BrickMonkeyMOCs

Thank you. And yes, I'm in the process of moving all my MOCs to Rebrickable, so this will eventually end up on there. It may be a few months before I get to it though, as I've got quite a backlog to work through.

1111 parts, 80 Euros, release September 7. The builds look good, but the set is also a pretty radical departure form the original submission by Hachiroku24. Only three insects instead of five (with the labybug and bee relegated to tiny sub-builds), and a large portion of the parts count going into the botanical display stands. I suspect many fans will feel that this is not what they voted for. That said, the remaining insects builds are quite nice. I like that the Hercules Beetle has extendable wings. The Mantis looks a lot better in the final model, though I prefer the butterfly from the original fan submission.

No stickers! Take my money, Lego. You've more than earned it here.

Just a couple of small builds I made to go with my UCS versions. The shuttle is based on the one in the 2023 advent calendar, modified with a stand and improved wings. Free instructions for both are on Rebrickable. I'm looking to shut down my WIX website over the next few months and move everything over to Rebrickable, so expect to see a lot more of my non-BlueBrixx stuff showing up there soon.

It seems to be working normally again now. Very strange.

I had a link to my website in my signature, but it is no longer working. It is set correctly in account settings, yet somehow the EB website is automatically adding "https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/..." in front of the correct address. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

My review for Hispabrick Magazine here: https://www.hispabrickmagazine.com/blog-en/blog-en.php?id=33592

Pictures are up.

One-wheel drive is a deal-breaker for me. The whole set seems like a step backwards after the excellent Bolide.

You'll never take me alive. Seriously though, I don't think it's putting significant stress on the parts. Certainly not as much as the front suspension already puts on the white 4L bars used as travel-limiters.

I've finished rebuilding both my friend's and my own Sian models, and in both models I have removed the rubber-band mechanism added in building Steps 273-275, instead using the grey 1x3 cross-block (#32184) to lock the vertical axle (i.e. the assembly added in Step 246) in place. There is still enough give in the assembly for it to work, and I'm finding that this modification provides more positive pressure to the reverse side of the switching mechanism, resulting in smoother and more reliable gear changes. I'd be curious to know if others have tried something similar.

I'm currently rebuilding a friend's busted up Sian, and have reached the beginnings of the paddle-shifting mechanism at Step 169. I know in my own model this mechanism now tends to not fully engage the 90deg switching. Would it help to use black friction pins here in place of the frictionless grey pins? (I have a vague memory of seeing this suggestion somewhere before but couldn't find anything in this thread on it.) Or does anyone have any other easily implemented suggestions for improving the mechanism?

Overall, I like the shaping and have no objection to the colour. I don't like the stickers though - especially that one at the front left (why not just use a green part?) - and the rear end looks a little high, i.e. the rear top panels don't seem to slope down far enough.

I've just built the Peugeot 9x8 primary model and am very pleased with it. Definitely a major step up from the earlier Porsche RSR and Ferrari 488 models, in that it is very sturdily built and doesn't feature major hollow spaces. You can also tell that care was taken to make the building experience as enjoyable as possible. The suspension geometry is new and interesting, resulting in an appropriately short travel against stiff springs, and while the forward electric 'motor' doesn't exactly do much, it's nice to have more going on at the front axle with the CV joints and differential. The rear engine cover fits nicely and I particularly like the added detail with the turbos and exhausts. The model also looks fine without stickers (though a printed Peugeot badge for the front would have been nice). My only other gripe is the internal colour-vomit, which I addressed by swapping out all the orange elements for black counterparts. (Also, that F1 car is a very nice B-model. Well done.) Here's how the set looks with 2007 Fiorano rim inserts:

You're right. The different cardboard and lack of trademark symbols gives it away. The fake box makes it a bit more curious how it ended up on Amazon being sold as Lego though. I found a couple of videos of the fake set on YouTube, but neither one shipped with any box at all. In any case, the OP definitely needs to seek a refund. Should be easy to prove that the product provided is not what was ordered.

The box is Lego, but the contents are not. As suggested above, someone has likely scammed Amazon by buying a new set, opening it, and then swapping out the contents for a fake knock-off before returning it for a refund. Amazon have then unknowingly resold it to you as an opened 'Lego' set. At least that seems to be the most likely explanation.

