Review: 10298 Vespa
Posted by Huw,
The Vespa is an iconic scooter that gained popularity in the 1960s and became a symbol of the Mod subculture in the UK during that decade. It continues to have a cult following and is the vehicle of choice for many young people in Europe before they've learned to drive.
Its distinctive curved and bulbous bodywork looks to be challenging to recreate using LEGO, so it will be interesting to see how well it's been replicated in brick form.
Summary
10298 Vespa 125, 1,106 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 8.1p/9.0c/9.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A well-designed and attractive model of an iconic vehicle
- Clever building techniques
- Rare colour
- New wheels/tyres are excellent
- Minor colour variation of the blue parts
- Goggles on the helmet look terrible
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The prototype
The Vespa was introduced in 1946 and has undergone numerous redesigns over the years. The one modelled here appears to be the Vespa 125 VNA2 introduced in 1958.[1]
I find it interesting that almost everyone has heard of Vespas but are likely to be hard-pressed to name the actual manufacturer, Piaggio. In fact, the company is only briefly mentioned in passing in the introduction of the instruction manual, although the name does appear on a sticker.
Image from PlanetVespa.net.
Parts
Light royal blue used to be a relatively scarce colour, but became more prevalent last year, in particular with the introduction of 77942 Fiat 500, and as you can see the colour dominates the parts in set. There are dozens of new pieces in that colour, and we'll know exactly what they are when the inventory is published once the set's been released.
The most exciting new parts, however, are the wheels and tyres. The wheels are dual-moulded light grey and white. When the tyre is attached the joint is seamless, so it looks like they are white-walled.
A small sticker sheet accompanies the set, providing nameplates and other details.
Construction
The first part of the assembly is built 'studs on top' but that's about the extent of the traditional building technique because everything else is attached to it at an angle or sideways.
The central portion of the rear bodywork is completed by attaching two subassemblies via hinges to replicate the subtle curves and angles.
The seats are built sideways and attached by Technic axles.
The two halves of the front fairing / footwell clamp the steering column, which has an axle hole running through it, at an angle via hinges and clever geometry.
The small engine is largely hidden by one of the large bulbous cowlings that characterise the design of the scooter, but is nevertheless impressively detailed.
The front wheel cover, spare wheel and handlebars complete the main part of the build.
To add a splash if colour and interest the machine is equipped with a small luggage rack that clips to the back of it, upon which a basket with a bunch of flowers inside is mounted.
Finally, we come to the weakest part ot the model: the helmet. The helmet itself is actually pretty good and utilises some clever SNOT techniques that I have not encountered before, but the opaque goggles look ridiculous!
They are easily removed, though, of course.
The completed model
The scooter is about 35cm long and certainly bigger than I expected it to be from the box image.
It's roughly the same size as 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy but not to scale because the latter is a much bigger bike.
I think it looks excellent: it has curves in all the right places thanks to many newly-introduced pieces, such as the long curved piece 77182 RIGHT SHELL 2X10X2, OUTSIDE BOW, W/ CUT introduced in 10295 Porsche 911, and some ingenious building techniques.
The only thing that's not quite right to my eye are the seats, the tops of which should be horizontal.
The lever in the footwell is the brake pedal and the kick-start lever can just be seen under the engine.
The stand is hinged so can be retracted, but then of course it does not balance, so I couldn't take a photo of it like that!
If you look closely you may notice some variation in the colour of the light royal blue pieces. It's not too bad but some elements, such as 1x2 plates, seemed more yellow-y to me, and some of the curved pieces, such as those on the front wheel cover, are slightly lighter.
The cowling over the engine is easily removed to facilitate roadside repairs.
Verdict
It's an excellent display model that more than does justice to the sleek lines and graceful curves of the original scooter, a feat made possible using a multitude of recently introduced pieces and clever design techniques.
There's nothing negative I can say about it, really. Even the price of £89.99 / $99.99 seems reasonable for the 1,106-piece set, particularly given the rarity of the dominant colour.
Vespa fans should therefore scoot off to LEGO.com or their local brand store on 1st March to acquire it!
[1] 70 Years of Vespa at news18.com
153 likes
41 comments on this article
Interesting that it's not a 3rd wheel for the spare but a brick built wheel cover.
Goat shown for scale.
I will stay on the fence for this one, but it looks kinda cool, just not my cup of tea. Thanks for the nice review nevertheless!
Thanks for the good review. The 9th picture from the top makes me happy as a fan of lego. It looks so cool in the back. Also, how in the world did mandrproductions get out a review days before anyone in LAN for this set?
Don't know if it's mentioned in the booklet but for the non-Italians here, the name Vespa means wasp and comes from the noise that they made with their two-stroke engines.
The small wheel size was dictated by available parts; this was right after WWII. The wheels on the first Vespa's came from an airplane factory and were originally manufactured for landing gear.
