Tag Archives: Racing

LEGO Technic 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance – A winning replica? [Review]

Almost exactly two years ago to the day, I wrote a review of the orange and blue LEGO Technic 42141 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car. Recently, I looked back to find that I had been fairly critical of the model, considering it overpriced and underwhelming at the time. However, I had little recollection of that, feeling maybe I was too harsh, and it made me all the more intrigued as to how I’d feel about the new LEGO Technic 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance. At 1642 pieces and retailing for US $219.99 | CAN $289.99 | UK £189.99, the price per piece is even higher than the McLaren. But how about the rest of it? Does it hit the mark that the McLaren missed? Come along as we take a deep dive into Technic’s latest 1:8 scale supercar, which will be available March 1st.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.


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LEGO Speed Champions 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8: A double-dose of winners? [Review]

What’s better than one LEGO Speed Champions car? Two LEGO Speed Champions cars! The latest dual-pack to be added to the theme is 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8, with 676 pieces. Retailing for US $44.99 | CAN $59.99 | UK £44.99, and available from March 1st, this dual-pack depicts two racers from the same manufacturer, but very different racing backgrounds. Is this race going to be a one-sided affair, or will they both win our hearts? You’ll have to read our review to find out!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click here to read our review

LEGO Speed Champions 76921 Audi S1 e-tron Quattro: Are we mad for this mad off-roader? [Review]

What do you get if you cross a Group B rally car with one of the craziest car stunt series on the internet, and throw in some LEGO bricks for good measure? Why, the new Speed Champions set 76921 Audi S1 e-tron Quattro, of course! Featuring 274 pieces for US $26.99 | CAN $34.99 | UK £20.99, this mean machine will hit shelves from March 1st. Are you brave enough to get behind the wheel? Hop in and read our review – let’s find out!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click here to read our review

LEGO Speed Champions 76919 McLaren Formula One Race Car: Pretty in papaya [Review]

It’s a good time to be a fan of LEGO and the McLaren F1 team. If you prefer your Macca race cars a bit more modern — and minifigure-scaled — than the new 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna set that we just reviewed a few days ago, then 76919 McLaren Formula One Race Car may be for you. It’s hitting shelves from the 1st of March for US $26.99 | CAN $34.99 | UK £20.99. Are its 245 pieces worth the time and money? Read on to see what we think of this latest addition to the Speed Champions garage!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click here to read our review

Collaborations with car makers fuel a series of new LEGO racing sets [News]

Coming next month, a quintet of LEGO sets – most from the world of Formula 1 – will be racing onto store shelves. Stretching over the themes of Speed Champions, Technic, and LEGO Icons, these racers represent cars from the brands of BMW, McLaren Racing, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team. The biggest of the bunch is 42171 LEGO Technic Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance, clocking in at 1,642 pieces. It’s accompanied by a smaller pull-back version of the same car in 42165 LEGO Technic Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back. The LEGO Icons model has fans of F1 history in mind, as it’s a version of one of the most successful cars ever seen in the sport: the 1988 McLaren MP4/4 as driven by Ayrton Senna. This set, 10330 LEGO Icons McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, is the only one of the five new cars currently available for preorder on the LEGO website (see links below the fold). And the two Speed Champions sets have offerings of McLaren and BMW pedigrees. All of these new racing sets will be available through LEGO.com starting March 1st, joining the two existing race cars of LEGO City already available.

Check out the pictures of these new racers below

LEGO Creation of the Week (#28): “Nouvelle Chicane, 1988 Monaco Grand Prix” by alex_bricks

Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. You may remember alex_bricks for his awesome Formula-1 Monaco scene, which got the Creation of the Week award back in February. Guess what? Alex does it again with the next part of the iconic racing track! Now it’s the chicane by the water, yet still amazing detailed and exciting!

Meanwhile, the new vote is already on! Join our Telegram channel to follow all the best LEGO creations, latest news, and, of course, vote for your favorites. See you there!

May 15th, 1988; a fabulous day for Formula One racing

1988 saw the introduction of Roger Rabbit, the US Stealth Bomber, Prozac, and the first-ever computer virus. LEGO builder Alex_bricks takes us on a journey to a very specific time and place in 1988; that is May 15th at the Monaco Grand Prix. McLaren cars dominated the circuit and the rivalry between teammates Alain Prost of France and Ayrton Senna of Brazil was legendary. Senna put on a spectacular performance in qualifying, beating out his teammate by 1.427 seconds, an unheard-of gap for pole position. In the race, despite a commanding gap to Prost, Senna crashed out of the lead with a momentary lapse in judgment, heading into a barrier eleven laps from the end and thus Prost took the lead. The colors and textures of this build are amazing; I can just about hear the roar of the engines. The yacht and crane are nice touches, painstakingly researched by Alex.

Nouvelle Chicane, 1988 Monaco Grand Prix

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A true blue Ridge Runner

LEGO builder Duncan Lindbo invites us to take this mech for a walk; or rather, a run. It’s a Ridge Runner racing mech built for speed. He tells us that this is basically a rocket ship on legs. But Duncan, is it an ACME brand rocket ship? For some reason, I now have Roadrunner cartoon scenes running through my brain. Meep meep!

"Rigde Runner" racing mech

Speed and curves make for a seductive combination

If you want a LEGO creation that’s part racecar, part spaceship, and part fighter plane then look no further than Brambleshark built by Vince Toulouce. I love the color scheme, the crouching stance, the side pipes, and the centralized cockpit canopy. It looks lightning fast just sitting still. For this unique build, Vince takes inspiration from the retro-future art and design of John Frye.

Walchester “Brambleshark”

This creation is stunning from all angles but the rear view with the rigging and tail fins really launches this thing into the stratosphere. Well done, Vince Toulouse. Well done!

Walchester “Brambleshark”

This Octan drone is a real gas!

In a world where shows like Robot Wars and Battlebots have already come and gone, the sport of drone racing has got to be in our near future, right? And here’s hoping the robots look as good as this LEGO Octan Drone by Devid VII. I love all the striping on this machine, fitting within the standard Octan color palette. The angles, relying mainly on bar-to-clip shenanigans, give this bot the poise of a mechanical gazelle. And I just can’t get over the excellent use of the square-rimmed BrickHeadz glasses under its fuel tanks.

Octan Drone OD5

Red rally shark

The Dakar Rally ended on January 14th and Audi made an impressive debut of the futuristic RS Q E-tron. In celebration of the annual event, builder Martin Josh Vala has created a series of his own rally car ideas. The Shark T1+ is the eighth in the collection and is loosely based on the SRT Rally Team’s car. With some help on the suspension from his friend Dariusz Sędziak, this model is ready to hit the track. Its sleek body and high front end ensure a fighting chance against the competitors.

Shark T1+

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Dashing through the sand in BX T1+

I know it may be a bit confusing: the latest BX T1+ by Martin Vala looks way too clean for a Dakar rally car. There are no patches of sand all over the fenders, no dents from multiple high-speed accidents. But let’s seize the moment and enjoy the brilliant design of the car’s body and chassis before it starts its journey among the dunes. The neat combination of LEGO Technic wheel arch panels with System elements is perfect, but I genuinely wonder what the car would look like with different liveries, such as sponsors’ logos and a racing number. This would totally take this particularly realistic build to the whole other level.

Fresh BX T1+

And if you feel like checking out Martins’ Flickr gallery, do not miss out on the additional shots of the car revealing the chassis.

Fresh BX T1+