Seasider

Here’s a video as promised, it shows which way you have to crank the handle, what happens if you try to crank it too quickly (slides very easily) and also what the swimming motion looks like from the top. For a simple single gear drive and multi link system the motion is pretty good. https://youtu.be/Jf92HenbZU8 @Jim no idea where I got the review format from ;) I feel I’d need to get a light box or something if I was to do proper reviews. Something to discuss in a PM?

I found the original video for the project. @deraven If I get time tomorrow I’ll try and convince the better half to help me out and do a quick film of the final products motion and the problem with the sliding on the floor. @WhiteFang I think it’s only aimed at adults. All the marketing has been done around the relaxation for adults as you can see in the launch promo video above. @magicrulo90 it depends upon how you define Lego fans. I think it shows how diverse Lego can be with creating a model that isn’t outwardly Lego. It’s also quite a nice simplistic introduction to Technic if you’ve not worked with that range before.

REVIEW - Lego Forma - 81000 Koi - 81001 to 81003 Skins INTRODUCTION Firstly I'm not an official Eurobricks Reviewer but having purchased the set and seen that no-one here has reviewed it yet I'd thought I'd have a go. You'll have to excuse the photography, it's just me, my iphone and a coffee table in a conservatory, no fancy studios or cameras here. The Koi and it's associated Skin "packs" are the first in potentially new line for TLG under the banner of "Forma". The set and the Forma Theme have been promoted, advertised, aimed and sold in a different way to any other recent set that I can think of, this review will hopefully show you a little of the result. I found my way to this Theme via discussion on Eurobricks in the Technic section and it got my attention enough that I ended up on Indiegogo a kickstarter website. The set itself seemed to be promoting itself for the generation often known as Millenials (or Generation Y), with the aim of being a relaxation tool in a similar way colouring books for adults were a big thing here in the UK a couple of years back. The set was only being offered to the UK and US markets (I assume key target audiences) and was being promoted with a discount over their assumed retail should it ever appear in a store. Along with the main set, 3 packs each with an additional Skin were being offered to transform your Koi or you could purchase the whole lot in a "Super Box". I signed up for the whole experience at the end of September 2018. Part of the "experience" was a series of email updates during the process, I assume this is usual in a Kickstarter project as I've never bought anything like this before. I bought this with my own hard earned money and so all the comments in this review are my own. SET INFORMATION Number: 81000 Title: Koi Theme: Forma Released: 2019 Part Count: 294 Box Weight: 367g Box Dimensions: 26cm x 18.5cm x 4cm Set Price: $88 (when bought as a Super Box) Bricklink: https://brickset.com/sets/81000-1/Koi THE BOX So here is where things differ from the usual sets, the box doesn't show any images of the set itself, the front shows a sylised image of the Koi along with the Forma logo and discretely in the corners the Lego and set number, name and age suggestion (12+ in this case). The rear of the box sparks further interest with just some discrete blue lines, like wireframe, and some small text at the bottom to let you know what this set is meant to do ... "Add a splash of creativity to your day". The sides of the box reminds you who it's from. But a hint of a traditional box remains on one side with a piece in 1:1 scale, in this case a gear. To me this is very odd as there aren't any images of the completed model on the outside of the box so there's no relevance to this scaled piece as you don't know where it fits in the model. The box itself will be familar to those who have bought Ideas or Architecture sets with the nice easy to open lid and the box generally feeling like a quality product, a comment to remember for a little later. When you open the box you're greeted by another inspirational message "Dive into new inspiration.", I wonder if there was a competition in the Forma development team for who could come up with best fishy puns? There is also what appears to be a modern digital barcode on one of the side flaps of the lid, I won’t post it here, I don't recall seeing this on other boxes and when I scan it with a QR code app on my phone it doesn't recognise it. CONTENTS OF THE BOX The box contains: 3 x un-numbered bags 2 x "plasticised" card sheets (for the skin) 1 x booklet, unfortunately one of the normal stapled thin paper books and not the high quality bound ones which I prefer 1 x thank you card, a nice touch here for supporting the project HIGHLIGHTED PARTS Apart from the obviously new Skin sheets (which we can't really class as new parts as they're like a sticker sheet in any set), there is only 1 new part in the set it's identified as 6271188 in the parts list and is basically a Technic 3/4 pin 32002 with a Cap on the top and it's used to hold the Skins on the model. Here it is (in white) next to a collection of Technic 1/2 and 3/4 pins for reference, it's certainly nicer than using the 6628 Towball Pin to mount pieces as in the 42074 Racing Yacht set. The only other part of interest is actually the 6628 with a single one of these in Red, this part has only been released this year in the colour in the 42096 Porsche 911 RSR set. PART LIST THE COMPLETED MODEL Here we have the model in all it's glory. I've added a minifig for scale. This is a set that's meant to be displayed. The left over parts. The model itself is a "kinematic sculpture" and you crank the handle at the front to make the Koi "swim". Strangely you do this by rotating this anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise), supposedly this is down to one of the development team being Left Handed. I looked at switching the gear and handle round but the swimming mechanism won't allow this, well not from my very quick look at the mechanism. The Skin packs 81001-3, Shark, Splash Koi & Ink Koi come in carboard envelopes and contain the 2 x card sheets, a bag of new pins and a simple fold open 2 sided instruction sheet for how to covert the Koi into the new fish. I've only opened the Shark skin so far and not fitted it yet. TLG also sent an email with blank patterns to make your own skins, so you don't even have to make another Fish, I'm sure with a few other parts you could easily reskin this into a Lizard or Dragon. SUMMARY It only took me 40 minutes to build but it was an enjoyable experience, but I do find that building from instructions is relaxing and enjoyable, the only challenging part was making sure you had the mechanism and the fish structures aligned in the right angles when you marry the 2 together. I do like the set, I mainly build in Technic and this model is 90+% Technic, and importantly it looks good as a display piece on a shelf. The main downside I've found is the model as a whole is very light and so when you place it on a smooth surface (like a conservatory coffee table) you have to hold the base still to crank the handle, thankfully the macaroni pieces provide a good finger hold location. As to if this set reaches people new to Lego or people in their "Dark Ages" I'm not sure, especially looking at the reselling sites where there are a significant number of these up for sale. I don't know what TLG plans to do with this Theme or what sort of models would come next, would the continue the kinematic sculptures or do something else, but I'll definitely keep an eye out and see what's next. PROS It's a good display piece The swimming motion is good Skins can be easily switched for other fish as long as you bought them. CONS It needs to be held to operate Simple design, not a challenging build You could only buy it in the UK and US via Indiegogo SCORES 8 - Design I like the compact nature of base mechanism and the swimming motion is good 4 - Building Experience Not very challenging and only 40 minutes (and I was building slowly) 6 - Features You crank the handle and it swims 5 - Playability It's not really a play thing but it is more than an Architecture display model 4 - Parts Only 1 new part that has been specifically designed for holding the skins on 7 - Value for Money They were sold at a "reduced" price but for an adult set on a similar level to the Architecture series I don't think this was too bad price wise.# 5.666 - OVERALL Hope you enjoyed my review, thanks for reading it.

