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Infinitum posted:gently caress you Lego, there is no more room in my house Build a new house. E: out of LEGO.
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Mar 5, 2023 10:40
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I've built most of the 2023 Speed Champs sets and dang. Last year, I said that 2022 was the new best year ever for the theme. I think it's one-upped itself again. I have not built the Ferrari or Porsche since I don't care about the Ferrari and I heard the Porsche is the weakest set of the year, but here are some brief takes. Nissan Skyline: Good model that feels a year old due to not using new 2023 parts, which would have helped a lot in the build and reducing exposed studs. Graphics work and end result is good, front and rear fascias look great. I like the model but it's not amazing (outside of the nose). Pagani Utopia: Holy poo poo they really show you immediately why they made the new chassis and mudguards. This thing is super sleek and low. The angled rear with the car door wings looks truly fantastic, and it was totally worth exaggerating the proportions to pull off. Saw some reviewers complain that the rear is loose and doesn't sit firmly or index, but I don't know what they did because mine is rock solid. The interior is beautiful (properly aligned steering wheel, even!) and there's clever parts usage with clip plates, ice skates, and car doors. I wish the clip connection on the hood was hidden a little better. Also, the stickers feel totally optional. I left all of mine off and it still looks excellent. McLaren Solus GT: I didn't expect to like this so much. Easily dethrones the AMR Valkyrie as "weirdest Speed Champions build." Essentially none of the connections are done how you would think/assume they are. Hinge bricks and brackets? Oh no, far too basic. I won't spoil anything but it has so many weird tricks up its sleeves. The shaping is way more interesting than I thought it would be, with an exaggerated hourglass shape full of wacky curves and angles. The finished model looks excellent - not perfect, but the "real" car it's based on is such an impossible task to replicate that I'm shocked how well LEGO did. The sloped wedges on the nose deserve a special shout for how completely perfect their connection is. Some of the bodywork is easy to accidentally knock out of alignment. Stickers are MOSTLY optional here, but I think the ones on the black 1 x 2 panels are pretty important. McLaren F1 LM: Incredible. Builds like a puzzle. Beautiful result. Honestly outstanding. I love how the greenhouse comes together. I especially love how the nose comes together, which is reminiscent of building the Countach or Ford GT, but with smoother lines and fewer gaps utilizing some new tech borrowed from the DB5. It's the best take on the sloped, rounded nose design yet by far. I personally think flame yellowish orange (which is used for the driver's seat) would have been a better shade of orange for the entire car, but I understand that would have required a million new recolors, and regular orange looks fine too. If LEGO made non-studded versions of these wedge plates, it would really help the side of this car (and the Solus). Stickers are again mostly optional, though the ones on the new wedge slopes are important to shape the side windows and pillars. You could skip the rest if you like. Final notes: If any of the designs this year appeal to you, go for 'em. These cars are completely jammed full of new parts, new techniques, and new ways to approach problems. The team keeps one-upping themselves every year, but this wave feels like it breaks the mold even more than usual. There is no "standard Speed Champions build" this year (except maybe that Porsche...). The McLaren 2-pack in particular is impossibly good. If the other sets are studies on how to build a car out of LEGO, then this set is the master's thesis. Comparing these to models from 2 or 3 years ago, it is ludicrous how good the Speed Champs team has gotten at this new(er) scale, and how fast. Carbohydrates fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Mar 5, 2023 |
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Mar 5, 2023 14:29
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Looks like the LOTR set is up for sale, and ... meh? The promo shots makes it look like it compromises on scale and detail, and neither gets to the $500 price point. It's like a larger Winnie the Pooh set, which is great but doesn't need to be 5x the size.
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Mar 5, 2023 15:21
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AreWeDrunkYet posted:Looks like the LOTR set is up for sale, and ... meh? The promo shots makes it look like it compromises on scale and detail, and neither gets to the $500 price point. It's like a larger Winnie the Pooh set, which is great but doesn't need to be 5x the size. https://brickset.com/article/90675/review-10316-the-lord-of-the-rings-rivendell Feels "worth it" to me if you're an emotionally invested fan. They did a great job with texturing and density and I love the off-grid stuff.
