Speed Champions Alternates

[ER0L]

Thanks again, Ron.

Panamera, Cayenne? I'm not convinced those are real Porsches.  You won't ever see one of those from me, I guess. Regarding the Aston Martin: Truth to be told, it doesn't fit into the actual scale range any more, I'd have to shorten it first. But well, there are still quite a few cars I'd love to build - if I had the right idea. A Countach in 1/35 would be a dream, but I don't know how to do it - also because it's an unusually smallish super sports car (wide, but smallish). 

Regarding the driver: I've understood that, but decapitating him is no option, hiding him completely doesn't work since the head always sits high even with the thin chassis. A lying position doesn't work since then the head moves versus the rear which it shouldn't - this disturbs the balance of the whole car. Plus it's very important that the driver can watch where his car is going (especially in curves) instead of staring high in the sky. And so on ... I know it's another compromise, but compromises have to be met. 

Regarding third party parts: I'm convinced all this will change our hobby to something else if we don't take care. Just think of the possibilities of 3D prints - some builders are already experimenting with that. When everybody is able to produce all the parts they need the idea of Lego building or at least Lego moccing (to find different solutions from the exact same set of shapes and colours) is gone in my opinion. In terms of model building as such there are much better looking models than models made out of Lego. Then why use Lego in the first place? There were times I was thinking of changing the hobby and build nice cars without having to mimic a windscreen with something else but a windscreen ... 

But well, maybe I'm too pessimistic in this regard. Only time will tell what becomes of our hobby. And if we are still in the car moccing business five or so years from now ... 

Again, thanks a lot for your thorough and lengthy comment! 

 

[ER0L]

Another two racers:

Nigel Mansell's Ferrari 641 and Lotus Formula 1

In fact, those aren't proper SC alternates any more but more or less my own designs. Whereas the Ferrari still shows some aspects (and some stickers, of course) of the previous model (see above), the Lotus is completely my own design. With both of them I guess I've found a proper form factor for my own purposes here - one stud shorter wheelbase than the SC models, shorter overhang at the front, more realistic wheels (which, alas, don't spin at the front), reduced number of visible studs - plus, most important aspect, a more closed cockpit. 

If you spot the Ferrari you already guess the idea, but it wasn't until building the Lotus that I understood that by using hinge bricks and 1x4 tiles the fig can be fit in completely without mutilating or decapitating it. The open cockpits were one of the aspects bugging me most on the existing minifig scale F1 racers.

Hopefully there'll be more of those formula 1 racers in 1/35 scale in the future - there are quite a few ideas, of course.  However, at this rather small scale you don't have that many choices ...

More pics on Flickr. Thanks for looking!

 

 

 

[supertruper1988]

I really like these @ER0L!

[Man with a hat]

Stunning F1 cars. And to me it was immediately clear form what era they are. So recognisable! Great job again.

[ER0L]

On 31.7.2017 at 9:58 PM, supertruper1988 said:

I really like these @ER0L!

 

23 hours ago, Man with a hat said:

Stunning F1 cars. And to me it was immediately clear form what era they are. So recognisable! Great job again.

Thanks guys, glad you like them!

[r5-j2]

Not sure if this correct to post here (I will be doing a Licensed theme post as well)...but having never looked at a Speed Champions set ,I was blown away with the A.M.G.Merc, what a great build also ,it screamed "Batmobile " to me..so here is it "modded" for Bruce Wayne...also I am now hooked on these sets and another A.M.G. along with the Camero set and Mustang are now on my wish list!

Regards

Kenny

IMG_2855 by kenny burns, on Flickr

 

[danielthelegoenthusiast]

@ER0L, do you have instructions for the 2016 camaro? Please post them ASAP if you have them because I really want a Camaro of my own. 

Edited September 15, 2017 by danielthelegoenthusiast

[LM71Blackbird]

The Speed Champions line is my all time favorite theme LEGO has created to date! I sadly own none of them right now, but soon and very soon I will be purchasing the Speed Champions McLaren 720s! Which also just so happens to be my favorite car of all time! Great job cataloging all the models through the years by the way!

[danielthelegoenthusiast]

has anyone built a tesla?

[ER0L]

First off, some remarks regarding the previous posts:

@r5-j2: Your Bat AMG looks nice.

@danielthelegoenthusiast: No instructions, sorry. I even don't own the model any more. - Regarding a Tesla: At least I haven't, and I probably won't do it - just because I'm no fan of modern car design.

@LM71Blackbird: I agree, the SC line is one of my favorites, too.

Now, another conversion:

1968 Ford Mustang Fastback (75884 MOD)

The modification process admittedly took more time than expected (I spent more or less a whole weekend on it). The result can be called a mixture between my Eleanor (which has the same dimensions, see https://www.flickr.com/photos/er0l/26502739722) and the SC model.

As usual, the main task was to set down the model considerably so that it can be used in a minifig scale surrounding. The frontend is less exposed now (the hood part is set back a halfstud and slanted). Another goal was to omit the ugly gap at the rear bumper. 

More pics on Flickr, thanks for looking!

Edited April 8, 2018 by ER0L

[ER0L]

2nd version of the Mustang MOD:

1968 Ford Mustang Fastback (75884 MOD) - 2nd edition

This version has a less bulky frontend with a bumper, thinner, more elegant rockers to keep the typical ground clearance and a more fluent backend. 

