Review: 42125 Ferrari 488 GTE
Posted by Huw,
42125 Ferrari 488 GTE 'AF Corse #51' is the second mid-range licensed supercar and comes two years after the release of the first, 42096 Porsche 911 RSR.
Like the Porsche, it's smaller than the top-of-the-range sets like 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 and it prioritises style over substance. In other words, it looks great, but there's not much in it.
However, given that a common complaint of the larger models is that you can't actually see and appreciate the functions and mechanisms in them once they've been built, perhaps that's not a bad thing, not least because it's half the price of the flagship sets.
Stickers
Those who suffer from pittakionophobia will want to avoid this set because there are about 60 stickers in it, which are used to cover virtually every flat surface and panel on the exterior of the car.
That said, all but one are easy to apply and align correctly once you've got the hang of it.
New parts
The most noticeable new parts visible in the official images of the set are two new wheel arch pieces. The one at the top is a 2-unit shorter version of Shell, 5X15X2, W/ 4.85 Hole, No. 1 that debuted in the Lamborghini last year.
The thin extension piece at the bottom, which is used at the rear of the vehicle, has a groove along its top that mates with the lip of the arch above, which helps keep it in place and prevents it flexing.
This new 3x7 panel is found in most of the 2021 sets and those of you with long memories might recall that I hoped that one might be forthcoming in an article about Technic panels that we published last year.
The only printed pieces in the set are these transparent canopies that are used to good effect for the headlights.
This is an interesting new piece that is used to extend the curved panels that have a 2x3 profile.
Technic panels have odd lengths, so when two are connected together the result is an even length, which is not usually desirable in Technic nowadays. This, then, can be used between two of them to create an odd length, and that's how it's used in this car, in the dashboard area.
The wheels are also new but you'll see them clearly in the photos below.
Construction
Parts are divided into bags numbered 1 to 4, you will be glad to hear, so there's no need to rummage through all 1677 pieces at once.
There are no innovations in the chassis or surprises when building it. The V8 engine is connected to the rear axle via a differential. There is no gearbox, and all four wheels have suspension, constructed in the time-honoured way.
Steering is accomplished using the steering wheel only, there is no 'hand of God' control on the top of the car.
The first half of the build is largely sticker-free but once the bodywork starts to take shape they are applied to almost every panel.
I actually find that aligning them on Technic panels is fairly easy: I start at the 'pointy end' and once you've applied a few you get to know how much gap to leave around the edges. You can use the straight edge at the top of the panel to check alignment before committing to sticking it all down. The thing I dislike most about them is that they disrupt and slow down the flow of building.
Sticker placement notwithstanding, it's an enjoyable build that is not too taxing. The only fiddly bit is the V8 engine and I suspect, like me, you've built hundreds of them before. I estimate it took 3-4 hours to complete the model.
The completed model
There is no doubt what once it's all stickered up it looks fantastic.
All-red Ferraris can look a bit boring so the splashes of white, blue, and yellow help break up the monotony a bit.
Overall, it's about 48cm long and 20cm wide which makes the scale almost spot-on 1:10.
There's a single seat in the cockpit and stickered tiles around the steering wheel represent the displays and controls.
It's a shame the seat is black because it provides no contrast with its surroundings, but I guess that's the case in the real vehicle.
The back is open allowing the engine to be viewed and I suspect the real car has a glass panel here to allow the same, as many Ferraris do.
Verdict
The designer has captured the look of the original vehicle pretty well and has ably demonstrated what's possible with just a handful of different shaped Technic panels.
There's no gearbox, 4-wheel drive or other complicated gubbins inside it and personally I think that's a good thing. If you want all that, there are other sets available that provide it. This has been designed purely as a display model and in that regard it excels. It's big, colourful and impressive.
I did initially wonder whether I'd prefer a road-going version without all the stickers, but on reflection I think it looks much better with them than it would without.
However, if you did want to create an all-red road version of the 488, It should be fairly easy. You'd need remove the spoiler, fill the gaps in the bonnet, and replace the white, blue and yellow pieces with red or black as appropriate, but there aren't that many.
It certainly looks great when lined up with its predecessor, 42096 Porsche 911 RSR.
It'll be available from LEGO.com on 1st January priced at £169.99 / $169.99 / €179.99.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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52 comments on this article
my wallet is supposed to cry once this comes out but it won't cuz it know this set is just that awesome!
