[REVIEW] 42093 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

[Jim]

REVIEW - 42093 - CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1

INTRODUCTION
We do see a lot of licensed Technic sets lately. In that regard, this set is not special. What is special, is the scale of this model. At first glance, you might not notice it, but this is a rather small set, still packing lots of details. At a price of € 39,99 you basically can't go wrong. Let's see if that is indeed the case. But before we do that, take a look at what we are aiming for.

This review might be less detailed than usual, but time was limited. Sorry about that. I do hope you enjoy it anyway! 

PICTURES
Pictures can be clicked to view hi-res versions. More pictures can be found in my Flickr album.

DISCLAIMER
This set has been provided by the CEE Team of TLG. It's not my goal to promote this set. It's my goal to give you an honest opinion about it. Therefore, the opinion in this review is my own and is in no way linked to TLG.

SET INFORMATION
Number: 42093
Title: Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Theme: Technic
Released: 2019
Part Count: 579
Box Weight: 748 gram
Box Dimensions: 35,3 cm x 18,9 cm x 9,0 cm
Set Price (RRP): € 39,99
Price per Part: € 0,069
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

THE BOX

CONTENTS OF THE BOX
The box contains:

• 1x Booklet
• 1x Sticker sheet
• 6x Unnumbered bags

BOOKLET

STICKER SHEET

BAGS

     

HIGHLIGHTED PARTS

TECHNIC MUDGUARD 9 x 3 x 2
This new part is the slightly smaller variant of the big mudguard panel we see quite often nowadays. I am looking forward to seeing this part appear in other official sets and/or MOCs. One can get very creative with it.

11 x 3 CURVED PANELS
I overlooked the fact that these panels are new too. Thanks to @Ngoc Nguyen for pointing it out.

WHEELS AND RIMS
At first, these parts don't seem so special, but they kinda are. The tires only appear in the London Bus and the rims are new in black. Both slightly smaller than the rims in and tires we often see in the pull-back racer sets.

20T DOUBLE BEVEL GEAR WITH CLUTCH
This gear first appeared in the Bugatti Chiron and it's good to see it pop-up in another set. Quote from the Chiron review; it's basically the same as the regular 20T bevel gear, but it has a pin hole, instead of axle hole. And it has clutches on both sides.

PART LIST
I was surprised to see two pages, for the number of parts (579). This is because the smaller size of the booklet.

 

THE BUILD
The blue clutch gear is used to connect the HoG steering to the rear axle. The differential is (indirectly) connected to the crankshaft.

Since this is a smaller scale car, it uses a different fake engine design. Here you can see the crankshaft, lifting the cylinders.

The bottom of the chassis...no surprises here.

The left-over parts.

COMPLETED MODEL
There has been some debate about this car, and its resemblance to the real car. Obviously, it's hard to get it entirely right, but I do think the designer delivered a remarkably fine model! Especially with the scale in mind. If I have to name one negative thing, it would not be the front of the car. It would be the doors, or lack thereof. The side panels don't open up.

Admittedly, the rear of the car shows a more characteristic Corvette look than the front.

Just enough stickers to add some details to the car.

Comparison between the front and rear.

 

Bottom view of the entire chassis.

What I absolutely love about this model is its working V8 engine. The cylinders are actually moving, and they are clearly visible. This adds a lot of value for me.

Here are some extra pictures showing the Corvette in all its glory.

B-MODEL
Not the first time we have seen a Hotrod B-model, but who doesn't love a Hotrod?! It looks interesting enough to give it a go.

SUMMARY
This summary will be short and simple. I love everything about this model. Given the scale, the designer really made this model stand out. And for 40 euros you get a very fun little model. That boils down to only 6,5 eurocent per part, which is cheap. This is the perfect gift if you are looking for a reasonably priced Technic set. Two big thumbs up for this set! I sure hope we get more sets like this, which obviously is to be expected.

PROS

• Price!
• HoG steering
• Working V8
• Design
• New mudguard panels
• New rims and tires

CONS

• Doors don't open (minor gripe)

SCORE
How do I rate this set?

9 DESIGN

Perfect design, given the scale.

7 BUILDING EXPERIENCE
 
Enjoyable, but nothing really special.

7 FEATURES

The working V8 engine is very cool. 

7 PLAYABILITY

 It does what a car does, with HoG steering.

8 PARTS

The new panels and tires/rims can be interesting for MOC builders.

9 VALUE FOR MONEY

Can't go wrong for this price.

7,8 GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY

FINAL WORDS
Thanks you for reading this review. All pictures can be found here.

[Johnny1360]

Thanks for the review, this is one I have been patiently waiting for. A definite buy for me, even though it doesn't look all that great, I can appreciate how hard it is to do at this scale. For me I will be picking this up for parts and will probably get more than one. That side shot shows what I was most concerned about, those tires just don't look right on this car, even though I am glad to get these tires, I think others may have worked better, easy enough to fix. Again thanks for the review, really can't wait to see the rest, especially the Tracked Racer one.

[Rudivdk]

Just now, Johnny1360 said:

 For me I will be picking this up for parts and will probably get more than one. 

Same for me.

Looking very good for it's scale and has a load of handy pieces for a very modest price. I think my kids will love this one as well and probably claim one for themselves.

Again, nice review @Jim, your outstanding photography really make this one shine!

[paul_delahaye]

This set took a lot of stick when it was first annouced, but I'm liking it more than the Porsche.  For the price point, the new little wheels, etc.  I'm thinking this is a great little set.

Edited December 16, 2018 by paul_delahaye

[Ngoc Nguyen]

@Jim You missed the new 10 holes shell panel in orange in the new part section.

