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| An Expert - just like me |
Looking back on my purchase of this set, I can't remember if it was the Camper Van that pushed me to get the Mini Cooper, or if it was the other way around. But knowing me, the decision was probably made when I noticed the Mini Mini Cooper would be available around the same time. What can I say, I'm a sucker for small things.
Anyway, this set has 1077 pieces, and retails for $99.99. Just a word of warning, try to get this set from a Lego brick and mortar or their online shop. The set's only been out about five months and they should be readily available. The only reason I bring this up I recently checked the Amazon price and it was going for around $138. I figure this is a good time for people to start buying this as a Christmas gift, and no one should be paying more than retail for this set. It's not a value judgement, just don't pay more than you have to.
I should also point out that while it seems to be based on the 1965 model, I can't say for certain which particular Mini Cooper model this is based on. Although it is modeled after the classic design, rather than the BMW versions that have been in production since 2001. Lego usually has supplementary information with their Ideas sets, so it wouldn't hurt to include something similar in their Creator sets, particularly ones based on specific, well known, licensed products.
With that said, let's get on to the review.
The Build
Let me get the gushing out of the way: this build is a thing of beauty. The Mini Cooper looks great on the box, but it looks even better in person. The green on the outside is super vibrant, and the design on the inside is brilliant. And I love the attention to detail Lego puts into these sets, especially this go around with the picnic scene they added, which actually seems to be in the right scale, since most wine glasses I know aren't half the size of a normal person.
Anyway, this set has 1077 pieces, and retails for $99.99. Just a word of warning, try to get this set from a Lego brick and mortar or their online shop. The set's only been out about five months and they should be readily available. The only reason I bring this up I recently checked the Amazon price and it was going for around $138. I figure this is a good time for people to start buying this as a Christmas gift, and no one should be paying more than retail for this set. It's not a value judgement, just don't pay more than you have to.
I should also point out that while it seems to be based on the 1965 model, I can't say for certain which particular Mini Cooper model this is based on. Although it is modeled after the classic design, rather than the BMW versions that have been in production since 2001. Lego usually has supplementary information with their Ideas sets, so it wouldn't hurt to include something similar in their Creator sets, particularly ones based on specific, well known, licensed products.
With that said, let's get on to the review.
The Build
Let me get the gushing out of the way: this build is a thing of beauty. The Mini Cooper looks great on the box, but it looks even better in person. The green on the outside is super vibrant, and the design on the inside is brilliant. And I love the attention to detail Lego puts into these sets, especially this go around with the picnic scene they added, which actually seems to be in the right scale, since most wine glasses I know aren't half the size of a normal person.
As with the T1 Camper Van, the Mini Cooper is pretty hefty and solidly built, for the most part. The roof is designed to be removed easily to give access to the interior, which works great. The downside to this is it doesn't take much to break off the side rear windows, but it's an easy fix.
With the Camper Van, I decided to try something a little different and focus on the construction of the set. This time, I'll be doing the same thing, but in gif form instead of individual pictures.
You probably can't tell from the pictures, but I built this set over two days, which also accounts for the wonky color and lighting (sorry, I'm working on it). The Mini Cooper isn't a particularly difficult build, despite being an Expert set, but it still takes time to put the pieces together. And it helped that all the pieces were in numbered bags, so I didn't have to spend much time sorting. When all said and done, it probably took me four, maybe five, hours to complete the build, while distracting myself with The Lego Movie and The Rock. So this is definitely something that you can build during the weekend with time left to spare.
Now it's time for a closer look
As I said earlier, the Mini Cooper looks absolutely fantastic. Both the front and back have a clean look about them, although I will be honest that the personality of the build comes out when looking at it from a 3/4 perspective. You'll notice I opted not to put a license plate decal on front and back. While I appreciate what Lego did by including five different styles of plates to customize the look to your liking, I feel they really dropped the ball by not including the eight extra 1x4 flat plates needed to swap them out. Thanks to Brick Link (an online store that specializes in Lego pieces), I was able to get the pieces I needed for about $3.50 shipped, which isn't bad, but considering I paid a hundred dollars for a set that already has over a thousand pieces, I feel they could've been included.
Here's a better look under the hood and in the trunk. I think the engine looks good, but it certainly doesn't have the same detail as the Camper Van's. Click here for a closer look at the Mini Cooper's engine. Thankfully I decided to take a picture of it early on in the building process, because it's pretty well concealed when all said and done.
As for the trunk, there's just enough space in there to hold the picnic basket, the blanket, and the soda bottle for the picnic scene. And as an added bonus, Lego also included a spare tire with the set that I found just delightful.