Is it fair to say most AFOLs suffer from pittakionophobia?
I don't understand this set. Just like all the other licenced display type sets in this theme.
Reading a statement like
"This has been designed purely as a display model"
makes my hair stand on end.
This is Technic. TECHNIC!
Since when does Technic lend itself to display models? We have Creator Expert (or 18+ if you will) for that. Why bother with the trouble of Technic pins and gubbins if all you want is a display model? I just don't get it. Then again, there hasn't been a good Technic set in years that deserves the name, so why change now.
That's a long time to build a V8 engine! ;)
@AustinPowers said:
"I don't understand this set. Just like all the other licenced display type sets in this theme.
Reading a statement like
"This has been designed purely as a display model"
makes my hair stand on end.
This is Technic. TECHNIC!
Since when does Technic lend itself to display models? We have Creator Expert (or 18+ if you will) for that. Why bother with the trouble of Technic pins and gubbins if all you want is a display model? I just don't get it. Then again, there hasn't been a good Technic set in years that deserves the name, so why change now. "
I couldn't agree more with you. Klaas was an exception for me
it looks like a great set. What was the one sticker that was hard to align correctly?
On the side of beams. It's difficult to tell exactly where to place them so they are centered due to the curved ends of the beam.
The one on the red 1x11 on the bonnet is the one I was referring to. The yellow Ferrari one on the visor is not so bad because the word can be used to determine the centre.
I think the wheels are the same as on the Land Rover Discovery. Maybe the size is different?
pittakionophobia. Brilliant. Glad you don’t suffer from sesquipedalophobia.
I often stick some extra pins in a beam to give me some reference. If stickers need to match on different parts then I either temporarily connect the parts or apply stickers when the parts are on the model.
Tweezers work most of the time but for larger stickers I use water with (lots of) Fairy liquid. That allows you to move the sticker slightly before pressing down and removing the water with a towel.
As for the model, I thought the Porsche was expensive for what it is. This set is smaller and more expensive making it really hard to justify. If you want a 48cm long display model, spend a few quid more and get the excellent Ecto 1.
@woosterlegos said:
"Is it fair to say most AFOLs suffer from pittakionophobia?"
It's funny when you get AFOLs complaining that 4+ sets get printed parts, while their low-volume collector sets use stickers to provide an abundance of decoration.
Clearly, Lego thinks that one of the target groups would have a harder time handling stickers and applying them correctly than the other, but maybe they have that estimation backwards.
TIL a new word: "gubbins"
@gunther_schnitzel said:
"pittakionophobia. Brilliant. Glad you don’t suffer from sesquipedalophobia."
I do now!
@bdc101 said:
"TIL a new word: "gubbins""
Wait, you already knew what pittakionophobia meant?
@M313 said:
"I think the wheels are the same as on the Land Rover Discovery. Maybe the size is different?"
Definitely the same Wheels as 42110. Smaller tires though. The Land rover uses 80mm tyres and this Ferrari uses 68mm tyres (both fit on the 56mm rims)
60 stickers. That's as many as 6 times ten. And that's terrible.
Even though I'm not planning to pick this up I'm glad to see an in-between size for Technic cars. The upper range is out of reach for a lot of people who would like to do LEGO supercars and the $50 sets just can't include the level of detail that sets these builds apart. This represents an ideal middle ground that should be more appreciated than it seems to be...
Why did LEGO make the ride height so high? It looks great, except that all the ground clearance makes it look like a rally car.
@Huw said:
"On the side of beams. It's difficult to tell exactly where to place them so they are centered due to the curved ends of the beam.
The one on the red 1x11 on the bonnet is the one I was referring to. The yellow Ferrari one on the visor is not so bad because the word can be used to determine the centre."
There should be a distinct line between the flat surface of the beam and the smooth end, once you get the hang of it you'll know what distance to leave when applying the sticker.
Getting the long side of the sticker aligned is more difficult imo, especially the very long ones (like the 1x11 one). Super unweildy, takes a lot of trial and error to make them look straight and without bubbles.
The ground clearance is far too high compared to the real one. It makes it look more like a rally car, much like a Lancia Stratos, rather than an endurance racing car.
@woosterlegos said:
"Is it fair to say most AFOLs suffer from pittakionophobia?"
