Review: 77255 Lightning McQueen
Posted by CapnRex101,
There are countless options for cars inspired by films to join Speed Champions and characters from the animated Cars movies are a lovely idea, albeit perhaps an unexpected one! After all, the theme has focused on real cars so far, so 77255 Lightning McQueen makes a change.
Animated subjects are often tricky to capture in LEGO form and Lightning McQueen is no exception, as a car with few straight lines. Despite the challenging shape, I think McQueen looks good in official images and I am interested to see how the character translates to this kind of model.
Summary
77255 Lightning McQueen, 270 pieces.
£22.99 / $27.99 / €27.99 | 8.5p / 10.4c / 10.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
I never expected Lightning McQueen in Speed Champions, but he looks great!
- Excellent bodywork shape, overall
- Details on the underside
- Accurate graphics
- Unusual subject for the theme
- Stickered eyes are inexcusable
- Awkward shaping at the front
- A little overpriced
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Box and Contents
The packaging is pretty standard, containing five numbered bags, the instruction manual and a sticker sheet. However, I had to show this page in the instructions, which I absolutely adore!
Speed Champions sets usually require lots of stickers and 77255 Lightning McQueen includes quite a few, which makes sense for a character nicknamed 'Stickers'! Most are reasonable and there are several printed parts as well, but I wish some of the bigger elements had been printed, particularly the eyes.
Reference
Source - Cars, Disney Pixar
The Completed Model
Whereas most Cars characters are based on real vehicles, Lightning McQueen is an original design and an exceptionally curvy one, which is not ideal for a LEGO model. There are some compromises as a result, though the body shape is accurate and immediately recognisable as Lightning McQueen, particularly from the sides.
I am impressed with the proportions as well. The significant overhang behind the rear wheels matches McQueen's appearance onscreen and his length of 14cm feels appropriate because Lightning is smaller than many of his fellow cars in the films. However, this model seems quite small considering its price, accurate though the scale may be.
The front is the weakest area, in my opinion, but that is no surprise because this entire section consists of nothing but compound curves. I am glad the mouth is brick-built and the smile suits Lightning's character, as do the stickered headlights. Real headlights are not required because "the track is always lit"!
The transition between the 2x3 curved wedge slopes and the 1x2 curved slopes underneath is not as smooth as I would like, but I am not sure how the shape could be improved without new parts. The slick tyres look marvellous though, returning from the Formula 1 range and featuring the accurate Lightyear branding.
Like everyone else, I much prefer printed elements to stickers, but I recognise that stickers are sometimes necessary. However, applying a sticker for Lightning McQueen's eyes is completely unacceptable. This is arguably the most essential decoration on any Speed Champions car and should have been printed, although the sticker is probably more opaque than printing would be. Nonetheless, I think Lightning's blue eyes and expressive eyelids look good.
Lightning McQueen has no minifigure-scale interior, of course, so the designer has included a brick-built brain instead! Pink parts work perfectly here and I am pleased the space behind the windscreen has been used for something.
A few more stickers decorate either side, although the windows on the sides of the windscreen, the wheel arches and the rounded pieces towards the back are printed. The lightning bolts and numerous small sponsors look fantastic, other than gaps on the edges of the 4x1 curved slopes. Also, the 1x1 Technic bricks on the side windows work relatively well for window vents.
McQueen's side exhausts are present and actually continue under the car, where various other details can be found. This is a new feature for Speed Champions and I am delighted to see the theme continuing to develop. The exhausts and driveshaft are pretty simple, but any details are welcome on the underside.
Construction of the rear windscreen is similar to some other Speed Champions cars, as plates are clipped sideways to a 3L bar underneath. However, this model has an advantage because the windows are opaque. The shaping and brick-built stripes are perfect and even the gaps on each side, where curved slopes join, are not too noticeable.
The last of the 22 stickers are placed on the rear wing and across the back of the car, faithfully recreating the Rust-eze branding as it appeared in the first movie. Again, the shape is splendid given the lack of specialised pieces and even the anti-studs look reasonable, as the back of the rear wing should be rough.
Overall
Some fans of Speed Champions were hesitant when 77255 Lightning McQueen was revealed and I share this hesitancy to some degree. Historically, the theme has prized realism above all else, so an animated car feels somehow out of place. Even so, Lightning McQueen includes as much detail as any model in the series and is undoubtedly a worthy addition.
My only real complaints relate to the bodywork shape around the headlights and the stickered eyes. The latter is especially frustrating, not least because the set rightly lacks a minifigure, so expecting extra printed elements seems fair. The price of £22.99, $27.99 or €27.99 feels a little too expensive compared with other sets, but I am still very pleased with Lightning McQueen.
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48 comments on this article
"Stickered eyes are inexcusable". Agree 100%, if there is one piece that should be printed in this set is the eyes. Seriously Lego?
While stickered eyes aren't ideal, I get the feeling that printed eyes would look worse given the typical Lego issues with printing white on bright red. Stickers with white backing, at least, can have perfect opacity.
