Jim Posted July 8, 2014 REVIEW - 10242 - MINI COOPER Mk VII INTRODUCTION After the 10187 - Volkswagen Beetle in 2008 and the 10220 - Volkswagen T1 Camper Van in 2011 LEGO has released another brick built version of an iconic car. Now it's MINI's turn to be immortalized in the form of a LEGO Creator set. The model has been designed by British senior designer Andy Hugh Seenan, who allegedly can't work without coffee. He has been designing toys for LEGO since 2007 and joined the LEGO Creator department in 2011. He also designed the 31010 - LEGO Creator Tree House and 10525 - DUPLO Big Farm, which is his favorite self-designed model. We can judge by the Tree House that Andy is very creative in both implementing various features and maintaining aesthetics. Let's see if his creativity has founds it's way to the MINI. Review images can be clicked for hi-res versions. FROM LEGO PRESS RELEASE Take this MINI Cooper for a nostalgic drive down memory lane! Experience the iconic MINI Cooper first hand, with its classic lines, detailed interior and fun picnic theme. Take the iconic MINI Cooper for a drive! This beautifully crafted LEGO brick replica of the classic MINI Cooper Mk VII is full of authentic details, from the classic green and white color scheme with white wing mirrors and racing stripes, to the opening doors, hood and trunk, sporty fog lights, detailed engine and separate spare tire compartment. You can even remove the roof to access a tan colored interior with patterned seats, veneer-style dashboard, turning steering wheel, and moving gearshift and handbrake. And of course, no MINI Cooper would be complete without a picnic basket and blanket, the perfect accessories for a cozy day in the countryside! Features opening doors, bonnet and boot, spare wheel in separate compartment, detailed engine and 2 fog lights. Accessories include a picnic basket, bottle and blanket for nostalgic picnic theme. Authentic replica of the MINI Cooper Mk VII. Classic green and white color theme with white wing mirrors and racing stripes. Lift the bonnet to reveal the detailed engine. Remove the roof and access the detailed interior. Go on a countryside picnic with this iconic classic! MINI Cooper measures over 4” (11cm) high, 9” (25cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide. Available for VIPs from July 18th. SET INFORMATION Number: 10242 Title: Mini Cooper Theme: Creator (Expert) Released: July/August 2014 Part Count: 1.077 Box Weight: 1330 gr Box Dimensions: 37,2 x 35,0 x 8,9 cm (WxHxD) Set Price (MSRP): US $99.99 / CA $119.99 / AU $149.99 / DE 89.99€ / UK £74.99 / DK 799.00 DKK Price per Part: US $0.093 / CA $0.111 / AU $0.139 / DE 0.084€ / UK £0.070 / DK 0.742 DKK THE BOX The almost square box measures 37,2 x 35,0 x 8,9 cm and feels like it is filled with lots of parts. Holding the box and looking at the images, I immediately got the feeling that this will make a great present for young and old. The box is slightly smaller than the box of the VW Van which does have more parts. FRONT SIDE The front of the box shows the model in a countryside picknick scene. The age recommendation is 16+ which is a bit high in my opinion. The upper right corner shows the detachable roof. The box also states this model belongs to the Creator theme, Expert series. BACK SIDE The back side shows a variety of different smaller pictures, explaining most of the neat features. By the number of pictures we can see that there's a lot going on in this set. SIDES One of the sides shows a comparison between the model and it's real life counterpart. Most noticeable is the difference in the number of fog lights. And the rear of the real MINI is more curved than the LEGO version. The next side shows the front, side and back of the model. The front view is my favorite view. The combination of the grill, head lights and fog lights is well executed. The third side shows the part list, which is common for LEGO creator sets. What I like about the part list on the box is that you can see the variety of parts included in the box. Like most Creator sets, this set has a vast array of different colored bricks, which are very appealing to potential buyers. I would recommend including such an image on every larger box. CONTENTS OF THE BOX Since the box is not overly big, it feels like it's filled to the brim. It contains: 8 Numbered Bags (1, 2 and 3) 2 Booklets 2 Sticker Sheets 1 Brick Separator BAGS The set includes 8 numbered (1, 2 and 3) bags in varying sizes. The larger bags contain some smaller bag with smaller parts. The set also contains a brick separator. BOOKLETS The set contains two booklets with 64 and 51 pages for instructions, adding up to 76 steps. The booklets are almost identical. The only difference is the sequence number. STICKER SHEETS Not one, but two sticker sheets are included in this set. Two sticker sheets while there are a lot of printed parts?! One of the sheets has four stickers with metallic look. The other sticker sheet contains five different types of license plates to choose from. HIGHLIGHTED PARTS There are a lot of dark green parts in this set and some of them hadn't been released in this color before. Especially the first two common parts are very welcome in dark green! 1 x 1 PLATE Believe it or not, but this plate wasn't available in dark green before. 1 x 1 MODIFIED BRICK WITH STUD ON ONE SIDE Also a new part in dark green and a very useful one. 2 x 2 ROUND TILE & 3 x 2 PLATE WITH HOLE The round tile is new in dark green and the plate with hole hasn't been used since 2005. 