[Jim]

Just now, Ngoc Nguyen said:

@Jim You missed the new 10 holes shell panel in orange in the new part section.

Ahhh yes. 

This one in orange.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

And I think the curved 13 panel is worth a mention too. This is the second set after the 42056 to include that piece. Maybe 5x11 panels in orange as well.

[jorgeopesi]

Great set to iniciate children at Technic and the B model help a lot to that.

[Erik Leppen]

I want this set. Badly :) Thanks for the review, and the great pictures. Looks like a really fun set. The fact it's not too expensive for what you get, makes it all the more attractive :)

[Jim]

Just now, Erik Leppen said:

The fact it's not too expensive for what you get, makes it all the more attractive :)

Exactly. Great value for money.

[1gor]

Very good review, but I must admit Hotrod looks much more interesting 

[SNIPE]

Wow the corvette A model is actually more advanced on the inside than I thought!.

They could have moved/lowered the differential by 1L (yes it still meshes well with the 20T tan gear) but this solution is better cause we get a blue 20 tooth idler with double sided clutch with double bevel gear with double pinhole thingy.

Edited December 16, 2018 by SNIPE

[Seasider]

Just seen the reviews on YouTube by our EB members. I wonder why TLG didn’t opt for the wider wheels/tyres on the rear, looks much more realistic to me

[Vectormatic]

Am i right in seeing that the A model also has this weird steering with a pin into pin-with-pinhole sitting on a crossbar between steering arms?

im really critical of that, the good old steering rack is a proven and working solution, and the mosr recent set ive seen so far with alternative steering (42048, the go kart), was poorer for it, 42022 was a bit better, but that is mostly because weird steering is apt on hot rods, surely a modern sportscar has normal rack/pinion

[1gor]

2 minutes ago, vectormatic said:

Am i right in seeing that the A model also has this weird steering with a pin into pin-with-pinhole sitting on a crossbar between steering arms?

im really critical of that, the good old steering rack is a proven and working solution, and the mosr recent set ive seen so far with alternative steering (42048, the go kart), was poorer for it, 42022 was a bit better, but that is mostly because weird steering is apt on hot rods, surely a modern sportscar has normal rack/pinion

I think it is this part

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=22961&idColor=86#T=C&C=86

But agree rack and pinion would be much better 

[Vectormatic]

yeah, axle with pinhole makes more sense

 

Either way, substandard steering, a bad looking front end, and a weirdly placed HoG, along with a weird engine (i appreciate that normal fake engine parts wont work at this scale, but the motion of this substitute is much more cam+pushrods then crank+piston), im not digging this set much. 

I hope the small wheel arch will make its way to some better sets in this scale, hoping for proper fake engine bits, i could see a new 718 boxster/cayman (flat four in front of the rear axle), or given no front suspension, a mazda MX5 (an inline 4 might fit between the front wheels)

[1gor]

Just now, vectormatic said:

yeah, axle with pinhole makes more sense

 

Either way, substandard steering, a bad looking front end, and a weirdly placed HoG, along with a weird engine (i appreciate that normal fake engine parts wont work at this scale, but the motion of this substitute is much more cam+pushrods then crank+piston), im not digging this set much. 

I hope the small wheel arch will make its way to some better sets in this scale, hoping for proper fake engine bits, i could see a new 718 boxster/cayman (flat four in front of the rear axle), or given no front suspension, a mazda MX5 (an inline 4 might fit between the front wheels)

You are right on those comments; engine looks like on curves outer cylinder bank will misfire 

You have a point - it would be much better in this scale to make Porsche with proper 4 cylinder fake engine than this "pushrod" type fake engine solution 

[Lasse D]

Honestly, I think they should have given up on the Corvette and gone for a Camaro instead. It would have been much easier to recreate and make recognizable in Technic. This model just doesn’t look the part, and I do not accept the size as being the issue. The speed champions Corvette looks more on point!

[Sariel]

Am I the only one bothered by the mismatched stickers? You can see e.g. on the doors that the orange sticker looks quite different from the orange panel.

[Jim]

8 minutes ago, Sariel said:

Am I the only one bothered by the mismatched stickers? You can see e.g. on the doors that the orange sticker looks quite different from the orange panel.

I am not really bothered with this one to be honest. I guess the Porsche took the cake  

[Steinbeisserheld]

10 hours ago, Lasse D said:

The speed champions Corvette looks more on point!

Yes, indeed. And the "Speed Champions" aren' t really meant to be true to the scale,

 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I've just realized that this set is similar to 8070. Supercar for A model, Hot Rod for B model.

[Thirdwigg]

@Jim, can you post a photo of the new wheel arch filled with a couple different wheels? I am interested to see what else will pair well with these arches. I am particularly interested in 43mm, 49.5mm, and 56mm as suitable tire options. Thanks for your help.

[Bartybum]

On 12/18/2018 at 5:56 PM, Lasse D said:

The speed champions Corvette looks more on point!

I’m stomping the brakes here. The Speed Champions Corvette, like pretty much all the Speed Champions, is only saved by its stickers, and even then with them it’s not that good. In addition, when you remove them it’s way too disproportional to look like a Corvette. 42093 is definitely the more accurate of the two.

[Lasse D]

Then we seem to simply disagree. The Speed Champions C7 for comparison:

While the stickers save the small model for sure, the Technic version has completely failed to capture the curves and details of the real car. 

All other Technic 'scale' models have recreated the real model better than this, from the Unimog to the Porsches. LEGO has chosen a scale that is too small for Technic, or spent too little time refining it, and the end product suffers.