Instructions are clearly fake. There's no Lego logo on the studs for the 2x2 round plate in the last photo, so those are not Lego parts.

Running out of GWPs is one thing, but immediately going out of stock on a new set is a worse look, especially when the point of the Executor was at least in part to make up for the limited availability of the earlier Nebulon-B frigate. You'd think they would have made a better effort to anticipate the demand.

And the Executor is already out of stock

Stickerless video review here:

Saw a YT video with further leaked images. Functions seem limited to the standard HOG steering, suspension, doors, and V6 engine (LBG cylinders, no gearbox). The front bonnet opens to expose suspension detail, and I see a housed differential at the front and standard diff at the rear, so 4WD looks to be implemented. The rear engine cover/clam-shell looks to lift off rather than hinging. All visible markings appear to be stickers rather than prints, including the Peugeot badges and logos. I think it looks amazing, but barring anything extra like a clever door mechanism, probably more of a display piece than a technical marvel. I wish we could get a new and more modern wheel rim at this scale, but I am impressed that we are seeing better ride-height/wheel-size/fender-fit on a model with working suspension (as compared with the Ford GT or earlier Ferrari 488).

Here you go. I've also just reworked the W12 F1 car from the same double pack, so I'll post instructions for both below... F1 W12 Instructions Project One Instructions F1 W12 LDraw file Project One LDraw file

Yes, I've modified all of them a little bit, though the changes are quite minor compared to the Ferrari. These cars are pretty good already. Pagani Utopia: Cheese slopes on tail section to remove wobble, printed double cheese on dashboard to replace sticker, filled in gaps on underside of car, removed studs above door area (#27263 tiles in place of #26601 plates), and redesigned engine cover to fit a double cheese slope over the exposed studs at rear (#2432 part placed one plate higher, and stud direction of engine cover reversed). McLaren F1 LM: Filled in gaps on underside, changed driver's seat colour to LBG, changed lower plate of rear wing from Black to DBG (to make the wing appear less blocky), and replaced trans 1x1 round plates under wing mirrors with orange 1x1 regular plates. McLaren Solus GT: Removed one 1x1 round plate from the steering column (so the controller isn't right up in the driver's face), and added a 1x1 round tile on either side (on the front-most stud of the black 2x3 wings) to better lock the angled parts of the rear fenders in place. Thanks. I don't have instructions for that one at the moment, though if you can be patient I can get to it in a week or two after I've completed some other pressing work projects.

Hi Prototyp! You're welcome, and thanks for sharing your modded version of the set. Interesting to see how it looks without the stripe, and I prefer your version of the hood vent area (I just don't have the needed tiles in red). I also like the Ferrari badge in the front grille. Are those custom rims? They look fantastic with the brake discs behind. I'd also be very interested to see what you do with the Porsche 963. (You can resize images in edit mode by double clicking on the image for options.)

I've built the full 2023 wave now, so will share my thoughts on each set... 76914 Ferrari 812 Competizione (Score 8/10) + Much nicer in person than it looks in product images, with a striking colour scheme. - Partially printed and partially stickered stripe (much better brick-built). Cockpit is positioned a little too far rearwards. 76915 Pagani Utopia (Score 9/10) + Excellent design work. Very accurate given the complex curves. - Wiggly rear end (though easily fixed). Rather bland colour scheme, at least when compared to the rest of the line-up. 76916 Porsche 963 (Score 8/10) + Best proportioned SC LMP car to date, with nice rear details. - Heavily reliant on stickers (the rear wing could at least have been printed). Plainest building techniques of the line-up. 76918 McLaren Solus GT & McLaren F1 LM (Score 9.5/10) + The Solus GT has a great build process, and the F1 LM looks fantastic (even without stickers). - Wiggly side panels on the rather oversized Solus GT, and the wing mirrors on the F1 LM aren't great. Overall I think the SC range has taken a solid step forwards from the already impressive 2022 line-up, with great car selection, impressive building techniques, and the introduction of some new and very useful parts (especially the round-ended 1x3 plate, and the new half-round 1x1x2/3 snot brick). Where there is still room for improvement is in including more engine detail where space allows, and making the sets less reliant on stickers. As a final note, here's a slightly reworked Porsche 963 with some extra details and adjusted shaping to make up for the unused sticker sheet: