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While most of the 2017 LEGO Speed Champions cars were released at the beginning of the year (see: 2017 LEGO Speed Champions Reviews), there is one vehicle that was held back until June; the #75880 LEGO Speed Champions McLaren 720S. But good things come to those with patience, so let’s take a closer look at this orange wonder. 🙂

The #75880 LEGO Speed Champions McLaren 720S is the third LEGO Speed Champions set featuring the brand. The #75909 LEGO Speed Champions McLaren P1, and the #75911 LEGO Speed Champions McLaren Mercedes Pit Stop were both released in 2015. The LEGO version of the McLaren P1 was a particularly nice vehicle with beautiful curves, a bold bright-light-orange and black color-scheme, and a few well-placed stickers (see second picture below).

Because the LEGO Speed Champions vehicles are minifigure scale, they are not the most accurate as far as actual car models. This is understandable, as LEGO designers are limited with what pieces they can work with in such a small scale. However, due to the introduction of new curved pieces, wedge elements, windshields, mudguards, and wheel covers, they are accurate enough to be instantly recognizable.

And, since LEGO added even more new pieces to their inventory, this means that the LEGO Speed Champions cars can continue to advance as well. For example, while the McLaren P1 uses stickers for its headlights, thanks to some new small pieces, the McLaren 720S has a completely brick-built front section. On this scale, that’s a big achievement, and a testament to LEGO’s commitment to providing a great building experience.

All the small LEGO Speed Champions come with a bit of extra, and I think the little design studio included with the McLaren 720S is one of the best. It’s small and simple, but that McLaren design sketch really makes it. And with the addition of the red coffee mug, it is even artistic.

Here is the official description of the set: Become a supercar designer and racing driver with the LEGO Speed Champions version of the McLaren 720S plus design studio. This buildable car features loads of authentic details and comes with a design desk and play-starting elements, including an original design sketch and printed 3D miniature version of the McLaren 720S. Also includes one designer/racing driver minifigure. McLaren 720S measures over 1” (4cm) high, 5” (14cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide. Design desk measures over 1” (5cm) high, 2” (6cm) wide and 1” (4cm) deep. 161 pieces. Price: $14.99 – BUY HERE

In summary, the LEGO Speed Champions McLaren 720S is a worthy addition to the LEGO Speed Champions line, and I would say it’s probably one of the best vehicles in the series. While the shaping is not completely accurate, due to the limitations of the LEGO building system in such a small scale, it is still a very impressive model. Collectors of the LEGO Speed Champions sets should be very happy with this mighty little wonder. Also, because the vehicle is minifig-scale, has a standard 6-wide frame, and it comes with few stickers, it can be used in LEGO City dioramas as a standard car for the rich and famous. You can find it at the LEGO Speed Champions section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Speed Champions collection? And what do you think of the McLaren 720S? Which one is your favorite vehicle so far? Feel free to share your thoughts and own review in the comment section below! 😉

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Discovering Easter eggs in LEGO sets

(Written by E. B. – Eabs3)

If you have been involved in the LEGO hobby for a while, you may have noticed that LEGO likes to include Easter eggs in their sets. Easter eggs are unexpected and usually undocumented small details that LEGO designers add as an insider joke or little surprise for the pleasure of their most dedicated fans. They are usually not noticed by general shoppers, but only those who really pay attention. 🙂

Some sets include Easter eggs related to the topic of the set. For example, the #76057 LEGO Super Heroes Spider-Man Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle includes a stickered tile over the arch of the bridge with the year Spider-Man was first introduced (1962) in issue #15 of the comic book Amazing Fantasy. Another good example is the recently released #21309 LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V, where the number of parts included in the set matches the year of the first Apollo launch (1969).

Some Easter eggs in LEGO sets refer to LEGO’s own history. A wonderful example is the #70317 LEGO Nexo Knights The Fortrex. The front gate features two numbers 375-6075. This is a reference to one of the most iconic early LEGO sets, the #375/#6075 LEGO Yellow Castle.

Other Easter eggs are more subtle and are harder to identify. When I recently built the #76083 LEGO Super Heroes Spider-Man Beware the Vulture set, I noticed that the license plate number was AC-JR10. It is known in the LEGO fan community that LEGO designers like to hide their initials in the sets they work on, so I was curious to see if the license plate matches the name of the designer.

Brickset.com has a really neat feature, where you can check the sets a particular LEGO designer worked on. Some of the lists are maintained by the designers themselves, and others are updated by the community (if it is known who is the designer).

After some searching in the Brickset Featured Bricklists for designers, I discovered that the #76083 LEGO Super Heroes Spider-Man Beware of the Vulture set was designed by Justin Ramsden, and thus the JR in the license plate number. And I also found out that AC are the initials of LEGO graphic designer Adam Corbally.

LEGO City sets with vehicles also commonly have the initials of the designers hidden on license plates. If you look at the Brickset Featured Bricklist for Pierre Normandin, you will see his initials on a number of LEGO City vehicles, like the #60107 LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck pictured above.

You can go through all the other Featured Bricklists, and see if you notice the initials of any of the designers. You will probably find them hidden somewhere in the sets they worked on.

What do you think? Have you noticed any Easter eggs in the LEGO sets you own? Feel free to share your own finds in the comment section below! Also, I’m a TFOL (Teen-Fan-of-LEGO), and this is my first post at theBrickBlogger. I run my own blog called KeyToTheBrick.WordPress.com. Feel free to stop by and feedback is welcome! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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