets in terms of accuracy and features. But with real metal parts, something LEGO has never done, they stand on their own. You can check out the full line over at Mattel.com

     

  • A Year of Polybags 114/260: 30434 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Review

    A Year of Polybags 114/260: 30434 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Review

    Oh, small Speed Champions polybags, how much do I love thee?

    Sponsorship

    This week’s set of reviews is sponsored by The LEGO Group. They were kind enough to send over today’s set as well as yesterday’s 30589 Go-Kart Racer polybag as part of their current promotion. To get the 30434 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro polybag, spend $40 on any LEGO purchase and get it for free! This offer is way better than yesterday’s stupid little bag. Offer good while supplies last or until June 19th. Perfect for Father’s Day! Need some ideas on what LEGO sets to get? We broke down everything new that came out on June 1st in this post. You can still order now and get it in time for Father’s Day.

    Want to sponsor a review? Send a pic to admin@fbtb.net or hit me up on discord of the polybag set you have that you want me to review. If selected, in exchange for the set you’ll get a mention right here in the review post and a link to your website or social media account for the entire week. Nearly free advertising, so what’s stopping you? And now onto the review.

    Okay, so I’m not, like, TOTALLY totally in love with Speed Champions sets, polybag or otherwise. But they are kinda neat in their attempts to recreate real-life exotic cars in LEGO form. Some are hits, some are misses. Today’s polybag, 30434 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, is one of those hits.

    Above is the real-life Aston Martin car this set is based on. Aside from the livery, I think LEGO knocked it out of the park, right down to the wheel choice.

    The hits of red along the front splitter and the side skirt are expertly recreated.

    I was a little sus of the red shark fin, but this was before I looked up the reference car. It is actually spot on; it is simply missing the paint job that’s present on the source.

    The rear of this car is just a thing of beauty. I can’t even describe how much the geometry of these pieces fitting together satisfies me.

    Pulling back a bit and viewing the car as a whole, LEGO really did an outstanding job capturing the overall shape of the Valkyrie. The only area that isn’t what I would describe as spot on is that spoiler is a bit higher than the shark fin, but that’s okay.

    There’s five stickers on this: the Aston Martin logo on the front, the two headlights that creepily look like eyes, and two on the sides to recreate the red striping that leads down to the side skirt.

    I would have loved a bunch more to fully recreate the livery, no matter how small those stickers would be. It could be a sticker size and usability issue, or a licensing issue, or just a cost issue. Doesn’t matter I suppose because in the end we don’t have it and that makes me a sad panda.

    There is a larger Aston Martin Valkyrie LEGO model. It comes in a two-pack 76910 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro and Aston Martin Vantage GT3. There’s a few more stickers on there, but only ones for AMR and none of the other sponsors. So I’m guessing it is a licensing issue. Aside from that, this mini is a great representation of the LEGO model as well as the real-life source material. It’s so good I’m actually considering getting the bigger set. I do love me some lime green. If you’re considering it too, you should know that 76910 is $39.99. That’s a penny shy from the posted $40 threshold but LEGO’s cart is smart enough to add the polybag for you anyway.

    Does It Suck or Does It Rock?

     

    This set rocks! Just a fun little polybag set. It’s like a buildable Hot Wheels! It’s accurate to the bone too. If you want to see more pictures of the real life vehicle, you should check out this link.

    You Can Win This And Every Other Polybag I Review This Year

    I’ll be raffling every polybag I review this year in one big lot, all 260 sets (with the possibility of more). Each set will be individually stored in a ziploc baggie complete with the extra pieces, instructions, and the actual polybag bag it came in. The cost of a raffle ticket is just $1 USD and you can enter as many times as you want. Send a PayPal payment to paypal@fbtb.net for $1 USD for every ticket you want to purchase. DO NOT send one payment for multiple entries i.e. do not send one $5 USD payment for five tickets; five $1 USD payments must be made insteavd. Raffle is open to everyone in the world except where raffles are illegal. Be sure to put “POLYBAG RAFFLE” in the notes section of the payment in order to be entered successfully. Winner will be drawn sometime early January 2023 and contacted at the PayPal email address the payment was sent from to arrange for delivery. For a running list of all the sets that you can win, check this Google spreadsheet.

