Holiday gift guide: Fiat 500
Posted by Huw,
PerSW is back with a recommendation in this week's price range, $50-$100: 10271 Fiat 500.
Growing up in Italy means that the Fiat 500 is probably THE quintessential small car, rivaled only by the blocky Fiat Panda, and usually most people here either had one or remember someone they knew who owned one. For me it was a neighbour who parked it in reverse up a small incline to have the necessary momentum to start the ignition on cold winter mornings.
But enough reminiscing and let's get to the matter at hand: the set.
First of all, the pastel yellow colour the designer chose for the model is perfectly in line with the actual colours these cars used to have in the sixties, also capturing the faded look most 500 had 20 to 30 years later when they were still going. It also provides a good source for a usually rare colour, should one be inclined to disassemble the model for parts. The interior's warm and darker colours add a bit of contrast to an otherwise monochromatic model, and the details on the dashboard are nicely rendered with one sticker and two printed pieces – one of which bears the old Fiat logo also found on the front of the car.
The set is almost to scale with fellow small car models such as the Mini Cooper and VW Beetle, also from the Creator Expert line, as stated in another article a while ago and seeing it on the shelf next to the aforementioned Mini I can confirm they go really well together.
The build includes many SNOT techniques to capture the rounded shape of the car, and the use of the arches for the back seat windows perfectly convey the real life curve of the rear. Alas the front windscreen is a bit too straight compared to the actual car, but some compromise had to be made and the final result is still quite faithful.
Keeping with the faithfulness, the boot opens to reveal the engine, and the vents are nicely reproduced with a couple of stickers; while the bonnet is used to store the spare wheel. Thus the luggage needs to be strapped on the back of the car and the included easel and painting -another sticker- have to be crammed on the back seat of the car or stuck through the opening roof in a way well known to many small car owners.
All in all I believe this set to be a wonderful choice for the 50-100$ bracket gift, appealing to a wide range of people from car enthusiast to people just looking for a nice build and display piece. And also Italians.
As a final note, while the build may be a bit too complex for younger builders, the sturdiness of the final model gives it more than enough play value even if not at minifig scale.
P.S. Although my hectic schedule prevented me to participate in last week's budget bracket, I'm still glad to have seen some of my picks chosen by other user, such as the wonderful 70429 El Fuego's Stunt Plane; but since this was the year of the monster truck I urge you to consider the 31104 Monster Burger Truck for that price range.
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11 comments on this article
I've heard that the color of the light yellow parts is not consistent over the whole set making it look terrible under certain light conditions.
I notice the box art places it in front of the Colosseum - was that LEGO giving us a hint..
Love the car in life and this set, though I own neither.
@Nordbart said:
"I've heard that the color of the light yellow parts is not consistent over the whole set making it look terrible under certain light conditions."
I have it and I can confirm that bricks have at least 3 different shades of yellow :-(
Still, it is a very nice set, though definitely not as good as previous Creator Expert cars (Mustang and Aston Martin).
I really like the wheels and hub caps, and the curved transparent rear windows, which were a new design for this set and provide lots of character. The inside detailing is also worth mentioning, from the dashboard, red faux leather seats to the spare tire under the front bonnet and the 4 stroke engine in the boot! Images can be found at 10271, together with some 1960's Italian poster art to market the car!
@andrzejl said:
" @Nordbart said:
"I've heard that the color of the light yellow parts is not consistent over the whole set making it look terrible under certain light conditions."
I have it and I can confirm that bricks have at least 3 different shades of yellow :-(
Still, it is a very nice set, though definitely not as good as previous Creator Expert cars (Mustang and Aston Martin)."
The colour variations were obvious during building. Personally, I think it looks better than the Aston Martin, which I found a lowlight aesthetically.
I used to drive one. Nice because it is small. But you had to be careful not to shift from 2nd to 1st gear unless you were in a complete stop.
I own this set. It’s probably my third favorite.
I have this. I like it better than the blue VW
@Wrecknbuild said:
" @andrzejl said:
" @Nordbart said:
"I've heard that the color of the light yellow parts is not consistent over the whole set making it look terrible under certain light conditions."
I have it and I can confirm that bricks have at least 3 different shades of yellow :-(
Still, it is a very nice set, though definitely not as good as previous Creator Expert cars (Mustang and Aston Martin)."
The colour variations were obvious during building. Personally, I think it looks better than the Aston Martin, which I found a lowlight aesthetically."
I have one and noticed a little variation. But in the end result, I think only an AFOL who is actively looking for variation would notice anything. It’s a lovely display piece, very cheerful next to the corresponding Beetle and Mini sets. And interesting to build.
@iamkevinwill said:
"I notice the box art places it in front of the Colosseum - was that LEGO giving us a hint.."
There's a micro car in the Colosseum set that's the same color as this set too...
@Nordbart said:
"I've heard that the color of the light yellow parts is not consistent over the whole set making it look terrible under certain light conditions."
The colour quality in this set is the worst of any LEGO set I own. It looks so bad it is sickening to think that copycat brands offer better quality now.
By the way, it does not matter which lighting conditions you have, this sets looks terrible under any lighting condition.
This is the first set I regretted buying. Seriously.
When I saw the first reviews I thought "what the hell, perhaps you are too picky", but now that I have built it myself I totally agree. This set should have been pulled until LEGO could figure out a way to get better colour consistency. But seeing how the Technic Sian looks it is clear TLG doesn't care at all.
A friend of mine bought the clone version of said Sian from the Lepin successor brand, and sadly enough his set has perfect colour consistency.
How can a supposedly sh**ty clone brand offer better quality than the self-proclaimed "quality leader"?