Siegfried Posted January 1, 2009 Posted January 1, 2009 Welcome to my triple 4993 review! The creator sets this year were great value and the models were quite smart, motivating me to make all of them. But did I like them? Read on to find out! (Please note that I made them in reverse order to the way that they are shown so don't ask for any different photos of anything other than the convertible.) Model 1: Convertable I'm still not sure if I like the look of this sports car; it's probably a bit too stubby for my liking. I think it somewhat resembles a BMW Z3. I definitely don't like the rear; too many gaps. The design could have been enhanced to cover these more, but I suppose that would have raised the price. The gaps look worse from this angle. The side ones would have been hard to avoid, but the front and back ones wouldn't have been that hard. Modify it yourself you say? Nah... it's LEGO; I'll just make something else! I found the doors quite impressive; they sit more flush than I thought was possible. The side map holders are a nice touch too. The seats look great too. Snap! The roof closes fast with a flick of the lever. The roof is a smart design; it takes advantage of the sloping windscreen and is quite small. Here it is in mid-transfer. The last "function" in this set is the engine. The set is to the scale of Belville, who even fit in with the top up... ...but they look like they are having more fun with it down! I think TLG should have considered marketing this as a Belville-car. Barbie cars sell for not much cheaper. Model thoughts While the styling isn't to my taste, this is a great looking model. The red stripes in particular are very effective. The functional parts of this car are very well designed. I just wish they found some more parts for the back... Model 2: Cab-over Truck This truck was one of my main interests in the set... but I didn't like it as much when built. This is mostly because it looks odd at angles other than this one. Front on the wheels seem too wide to me. The bumper seems excessive as well. I like the radiator though, and the "windscreen" curve works for me too. Side on the back seems too short, and the fifth wheel, while inventive, is odd... ...as is the back. The tilting cab was the smartest part of the design; it not only props the cab while it's lifted, it also holds it shut. The truck also has an engine, which is made much the same as the one for the convertible. Scale-wise this one is confusing. I think it's roughly the same scale as a Technic man, but due to a flat inner cab there's not feet room. Model thoughts Disappointing. It looked better to me on the box. Model 3: Bobcat I actually built this model first as it's quite clearly the smallest model. It uses about 2/3rds of the parts and is very empty inside. Part usage aside, it's a good model. Due to the thin rubber the wheels are wrong for this model, but that's a minor complain in this case. The bucket design is really smart. Not only that, the way the convertible model uses black in all the subtle places to allow for a black bucket is great planning. The back is well done considering the available pieces. The arm lifts by pulling back the black lever. It locks in place because of the missing plate pieces. The bucket isn't self-levelling, but it does stay in place. You can see from this angle the lack of detail behind the seat. This model is also Belville scale. Model thoughts Aside from the lack of anything in the back and the left over parts I quite liked this model. Overall thoughts Parts: I buy Creator sets for the parts as they rarely contain anything hard to use. This set in particular is a great source of some of the newer curve pieces, some of which were my first. 10/10 Price: The Australian list price for this is $69.99 for 648 parts (I got it cheaper) so it's OK value. 8/10 Looks: The convertible is indeed cool, the Bobcat is also... but the truck wasn't as impressive to me. 9/10 Fudge: The appeal of these sets will depend on what you buy Lego for; the car would be a good model, but as I said I buy these sets for the parts. Like other Creator sets the way they are designed to make three models is impressive. 9/10 Overall: Highly Recommended. 9/10 Quote
Lord Santos Posted January 1, 2009 Posted January 1, 2009 Nice review Sinner, i think I'll buy this set. I have one question, does the belville figure differs a lot in size comparing to the technic one? Quote
Siegfried Posted January 1, 2009 Author Posted January 1, 2009 I have one question, does the belville figure differs a lot in size comparing to the technic one? Judge for yourself! I think they look smaller than they are due to their width, but they are only about 10% smaller. However, I think technic men can look a bit odd in 4 wide seats. (BTW, your avatar is 20 times bigger than it needs to be, and six times bigger than we allow...) Quote
Hinckley Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 I think this review would be much better if it featured that loveable Hinckley character from The Whacker and the Walrus. Thanks for another thorough review, Sinner. I had the chance to play with this set at an NILTC meeting. It's another one that has fallen off my radar. I really like this new Creator line and all the great sets they've come out with but I missed all of them this year, the transport ferry, the ferris wheel, the stegosaurus and this one. I really like the alternate models on this one. Even more than the Ferry ones. Like I said about the idea books in your 812 Gears review, I like to see a return of alternate models in some form, since LEGO doesn't put them on the boxes anymore. It's nice to know there's a whole line that encourages kids to build something different than what's on the box. Thanks again for the thorough review and for building all three models. Quote
Svelte Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 Looks like a great parts pack. I did consider getting this one when it was cheap but went for Mr Steggles instead for the green/ brown landscaping parts. I really liked the aesthetics of the main model, and it seemed to have neat functionality compared to a lot of System sets which look good but don't do an awful lot (I'm looking at you, Star Wars!). It's very interesting to see the Belville figs in scale with something other than a shiny pink pleasure palace and I agree, they could have marketed it differently to appeal to a different audience. I'm not sure I want to encourage yet another line to become vehicle-based though Quote
Wout Posted January 3, 2009 Posted January 3, 2009 Thank you for the nice review, Sinner. It has many pics and the pics with the belville family enjoying a ride, makes it very nice for me. Quote
Hinckley Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 Thank you for the nice review, Sinner. It has many pics and the pics with the belville family enjoying a ride, makes it very nice for me. Yes, but I'd like to see the girl get folded up in that roof... Quote
Holodoc Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 Thank you for your review, Sinner! What do I have to vote, if I got 2 copies of that great set already? Quote
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