I have to be honest I'm not sure about and of the H2 sets from the poor quality images that are around. The Digger isn't my sort of thing. The SUV looks odd in the photos and needs to be significantly different to the Boss Crawler to be of interest to me. The Car transporter looks ok for what it is and it would be interesting if it does end up scales to fit the Corvette too. Looks like the new small wheelarch is going to be available in a nice range of colours. The Spider Crane, again I don't have many cranes in my collection to be precise I've only 1 the Mobile Mk2. I'm excited about the new control system and what it can do ... but also a bit dissapointed as i'd just invested in an SBrick too ! However I'm most excited about the Creator Mustang, after the poor Bond Aston last year the Classic Mustang looks great.

I can’t do that weekend, but I think I’d also decided I’m going to wait until Billund 2020 for my first Eurobricks event.

There was an email from them saying US customers may have to wait as there had been shipping issues. I didn’t pay attention to the dates though as I’m UK based, but worth checking your emails.

That’s a fantastic idea. Good luck

Technic sets sometimes have bagged instructions, especially on the larger sets and the sticker sheet will be in the same bag

I think my Classic Collection runs to ... 854 Go-Kart, 8860 Car Chassis, 8844 Helicopter, 8845 Dune Buggy (love this model), 8848 PowerTruck (Tipper Lorry), 8841 Dune Buggy 8843 Fork-Lift Truck & 1972 Go-Kart ... and then I entered my first "Dark Age"

I've still got all my "Classic" Studded Technic. Unfortunately not the boxes but all the instructions and most of the parts, it was actually part of a plan that this year I was going to revisit them all and work out what is missing and hopefully complete them. And perhaps replace the bricks with teeth marks from when I took them apart as a kid ... Oh to have had a Brick Separator back then !

Not sure where Forma should live. I think most probably “Special Themes”. Here’s a link to my new post. I may “review” it tomorrow (Sunday).

Anyone else had their set delivered? Just got home and found this waiting for me. If people want I may review it tomorrow (Sunday) when I have some time.

I’ve been meaning to come along to one of these but I think I’ll save my pennies for Billund in 2020 after enjoying a trip to Lego House during late 2018. As an Englishman and ex-Southerner (i now live in what I consider to be the north of England) I know London and the surrounding area reasonably well. Although I’ve not been to legoland Windsor or Harry Potter yet (not a massive HP fan to be honest although I’ve read all the books and seen all the films). London and Windsor is unfortunately always going to be expensive for nice quality hotels/accommodation. also visiting a few children friendly / oriented places at the end of May during the Bank (Public) Holiday long weekend and week the schools have off will mean these locations are likely to be a lot busier than normal. Also traffic (road), trains (including the Tube) and airports could be manic. To those of you going, hope you have a great time (I’m sure you will) and enjoy Town (London) and Windsor. I’ll look out this time next year for Billund 2020.

Do you have an additional parts list or is it too many?