I'm not a car-guy, but this is.
I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought.
Yeah, the stickered eyes are very much a deal breaker from my perspective - and if current printing techniques aren’t good enough, maybe the company for whom only the best is good enough should revisit the issue?
we all hate stickers, but at least the actual reference vehicle ALSO has stickers
@Brickablat said:
"I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought."
I was going to say, this raises some EXTREMELY troubling questions in an already troubling universe.
Given the accuracy Lego has achieved with printing white on red in the recent past, I would infinitely prefer sticker eyes to Lightning McQueen looking like he has an eye infection.
The only reason I haven’t tried to save up for the 75354 Coruscant Guard Gunship is because a pink Fox is no Fox at all.
Still, the real solution here is Lego getting better at printing.
Mater??? Doc??? McMissile???
@Brickablat said:
"I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought."
If this is true, then when we flip it over and see the pipes and stuff on the underside, what is that? His guts? His genitals? So many questions...
They have brains??? Is this established as fact in the Cars universe?
At least if the eyes had been a print you could have complained about the set being properly overpriced rather than just a 'little'.
That aside, 'inexcusable' and 'unacceptable' - hyperbole much? 22 stickers instead of 21.
@Brickablat said:
"I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought."
The universe gets extremely weird in a lot of ways if you think about it for more than 30 seconds.
They should do a whole line of Cars speed champions, I can imagine it selling really well under children and some adults. Hudson and Flo would be pretty cool to see in lego form
Back to Stickered headlights they go...
Not talking bout eyes, but the pieces they mostly had as prints for the last 2 years , like https://brickset.com/parts/6494475/brick-2x3-outside-bow-left-no-7 )
I wonder if this is an exception, or if it's just because there's a print budget or something taken up by other pieces. (the steeper curves are printed here which makes sense as stickers don't like those, or multi-curves)
"Lightning McQueen has no minifigure-scale interior, of course, so the designer has included a brick-built brain instead!"
Oh, no. The organ theory is true.
I drew the line at too many F1 cars and now I'm drawing another for cartoon cars.
Not a bad set I think, but if this is more geared towards kids this has waaaaay too many stickers.
@Lyichir said:
"While stickered eyes aren't ideal, I get the feeling that printed eyes would look worse given the typical Lego issues with printing white on bright red. Stickers with white backing, at least, can have perfect opacity."
This was exactly my thought, but maybe this should have been a wake-up-call that they really need to improve their light on dark printing of all colors across all pieces, like they were bak in the day. I'd prefer the more solid white of the stickers in this case because my fear was that if they printed them, it would make him look high, but realistically LEGO should fix this issue so stickers in this situation wouldn't be necessary. They certainly have the money to invest in the printing quality...
@Mister_Jonny said:
"Yeah, the stickered eyes are very much a deal breaker from my perspective - and if current printing techniques aren’t good enough, maybe the company for whom only the best is good enough should revisit the issue?"
Hah! The new motto is "If the suckers buy it it's good enough".
They can print with sufficient cover, but it requires printing twice, and that affects the bottom line - Kjeld's millions. As long as they can't be arsed to print properly I'm fine with stickers for light on dark.
As long as those stickers stay put... I've had some bad experience with sets from a few years ago, with stickers peeling or disintegrating.
Aaaargh, well he is affectionately known as 'Stickers'. We can maybe allow them ;-)
Since they put a brain inside the car, and there is no minifigure, they could have at least used the new Dreamzzz brain piece: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=110049pb01&idColor=50T=C&C=50
Kids who loved Cars and Lego cars now have disposable income. Feel old yet?
ANATOMICALLY CORRECT LIGHTNING MCQUEEN IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025
I really like this set; probably one of my favorites from the 2026 sets that have been revealed so far. The shaping looks fantastic, and the stickers on "Stickers" don't really bother me a whole lot. It's a pretty fair price, too. Definitely planning on getting this at some point next year.
@StudMuffin24 said:
"Mater??? Doc??? McMissile??? "
Yes!! To all three of those.
Nice set. But for me it just doesn't belong in SpeedChampions.
I'm really torn about who this is for? Kids? Adults? It seems too expensive, being smaller and with no minifig compared to other SC sets. And that brain, just why?
As for the sticker eyes, I don't think I have seen Lego prints with more than 4 colors. Looks like they used 6 for that sticker, 7 if you include the grey printing on the sides, so that could be why they had to go this route. I also think, with current quality of stuff, that a print would have looked worse. It shouldn't though, and that's the real issue.
Finally, I'd say this would have been perfect as a new 6-wide series of more playful cars. Still using nice build techniques, but simply less serious than SpeedChampions, and cheaper.
If they were going to include stickered eyes, they should have taken advantage of that and given multiple expressions to choose from. Multiple pieces to swap out easier would also be good.
@Brickablat said:
"I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought."
I thought the same! The idea that Lightning McQueen could suffer some kind of brain injury, that's a bit too real!
