Once in a while you get see a set and say “WOW! That’s very nice!” and this is just one of those that the moment I saw it, I knew it was a beauty. There are some sets that look great, but does not have a nice build experience (i.e Wall-E) - but what’s even better is that the build process is great and fun by itself for this 3-in-1 Creator set.
I acquired this set on Carousell from a nice lady who was letting it go. No box, just parts and instructions and it did come with a missing piece, not a common part, essential - but she highlighted it out and nothing bricklink can’t fix.
The Build
The build process is simply great. Starting with the undercarriage and the first part that comes up is the convertible canopy at the back.
It slowly builds out to the front of the vehicle. What’s great is that this build is quite ‘light’ as the innards are just a wireframe to hold the parts.
My Favourites
There are a few parts of the build that are my favourite...
1) The transformable canopy. This tops it all, I wasn’t expecting it at all, but it was just simply magical! (See the video)
https://youtu.be/DeeiXSTP-ew
https://youtu.be/BkLrUrgCgME
2) The doors had the nice “magazine” slot and also the mechanism to make it ‘swing’.
3) Bucket seats looked nice and elegant, and I just love them.
4) The engine block has a fan and a “V-8” looking monster - I like the details that the designer put into it. It’s the little things that matter under the hood!
Surprise:
Early on in the build, I had two ninja knives - I had no idea what they were meant for and perhaps it was a wrong part slotted by by mistake. It was an "a-hah” moment at the very end and it’s like… that’s an ingenious use of parts!
The Parts
Consisting of large number of white elements, I only worry that it will soon be a yellow-ish convertible. The Dark Red know to be brittle, had one casualty during the build. Consisting of a number of curved elements especially for the rims in white - element no: 4528356 - this was one of the missing pieces, and fortunately I managed to get a replacement. According to brickset supposedly it’s only found on the Taj Mahal and only one other build. I must be lucky!
The Instructions
Nothing special about the instructions but I appreciated that it came in a full sized booklet for each build. Can’t wait to build them. What amazes me is how they can use the very same parts for the alternate build… let’s see if I ever get to build the alternate vehicles. 😃
The overall experience
This has become one of my favourites so far and tops the list. What I like about it is it’s ‘generic’-ness. Not a Ferarri or branded vehicle, but executed well. Small build count (679) with maximum effect. At first I thought the front windscreen would bother me as it’s just an outline of the frame without glass. But it’s a lot better that I would imagine it to be once built! Considering this is a 2008 release, I really give LEGO 4 thumbs up for this build. Nicely executed, classic to come for a long time.