As we mentioned at the beginning of the month, the newly released LEGO Speed Champions sets are considered by many LEGO fans as some of the best in the collection so far. There are vehicles for fans of modern racecars, as well as for those who prefer the iconic classics. 🙂
Building minifigure-scale cars with LEGO bricks based on real vehicles has always been a challenge. Even the smallest LEGO pieces are quite large, and the shapes are not exactly suitable for building modern cars with rounded shapes. However, it is clear that LEGO designers are committed to making the LEGO Speed Champions cars as tastefully realistic as possible. This is achieved by working closely with different car manufacturers, using decorative stickers to provide some of the shaping and details, and taking advantage of recently released small elements.
The 2018 LEGO Speed Champions line includes four sets with a single car and driver. This includes the #75884 LEGO Speed Champions 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, the #75885 LEGO Speed Champions Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC (see both above), the #75866 LEGO Speed Champions Ferrari 488 GT3 Scuderia Corsa, and the #75887 LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 919 Hybrid (see both below). Further down, I have included video-reviews of all four of the sets, so you can see them in detail. Pick the one you like the most. There are no bad choices here!
There is also one set with two vehicles and two drivers. The #75888 LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 RSR and 911 Turbo 3.0 also includes some additional accessories and an extra minifigure. Love the classic car in this set, especially the shaping of the hood and headlights. Another nice feature is that there is minimal stickering on this vehicle. Again, you can’t go wrong with this set; nice designs, nice minifigs, great accessories. See the video-review below for more details.
The largest in the 2018 LEGO Speed Champions collection is the #75889 LEGO Speed Champions Ferrari Ultimate Garage with three cars, including another classic! Also, check out that start/finish line shaped with the new roller coaster pieces!
I’m not an expert on racecars, so I don’t feel qualified to analyze the vehicles in detail, but I have included JANGBRiCKS’ reviews in the playlist below. He is an enthusiastic racing fan and will give you his thoughtful and informed opinion on each of the cars in the collection. You can select the review you would like to watch using the drop-down list in the upper left hand corner of the player, or just let them play one after the other.
If you appreciate what you see, and you would like to try out building some of the 2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets, they are available at various LEGO retailers and at the LEGO Speed Champions section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the 2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets? Do you have any favorites you are planning to get? Have you been collecting the LEGO Speed Champions cars? Which ones do you have already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own review in the comment section below! 😉
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
The shape of that lime car makes me so happy. Especially the lights!
I was debating about getting these, but, then I found out that the Decour are stickers. I do not like stickers. To me it’s like Lego is to cheap to make them into prints. ( I know Lego isn’t cheap it just seems like that ).
I know what you mean. I have been staying away from collecting Speed Champions because of the stickers too. However, some of the cars have very few stickers or none at all. The lime-green car is a great example. So, some of them are good cars even for those of us who are allergic to stickers. 😉
I don’t like the stickers either. But then they are more like model cars, and in that hobby decals are commonly used. I have seen that people who come from the modeling hobby don’t mind.
I just don’t trust myself being able to apply them correctly. Also, how long do those stickers last?
Hm… not sure… current stickers are better quality than older ones, but they still won’t last as long as the plastic pieces. When I get sets with stickers, I always buy extra sticker-sheets on BrickLink, and store them in a ziplock bag. They are usually cheap for currently available sets, and a good insurance against damage of the originals.
Model cars usually use waterslide decals. They are fragile, but a lot more forgiving when you apply them because you can slide them around until perfectly positioned.
I was reading somewhere that you can use a similar method with lego stickers using windex. You apply the windex to the surface, then add the sticker. This leaves you a few seconds to position the sticker just right.
And use a hobby knife instead of your fingernails when peeing off the stickers from the backing sheet. The thin blade slides under the sticker easily without creating any wrinkles or fingerprints. And you can hold the sticker over the surface until you are happy with the position.
I use a hobby knife as well. It makes it much easier to apply stickers. I haven’t tried the Windex solution yet, but it was actually used to be listed on LEGO’s website, so I guess it’s legit. 😀
That’s a good point. Yes, decals are common in the model car hobby
Nice selection indeed! They made some great improvements since the first Speed Champions cars. Not that those were bad, not at all, but these are even better!
Now and then I wonder if Lego has considered (or maybe they have) some Speed Champion models based on sports cars from Japan.
Just curious; what Japanese sports car are you thinking of? I can’t think of any model that really stands out as unique. Lego may also have restrictions on which car manufacturers they can work with. Interesting idea though.
Agree – JDM cars would be so welcome here. Just to name a few legends that had major impact on cars as we know them today: Datsun 510, 69 Skyline GTR, Toyota 2000GT, Datsun 240z, Nissan 300zx Turbo, Toyota Supra, 4th gen Honda Civic Si, Acura NSX (1st Gen), Current gen Godzilla (Nissan GTR). There are almost too many more to name, but this is a nice starting point if you are curious. Some classic Japanese performance cars would be a wonderful addition to Speed Champions.
Thanks for listing those. I see some good potentials there! I guess lego could get into an agreement with Honda, Toyota and Nissan. Did they ever work with lego before?
My impression is that Japanese conglomerates are notoriously difficult to work with…
So in Japan, Lego had basically just cooperated with… Kabaya Sweets…
Lee answered several of them for me. (Busy day yesterday!) I was also thinking of (just as a suggestion) Mitsubish Evo, Subaru STI and I’m trying to remember which Lexus I was looking at the other day…
If a Ford Fiesta can be added, I don’t see why the Mitsubshi and the Subaru couldn’t. 🙂
Whut??? 😕 😐 😮
Whut whut???
LEGO and Kabaya sweets? 🙄
It isn’t a complicated deal, but several small sets and polybags were packed together with Kabaya sweets between 1998 and 2004.
https://brickset.com/sets/tag-Kabaya
That’s super cool! Nice little sets too! Wasn’t aware of them before! Always learn something. 😀
It would be cool, if Lego made the car from Knight rider’s into Lego. Or any other famous cars . How about the car from Dukes of Hazzard . That would be interesting and cool at the same time. Even better , how about the Munsters family car . Now that’ll be impressive.
Those are projects that would work well for LEGO Ideas. 🙂