New York Toy Fair Coverage Part Seven: Creator, Racers, & Games

[Aanchir]

Shortcut to Part One: Hero Factory

Shortcut to Part Two: Ninjago

Shortcut to Part Three: City

Shortcut to Part Four: Monster Fighters and Dino

Shortcut to Part Five: Super Heroes

Shortcut to Part Six: Friends

This year, I was able to go to the New York International Toy Fair for the first time as a representative of the BIONICLE wiki BIONICLEsector01 and its sister site HEROsector01. Together with fellow BS01/HS01 staff member Chols, who took most of the photos, I attended the LEGO Collectors Preview where representatives of LEGO fansites can view and photograph the new sets for an extended two-hour timeframe (our invitations unfortunately did not cover admission to the full three-day Toy Fair event, so externally-produced LEGO products like clocks and watches were not among the things we saw).

Since our sites' normal coverage doesn't extend outside the constraction themes, we reached an agreement with Eurobricks to share with them our coverage of the LEGO Collectors Preview and all the sets and themes on display. Part seven of our coverage are the themes Creator, Racers, and Games, each of which continues to have a presence in the 2012 lineup.

Creator

Creator is a very traditional sort of theme. As per tradition, every Creator set has instructions for three different models, with additional alternate models sometimes presented in LEGO Club magazines. Seven Creator sets already released in January were on display:

6910 Mini Sports Car

70 pieces

USD 5.99

CAD 7.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model B

Model C

There's not much to say about a mini-model like this, except that I like the A model best. The "super go-cart" and flatbed truck seem to struggle a bit more in making do with the sports car's parts.

6911 Mini Fire Rescue

69 pieces

USD 5.99

CAD 7.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model A

Model B

Model C

This set's models (a fire engine, fire chief's off-roader, and firefighting helicopter) all look impressive. If I had to choose between this year's two mini-models, I'd go for this one.

6912 Super Soarer

130 pieces

USD 12.99

CAD 15.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model B

Model C

This jet is very attractive, although not as appealing as some of the larger supersonic jets in previous years. The functional landing gear is a plus. Its B and C models, a speedboat and a helicopter, are not nearly as streamlined, but they make good use of the A model's parts.

6913 Blue Roadster

152 pieces

USD 12.99

CAD 15.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model A

Model B

Model C

No matter how many street cars appear in the LEGO Creator theme, the designers always seem able to come up with new and imaginative B and C models, in this case an off-roader and a vintage race car. The opening doors and medium blue details are also great assets of this set.

6914 Prehistoric Hunters

191 pieces

USD 17.99

CAD 17.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model B

Model C

The color layering of these dinosaurs (a T-Rex, a pterodactyl, and a brachiosaurus) is obviously more chaotic than the sleek, streamlined look of this year's vehicle-based sets, and the proportions of all three models leave something to be desired. The set's main assets are its dark red parts and many teeth/claws.

7291 Street Rebel

196 pieces

USD 19.99

CAD 24.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model B

Model C

I'm quite impressed that three very unique-looking motorcycles (a street bike, a chopper, and a moped) could all be built with the same pieces. All three have working steering, but only the first offers working suspension. This is by far the most Technic-intensive Creator set for the year.

7292 Propellor Adventures

241 pieces

USD 19.99

CAD 24.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Model B

Model C

This set's three models put the aforementioned Super Soarer in its place. The sleek but bulky twin-prop plane is brilliant even ignoring the movable landing gear, but the fighter jet and hovercraft you can also build from these parts are also impressive in their own right.

Additionally, three Creator sets slated for release in August were on display:

7345 Transport Chopper

383 pieces

USD 34.99

CAD 44.99

This colorful and streamlined helicopter can be rebuilt into a somewhat less streamlined transport boat or seaplane. But as far as I can tell the colors are well-arranged on all three models, even if none has the awesome diagonal stripe created by the slope bricks on the side of the A model.

7346 Seaside House

415 pieces

USD 49.99

CAD 59.99

The Creator houses are fairly popular with AFOLs, largely due to being minifigure-scale. This Seaside House has a unique color scheme, although I know some people are frustrated with bright red roofs. Like last year's Creator houses, this set uses basic plates rather than specialized baseplates, which here allows for a gradual shoreline that is rearranged in the B and C models, a beach townhouse and beach cottage.

