vectormatic

I fully appreciate that, and it isnt the caricature-ness of it that rubs me the wrong way, it is that some design choices were made which i think are entirely inferior to what could have been (the windshield mostly), and the long/flat nose make it look like a caricature of a different car imho. Given how stunning other speed champions look (the 919H and 911RSR last year for instance), i just feel like this F40 is sub-par for the theme, which is a shame considering the iconic status of the real machine

Sounds like forma follow ups on the moving fish statue

I picked up the F40 yesterday, and figured i would share my thoughts on it. While i very much anticipated the F40 (and its bigger creater expert brother had me amazed), im a bit disappointed in the set. The build feels a bit monotone, with all the red (predicatable, i know, somehow i tend to prefer the more garish looking speed champion sets). I also got caught out by the fact that it comes with a bazilion red 1x1 plates, two of which have this very small ferrari logo printed on one side, by the time i needed the two printed ones, i had already used one of them in another place by accident, so i had to take all of them off again until i found the prancing horse. The end result also just doent look right, too many visible studs on top, and the windscreen/bonnet look all kinds of wrong. Comparing the side profile of the car to some pictures (and using the diameter of the wheels as reference), my conclusion is that the windscreen is about half as short as it should be. The front edge seems to be roughly in the right place, but the top should be drawn back by one stud. Now my first thought was to use the windscreen piece from (among others) the classic GT40 here, but i think it wont fit, as the entire assembly is 5 studs long, and the F40 only has 4 studs from windscreen edge to the rear compartment. The slope on the front also looks wrong, and in roadgoing configuration, the bumper hangs off the deck too high. maybe both issues could be solved, but the tops of the wheel arches might block a more sloped bonnet. As it is, the F40 looks very much like it has the engine in the front too me, with that massive flat bonnet and almost vertical windscreen, im getting a nissan 240z type vibe from it. Originally i was considering picking up two F40s, one as roadgoing, one as competizione, but given that im not really impressed by the model, i think ill hold off on that, looking over the shelves yesterday at the store, there are plenty of other small sets which i feel would be a better way to spend €15 then a second awkward looking attempt at an F40

The $/pc ratio on speed champions has gone down a LOT through the waves though, wave 1 sets were ~150 pieces for $15, now we are at ~200, and the designs have gotten a LOT better, comparing the 2015 458GT2 with the 2018 488GT3 for instance, or the 911s from those same years. What we do need to account for though, while piece count has gone up 33% per single car set, those set are still the same size, so those parts are getting a lot smaller on average, to facilitate all the added detail. And while generally speaking we as AFOLs tend to use $/pc as a measure, we dont really adjust for average weight a lot. There is general feeling that technic for instance has more pieces per dollar because of all the cheap/small pins and virtually no printed pieces, but generally expensive parts such as big tyres are factored in when comparing value. in reality, piece/$ only looks at the cost of using a machine to produce a part, not the material needed for the part, which would be weight/$, the second factor is what is driving $/pc down on speed champions i think.

Im sure Lego could make some new wheel covers for this car rather then using the old ferrari mold. Surely a bunch of these covers will be cheap enough to include in a set like this? certainly cheaper then custom wheels like the GT3RS and Chiron

Those hubcaps look great! Lego definitely missed a trick by not putting something like that in there

Agreed, but i dont think there would be room for both steering and drive on the rear wheels. Looking at the bottom, i dont see much of a way to make the front wheel steer without basically rebuilding the entire structure of the set, as the bottom is pretty much the backbone. One might be able to rebuild the bottom to have two front wheels and a drive gear though, but you would still need to pass the driveshaft to the back, which would interfere with any steering mechanism on a back wheel. The most achievable way of adding any type of steering might be to make a caster wheel in the nose, although it would need to be a smaller wheel then the current front to have room to spin

I very much doubt that, at least when it comes to the suspension. Both porsches so far have incredibly inaccurate suspension (the 911 has mcpherson struts in the front for instance), and at the chiron launch, the bugatti reps were actually surprised the pistons moved in the model. There are also a TON of other inaccuracies (i think the chiron actually has height adjustable suspension in real life), and all lego really knows how to do is double wishbone suspension anyway, when it comes to cars. Im sure the only way Bugatti was involved in terms of approval was the general look of the thing, and they probably had some discussions beforehand concerning pricing/size to make sure it matches the "premium" feel of the brand, technical details are way too much in depth for these kinds of deals.

