10261 LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster

[Ecclesiastes]

 

10261 LEGO Creator Expert: Roller Coaster
4,124 pieces | Ages 16+ | LEGO VIP Availability May 16 | General Availability June 1
$379.99 US – $479.99 CN – DE 329.99€ – FR 349.99€ – UK £299.99 – DK 2699DKK

Take a ride with the ultimate Roller Coaster!

Enjoy the thrills and excitement of the fairground with this chain-lift Roller Coaster featuring a wealth of brick-built details and 11 minifigures. Upgradable with LEGO® Power Functions and LEGO BOOST for an added movement sensor and realistic sound effects!

Capture the speed, thrills and excitement of the ultimate fairground attraction with this incredible LEGO® Creator Expert 10261 Roller Coaster. This fully functional chain-lift model comes with 2 trains and an array of authentic features and functions, including a ticket booth, cotton candy cart, concession stand, height marker, and a covered boarding station complete with opening barriers and a control panel. Lower the lap bars to secure the riders into the cars and release the brake to send the train to the foot of the first climb. Then activate the chain lift and enjoy the ride as the gravity-driven cars hurtle through the Roller Coaster’s twists and turns.

Upgrade the Roller Coaster with LEGO Power functions for a motorized chain lift or LEGO BOOST for an added movement sensor and realistic sound effects! This incredible collectible toy has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding building experience with a touch of nostalgia and charm. Includes 11 minifigures.

• Build a fully functioning Roller Coaster with 2 trains, lots of big dips and upgrade options
• Upgrade with LEGO® BOOST and LEGO Power Functions for an even more immersive experience
• Roller Coaster model measures over 20” (53cm) high, 34” (88cm) wide and 16” (41cm) deep
• LEGO® Creator Expert building toys are compatible with all LEGO construction sets for creative building
• Includes 11 minifigures: a cotton candy vendor, 2 ride attendants, 2 grandparents with their granddaughter and 5 riders. 8 of these minifigures feature reversible heads to display different emotions.
• Fully functional chain-lift Roller Coaster model features a classic brick-built sign, control panel, 2 trains—each consisting of 3 train cars with low-friction wheels, and a 44-piece track consisting of 7 different rail elements.
• Also features a ticket booth, fountain, cotton candy cart, concession stand, waiting area with bench, camera element and a pond with a frog figure.
• Buy your ticket at the booth and make your way to the covered plaza.
• No cheating at the height marker—the ride attendant has an accurate measuring stick!
• Help the riders into the cars and secure the lap bars.
• Release the brake to send the cars to the foot of the first climb.
• Activate the chain lift to pull the train cars to the top of the first drop.
• Move the rails to launch a second train.
• Serve refreshing beverages at the concession stand or spin some cotton candy.
• Don’t forget to smile as you race past the camera!
• Upgrade the Roller Coaster with LEGO® Power Functions for a motorized chain lift, or with LEGO BOOST for automated chain lift activation and realistic sound effects!
• Decorated elements include a ticket, money, arrow tiles, pressure gauge, number pad and a ride control panel.
• Special new-for-June-2018 elements include a 2x8x6 Rail Slope, 1x2x1 Bow Brick, plant leaves, stalks and flowers.
• Other elements include a height checker and 2 cotton candy treats.
• Makes the perfect fairground addition to the 10257 LEGO® Creator Expert Carousel and 10247 LEGO® Creator Expert Ferris Wheel
• Measures over 20” (53cm) high, 34” (88cm) wide and 16” (41cm) deep.

 

 

 

[mostlytechnic]

The driving wheels around the top bend is an interesting method - keeps the layout smaller instead of needing an immediate drop to get momentum. I'd rather have had sloping curves instead.

Now just to decide where to spend my Lego budget.... this, or more modulars....

[KotZ]

Just when I thought my wallet was going to be safe for awhile, they go and release this.

[Bricked1980]

Beautiful and stunning. This thing will go down as an all time classic I reckon. Only thing stopping me is the price.

[fred67]

Hmm... this is an awesome set, TLG finally releasing a roller coaster.  If I was rich, I'd buy it (probably several).  $380 is just too much.  Being able to buy track packs separately (as is the rumor?) will allow me to make my own, I think, at a much more reasonable price - especially if I start with the pirate coaster set.

Most of the play features look great, but I am disappointed they had to have the supplemental wheels there, at the top, to keep the coaster moving.  It not only doesn't look great, but points to a poor track design, IMO.  It seems more like how a flume ride would  be laid out.  I'm also not sold on the support infrastructure.  Obviously I think most people will motorize it, but I wonder how many cranks it takes to get the cars to the top.  I can picture a grandparent buying a child a set like this without understanding they should get the power functions with it.

I don't know what else to say about it - it's awesome because it's a LEGO Roller Coaster, but it's expensive and feels like a first draft instead of a finished product.

[Matti]

Who is the designer behind this model? Jamie Berard? :) 

It's got some interesting techniques. I'm just impressed that they pulled off a roller coaster! Wouldn't have been possible without the new tracks of course, but still. The frame work itself is actually the most interesting part here

[aukevin]

This is beyond what I was expecting.  Can't wait to get it!

[agrof]

Just leave it here... 

 

[wooster]

Notice the map on the bottom right-hand corner of the Rollercoaster.  It shows the Rollercoaster, Ferris Wheel, and Carousel.  It does not include the Mixer.  I have always felt the mixer seemed out of place with the Ferris Wheel and Carousel.  It feels more like a carnival ride than a permanent amusement park ride.  This map seems to confirm my speculation.  

