This is my first Speed Champions set. I got into James Bond a few months ago and I absolutely loved the movies. So, of course I had to order this set.

Building Experience

There is only one instruction booklet, which isn't surprising. The building goes pretty easily without any difficult places. There were some clever piece usages, like the nozzle with binoculars on the back. The only problem is, probably, placing stickers on licence to ki... I mean, plates.

The Build

I think that every Lego fan knows that the key aspect of any Speed Champions set is definitely to be as most recognizable as the source material. Aston Martin DB5 fulfils that goal really well. I am not a Speed Champions expert, but I am a James Bond fan, so it looks really similar to the real one (I even compare it to my Hotwheels version). I admire all the curves achieved with curved bricks, SNOT techniques, the air intake and the bumpers. The balance between round bumpy parts and sleek tiles is... just perfect. The surface is COMPLETELY tiled, leaving only 4(!) studs on the roof. That's an impressive achievement. But, there is one major con: The absent of any functions. Bond's Aston Martin DB5 is known for having a lot of gadgets created by Q Branch. And all you can do is just change the licence plates. But the lack of them is understandable, it's a Speed Champions set after all. Leave the functions to the bigger, older, better brother 10262. By the way, the scale of the car is bigger than I expected, it looked kind of smaller on the box.

The one and only function of this set are 10 licence plates that can be swapped to represent numbers from different movies where the car has appeared the most.

• Goldfinger - BMT 216A / 4711-EA-62 / LU 6789
• GoldenEye - BMT 214A
• Skyfall - BMT 216A
• No Time To Die - A 4269 00

These are a great addition.

The Minifigure

The second (equally best) part of this set is Bond... James Bond himself. Daniel Craig's version was chosen, which is understandable given the release of the most recent movie, No Time To Die. The suit print is stylish, and the legs are printed too. However, the print isn't really visible. The British spy holds a wrench, but a spare nozzle represents his pistol well. Overall, the minifigure is great despite the lack of details.

The Parts

The set consists primarily of tiles, rounded bricks and plates, the number of piece categories is approx. 5. The printed pieces include both 1x4 spheres (headlights), 1x2 round tiles (backlights), 1x1 plates (smaller headlights), a 4x4 frame and a 1x6 brick (both form the radiator). Oh, and I forgot about the (second?) biggest piece of the set: a printed back windscreen. I think that most (if not all) prints will remain exclusive. The stickers are mostly licence plates, but aside from them there are two Aston Martin logos, two DB5 logos, door handles and DB5's signature... holes, I think? I don't know their function. The colours are common and non-exotic, as you'd expect from a James Bond car: Medium Stone Grey, Black and... Chrome? Hubcaps look spectacular in this colour and are exclusive. So, the parts are excellent in this set.

Playability

Of course, the playability isn't really big, it's just a car. Perfect for imaginary car chase missions though.

Value

Back in my days 2016-2020, car sets didn't cost as much. I got it on a 50% discount, and it would be better if the prices were lower.

Summary

Pros:

• A fantastic resemblance to the real DB5
• Many printed pieces
• Great minifigure
• Cheaper James Bond set!

Cons:

• No functions
• Stickers for licence plates (it is inevitable)
• A little too pricy

Overall, it is a really good set. It is way more of a display model, but, again, car chase missions are also inevitable. I want 10262 so much to put it next to this set.

I recommend it 100% to all James Bond fans!

phew! That was a lot of writing!..

(and it definitely deserves the Licence To Thrill)

The Aston Martin DB5 was the first speed champions movie car released, and it's a good one. But does it have a license to kill?

Minifigure: the one included here is of course James Bond. To be precise, it's Daniel Craig's version of 007. The minifig does everything it needs to,despite the lack of leg printing.

The finished model:

It is worthy of being a movie car! The model, if anything, is better looking than the ucs one released in 2018. The only outward problem with it is poor Colour matching in the back. But I also find it a bit fiddly to put figures in the car. Speaking of which, it can fit 2 and some storage in the back.

Building experience: it's less memorable than other speed champions sets, but still good, the highlight being the hood with some great snot techniques.