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Mar 5, 2023 15:31
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BaconCopter posted:Fresh new Indiana Jones leaks, it looks like someone found them for sale at a Learning Express (which is known to sell slightly over MSRP), and the rumors that The Temple of Doom was getting delayed or canceled seem to be true. I really hope it’s just delayed and not canceled. I read a few things that maybe they are changing something it and it will come out with the Dial of Destiny sets. Fingers crossed
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Mar 5, 2023 17:01
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Ah Carbs I only picked up the Pagani but now I think I’ll have to buy the McLaren set… E: actually building the Pagani right now and if you loved driving the Zonda in GT as much as I did it is a trip Dogen fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Mar 5, 2023 |
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Mar 5, 2023 19:01
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I kinda want some of the speed champs sets but that's a hole I don't want to start down. I just know that I'd get one, then the rest of this years, then find all of last years, then go on an ebay spree. And I have no place to display them as it is. Fortunately (no pun intended) they aren't overly costly. E: I take it back. I decided to look and see and most of the retired sets are worth 4x+ more than they were at retail. That's kinda crazy. Small sets like these usually don't accelerate (pun intended) in price so much. Waltzing Along fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Mar 5, 2023 |
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Mar 5, 2023 19:05
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Waltzing Along posted:I kinda want some of the speed champs sets but that's a hole I don't want to start down. I just know that I'd get one, then the rest of this years, then find all of last years, then go on an ebay spree. And I have no place to display them as it is. Speed champs have only gotten better over time so you don’t need the old ones. Bonus they’re $20 a piece and are better than a lot of the new bigger sets
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Mar 5, 2023 23:35
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$25 now but good point. Almost all my favorites of the modern SC sets are from 2022 and 2023 and are still available.
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Mar 6, 2023 01:12
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I limit myself to a certain kind of car, which is rally racing. It is tempting to pick up the 007 DB5 though...
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Mar 6, 2023 02:13
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The only 6 stud wide speed champions sets that look good compared to the 8 stud cars are the white 911 and Carbohydrates MOCs
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Mar 6, 2023 02:40
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EvilJoven posted:The only 6 stud wide speed champions sets that look good compared to the 8 stud cars are the white 911 and Carbohydrates MOCs Oh that's good because the white 911 is the only one I have.
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Mar 6, 2023 03:42
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Jehde posted:I limit myself to a certain kind of car, which is rally racing. It is tempting to pick up the 007 DB5 though... The SC DB5 owns and you should absolutely pick it up.
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Mar 6, 2023 04:05
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My favorite cars are the ones they made for the lego batman movie. Super creative builds, and I like the bigger scale more. The use of the hot air balloon pieces for the penguin's fenders was :chefkiss:
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Mar 6, 2023 04:34
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My favorite car is the Mega Core Magnetizer.
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Mar 6, 2023 05:06
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Prophet of Nixon posted:My favorite car is the Mega Core Magnetizer. good call. 8 studs wide too
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Mar 6, 2023 06:19
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Uh obviously the BEST car is the Creator Expert Mustang
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Mar 6, 2023 06:34
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I'll say the Caterham.
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Mar 6, 2023 06:57
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That F40 though.
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Mar 6, 2023 09:57
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EvilJoven posted:The only 6 stud wide speed champions sets that look good compared to the 8 stud cars are the white 911 and Carbohydrates MOCs
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Mar 6, 2023 14:36
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Carbs do you take commissions? Would it be fun for you to design cars From My Youth?
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Mar 6, 2023 14:52
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Like to see Carb’s take on a 1989 Dodge Colt.