I completely agree! I can see it’s not just me who hates stickers, I just wish for the newly branded 18+ sets they would print all pieces. I wouldn’t mind paying that little extra for prints
Thanks for the review, it looks great. At first I was afraid how it would look with all those stickers, but it actually looks quite nice. I appreciate, that you have a choice to omit them this time, since there seem to be no printed wheel arch elements like on the 42096.
I agree a red or white designer driver seat would have being fantastic and a co-pilot seat as well?
The build looks fairly simple with just steering and fake engine, I miss the days of the Supercar 8070 with opening 'gull' doors and rear spoiler lifting but this is on a smaller scale and more about design, although the pieces look fairly generic to me once you have the new wheel arches.
I do find the yellow and light blue pieces at the back and front distracting and a little odd looking compared to say red or black. In the Evo circuit car that TLG have chosen to copy these have sponsors adverts on them so make more sense, but would mean even more stickers!
They should have also used white connectors on the center of the bonnet and allowed the white stickers to reach the end of the red panels to give a more solid white area for the Italian flag. Similarly for the roof and rear the red vertical strips where the white stickers end diminish the impact of the flag, but I guess there is only so much you can do in Lego.
@Huw said:
" @bdc101 said:
"TIL a new word: "gubbins""
Wait, you already knew what pittakionophobia meant?"
reading these words has given me a case of Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia!
@lynels said:
"The ground clearance is far too high compared to the real one. It makes it look more like a rally car, much like a Lancia Stratos, rather than an endurance racing car."
Yes it is a bit high but that's to allow the suspension to compress.
I quite like it, I don’t like the price, however. Picked up the Porsche for about £80 a month or so after it came out. May consider this at a similar discount, but not for full price, just not good value. I think Lego seem to over price their sets just so Amazon etc can discount them to what they should be price at in the first place.
As for the stickers, wow 60, I guess this is just how it is with a set like this. I don’t mind them but only time will tell what they look like in ten years time! I think people of a certain generation have sticker hate because they are still picking the little flaking bits off the carpet from their older sets!
If you squint hard enough, it starts to sorta kinda look like the original. If you close your eyes completely, it will look the best.
@AustinPowers said:
"I don't understand this set. Just like all the other licenced display type sets in this theme.
Reading a statement like
"This has been designed purely as a display model"
makes my hair stand on end.
This is Technic. TECHNIC!
Since when does Technic lend itself to display models? We have Creator Expert (or 18+ if you will) for that. Why bother with the trouble of Technic pins and gubbins if all you want is a display model? I just don't get it. Then again, there hasn't been a good Technic set in years that deserves the name, so why change now. "
^ This! Stuff like this belongs into Creator Expert, or whatever name Lego settled on after the last few naming attempts. It will make the cars actually look good and accurate, and free up space for actual Technic sets.
@PjtorXmos said:
"Stuff like this belongs into Creator Expert, or whatever name Lego settled on after the last few naming attempts. It will make the cars actually look good and accurate, and free up space for actual Technic sets. "
+1
The thing I fear is that either TLG wants to let Technic die or that all the designers who are responsible for the great Technic sets of previous years have left the company or been reassigned to other tasks. I mean, people who designed sets like 8043, 42009, the Arocs or the Xerion can't have lost that much talent that all they can design nowadays is "display models" that don't even offer proper B-models anymore. Let alone desirable A-models.
"In other words, it looks great, but there's not much in it.
However, given that a common complaint of the larger models is that you can't actually see and appreciate the functions and mechanisms in them once they've been built, perhaps ..."
... perhaps TLG will start to release actual Technic sets, where there are innovative and interesting functions and all of them are visible, instead of "display sets", "sticker collections" and "smartphone-controlled RC toys".
“All-red Ferraris can look a bit boring...” ...unless it is one parked in your garage!
@Huw how easy is it for adult fingers to access the steering wheel? Can you drive it around ok without having the driver side door open?
Looks like its ready to hit the (rally) circuit. What's up with that ride height?
@snowymike said:
" @Huw how easy is it for adult fingers to access the steering wheel? Can you drive it around ok without having the driver side door open?"
Not that easily, but it can be done.
@huw, by any chance can you let me know the Design-IDs of the new parts please? Want to put them up the LDraw parts tracker.
Thanks!