3 x 4 x 2/3 PLATE WITH BOW WITH NOPS Not a very commonly used part, but from now on, it's available in dark green. 3 x 6 x 1 CURVED WINDSCREEN Like the previous one this part has a very specific use and is available in dark green for the first time. 1 x 4 x 1 1/3 MODIFIED BRICK WITH CURVED TOP This part is also new in dark green. It comes in two variants, one with and one without striped pattern. The stripes are printed on the part, so no hassle with applying stickers. 2 x 1 CURVED SLOPE A new flat silver curved slope. Introduced this year (2014) but not unique to this set. It has been used in several other sets. MINIFIGURE SKATE As we can see in the image below, the minifigure skate is a very versatile part! PART LIST Here's the complete list for all 1077 parts. BUILDING EXPERIENCE The set contains bags numbered 1, 2 and 3, which means the build consists of 3 stages. Each stage requires opening the corresponding bags. So let's start with the first stage! STAGE #1: CHASSIS The first stage requires opening the two bags numbered #1 which results in using the following parts. The chassis pretty symmetrical when it comes to the wheel base. Being a Creator set some oddly colored parts are used, like the blue Technic bricks. At the rear we can see the single fog light mounted on the right side of the fender. Here we can see the Neck Bracket with Technic Pin cleverly used as the exhaust pipe. The middle bottom section of the vehicle is where the front seats and rear couch will be mounted. The mounting points are already visible. The side skirts make sure the MINI gets it's sporty Cooper look. The shift stick is very simple and very well-thought-out at the same time. The base consists of a Modified 2 x 3 Tile with 2 Clips and a Technic Axle Towball, which results in a freely moveable stick. The floor of the trunk can be lifted to reveal the spare tire. Using the 1 x 6 x 5 Panel results in having room for the tire AND the entire picknick basket, which is quite an accomplishment for a model this size. At the end of stage #1 the chassis is complete. It already has the shift stick and trunk with spare tire. It's about 30 studs long and measures around 25 cm. STAGE #2: INTERIOR AND REAR BODYWORK During the next stage you will add the following parts to the model. A Curved 3 x 6 x 1 Windscreen is used as exterior wheel hump. The checkered upholstery looks fantastic and it's not even finished. The handbrake is one of the many great details! At the rear you see one of the stickers (MINI badge) you need to apply. funny enough, you need to apply this sticker to a part which has printed stripes on it. It's for the first time LEGO has printed a curved part like this. The dainty picknick basket is so cute! The details are remarkable. It even has two different types of cheese! Probably Gouda cheese The blanket is an actual piece of cloth, not plastic. The bottle and baguette are the icing on the cake. Being a right driven model, I have chosen the British registration. The MINI has an R registration, which means the year of registration is 1997/1998. Could this possibly be Andy's old registration number?! The boot is very efficient. It holds the spare tire and entire picknick set! STAGE #3: ENGINE BAY, FRONT BODYWORK AND ROOF During the final stage you will finish the front of the car and the roof. Lots of dark green parts will be added to the car. Under the hood the twin-carburetor 1,275 cc engine is mounted. I love the use of the Small Barb (Helmet Horn) as spark plug cables (or high tension leads). The dashboard is pretty detailed, with a glove compartment and several printed gauges. The steering wheel is a bit big, but the old MINI's did have a big steering wheel. Although the Cooper has a smaller sports steering wheel, I still think this one suits best. The seats and neck rests can be adjusted to a certain degree. The checkered upholstery looks amazing, much like the rest of the car. The door handles are actually Minifigure Iceskates. FINISHED MODEL It took me approximately 3 hours to build this model, one hour per stage. FRONT VIEW After finishing the model I really felt a WOW! Just WOW! Granted, the rear section should be a little more curved to resemble the real MINI better. In my opinion this is just a minor detail, since the model captures the overall look of it's real life counterpart very well! The front of the car with the grill, fog lights and bonnet, screams MINI Cooper! The white striping, mirrors and roof give this model it's iconic Cooper look. The sloping bonnet is very well designed. REAR VIEW The trunk lid with embedded license plate is another nice detail which adds to the recognizable MINI design. The tank filler cap is on the left side. Small details like this make the MINI an outstanding model. BOTTOM VIEW The bottom view shows the chassis of the car and in the front you can see the towball construction used for the shift stick. PARTS LEFT Most of the smaller parts have a spare one in every stage, so you end up with quite a few extra 1 x 1 plates and tiles. FEATURES This model some dainty details and exquisite features: Opening hood Opening bonnet Opening doors Detachable roof Storable spare tire Filled picknick basket with bottle Cooper-ish wheel covers Moveable steer Moveable shift stick Adjustable seats Should LEGO have gone the extra mile and include parts to turn this MINI into a convertible, like Dirk1313 did over here?! There's