Well, at least it justifies me not having bought the Mixer 

[Eaglefan344]

Just now, wooster said:

Notice the map on the bottom right-hand corner of the Rollercoaster.  It shows the Rollercoaster, Ferris Wheel, and Carousel.  It does not include the Mixer.  I have always felt the mixer seemed out of place with the Ferris Wheel and Carousel.  It feels more like a carnival ride than a permanent amusement park ride.  This map seems to confirm my speculation.  

Well, at least it justifies me not having bought the Mixer 

I feel the exact same way. I don't feel like the mixer fits in with the others at all since it's a temporary ride. I didn't buy it and have no plans to.

[TechnicRCRacer]

This. Is. AWESOME!!! I have been a fan of roller coasters for a while now, but the price hurts my eyes

[nana]

I have all new advanced fairground sets, Ferris Wheel, Carousel, and Mixer. This one is much more bigger and expensive. I may have to skip it and stop collecting for fairground. 

[22kane]

Ive been waiting my whole life for this set... I'm buying two.

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for the press release, Ecclesiastes!

Positive:

Nice set with nice functions. The sugar candy stand and the juice stand look brilliant.

Negative:

Having Lego employees working for the rollercoaster is really unfitting. We get no new torso for the minifigs. Plus I miss decoration and lights (like there were in contrast at the ferris wheel). The storage room for this set is massive - and it doesn't seem as if you could divide it into bigger parts. Plus 330 Euros is absolutely too much money for what you get - a bad price ratio performance.

If I buy this set at all, than only when getting double VIP points! But imo the 3 in 1 Pirates Rollercoaster looks much more interesting and is besides even much cheaper!

Edited April 26, 2018 by Klaus-Dieter

[johanmyst]

Nice LEGO Creator set, but I find it expensive too. OK, 4124 pieces is more than in the Lego Technic Bucket Wheel excavator with motor. And I think I understand why the set is expensive (the rollercoasterparts ?)

[koalayummies]

This is one of the most impressive and cool sets in a very long time. Can't see myself getting it but if I was a kid my mind would be blown and as an adult looking at it Lego has made one of the most fun looking and very cool functional play sets in quite some time.

[ReplicaOfLife]

Great looking set. Just wish they had come up with a more unique name for it - "Coaster" is a slightly unimaginative name for a coaster (even though "Rollercoaster" or the respective term in the local native language is propably the most common name for rollercoasters out there...).

Very certainly won't get it (as 300€+ is more than I'm willing to pay for a single Lego set), but if I did that would be the first thing I'd change.

It also feels that at that price, they really could've thrown in the motor.

 

...and that's a lot of white 2x2 bricks.

[ColletArrow]

Well, I think TLG really pulled their finger out for this one. Personally I'm not going to buy it, but then I never buy any LEGO over £50, so that's irrelevant really. 
However, as an engineer, I find the mechanics in this set really interesting . Here's what I determined all the controls do:
>The sliding rail sections are simply operated by a tab attached to them. 
>The right-hand crank is connected to the chain drive and tyres at the top. A motor can be connected to that drivetrain.
>The left-hand crank operates a tyre underneath the platform that acts both as a starter drive and a brake.
>The slider to the left of that moves the starter/brake tyre out of the way. Therefore, when the starter/brake tyre is retracted and the chain drive is motorised, the cars will carry on round the track indefinitely.

The possibility to use the Boost set to provide power, instead of just the standard Power Functions set, is interesting as well; I don't think anyone saw that coming. The elastic bands used as tensioners throughout should help reliability. However, whilst I love all these functions, I wonder if some of them will work as well as displayed in the video, or if the coaster will actually need some coaxing along in places. Also, the control box area looks a bit messy, especially with all the unused pinholes in the technic bricks.

Overall I'm excited for this set. Now I'm just waiting for people to get their hands on this behemoth and review it!

EDIT: You've got to love that the video's frame rate and chain speed makes it look as if the chain is moving the wrong way!

Edited April 26, 2018 by ColletArrow

[dforce]

I really want to see a better view of the top of the chain when the carts crest the hill.  One of my big issues is having the chain rub against the slats of the rollercoaster causing major friction without any wheels or anything.  At the bottom it shows the technic cam pieces that act as a barrier, but I'm not sure how it's set up at the top.  Otherwise, it looks great and very fun to play with.  I can't wait til we see reviews around the web with video that shows how it really works.

[AFOLguy1970]

Looks nice, but for $380, I think it will be a pass for me.  Probably will end up taking a harder look at the Pirate coaster.  

[Praetorian_Guard]

The benefits of Boost sound interesting.

I've been thinking for some time about buying the set 31313 to improve the roller coaster, but if boost is recommended as an extension of the roller coaster,....

Is boost actually compatible with a computer or just a smartphone or tablet?

[karmajay]

Looks fun. We have the other 2 so will most likely get this!

[Eaglefan344]

9 minutes ago, Praetorian_Guard said:

The benefits of Boost sound interesting.

I've been thinking for some time about buying the set 31313 to improve the roller coaster, but if boost is recommended as an extension of the roller coaster,....

Is boost actually compatible with a computer or just a smartphone or tablet?

I don't see the individual Boost parts listed either. I wonder if you have to have the Boost set or if they will release the individual sensors.

[AllanSmith]

LEGO stop motion video.

Enjoy :)

[Kalahari134]

3 hours ago, wooster said:

Notice the map on the bottom right-hand corner of the Rollercoaster.  It shows the Rollercoaster, Ferris Wheel, and Carousel.  It does not include the Mixer.  I have always felt the mixer seemed out of place with the Ferris Wheel and Carousel.  It feels more like a carnival ride than a permanent amusement park ride.  This map seems to confirm my speculation.  

Well, at least it justifies me not having bought the Mixer 

In the same way I wish the tracks were medium blue instead of red to match it to the previous two sets. Not sure I can justify spending an entire weeks pay on one set either.