10261 LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster

[Holodoc]

Instant buy!

Now where can I get this beauty cheaper...

Can't wait to see the designer video.

[DragonKhan]

Finally it is official! 
I'm still kind of geeking out since this is something I have been hoping for since my childhood over 20 years ago! It's an absolute dream for a roller coaster (I've been travelling the world just for them) and Lego enthusiast like me! 

Some thoughts:
Things I love:

• The expected rail slope piece! It'll offer so many possibilities!
• The amount of functions! I expected the lift, but I did not expect a transfer track!
• The technical details of the functions like the "tightener" on the chain lift and the station "brakes"!
• The incredibly cool sign!
• The amount of minifigures and the inclusion of a second train!
• The amount of nerdy details like on-ride photo camera, "do not stand up" sign, boarding gates, height measuring stick and the transfer track!
• Possibly easily exchangeable "modular" supports?

Things I feel indifferent about:

• Not motorized. I expected that. It keeps the price down and makes buying multiples much more viable.
• Not many additional details. Since it was most likely going to be a fun fair coaster I expected. Some extra stands are enough for me. I want tracks!
• The support structure. It looks bland, as expected. It's not exactly a "pretty" set.
• The price. It ain't cheap. It's actually rather expensive. But I expected a 300+ price since I realized any decent coaster would be huge! And I think it's a bigger set than it looks.

Things I hate:

• That contraption after the lift. I'll be adding a slope piece after the lift right away!
• I was hoping for a "S-bend" track piece, which would've made custom layouts much easier.
  
   

7 hours ago, mostlytechnic said:

The driving wheels around the top bend is an interesting method - keeps the layout smaller instead of needing an immediate drop to get momentum. I'd rather have had sloping curves instead.
...

 

7 hours ago, fred67 said:

...
Most of the play features look great, but I am disappointed they had to have the supplemental wheels there, at the top, to keep the coaster moving.  It not only doesn't look great, but points to a poor track design, IMO.  It seems more like how a flume ride would  be laid out.
...

 

That's my single big issue I have with the set. It's just very unrealistic. But as I said in the other thread, it's probably a solution to make sure the set doesn't get even wider while reaching the required height of the ride. I'm pretty sure that it can be "fixed" with a simple modification. Adding a simple slope right after the lift should do just fine ...
 

6 hours ago, wooster said:

Notice the map on the bottom right-hand corner of the Rollercoaster.  It shows the Rollercoaster, Ferris Wheel, and Carousel.  It does not include the Mixer.  I have always felt the mixer seemed out of place with the Ferris Wheel and Carousel.  It feels more like a carnival ride than a permanent amusement park ride.  This map seems to confirm my speculation.
...

I agree that the mixer seems out of place compared to the rest, but to be honest, most rides Lego releases seem mostly inspired by their temporary counterparts from the fun fairs. The big difference with the mixer is that that set includes the whole transportation set up. Imagine how crazy that would be for the coaster. 
The coaster is also definitely inspired by the typical coasters on fun fairs. The rather modular looking support structure seems to confirm that. I also hope that the supports are truly "modular" so that other layouts are easily doable.

 

4 hours ago, RogerSmith said:

Great looking set. Just wish they had come up with a more unique name for it - "Coaster" is a slightly unimaginative name for a coaster (even though "Rollercoaster" or the respective term in the local native language is propably the most common name for rollercoasters out there...).
...

Better than the rumored German name "Wilde Maus"! 
And yes, "Rollercoaster" is by far the most common name, but "Coaster" by itself is not uncommon either. I'm fine with it considering we get a cool brick made sign with the set. 

Edited April 26, 2018 by DragonKhan

[3797]

If you are willing to pay 329€ for this set, then don't complain when next years modular building will be 249€ instead of 149€. You've been warned.

[LegoModularFan]

4 hours ago, fred67 said:

Hmm... this is an awesome set, TLG finally releasing a roller coaster.  If I was rich, I'd buy it (probably several).  $380 is just too much.  Being able to buy track packs separately (as is the rumor?) will allow me to make my own, I think, at a much more reasonable price - especially if I start with the pirate coaster set.

