jfbat

It's not got an open back. The roof parts (sides) can be removed, and the top floor as well, so accessibility is quite good I would imagine. Picture from Brickset:

Got an e-mail today from Lego: (translated from Dutch)

Got an email today that it's on its way. I ordered it from lego.com, because I was not too sure if or when it would be available from the local toy store, but saw that they also have it for sale now yesterday. So in the end I could've picked it up there, instead of having to wait until monday or tuesday... Ah well.

Same for the Netherlands. I have 10298 on order since Tuesday, shows in warehouse, but has not been sent yet. Got an email from lego.com today that they're "receiving a high volume of orders" and so it's taking them more time to pack and ship.

I had a feeling this would be the case, when I read the press release: So, no real surprises there. Odd choice of Lego and McLaren to go for this release date, knowing full wel that the model would be outdated within days.

To me, this isn't a Technic set. It's a set that uses Technic parts, because it delivers a more sturdy car that can withstand the crashes it will undoubtedly get into because of the pull-back function. Somehow Lego decided that there is a market for a larger pull-back car, where people are willing to pay 50 bucks for such a car. I haven't been in a toy store for a while, but I have a feeling Lego is trying to create a very niche market for themselves here.

Well, what do I know... doorbell rang, and guess what did arrive after all? (the Porsche arrived on Thursday, the VIP package just now)

I did. Multiple times even. Have had some extra's in the box a few times, without it ever showing up on my order. Last one I remember was the piggy bank. That's the case with this VIP box for me. It's shown as backordered. I doubt if I'll get it (but am not losing sleep over it

Yes, at least I did. My order did come with another GWP: the Ice Rink.

So, for me: No GWP at checkout, 16 February, 00:35 CET (Netherlands) First mail was to notify me that part of my order was on backorder: the GWP (delivery within 60 days) Second mail was order confirmation, also with GWP On Lego.com order details also say with GWP Shipment notification: without GWP Package arrived today without GWP Order details at Lego.com still show GWP as "in warehouse" You never know, but I'm not really counting on getting the GWP in the end. But to be honest, I only remembered that it was there when I got the email notifying me it was on backorder. Would have ordered the set anyway, as a good spend for my VIP points, so I'm not too bothered by this. Still: bit silly to promote a special VIP set, and running out of it within minutes (and then seeing it on eBay and the like offered by scalpers).

Mine is underway. Minus the VIP pack, that is on the order, but on backorder (or "in warehouse", per the order status on the website). I'l be waiting for cancellation of that then...

Stunning!

So, to come back to this: I since have been contacted by customer services, and indeed - it now does matter where your VIP account is registered. So: be aware! That's where it went wrong for me, but the matter has since been solved satisfactorily, thanks to the excellent intervention from Lego Customer Services. (my first mail was lost somewhere in the system, which explains that I did not get an answer in the first place - after my second mail, things were solved in little over a week)

So... I tried to use the voucher system for the first time, little over a month ago. It was not very satisfying, to say the least. Redeeming VIP-points for a voucher was very easy - no problems there. I have been very careful to select the correct voucher: I wanted to use it on lego.com, so I chose that. Then came July 1st. I had especially redeemed some of my Points to get a nice discount on the Corocodile train. Sadly, the system wasn't agreeing. I got a message that I could not use my voucher for this purchase. OK... Next step was customer service. It was a pain in the @$$ to get any mail through, but after quite some attempts, I succeeded. We're now more than a month later, and I do understand that in these times it can take a bit longer, but I have not heard anything back. So tried to contact them again today - I cannot even get a mail through. Tried to log in to my VIP-account, and something strange happened: I live in the Netherlands, but my account is apparently registered in Germany. I had to switch to Germany to get to my account. That's a first for me, I never had to do that! (also not, when redeeming points in June for that voucher) I have a feeling where things go wrong: I signed up for Lego VIP a very long time ago, on holiday, in Germany. That never has been a problem, I have always used my account from the Netherlands, without issues. But apparently, the system now is quite peculiar about what region/country you're registered in. If it doesn't correspond with the country you're ordering from, VIP appearently doesn't work. Again: completely new for me, I've never had that issue before... In my account, under points redeemed, it now says for the voucher: 20 € to be used at LEGO.com (DE) It didn't say that on July 1st. It does not say so in the mail I received with the voucher-code in it, which by the way is completely in Dutch... Somehow I can only spend the voucher in the German online store, which won't work as I cannot order there and have it delivered in the Netherlands. Lego: please stop making things more "convenient" for us, and make things work again as they always did. As it is now, as a customer loyalty program it is working contra-productively for me... [edit: with some perseverance, I finally succeeded in getting a mail through to customer service]