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Mar 6, 2023 15:29
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mastershakeman posted:Carbs do you take commissions? Would it be fun for you to design cars From My Youth? I wanted to expand a little more on the Speed Champions thing, and 6-wide versus 8-wide. The current cars are pretty obviously trying to be as realistic as possible within the current parts palette while still retaining playability. Christopher Stamp (lead SC designer) has described them as tiny 18+ sets, and they don't hold back at all when it comes to technique and complexity. They are targeted at adult fans, while still being somewhat accessible to kids. This was not always the case, however! In the early days of SC, they were much more aimed at kids. In an off-the-record comment by LEGO designer Adam Grabowski on his personal Flickr, one of the reasons 6-wide was the initially chosen scale was so that the cars could integrate with the City sets/scale fairly seamlessly*. In a designer interview many years ago, LEGO also stated that the 6-wide 2-packs usually contained a newer car and an older one (Ford's 2016 & 1966 GTs, Porsche's 2018 & 1974 911s, and Dodge's 2018 Challenger & 1970 Charger) to encourage parents to play with their kids and their sets by providing a car that would be theoretically more interesting to them. So, back then, we can establish that this was a theme that very much had kids in its target demographic. The shift to 8-wide also marked a shift in this ideology. The cars were now aimed squarely at adults and intended to be display pieces first and foremost. Compatibility with other minifig-scale LEGO sets was not a consideration. Techniques could now become as complex as they liked. The first year of 8-wide sets, 2020, showed LEGO almost kind of struggling to get used to this new freedom, IMO. Looking back, the 2020 sets were more detailed than the 6-wides mostly just because of the increased size. The actual techniques that went into building them didn't feel much more complex than any 6-wides that had come before, if at all. They started getting much more elaborate in 2021 with hinged, angled bodywork on the Elva and Bronco, more elaborate brick-built pillars on the Challenger and Bronco, and extremely tricky multi-directional SNOT segments on the Supra and... uh, the Bronco again. For me, 2021 was the year that 8-wide started making sense to me, and then 2022 was the year we saw what the new standard was really capable of and I was finally truly on board. *Christ Stamp kinda inadvertently retconned Grabowski's statement here in 2020 when he introduced the new 8-wide standard in an interview, stating that even the older 6-wide models were always intended to just be standalone display pieces and not explicitly be compatible with City sets. However, this statement was almost certainly issued in an attempt to help justify the move to 8-wide, as this was a controversial choice in 2020 and it was in LEGO's interest to get as many people on board as possible by minimizing the benefits of 6-wide. there is no way you guys should read all this nerd poo poo I info dump in the children's toy thread Carbohydrates fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Mar 6, 2023 |
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Mar 6, 2023 15:34
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Carbohydrates posted:there is no way you guys should read all this nerd poo poo I info dump in the children's toy thread 
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Mar 6, 2023 15:39
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Carbohydrates posted:Not really! Way too much on my plate these days. I forgot. I have the duo 911s, too. And looking over everything, I might have the f40, too. I didn't even realize I had been buying these sets. So, which sets do you recommend?
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Mar 6, 2023 19:19
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get the Countach yesterday for starters
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Mar 6, 2023 19:32
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I love the 1970 Ferrari 512 M. The Fast & Furious cars are great if you're into the movies at all and the minifigures that come with them are perfect. Second on the Countach as well.
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Mar 6, 2023 19:53
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carbs said it far better than i could but get the mclaren double pack if you like zoomy cars and bonkers build techniques its fun on a bun and the f1 looks goddamned fantastic next to the lambo
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Mar 6, 2023 20:15
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My picks would be, in ranked order: 1. McLaren 2-pack. The F1 is iconic as hell and both builds are absolutely ridiculous. It's also a pretty killer value in the US. 2. Pagani Utopia. It's beautiful, doesn't need stickers, and has some really cool parts usage. Wish I had more to say, but it's really just that it looks SO good. 3. Ferrari 512M. Technically speaking, my favorite build of 2022. The way the nose comes together is super satisfying, and there's some really nice SNOT work all over, like the rear wheel arches. 4. Lamborghini Countach. The way the tail and vents come together is really inspired. Maybe my favorite rear fascia of any SC model. Interior is spartan, which I understand is very accurate. 5. Aston Martin DB5. Really intricate build for what it is, tons of drum lacquered silver parts, cool prints and new pieces, looks better than the Creator Expert-scaled one IMO. Would be much, much higher if not for the kind of lazy greenhouse. 6. Nissan Skyline. It's only this low because most of the build is pretty standard, but dang the front and rear fascias are exceptionally well done. Loses some points for the studdy hood and reliance on graphics, but the result is nice and, hell, I'm just happy to have a Skyline.