@I_Igor yes I know it really needs the new thinner wheels on the Hot Rod. That’s part of my plan if I get them off the rear of the Vette. @efferman looks like you’ve made quite a few mods there as I notice lots of changes to the sills and the windscreen surround too. What wheels are you using? yes I think we may need to create a MOD page for this lot!

So I built the Hot Rod B-model today and did a load of colour mods. Chassis is as Light Grey as possible and Cab and details as Orange as possible (from my parts bin ... the GT3 Porsche is now missing some rear haunches). I didn’t like the front lights so I’ve swapped these out for round ones which I think more representative for a Classic Hot Rod. Wheels I’ve put the wider but same dia on the rear, the fronts I went smaller but that looks wrong to me, needs to have the new Narrows on the front. I think my first MOD will be to mount a V6 as people have suggested.

Well I’ve tried again this morning and I’m just not loving the model. I even tried turning it into a tail dragger instead of twin boom and I just didn’t feel it. so project officially cancelled and taken apart. looking forward to seeing everyone’s submissions and voting also looking forward to TC16 ... time to build a hot rod (vette b model) or perhaps dust of the part built Dodgem

Thanks for the name check but you mean @Rudivdk for the 3 way control stick. I haven’t worked out my controls yet. I’m curious as to what all your gears through the turntable are for.

I’ll look forward to see what you come up with @Banana92

Had a DHL delivery with some H1 sets today including the Vette and I’ve just finished building it. Although the front end is a dogs breakfast and the doors don’t open I do really like it. There were some interesting builds steps for it and I do like the overall shape, it’s quite robust and as a toy for someone into cars you definitely can’t grumble for this money. It might even appear on my desk at work next week as I brought all my Lego home over Christmas. I already tried putting the wider wheels on the rear but noticed the tyres foul the black connectors holding the door panels in place. I’m wondering about mods for this, but I might just build the Hot Rod from my parts bin and Mod that instead. Obvious things to look at on this are the front end, the steering and possibly rear simple suspension. Oh and its it’s a shame about the light grey connectors spoiling the look of the bonnet. I know I should really be working on TC15 but who can resist when a nice big box of new Lego sets arrives.

@Jim thanks for the extension in time (unfortunately I’m away for a long weekend at the new deadline ... Berlin film festival) but I’ll have to see how I get on over the next week and see if I get the love back for my model and solve some of the items I see as issues. in terms of general competition timing I do like it when they’re spread out during the year. I think for the winter one October November would be better as then people have finished summer holidays (although saying that I was away then) and also it’s before Christmas festivities. but you’re never going to please all the people all the time

@Lipko and @Jim the issues I’m having are a number of things. I found it difficult to start this project and wanted to give myself a challenge as the topic for me was a VERY open one. I knew I wanted to build some type of aircraft I hadn’t built before and as an engineer and someone with an aeronautical degree I wanted something a bit different. Christmas is always a difficult period for build time for me. I was away/busy with the better half for most of the 2 weeks holiday I had and also I have her birthday in January so that wipes out another weekend which is normally the only time I get an hour or so to build (as my build space is also her office during the week). Also I’ve fallen out of love with the model I’m building this is in part down to the time I’ve had to work on it so far (a lot less than most people looking at the quality of the other models) and I’ve now got a few design issues that I don’t know how or which to solve first, see my thread. Very frustrating as an engineer I can tell you. I was hoping to get some time to look at the project again and perhaps change the type of airplane it is this weekend but there are a whole host of jobs that I need to get done this weekend ... so I think if I’m lucky I’ll only get an hour to fiddle. So this weekend is likely to be my decision point if I continue on this. As I said in my thread I’ve got a load of Lego sets to build that I haven’t built yet, my haul from Lego House/Land, the Apollo rocket and some 2019 sets to name some. On top of this I’m still (in the background) working on my Dodgem I started for an old TC comp (but reimagined, currently in lots of bits) and also reverse engineering a Porsche 911 from @Thirdwigg that’s been sitting idle in LDD for a long time. I must say there are some fantastic models in this competition, I am disappointed that a lot seem to be (all be it very good) versions of real aircraft rather than pure own creations. I’ll end my brain dump now as this has ended up a lot longer than I expected when I started typing!

Looking good, love the detail of the boom at the front of the cockpit

I find myself at an impasseand I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with this project, restart TC15 with something different or go back to working on one of the many other Lego projects I've got at the moment (including building many unopened official sets and a couple of other Technic MOCs that are WIP). Time is another big problem with my building generally being limited to an hour if I'm lucky during the week and similar at a weekend. The problems I'm having at the moment come down to a few things ... I don't like the tailplane I think the model will be unbalanced as it is and not be able to sit on wheels I think the fuselage looks too chunky in comparison to the wings Although I like the prop setup I've got I think they look too small compared to the fuselage ... just too many issues and I'm not sure how I'm going to solve them I'll have a further think at the weekend, but this may be the end of this project

Anyone know what the most compact bevel to bevel gear layout is? id like to solve this with gears and not levers or knob wheels