LEGO® Speed Champions has long been in pole position as a theme, bringing us great-looking cars put together with brilliant building techniques and useful new elements. It seems 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 is another winner...
Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.
76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23
- US$44.99/ £44.99/ 49.99€/ AU$74.99
- 564 parts
- Released 1 June 2024
LEGO Aston Martin set 76925 on LEGO.com
The elements
It's no big surprise that almost all the recoloured elements are green!
Recolours
First up, some new-for-2024 elements. Here are some of the angular ones:
More 2024 elements; this time curved:
- 2x Slope Curved 1 x 4 with Stud Notch Left (6493698 | 5415)
- 2x Slope Curved 1 x 4 with Stud Notch Right ( 6493701 | 5414)
- 1x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Left ( 6493350 | 5095)
- 1x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Right (6493346 | 5093)
If you like brackets, you're in for a treat: there's almost a complete family of them new in green. While the large 2x6 is a new-for-2024 element, the rest have been long overdue blooming in this verdant colour:
- 2x Bracket 1 x 6 - 2 x 6 Inverted (6493352 | 5090)
- 4x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 (6493342 | 99207)
- 4x Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 (6493669 | 99781)
- 1x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 (6493339 | 36841)
- 6x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Inverted (6493340 | 36840)
- 2x Minifig Neckwear Bracket [One Stud] – Reinforced (6499899 | 28974)
The wedges from last year's LEGO Speed Champions sets have been slowly appearing in more colours, this time green:
Speaking of elements from last year's sets, the new mudguard is now available in green, which will open up some more colour options for custom cars:
- 4x Wheel Arch, Mudguard 4 x 2 x 2 (6493343 | 3387)
Rounding out our list of green recolours is an eclectic mix of elements:
- 1x Sports Ski 6L (6493695 | 18744, 28922. 90509)
- 2x Plate 1 x 1 x 2/3 Half Round with Side Stud (6493351 | 3386)
- 1x Tile Round 1 x 2 Half Circle (6510079 | 1748)
- 2x Bar Holder with Hole and Bar Handle (6499902 | 23443, 49755)
- 2x Slope Curved 2 x 1 Inverted (6505133 | 24201)
- 1x Tile Round 1 x 2 Half Circle (6510079 |1748)
Finally, a lone transparent-black element completes our list of recoloured parts:
- 1x Panel 1 x 4 x 1 with Rounded Corners [Thin Wall] (6071299 | 15207)
That's a total of 56 elements new in green; 27 unique elements have been recoloured for this set. That accounts for more than 10% of the set's total parts. So, an amazing parts pack if you like green!
Decorations
The following elements are recoloured and decorated.
- 1x Brick Sloped 1 x 6 x 1 with 1 x 2 x 1 / 3 Cutout in Green with Back Underside, Yellow Stripes, White Sponsor Names print on Two Sides (6509832)
- 1x Slope Curved 3 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in Green with Headlight print (6494475)
- 1x Slope Curved 3 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in Green with Headlight print (6494476)
- 4x Dish 2 x 2 Inverted [Radar] in Black with White Spokes print (6472301)
- 1x Plate 1 x 2 in Green with White Aston Martin Wings print (6494477)
- 1x Tile Round 1 x 1 Half Circle in Green with '110', Aston Martin Wings print (6472300)
- 1x Windscreen 6 x 6 x 1 1/3 in Trans-Black with 'ASTON MARTIN', Green Frame print (6498792)
The set includes 2 sticker sheets, one for each car. The total number of stickers is a whopping 67!
The Vantage Safety Car sticker sheet is the smaller of the two, with a modest 17 stickers.
The AMR23 sticker sheet, on the other hand, contains about three times more sitting at 50 stickers.
That's a lot of decorations, but after assembling a few of the LEGO Speed Champions sets this year, I've become used to these decal-dense sheets. Thankfully, the decorations in this set aren't quite as small as the teeny tiny stickers found in the Lambo Vision which I looked at recently.
Minifigures
Both minifigures sport exclusive torsos: While the AMR23 driver's green jumpsuit is emblazoned with the Aston Martin logo and a few sponsors (6501269), the Dark Blue torso of the Vantage driver is simply printed with a more generic 'safety car' print (6501266).
The AMR23 driver's helmet is an exclusive part to this set: a black helmet featuring an Aston Martin logo on the forehead (6472299).
Rare elements
Not only is it a great parts pack for recoloured green elements; set 76925 contains a few rare elements which only appear in 2 other sets or fewer:
- 2x Equipment Cutlery - Spoon, Flat Bottom in Black (6475201 | 80179) – in 1 other set, 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car
- 1x Tile 1 x 2 in Black with Yellowish Green Rectangle, Black Squares print (6472237)
- 4x Wheel Rim 24 x 13.4 in Black with Black Slick Tyre with Yellow 'PIRELLI' print (6481568) – in 1 other set, 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car
- 1x Game Controller in Pearl Titanium with F1 Steering Wheel Controls print (6472255) – in 2 other sets
- 2x Plate Special 1 x 1 with Tooth in Trans-Red (6380301 | 49668) – in 1 other set, 76910 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro and Aston Martin Vantage GT3
- 1x Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 4 in Green (6411583 | 28802) – in 2 other sets
- 2x Window 1 x 2 x 2 2/3 with Rounded Top in Green (6493702 | 30044) – in 2 other sets, last seen in 2001
The build
AMR23
The AMR23 is remarkably well-rendered in LEGO bricks; a sturdy model that still looks as sleek and spindly as the real thing.
The AMR23 is pretty much a recolour of set 76919 McLaren Formula 1 Car, and at a glance the construction of the two may seem identical.
The differences between the two are more apparent when viewed from the back.
