[MOC Review] Assassin X19 P.D. Special Supercar

[Osuharding1]

Hello Everyone -

I'm starting this topic to write a brief review of the new Crowkillers Lego Technic Supercar – THE ASSASSIN!

Over the past few summers, Paul has made it a habit to release his newest designs around this time of year for our viewing and building pleasure. In spring of 2014 he presented us with The Muscle Car with its unique forward opening hood mechanism and live rear axle and later that summer the all-white colored Phantasm Twin Turbo with its unique scissor doors. This year proves to be more of the same with The Assassin. Just as in his past designs, this new model offers something completely different than anything that he has done in his previous models. I will cover more on the unique features of this model later in the review.

Paul has made instructions available for this model on his website (www.crowkillers.com) for $12. When you purchase the instructions you will get high quality renditions for 3 different color combinations – a blue/white police edition, a black/white police edition, and a black/red edition. The instructions and parts list are flawless and very easy to follow for any experienced Technic builder.

I’ve built the white/blue P.D. Special edition for this review. Obviously, one could build the model in any color combination they prefer and many builders have already done so. I have seen a red/white version and a yellow/green version and a black/orange combination. When it comes to the color combo, one is only limited by their creative ideas and the availability of parts on Bricklink!

The model has all of the features that you would expect on a supercar of this scale (opening doors, transmission, suspension, etc.). However, in my opinion, this model has a feature that has never been seen or done before in Lego Technic Supercars. This model has a 4-speed transmission that is located behind the cabin seats and below the engine – just forward of the rear axle. This feature alone is unique, but the truly innovative thing about it is how the 4-speed transmission shifts gears. Paul came up with a brilliant lever system that is used to change the gears. The benefit is that the interior of the car no longer has the huge “bump” in between the seats to accommodate a transmission. This must be the year of new transmission concepts, first we had the nifty gearbox design in the Nathanael Kuipers Predator Supercar and now with Paul's Assassin, we have something just as unique, but designed and set-up completely different. The video below shows the shifting mechanism on a bare chassis toward the end of the video to help demonstrate how these shifting levers work.

Another great less technical feature of this model that I personally really like is the Police Car aspect of it. The lights on the top and the red and blue lights across the front and rear bumpers really give this model a unique look. This subtle feature really makes the model pop in my opinion.

The last point I would like to make about this model – and Paul’s design process overall – is that I truly appreciate that he takes parts availability into account when designing his models. Paul typically tries to incorporate the newest parts into his designs and tries to avoid parts in colors that are rare or scarce. The Muscle Car used the new front suspension a-arms (Bricklink #15459) when the old style a-arms (Bricklink #57515) were not as readily available or affordable at the time. Similarly, with The Assassin, he redesigned his original black/red model to remove the black 19L soft flex axles and replaced them with the more readily available black 16L soft flex axles that we recently got in set 42026. This effort on his part allows his models to be built by more people simply by considering parts availability. This is a good thing considering that a new trend of building MOCs appears to be on the rise given the popularity of websites such as Rebrickable and MOCpages, etc. With all of that said, the white/blue model I built does have a few parts that are a bit difficult to find at a reasonable price (i.e. blue 19L soft flex axles), but generally Paul made a great effort to use parts in colors that are readily available. So if you can’t build the white/blue combination due to parts availability, you can always build a color combo that is more available.

Thank you for taking the time to read my brief review of Paul’s latest supercar. I have made a high quality video review showcasing this model and its features and I also demonstrate and show up close the shifting mechanisms. Please take the time to check it out!

[Meatman]

Good review. I wrote a review on it too. I did mine in Black and Yellow. This model is really a superb piece of engineering.

http://www.eurobrick...75#entry2268378

[Osuharding1]

I saw your review and your model... It very much has a Steelers vibe to it... Very good!

[wagusty]

Great job! Very good review!