7347 Highway Pickup

805 pieces

USD 79.99

CAD 99.99

This set contains two light bricks to activate the lights on top, with a convenient and inconspicuous button that activates both at once. It's a very well-designed function. The stripe pattern on the hood/bonnet reminds me of the old Model Team sets. The set can be rebuilt into a convertible or a crane truck, both of which are just as snazzy-looking as the A model.

Racers

Racers sets this year put traditional race car and street car racing on the back burner, instead focusing on monster truck rallies. The smaller selection of sets than usual and lack of Tiny Turbos this year is probably to avoid competition between these sets and the Cars licensed theme. All four Racers sets on display were released in January:

9092 Crazy Demon

86 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Other currencies from Brickset

This year's Racers sets all have a "crash" function-- pressing the front bumper makes the minifigure driver pop out. In this way, they are reminiscent of the first Racers sets, although these sacrifice the strange slammer-containers of those sets, instead offering traditional minifigures and actual building complexity. A Devon Daredevil minifigure is included.

9093 Bone Cruncher

87 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Other currencies from Brickset

As you can see, the structure of these Racers sets is somewhat repetitive, although of course the nature of their function means you would want them to be evenly-matched. Each driver has unique helmet and torso prints, although the faces are from various earlier sets. This set's driver is named Motor Mike.

9094 Star Striker

88 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Other currencies from Brickset

The box pic here shows off the crash function. The reason for the inflated price-per-piece of these sets is probably their oversized wheels and tires. This set includes the driver minifigure Captain Stunt. The exciting, graphic-covered race uniforms remind me of some Race sets from the 90s as well as the 2002 Drome Racers sets.

9095 Nitro Predator

87 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Other currencies from Brickset

Naturally, these Racers sets aren't extremely realistic monster trucks—after all, what monster truck would fling its driver into danger upon crashing? But Racers has never had a track record for realism, except perhaps in its licensed sets. This set's bright yellowish-green parts and even stickers might be desirable for Ninjago builders. Includes the driver minifigure Nitro Nick.

Games

Of the LEGO Games on display, three of them (3862 Harry Potter Hogwarts, 3860 Castle Fortaan, and 3856 Ninjago) were not new, and were probably only at the event because they had proven successful and the LEGO Group wanted to continue marketing them to retailers. Three other games were new for 2012, with various release dates:

3865 CITY Alarm

247 pieces

USD 19.99

CAD 24.99

This game had a March release date, and I have in fact seen it in stores since a few weeks after attending Toy Fair. This "Cops and Robbers" game pits two players (or, in its four-player version, two teams) against each other in an amusing microscale version of LEGO City.

3874 HEROICA Ilrion

240 pieces

USD 19.99

CAD 24.99

This game, the latest installment of the Heroica theme, is due for release in August. Microfigs include three zombies, the Vampire Lord, and the imprisoned King along with three heroes. Four bats and a fearsome giant bat also are involved in gameplay.

The Hobbit

Piece count, prices, and release date unknown

This set was a real mystery-- it was not mentioned in the press kit we received as attendees, and as you can see the name card gives no information besides its name, year of release (2012), and recommended age (6+). Not even a set number! Chances are that it will be released in Fall 2012 (Spring 2012 for those of you in the southern hemisphere), the release date mentioned various places for upcoming sets based on the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

That wraps it up for part seven! In part eight, we'll be covering the much-loved LEGO Star Wars theme. Stay tuned!

Edited April 12, 2012 by Rufus
Indexed

[tafkatb]

Thanks for posting these! I think I want the Seaside House, but I still keep thinking the price is a mistake. Creator houses usually have a much better price per piece; even the ones with electronic parts come in under 10 cents. Is it possible the quoted price was a misprint?

[sharky]

Thanks for posting these! I think I want the Seaside House, but I still keep thinking the price is a mistake. Creator houses usually have a much better price per piece; even the ones with electronic parts come in under 10 cents. Is it possible the quoted price was a misprint?

Maybe the piece count is not accurate. Perhaps it is more than 415 pieces? Either way, one of the 2 doesn't seem right, price or the piece count. Since the price is on the tag in the pics but the piece count is not on the box, I'd guess maybe the piece count is not updated.

Edited April 16, 2012 by sharky