Is it worth getting all 12 LEGO 71049 Formula 1 Collectible Race Cars?

Ahead of the release of LEGO 71049 F1 Collectible Race Cars, here’s an honest evaluation of whether it’s worth collecting them all.

Change isn’t always popular and 71049 F1 Collectible Race Cars is certainly a change. With no minifigures to be found, it’s certainly different from all the LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series that have come before – but does that mean it’s not worth your time?

We were pleasantly surprised by how fun most of the cars are to build when we got them for review, so we certainly wouldn’t right them off completely. However, unlike minifigures that are often very distinct with their own accessories and characterisations, it’s certainly true that the differences between the cars are smaller.

With that in mind, let’s dig into the series of 12 in more detail and evaluate whether it’s worth collecting all of 71049 Formula 1 Collectible Race Cars.

A full grid, without any fluff

Getting a full grid of 20 cars can be an expensive endeavour. The full LEGO City range that you’d need to buy to get all 10 cars would be well over £200, while getting doubles of them would obviously be twice as much. If you cut out all of the side builds and go straight for the cars-only LEGO Speed Champions sets, that’s still in a similar region.

If you use Brick Search to scan your way to two of all 10 Formula 1 teams, that’s just under £70 total. Then you have a grid ready to go, as well as some surprisingly sturdy sets for their size.

Small enough for play

Speaking of which, despite being made up of just 29 pieces each, each car from 71049 is pretty durable. Small enough for even tiny hands to play with, the lack of a minifigure does have the benefit of the entire car being a pretty unified build. That lends it well to play, as well as the potential to experiment with stunts that you might not want to with larger LEGO sets.

The LEGO Speed Champions Formula 1 wave, for example, is incredibly detailed but that means it’s also pretty delicate. At just 29 pieces, there’s not a lot that can fall off these diminutive cars – so feel free to send them flying down tables, zooming across shelves, or anything else. It encourages you to be a big kid again.

The only representation of Formula 1 and F1 Academy

We’ve been talking a lot about collecting all 10 Formula 1 teams but there are two cars that don’t contribute to that: the Formula 1 and F1 Academy teams. This is the only representation we’ve had for F1 Academy and general Formula 1 branding and the printed tiles are some of our personal favourites from the entire set of 12.

Considering that neither of these entities have real liveries or cars, we wouldn’t expect them to show up again in other themes, so it’s now or never for these cars.

Admittedly repetitive

Of course, that’s not to say that there aren’t any fair criticisms to level against 71049 F1 Collectible Race Cars. The building processes are identical and can be pretty repetitive, so collecting them all isn’t exactly signing up for a series of scintillating builds. The biggest differences are the printed tiles on the rear wings, and the colour schemes of course, but the silhouettes are all identical.

That means there’s not a lot of variety between them. If you like uniformity, that might not bother you – but for people wanting a diverse display of cars, LEGO Speed Champions would be a safer bet.

Should you buy a full set?

Ultimately, 71049 F1 Collectible Race Cars is pretty much what it says on the tin. If you look at the pictures and are just annoyed at the lack of minifigures, perhaps it’s not for you.

However, if you’re a Formula 1 fan who just wants a little memento of their time, or a way to have a tiny version of the highest level of motorsports on display, you could do a lot worse than a full set of 12.

Don’t forget to use Brick Search Plus to find your favourites, available to download now on Android and iOS devices. Plus, there’s still time to pre-order a full box of 36 at a discount at Brick Deals, available until midnight on April 30 for just £106.21.

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