Most of the play features look great, but I am disappointed they had to have the supplemental wheels there, at the top, to keep the coaster moving.  It not only doesn't look great, but points to a poor track design, IMO.  It seems more like how a flume ride would  be laid out.  I'm also not sold on the support infrastructure.  Obviously I think most people will motorize it, but I wonder how many cranks it takes to get the cars to the top.  I can picture a grandparent buying a child a set like this without understanding they should get the power functions with it.

I don't know what else to say about it - it's awesome because it's a LEGO Roller Coaster, but it's expensive and feels like a first draft instead of a finished product.

I completely agree with all you said here. I can't see any reason for this being 350€, the Assembly Square is only 250€ with a few less pieces. I'm pretty sure the price is due to the Roller Coaster track pieces but this is still really too much.

I'm not that bothered with the wheels but they don't look amazing. I seriously don't like the support infrastructure. I really don't like seeing the undersides of the plates. And the usage of all that gray... Meh. If there are any solutions, I reckon these would have certainly increased the piece count (and automatically the price) quite a bit though... 

I like pretty much everything else, especially the brick-built coaster sign and trees, the stands, and the minifigs! And I'm glad to see that a set longly awaited by you, AFOLs came out at last! 

2 hours ago, Klaus-Dieter said:

We get no new torso for the minifigs

I didn't know that. I still like the choices of the torsos made though. 

[chrisb2012]

I absolutely love this set, May 16th can’t cone soon enough and as it’s my 30th birthday a few days before what a way to mark it!

I think the set it amazing, my Mrs said it’s a set that looks like “proper Lego” again, much like when we were kids and there was lots of bricks and pieces rather than the larger molded pieces you get now (most of the time)

I for one think Lego has outdone themselves here and the concept is quite simply brilliant, wonder if the freebie for spending so much will tie in like it has previously...

[snefroe]

this is brilliant i want one I do think an extra building would have made it even better though. now it seems a bit too easy, imo, lots of pilars and very small buildings. building this set doesn't look all that exciting or challenging, IMO 

[Fuppylodders]

29 minutes ago, 3797 said:

If you are willing to pay 329€ for this set, then don't complain when next years modular building will be 249€ instead of 149€. You've been warned.

There'll be no complaining from me. These track pieces are likely the reason of the high price point, there's a lot of them, and they're not in a lot of sets, so they have to get their money back on them due to (in comparison to a typical widely used brick piece) low production.

In my opinion, think people are overlooking that too much, and pointing out the 'flaw' of the tires at the top instead of a slope straight after. Its already a big enough set,  adding a slope straight after means it'd be even longer, or not as high, either one likely increasing the cost significantly due to having to add the extra support structure for the track, being at its highest. This solution is cheap and efficient, and doesn't look out of place in a VERY functional rollercoaster LEGO SET. I actually feel they pulled off a perfect solution. It is Lego, adjust it if you don't like it, but to complain of it when a solution of adding a slope immediately after would increase the price further, giving you something else to complain about even more so than is being done now, I think that's unfair to them.

I also think people are forgetting this is still a LEGO SET, not a scale model replica that is ensuring 100% authenticity to a real life counterpart. The designer will have had to use creative licence to provide maximum function, maximum track length, minimal support structure while still being sturdy enough to be played with, and maximum fun, probably to a specific price point. Lack of lights sure is something missing, but the amount it would require to not look like a pathetic attempt of a gesture of adding them, again, would increase the cost further. Lights are easily added if you want them. It is then your own choice to pay the extra on an already costly set, while being kept cheaper for those that aren't fussed about 'lights'.

It feels like some people want everything, but for peanuts...

 

[Bricked1980]

I wonder how sturdy the whole structure is and whether it will be tricky to move around once it's built?

25 minutes ago, LegoModularFan said:

I can't see any reason for this being 350€, the Assembly Square is only 250€ with a few less pieces. I'm pretty sure the price is due to the Roller Coaster track pieces but this is still really too much

I do think this is expensive and I had thought the same as you. The parts count is similar to assembly square so why is it so much more expensive? I suppose it comes down to the fact assembly square has a tonne of tiny parts,  1x1 tiles, cheese slopes etc. This set has got all the track and the overall finished model is vastly bigger.

I do like the look of this set very much. It is the sort of model I always wished lego would produce when I was a kid. I think the finished model looks great and really fun and would certainly be a great centrepiece on any layout. Personally I don't think it will provide the most fun and rewarding build experience though. Those pillars and supports look as if they'd be quite repetitive and it doesn't look as if there is much in the way of innovative build techniques like we see in the modulars. I don't think that is the main reason people will be queuing up to buy this set though.

