Review: 10242 MINI Cooper, part 1
Posted by Huw,
10242 MINI Cooper has just arrived at Brickset Towers, thanks to the LEGO CEE team. Despite it being swelteringly hot outside, I'm indoors slaving over a hot camera and keyboard to bring you this first online review. It's a tough job but someone has to do it...
Actually, I haven't got very far: part one will cover the box and the contents only. I'll build the set tomorrow morning and hopefully publish the rest of the review tomorrow afternoon.
The box is almost square, 37x35cm, and quite deep at 9cm. It has tape seals so you don't need to destroy it to open it, but unusually, they are at the top and bottom, not the sides, which will confuse those who always open their boxes from the right-hand-side no end...
The vehicle, and the contents of the boot, the picnic, are illustrated on the front. (boot=trunk in the US).
The back shows pictures with the roof off, bonnet and boot open, and interior details. There's also a good shot of the boot showing how its characteristic curve has been achieved.
The top shows the parts in the set. I have to admit to not looking closely enough to see if there's anything new in it, if there is I suspect it'll be old parts in new colours rather than completely new parts.
The side has images of the model and the vehicle it's been based on. It's a shame that they didn't pose the model so that a direct comparison could be made.
Inside, there is eight bags of parts, numbered 1 to 3. Bags one build the chassis, bags 2 the interior and some bodywork, and bags 3 the rest of the bodywork and the roof.
There are two instruction books. Book one covers construction of bags 1 and 2 while book two covers the bags 3. The set has two sticker sheets, one printed on white, the other on metallic silver, which hasn't showed up at all well in the photos.
Here are the sticker sheets close-up. The white one provides multiple number plates to choose from: British at the top, then German, Danish, Australian (Canberra) and American (Connecticut).
The metallic sheet has four Mini Cooper stickers, for boot, bonnet and rear sides.
That's all for now, I'm off to start building. Check back tomorrow...
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28 comments on this article
The direct comparison with the real one reveals that there is something odd...it is more like a mix between a mini and a jeep :S The windshield and roof have something wrong...too square-ish??? dunno.
You lucky man, I am British Racing Green with envy that you get to put the Mini together weeks before me ;) Can't wait to see part 2 tomorrow.
Great start! Looking forward to reading part 2. I'm really excited to purchase this set!
I'd say comparisons can be made between those photos, they're just mirror image.
And I can really see what people meant when they criticised the initial press release and said the roof and windows were too square. I'm not sure that's all that fair though, until someone adds a suggestion as to how such a subtle a long curve could be achieved with Lego I'm inclined to ignore the criticisms as nit-picking!
@Huw I have to ask - are there any dk green 1x1 plates in this set? Hitherto they haven't existed but I now see large quantities for sale at stupid prices on bricklink - http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=381&colorID=80 - I wonder where they all could have come from? Has someone been raiding the bins at the back of the factory again?
Pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself. I love dark green, just as a color, so all these dark green curves in LEGO are practically making me drool. So much awesomeness. Also, can you send me a scan of the picnic basket instructions? I need an avatar, and that fits Mr. PicnicBasket so well.
Something that's never made sense to me is having multiple bags marked '1' or whatever. If you need separate bags, separately number the bags!! Someone want to tell a KFOL what the point of that is?
EDIT: What is this 'Brickset Towers' you speak of, Huw?
@jsutton - It is difficult to tell from the photo, but it looks like it, which would be a great addition to the inventory.
@Mr. PicnicBasket - All the UK Brickset members live in a tower painted entirely in Brickset blue. I bet you didn't know that!
@Mr. PicnicBasket Each 1 bag has a different subset of components, they're not randomly mixed through the bags. I think it's to help with easier sorting by color/shape.
Yes there are dark green 1x1 plates in it. I've built the chassis, it uses about 10.
The pic of the real Mini Cooper is the exact same model I had. Mini Cooper with Sportspak - It was a little green rocket.... until it got to 70mph!
I'll have to get a couple of extra clear dishses to add the main beam spotlights in the centre :-)
Is there a option to put the steering wheel on the left for those of us who live on this side of the pond?
"It's a tough job but someone has to do it..."
WHAT!?
I would love to build brand new sets, take pictures, and do reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!
Neat.. wonder how many parts it would take to change it to a convincing convertible?
@ Mr. PicnicBasket.
Well, the point of having multiple bags labeled "1", for example, is so that you know that all bags labeled "1" make up the image shown in the instructions next to those bags. LEGO likes to separate the type of parts in the bags (so that large pieces are in one, medium in another, then small, then extra small :P this does vary, however). As far as I know, the "1" bags are always used at the same time, with you taking parts from each to build that part of the model.
I hope this clears it up. :)
Um, what is a bonnet, in this context? :P
I was shocked to see the photo of the bags. Where is the ocean of dark green I've been looking forward to? I see tan and blue, black and reddish brown, and of course a ton of bley, but barely any dark green at all.
(And no, it's not just the lighting. It's really this thing TLG has been bringing to perfection for a decade or so: make a model appear to be 90%+ color X, despite it actually being 90%+ bley. Not sure how I could be so naïve to believe this set would be different. Alas.)
Still a day-one must-buy, of course. Oh well.
@SprinkleOtter - Here is a brief translator:
Bonnet = Hood
Windscreen = Windshield
Boot = Trunk
Exhaust = Muffler
Gear stick = Stick shift
They will all come up eventually most probably, so I hope that is helpful. There will probably be others I have forgotten at the moment.
@AaronBoyle - I fear you've not detected the shovel-full of sarcasm in that comment, read it again and it'll make sense. ;)
@bricksnorter none at all I was just wondering if there was an official option because Lego gave four different plate stickers.
@ CapnRex
Ah, thanks, very. :)
Wait, stickers, in an Expert set? That seems a little out of place...
@ madforLEGO
Here is a link on Eurobricks of this model turned into a convertible.
http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=96991
@SprinkleOtter: Not really. Several of the Creator Expert sets have had stickers, including 10220, 10226, 10232, 10233, 10241, and 10244. There are some things that can't be done without a pattern, and there are some patterns that the LEGO Group simply can't print straight on the brick, whether for legal reasons (usually company logos) or logistical ones (certain bricks that the LEGO Group doesn't have printing machines for).
The one part on this sticker sheet that the LEGO Group could DEFINITELY have printed would be the license plate (which includes no trademarks and appears on two bricks which have been printed in the past), but then it wouldn't be nearly so convenient to provide alternate plates for different countries. They're certainly not going to have ten different exclusive printed elements for this set, on top of the ones it already includes. That would be a huge problem logistically, since it would basically require taking ten other elements from this year's sets out of production.
The dark green 1x1 plates look new according to the BL price guide: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=3024&colorID=80
According to Europeanplates.com, the German plates hail from a city in Hesse apparently...
@CapnRex101: Cool, I didn't know that!
I really dislike having so little dark green in here and so much bley. It makes alternate-modeling that much harder when your finished model is half bley, half green, or whatever color is being used in limited quantities. Is LEGO trying to feed the crowd with making these parts rare?
Looking forward to part 2.
@ Pizzareno: Thanks.
Neat to see these transformed to convertibles too. A bit out of scale to the VW van though. Not sure about the original VW beetle LEGO did.
There's no link to part 2 in the article yet, so: http://brickset.com/article/11648/review-10242-mini-cooper-part-2