This week, I have a quick review for you. Back on Black Friday 2019, the LEGO® Store gave out a number of freebies. I bought myself the new 1989 Batmobile set in order to score all of them. The only one that I have not reviewed yet is the mini Surfer Van (6313092) set. It was given away on November 29 only with purchases over $50.
To read about my 1989 Batmobile purchase, click here.
To read about how I generate review scores, click here.
SURFER VAN (6313092) SUMMARY
- NAME: Surfer Van
- SET #: 6313092
- THEME: Seasonal Giveaway
- COST: Free with purchase ($9.99 CAD value)
- BRICK COUNT: 62
- MINIFIGURES: 1
- RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2019
SURFER VAN (6313092) QUICK REVIEW
- VALUE: 100% (Only because it is free… otherwise, 72%)
- BUILD: 80% (Cute, but not structurally sound.)
- MINIFIGURES: 82% (Not a very detailed Minifigure.)
- ENTERTAINMENT: 80% (Nice city scene filler.)
- OVERALL SCORE: 86%
SURFER VAN (6313092) REVIEW
VALUE: 100%
The Surfer Van was a giveaway. Therefore, since it was free, you cannot really complain about the cost-per-brick. I award it 100% in that category. However, the retail value of the set is $9.99 in Canada. With 62 bricks, the cost-per-brick is $0.16. Comparatively, my average cost-per-brick is currently $0.14. Additionally, a polybag usually retails for $4.99. Granted, the Surfer Van has more pieces than a traditional polybag, but I still think it is expensive. As a purchase, this set would have earned 73%.
The Surfer Van took me 10 minutes to build. Again, it was a free set. Therefore, I got 10 minutes of free build-time. However, at $9.99, each minute of build-time clocks in at $1.00. That is quite expensive given that my average is currently $0.83/minute. I rate that at 71%. If this set had been a retail set, its overall value score would be 72%.
BUILD: 80%
There is not much to build in this set. However, the final product is cute. I do think that calling it a “Surfer Van” is a bit of a misnomer. Even “mini-Surfer Van” feels off. It is more of a surfer buggy, or surfer bug. The overall structure is not very stable. You have to remove the roof to get the Minifigure inside, which is fine. However, the roof holds everything else stable, so the frame of the car crumbles easily without it. Additionally, the surfboard does not hold onto the roof well. Finally, there is also no rear window. This set earns 8/10 (80%) as an overall build score.
MINIFIGURES: 82%
The Surfer Van comes with one Minifigure. He is not particularly well detailed. Though he comes with all of the standard Minifigure parts, he does not come with a double-sided face or back torso printing. His legs are plain red. The only accessory included in the kit is a plain surfboard. Based on these specs, he earns a design score of 10/15 (67%). With that said, you do get an excellent brick-to-fig ratio, which earns 97%. Averaging these scores gives an overall Minifigure rating of 82%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 80%
As an adult collector, I am not blown away by this set. I am happy to have gotten it for free, but I would not have bought this. It may end up as a road filler in my LEGO® city, but I do also have a lot of nicer cars. On the scale of LEGO® vehicles, this could pass as an electric car. I give it 4/5 (80%) as an AFOL score.
From a kid’s perspective, this is a simple little build that might amuse. Again, it is good filler for a city scene during play. There is really nothing “wow” about it though. As a child, I probably would have been thrilled to get more LEGO® bricks for free, but I am not sure this would have been my first choice as a purchase. Again, I rate it at 4/5 (80%).
OVERALL SCORE: 86%
You can’t go wrong with a free set. I am a sucker for them. With that in mind, this little kit was a decent giveaway. However, advertising the value at $9.99 CAD makes it lose a little lustre. That price tag makes the Surfer Van a bad value, and you don’t get a particularly nice Minifigure for the cost either. As a purchase, I rate this at 79%. I am happy to have gotten this for free, but it would be a hard pass on the secondary market. What do you think of this giveaway? Feel free to comment below, or let know on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
What do others think?
Brick Insights is an awesome site that aggregates LEGO® set review scores from around the web. Based on their statistics, you can see what other reviewers think of the Surfer Van (6313092) set below.
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