LEGO announces 10261 Creator Expert Roller Coaster!

April 26, 2018 | 44

I don’t get wowed often by LEGO sets, but my jaw literally dropped when this press release entered my inbox. LEGO have unveiled one of the most audacious sets in their entire history – 10261 Roller Coaster.

This 4,124 piece Creator Expert set is an actual, working LEGO Roller Coaster and is quite literally one of the most impressive LEGO sets that I have ever laid my eyes on.

Working LEGO roller coasters have always been a pipe dream for LEGO fans, but the lack of specialised parts has been a major obstacle in allowing people to create their very own working version of the classic theme park ride.

The LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster won’t come cheap, costing US$379.99 in the US, AU$499.99 in Australia and £299.99 in the UK. Australian price TBC, but my guess is AU$550. While super expensive, I think the set is worth every cent.

See below for regional product pages:

• LEGO 10261 Roller Coaster – US$379.99 [US]
• LEGO 10261 Roller Coaster – AU$499.99 [AUS]
• LEGO 10261 Roller Coaster – GBP£299.99 [UK]
• LEGO 10261 Roller Coaster – CAD$479.99 [CAN]
• LEGO 10261 Roller Coaster – €329.99 [EU]

The release date for LEGO 10261 Roller Coaster is 16 May 2018 for LEGO VIPs via the regular early access window.

LEGO rightly recognised that photos won’t do the set justice, so they were nice enough to share 2 videos showing the Roller Coaster in action. Watch them below and enjoy!

The Roller Coaster set, as the video suggests is absolutely enormous, representing a massive headache for adult LEGO fans who are probably already struggling to find adequate space to display their sets. The Roller Coaster model measures over 53cm (20″) high, 88cm (34”) wide and 41cm (16”) deep. It’s 20 inches tall!!!

Whatever the case, it’s bound to be an eye-catching display piece.

The triumph of this set’s design and engineering is two-fold. Firstly, it boasts a fully functional chain-lift to pull the 2 trains up towards the highest point, gaining potential energy as it climbs up the ramp. Something that would be very familiar if you’ve been on a roller coaster.

The second triumph is the introduction of the new roller coaster tracks AND train cars with low-friction wheels to enable it to use the power of gravity to hurtle through the Roller Coaster’s twists and turns. Utterly amazing.

The set includes special new-for-June-2018 elements including a 2x8x6 Rail Slope, 1x2x1 Bow Brick, plant leaves, stalks and flowers. The track consists of 44-pieces made up of 7 different rail elements.

You can also upgrade the Roller Coaster with LEGO® Power Functions for a motorized chain lift, or with LEGO BOOST for automated chain lift activation and realistic sound effects!

Apart from the mechanical marvel of the set, it also includes 11 minifigures, a ticket booth, cotton candy stand and plenty of cute little Easter eggs strewn across the set. 

I love this map of the LEGO theme park which features the Carousel and Ferris Wheel.

The Cotton Candy cart cleverly uses a pink version of the LEGO beehive.

I also love this height chart.

Lastly, the brick-built words are pretty neat.

I have to say that I’m blown away by this set, and kudos to LEGO for finally creating a working Roller Coaster model that I can buy. I know I’ve railed on LEGO for lacking innovation and risk-taking, but this is a great, refreshing and bold response from the team and I hope that we see more audacious sets like this.

The pricetag is extremely prohibitive but this one-of-a-kind set pretty much means that this goes straight on the to-buy list.

What do you think of the Roller Coaster? Is this a must-buy? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!