Review Quick Review: 7291 CREATOR Street Rebel

[Rufus]

This set is about to disappear from the shelves. It is already Sold Out on Shop@Home in all the countries I checked, and it is fast disappearing from the shelves in most shops. I got this on sale for £12.49, which is pretty good value for the parts.

This 'quick review' is a little experiment - an attempt to document the set while I still have chance, and to see if there's mileage in doing future reviews in this style. A full-scale review is pretty time-consuming, so this is a potential way to increase the review output.

Review: 7291 Street Rebel

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Theme: CREATOR Availability: 2012 - 2013 Parts: 196 Price: GB £17.99 | US $19.99 | EUR 19.99 - 22.99

Links ... Shop@Home ... Bricklink ... Brickset

The Box

Click each frame for a larger image

The standard CREATOR box is nicely square, and relatively heavy, containing two instruction manuals and a larger than average parts selection. The rear does a good job of showcasing the three builds - all motorbikes; in each case the stand is deployed, and a solitary inset depicts the other play feature of the main build - the rear wheel's suspension.

The Instructions

The three models are crammed into two booklets: the first with papery covers for the main model, and containing the set inventory and WGW kid; the second with shiny thicker covers for both secondary builds and with instructions right up to the back cover. The familiar blue CREATOR background with yellow surround is found throughout, with part call-outs for all models.

Model One - Street Rebel

Street Rebel is a handsome sports bike with a working rear 'suspension' formed from two elastic bands, two large headlights mounted on the front forks, and 'working' steering which we'll examine in more detail shortly. The body is mostly brick-built, with a little Technic for strength; Technic forms the majority of the front forks and the rear pivots.

I've partly disassembled the side to show the Technic bracing for the body, and also the minor SNOT-work on the side:

I like the way the large 45-degree angled liftarm is pinned in two places. Nothing ground-breaking, but it had never occurred to me that these liftarms might be used this way, so I've learned something! The bike looks a little tall with the rear axle at full extension; in reality the weight of the bike would compress the suspension somewhat ...

... and here it is at full compression, mimicked by removing the elastic:

It's also a good view of the rather makeshift exhaust, which points disappointingly skywards in this pose - it's one of the weakest points of the set.

The top view is very smart :

The steering in all three models is based around this part. Here it is at maximum deflection, which isn't very far. This wouldn't be a problem at speed as cornering would be achieved more by leaning the bike (except that the square tyres won't help in this respect!), but manoeuvring at low speed would be rather tricky.

The bike looks purposeful from the rear:

Again, the exhaust looks a little naff, and the rear mudguard - which the instructions indicate should be angled upwards somewhat, though it isn't clear - is rather too short for my tastes. Overall, though, it's a smart machine with clean and sporty lines, and quite impressive in its simplicity. Those wheels could be useful for larger vehicles - shame there's only two of them!

Model Two - Big Chopper

'Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead.'

The elongated handlebars and front forks clearly indicate that this bike is not a bike, it's a chopper. Some clever use of inverted Technic allows the 2x3 dark bley plate to sit studs-downward; it ins't doing anything but being a plate, but I like the touch. Alone of all the models, the chopper's headlight actually faces forward ...

... though you can angle it up if you wish.

All three models have a stand; this one and the third are a little different to the primary model. Note the rear mudguard - it's attached studs downward via a clippy-hinge, allowing the use of a slope to give a nice contour, at the expense of ugly visible anti-studs.

The chopper has the best steering angle of the three, but even then its play isn't huge.

This view allows another look at the SNOT rear mudguard/seat, and also the interesting use of SNOT bows to create a reasonably realistic fuel tank.

The long front forks make the chopper's body sit leaning slightly backwards:

This isn't the model's best angle: the ugly exposed Technic bricks don't look so hot. Note the construction of black bricks and inverted slopes at the bottom centre: I thought these may be there to prevent excessive downward force breaking the model, but you'd have to use a LOT of force to break it, and the black bricks won't help if you do.

Model Three - Retro Bike

I was at a slight loss as to what to call this one, but it reminds me quite strongly of 1970s police motorcycles (think Magnum Force).

Shop@Home calls it a moped, and you can see why, given the curvy rear end, but then the tyres look a little too beefy.

However, the seating configuration would fit with a moped. I like the use of the bows to add curves to the sides, and the angled Technic liftarms to recreate the splashguard (or whatever it might be called!) in front of the footplates. I know nothing about mopeds.

It's looking more and more mopedy to me now.

Again, the bike leans backward slightly, though not as markedly as the chopper. The rear mudguard is a little basic, but it works; the exhausts, mounted a little too high, less so.

Of course, there's a stand, and this one works well. It's design is identical to that of the chopper.

This bike has the least effective steering of the three, caused by a slight difference to the design: a 5-long liftarm sits within the prongs of the steering bracket, restricting movement quite severely. The picture is kind to it: the front wheel hardly moves at all. Note that the front headlight always stays in line with the body, which might make driving at night somewhat hairy!

Conclusion

I'm always impressed by the ability of LEGO designers to cram three models into (most) CREATOR sets, using the same parts to produce a maximum of variety whilst utilising different techniques to keep the builds interesting. At first glance, the three models do look similar (they're all bikes, after all . Except the chopper ) but they are all very different types of bike; thus providing a little education in addition to the building fun - at least for thise who haven't seen Pulp Fiction.

This isn't a jaw-dropping set, by any means - but it's fun and instructive. If you can pick one up on sale before it disappears, do so: but if so, with those big tyres that aren't so useful in pairs - if I were you I'd pick up two.

Thanks for reading! This quick review is intended to provide a record of this set for posterity without taking an age to write. I don't propose to write every review like this; please do let me know what you think of the concept.

Rufus

[eurotrash]

I think these shorter reviews are perfect for this kind of set. There's a good blend of quality pictures, critical text and the builders experience. I think you nailed it Rufus.

[Sir Brickalot]

Lovely review Rufus. This style of review is perfect.