Explore Together: Racing Lion The King of The Jungle!
Written: Dec 09 '02 (Updated Dec 10 '02)
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Pros: No building required, inexpensive, tough and sturdy
Cons: Hard to find in retail stores, not much fun as a stand-alone set.
The Bottom Line: The Explore Together series of racecars provide a great deal of entertainment for younger kids and with a retail price of $2.99 you can collect them all without going broke.
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Systems LEGO - Explore Together: Me Racing Li... |
The third and final car in the Lego Explore Together racecar series is the Racing Lion. These sets require no building, are great for kids 18 months and older and are inexpensive. The intent of the Explore Together line is to introduce younger children to the world of creative play while allowing them to have a toy that will stand up to even the toughest little hooligans. My nephew went crazy over the Bob The Builder Duplo / Lego sets that I sent him and when I came across these at the Lego website I knew that he would fall in love with them. We got to try out all three sets before we packed them up and sent them to him and as a whole they are great sets but not much fun as stand alone toys. I highly suggest picking up a few of the bulk Duplo packs of bricks to enhance these sets. Younger kids that have expressed an interest in the Duplo line will more than likely go bonkers over these since they are easy to for little hands to hold and play with.
Racecar
I’ll admit it, the blue color does nothing for the overall aesthetics of this vehicle however it does allow you to see the minimal amount of detail that the designers put into it. Out of all the vehicles in this mini series, this one is my least favorite because of the miss-matched contrast of the red driver uniform and the blue color of the car. The cat design on the front of the car is identical to that of the Racing Leopard [1403] but it doesn’t look as attractive with the blue background. The car has four black glossy racing slicks [tires] with yellow rims and it’s the yellow rims that help to tie in the colors of the driver and car. There is ample room in the front of the racecar so smaller kids shouldn’t have any trouble getting the driver in and out of the vehicle.
Driver
Oddly enough, the racecar driver for this set is wearing a red uniform which sort of clashes with the color of the car. The stenciled uniform looks great on this little guy but when you look at the big picture the two colors just don’t seem to work well together. If you pick up all three sets you can swap this driver with the driver in the Racing Tiger [1404] set since that figure is in a blue uniform. The chunky style of the figure allows a smaller child the ability to work with the movable limbs, take off and replace the helmet and interact with the elements without getting frustrated. The helmet that comes with this set is blue and has a nice small stenciled image on it. Unlike the Lego sets that have drivers and helmets, there is no visor on this one so you can clearly see his eyes through the break at the bottom of the helmet.
As far as the racecar and driver are concerned, the color scheme could have been a little better however you do have the ability to switch the individual pieces within the three sets as well as within the whole Duplo line. These work well with the ramps and raceways from the Lego Racers series since the tracks and ramps are extra wide. If you are interested in picking up the individual ramps, tracks or raceways you can purchase these from online brick brokers and vendors.
Safety Cone
The safety cone image stenciled on the 2x1 chunky style block is a nice little extra. This brick can allow you to create a small pit area, create a racecourse or just have near the start or finish line. If you have extra Duplo sized bricks you can create a small pit area, stack some of them up to create turns in the course or just to simply raise it up a few levels. Since these sets are inexpensive you can pick up several of them to build up a stock of the safety cones – and by doing this you can also have a huge selection of cars and drivers. Having only one cone is kind of boring but I know my nephew has a ton of pieces from the Bob The Builder set that he can use as substitutes with this set. If that doesn’t work I am sure he can find something from the bulk packs he has to suit his needs.
Things To Know
Since these sets are geared for the 18 month and older crowd there really aren’t any major safety concerns except the helmet. This is small enough that a child could possibly fit it into his or her mouth however the small cut out on the front of the helmet prevents a suction situation from happening. Even though these come with a suggested age range of 18 months and older you really need to keep an eye on children that have limited experience with Duplo sized sets. If your child is in a “chewing mode” where he or she wants to taste test everything you need to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t chomp down on the helmet and break the bottom portion of the helmet.
In most of them Lego reviews I offer a suggestion on how to preserve the stenciled images. Normally I say use a clear nail polish or sealer however since these are for the little kids – make sure that if you coat the brick, racecar and helmet with a sealer that it is non-toxic. This isn’t something that is completely necessary however if you want to stretch out the life of your set – this is a great way to do so. Seeing as how these sets are less than $3.00 you can always pick up an extra set or two and keep them packed away so you can replace any items that are looking a little worn out or need to be replaced.
If you are looking to pick up these sets, your best be it to look online since none of the usual retail stores [Wal-Mart, Target, KB Toys] seem to have them stocked as of yet. I ordered my nephews sets from the Lego website and they were delivered in about a week. With the holiday season fast approaching you might want to try to track these down as fast as possible to have them delivered before December 24.
The Bottom Line
Even though this is my least favorite set in the series due to the horrid color scheme I had absolutely no regrets about buying this for my nephew. It has the same standard of quality as the other sets, can be interchanged with most Duplo sized elements and was a complete steal at $2.99 a box. The boys were a little nicer when rating the set and gave it an 8 out of a possible 10 [the same rating as all the sets in this mini series]. Personally I would have liked to have seen a few more accessory bricks added to the set even if there was a price increase of $1.00. This would have given a child a little more to play with and explore, so if you are purchasing these for the upcoming holiday season I highly suggest that you either pick up a few of the sets in the series or a bulk pack – it really will add to the overall appeal of the set and give them hours and hours of enjoyment.
The Stats
Set Name: Racing Lion
Family Set: Explore Together
Lego Set: 1405
Number of Pieces: 3
Age Recommendation: 1 1/2 and older
Ease Of Assembly: None, everything is pre-built
Time Of Assembly: None
Cost: $2.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Related Reviews:
Explore Together: Racing Leopard [1403]
http://www.epinions.com/content_83117117060
Explore Together: Racing Tiger [1404]
http://www.epinions.com/content_83095555716
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $2.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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