A rollercoaster has been on a lot of people's wish lists for a long time and I'm very glad lego have finally done one. The finished model looks fantastic. I would love to own it but the high price is the only thing stopping me.

[Johnny1360]

I do really like this set as well and as it's been stated, the track pieces are almost certainly the reason for the higher price. I am okay with that but I will still not be getting it, mostly because of it's huge footprint, just don't have room for it. Those wheels got to go though.Like many others I will settle for the pirate coaster instead, hopefully adding to it in the future.

To those that get it enjoy, it looks like great fun, I am a bit envious. 

[Robert8]

Jaw-dropping. This just JAW-DROPPING

EPIC 

I don't like to spend so much money in a single set, but I think I'll get this one 

[Lyichir]

3 hours ago, 3797 said:

If you are willing to pay 329€ for this set, then don't complain when next years modular building will be 249€ instead of 149€. You've been warned.

Why on earth would the sales of this set have any impact whatsoever on the modulars? You could just as easily say that the number of people who bought the UCS Falcon ensured that all future Star Wars UCS sets would be that price, but that's obviously not true. Lego benefits from having sets available at a range of price points, and even as that range gets broader the lower priced options aren't going to just disappear as long as they too continue to sell well.

If anything, Lego is probably banking on the Carousel and Ferris Wheel (not to mention the much more affordably priced Pirates Roller Coaster in the Creator 3-in-1 theme) remaining viable options for people who don't want to put money down on a set this expensive.

[dr_spock]

I've seen tires on steel rollercoasters before.They are used to control the speed of the train through stations, braking, or to give that extra push.

Coasterpedia calls them friction wheels.

[Artanis I]

Some set.

 

 

This (or a giant custom version) will be at every Lego show going forward... something to take a break from GBCs, trains and dying monorails

[Littleworlds]

And I thought the pirate roller coaster would be all there is... not that its a bad set. Very much to the contrary, but this one is really something else. Pricewise way too high to be considered (I prefer more smaller, and fewer big sets) but nevertheless a superb set, that indeed looks quite properly Lego.

I also dont really recommend just comparing the sheer piece-count, since that can be quite misleading. The tracks and wagons are still very recent pieces, and quite complex ones too. Certainly more difficult to manufacture than regular bricks and plates.

[Ganto]

I can finally make my roller coaster tycoon dreams a reality. Praise LEGO for these wonderful modern track pieces.

[turk187]

Now we have 3 coaster sets, Wayne manner (purple), Pirate coaster (gery), and this one (red). Am I missing any? I wish they had just picked one color and stuck with it. Would have made it easier to integrate sets. I wonder how many pirate coasters you'd have to buy to have the same number of track pieces.

[Johnny1360]

1 minute ago, turk187 said:

 I wish they had just picked one color and stuck with it.

I just hope they make all the track piece variants for each color. 

[Lucarex]

People complaining and trying to rationalise how Lego can charge such a seemingly extortionate price for this set.

The answer is simple. Because they can. Whilst safely in the knowledge it'll still fly off the shelves.

 

[DragonKhan]

8 hours ago, dr_spock said:

I've seen tires on steel rollercoasters before.They are used to control the speed of the train through stations, braking, or to give that extra push.

Coasterpedia calls them friction wheels.

Friction wheels are common. But not really after a lifthill before the first drop. 
But I don't want to complain about it being unrealistic. I know of the reason why they did it, and it's probably easy to change.

[Anonknee Muss]

There is a new roller coaster track piece introduced in this set. Previously we've only had the entrance to a steep hill and an exit piece to the steep hill now we have a middle piece for the steep hill climbs. My apologies if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm not very good at explaining things verbally (or in this case via text), I'm a visual learner.

Edited April 27, 2018 by J4ck
Explaining myself better ?

[Digger of Bricks]

10 hours ago, Artanis I said:

This (or a giant custom version) will be at every Lego show going forward... something to take a break from GBCs, trains and dying monorails

I'm really hoping someone, or some LUG, will incorporate this rollercoaster track into a futuristic city display as an elevated transportation system, suspended and running throughout buildings and such. 

