I thought to show you my custom LEGO scooter collection. These scooters were originally designed, hand-sculpted, and cast in resin by the very talented LEGO customizer Arealight (see links at the end of this post for more information ). This was before moulding in ABS plastic became more common in the LEGO customizing community, so each piece had to be individually made. It was a painstaking process that also made custom LEGO items very expensive – especially elaborate ones like the scooter.
Fast forward a few years, Arealight made an arrangement with BrickForge, one of the first LEGO customizers who started using ABS plastic to make custom LEGO items in larger quantities. This allowed more consistency and precision in the finished products and also brought down prices significantly due to the more efficient process. BrickForge started offering the scooters through their website in several colors that matched LEGO’s own color-palette. The scooters were really cute, so they were a hit with LEGO fans. This was also before LEGO started to make their own scooter, which increased demand for the custom scooters.
Then a bit later BrickForge figured out how to print on their custom LEGO elements, and one of the first products they offered in a printed version was the scooter. First there were only a couple of designs, and now there are a lot more. In fact, just recently they released a new wave of printed scooters in new colors and with new designs. I have been collecting the printed scooters ever since they first became available. My goal has been to have one of each of the different color printed scooters. I got some of them directly through BrickForge‘s online store, and other ones at LEGO conventions. So far I have thirteen of them: white, yellow, old light-pink, dark-pink, red, dark-red, purple, violet, light-blue, blue, dark-blue, olive-green, and black. I hope they will also make an orange and an lime-green one at some point. Again, these are the same colors as LEGO’s own color-palette, so they fit right into any LEGO City layout.
As you can see, minifigs look quite comfortable on these scooters and look very natural cruising around. There are also three studs on the scooter, one for the front-light, one for the back-light, and one on the seat. You can attach various items here that your minifig can carry. The wheels and tires of the scooters are also custom-made. The wheels are the same color as the scooter and the tires come in white, dark-tan, dark-brown, pearl-light-gray, pearl-dark-gray, and black. They are the exact same size as LEGO tires, so you can also interchange them if you like. The handlebar/front-light section is removable and interchangeable, if you like to mix things up a bit.
Here is a picture of how these custom LEGO scooters look next to LEGO’s own recently released scooters. As you can see, the LEGO scooter is a bit bigger and a bit more square-ish, but both of them look really cute. One thing I wish the custom scooter would have is a kick-stand. The LEGO scooter does have a kick-stand that helps with stability. The custom scooter has a fat back-wheel that keeps it stand upright, but it can still fall over more easily than the LEGO scooter. On the plus side, the custom scooter comes in significantly more colors than the LEGO scooter (only two colors; red and light-aqua), and the custom scooters are printed (although plain versions are available as well). I should also mention here that the LEGO scooter doesn’t have a stud to attach a back light, so you have to add an additional hinge brick, which I’m not entirely happy about.
Anyhow, just wanted to show you my custom scooter collection, as I’m really happy with these little buggers. I live in a college town and little scooters like these are a very common form of transportation, so its befitting that my minifigs should also be able to zip around on scooters. They are a great transportation option for minifigs, they don’t take up much space on LEGO City roads, and they look super cute. If you would like to get some of your own, you can find them at BrickForge‘s online shop. And you can also usually find them at LEGO conventions.
So what do you think? How do you like these little custom LEGO scooters? Do you have some already? Do you collect them, or am I the only one crazy enough to do that? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! And if you are looking for the official LEGO scooter, the red one is available in a few current sets; the cheapest being the #41092 LEGO Friends set for $10, and the #40684 LEGO Juniors set for $20 (links will take you to the Online LEGO Shop).
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
First i don’t like scooters in real life so I’m not a big fan of Lego ones 🙄
You don’t like scooters?! But they are so cute!
Nice collection! They look great all lined up like that, the dog on the back of “Herbie” looks fantastic:-) Have you ever posted pics of your city layout here?
I actually don’t have a full-scale LEGO City. I’m more into Castle and Fantasy (and Spaceships!), however I recently started building a LEGO City layout on top of my cube-shelves, as they are just the perfect height and width for the LEGO Modular Buildings. The Modulars make a nice display, and I add to them and customize them when I get a break from work, school, martial-arts training and running a blog (which means not very often, but it’s always fun). For example I turned the pet-shop into a little grocery store, and the barber shop into a café – things like that. And of course I added the scooters! I’m not so much into picture-taking as it takes a long time and I rather build and play, but I should probably write a post with some of my layouts, as several people have asked. I post pictures, when I do get inspired, at my flickr gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akunthita/sets/
I love how you beefed up the exo suit! It almost looks twice as wide. The blue around the body section rocks:-) And I just glimpsed Palace 1 (white, gold, trans blue) and that looks like it is just the Keep to a larger structure. Was that stand alone or part of a larger, planned palace?
I have something called the 16×16 Project. I build structures and armies on 16×16 baseplates. The buildings are kind of chibi size, meaning that they are minifigs size, but they are shrunk and cute-ified. This way I can experiment with many different styles and include everything I want in them without taking up too much space or breaking the bank. I’m also a minifigs customizer and love history, so I do the same thing with my armies. They are small – only 16 minifigs per unit – but I customize them to the hilt. 😉
Your 16×16 armies are a neat! As a specialist in castle/microscale I always find army building fascinating. At some point I need to actually set up and photo my armies – im at between 30-60 per faction now (apart from falcons).
As to the scooters – I dont find city a particularly interesting theme apart from as parts but the scooters are seriously cute as you said!
Please share pictures when you do take some. Love to check out other people’s armies! And I love the Falcons! I also resisted LEGO City, but the Modulars broke the ice for me. Actually, it was the Parisian Restaurant. 🙂
I’ve a couple of the modulars (haunted house and grand emporium) but although lovely I just don’t want to build a city around them (Well I do around the haunted house but that’s different).
I like the parisian restaurant but I haven’t got round to it yet…
I don’t want to build a city around them either. Would take up too much room and money that I don’t want to sink into such a project. I just basically have a modular street on top of my cube organizers. The modulars fit perfectly with a couple of additional inches in front for some extra minifigs, skateboarders, scooters, bicycles, etc. No cars are allowed, as they would take up too much room. 😀
That sounds quite a good solution 🙂 my current and only display spot is 140 studs by 18 so no modulars on there (its the only spot my kids can’t get to as well). Which is why i only do MOCs really as most sets are either smaller and look odd or too big 🙂
And yeah modular city would be way too much cash and I’d break my only lego rule (no full size trains) as I’d be spending £1000s on 9v track 🙁
LOL! I have the exact same rule about trains! I love them so much, but I’m so afraid that if I get one I won’t be able to stop. I had this whole idea of running trains under the ceiling in the living-room, but yeah, it would cost a fortune, so best if I just stay far away from them. 🙄
I got my scooter gang. Ha ha. I actually did recently get some sets to compare the Lego scooter to these ones but I haven’t yet. I have found some balance issues on the Brickforge scooters though. Have you found this?
Yeah, I mentioned the balance issue in the article. Nice to hear from another scooter maniac! 😀
There is only one way to describe this: awesome.
Awesome cute. You have to put the cute in there. 😉
*awesome cute
That is – aww-some. 😉
LOL! I’m going to steal that! 😛
I want all of them. Haha. Great collection and a nice write up article. Let me know if you have any extras. 😉
Brickforge has a lime green one in stock now.
Yes, I know, but I want a printed one. 😉