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Mar 6, 2023 20:19
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I just ordered the McLaren 2-pack and the Pagani. Porsche and Ferrari look to be already on back order on the US site.
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Mar 6, 2023 20:31
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Why the heck are the speed champions sets such good deals? Is Lego getting paid to advertise for the car makers rather than paying for minifig rights like they seemingly do in every other licensed set?
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Mar 6, 2023 20:45
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Has anyone made the Ford GT yet? I have mixed feelings looking at it.
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Mar 6, 2023 20:55
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Hot drat, the Solus GT certainly lives up to the hype. What an incredible build, especially for the half of the pack that I didn't care about originally. There are so many fantastic techniques, I thought I could pick out a few but I really just love the whole thing. 10/10, easily one of the coolest Lego sets ever and I still need to get to the F1. Thanks for the reviews Carb, you made the "buy eventually" become a instagrab when I saw it at Target yesterday. Nth-ing the recommendations for the Countach, DB5 ($15.99 @ Amazon & Walmart), and 512 M.
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Mar 6, 2023 21:20
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I accidentally completed the Ninjago Seabound subtheme. I picked up the mech ages ago because it's a mech, then got the sub-speeder, the temple and the water dragon, all because of insurance fraud by a toy store. They had a bunch of sets that were water damaged, already written off but still on sale for half of RRP, cash only. Today I managed to find the Hydro Bounty for €50 under RRP and decided to jump on the opportunity.
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Mar 6, 2023 23:23
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I want to grab the Hydro Bounty at some point, so I'm glad it's still in print. I think it's a little bit too expensive, but ONE DAY I will find that bargain like you did.
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Mar 6, 2023 23:35
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I really like the Audi Quattro, especially because it’s big enough for the driver and co-driver! 
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Mar 6, 2023 23:53
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Quattro was the first of the 8 wide cars and amazing. I had a truck with an inline 5 and if you hammered the gas it gave off a hint of that angry I'm coming to win trophies and kill spectators sound.  EDIT: lol online 5 EvilJoven fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Mar 7, 2023 |
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Mar 7, 2023 00:13
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EvilJoven posted:I had a truck with an online 5 and if you hammered the gas it gave off a hint of that angry I'm coming to win trophies and kill spectators sound. I had an E46 M3 and it was chonky for a sports car but the in-line 6 made a sweet angry chainsaw noise
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Mar 7, 2023 00:25
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Well, thanks guys. Now I have some of these sets on the way. Kinda want to find 76895 ferrari and 76899 lambos. Both out of print and going for a decent amount over retail on ebay. Also, I think I have mentioned them before, but a lowkey bargain site is bricksdirect.com. They are out of europe somewhere, almost always have prices lower than the US, and if you buy enough you can balance out shipping. I bought the 4 new $25 sets and paid a total, including shipping, of $97. Not a huge savings, but if I bought from the US it would be 110, if I bough from LEGO with double points, it is still $100. Later in the year I'm sure they will go on sale. But right now, that's a decent savings. They were $19 each before shipping. So your shipping might be less. Last year I bought the Sanctorum for $170 shipped when it was $230 plus tax here.
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Mar 7, 2023 01:10
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Speed Champions are genuinely the best set of sets they've made for years, both for the sheer joy of building them, and the new pieces coming out of them. Even though I mostly buy Lego as part packs nowadays, I genuinely always take the time to build any speed champion models first just for the joy, and to learn some new technique. The fact they're also really affordable is even more of a bonus.
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Mar 7, 2023 12:16
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