42111 - Fast & Furious car

[Mechbuilds]

Can we get a 42111 mods thread already started? I'm looking for: 
-Full RC with buwizz
-Leaf spring rear suspension
-Interior if possible
-Normal hood
-Color mods
-Red stripe on the tail
-Mustang tires and wheels?

You know.. All the good stuff

I wonder if buwizz would fit in the trunk?

[Mechbuilds]

https://www.lego.com/en-fi/product/dom-s-dodge-charger-42111

Price has gone up 20€. 

Wtf? 

Is it still going to go up even further? I should have preordered yesterday..

[Collibosher]

I have to dare to comment and sorry it's not anything positive, but that "thing" just doesn't look good. The weird choice and use of body panels all over and especially the use of macaroni pieces behind the front fascia is just mind boggling... I mean the late 60's Chargers should have sharp edges around the car, that's of the distinctive car design "rules" of era. I would have gladly taken something more "skeleton" and with more flex rods, than this whatever it is.

That's not all, it has one of worst possible wheel choices. This was the set that I thought would finally introduce new wheels and tires suitable for technic classic cars, so I could finally stop using those 42009 crane tires on everything (them being one of the few narrow enough with high profile tire) Sure, "Dom's Charger" has had many wheels over the years, but if they were going with those huge wide low profile tires, then the whole car should have had low ground clearance etc to match the look. Now it's just a weird combination of muscle car stance and modern wheels of different scale... When I start build MOCs, obviously I always scale the build based on the wheels I'm going to use and I've heard lego designers doing the same, but not this time apparently?

Buuut, it's still a classic car from the Lego Technic line, so I just "have to" buy it. You win Lego... 

 

Also is this even real, it's 2020 and the Technic line still doesn't have a medium scaled steering wheel? I always find the current steering wheels being either too small or too large for the build 

[Bartybum]

8 minutes ago, Collibosher said:

so I just "have to" buy it. You win Lego... 

Aaaaand suddenly your entire argument commenting on how much you find wrong about the set and how much it doesn't deserve your money means nothing, and becomes equally as good as praise.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Bartybum

[kbalage]

18 minutes ago, Mechbuilds said:

https://www.lego.com/en-fi/product/dom-s-dodge-charger-42111

Price has gone up 20€. 

Wtf? 

Is it still going to go up even further? I should have preordered yesterday..

That's the price in the Finnish shop, for some reason it's always more expensive than the other European shops for LEGO. Germany has it for 99,99 €, in France it is 109,99 €, in Finland it is 119,95 €... different taxes maybe? 

[howitzer]

As someone who's not generally interested in muscle cars, I find this set strangely appealing. There appears to be a nice selection of parts I don't currently have, and it seems also to be a mostly well-built model with good functions for it's size. I'm not in a hurry though, I think I'll wait for the reviews.

[Collibosher]

19 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

Aaaaand suddenly your entire argument commenting on how much you find wrong about the set and how much it doesn't deserve your money means nothing, and becomes equally as good as praise.

That's okay, I'm anonymous, my arguments and opinions should not mean anything anyway. I never said it wouldn't "deserve" my money, money is just numbers and subjective, I don't give my money any sentimental value. 

I just thought out loud how ugly it is and how little it resembles the real one, how that even happens? You would think the lego designers had the ability to Google "FF Charger" and use it as a reference, now it looks like they build it from from someone's drunken description about the car they saw in a movie 

 

1970 Charger everybody...

Edited March 31, 2020 by Collibosher

[kbalage]

@Collibosher it's an interesting image choice considering your previous (otherwise legit) argument about the wheels and rims, they totally match this car  Anyway, what I think should be considered is the limitation of the LEGO theme and the piece count. If you can come up with a significantly more accurate version with ~1000 pieces and mostly Technic parts then I'm happy to accept your point. 

Otherwise I'd say it was an unfortunate scale and/or theme choice, could have been better as a Creator Expert car, or better shaped if it comes in a similar scale like the Bugatti or the Porsche. If we look at it realistically the reason of the theme choice is probably the fact that we had the Ford Mustang last year and they did not want a similar car as the next one in the series. Regarding the scale, I guess it is does not fit in the supercar series and will simply sell better in this price range. 

[Collibosher]

24 minutes ago, kbalage said:

@Collibosher it's an interesting image choice considering your previous (otherwise legit) argument about the wheels and rims, they totally match this car  Anyway, what I think should be considered is the limitation of the LEGO theme and the piece count. If you can come up with a significantly more accurate version with ~1000 pieces and mostly Technic parts then I'm happy to accept your point. 

