REVIEW: 30194 458 Italia

[WhiteFang]

Hello everyone,

I am quite behind schedule on my own reviewing project like the recent new pull-back motor of the LEGO promotional Ferrari Racers which is a pretty exciting feature. I hope you will enjoy viewing this coverage like the previously released of the first and second 30193 250 GT Berlinetta and 30190 Ferrari 150 Italia respectively.

Name: 30194 458 Italia

Theme: LEGO System / Racers / Ferrari

Year: 2012

Pieces: 33

Minifigs: 0 minifigure

Price: USD N.A, GBP N.A, EURO N.A, SGD $5.95 (purchased at least SGD $50.00 worth of Shell Petrol in order to buy a piece of it)

Resources: Brickset, BrickLink

An original polybag image of the 30194 458 Italia

The latest new sleek Ferrari Sportscar model

The Ferrari 458 Italia mid-engined sports car which is produced and released in 2009 to replace the Ferrari F430. This Ferrari 458 Italia is part of the exclusive LEGO Ferrari Racers series. Similar with all recent Ferrari models, the vehicle is designed for aerodynamics efficiency, producing a downforce of 140kg at 200km/hr. Although the design of the Ferrari 458 Italia is not designed to scale with the real version, but I am impressed that the TLG designer managed to nail the unique shape of the vehicle with restricted scale and limited parts.

Instruction Manual (Front)

Instruction Manual (Back)

The LEGO building content

These are the laid out content of building up the 458 Italia. There is relatively more interesting parts, particularly the printed car parts which is always a bonus than just applying stickers onto it. Once you finished the built, this is the only remaining spare parts.

Unique LEGO parts

As always, these 3 parts are the main highlights in this built. First of all, you are able to obtain unique parts for the curved front with headlights printed design and the top base with printed windows of black, silver and red pattern. The yellow mudguard 2x4 with headlights and curved fenders is also a very nice addition to use it for 4-stud wide vehicle design.

458 Italia massive sticker sheet

As usual, this sticker sheet is stored in a very safe packaging box and it does not cause any bends when I opened it out of the box. However, this stickers are very tiny and small which requires delicate skill of applying it. I wonder and I recall thinking that TLG are not somehow allowed real brands or logo to be actually printed onto LEGO parts due to some licensing issue. I am not quite sure but I definitely recall seeing it in one of the recent discussions in Eurobricks.

Different views of the 458 Italia (without stickers applied)

Without the stickers applied, this design is very nice due to the availability of the printed designs on some of the car parts. On its own, it can be even regarded as a generic yellow cool sports car.

Different view of the 458 Italia (with stickers applied)

With the applying of the stickers, you will immediately recognised it as a Ferrari design due to its distinguished brand logo. Pretty nice, but it does take careful attention to align the tiny little sticker.

As Bruce Wayne, I definitely have the money to buy this model

Batman and his super heroes friends checking out his new ride

To conclude, this is a very nicely designed racer set. Normally, I don't praise a lot for the LEGO Racers but this is one of the few exceptions where I had actually enjoyed putting it together and play with it. It make a fine display piece at your working table and it can certainly increase the level of fun when you are feeling bored. It is best to acquire this polybag only if you are able to find it at reasonable price. It is hard to search for this set due to purchase requirements and it is not worthwhile to get it above recommended pricing. This is just my thoughts and I hope you enjoyed reading this comprehensive coverage.

Summary review

Playability: 10/10 (Pull-back motor racing is the new fun thing plus you add realism design in it.)

Design: 9/10 (Design is very nicely done out with the bonus printed car parts.)

Price: 5/10 (Getting harder to sought for as this is a promotional item with a purchase requirement condition to fulfil.)

Overall: 8/10 (A very fun and enjoyable LEGO Racers set to race with friends.)

I gave it a "4" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed.

Pictures can be found in My Flickr and My Brickshelf (When moderated)

[Jackattack7]

Great review Whitefang, they are out in Italy and I hope they'll be out in the UK before Christmas.

[Ape Fight]

Yuk! Sorry, but whilst this looks cool, and I were 6 I'd love it, it's barely LEGO. Why not just buy a £4 metal/plastic model of a 458 instead?

[WhiteFang]

Great review Whitefang, they are out in Italy and I hope they'll be out in the UK before Christmas.

I sure hope this promotion will continue to spread to many other countries as well.

Yuk! Sorry, but whilst this looks cool, and I were 6 I'd love it, it's barely LEGO. Why not just buy a £4 metal/plastic model of a 458 instead?

More probably, the restriction to create a 458 Italia is constrain by the scale of the requirements of a polybag design which is normally less than 50 parts on average. Although it might not be as detailed as a typical display model which can be bought in model shops, but the objective of this set is to illustrate it by using LEGO bricks to represent it in the best possible manner. I am sorry that this model does not really appeal to you.