I like my LEGO with a bit of colour. I like my cars with a bit of colour (heck, my own car has essentially a triple colour paint). So being presented with a teal supercar is cool.
Given the size of this set I didn’t expect anything too exciting, but I was curious how well the very curvy shapes of the Aston Martin Valkyrie could be captured and then I noticed a computer game mentioned on the box!
Join me while I explore why this game is mentioned on a LEGO set, and explore how well this decidedly not-straight vehicle translated into LEGO.
42208 Aston Martin Valkyrie contains 707 parts and is available from the 1st of June 2025 for AU$99.99/£54.99/US$64.99/€59.99. This set was provided by LEGO for review, all opinions are my own.
For me, Technic is machinery. As a child I didn’t have LEGO Technic but I had Fisher-Technic (awesome stuff, but I digress), so my real first encounters with LEGO Technic were after I got out of my dark ages and the machines that resonated most with me were bulldozers, bucket wheel loaders, front end loaders or a tipping truck. These systems have something ‘Technic’ about them; they can drive, sure, but they can also do something else! These sets came in Yellow and Black, I think you see where I’m going here. This new Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader has this exact colour scheme and the same functionality of sets that I hold dear in my memory so I am excited!
The 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader is a new set containing 973 pieces retailing for AU$149.99/£89.99/$119.99/€99.99 and was provided by LEGO for review. All opinions are my own.
LEGO and F1 are racing into 2025 with a slew of product reveals overnight in Las Vegas. On top of the Duplo, City and Speed Champions sets, more sets have been revealed:
Next up is the 42207 Technic Ferrari SF 24 F1 – this 1361 piece Technic set will also go on sale on March the 1st 2025, with a price of $AUD349.99 / €229.99 EUR / $USD229.99 / £199.99 .
Both sets, along with the Speed Champions, are now open to pre-order in some markets. Unfortunately, not Australia.
Admittedly, I like space, especially space science. I was prepared to be disappointed by this set, mostly because of the wheels. Initial photos showed that LEGO had decided to create these wheels as regular rubber tyres, whereas the real original wheels are made from really nifty mesh with metal strips.
I expected a somewhat shallow display model that missed most of the key elements that made the Lunar Roving Vehicle such a special machine. This is a battery electric vehicle (like a Tesla EV) with four individually driven wheels providing about 0.25hp each (much unlike a Tesla). This vehicle was used on Apollo 15, 16 and 17 in the early 1970’s to traverse the moon scape.
Despite my trepidation I was delighted by this set; it does not just provide a surprising accurate model of the LRV; but it also demonstrates how it was packed to travel to the moon, and highlights a lot of the components that are mounted on it. (yes; the rovers should still be sitting there, on the moon, waiting for someone to take it for another spin).
Seeing the back of the box I initially thought there would be 4 alternate models in the box, but no; there are two ways of presenting the final build; in packed configuration or in assembled form. There are heaps of details that stimulated me into reading up on the vehicle a bit more and the finished builds makes for a striking (and LARGE) model.
The set contains 1913 pieces, which is not a historic reference as far as I can tell, and has a recommended price of $AUD349.99/£189.99/US$219.99/€219.99. I am very grateful to the LEGO Group for providing this set to review ; I might have passed it by otherwise, much to my loss! All opinions are my own.
I suspect that by expecting to be disappointed, I set myself up to be delighted by the lack of disappointing aspects and the inclusion of delightful details.
Are you confused about this rambling about delight and disappointment yet? Read on to see why this set is one of the best demonstrations of what a Technic model should be, learn a few things about space travel more than half a century ago, and convince yourself to give this set good consideration in your budget.
In this post, we take a look at the latest in the Ultimate Car Concept Series, 42172 LEGO Technic McLaren P1. We unbox this set, and then examine the first part of the build experience. Along the way, we make some mistakes. How can you prevent making them yourself?
Ever since the very early days of LEGO Technic (Or ‘…sets for expert builders’), there has been a ‘working’ car chassis, bringing us an understanding of how the mechanical aspects of a car might work. Features such as functional steering, gears, pumping cylinders, suspension and a differential. I suspect most of my understanding of how cars work might date back to the early 80s when I first assembled the 8860 Car chassis, and having my Dad and Grandpa explain what was going on over Christmas dinner. It was some time before I attempted to put together a Technic set with greater complexity.
These functional cars have continued to be a feature of the Technic range for over 45 years. The concept received a leg up in 2016 with the introduction of the 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. This marked the beginning of what is now referred to as the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series. After tackling marques from the likes of Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Ferrari, the latest set, 42172 McLaren P1, is the fifth in this series.
And I am getting underway with the construction right now. This is my first experience with one of these vehicles. There are many of you out there who have put these sets together before, and I called out for advice on how to approach this the other day and responses had a very consistent theme… “Take Your Time” “Don’t Rush” and “Make sure you get it right!”
Of course, the 24-hour news cycle is as relentless in the world of LEGO Fandom as it is in the rest of the world. And I have a full-time job that sometimes interferes with the LEGO construction. So, some compromises might have been made. And so were mistakes.