I think they did a great job with it--the stickered eyes don't bother me, and if they were printed, we'd all be complaining how they're not bright white enough. The rest of a Speed Champion is sticked, what's one more...
@WokePope said:
" @Brickablat said:
"I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought."
I was going to say, this raises some EXTREMELY troubling questions in an already troubling universe.
"
Do not contemplate. I repeat, do not contemplate.
Speed Champions is always full of surprises! I expected Lightning McQueen to be a fairly straightforward build that would be easy to convert into a car for minifigs. Nope! This is better.
I get that of course the sponsors should be replicated from the movies and not have any LEGO Easter eggs added, but did the set designers perhaps include a cheeky Octan reference in the fuel tank area?
No one said “wow” yet.
Wow!
I’m guessing underside detail will be harder when the need to squeeze in a minifigure is there.
Nice bit of marketing, making this a Speed Champion. I suspect for many, that wouldn't have given it a second look, it's now become a must have!
@jkb said:
"Kids who loved Cars and Lego cars now have disposable income. Feel old yet?"
Yeah, 2026 is Cars's 20th anniversary.
I'm going to be ordering this and 77256 as soon as they're available. The one with no minifigs as a delayed Christmas present for my third nephew, the one with two for me. If they keep doing Cars characters, I'll get Doc Hudson when they get around to him, though.
@ra226 said:
" @Brickablat said:
"I hadn't contemplated the possibility that these characters have some organic innards to them, but now that I have, I am sufficiently weirded out by the thought."
I thought the same! The idea that Lightning McQueen could suffer some kind of brain injury, that's a bit too real!"
Now you've got me picturing a Cars character having a stroke and now the wheels on one side of their body don't work as well.
Lego should ashamed of the ridiculous sticker usage in this set.
I'm really disapointed this set doesn't release until Jan 1. It would have made a great Christmas present for my son (or me!).
And with you reviewing it now, it just makes me even more grumpy that it's not out yet!
@RTS013 said:
"Nice set. But for me it just doesn't belong in Speed Champions.
...
Finally, I'd say this would have been perfect as a new 6-wide series of more playful cars. Still using nice build techniques, but simply less serious than Speed Champions, and cheaper."
You mean like Speed Champions from 2015-2019?
Stickers... :/
@jkb said:
"Kids who loved Cars and Lego cars now have disposable income. Feel old yet?"
Oh please wait for the incoming Pokemon theme... ;)
My boys LOVED Cars, and now they love building and rebuilding all our Lego cars. This will probably be too advanced for them right now, but we'll have to pick it up.
@BPK2300 said:
"They have brains??? Is this established as fact in the Cars universe?"
Hello internet, welcome to Film theory! The cars aren't cars, they're BUGS, and so, they have brains!
@BrickmanNL said:
"They should do a whole line of Cars speed champions, I can imagine it selling really well under children and some adults"
They did Juniors, didn't they?
Will this car eventually be considered a minifig in the database like the older Cars movie figures are?
@iwybs said:
" @RTS013 said:
"Nice set. But for me it just doesn't belong in Speed Champions.
...
Finally, I'd say this would have been perfect as a new 6-wide series of more playful cars. Still using nice build techniques, but simply less serious than Speed Champions, and cheaper."
You mean like Speed Champions from 2015-2019?
"
I mean there's room for 6-wide cars AND 8-wide.
8-wide is now covered by Speed Champions, and I think that's great since they are pushing more towards realistic replicas. 8-wide is a great size for that.
But 6-wide is great for less serious, playful, cartoony, and fun stuff. Like characters from "Cars". There's no need for the larger size when you are not trying to capture life-like proportions of real-life vehicles. Smaller size is also more accessible to more people. But that doesn't mean they have to be less advanced builds, there are City, 4+, and so on to cover that already.
So yes, in a way, like the 6-wide Speed Champions of earlier years. But without the need to pretend to be realistic, which opens a lot of possibilities for all sorts of stuff.
I'm generally against stickers. On a race car, they make sense for the most part. The windshield (which takes up a great deal of real estate and is one of the key features on a cartoon car) should be printed.
@SinKiller_Nick said:
"I'm really disapointed this set doesn't release until Jan 1. It would have made a great Christmas present for my son (or me!).
And with you reviewing it now, it just makes me even more grumpy that it's not out yet!"
When my family does the Christmas gift exchange, I'll just tell my third nephew that he'll be getting this as soon as it comes out.
Bunch of grumps here. I love it. It is perfect for SC and the stickers are part of the race car experience. The KIDS love them. That is why they are kept around. Their focus group for their primary customer loves STICKERS. My kids think they are the best part. So do many other KIDS. You all are adult that enjoy Lego. Great. But this is still a toy where KIDS dominate the market. So they get theirs before you. Especially for a car from a KIDS movie.
So while you the niche group complains, the group that will get most of these love it.
This is a toy. Just cause your life sucks doesnt mean you should suck the joy out of everyone else.