probably a good reason LEGO didn't, but it would have been a nice addition. On the other hand; you can easily do this yourself. SUMMARY Since the MINI has quite a few great details, building it is never boring. After every step it's getting better and better. When you have finished the model, you really get that WOW! feeling. Choosing dark green for the bodywork gives this model the characteristic British Racing Green look. Although it could have been blue or red, I think LEGO made the right choice with dark green. The model lacks a bit of playability when it comes to driving. Without actual steering it's hard to turn the car. Driving back and forth gets a little boring after a while. But then again; this model is probably not meant to play with. Maybe that's one of the reasons it has 16+ as an age recommendation. As a display model, this is one of the best cars LEGO has created...ever! Quite a few people will be having a hard time believing that this actually is a LEGO model. Andy has a great job capturing the essence of the real MINI in this LEGO Creator set. PROS Astonishing model Lots of dainty details Lots of features Lots of (new) parts in dark green Some silver/chrome parts Most of the decals are printed CONS Lack of steering Rear is a bit too square SCORE Design 9: The model screams MINI Cooper. Build 8: Fun build, never a dull moment. Features 9: Lots of nice features. Playability 8: Lack of steering diminishes playability. Parts 9: Great parts pack, if you like dark green. Value for Money 9: Iconic MINI Cooper for a reasonable price. 8,7 Instant classic! MEDIA I have included some extra content for your viewing pleasure! DESIGNER VIDEO PREVIEW VIDEOS Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and please rate this set at the top of this topic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
okiba75 Posted July 8, 2014 Can't wait until this goes on sale in Australia! :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getn Posted July 8, 2014 Excellent review! Thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn77 Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) The rear is rounder on the real model, sure. But the biggest grippe I have with the Lego model is the straight body, it should lean inwards. This looks more like the square body of jeep, judging by the pictures. I hope it looks less so when actually built. Either way, I know I can't stop myself from buying a copy. And doing the cab mod would eliminate the issue I have with the body. Oh, and excellent review by the way! Edited July 8, 2014 by bjorn77 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ceroknight Posted July 8, 2014 Thank you foe the review! Great effort by Lego, and I can't wait to get it! Though I still need to get the Sydney Opera House.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Freekysch Posted July 8, 2014 Great review and great model ! Really love it, it may be my first non-technic set that I wanna buy ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herky Posted July 8, 2014 As reviews go, yours was excellent, nice pics and commentary, it's the way reviews should be done...the main thing I am reading all over many sites is that folks wish this set was bigger, more on the size of the VW Beetle, a view I share. You did confirm for me what I thought, that while the price point is below that 10 cents per piece threshold, there are a lot of pieces that are overvalued here as they are smaller in size so that the pieces I would consider are worth more than 10 cents do not counteract the multiple pieces that are about in the 4 cent range so this makes the value a bit weak for the money regarding piece count in my opinion. If anyone is going to MOD this into a double size vehicle, I would love to see it, I really liked the convertible option that was done earlier but just feel this mini is too mini, alas that won't stop my checkbook from opening, just will be cringing from doing it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted July 8, 2014 Thanks I have never built the beetle so I wouldn't know how the two models compare in real life, but the MINI does feel pretty big and solid. But I can imagine that a bigger scaled version could look even better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted July 8, 2014 Excellent review. Good lighted photography. I don't think I'll get this set as I am not a big Mini fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Off the wall Posted July 8, 2014 As reviews go, yours was excellent, nice pics and commentary, it's the way reviews should be done...the main thing I am reading all over many sites is that folks wish this set was bigger, more on the size of the VW Beetle, a view I share. You did confirm for me what I thought, that while the price point is below that 10 cents per piece threshold, there are a lot of pieces that are overvalued here as they are smaller in size so that the pieces I would consider are worth more than 10 cents do not counteract the multiple pieces that are about in the 4 cent range so this makes the value a bit weak for the money regarding piece count in my opinion. If anyone is going to MOD this into a double size vehicle, I would love to see it, I really liked the convertible option that was done earlier but just feel this mini is too mini, alas that won't stop my checkbook from opening, just will be cringing from doing it. That pretty much says it all...