Review: 40109 mini MINI Cooper
Posted by Huw,
40109 mini MINI Cooper is currently free with purchases of 10242 maxi MINI Cooper from shop.LEGO.com and brand stores. It will also be free with all purchases over a certain threshold in August.
For a 60-piece set, it's a good representation but it's not without its faults.
In fact I think it's surprising just how much like a Mini it does look considering it's very square and blocky. The rake of the rear window is too shallow but the windscreen looks fine.
The back even has the bulbous boot lid.
The seats and steering wheel have been faithfully reproduced in micro-scale.
However the black mudguard plates really spoil the appearance. I must assume that there was no budget for a colour change allowing for that part to be made in dark green because as you can see from the Photoshopped image below, it looks far, far better.
Nevertheless it's a neat model and really, one can't complain given that it's free.
If you haven't ordered your maxi MINI yet, here are the links to do so:
UK | USA | Canada | France | Germany
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13 comments on this article
Its not quite the mini Campervan, but its pretty good.
I don't care about any Creator models really. It's only when I want something basic to build and that has not happened since 2010... But I only really care about Creator Expert, especially models like 10242!
Can you Photoshop the sides of those black panels (where the bumpers are attached) to the same dark green to see how that looks? That might make it look even better.
I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader...
Not sure I like the back end, but nicely done! If only it had a mini picnic basket...
We have to go smaller.
@dragon call up lego and tell them to make a "mini, mini Mini" and see how it goes :D
I don't really care for this. It would be much better if it could carry a minifig. The colour and the wheels are nice though.
Sadly, the Mini has to go on my "great model but I can't have everything" list (it might be more urgent if it were a TR6 or a Triumph Spitfire), so I'm glad to hear that the mini-Mini will be available for more general purchase in August--at least, I hope it will be on offer in the US as well as in Britain! That way it can keep company with my mini-VW camper. Some of us collect the smaller versions as consolation prizes, after all!
Why not just call it the Micro Cooper? Instead of having to say Mini twice? I think Micro Cooper sounds way cuter. ^_^
"In fact I think it's surprising just how much like a Mini it does look considering it's very square and blocky."
Really? I find it hard to believe that if you asked 100 people in the street what car it was meant to be anyone would say a mini. To me it inadvertently looks more like a fiat 500.
^ no, its not a Mini or a Fiat, its a Renault 5 :P (honestly the forest Green does lead one to think Mini first though)
neat little model either way, and Free is Free! no complaint from me (hey that rhymed)
I just built this a few hours ago, and it is growing on me. Face it, it is just not possible to get much detail in a such a little, micro scale car. They all tend to look like Smart cars to me.
That said, I do like the mini Mini because it is cute and comes in a lovely dark green color just like the original. So maybe the bar has to be lower for a micro scale car this small.