[REVIEW] 42074: Racing Yacht

[Milan]

INTRODUCTION

So far, we have seen 8 nautical vehicles in Lego Technic. This year, we got two more! First one is 42074 Racing Yacht, and the second one is 42076 Hovercraft.

From Wikipedia:

Quote

A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails smaller than a sailing ship.

Ok, now, lets quickly cover the main sections of the typical small sailboat.

Picture borrowed from: http://www.frugal-mariner.com

As we can see, our 42074: Racing Yacht has most of the parts in place. It has Main sail, Headsail or Jib, Mast and Boom, Rudder and even Shrouds printed on a sails.
Two things are off: it does not have a keel, and it seems its rudder is above water level.
I guess both of these compromises were necessary to achieve better usability of the set, i.e. rolling it on a floor.

Note: All images can be clicked for hi-res versions.

SET INFORMATION

Number: 42074
Title: Racing Yacht
Theme: Technic
Released: 2018
Part Count: 330
Box Weight: 592 gr
Box Dimensions: 26 cm x 28 cm x 5,5 cm
Set Price (MSRP): € 29,99
Price per Part: € 0,05
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

THE BOX
The box shows our Racing Yacht sailing on the water near a city. It also seems it is ahead of two other smaller boats.
The box is taller than wide.The weight of the box is approximately 325 grams.

FRONT SIDE
The box states that this model is for the age of 8 till 14. More importantly, the 2-models in-1 logo is clearly visible, which means this set can be used to build two different models.
A model is a sailboat, while the B model is a catamaran.
We can also see a note stating: "Model does not float. Not for use in water".

BACKSIDE
The backside shows the sailboat and alternative model - catamaran, and their functions. More on that later.

One of the sides shows picture of the steering wheel in actual size.

 

CONTENT OF THE BOX

The box contains:

• 2 Instruction Booklets (A- and B-model)
• 1 Sticker Sheet
• 1 Sail Set (Main Sail and Jib)
• 4 Bags

INSTRUCTION BOOKLET A-MODEL
The instruction booklet for the main model.

INSTRUCTION BOOKLET B-MODEL
Noteworthy is the inclusion of an additional booklet for the B-model.

EXAMPLE OF RANDOM INSTRUCTION STEP

STICKER SHEET
One look at the sticker sheets and it's obvious these stickers will give the model its final and slick shape.

BAGS
Four bags containing all the parts for the model. The only unbagged part in this set is a sail and jib combo.

 

HIGHLIGHTED PARTS
This section describes the new or highlighted parts.

Plastic Sails (sheet of two) with Waves and Technic Gears Pattern.
The Sail and Jib combo is exclusive for this set.

Axle Pin 3L with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and 1L Axle in RED
This 3L Axle Pin has never been released in red before for general public and easily obtainable. This year, it was released in 8 sets in this color, and it was also released in one set in 2017, The Nutcracker (Lego 2017 Employee Exclusive).

Dark Azure Technic, Liftarm 1 x 7 Thick
This 1 x 7 Liftarm has never been released in Dark Azure. This year, we can obtain two of this pieces from this set, and five from 42077 Rally Car set.

Dark Azure Technic, Liftarm 1 x 9 Thick
This 1 x 9 Liftarm has never been released in Dark Azure. It is one of the exclusive parts of this set. We get two pieces.

Dark Azure Technic, Liftarm 1 x 13 Thick
This 1 x 13 Liftarm has never been released in Dark Azure. It is one of the exclusive parts of this set. We get three pieces.

Dark Azure Technic, Liftarm 3 x 5 L-Shape Thick
This 3x5 L Liftarm has never been released in Dark Azure. This year, we can obtain one piece from this set, and two from 42077 Rally Car set.

Dark Azure Technic, Liftarm 3 x 5 L-Shape with Quarter Ellipse Thin
This 3x5 Thin Liftarm has never been released in Dark Azure. It is one of the exclusive parts of this set. We get two pieces.

Dark Azure Technic, Panel Fairing # 5 Long Smooth, Side A and B
This Panels (side A) (side B) has never been released in Dark Azure. This year, we can obtain two pieces of each side (A and B) piece from this set, and one piece of each side (A and B) from 42077 Rally Car set.