Missed opportunity to show us a red street version! This set is therefore basically a 2-in-1 set. I’d love to see it :)
Also: too bad that it doesn’t have HOG steering, it would make it so much easier and the knob doesn’t even have to be that noticeable
You can see it sans-stickers in The Brothers Brick review, but as you'll notice you need to replace a lot of parts if you want it to look like a 'street' version.
@Huw said:
" @lynels said:
"The ground clearance is far too high compared to the real one. It makes it look more like a rally car, much like a Lancia Stratos, rather than an endurance racing car."
Yes it is a bit high but that's to allow the suspension to compress."
As a track car it may have been better/more realistic without suspension at all. Minimal roll and the car as flat as possible ;-)
Perhaps swap the suspension for built in neumatic jacks of some kind, like the real ones? Mmmm....
@Tinker97 said:
" @woosterlegos said:
"Is it fair to say most AFOLs suffer from pittakionophobia?"
I just wish for the newly branded 18+ sets they would print all pieces. I wouldn’t mind paying that little extra for prints"
Agreed.
I'm a bit conflicted with Technics sports car sets.
One minute I think this one looks great, but then I think how much better it would look as Creator Expert.
To me Technics works better for rugged or industrial type models, and not quite so suited to something thats supposed to be sleek.
Hence my last 2 have been the Liebherr and the 4x4 X-treme Offroader.
Regarding sticker placement, quote: "... once you've applied a few you get to know how much gap to leave around the edges". Shame that there are no spare parts supplied for the stickers you applied first. ;-)
Looks like this supercar/racing car sub-theme seems to be following an FIA World Endurance Championship GTE class sub-theme. Wonder if we'll see a Technic Corvette C8R or Aston Martin Vantage GTE in 2023...? That would make for the quite the display for all three together.
Notwithstanding whether you believe Technic should be producing functionally light display models.
@BeaR_the_Builder said:
"Regarding sticker placement, quote: "... once you've applied a few you get to know how much gap to leave around the edges". Shame that there are no spare parts supplied for the stickers you applied first. ;-)"
That's why often I only apply the stickers when the model, or part of it, is finished, so that it is easier to see how they line up nicely with other stickers, or with surrounding parts in different colours.
By the way:
Are my eyes deceiving me, am I mistaken or just hallucinating: Are there actually BLACK pins (3 studs wide) being used now? The two stud wide ones are still blue on my screen.
Edit: probably nothing changed, I was just too used to an abundance of blue pins.
@Huw , I think you placed brick 4211483 incorrectly on the roof on the left side from the front...
It's great you can see in the photo showing the front. :)
It should be directed to the inside.
Nothing groundbreaking, just a solid set that I am sure people will enjoy.
@PjtorXmos said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I don't understand this set. Just like all the other licenced display type sets in this theme.
Reading a statement like
"This has been designed purely as a display model"
makes my hair stand on end.
This is Technic. TECHNIC!
Since when does Technic lend itself to display models? We have Creator Expert (or 18+ if you will) for that. Why bother with the trouble of Technic pins and gubbins if all you want is a display model? I just don't get it. Then again, there hasn't been a good Technic set in years that deserves the name, so why change now. "
^ This! Stuff like this belongs into Creator Expert, or whatever name Lego settled on after the last few naming attempts. It will make the cars actually look good and accurate, and free up space for actual Technic sets. "
Large-scale display vehicles with a few functions like steering... Back in the glory days we had Model Team for this!
@ShadoWind said:
" @Huw , I think you placed brick 4211483 incorrectly on the roof on the left side from the front...
It's great you can see in the photo showing the front. :)
It should be directed to the inside."
Yes, I noticed that before the vehicle's second photo-shoot.
“ All-red Ferraris can look a bit boring”.....
Said almost no-one, EVER, until Huw!
Red Ferraris are the best, and simply stunning!
@woosterlegos said:
"Is it fair to say most AFOLs suffer from pittakionophobia?"
Had to look it up: definitely agree on that.
Please Huw, make pictures BEFORE you mess your LEGO up and post those as well.
@lemish34:
Where is the red in this Ferrari. Can't find it. Is it blue? Is it yellow? It's a friggin RAINBOW of a Ferrari.
It's mostly hollow.
It's got so many stickers and so few prints / parts of the right color.
Its doors are somehow crooked / misaligned / badly designed.
When you pick it up it literally flexes, the construction is not rigid enough.
It's overpriced for what it is.