The ‘Fast & Furious’ movies are – for the most part – total garbage. With characters coming back from the dead (twice), long lost family members loosely enabling plot continuation (twice), and bad guys turning good just to keep them in the franchise (three times by our count), the plots could have been written by TLCB Elves.
But, like the internet’s most popular video category, no one is watching a Fast & Furious movie for the plot. They’re watching for the cars. And maybe Vin Diesel’s giant shiny head. In doing so making ‘Fast & Furious’ the most profitable movie franchise ever.
Thus LEGO have joined the ‘Fast & Furious’ party, and have brought one of the franchise’s star cars to life in Technic form. This is the Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger set, supplied to us here at TLCB by online shop Zavvi, and it’s time for a review…
First a shout out to our suppliers Zavvi, whose delivery was prompt, communication good, and the 42111 box was massively well protected inside, well… a bigger box. If you’re the kind of person who likes to keep the boxes for your sets (ours just go in the recycling), that’s a bonus.
LEGO have realised this too, removing the sticky circles that hold the ends shut (but that rip the artwork when opened), and fitting a cereal-box style closable tab so it can stay closed.
Inside 42111’s box are five numbered bags, bagged instructions and stickers (which helps to keep them protected too), and 1,077 parts. Many of these are weird and new, at least to this reviewer (if not the set), and continue LEGO’s approach of using every colour ever. However, like numerous ‘Fast & Furious’ characters, we’re going to do a complete 180 and say that it, well… works.
Building 42111 is fun and straight-forward, with the multitude of colours making it easy to find the parts required. The colours are thoughtfully chosen too, enabling quick identification and actually changing in some cases as the build progresses depending upon which similar pieces they shared a bag with. They’re all fairly well hidden by the end too, so there’s no ‘rainbow’ misery here.
The build can also be commended for creating a fully working rolling chassis by the mid-point, which makes it much more interesting than only adding the wheels at the end.
As has been the case for a while now though, the instructions can be very simple, at times adding just one piece per step. That said, there are a lot of orientation changes, which you have to watch out for so you don’t install something upside down. Not that this Reviewer did that. He’s a professional.
After a few hours of happy parts selection and spot-the-difference, you’ll have a nicely sized Technic recreation of the early ’70s Dodge Charger – modified ‘Fast & Furious’ style with a giant supercharger and NO2 tanks – complete with a working V8 engine, steering, all-wheel suspension, opening doors, hood and trunk, and a bizarre party trick.
42111’s weirdest feature is a lever-activated wheelie stand, enabling the set to look like Dominic Toretto is about to write it off in another unnecessary race. It’s a mechanism that works quite well (although it is difficult to reach), but – much like a ‘Fast & Furious’ movie – it’s very much style over substance, and reminiscent of the beautiful operation but relative pointlessness of the Technic 42022 Hot Rod‘s roof mechanism.
Elsewhere though, 42111 works well, with decent steering, independent front suspension, and rear suspension that authentically replicates the real Charger’s rubbish live-axle set-up. The deeply-cool supercharged V8 engine looks great too, particularly with its spinning ‘supercharger belt’.
And here’s where things get controversial; we really like this set.
Some reviews of 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger elsewhere seem to centre a degree of negativity around the fact that it would have looked better as a Creator Expert set and that the bodywork isn’t all that accurate.
That’s true, but as a Technic set it looks fantastic, and a Creator Expert set wouldn’t have suspension, steering, and V8 engine with a spinning supercharger belt. And we know which we prefer.
42111 adds a whole heap more detail than we’ve been used to with Technic sets from a decade ago, with a complete System front and rear end, and there’s even flex tubing recreating the chrome window line. There’s also – for once – tastefully chosen stickers that absolutely enhance the set’s realism, without it being reliant upon them.
It’s not all good of course; the steering wheel is too big and the seat too small – leaving no room for Dom’s man-bits which are no doubt as large as his giant shiny head – and the rear window is a bit rubbish.
But 42111 is a Technic set, and as such it isn’t meant to look as accurate as something from the Creator Expert line. If it were, all of its (mostly) well-engineered functions wouldn’t be possible, and we’re rather pleased that they are.
Verdict
The Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger set is certainly recommended. It’s not a Creator Expert replica, but it is a good Technic set, and our suppliers Zavvi currently have it available with a saving of £25, alongside a range of other LEGO Technic sets on sale.
At that price 42111 earns a very good (and perhaps controversial) 8/10 rating. Which makes it much much better than the most recent ‘Fast & Furious’ movie…