Plus there is another F1 racer now:

Ferrari 312T4 (75889 MOD)

This is just a quick conversion to address the main issues of the SC model (which I think is already very nice as such, much better than the Mustang in my opinion):

• shorter vehicle (1 stud)
• shorter wheelbase (0,5 studs)
• wider track front (2 x 1 stud)
• wider track rear (2 x 0,5 studs)

The open cockpit remains a problem. However, it might be quite difficult to adapt this model to the other F1 racers with the more closed cockpits - maybe I'll try it some day.

Thanks for looking!

[ER0L]

Ferrari 250 GTO (75889 MOD)

Probably my last MOD regarding the actual batch of SC cars. Same procedure as always:

• shortened vehicle
• shortened wheelbase
• smaller wheels
• 5-wide windscreen and roof
• the car is much lower than before
• no stickers mimicking constructive elements, everything that can be built should be built
• filled gap behind the rear mudguard (I understand it's supposed to be a vent like on the original car but not many people will recognize that, I guess - it rather looks like an unfinished section)

However, in spite of the obvious downsides the original model is very inspiring. Especially the front section with the upside down hood or roof part is amazing in my opinion. We just have to lift off the double curved slope and get a well-rounded, well-framed vent/grille that is typical of quite a few classic sports cars - no sticker required:

More pics on Flickr.

All in all the 2018 SC batch is a great thing in my opinion - lots of great shaping ideas and also lots of new very useful parts. I'm pretty sure that especially the new mudguards will open a new chapter in minifig scale car building. Hopefully we'll get some more great classic race cars like the Mustang, the 312 T4 and the 250 GTO in the future.

Thanks for looking!

 

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by ER0L

[r5-j2]

Thanks Erol..my AMG mod was a simple thing..nothing like your 250 GTO, which is simply stunning..It reminds me of the convertible version;--the one used in Ferris Bueller`s day off, pity there aren`t any custom minifigs of Ferris and his gang!!

Regards

Kenny. 

[ER0L]

Hi all,

there were two models that interested me most regarding the actual Speed Champions batch: the Ferrari F40 (75890) and - of course - the Mini Cooper from set 75894. I actually built the Ferrari (quite an interesting build with lots of great SNOT and upside-down sections), however, the result wasn't as inspiring as I had hoped. In fact I miserably failed in modding the car according to my usual requirements. However, there was still the Mini Cooper. 

I was very much looking forward to this model: it's 5-wide (which admittedly I never thought would happen on a stock Lego model) plus I reckoned it would fit quite well into my 1/35 scale range of passenger cars - which it did, since not only the car itself but also its scale is considerably smaller than the usual SC models (rather 1/30 to 1/32). I measured the following:

Wheelbase: 2032 mm/56 mm = ~36
Length: 3060 mm/85 mm = ~36
Width: 1410 mm/40 mm = ~35

A very good match indeed. However, there's one rather strong exception:

Height: 1355 mm/46 mm = ~29,5

I understand this is due to the requirement of seating a fig plus the fact that there's no proper wheelbase for such a car so that the fig sits on top of 2 layers of plates (instead on a lowered wheelbase plate). Here you can see the result of this (with an already flattened roof):

Speed Champions 75893 Mini Cooper S - Scale

You may spot that especially the body is much too tall (the original height of the 1:35 Firebird is 1262 mm which isn't much less than a Mini Cooper). Maybe it's also interesting to mention that the SC Ford GT40 had to be reduced in height very much, too (even by one whole brick).

So all that had to be done was to set down the vehicle: I "cut off" the bottom and mounted smaller wheels (which are required on a Mini of that period anyway, I guess). As already mentioned, the roof was flattened. So height was reduced by 8 mm all in all which improved the proportions quite significantly, I guess. Some details were changed, too: The bumper is an old dark gray rigid hose in 5L which seems to be an official length. The visible hollow studs on those nice rounded plates could be understood as indicators (so obvious to me that I don't understand why they didn't use that feature on the set). The result: 

Mini Cooper 1/35 (Speed Champions 75894 MOD) 

Here you can spot the street version together with another classic British car:

British automotive culture

More pics on Flickr.

Anyhow I'm very pleased that there's this step towards a more realistic range of widths by offering a 5-wide Mini Cooper. However I‘ve no hope for, say, a 7-wide muscle car within the SC range because this would be contradictory to the usual 6-wide scheme they are using for years now, whereas the Mini belongs to a completely different size class. 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by ER0L

[peedeejay]

Perfect in every way. I am still amazed how realistic this one is looking in regards to its size. Wow!

[ER0L]

On 3/14/2019 at 4:00 PM, peedeejay said:

Perfect in every way. I am still amazed how realistic this one is looking in regards to its size. Wow!

Thank you! I'm not sure if it can be called an "uncanny valley" effect regarding minifig scale Lego cars, however, I guess a build like, say, the 4w 40109 Mini Cooper is just recognized as a blocky Lego car by everybody, it's a cute toy, nobody cares about proportions and such, whereas on a build like the 75894 SC Mini Cooper with all those fancy new parts we're much less inclined to accept that the proportions are off if other aspects are much more realistic. The sometimes awkward (in my opinion) mixture of realistic details (often via stickers) with a rather surprising "blockiness" or "studdiness" (see the Ferrari F40) on quite a few Speed Champions sets is another aspect of this conflict, I guess.