[REVIEW] 42000 Grand Prix Racer

[Blakbird]

This set looks MUCH better without stickers.

if the past in any indication, the stickers will self destruct in a year or so anyway.

[Hopey]

How similar are the tyres to the 8880 ones? Are they pretty much interchangeable?

[Cwetqo]

if the past in any indication, the stickers will self destruct in a year or so anyway.

I know, I have Williams F1 and stickers are in really bad shape.

But dont you think that sticker quality has improved over the years? On old set they seem almost like paper, but newer stickers seem much better and could in most cases even be removed and re-applied.

[Blakbird]

How similar are the tyres to the 8880 ones? Are they pretty much interchangeable?

Very similar to the tires from 8880 but they are 2mm wider. You can use the 8880 tires on these wheels but they stretch a little at the sides. Tread pattern is the same.

I know, I have Williams F1 and stickers are in really bad shape.

But don't you think that sticker quality has improved over the years? On old set they seem almost like paper, but newer stickers seem much better and could in most cases even be removed and re-applied.

I hope the sticker quality has improved, but there will be no way to tell until a few years have passed. The stickers from my Silver Champion, by Williams, and my Ferrari F1 have all disintegrated by now, so it does not seem to have improved over time. Note that I keep them in a climate controlled room away from UV. Not sure what more can be done. They also change consistency once they start to fail so that even removing them is quite difficult.

The stickers are vinyl now. I don't have an old Williams sheet to compare, but recollection is that they were similar vinyl. It is the white in particular that seems to have problems, perhaps because there is no ink to protect the substrate. The old transparent stickers have never had a problem.

In any case, this model looks pretty good without the stickers so if they go bad I will just remove them.

[Meatman]

You can always just order an extra a set of stickers from lego and keep them for the future. They are fairly inexpensive.

Eric, is the wheel wobble on the built model for this as bad as the video that Paul posted? The wobble that he showed looked disappointing.

[Blakbird]

Eric, is the wheel wobble on the built model for this as bad as the video that Paul posted? The wobble that he showed looked disappointing.

If you are just pushing the model around on the table, the wobble is not noticeable. However, if you lift it up there is a lot of play in the joint. This is the penalty you pay for having low friction though. I rolls really smoothly.

[Technic Gearhead]

Excellent review even while abroad - now that is dedication! Next, we will need you to travel a few months into the future and review the 42009 Crane set.

I really like the finished product, especially without the decals. The inexplicable colored interior pieces can be remedied easily enough.

[Meatman]

If you are just pushing the model around on the table, the wobble is not noticeable. However, if you lift it up there is a lot of play in the joint. This is the penalty you pay for having low friction though. I rolls really smoothly.

What about when steering the model? He said that was when there was the most wobble in the steered wheels. He said that it wasn't bad with the smaller wheels.

[Blakbird]

What about when steering the model? He said that was when there was the most wobble in the steered wheels. He said that it wasn't bad with the smaller wheels.

It steers smoothly. As a manually controlled model, the parallelism of the front wheels is not really a big deal. If you were to motorize the model, it may be somewhat more important. Allanp has a motorized version of this model and I didn't note any problems in steering control. For a high speed R/C model this might be an issue, but these hubs will never be used for that.

[Meatman]

Perhaps it is due to the wheelbase of the vehicle being wider then?

[Paul Boratko]

Perhaps it is due to the wheelbase of the vehicle being wider then?

Without a doubt the wider base is hiding the wiggle of the front wheels when steered.. I built the steering suspension into a 23 stud wide symetrically Parrallel module and built a chassis around it and when steered left or right, the front wheels wobbled more than I was expecting... This was with the 81.6 x 36 size tires.. Like you mentioned above, the smaller tires 68.8 x 36 don't have this issue...

[allanp]

As blakbird said, my RC version works fine, the wheel wobble issue really isn't an issue for it. Maybe it would be for small models but i'de rather they have very low friction than be like 8880's very stable design which has alot of friction. My only dissapointment with the front one is that it does not have ackerman steering geometry (like 8880 has), but with the rear ones you can make all kinds of crazy geometries.

Edited January 17, 2013 by allanp

[jadedomg]

I really like this set and will be purchasing it next time S&H has free shipping after it is released. I like the thicker tires and never bought the only other set that had them so I might need to buy a second one just for parts later down the road when I get better at building sets! I regret a little bit not getting a second 8070 so I will try not let that happen again.

As for the stickers, I only have them on the 8258 set and rarely put them on anything and am glad the set looks good without them :) 9396 suffers for not having stickers compared to some sets but glad 42000 doesn't

I can't wait for the b-model as well, the truck looks bad megablocks!

[toycardriver]

What was the price on this set? In the 2013 set list it show it at 139.00 Swiss Francs, but they gave a conversion to 115 Euros.

Edited January 18, 2013 by toycardriver

[Blakbird]

What was the price on this set? In the 2013 set list it show it at 139.00 Swiss Francs, but they gave a conversion to 115 Euros.

I paid £80.

[Sariel]

Allow me to add a small video review:

[Meatman]

Great review Sariel! So this set looks like it is going to be good for parts then? Maybe a one time build?

[Sariel]

I can think of sooo many better ways of spending the same amount of money.

[shadowhearth]

It is on lego.com already. its only 89eu so even if some design bits are bad, it is still a great value.

Today was a bad day for my wallet lol

[jorgeopesi]

Totally agree with Sariel thinking.

[rm8]

Totally agree with Sariel thinking.

I can think of sooo many better ways of spending the same amount of money.

Why? I think it contain many panels, white beams, tires, hubs and small actuators. And it do not contain electrics - that is plus i think.

May be the price is too high?

[therealjustin]

I think the price is way too high. This set should be in the $80 range, not the $140 it is listed for here in the U.S.

[jorgeopesi]

Why? I think it contain many panels, white beams, tires, hubs and small actuators. And it do not contain electrics - that is plus i think.

May be the price is too high?

I think that I speak from a different perspective, I just build MOCs and I buy sets only for interest parts or colors, in this case I don´t like the white parts and it seems that the new hubs aren´t as good as expected, also the olds formula 1 were much better than this, in my opinion. When you build RC cars with 7 gears or machinery with many functions everything that Lego makes is not enough, is a blessing curse .

[Sariel]

I think it contain many panels, white beams, tires, hubs and small actuators. And it do not contain electrics - that is plus i think.

Oh come on. £80 for a bunch of beams and panels is a bad joke. The wheel hubs are disappointing, the wheels don't differ much from the ones we already have. The parts you mentioned are worth maybe £20 at Bricklink. And since when no electrics is good?

Edited January 22, 2013 by Sariel

[rm8]

Oh come on. £80 for a bunch of beams and panels is a bad joke. The wheel hubs are disappointing, the wheels don't differ much from the ones we already have. The parts you mentioned are worth maybe £20 at Bricklink. And since when no electrics is good?

Electrics - we have it a lot in previous sets. So adding stupid motorizing function like raising body or setting spoiler - is not that we want pay for extra money.