Review: LEGO Ideas 40448 Vintage Car (January 2021 Gift with Purchase)
January 1, 2021
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We made it to 2021! It’s the 1st of January, which means that a whole bunch of new 2021 LEGO sets are now available on LEGO.com!
In case you needed an extra reason to drop some Christmas money on some shiny new 2021 LEGO sets, there’s a brand new gift with purchase (GWP) available – 40448 Vintage Car!
Please enjoy this brief review of LEGO 40448 Vintage Car, in case you needed any convincing to buy some brand new 2021 LEGO!
This is a brand new promotional set that will be available from 1 January 2021, when you purchase above a certain threshold from LEGO.com or your local LEGO store.
Additionally, the LEGO Monster Book of Monsters is also available if you spend above AU$159 / US$75 / £75 of LEGO Harry Potter sets.
Special thanks to LEGO for providing this review set.
Name: Vintage Car
Set Number: 40448
Pieces: 188
Price: N/A (Gift with Purchase from LEGO.com)
Exclusive to: LEGO Brand Retail Stores, LEGO.com
Theme: Promotional, Ideas
Release Date: 1 January 2021
Dubbed the Aedelsten deluxe, LEGO 40448 Vintage Car is a pretty special GWP set – for starters, it’s housed within the LEGO Ideas theme. LEGO Ideas held a competition to build a Vintage Car in late 2019, and Arne Jahnke’s entry was voted as the winner, becoming the second LEGO Ideas set to find life as a Gift with Purchase.
The instruction manual has this lovely profile piece of Arne, including his inspiration behind his design, such as his own love of vintage car, and teal being his daughter’s favourite colour.
Here’s a look at the back of the box. Thankfully, despite being a LEGO Ideas set, 40448 Vintage Car isn’t afflicted with the yucky, bland and depressing all-black 18+ box design, and is bright and cheery, reflecting the retro roots of the vintage car.
Here are the contents of the bag. The build was brisk, and went by quickly, as you can imagine for a small set such as this, but it was a very enjoyable (if brief) affair, with some really clever build techniques used.
If you enjoy LEGO cars, you’ll enjoy putting the Vintage Car together.
There are 2 minifigures included in the set, and they both ooze vintage style. The female minifigure has a leather jacket on, and the male minifigure has a varsity jacket, both of which scream vintage, timeless fashion.
They also both have sunglasses because they are that much cooler than you – and also handy for cruising around in search of gorgeous sunsets.
Here are their back prints, and a look at the female minifigure’s alternate face.
I like to think that the minifigures are Arne and his daughter, cruising around town.
Here’s the finished vehicle – I love that curved “lip” of the car, and how the entire face comes together.
The first thing that grabs you is just how teal it is – it’s a very suave, sophisticated, rare-ish colour, and to have an entire car made out of teal elements just feels very indulgent somehow, and it sure makes it stand out against other primary-colour LEGO vehicles.
The stickers contain a reference to the designers, A for Arne, and M for Mel (as in Mel Caddick, famed Australian LEGO designer) who adapted Arne’s design for the production set.
The numbers 0937 are a common reference included in LEGO sets – viewed upside down, they spell “LEGO“.
I also love the upside down ice skates for the car’s hood ornament – a small, but brilliant use of the element to create such a striking feature.
Here’s how the Vintage Car looks from the side. The highlight of the car are its surfboard doors, which inject a dramatic and sophisticated curve, and texture to the car, especially when viewed from the sides.
Sadly, they’re also my least favourite part of the car, as they don’t attach well to the doors, and constantly fall off when I handle the car due to the weak “clutch power”.
Not one for kids, but a perfectly acceptable flaw if you only plan on displaying it.
Here’s a look at the back, which has the Cadillac-inspired curves.
And here’s the interior, which comfortable seats both.
I was really impressed with the upside down windscreen technique, which just gives the car a whole new dimension.
I’m on holiday at the moment, and actually brought this set along with me to build, photograph and review. So why not take it down to the beach to photograph it in its element!
Protip: sand and LEGO look great, but do not mix well. I’m still finding granules of beach sand in weird crevices of the Vintage Car.
With so many new LEGO sets released, such as hotly anticipated exclusives such as the Modular Police Station and Bonsai Tree, it shouldn’t be hard to reach the purchase threshold to qualify for the Vintage Car.
As a Gift with Purchase, this is certainly one of the more memorable ones, thanks to it being a LEGO Ideas set, and those into vintage cars or vehicles in general will love all the teal-y, retro goodness that 40448 Vintage Car oozes.
A massive congratulations to Arne Jahnke for his design, and the super special moment of seeing his entry become an actual LEGO set.
Rating: 3/5
LEGO 40448 Vintage Car will be available from LEGO.com (and LEGO Brand Stores) from 1 January 2021 onwards, and will be free with purchases of US$85, AU$169, and £85.
If you need help deciding what to buy, be sure to check out my preview on all the new LEGO sets released in the first half of 2021!
Special thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review.