Well, that's what got me worried this time: the shop-page went to a "oops, something went wrong, please try again"-page. But the money was still taken from my creditcard. Anyway, about an hour later the confirmation mail arrived and the order is also shown in my account ("In warehouse", so hoping it'll get here soon). Now I just have to wait until they come back on what to do with my voucher that didn't get accepted and now has 45 days left - and nothing I want to buy.

In the end I did get a confirmation of the order. But for the second time in a short period it really wasn't smooth sailing. It's taking away from the fun-experience buying a somewhat special lego-set should be. Anyway: hope the set itself will take some of that gripe away.

Hmpf. TLG can go *do some stuff that could otherwise be pretty pleasant but in this case is meant as an expletive* itself. VIP-voucher not redeemable (20 euro gone), "something went wrong" message after clicking OK - creditcard charged, but no order anywhere. Here's hoping my order will get through eventually, but seeing as I can't even put in a complaint about not being able to use my VIP-voucher I don't have high hopes about customer service if it doesn't. The whole VIP system doesn't work for me, so this is the last time I'm ordering from the lego store for non-exclusive stuff.

Same with mine. Checked the instructions multiple time and am sure I didn't make a mistake. It's just not wide enough the way it is now.

Lame. I've seen MOCs on the web that are much better. Not realistic at all. And indeed way too expensive, look at that price per piece ratio!

Got the Audi today and built it. It's big, when compared to old Speed Champion cars. And I like it. But... all that extra space and yet still seating the minifigs is cumbersome. The left arm of the driver has to point down, otherwise it won't fit. And even then the roof rests on the helmet and wobbles - never really fitting as snug as it does without the minifig. For a SC and a rallycar, it's actually pretty light on stickers!

I ordered mine a little over half an hour ago.

Ooh, of the classic ones, this is a nice one indeed! Had it as a kid, loved it a lot. But from the classics for me it would be 600, 602, 606 and 608 - I had al of those. I think of those, 608 is probably the one I liked most.

No problem with criticism, also no problem with people telling they're disappointed because they hoped for something else. But in some places, amongst which Brickset (and that's what that article is also about), the discussion went where a decent discussion should not go: insulting people that don't agree with you, in some cases in a very nasty way. About the set: at 250 euro, it's a set that should appeal most to fans, as someone that just is fond of dinosaurs would think 250 euro to be very expensive. Apparently, for some vocal fans this doesn't tick the box. As these kind of big sets don't come along often, I can certainly relate to disappointment if it then does not meet your expectations. Personally, I think the designers did a great job (great dino, gate interesting way to showcase some key scenes of the movie), but Lego might have missed the point as to what the fans would have liked most. In the end, sales figures will tell if Lego has made the right choice.

Great review, insightful about the builds. That small Mini is a great feat, with al those inventive building techniques going on there. I don't really care that in reality (going by your more real life pics of it) it seems to look a bit less like the real thing than in the official pics of it. But it also makes me want to buy the set even less than before. I still don't give a toss about the big green car (by the way, it took me quite some time too to find a pic of the real life thing, as google throws up almost all of the cooper works/mini dakar cars when you look for mini/cooper buggy dakar and similar wordings) and the amount of "filler" (my opinion) is over the top as in most bigger Speed Champions sets. For me, some 70% of the RRP is for stuff I'd rather not have, and that's just too much.

Ah, as usual, Lego is f*ck*ng up again - not able to log on as VIP member in the online shop... Anyway: showing as "Back orders accepted, will be shipped by 12 March 2019".