Review: 42058 Stunt Bike
Posted by iso3200,(Please welcome new reviewer Chris, aka iso3200 -- Huw).
I have always viewed the Technic range with a half open eye. Some sets however have leapt out at me as must haves. These sets without fail have been at the top end of the budget – flagship sets if you will. I usually pick up just one or two a year - enough to scratch the Technic itch.
As far as the smaller Technic offerings go, they have never excited me enough to actually buy them. So the question is, have I been missing out? I am keen to find out.
For 2017, the Technic range brings us the 42058 Stunt Bike and 42059 Stunt Truck at pocket money prices, and I have my hands on the Stunt Bike to review. Let's see what we get.
The Box
The box is a small 260mm x 140mm affair with the front depicting the product (of course) and an inset graphic showing that this set has a pull back friction motor. Great – we have got some function - exactly what any good Technic set should have.
Turn the box over though, and we have got a nice little surprise. Much like last year's combination of the 42046 Getaway Racer and the 42047 Police Interceptor, the Stunt Bike can be combined with the Stunt Truck to make another model, and it looks pretty cool in my opinion – a six wheel vehicle that makes good use of the colour palette available.
The instructions will be found online for this model shortly after release. Unfortunately, I am not here to review the six wheeler, but I already feel a little better about what I have in front of me.
The Parts
What's inside the box? As you would expect at this level, not a lot. Two small bags of parts, a couple of tyres, beams and the friction motor. 140-pieces to be precise. There is one other item – a thick matt laminated piece of card. We will come to that in a bit, but it is a clue that the designers really want this set to be played with. There are three stickers for application.
As far as new parts go, there are a few of interest. Firstly is the printed white 1x3 beam that celebrates the Technic range 40th anniversary. This is included in every Technic 2017 set. The parts that may be more useful are re-colours. We have a Bionicle Eye, appearing for the first time I believe in yellow, and and a 2M Bush in light bluish grey.
The Build
You are not going to find anything here that you have not come across before - it is a pretty basic set after all. There are 50-steps in the instructions, the first half concentrate on the chassis and framework. The Anniversary piece is added near the beginning, but the model does not really need it. It is also fitted so the text points down and can not be read when viewing the model from the top.
The second half consists of the bodywork and detailing. The only fiddly bit I had was pushing the 2M bushes into the silver ribbed hose. Fortunately there are only three stickers to apply – the fuel cap and two tank pieces.
As you can see from these before and after images, the look changes quite dramatically so it is well worth applying the stickers. I also took the opportunity to turn the Anniversary logo over as it seemed a shame to hide it.
For me, this model certainly has a best side. Turn it around and you will see a 3-gear mechanism that drives the rear wheel. This really jumps out at the viewer. I appreciate that it has to be there for the function of the bike, but it is a little ugly looking. I would say this is more of a comment than a criticism as I can not see how they could hide it within the confines of a bike frame. There is a more serious problem with this mechanism though and I will address that in a moment.
For placing on a shelf, it is obvious which way around to show it, and the completed model has a strong and menacing stance.
Finally, this is where the piece of card comes into play. The card itself is very thick. It has to be folded along the creases and then is held in shape by means of two beam pieces with a pin at the rear and a pin and rubber foot at the front.
I found that the card was very springy, and it tends to bow outwards even after the beams are fitted. I could have probably been a bit more forceful along the folds to combat this, but as it was a review copy and the only one I had to photograph, I did not want to risk any damage.
Playability
It is that age old concept that any small boy or girl will be familiar with. Put the ramp on the floor, line up the bike, pull back on the friction motor, let it go, then watch as it jumps off the ramp and crashes somewhere random. The motor, if you have never used one, does the job well enough.
The ramp, due to the rubber front feet, stays in place quite well too. It is fun for the first five minutes but grows old pretty quickly from an AFOL perspective. I am sure that a younger owner would enjoy it much more, and competing with a friend who had the companion Stunt Truck would surely enrich the experience.
For the purposes of this review, I thought I would give it a good workout. I was interested to see how it would stand up to a bit of punishment, and if I could break it. I gave it plenty of jumps, crashed into walls etc., and it proved to be quite a sturdy little beast.
The designers have been careful not to add too many details that would simply come off every two minutes. The only part that pinged off was one of the 1x1 round tiles that form the headlights. After 20 minutes or so, a quick inspection showed that a few of the connections were a bit loose, but that was about it. A quick squeeze and it was ready to race again.
