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In a recent thread on LUGNET, someone referred to 'evangelizing' about LEGO.
This post may have some of that tone to it, though I suspect this is
probably more like preaching to the choir.
On Friday I was pleasantly surprised to find several of the new Designer
Sets in a store about an hour from where I live. Of course, I knew the sets
were out in some places, but hadn't seen them in my local Zellers or the
closest Toys 'R Us. So actually seeing them on a shelf was a welcome
sight... though perhaps not to my Visa card.
The store I was in had four different sets from the series. My problem
wasn't which one did I like... it was which one(s) would I leave behind;
they all looked great.
In the end I settled on two copies of set 4100 (Maximum Wheels) and one copy
of set 4097 (Mini Robots). And while both are fantastic, it's the Maximum
Wheels set that brings me to posting this review/feedback.
One of the first things I noticed about the box was how heavy it was. This
was no light weight box of small parts... this set has some mass to it.
Next up, was the piece count vs. the price. My frugal brain was amazed to
note that even at full price the price per part was around 10 cents each!
(1) This, of course, is in direct contradiction to some of the Star Wars or
Harry Potter sets which for obvious reasons tend to carry a higher sticker
price. And so, to the LEGO marketing people I say, "thank you". 10 cents a
part is a price I can live with and one that I will support with additional
purchases. While I realize there have been benefits to the licensing deals
that LEGO has made, there have also been drawbacks. Costly sets being the
main one.
I happened to speak with the store owner as I was trying to decide which
sets were coming home with me. I offered the observation that the Designer
Sets reminded me of some of the Universal Building Sets of the mid 1970's.
(perhaps an example might be the series of 910, 911 and 912 sets). He
agreed with my observation and added a comment. He noted that he often gets
parents in looking for "just regular LEGO" sets. He felt he would be
selling a lot of the Designer Sets and in fact had already sold out of one
of them.
When I got home and got the 4100 set open I was even more surprised. The
first thing that jumps out at you is the idea book. It is a massive
(relative to other instruction books for sets this size) square bound book
chock full of colorful instructions and pictures. They even included small
details like sketches that show some of the models in their early conception
stages. I felt this really added to the 'Designer' theme behind the series.
Next I began pouring over the parts. Wow. Dark grey plates of several
sizes. Red slopes and wedges in many sizes. Wheels and tires...... ten in
total! Grey 1 x X plates... and not just 1 or 2 of them. So needless to
say I was impressed. I had looked at the box pictures in the store and
thought, "yup, looks like a good selection of parts." They look even better
when you get the box open. :)
I then started thinking about the parts and the idea book together.
Originally I had thought I was buying these sets mostly for the individual
parts... to add to my collection. But in looking through the idea book I
realized that, "Hey... I want to build some of these models." Last night I
built the main large model featured on the front of the instruction book.
This is good stuff if you ask me. Good parts, with really well thought-out
instructions. It was a fun model to build.
A couple of final observations:
Another major aspect of the Designer Set series that really caught my eye
was the attention to color schemes. The 4100 set, for example, is primarily
red, white, and dark and light grey. This works on two levels. First, by
itself, the set makes some nice models with consistent colors. Second, as a
parts pack, it nicely adds quantities of similar colored parts to your
collection. The color co-ordination seems to more or less carry through the
other sets in the series also.
Also, the selection of pieces appears to have been a careful process. This
isn't just a bunch of parts tossed into a box and called a set. It appears
to have been a deliberate attempt to find parts that work well together and
yet also work well apart. A delicate balance and one that speaks volumes
about the attention to detail that obviously went into this series.
So my most heartfelt thank you to Paal Smith-Meyer and his design team. You
have renewed my faith that this company *can* get back to some of the values
that built it into what it is today. I always knew this type of set was
possible in today's market. Thank you for bringing it to fruition.
Finally... along with the Designer sets I bought, I also picked up all four
of the Star Wars minis. While putting together the bonus ship, I wondered
if a similar bonus couldn't be applied to the Designer series. Not more
parts in the sets... but rather a 'Master Designer's Idea Book'. Something
that could be sold as a separate product and would offer further ideas and
models that could be accomplished using all of the sets from the series.
What a good way to not only share more building ideas with fans, but to also
encourage more sales from this wonderful line of sets.
Thanks again to LEGO for such good work.
All the best,
Allan B.
(1) This is based on a regular retail price of $29.99 and the piece count
which is 290. I was glad to find the set was on sale for only $26.99. All
prices in Canadian dollars.
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: High praise for Designer Set #4100
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| Much snippage. I too cannot say enough great things about the Designer series. These are roots LEGO(r) sets and they rock. (...) This is one of my favorite features of the sets as well. MichLUG had a draft from the aircraft set last weekend and I (...) (22 years ago, 13-Apr-03, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: High praise for Designer Set #4100
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| (...) Hmmm...interesting. I have yet to see these sets in the flesh/ABS so my next comment is more speculative than yours from experience. The database shows a price of $20 USD for 290 pcs. and that is only around 0.07 cents (just under actually) an (...) (22 years ago, 13-Apr-03, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: High praise for Designer Set #4100
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| The morning after I read your review I got the set for my birthday! You're absolutely right. But rather than just a 'metoo' post I wanted to add something. What I really like about the models (I've only built a few so far) is that none of them is (...) (22 years ago, 19-Apr-03, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: High praise for Designer Set #4100
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| (...) -Gratuitus Snippage. Allen, I can't agree more. Ya hoo to the Lego Company. I had to have one of these (at least) and I picked up the 4101 Wild Collection. Why? It was the Chameleon model on the box, it's too cool for words! Well, I have to (...) (22 years ago, 21-Apr-03, to lugnet.general)
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