     

     

  • LEGO Shop@Home’s Cyber Monday Deals Are Now Live

    LEGO Shop@Home’s Cyber Monday Deals Are Now Live

    The clock struck midnight a few minutes ago on the east coast, and with that comes new deals. The following are being offered at 30% off:

    Gotta admit, LEGO’s done a great job this Black Friday weekend. Gone are the 10% off keychains days.

    As usual, FBTB may receive a small commission from any sales from clicks through our affiliate links in this post. And as always, we thank you for your continued support.

     

  • LEGO Shop@Home Black Friday Weekend Sale Day 3

    LEGO Shop@Home Black Friday Weekend Sale Day 3

    Day 3 of LEGO’s Black Friday sales has started and we have a new crop of sets seeing the 30% discount. Some great stuff is included:

    Happy shopping!

    As usual, FBTB may make a small commission if you buy anything after clicking through our links. We thank you for your continued support.

     

  • The New Speed Champions 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0

    The New Speed Champions 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0

    There’s a new Speed Champions model revealed today, a 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0. It looks pretty nice. And I guess this was leaked before. But what, I think, is new and maybe interesting to some of you about this model is the fact that it will be appearing in the Forza Horizon 4 game as part of that weird Forza / LEGO collaboration announced during E3. It will be making it’s in game debut during the summer.

    75895 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0

    180 pieces | Ages 7+ $14.99 (USD)
    Available August 1, 2019

    Classic 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 collectible toy car model to race and display!

    Porsche fans will love to build, race and proudly display the LEGO® Speed Champions 75895 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0. This white, collectible toy car model for kids of one of the world’s most recognizable classic sports cars features a minifigure cockpit with a removable windshield and is packed with authentic details, including the iconic ‘whale tail’ rear spoiler. A classic Porsche 911 driver minifigure and 3 cones to play out race scenarios are also included in this LEGO car set.

    • This model car kit includes a new-for-August-2019 classic Porsche 911 driver minifigure.
    • The white, buildable 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 toy car for kids features a minifigure cockpit with removable windshield, wheels with rubber racing tires and authentic design details such as the 911 Turbo’s iconic ‘whale tail’ rear spoiler.
    • Remove the windshield to place the minifigure in the car.
    • Accessory elements include the Porsche 911 driver’s helmet, plus 3 cones for racing play action.
    • This cool toy model car for kids makes a great birthday gift.
    • 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 measures over 1” (4cm) high, 5” (15cm) long and 2” (6cm) wide.
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Video Game, Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Sets Announced

    LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Video Game, Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Sets Announced

    Update: On second viewing of the Forza trailer, it doesn’t seem like there are sets. It seems like it’s just a collaboration between the Forza game and LEGO to make Speed Champions cars appear in the game? I don’t know. I suppose it’s still good news but is this something that people want?

    Nick included these two items in his E3 2019 Xbox coverage post from yesterday, but I think they bear repeating and deserve their own post.

    LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

    The trailer above shows what is promised to be all 9 Star Wars films from The Skywalker Saga in one game. WB Games / TT Games have been releasing LEGO Star Wars games since the dawn of mankind, so collecting all of them into one big game seems like a cash grab. I emphasize “seems” because they do say in the trailer “One New Game” so it hints at an entirely new way to play the previous chapters.

    If I’m wrong, and the “One New Game” tagline is misleading, and we do get the original games repackaged as one, then shame on them.

    LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is scheduled to release in 2020 for Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One systems.

    LEGO Forza Horizon 4

    As an extension to the LEGO Speed Champions line, LEGO is teaming up with Microsoft to create sets under the Forza Horizon 4 license. Seems like a smart partnership to me but I do loathe the choice of song. I mean, is “Everything is Awesome” LEGO’s official theme song now?

    I am hoping the sale will be enough to make people notice that there are more video game licensing opportunities than just Minecraft and Overwatch. That overwatch one still puzzles me but it’s at least a step in the direction I want LEGO to take.

     

  • Official Box Images for First Half 2015 LEGO Star Wars, Super Heroes, More

    Official Box Images for First Half 2015 LEGO Star Wars, Super Heroes, More

    Tohst sent me this link which came from this Eurobricks post. It is, as far as I can tell, an interactive retailer brochure for releases scheduled for the first half of 2015. All of the themes are covered but I went through and picked through the licensed sets and extracted the box images. The only theme where the box images were missing were the Avengers’ Age of Ultron sets, but you get a nice full page spread of the sets. Prices are in Euros, and Brickset has some piece count information which I have no idea where they got them from since they’re not in the catalog.

    Image dump