Otherwise I'd say it was an unfortunate scale and/or theme choice, could have been better as a Creator Expert car, or better shaped if it comes in a similar scale like the Bugatti or the Porsche. If we look at it realistically the reason of the theme choice is probably the fact that we had the Ford Mustang last year and they did not want a similar car as the next one in the series. Regarding the scale, I guess it is does not fit in the supercar series and will simply sell better in this price range. 

Yes like I said, the modern wheels COULD look right, IF they were smaller and the whole car had lower stance, but that of course would cause clearance problems for turning wheels. So, if they had gone with smaller classic muscle car wheels (like the creator Mustang's) the whole car would have looked slightly better and the wheels would have still been able to turn.

You can have more modern looking wheels and still not make them overly wide

Lego Charger's front wheels are double the width they could realistically be

I agree the lego designers shouldn't be blamed, it's like with the 42093 Corvette, they were assigned to do it and probably did the best they could with the limitations put on them. Of course I have ATTEMPTED to build 2nd gen Charger several times, but always failed due to the "impossibility" to create a good looking front fascia and that slightly ascending rear fender line, from technic parts. I can just give up, but the lego designer HAD TO do it anyway.

The Lego should ask from it's designers first; Is it even possible to make it resemble the real one? If not, either mold new pieces or choose a different vehicle.

[iLego]

For some reason, it looks odd to me. Models made by fellow AFOLs look nicer

 Ultimate muscle car by @paave

Muscle car by @Michael217

[Lakop]

With everything going on recently I had missed this topic. I think if they had made this set a creator set like the Mustang and Bond Car it would have more appeal. The body work just does not do it for me. The front tyres are too wide, the steering wheel is too big and the panels don't suit it. A creator expert set would have worked much better and they could have put the price up too.

H

[SNIPE]

I'm not sure as to why lego didnt do this for the front fenders:

ok I kinda know why but those blue 3L pins in the official model could probably have been done away with.

Edited March 31, 2020 by SNIPE

[Erik Leppen]

I'm slightly surprised by the critiques on the looks. I think it looks quite good, given the theme and its limitations. But I'm not a car fanatic, I don't care if it's an exact replica, as long as it's recognizable. As totally not knowledgeable in cars, I think it's close enough to recognize what type of car this represents, and whether it's a Charger, I don't really care. This is Technic, this is about functions.

I do hope that for 1000 parts, there's more than steering, front suspension, fake engine and wheelie bar. I think there should be rear suspension at least.

In any case, I probably won't buy it - there's too little new parts for me and black is not a color I'm running short of, and I'll probably that the 11x15 frame elsewhere.

But yes, I agree the front wheels are way too wide and I'm waiting for years for TLC to produce thinner car or truck tyres so we don't have to use 64x20 tyres for everything. I just don't get why tyres are so wide. Why is this, at all?

Edited March 31, 2020 by Erik Leppen

[Mechbuilds]

Can't the mustang wheels be used to replace the wheels on this charger? It should be more accurate that way. 

[LvdH]

35 minutes ago, Mechbuilds said:

Can't the mustang wheels be used to replace the wheels on this charger? It should be more accurate that way. 

The wheels used in this set are considerably larger and wider. 

[Bartybum]

2 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

I think there should be rear suspension at least.

There is, it uses a torque tube piece and hard springs.

Regarding people’s comments on the ride height, I think if you replace the springs with soft ones it might be better.

[Gray Gear]

I think we have long reached a point where people's MOCs have surpassed the official LEGO sets, and TLG's designers just cant keep up 

[Vectormatic]

@Erik Leppen I can understand the criticisms of the looks, that fact that the entire sideprofile is missing the subtle curves really makes it hard to see a proper charger in there. I think maybe the curved panels might have made for a better hood curve, but there is no right way to do the edge/side of the car.

Given the limitations of the set in terms of parts and budget, i think they did well though, comparing this to 42077, 42041's B-model, i actually am positively surprised that we get a set with these looks, a license and decent features for only €99. Comparing it to the bugatti and porsche it is obvious that working in this scale with licensed subjects makes for some serious compromises, but to me this looks good enough that i will pick it up and screw around with it a bit. Im not a huge musclecar fan, but watching roadkill has given me a decent amount of appreciation for things like a 70s charger.

