Set Review - Blue Racer 31027

I suppose you could say that there are an infinite number of building sets available to be created.  If you consider a valid set to start at 5 pieces, you could select from the entirety of, say, 50,000 unique pieces (not counting printed parts or minor variations) and get 3.125e+23 different sets.  That's like 31 sextillion (or trilliard, depending on your scale) different sets.  Of course, some of them would be barely indistinguishable from each other.  Oh, and we didn't include color choices in that number.

For something more like 67 pieces it becomes a number with a 10^314 after it.  Granted, most of those sets would be chaff but you'd think there could be some unique variety.  And yet, upon purchasing this set, the first thing I thought of was the 31000 Mini Speeder.

As with that set, I could have built in the bag but two reasons kept me from doing so.  First, I was interested in seeing two of the builds.  Second, I am writing this article about an hour before bed time on the night before it's scheduled.  I tried to find time for the boy and I to build it but other events crowded in.

I built the Mario Kart first.  It only uses 33 pieces but is a fabulously cute little build.  The only improvement might me a little skirting on the side.

Fenders probably shoulda waited for a few steps.

As I was building the main model, it occurred to me that each step did not note the pieces that I would need next.  It just expected me to compare the current picture to the previous picture and figure it out myself.  This was in stark contrast to the recent build I did of 31012 Family House.  Those (and many other instructions) showed me both pieces I would need for each step as well as the picture to show where they went.  I could call this an error on the Blue Racer instructions and I might be right.  I found an incorrect image and an unusual discontinuity as well.  It's almost like they outsourced these instructions to Samsonite.

You wanted a plow on the snowplow?  Yeah, that'll be extra.

The coolest part about the main build is the rear hood that lifts up to reveal the engine.  Given that there are a few extra parts (or the fact that this is a LEGO model, doggonit) you could change up the parts under the hood ever so slightly.

This set gets extra points for moving parts and skirting infringement on Nintendo's IP.  It might be fun to use the go-kart model to build like 6 more in varying colors and put, say, Gorilla Suit Guy or Lizard Suit Guy in them.  Or if you want something bigger, you can click through the picture links below:

Set Review - Emmet's Car

If you haven't heard by now, Toys'R'Spendy had an in store model build with Emmet's Car.  Twice.  I guess the first event was seriously lacking in folks?  Anywho, I'm probably the last blogger in the interwebs to be throwing this out there.  But fellow lugger DMChylde was kind enough to get an extra for me to review.

Flash back a few years to 2010.  My dark ages were lightening up and I discovered the Small Car.  This was a BRILLIANT design and so indicative of the new small cars that were starting to show up on US shores.  I had to buy one.  It's still one of my favorite sets.  Of course, I like small stuff.  Also that year (though unnoticed by me until later) was the Cargo Train which contained two of those cars, rehashed.

So when I saw Emmet's Car in the LEGO Movie, I probably squealed like a little girl.  Thankfully there were only 6 of us in the theatre and I knew none of them.  It was the Small Car, updated with a few new parts.  This is the set that TRU chose to use for their build event.

The idea is that, much like other LEGO Movie sets, you could build two different tiny things with the same (mostly) pieces.  First is Emmet's Car which is the Small Car with a better bumper design, color matched steering wheel, and rear view mirrors.

Second, you build a flying car which I don't remember seeing in the movie.  Maybe it was there or maybe it was too long ago since I saw it.  It's a decent build but it looks like it was built from another set.  I suppose TLG could have Creator-fied the car and made it a little more versatile.  But with that Creator concept also comes the risk of flimsy.

Nonetheless it was a fun Sunday afternoon diversion to build the car, then the flying car, then the car again (since I like that build better).  Um, and no, I didn't try to build something else.  Sorry, I just ignored that whole creativity thing.

Set Review - Fast Car 30187

So this is what set names have devolved to.  Remember the days of Tiny Turbos when TLG had an endless wheel to spin and came up with names like Chrome Ripper and Mud Slinger and Track Captain?  Now we get (wait for it) Fast... Car...  Um yes.  And the next Modular will be named, Big Building?  It's like they're not even trying anymore.

For $3.29 in the seasonal aisle of Target you can get 56 pieces + 5 extras.  That's a great per part value of like 5c!  Granted there's nothing special in here and most of those parts sell in the penny to nickel range on BrickOwl and Bricklink.  Unlike other Creator sets, there's little to nothing in the way if something like two 1x2 plates were a 2x2 would work.  So the piece count could have been inflated a touch.

As far as cars go, Creator just doesn't quite nail it.  The Tiny Turbos were sweet little rides.  The Creator cars look borderline goofy.  Kind of like town cars from the 80's but shrinkified a bit in length and missing key details like a finished roof.  This one is even worse with the stubby look.  I think I nailed this down to the extended front end on the bracket and the short wheelbase.  What it really needs for aesthetics is a less bulky nose and a longer wheelbase.  Using just the pieces in the set I came up with this:

Way more better and you could even sit a minifig in it for mis-scaled laughs.  For a parts pack, yeah, go for it, pick a bunch of these up.  Cheap wheels and plates.  But for display, unless you like disproportionate stubby things, might as well pass.