In October 2019, LEGO® Ideas held a contest for designing vintage cars. Subsequently, a fan vote determined the winner. The victorious design now has the esteemed honor of becoming the next LEGO® gift-with-purchase set. The Vintage Car (40448) set is available throughout January 2021. Additionally, it is free with all purchases over $85 CAD. The LEGO® Group kindly sent me a pre-release copy so I could share a review on day one of the offer. I think fans will like this one.
NOTE: The LEGO® Group provided this set for review. However, the provision of products does not guarantee a favorable review. I will use my usual rating system (click here to learn more) and provide my honest opinion.
VINTAGE CAR SUMMARY
- NAME: Vintage Car
- SET #: 40448
- THEME: Ideas
- COST: Free with purchases over $85 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 188
- MINIFIGURES: 2
- RELEASE DATE: January 1, 2021
VINTAGE CAR QUICK REVIEW
- VALUE: 100% (You cannot beat free LEGO® bricks.)
- BUILD: 90% (Set sacrifices some fan designed details and the surfboards fall off.)
- MINIFIGURES: 88% (Amazing brick-to-fig ratio, but characters need more detail.)
- ENTERTAINMENT: 100% (I love this build. I want a second one.)
- OVERALL SCORE: 95%
VINTAGE CAR (40448) REVIEW
VALUE: 100%
The Vintage Car is a gift-with-purchase set. Therefore, you do not pay anything for it if you make a qualifying buy over $85 CAD. Consequently, the set is not available for general purchase. You cannot beat free LEGO® bricks, so in this case I rate the overall value at 100%. For interest’s sake, the kit took me 33 minutes to assemble.
BUILD: 90%
For a car that is only six studs wide, this vehicle packs a lot of punch. You can still fit two Minifigures side-by-side. Additionally, the detailing is amazing. However, this final model differs from the original fan design in a few minor areas. Truthfully, the fan design had wonderful chrome detailing that this model lacks.
What I really enjoyed about this build was the interesting way parts fit together. The set employs several standard pieces in novel ways. There were moments when I pieced something together, put it in place, and thought ‘that will never hold’. However, in the end everything stays in place particularly well and nothing falls off easily. Well, nothing except for the surfboards on sides. Those fall off very easily. Ultimately, my complaints about this design are minor. It loses a bit for the decision to go chrome-less, as well as for the unstable surfboards. I rate the build at 9/10 (90%).
MINIFIGURES: 88%
The Vintage Car comes with two Minifigures. Both feature nice dual-sided torso prints. However, only the female Minifigure has a double-sided face and neither one has any leg printing. The lack of a facial expression without sunglasses on the male Minifigure is a bit of a disappointment. Additionally, while not a major issue, I kind of liked the Cinderella hairpiece the girl had in the original design. In terms of accessories, a skating blade forms the hood ornament (you get the full pair in the set though). Additionally, there are two surfboards. I rate the design for these characters at 24/30 (80%).
Two Minifigures in a kit containing 188 pieces is particularly good. It breaks down to a ratio of 94:1. Comparatively, my average brick-to-fig ratio is 144:1. It is also amazing for an Ideas set. I do not have much data to base this on, but currently my average Ideas ratio is 372:1. Therefore, I rate the brick-to-fig ratio at 95%. Averaging this with the design score gives an overall Minifigure grade of 88%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 100%
What a great set. What else can I say? I plan to keep this car built and cruising the streets of my LEGO® city. As a freebie, you really cannot go wrong. You get this at no charge with a purchase you would probably make anyway. Truthfully, I would pay for this set if was out for retail. Consequently, I might make a qualifying purchase just to get a second one.
OVERALL SCORE: 95%
The Vintage Car comes free with qualifying purchases at the LEGO® Store. However, if the store sold this set, I would buy one. It is a fantastic little build that uses old bricks in fun new ways. The new model lost some of the great details from the original fan design though. Additionally, the Minifigures need more detailing. Those are minor issues compared to the overall beautiful and clever design though. Do not be on the fence, splurge and get one. At least, that is my opinion. What are your thoughts? Please comment below or reach out 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 Vintage Car (40448) below.
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