Moving on to the body of the Mini, the sleek look certainly doesn't change. And the lines across the sides really look good. Thankfully, Lego decided to use printed pieces, because I can only imagine the pain it would be to perfectly line up the decals across six curved bricks. I also like the use of minifigure ice skates as the door handles. I honestly didn't realize they were anything but door handles until I started looking at this year's Christmas themed Lego sets, and just goes to show how you can utilize pieces in a variety of ways.
Now's probably a good time to point out that the Mini Cooper logo on the back is a sticker, as are the other logos found on the front and back of the build. Not a problem, of course, but I'll always prefer the illusive printed piece over stickers.
While I do think the inside looks fantastic, opening the door does reveal my biggest problem with the set: it's not built for comfort. I know it seems like a ridiculous complaint, but it does bother me that if this was built to full scale, no one could possibly sit inside it. Again, I know it's a non-issue, but I felt the need to point it out.
That being said, the seat patterns on the inside to look great. And the detail that went into the dashboard is well done. The picture above also shows the six studs that hold to roof in place, and allow it to be easily removed.
Final Thoughts
I fell in love with this set before it was released, and after having spent the time to build it, I love it even more. It's sturdy design will make it great for adult collectors and a lot of fun for kids, although they may need some help putting it together based on how young they are. I for one can't wait to get this on a shelf next to my Camper Van. But for that to happen, I may need to buy a new shelf...
So long story short, I highly recommend the this set, and wonder how long it will be before Lego releases another set based on a classic vehicle.
With the Camper Van, I decided to try something a little different and focus on the construction of the set. This time, I'll be doing the same thing, but in gif form instead of individual pictures.
You probably can't tell from the pictures, but I built this set over two days, which also accounts for the wonky color and lighting (sorry, I'm working on it). The Mini Cooper isn't a particularly difficult build, despite being an Expert set, but it still takes time to put the pieces together. And it helped that all the pieces were in numbered bags, so I didn't have to spend much time sorting. When all said and done, it probably took me four, maybe five, hours to complete the build, while distracting myself with The Lego Movie and The Rock. So this is definitely something that you can build during the weekend with time left to spare.
Now it's time for a closer look
As I said earlier, the Mini Cooper looks absolutely fantastic. Both the front and back have a clean look about them, although I will be honest that the personality of the build comes out when looking at it from a 3/4 perspective. You'll notice I opted not to put a license plate decal on front and back. While I appreciate what Lego did by including five different styles of plates to customize the look to your liking, I feel they really dropped the ball by not including the eight extra 1x4 flat plates needed to swap them out. Thanks to Brick Link (an online store that specializes in Lego pieces), I was able to get the pieces I needed for about $3.50 shipped, which isn't bad, but considering I paid a hundred dollars for a set that already has over a thousand pieces, I feel they could've been included.
Here's a better look under the hood and in the trunk. I think the engine looks good, but it certainly doesn't have the same detail as the Camper Van's. Click here for a closer look at the Mini Cooper's engine. Thankfully I decided to take a picture of it early on in the building process, because it's pretty well concealed when all said and done.
As for the trunk, there's just enough space in there to hold the picnic basket, the blanket, and the soda bottle for the picnic scene. And as an added bonus, Lego also included a spare tire with the set that I found just delightful.
Moving on to the body of the Mini, the sleek look certainly doesn't change. And the lines across the sides really look good. Thankfully, Lego decided to use printed pieces, because I can only imagine the pain it would be to perfectly line up the decals across six curved bricks. I also like the use of minifigure ice skates as the door handles. I honestly didn't realize they were anything but door handles until I started looking at this year's Christmas themed Lego sets, and just goes to show how you can utilize pieces in a variety of ways.
Now's probably a good time to point out that the Mini Cooper logo on the back is a sticker, as are the other logos found on the front and back of the build. Not a problem, of course, but I'll always prefer the illusive printed piece over stickers.
While I do think the inside looks fantastic, opening the door does reveal my biggest problem with the set: it's not built for comfort. I know it seems like a ridiculous complaint, but it does bother me that if this was built to full scale, no one could possibly sit inside it. Again, I know it's a non-issue, but I felt the need to point it out.
That being said, the seat patterns on the inside to look great. And the detail that went into the dashboard is well done. The picture above also shows the six studs that hold to roof in place, and allow it to be easily removed.
Final Thoughts
I fell in love with this set before it was released, and after having spent the time to build it, I love it even more. It's sturdy design will make it great for adult collectors and a lot of fun for kids, although they may need some help putting it together based on how young they are. I for one can't wait to get this on a shelf next to my Camper Van. But for that to happen, I may need to buy a new shelf...
So long story short, I highly recommend the this set, and wonder how long it will be before Lego releases another set based on a classic vehicle.
Just a word of warning, try to get this set from a Lego brick and ... ilegoexpert.blogspot.de
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the creator series had a unique car model like this
ReplyDelete