Lockdown

So here I am under government instructions to stay at home to stem the spread of the Covid19, as is the rest of the country. Some are taking this enforced lockdown more seriously than others I might add. All the car shows I had lined up to go to and have been looking forward to have been cancelled, I can accept that if it’s short term, as long as I can at least get a few in before the end of the year. But what can you do in the mean time? To while away the time I have just finished my mini project which I was going to make last when I have a little time over the weekends. Now I have more time than I actually planned for. So not only have I completed my project, I have written about it too. You will be pleased to know that it’s Mustang related of course, but in the form of Lego. So if you were wondering is it worth it and what’s involved let me explain;

The Sales Pitch from : Lego

Discover the magic of an iconic 1960s American muscle car with the LEGO® Creator Ford Mustang, featuring dark-blue bodywork with white racing stripes, bonnet scoop, printed mustang grille badge, GT emblems and 5-spoke rims with road-gripping tires. Developed with input from Ford, this authentic replica comes with optional add-ons for customization, including a selection of license plates, supercharger, rear ducktail spoiler, beefy exhaust pipes, front chin spoiler and a nitrous oxide tank. You can even adjust the lift of the rear axle for an extra-mean look! Remove the roof panel or open the doors and you have access to the detailed interior with handsome seats, radio, working steering and a mid-console gearshift. Store items in the trunk or lift the hood to reveal a detailed big block 390 V8 engine with battery, hoses and air filter detailing. This advanced building set has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding building experience full of nostalgia and makes a great centerpiece for the home or office.

– Authentic replica of a 1960s Ford Mustang featuring dark-blue bodywork with white racing stripes, air scoop, 5-spoke rims with road-gripping tires, and a selection customization add-ons.

– Open the doors or remove the roof panel to access the detailed interior with handsome seats, radio, mid-console gearshift and working steering.

– Open the trunk to store items and lift the hood to reveal a detailed Ford Mustang V8 engine with battery, hoses and air filter.

– Includes a printed mustang grille badge and 2 GT emblems.

– Customize the Ford Mustang with the included supercharger, rear ducktail spoiler, beefy exhaust pipes, front chin spoiler and a nitrous oxide tank.

– Choose from a selection of license plates.

– Lift the hood to check out the realistic engine detailing.

– Adjust the lift of the rear axle for a real mean look!

– New-for-March-2019 special elements include 5-spoke rims, 2×8 brick with bow, 1×3 mustang logo tile, 2×4 bow with ‘GT’ Emblem.

Measures over 3” (10cm) high, 13” (34cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide.

Source:  https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/ford-mustang-10265

What You Get:

You get a big box and a lot of smaller plastic bags inside, an instruction manual and a sticker sheet.

What’s In The Box?

You get eleven plastic bags of parts although they are labelled as one to six with all but bag five having a smaller bag with the same number. A total of 1471 parts for you to try and sort out.

TIP:

Don’t open all the bags at once, only open what you need!

Instructions:

The instruction book starts with a brief background to Ford and the Mustang with time lines. A nice little addition it must be said.

The start of the instructions tells you which packets to use for which section build.

The instructions are all diagram based with the parts you need counted out and shown to you before assembly. Where the similar looking parts and colours are used the instructions has a 1:1 check to make sure you get the correct part. Some of the differences are very subtle.

Building the Model

This is the first time I have touched Lego in about forty five years or so. Oh how it’s moved on. The tolerances are still perfect, things fit together and don’t fall apart. A huge leap forward to building cars and houses when I first played with it and stood on the bricks!

The hours just rush by when building this. I challenge anybody to spend only what they think is an hour doing a build without anything to tell you the time. When you think it’s been an hour it’s a lot more than that. I found it addictive to do a page, then think ‘I will quickly do that bit as well’, it draws you in.

You start at the back of the car building the suspension, lots of little cogs seem to be placed for no apparent reason, then a few pages later it suddenly comes together. The sense of achievement is well thought out and makes you want to come back for more.

I found it easier to get all the parts I would be using for that little build located into an area to save looking for the parts as I went along, which I found could delay my build of that little section. Find it, collate it, then build it and repeat. No matter how you do it, the whole process is enjoyable. It actually started to upset my OCD in the end and I had to line the bits up I was about to use and separate into little bub piles of parts.

Next you move to the middle of the car for the transmission tunnel, adding the gear shift, radio and dials to the bricks. Parts seem to be built modular style then applied to the overall model itself.