 

@Gray Gear I think that point has been passed long ago, AFOLs dont have to deal with parts budgets, marketability, illegal building techniques or even just making a set viable for a certain age group, the only advantage lego has is being able to create new parts.

 

As ive said before, ill end up buying this, itll probably drop to €80 soon enough with sales, which to me is a pretty good price for a medium sized muscle car to mod

[Cumulonimbus]

9 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

...

But yes, I agree the front wheels are way too wide and I'm waiting for years for TLC to produce thinner car or truck tyres so we don't have to use 64x20 tyres for everything. I just don't get why tyres are so wide. Why is this, at all?

I agree. The Technic line really needs more variation in thinner tires, especially with the increasing amount of licensed vehicles. The 42110 for example just looks so weird on those fat tires compared to images of the real Defender. Similarly, I have always wondered why TLG has a fascination for balloon tires. They have launched so many vehicles over the years that sat on balloon tires while the real thing doesn’t: 8053, 8081, 8295, 42029, 42068 to name a few.

My theory is that the current tires dimensions are a consequence of that balloon fascination: TLG had wide rims for balloon tires and designed more normal patterned tires to fit the existing rims; hence they needed to be equally wide. I was delighted when the 42024 truck included the 49.53X20 tire for the first time and the 10258 London bus launched the 43X14 tire because these where the first more or less realistically proportioned Technic tire-rim combinations since the Arcos wheels.

I hope and wish that it is only a matter of time: the more TLG is investing in the seemingly profitable world of licensed vehicle Creator and Technic sets, the more they will need to come up with more realistic wheels and tires. You can see something similar has happened with the Speed Champions where tires with a more real looking thread pattern and new rim inserts were needed to achieve the necessary aesthetic. And don’t forget that it was also licensed sets like the 10265, 42056, 42083 and 42110 which have finally given us rims with realistic offsets.

Fun fact did you know that TLG is the biggest tire manufacturing company in the world (when you look at numbers produced)?

[Bartybum]

I’ve just noticed that the reason the front doesn’t bother me is because I’ve kept confusing the Charger and Challenger... in any case it looks like a hybrid between the two lol

[zux]

What really bothers me is the 1 unit (1/5 stud) gap between plate+tile and a bracket in the front . The bottom side of this grille, specifically. 

[Mechbuilds]

What i'm getting from this is: 

It's a great model that has been executed prefectly. If you're a mere mortal. 

If you are a great elitist lego master race then you can obviously see the miniscule flaws of this set which was made by monkeys who have no idea how to build classics and they have tarnished the whole essence of muscle cars with presenting this abomination of a set. 
 

[Maaboo the Witch]

3 minutes ago, Mechbuilds said:

What i'm getting from this is: 

It's a great model that has been executed prefectly. If you're a mere mortal. 

If you are a great elitist lego master race then you can obviously see the miniscule flaws of this set which was made by monkeys who have no idea how to build classics and they have tarnished the whole essence of muscle cars with presenting this abomination of a set. 
 

Yeah. It's the Mack all over again. The thing about Technic is that a model is probably not gonna look exactly like the real thing. To me, even though I'm not a car person, this set is perfectly recognizable as a Dodge Charger. I do like Sam Tacchi's build style too.

If you want a model that has been kludged, though, see 42114.

[syclone]

Surprisingly, finding this set more interesting than initially, personally black is welcome and I'm happy to see a mostly black chassis as well. I am however surprised as to why the new 3x11 curved panel design was used as it looks horrendous combined with the small 3x7 curved panels than have just 2 visible pinholes. From the photos the "old" panel mould would be a direct or almost direct drop in replacement on the bodywork. I am very happy to see small steering hubs and other rare parts in the set however. Wheelie "bar" or playfeature is welcome if it is spring loaded and not the awfully slow mini LA dragster funny car scenario. Wheels have always been awfully wide, and I do hope TLG will make a thinner version someday. As a final remark, 41999 front (all muscle looks the same to me, sorry) was way better done without employing System parts, this one looks awfully messy IMO. And no chromed parts on this one 

I guess it includes the new diff, so that might be the final counterweight to buy it as a parts pack for me (if on sale). 

 

[Rudivdk]

16 minutes ago, syclone said:

 

I guess it includes the new diff, so that might be the final counterweight to buy it as a parts pack for me (if on sale). 

Nope, 'old' 3wide DBG diff...