Thank-you for adding the Harley for size comparison, it helps a lot to see the justification for the price because as you mention, the box photo's make the Vespa look much smaller then it actually is. Great review, thanks :)
@Duq said:
"Don't know if it's mentioned in the booklet but for the non-Italians here, the name Vespa means wasp and comes from the noise that they made with their two-stroke engines.
The small wheel size was dictated by available parts; this was right after WWII. The wheels on the first Vespa's came from an airplane factory and were originally manufactured for landing gear."
That’s actually surprisingly interesting, especially the name part.
It's very cute, and I like the color choice. The price is right, too. Looks like a great set!
Probably will pass. I own the Fiat and it'd look good next to it, but I just sorta feel like I could get more "stuff" for the same amount of money from other sets, you know?
Couldn't they have used the brickheadz glasses piece for the goggles?
When they announced it, I loved it as a complement to other Creator Expert cars, e.g. 500, Beetle, Mini, but the thing is just too big. Does not fit my display :-(.
Great review, thanks. Very thorough, as always! I actually knew Piaggio was the manufacturer (because of a job I had).
Wheres Luca and Alberto?:)
Looks great.
Hoping for an official Lambretta scooter in the future, but could moc one from these parts
Like it! But it doesn't quite fit into my collection profile, so...
I wonder if this one will be re-released in yellow
Basket and flowers are great addition to those blue colors.
I would only change brown plate under basket, which is awful.
They did good job with shapes.
Thanks for the review. Overall the set looks nice. The designer did a good job with it. And I actually think the goggles look pretty decent, especially at that scale.
But either way, I think I'll have to pass because of the large scale compared to the cars (which I know seems silly, but on a shelf it will look too off).
That goat I want.
Out of curiosity, what might be a better way to make the goggles? I think they look nice, but partly because I can't think of many better options at that scale.
Thanks for the thorough review.
Way better than an early review I saw from MandRand where he builds the steering and seat position wrong. Very sloppy builder for a review.
This one is the go to review.
I admit, I’ve been stung with desire for this little wheeled beauty.
Of course after I put it together I’ll cannibalize the parts for a starfighter, but I’ll enjoy that build process I’m sure.
Great review.
ME WANTEE.
@BulbaNerd4000:
Just in the UK, or elsewhere, too?
A great looking model that would be improved with black seats, rather than blue. See the photo of the real scooter at the top.
Really well-done build, and I don't mind the googles too much, but I think light aqua would've looked better than bright light blue.
I'm sure the dodgy colour matching realistically simulates the numerous poor touch-ups scooters got, due to their infamous instability..... or maybe not.
I liked it at first sight, and seeing it now in more detail only confirms that first impression. I feel it is about as perfect as can be done with Lego. I think I can even forgive it the stickers, and that yellow axle in the stand (WHY LEGO WHY?) is easily replaced.
@legoDad42 said:
"Thanks for the thorough review.
Way better than an early review I saw from MandRand where he builds the steering and seat position wrong. Very sloppy builder for a review.
This one is the go to review. "
He was trying to get it together as quickly as possible so that he could rant about how it didn’t come with the right clone trooper minifigure and how the designers are disrespectful of true Vespa fans.
@Sethro3 said:
"Thanks for the review. Overall the set looks nice. The designer did a good job with it. And I actually think the goggles look pretty decent, especially at that scale.
But either way, I think I'll have to pass because of the large scale compared to the cars (which I know seems silly, but on a shelf it will look too off)."
Easy fix place on a different shelf with Harley.
Totally not the sort of thing I usually buy from Lego--but a sweet and surprisingly tempting model. Thank you for the very thorough review!
@BulbaNerd4000 said:
"I wonder if this one will be re-released in yellow"
Red seems probable
@theCommunIst_revelation said:
"Thanks for the good review. The 9th picture from the top makes me happy as a fan of lego. It looks so cool in the back. Also, how in the world did mandrproductions get out a review days before anyone in LAN for this set?"
The dark side of the force is a pathway to abilities that may seem unnatural
@AdmiralSpookyNoodle:
I saw one comment here noting that Costco already had it out in the floor.
cannot wait to replace all the medium blue pieces with cool yellow. brilliant model!
Again, why so gigantic?
@speedorz4ever:
There’s a much smaller version, if you prefer. It has 6pcs, and I just cracked open a copy of 853990 to get one for a project I’m working on.
The incessant goatposting is getting old, Huw.
@MegaLucario said:
"The incessant goatposting is getting old, Huw."
I will never tire of goatposting. Keep up the goat work.
I can't see this on Lego website or the Mercedes. They were there yesterday, where have they gone?
@daniellesa said:
"I can't see this on Lego website or the Mercedes. They were there yesterday, where have they gone?"
They're back. That was weird.
@PigeonBricks said:
"Wheres Luca and Alberto?:)"
Yeah, I had been wondering why there was an Encanto set and no Luca set; then I realized, it’s the Vespa!