Verdict: It's fantastic! It is a great entry level speed champions car, and the great price of 20 usd makes my recommend this set even more. Thank you for reading my first Brickset review.

Finally a LEGO James Bond minifigure! This set is an amazing set. The minifigure is great and is very useful to make other customs. The build of the vehicle is beautiful and sleek for a $20 speed champions set. The printed parts add a lot of detail while the sticker detail is nice but is optional for most. The extra licensee plates can be used to replicate the other James Bonds Aston Martins from over the years and the different James Bonds. I would highly recommend buying this set as it is basically perfect.

Expanding the SpeedChampions line to now include famous movie vehicles is great! Not only are there countless prospects in that category alone, but it also shows that there is a willingness to keep growing the theme in the first place. I have big hopes for the future!

Build

This is a fairly typical SpeedChampions build with many half stud offsets and sideways construction, but the attention to detail have gone up even further. For example, the excellent use of 1x1 plates with a stud on the side to fill in the gaps around the fenders. I also think there are more pieces attached by just a single stud or clip in this set than any of the previous ones I have encountered. It can be a bit finicky, but I wouldn't say that it's difficult. You do need a bit of patience to line up those tiny pieces for a refined result though.

Parts

There are a few new elements introduced for this set, very useful ones that I'm sure will be recurring frequently from now on. And a bunch of prints, including front and rear lights and the grille. I'm particularly happy with the grille, printed across something as bulky as a 1x6 brick and a 4x4 frame plate. It looks much more refined than what that sounds like. The separation between them is virtually seamless, from any natural viewing distance it absolutely looks like a single but well detailed thing. I may just have been lucky with that though, because out of three included 1x1 printed plates, one was really off-centre. Without the inclusion of that third spare one, the model would have looked very wonky. Hopefully the larger prints are, as with my particular ones, more consistent in production quality as you naturally only get one each of those.

The new rear windscreen is slightly off in printed colour compared to the surrounding bricks, as have become a trend by now. However, for some reason it's not as bad to my eyes here as it has been with other sets. The print is slightly too dark, but I think the curved shape of the part catches the light and shadows in such a way that it simply blends in well anyway.

There are a nice selection of elements in drum lacquered silver, including no less than eight extra 1x3 tiles (so you can have different licence plates with stickers).

Accuracy

The model is distinctly recognizable to anyone that knows the source material. It doesn't really have any bad angle, which is an impressive achievement at this scale. Speaking of which, the model is 170x72x51mm with a 88mm wheelbase while the real car is 4570x1680x1346mm with a 2489mm wheelbase. That results in scales averaging around 1:27, except the width. A perfect 1:27 scale replica would be 169x62x50mm, with a 92mm wheelbase. Or in other words, the perfect model should have been more than a full stud narrower. But again, it still looks fantastic.

I chose not to apply many of the stickers. There aren't that many anyway, by SpeedChampions standards, and they only add small details such as door handles. Though the details themselves look fine, they come with covering entire elements with a grey background that is quite badly colour matched to the plastic. My recommendation is, build the entire set first, then decide if you think it needs the extra details of the stickers. I simply found it good enough without them to not spoil it with that mismatching patchwork.

Playability

As the detail goes up, these sets do become less playable but more displayable. It's a very good size for a toy car, easy to grab and swoosh around. But as previously mentioned, there are several tiny pieces that probably will be knocked off or at least misaligned if used that way.

The car has a simulated back seat, but the two front seats are the only ones that can actually accommodate minifigures. The included figure, based on the No Time To Die film specifically, has fine printing on the front and back of the torso, hips and legs.

Summary

Wether you like Bond in particular or just classic cars in general this is a great rendition of an iconic vehicle. However, the price has gone up with these latest additions to the theme. But then so has the level of detail. I think the price has gone up more than the quality, though. Wether it's worth it or not, ultimately comes down to how much you are drawn to this set. Personally I'm happy with what I got for my money, but for reference that was with a 37% discount. (RRP in my region being roughly equivalent to €30/$30)