8 hours ago, turk187 said:

Now we have 3 coaster sets, Wayne manner (purple), Pirate coaster (gery), and this one (red). Am I missing any?

If you aren't counting that one Friends set from 2016, nope, those are the only three rollercoaster sets utilizing the new track so far. There are a bunch of other sets repurposing the track in LBG in other ways, also released this year too.

Speaking of Friends, I do anticipate a new rollercoaster set for the theme sometime in the near future, utilizing the new track system as opposed to recolored narrow gauge track.

[Holodoc]

15 hours ago, 3797 said:

If you are willing to pay 329€ for this set, then don't complain when next years modular building will be 249€ instead of 149€. You've been warned.

My fears, exactly!

[x105Black]

This is a tremendously fun looking set.  They really went for it, and it looks great.  It reminds me of the generic coasters at Six Flags, the Great American Scream Machine in New Jersey, or the Blue Hawk (when it was known as the Ninja) in Georgia.  Of course, there are no loops here, but the idea is the same, this is your basic rollercoaster.

My favorite little feature is the use of the beehive in pink as cotton candy.  That's clever.

[DragonKhan]

49 minutes ago, Holodoc said:

My fears, exactly!

I don't understand that fear. Lego is not going to price the next modular completely different than the previous ones. It'll be priced along the lines of all previous models. And if it is going to be an expensive 249, I will expect the size to be the same as for Assembly Square again.

I really don't understand the people that argue about the price not being worth the piece count to be honest. Specifically Lego fans I'd expect to know better than compare such vastly different sets with pieces that are vastly different in size and complexity. *shrug* 
 

10 minutes ago, x105Black said:

...
 It reminds me of the generic coasters at Six Flags, the Great American Scream Machine in New Jersey, or the Blue Hawk (when it was known as the Ninja) in Georgia.  Of course, there are no loops here, but the idea is the same, this is your basic rollercoaster.
...

This is certainly nitpicking, but I am a coaster enthusiast after all, so I kinda have to. 
I've mentioned it in the other thread already, but this Lego coaster clearly is inspired by classic figure-8 roller coasters from fun fairs. They're not as common in the US (where amusement parks have a bigger history than fun fairs), but in Europe they are all over.
You're totally right by saying "this is your basic rollercoaster", just that it's even more basic than the examples you've given. 
Here are two examples of very typical models. Maybe you can find one you have ridden?
"Galaxi" model, Italian made & "Wildcat" model, German made

Edited April 27, 2018 by DragonKhan

[Holodoc]

48 minutes ago, DragonKhan said:

I don't understand that fear. Lego is not going to price the next modular completely different than the previous ones. It'll be priced along the lines of all previous models. And if it is going to be an expensive 249, I will expect the size to be the same as for Assembly Square again.

This is how TLC is working (just like other manufacturers, too btw.): If the people are paying what TLC is asking, they will ask!
You are hoping that TLC will not adapt the prices within a subtheme? I object!

Best example is the collectible minifigs: They started with 1,99€ , went up to 2,49€ in series 3, raised again the price with licensed figs and we are now (finally?) at 3,99€ for each figure of a complete license free series.

AND THE PEOPLE (US!!) ARE STILL BUYING!

So why shouldn't TLC ask 3,99€? This is how capitalism works. In this case sadly. And TLC knows that we all have been eagerly waiting for the coaster!!!

The only way to stop this evolution is to STOP buying.

In your arguments you mention Assembly Square - see my comparison below.

Back to the Coaster:

These are just estimated numbers, but looking at the set we'll have hundreds of 2x2 white round bricks and also a huge amount of chain links.
Really cool new parts (besides the tracks of course)? I hardly spot any.
Prints instead of stickers? Indication error.
Power functions? Only if you add other expensive parts to it.

Let's compare it:

Taj Mahal (10256) - 5923 parts - 329,99 € (same price but 1.799 parts more than RC)
Roller Coaster (10261) - 4.124 parts - 329,99 €
Big Ben (10253) - 4.163 parts - 219,99 € (39 bricks more than RC, but 110€ cheaper)
Assembly Square (10255) - 4.002 parts - 239,99 € (same subtheme [Creator Expert] just 122 bricks less than RC, but 90€ cheaper)

 

My conclusion: I am not going to buy it for the asked price. 25% off and I am in again. This is still 250€ and a lot of money for the pieces given (see above).