Review: 60396 Modified Race Cars
Posted by benbacardi,
We recently reviewed the first and second of LEGO's small City race vehicle sets released to tie in with their latest video game, 2K Drive. Today I'm taking a look at the third, 60396 Modified Race Cars - two more vehicles and drivers, and some additional accessories, which can all work together with the other two sets in the range.
Summary
60396 Modified Race Cars, 359 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 7.0p / 8.4c / 8.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Well-built cars that are perfect for racing around, with the fun of some interchangeable upgrades.
- Great, well-designed cars
- Fun upgrade accessories
- Good customisation options
- None
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
As before, the box features a small "Play it in 2K Drive" logo in the upper right, but this is the only mention of the game in the entire set:
Minifigures
The set comes with two minifigures, providing a driver for each car. Like the previous set in the range, both have plain black legs, but their torso prints are new. The first, a female driver, is sporting a silver and black zip-up suit, with turquoise arms and detailing. She's wearing orange racing goggles and a determined expression beneath tousled brown hair. The second driver's expression is more cocky, with a slight sideways smile, and slick blond hair. His suit, although still zip-up, is a slightly different design, and the highlights are a vibrant coral. The design of both is very detailed, futuristic, and looks excellent.
The suit's sci-fi inspired design continues onto the rear. An alternative expression is provided for the female driver, with a simple smile, but there is no additional face printing for the male driver.
Black helmets with clear visors are provided for both drivers. I always find that I lose their hairpieces when they're wearing the helmets - it's a shame there isn't a solution to this, but the helmets would have be enormous to cover any hair they may have!
The Vehicles
The first of the two vehicles is a green off-road buggy. A recessed air intake sits in front of the green-tinted windscreen, and Nexo Knights shields make for good panels on the rear of the cab. The silver highlights running the length of the vehicle look excellent, as do the green headlights beside the front bumper.
At the rear, a green spoiler sits above a row of red lights. The canopy for the cabs is attached solely by the studs at the top of the windscreen, and is easily removed for the driver to sit inside. This vehicle is intended to be driven by the turquoise-suited driver.
The second vehicle is a smaller, more sleek race car. The pink, blue, and black colours look excellent, particularly with the pink tinted-windscreen and the way the colours run in stripes down the length of the vehicle.
The wheels make use of the relatively recent dual-moulded part, new to this set in its fourth colour. Here, 2x2 round tiles clip over the rims perfectly to create a very slick look. Once again, silver accents are dotted around the vehicle, and a pink spoiler is attached above the rear lights and exhaust cluster.
Customisation
The set is called Modified Race Cars for a reason, and the final bag contains the parts necessary to build three upgrades that can be attached to either vehicle. In my previous review of 60395 Combo Race Pack, I noted that each car was built around four 1x2 rounded bricks with bars; one at the front and rear, and one on each side. These cars are built to the same standard, and the upgrade accessories are designed to clip into the bars on either side of the cars.
There are three modifications available: rotor blades to enable the car to fly, missile launchers (with bright blue missiles), and a pair of rocket boosters. They're all built around an assembly that incorporates a pair of clips, enabling them to be attached either side of each car, such as the missiles below:
The rotor blades:
And finally, the rocket boosters:
Combined with the fact that the front and rear assemblies are also built and attached to the same design standard as in the previous review, there is a lot of possibility to mix and match the vehicle design across all three sets for a large degree of customisability.
Conclusion
Similar to 60395 Combo Race Pack, the vehicles in this set are excellently made for their size. They are perfect single-seater cars, a lot of fun to drive around, and the bright colours give them a very appealing look.
The upgrade accessories provided add another level of play and are well-built for such small assemblies. Coupled with the additional customisability afforded by the standard body design across the entire range, this increases the opportunity for play quite substantially, particularly if you also own either one or both of the other sets in the range. My children have had a lot of fun firing the missiles at each other, and racing the vehicles around the house.
Once again, the integration with the video game can only be described as tentative as best. There is nothing beyond the branding on the box, and although I assume you can find the cars in the game itself, the two are not connected at all. The set itself is none the worse for it though; it is an excellent small build.
60396 Modified Race Cars will be available at LEGO.com from August 1st for $29.99, £24.99, or 29.99€.
93 likes
28 comments on this article
Fun little set.
Well the 'upgrades' can go straight in the part bins, but the cars themselves are excellent!
You know what, these aren't bad at all. I like the cyberpunk colours and the minifigs have a nice reusable look to their bits. I don't know if I £25-like them but I'll keep an eye out.
'MASK crusaders . . .'
Love the Cyberpunk designs, but those ‘upgrades’ will go straight to the part bins.
Some nice metallic silver parts are always welcome
Uh you've mistyped on the word "Knights" Mister @BenBacardi sir.
Great mini-series of articles. I purchased all 3 sets already and am looking forward to build them and integrate them in my city. Thanks for taking the time!
I swear this was up earlier today. Strange it's back to the top of the page again....
Best of the three sets IMHO - great cars, and let's not be so quick to dismiss the "upgrades" as only good for the parts bin. When I was a kid playing with my beloved Lego sets, I would have adored something like his, with accessories and upgrades reminiscent of Speed Racer. Great colors, great six-wide designs, great price per piece.
I really like the pink and black car. Has major TRON or Agents 2.0 vibes to it.
the purple/black/blue car has nice synthwave vibes
Someone at Lego has been watching short lived 80s cartoon series methinks
https://youtu.be/mpQ5E6XgSGY
Good to see children's opinions being considered in these reviews. When it's appropriate, keep them in
@Murdoch17 said:
"I swear this was up earlier today. Strange it's back to the top of the page again...."
It's a repost. For some reason the comments had been shut off at 8 comments, and the review itself was no longer viewable. I posted a comment, but it never materialized. I suspect they are related.
Yes! More trans-green windscreens!
It’s been a sorely neglected aspect of Classic Space for too long now.
Her reverse head print scares me….
"I always find that I lose their hairpieces when they're wearing the helmets - it's a shame there isn't a solution to this, but the helmets would have be enormous to cover any hair they may have!" Yeah, I don't have a problem with extra Lego, but keeping track of extra hair or headgear pieces gets to be a pain. which is why I generally put them beside the drive in Speed Champions sets, except for 76906, due to its non-standard cockpit design. That said, I like this one. Interesting use of the bullbar element on the off-roader.
The cars look nice. A bit colorful for me, but nice.
@Terry_Wright said:
"'MASK crusaders . . .'"
If only!!
I really like these a lot. Best set of the line imho. The TRON vibes mentioned by @WemWem certainly help too.
@Diggs2145 said:
"Someone at Lego has been watching short lived 80s cartoon series methinks
https://youtu.be/mpQ5E6XgSGY
"
I knew it was going to be that before I clicked the link
@LegoMartian27 said:
"Her reverse head print scares me…."
To honest, that's what I think of every double faced head.
The med azur car is my favorite. I need this for Wild Style, it looks like it was made for her!
@Diggs2145 said:
"Someone at Lego has been watching short lived 80s cartoon series methinks
https://youtu.be/mpQ5E6XgSGY
"
Well, in the immortal words of Stavros "That was a bast from the past"
@peterlmorris said:
"Yes! More trans-green windscreens!
It’s been a sorely neglected aspect of Classic Space for too long now. "
Trans Green was always bag-guy parts in my Space days :)
Just fired up the game, and as of the 2nd August, all of the vehicles from the 3 "2k drive" sets are available in the in game shop.
Liking the trans light blue curved slopes. Great for vehicle headlights.