My main gripe goes back to the 3-gear wheels on the rear of the bike. Whilst pulling the bike back to wind the motor up, I pinched a finger in it not once, but twice. Ouch! Not so bad when you have fingers like sausages but a smaller finger may get pinched a little more. I am surprised this was never noticed at testing stage to be honest. Nobody wants a blood blister after all!
Conclusion
So all in all there is some good, bad, and ugly. The question I posed myself at the start of this article was had I been missing out? Actually, I probably have been. This set would have likely passed me by had I not been sent it mysteriously in the night. It has persuaded me enough to buy the partner Stunt Truck just so I can build the 6-wheeler at some point in the future, and I will certainly take more notice of the smaller Technic range from now on.
Whereas last years models were marketed purely as racers, this years gimmicks are the stunt ramps. I do not think the ramp adds a huge amount of value to the set to be honest, as the stunts that the bike is capable of are, well, just jumps. I also do not think either the Stunt Bike (or Stunt Truck) are as aesthetically pleasing as last year's racers, although together, the combination model 6-wheeler does look pretty good.
If you have already got a Technic Racer or two and loved them, then this is more of the same and you will want to pick it up, especially as it is the only Technic bike at this size. However, if you have been there and done those, it really offers nothing new and will likely be an easy pass.
Value for money? At the moment I can only find a price of $19.99 US, so for the UK I am guessing the same £17.99 price point as the existing racers. I would not be rushing to buy at that price, but if there was an Amazon deal or similar around 25% off I would probably bite.
Thanks for LEGO for providing the set to review. The review is an expression of my own opinions.
46 likes
28 comments on this article
welcome to the review team!
Congrats on the new job @iso3200. :)
Nice review taking in both target audiance and AFOL perspective.
Looking forward to reading more reviews.
Nice review! Two things though:
- A pullback motor is not the same as a friction motor
- It's a pity you haven't bought smaller sets before. It would have been nice to compare this to the pullback racers from 2002: 8354, 8355, 8370, 8371.
Great review. Interesting that the overlooked the gear wheel problem. That's a major one.
Thanks for the review! With the right discount I could be tempted to get this for the pull-back motor...
Excellent first review! And the pics?
Great review, thanks! Love the pictures as well, especially of the one 'in flight'
Welcome, Chris! You're off to a flying start! :-)
Nice review, Chris :-) Nice photos too. Done a bit of photography before? ;-D
good review
Welcome Chris! Nice review. This may get me to start building some Technic models.
Nice review! Thanks!
Welcome aboard to the review team! I'm on of those Technic builders that also just buys a set or two a year but sticks to the medium sized builds. Never really considered the small builds and still think its a pass. Thanks for the review. Great pics!
Excellent review!
Nice review, I wish you a lot of fun in the reviewing team!
This reminds me of the old racers with the ramps like my favourite 8490 Desert Hopper. Those were extreamly fun as a kid and the ramps made them the best pullbacks of them all. (I probably had all of them). Nice rewiew!
Welcome Chris! Excellent review.
Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone :-)
@Duq yes, after a little research (well, Wiki) I can see that there is a technical difference between a friction motor and a pull back motor. I'd never really given that a thought so thanks for pointing it out. The big print on the end of the box that I opened (not a side that pictured in my review) shouts Retro Friction so it was an easy link to make. I can see that this is actually the French language version now.
Welcome to the crew!
Good review. Bike looks a bit rubbish, TBH, but only because it doesn't do much besides the friction motor...
Hi Chris, it's a great review - strikes the balance perfectly between clear photography angles, study of the build and any functional details. It would be easy to focus a lot on one of those things but I like the rounded approach!
I'm almost tempted to relive the years of early Racers ramps and get this one or the stunt truck to jump the model down the stairs. Something weirdly compulsive about wind back motors and ramps...
Really enjoyed the review! I especially enjoyed the play-value testing. Definitely a unique angle to the set!
Thank you for the awesome review!
It looks like replica style, and would be the most good looking small series if it together with stunt truck.
However, where can I buy it?
Awesome review. Welcome to the team. I am looking forward to the 2017 Technic sets and I like the compact, strong build that this set represents.
I like this set. It reminds me of those futuristic bikes from that old N64 game xtreme G. I'll pick this up.
Good job, I will read your subsequent reviews for sure. And of larger sets hopefully ;)
Great inaugural review: detailed, multiple perspectives for content and photos, the full works! I think the bike doesn't look bad (from its better side) without the stickers, but the 2002/03 bikes look better IMHO. The proportions of the wide tires and long chassis make this one look to me more 'blocky' than its predecessors.
Great first review. Well done.
Nice review. I will be looking out for this set for my son, and the companion set.