All the new parts in Dark Azure color

PART LIST

Our boat consists of 330 parts. Here's the complete part list.

 

THE BUILD

The build is pretty straightforward, and interesting. From very early on, you will get to install first of the two functions. The picture below shows the model halfway of the build. You can see the steering mechanism and sliding steering wheel. Sliding road wheels are also installed.

Here we can see a sail handling mechanism. Its function is to slide the main boom and main sail to one of the sides. It can be operated from both sides of the boat.

Both mechanism installed onto the hull

Panels installed, she is almost seaworthy.

The finished model looks quite good. Of course, much of the visual identity comes from the colorful sails, and complimenting stickers.

The rear of the vehicle looks okay too. One can criticize that it looks unfinished. or overexposed. And it does.

Overall shape of the hull is nice, it does resemble a boat hull, with exception from the front part (Bow), which looks a bit off. Of course, achieving such a complex shape using only panels and liftarms is very hard. We can not expect something in a line of big brick-built ship MOCs.

Profile view.

The next picture shows the underside of the boat. As you can see, everything here is centered around road wheels. This set is clearly meant to be pushed on the floor. Also, it can't stand fully upright very easily.

 

PARTS LEFT

FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS

This model has the following features:

• Steering
• Sail Handling

STEERING
The steering wheel actually steers the rudder, which is a plus. Steering wheels is a realistically positioned and relatively easy to reach.

Here you can see how it works.

SAIL HANDLING
By turning one of the cranks on either side of the boats, a mechanism activates the arm which moves the boom and thus, the whole main sail is moved. Cranks are somewhat hard to reach, and you definitely can't use the single crank to achieve a full range of movement of the sail.

Here is how it looks in motion

 

Functions for the B model are the same:

• Steering
• Sail Handling

 

SUMMARY

Besides the somewhat unfinished feel of the back section, there are no real downsides to this model. I like the looks and color scheme. It also it contains various unique parts. It even features a interesting sail handling mechanism and working steering wheel to operate the rudder. The set comes with printed instructions for the B-model, so it's basically a real 2-in-1 set.

For around 30 euros you really can't go wrong with this set. Given the price, this also makes for a perfect gift for a boat lover!

SCORE

How do I grade her.

7 DESIGN

Dark azure and yellow work great together in this set. And it does look like a real racing sailboat. Different than our usual Technic set.

7 BUILDING EXPERIENCE

Fun to build.

7 FEATURES

Working steering wheel and sail handling mechanism on a relatively small set.

6 PLAYABILITY

A bit inconvenient to push it around since it does not have a real steering, but playable enough. Controls not easily reachable. May be a bit hard to mix with your average Technic sets. 

8 PARTS

Lots of parts in new (rare) colors.

8 VALUE FOR MONEY

Totally worth the money, if you are into boats.

7,2

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

[Bricktrain]

Nice Review. Thanks. Looks a neat set especially if your interested in boats.

 

[Johnny1360]

First off, thanks for yet another quality, review, I much prefer this type of proper review, although I seem to be in a quickly dwindling minority. They are getting harder to find and I appreciate the time you spent making it. 

A lot of people don't seem to like that rudder above the water line. To me it just represents a portion of the rudder, the rest obviously below the water line same as the keel. Sure they could have including both, probably at the expense of any sort of play feature, making a great display set. 

Personally I like this set and catch myself playing with it every now and then, when I dust my Lego display off. 

It's one of those sets I want to buy a second one for the good parts, although I have no use for the sails. 

[Milan]

8 hours ago, Bricktrain said:

Nice Review. Thanks.

7 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

A lot of people don't seem to like that rudder above the water line. To me it just represents a portion of the rudder, the rest obviously below the water line same as the keel. Sure they could have including both, probably at the expense of any sort of play feature, making a great display set.

Fully agree. 
I wish they included the keel and rudder part that goes bellow the water line (in a way that we could put it as a option, if and when we want). That way we could have both playability and nice realistically looking/display model, at the expense of few more (larger) parts/panels.

[Paul B Technic]

Great review. If I got this it would only be for parts, maybe a good base for a C model.