Speed champions have been an integral part of the LEGO® Lineup since 2015. Frequently criticised for a reliance on stickers, and a slightly weird proportion, these car sets underwent a significant design change in 2020: an increase in the typical width of the models to 8 studs. Ostensibly allowing some improved detailing, without an increase in stickers, as well as allowing minifigures to sit side by side. I thought I would take a look at the first of the 8 stud wide Ferrari models – 76895 Ferrari F8 Tributo, with the last of the 6 stud wide models: 75890 Ferrari F40 Competitizione.
While there are roughly 30 years in between the origins of these cars, there are sufficient elements in common to make a direct comparison of the LEGO versions worthwhile.
Today Panasonic Jaguar racing unveil the new Jaguar I-type 4, for season 6 of the Formula E championship. Now, here at the Rambling Brick we don’t know much about race cars, but we do know that the LEGO Speed Champions have been a fan favourite over the last few years, even with the multitude of stickers that come with them. And while the new sets, in medium azure look striking, what is even more impressive is the fact that the Jaguar Pace Car is in fact 8 studs wide!
In which one sore point amongst LEGO Fans (Stickers) will result in talking about a sore point for Star Wars Fans (The Last Jedi). I then proceed to subject some recent stickers to physical abuse and science. My final conclusions catch me by surprise and may well influence my opinions for years to come. Now read on….
I have been thinking about the stickers provided with some LEGO Sets recently. And not in a bad way. This has surprised me. For a number of years I have found myself becoming anxious at the prospect of placing a stickers on a set, defacing a perfectly good LEGO Brick, as well as making a sticker non usable: this is almost counter to the notion of the LEGO System, where you can take a collection of elements, and reuse them, time and again, confident that they will always function as they have been intended, and integrate with elements of the past and future.
I have recently found myself excited at the prospect of using some stickers that have been produced: particularly some of those supplied with the Arctic Scout truck (60194) and the Stygimoloch Breakout (75927), amongst others.
The Sticker Sheet from the Stygimoloch Breakout Set 75927
The computer screen and extended workstation keyboard from 60194
I would like to apologise if I triggered an angry, anxious or otherwise negative emotional response with that previous statement. In our minds we all have some strong opinions one way or another as far as the Use of Stickers in LEGO Sets is concerned. LEGO Bricks have been adorned with decorations, printed or stickers, for the better part of 50 years. I still have Minifigures from nearly forty years ago still sporting their original adhesive labels, as well as elements featuring stickers from the 70’s: including these flags. Admittedly, the years have not been kind, but do stickers today last as long?
The Rambling Brick, and Friends at the Melbourne Toy, Hobby and Licensing Fair.
The toy fair season is now starting to wind up for now: We have had Nuremberg. We have had New York. Now we have had Melbourne…
The Melbourne Toy, Hobby and Licensing Fair is a bit of a mouthful. Predominantly a trade show, taking place in Melbourne in early March each year, LEGO Australia have a strong presence. There has traditionally been little ‘big news’ coming out of the show, as visitors have not been able to take photographs at the LEGO® booth, a trend that was reinforced at Nuremberg this year.
I had the chance to visit the Fair last weekend, and visit the booth displaying our favourite Danish Plastic Brick. Once I got past the big displays outside the booth, I had to put the camera away, and make do with words and memories.
After the recent New York and Nuremberg Toy shows, there is little to be seen in left field, unexpected presentations. Unlike New York, there are no Direct to Consumer sets on display (for example: Hogwarts Great Hall; Ultron Hulkbuster). There were also no Brickheadz or 40th Birthday Minifigure sets on display. There were no sets associated with unreleased movies ( such as Jurassic World; Solo; Incredibles 2) , unless they were already on sale (Avengers: Infinity War went on sale the week before the toy fair).
There were plenty of sets on display that are already on the shop shelves, readily available to purchase in real life shops, or on line. And everything else that I saw already has an entry in Brickset’s 2018 database. However, there were some sets from the second half year on display, of which few details have previously been available, or for which some additional clarity was able to be gained. If you wish to avoid spoilers, look away now. If you have read everything coming out of Nuremberg and New York, there may not be a lot that sounds new… but certainly a few points of clarification.
Flame Yellowish Orange(Lego Group) also known as Bright Light Orange (Bricklink) is the color of the month here at the Rambling Brick. Recently, I looked at the Ultimate Axl is all his flame yellowish orange, gold printed glory. This follows on from looking at the Elves Fire Dragon set back in May. Today, distracted by it’s brightly coloured box, full of glorious curves, I picked up another of the Speed Champions: the McLaren P1. One of the 2015 Speed Champions sets, I was able to find it still on sale at my local Myer during a recent 20% off sale.
When I looked at the Ford GT, I was particularly annoyed by the number of stickers required in order to make the model look complete. I have made a conscious decision not to use the stickers on the McLaren, because I have not bought it to use as a car. This set appealed to me because it contains such a variety of flame yellowish orange pieces (OK this description is getting awkward. Lets change over to FYO/BLO) , including cheese slopes, regular slopes, plates tiles and bows. All that seems to be missing to me are a couple of Mixel eyes, and ball joint to allow the construction of a brick built head for my fire dragon.
I love the Elves Dragons. They are all colourful, and have their own personalities, associated with their personal (dragonal?) elements. However, all of their heads are cast from the same mould. Approximately 5.5 studs wide, 6 studs long and 3 blocks and a plate high, there is no doubt that these 2 parts – jaw and face – link to gather to form a dragon head. Otherwise, there are 2 studs in the top of the head, to attach crystals to, and attachments for 2 horns (2.8mm rod connectors). So: Limited customisation.
So… the FYO/BLO parts pack… err racing car… caught my eye, and filled me with a desire to brick build a head for the fire dragon. That’s the plan any way. Will I succeed, or will I be distracted by a really nifty car build? Let’s find out… Continue reading →
Stickers. To apply them or not? For AFOLs, this comes up as a regular topic of conversation. Its up there with instructions vs free build; Yellow vs realistic coloured skin tones; space vs castle; police vs firemen. All of these questions plague AFOLs (and indeed other FOLs) for a variety of reasons.
There has, in recent years, been a tendency to increase the number of stickers in LEGO sets, allowing for an increase in detail shown in a product that could not be otherwise achieved by bricks alone.
There is no doubt that the use of stickers can greatly enhance the appearance of a set – but is it currently getting out of hand?
The Ford Mustang GT
I recently got hold of the new Speed Champions Ford Mustang GT 75871 (RRP $AUD22.95) with a 20% discount (reduced to around $19). For me it is the most appealing of the current single vehicle sets – I suspect because it represents the car that came with our first Scalextric Set…just before lego started to get in the way. This set has 3 bags of pieces, along with another small bag containing hubcaps: the piece count comes in at 185. The car comes in at 18 studs long, and 7 studs wide (The chassis is 6, but allowing for the wheel arches at approximately half a stud wide each…) and just shy of 6 studs (5 bricks) high. There is a choice of hubcaps available, in line with the contemporary Mustang GT options
The Rambling Brick 
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