My review will be presented in a couple of instalments. In this post, we will cover the packaging and the build experience for the first part of the chassis. (Box 1) The rest of the review will follow in a week or so as, frankly, I need to finish building the thing. We will look at how the instructions and building experience have improved and how I went about troubleshooting some of the errors I made along the way.
Next time, I will finish the build and give you my thoughts on the experience. There is no doubt that spending $AUD699.99 on a LEGO set is a significant investment, and I am sure there are those of you out there who are wondering if this is the kind of set you were looking to get involved with. I am writing from the point of view of someone who has put together a lot of LEGO bricks over the years but has not tackled a major Technic project for some time.
In the meantime, go and pour a cup of coffee, pull up a seat, and read on… Or you can skip over the detailed builder’s journey and skip straight to the halftime report here
Branko has taken a look at the twin engined NEOM MCLAREN Formula E… will this twin engined pullback car impress him? Or just startle members of his family?
For me, pullback cars have been a bit of a hidden theme in the LEGO catalogue for nearly 10 years. I’ve always enjoyed the clean simplicity of pullback action but most of the LEGO sets with pullback action have been quite simple and didn’t quite attract my attention. I must admit that this year was no different until I was handed this 42169 NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, containing 452 pieces and retailing for AU$69.99/£46.99/US$49.99/€52.99. For a pullback vehicle this is quite a sizeable set and at a reasonable price too!
The box shows the play features available: pullback action and steering. There is also a reference photo of the source material, the real Formula E car with some stats; 470hp (lots), 320km/h (lots) at 854kg (less than I expected!).
Is this car is able to provide a good classic pullback ‘zoom’ experience or is it perhaps too heavy with so many pieces? Will this electric vehicle (sic) outshine old-fashioned petrol cars, as seems to have become so common, or is this just an over-hyped piece of plastic? What if you just like racing cars; does the pullback effect get in the way of a nice display?
This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, all opinions are our own.
Branko is back with another review. This time its the Technic 42167 MACK LR ELECTRIC GARBAGE TRUCK, part of the January 2024 Technic range. Interestingly, the scale appears just about right for some other play themes…
LEGO communities have been committed to cleanliness, garbage disposal and emission reduction, expressed historically with cleaning and garbage vehicles and, in recent times, with electric vehicles and even electric recycling trucks! Until now, most of these vehicles seem a bit undersized for serious garbage management until now; introducing 42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck available for AUD 59.99/£29.99/US$32.99/€34.99 containing 503 pieces*. The arrival of this truck certainly caught the attention of Friends Emma and River, who felt that their own (albeit colourful) truck looked a bit underwhelming in comparison.
*Technic sets typically contain a lot of pins and connectors that I would not equate to a full ‘piece’. More on this below.
With the 2022 Formula 1 season barely a month away, the wraps have come off the changes to the formula for 2022, but the actual cars are probably a few days away from being unveiled. With the announcement of the new 42141 LEGO ® Technic McLaren Formula 1 today, we have a better idea of how the new car will look for the British based team. The set was revealed on the McLaren.com website this evening, Australian time.
Hitting shelves just one month out from the eagerly awaited return of the Australian Grand Prix (7 – 10 April), Technic fans will now be able to celebrate the return of our very own Daniel Ricciardo – and enjoy the suspense, emotion and excitement of his first race on home soil in three years – all while taking part in the ultimate Formula 1 building experience.
The set has 1432 Pieces, and has an RRP of 179,99€/179,99$/£159.99 GBP/239.99 CAD/ 279.99 AUS. It is due for release on the 1st of March.
Now that the world is opening up, and live fan events are starting to sporadically appear around the world, we are starting to turn our attention to building models for exhibition. There is no doubt that a little bit of movement can help add life to a model – whether it’s an automatic door, a radar dish, or a slowly rotating turntable. These are not so challenging if you have grown up with a bit of basic mechanical knowledge. However, sometimes the right way to achieve such mechanisms using LEGO Bricks can be just a little bit obscure.
But help is readily available, if you know where to look.
I was recently sent pre release samples from the latest books from Yoshihito Isogawa, and I realise that they are now available from the No Starch Press website. Isogawa has been producing simple to read Ideas books for LEGO Technic for a number of years, and these books build on the previous ones, with emphasis in new areas. His latests Books, LEGO Technic Non-Electric Models: Simple Machines and LEGO Technic Non-Electric Models: Clever Contraptions build on his previous books, looking at Technic Ideas, as well as Power function and Boost Ideas (all available from No Starch).
Every year around this time, the LEGO Group presents its annual report: taking in all aspects of the company. The document always includes a small paragraph or two on which themes performed strongly in a given year.
While the metric used to define this performance has not been presented to the public, it gives us a good idea of the sorts of material that pepople are buying, and which themes are strong sellers. Prompted by some online discussion, I have gone back to 2011, and tracked down the strongest performing themes for the last ten years, as referred to in The LEGO Group’s annual report. What we found out may not come as a surprise at all. Or perhaps it will?
Join us while we look through the last 10 years – we will look at the themes directly referenced in the annual report, look at some of the highlights, and maybe even evoke some mild feelings of nostalgia along the way..