Steering and engine next, considering the level of detail in this model I found my first grump. The engine only has four spark plug leads. They could of made it eight and just gave it that little bit extra detail.

Nice detail touches on the engine due to the name and the oil cap etc.

Building the body work is interesting how it comes together.

The door hinges caught me out as I had a little bit round the wrong way. The supplied brick separating tool is great and saves digging your fingernails between the bricks.

The design of the model has taken a lot into account for the assembly. They get you to place some round white bricks under the front corners of the car. When you press the bricks onto the model, these corner blocks means that it doesn’t flex or come apart when you add the little sub sections of build. When the car is finished the round white bricks are then removed, fitted together to make the NOS bottle for the trunk, providing you want that of course. How cool is that to reuse bricks in order to make your build journey enjoyable?

Just like restoring a real car, seeing the seats go in and the rear ‘glass’ starts to show the model is nearing completion. The hood offers the option for the stock scoop look or the opening for the super charger. It doesn’t matter if you change your mind later, it only takes around five seconds to swap it over.

The roof is designed to be a single section so it’s easy to remove and see the detail inside the model.

The other options for the model are the side pipes, front spoiler, rear spoiler and NOS bottle.

The completed model looks just as mean as the real thing.

I mentioned earlier about the two engine options; the standard or the hot rod version. The super charger will poke out the opening in the hood, or use the stock pan and the scoop. I built both just because I could and can swap them as I want.

The Super charger option works well and looks in proportion to the rest of the car.

The underside of the model shows the level of detail you can’t see, it also allows access to the thumb adjustable wheel to raise up the back of the car’s stance.

The completed model looks quality and withstands being handled without falling apart.

There is a third party option to add LED lights to the model. It does involve some disassembly, but the instructions and video show you how to do that and only take fifteen minutes or so to upgrade. If you want your car to be on show with the lights then it could be worth fitting that kit at the same time to save a bit of hassle later.

Results:

An amazing model and sits nicely with my other model. I need to get a little case for this one as well I think

It was a joy to make, and is a pleasure to look at. The parts are real top quality as you expect from genuine Lego kits, everything just works together. I had no missing parts and everything was there.

Rating:  9 out 10

An excellent model as I said, but there was just the number of spark plug wires that let the detail aspect down a bit as a model for me.

The instructions are very good indeed and well paced, the printing was fine and clear. The colour definition between the lighter coloured parts could be confusing and I would liked to have seen a bit more colour definition. Those are the only two reasons I marked it down.

Ease of use – 8 out 10

Finish – 10 out 10

Conclusion:

A lot of money for a Lego kit, but I was impressed. On the other hand you do get a lot of good quality model for that money. The price may put this kit out of reach for many to buy and build. As with all things Lego the price seems to stay put and not vary much.

The age range to start this is suggested at 16+ which I personally think is a little harsh, perhaps a petrol headed 14 year old into cars would like it, 15 years old on should be fine. Sometimes the small fingers do help, rather than my big hands getting in the way. This build will keep you quiet for a good few hours either as a young adult or a middle aged man like me.

The instructions take you on a journey that you’re not aware of, and completing each little bit leads gives you a sense of achievement enough to make you want to complete the next section. The Lego look with the little bumps and strange lines works well on the model and certainly doesn’t detract from the over all look. You can see it’s Lego and will appreciate that somebody has gone to good lengths to complete it and enjoyed it at the same time.

When it was finished I was a bit gutted that I didn’t have any more to build to be honest.

Would I recommend it? Yes. But, it’s expensive.

So there you have it, a good many hours spent working on a Mustang, all be it a much smaller, modular version of the real thing. I will be writing some more car detailing reviews soon, so keep an eye out for those. If I can’t drive my my car at least I can still clean it, even though it’s already clean. It also keeps me out of the way being indoors with the wife. The more I get under her feet the more she will find me “jobs” to do. She is trying to teach me to cook as well, me and kitchens don’t go well it has to be said. Yet when I try and get her to clean, polish, wax and detail her own car, the same levels of (non) enthusiasm I showed to cooking is reciprocated and more.

I do know that my time is already being allocated to redecorating the house, even though it did some of it just over a year ago. I have spotted the delivery of a few large tins of paint. So I need to keep busy, keep scarce in order to put off the the job that I seriously detest – decorating.

I think I need to get another model though to keep me quiet in these unprecedented times of forced isolation. Or I may end up cleaning walls and applying paint rather than applying extra layers of top quality wax to my pride and joy. Who am trying to kid? It’s not if if decorate, it’s a case of when!