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alasdair Ryan Posted July 8, 2014 Excellent Review Jim. The finished model looks fantastic,the small styling issues don't really mater to much to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Commander Turtle Posted July 8, 2014 What a great model! Less for your money than the ol' camper, but it's hard to resist all the dark green. Definitely something on my wishlist for 2015. (2014 is already all booked out!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eurotrash Posted July 8, 2014 Great review! Thanks for that. I'll be heading to the local Lego Store to pick one of these beauties up for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLegoDr Posted July 8, 2014 Thanks for the review. I've seen 2 or 3 already, yet I keep reading them. I am definitely sold. I wasn't originally interested in this, but then again, I wasn't originally interested in the VW and that blew me away. So no doubt I will want this set too. I like the features it offers. I think I will mod the front to accommodate more fog lights, like the comparison photo. It doesn't look like it would be difficult. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leewan Posted July 8, 2014 Great review Jim, your pics are absolutely stunning ! This beautiful set will certainly be my Christmas or birthday gift. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naf Posted July 8, 2014 Great review for a great model! Everything looks great. I agree that the angles are a bit off compared with the real model, but that's always the case with Lego. Given the scale, I think the designer did an excellent job. My only real gripe is the stickers, I find it very strange that some parts like the stripes are printed while others are stickers. I can understand the license plates, gives you a bit of customizability, but the green stickers don't match the dark green brick color at all, and it's really apparent in the pictures. Wish they would have at least gone with clear stickers for these. Will definitely pick one of these up. As LegoDr said, i wasn't into the VW camper but it really grew on me so I suspect I'll enjoy this one too. I hope Lego continues releasing classic vehicles like this in this scale, they're really fun builds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLegGodt Posted July 8, 2014 I am not sure I agree with the comments wishing it was bigger like the VW Beetle. I like the way the camper just about fits in your hand, that makes it feel more solid. The Beetle needs 2 hands to hold and feels therefore less like a really well-made toy and more like a model to stare at. Both approaches have merits IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted July 8, 2014 Thanks for the AWESOME review of this AWESOME set 'Jim'......even better than the Kombi van set. This one has the right curves, but still looks Lego built.....just perfect, given the chance and have the cash I might buy one to put on display in my Lego cabinet. Brick On Review On 'Jim' ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SNIPE Posted July 8, 2014 Wow this is so compact, then I saw that it had rear seats then saw that is REALLY compact. Does anybody know what the modified brick with one stud is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rriggs Posted July 8, 2014 Great review of a great model. Also, really nice to see right (correct) hand drive straight out of the box! I always have to convert my models to RHD as I build them. Good to see GB reg plates too as these are really rare in any toy or model. The gearstick and seat upholstery are great as is the spare wheel well. Really neat details. FYI - The "brake light" below the rear bumper is in fact a fog light and the "fuel lines" on the engine are more likely to be HT leads. Cheers Rog Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Guy Bri Posted July 9, 2014 Love this set, as well. I love this scale for models and this one is a great addition to the line. Can't wait to get one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bjorkan Posted July 9, 2014 The dainty picknick basket is so cute! The details are remarkable. It even has two different types of cheese! Probably Gouda cheese The blanket is an actual piece of cloth, not plastic. The bottle and baguette are the icing on the cake. Great review, thanks according to the cloth pattern, it must be picnic in my country and cheese, maybe Cheddar? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted July 9, 2014 FYI - The "brake light" below the rear bumper is in fact a fog light and the "fuel lines" on the engine are more likely to be HT leads. Hi Rog, You are right, of course. Not really sure why I thought it was a break light?! As for the HT leads....I simply didn't think of spark plug leads Thanks for the correction. I will edit my review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erik Leppen Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) What I don't understand is, why is the spare wheel different from the other four wheels? I think they should have used the thinner wheels/tyres for the car as well. The current wheels are way too wide. For the rest, the set is almost-perfect, and I know I want it :) Also, thanks for the great review and the superb-quality pictures :) Edited July 9, 2014 by Erik Leppen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GregoryBrick Posted July 9, 2014 Thanks for the review Jim, very well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
