17 September 2015

REVIEW: LEGO F14 T & Scuderia Ferrari Truck #75913

And they're off...

Formula One racing is certainly an exciting thing to watch. But if you've ever watch a Grand Prix, sighed, and said 'This would be way better in LEGO', you're in luck, because that's just what those clever Danes have gone and done. Back with anther meaty set into which we can sink our brick-loving teeth, we review the LEGO F14 T & Scuderia Ferrari Truck #75913.



This set contains 884 parts and six minifigures. The majority of the set goes towards building the Scuderia truck itself, but there is also the car and a good number of accessories. And lots of red. Red, red everywhere. If you love red things, you'll  love this. And stickers too. Christ, there are lots of stickers. But anyway, more on that later. Here's what we did...


Thar she blows! Seriously, the truck itself is huge, being ten studs wide. And thankfully so, as all the extra elements, including the Formula One car, can fit snugly inside allowing you pack everything up and drive off. Altogether the build took about three hours, which isn't bad at all. It was enjoyable, if often quite fiddly, especially when applying the many many stickers.


Minifigs ahoy! You get six included, and although they all share the same torso and legs, each has a different face and accessory. There are two drivers, both with helmets, a STOP sign holding guy, a woman with a race info sign, a bloke with a radio and beard, and a dude to drive the truck. This whole crew represents the racing support team, to help the drivers win the races. All the figs are great, and we especially like the little headphones.


And here is that F14 T car. LEGO have done a really good job here, as this is unmistakably a racing car. All those classic F1 lines are there, and to make this in minifig scale and yet pack in so much detail is a real achievement. The driver looks good in there (if a little more exposed than in the real thing) and as an actual toy this thing rolls well and seems pretty robust.


But, as you can see, this thing is covered in stickers. There are no printed parts in this set at all, and the car alone has 20 stickers on it. 20! Most of them are also very small and tricky to properly align, but once on the model the overall effect is pretty good. Still, a few printed Ferrari logos would have been very welcome.

The front section of the car can also be easily removed and there is a replacement, and slightly different, version inside the truck.


The truck. Wow. This is a beast for sure. For some reason we had it in our heads that the finished model would be similar in size to the lorry from the Ninja Turtles Big Rig Snow Getaway set from last year (video reviewed here). Boy, we were wrong. The truck employs some very large pieces, including the grey smooth-top plates on the roof, and several very long red bricks throughout the chassis


The cab is gorgeous, and although that front-side detail is all sticker, the lack of studded parts here makes it seem more like a USC set with a greater degree of realism. Interestingly there is no windscreen part, with the illusion of glass being created by four hinged pieces.


The top pops off revealing two seats, a steering wheel, and a gear stick. You could, if you wanted, fit another couple of standing minifigures in the rear of the cab, but there is plenty room in the truck itself for that. Let's have a look, shall we?





Open the first of the hinged roof sections and you get the crew's control centre. Here we have space for all the included tool chests, a parking place for the moped (see later), a computer with three screens, each displaying race info (yep, stickers, baby), a lone yellow coffee cup, and the F1 car's ejection system in the form of that black knob to the right.


There is also something of a shrine to the team's apparent past successes, compete with golden trophy, medallions, and chequered flags.


On the inside face of the roof there are two spare wheels (for the car, not the truck), as well as the aforementioned alternate nose section. Even with these items attached, when closed there is still lots of actual space inside the front sectionfor figures.


The rear section opens up to accommodate the car which can snugly fit inside entirely. There is a folding ramp on the back, a map of the circuit on the wall, and also...


...the business end of that ejection system. One swift tap to the black knob part and the car really does whiz straight out and down the ramp. We also love the arched wall between the sections, providing lots of structural integrity to what is mostly a hallow build.


More stickers on the side of the truck, albeit slightly more subtle ones. These are the trickiest of the lot to get right as they are so long and thin. Yes, that is a bunch of sponsor logos: look, a teeny tiny Oakley! This shot also shows close up the white line that runs the length of the truck, even into the cab. This is a nice touch, and is actually the side of the internal floor plates.


Two tool chests are included, along with a full set of tools to place inside and for the support crew to tinker with. Both of these can close up and be securely placed in special slots within the truck, keeping them tightly stowed for transit. The trolley unfortunately doesn't have a place in which to slot, but can be wedged in nonetheless. And look, teeny tiny Ferrari logos! Aww.


And finally the moped. This can pop out and give the other driver (or any member of the team) a way to quickly get about during race time. We think. We're not sure if you're supposed to race this against the F1 car, but we'd love to see that, in both LEGO and real life. The moped itself is great, and looks just at home in this set as it did in the Juniors Supermarket Suitcase set, reviewed here.

This set is a lot of fun, both to build and to play with. Despite having an age rage of 8-14 there is no reason why younger kids couldn't enjoy this, and even much older kids too. Like, say, 33 year old men. Sure, there is a tonne of stickers, but they don't impact too much on what is a very well designed and true-to-form set. Both F1 and LEGO fans alike will adore it.

£79.99

Available from www.amazon.co.uk




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