So i fully appreciate 42089 is only a small $15 set, aimed at kids to introduce them to the theme, and most AFOLs wont give it even a second glance, but i figured i would post this here anyway, as i feel my small improvements really make it a cooler powerboat. So without further ado: mods: - single cylinder engine replaced with a V2, now this is a real POWER boat - seats recline if so desired - navigation lights a moved up a stud, for better visibility on the water - rear "spoiler" bar widened so it now flows nicely with the flanks of the boat, and moved slightly aft Otherwise the boat is pretty much the same, position of the seat is the same as before, the mechanism still works just fine Parts-wise it was a relatively simple job, from memory i added an engine V frame, cylinder, piston/conrod and some connectors/pins (and a 9 long axle) Feedback/criticism, other mods/improvements are more then welcome!

ill throw in my 2 cents, i got my copy of this set last week. I overall like the look of it (it greatly reminds me of set 6679, a childhood favorite), and while it sits a bit high on its wheels, it makes for a nice small(ish) sized display piece/desk toy i think. What could have been improved in that respect IMHO, is the engine. I feel like a single cylinder just doesnt cut it for a powerboat, especially when we had the 4 cyl in 42045 for the same price point. What this set should have imho is a V2 engine at the least, and space wise that should easily fit in there, im just not sure about the mounting. If i get some spare time ill see if i can MOD something up. Function wise i think this set is a tad weak-ish, i own both 42057 and 42032 (and 42021), which i feel are its predecessors, and those all feel like they have a bit more playability, 42057 in particular adds the rudder control to otherwise similar (spin the prop/blades/engine) function. I imagine a kid would be able to fly 42057 around the room, or dig some bricks and move them around with 42032, but 42089 can only just move forwards and backwards spinning its prop (it doesnt even really do corners well) Parts-wise, it is a great panel pack, 4 pieces of black 3x7 curved and 2 each of the mid-sized panels, a pair of long-narrow panels, a decent amount of lift arms, and some gears. The two antenna pieces were new to me, and for MOC/MOD enthusiasts would look great on larger cars or airplanes as decoration TL;DR: i like the looks of it, but on functions/playability i think it is one of the poorer sets we've seen at the pricepoint

Looks like a modded white gt3rs, lepin and decool make those, so i think its fake

Agreed, first thing i thought as well (and i expect the small shuttle in the new space line to be pretty similar)

Should be doable, especially with the new 20z and wave-catch parts from the chiron. The gearbox probably wont go in the correct place though (behind the engine, in the rear of the car, where normally the engine sits in a 911) I havent gotten my hands on the 911, but given the space in 42077 underneath the engine, i would imagine a one-layer 4 speed PDK (like in 42056) is the first option anyone should look at.

Amazing! especially the rear shot looks like the car is much bigger and more detailed then a speed champion! (personally i dont like the 312T4 much though, i much much prefer the T2, if TLG had included Laudas T2 in the ferrari set, i might have reconsidered picking it up)

I havent seen anyone do serious mods to that though, besides perhaps PF integration. I ordered some CV joints to make it AWD, but so far i cant really be bothered, im not a very skilled axle designer, so trying to fit a suspended, driven steered axle in the same footprint kinda scares me. I personally much prefer the porsche though, the rally car might offer the same functions in a cheaper package, but after building/modding, my technic sets are 90% showpieces, and imho the rally car is just straight up ugly