The minifig ski is once again cleverly sandwiched between those new wedge elements but this time a few extra 1x2 wedges add a few more curves and volume between the rear wheels.
The greatest difference is in the design of the spoiler. Where the orange McLaren relies heavily on inverted brackets, the green Aston Martin uses a clip with bar to gently hinge the 1x4 curved slope (6191) to achieve some subtle shaping. To me, these small changes enhance what was already a great design.
If you have already assembled the McLaren, this won't offer any new surprises, but for a thorough breakdown of that set please check out Tom's review of set 76919.
Vantage Safety Car
We have already seen a LEGO version of the Aston Martin Vantage in set 76910 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 which was released back in 2022 and now out of production. However, with plenty of new moulds introduced since then, I think the updated version we get here is quite an improvement, with the bodywork being better sculpted and with far fewer visible studs than before.
The rear of the car was a real treat to put together. I love how the spoiler is installed with minifigure neck brackets to provide just a sliver of green above the central light.
The brake lights are represented by trans-red cheese slopes. They are paired with upside-down green cheese slopes on an assembly which is held in place by one of my favourite SNOT techniques: a 1x1 Round Tile with Bar inside and a clip to reverse the direction of the studs.
I was also impressed with how seamlessly the rear window sub-assembly clips in to match up with the angle of the new 10º wedges on each side of the car.
Finally, at the front of the car, there's a clever use of brackets to get the shaping of the grill just right.
Thomas Jenkins' MOCs using parts from set 76925
A Trio of Trees
With all the new green elements it contains, set 76925 is a great parts pack for landscape builders.
I recycled some of the newly recoloured parts into a trio of trees. I wonder how far they will go to offset the Aston Martin carbon footprint?
Eta Actis-class Jedi interceptor
76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 finally introduces a number of recolours I've been waiting for patiently.
Earlier this year I built the Jedi interceptor that appears in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In fact, I built three of them: a dark red version and a yellow version from the Battle of Coruscant opening sequence as well as a dark blue version which Obi Wan uses to travel to the sinkhole planet of Utapau later in the film.
A fourth, green version also appears very briefly in the movie but until the release of this set there just weren't enough of the necessary elements in a single shade of green for me to build it.
Just like the F1 cars in this review, on the surface this model looks like a recoloured version but there are a few subtle differences in the design, like the pattern on the mandible-like wings at the front of the ship.
The new brackets, 1x2 tiles with notch, and grateless cheese slopes were essential to complete the model.
Techniques using old 1x1 clips and 1x1 lampholder clip lights
As well as those brand-new elements, I used a few much older elements from my collection, namely Plate Special 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical [Thin Open O / U Clip] (4085a & b) and Plate Special 1 x 1 with Clip Light [Thin Ring] (4081a).
These old elements, shown in yellow and red above, are long discontinued, replaced by newer versions (in bright green and blue above) which are thicker and stronger. This makes sense, but the thinner proportions of the old moulds open up game-changing techniques for MOC builders.
When 1x1 tiles are attached to each side of the old lampholder (4081a), you end up with what is essentially a 1x1-module cube (shown above bottom right). This opens up some super-smooth SNOT building solutions. This technique can be used to incorporate tiles to make patterns on 1M-thick assemblies like aircraft wings (above bottom left) or to fill up 1M square gaps in complicated SNOT constructions. Pairing the lampholder up with a 1x1 bracket (shown in yellow) is also a powerful combination for SNOT building.
Likewise, the older clip (4085a&b, shown in yellow above) can be invaluable for SNOT building. Unlike the newer version, the old clip can fit into the underside of a brick, so you can change the direction of studs in your MOCs by 90º.
Things can get pretty funky when you combine these old elements with more recent parts. (Once again, the old lampholders are in red above and the old style clip is yellow.)
A combination of the techniques outlined above were used to create the pattern and structure of the prongs at the front of the Jedi interceptor. I went through many different combinations to get a stable structure and for the green/grey pattern to be as accurate as possible.
Closing Thoughts
I had built the 76919 McLaren Formula 1 Car not long before I wrote this review and the AMR23 provided a very similar building experience. While I wasn't thrilled to be building what is mostly the same model for a second time, I do appreciate all the recolours the set provides: loads of green elements that will be useful for a variety of MOCs, particularly landscapes and foliage. Car collectors might also appreciate an opponent for their existing McLaren to race against.
The Vantage, on the other hand, provided a totally new experience for me as I hadn't built the version that appeared in the 2022 set. Some brilliant building techniques and all those green pieces contribute to a very cool-looking car which seems pretty close to the real thing, but perhaps a tad boxy.
As a MOC builder, I'm particularly happy with the pile of new green recolors, which features some long overdue brackets and 18°slopes.
READ MORE: Review of LEGO® City set 60420 Yellow Construction Excavator
Help New Elementary keep publishing articles like this. Become a Patron!
A huge thank you to all our patrons for your support, especially our 'Vibrant Coral' tier: London AFOLs, Antonio Serra, Beyond the Brick, Huw Millington, Dave Schefcik, David and Breda Fennell, Gerald Lasser, Baixo LMmodels, Sue Ann Barber and Trevor Clark, Markus Rollbühler, Elspeth De Montes, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Chuck Hagenbuch, Jf, Wayne R. Tyler, Daniel Church, Lukas Kurth (StoneWars), Timo Luehnen, Chris Wight, Jonathan Breidert and our newest top-tier patron, Brick Owl! You folks are just the cutest little baby bows.
All text and images are ©2024 New Elementary unless otherwise attributed.
The set overall has "only" 53 stickers (there are 2 from sticker number 14, 17 and 29), not 67. The numbers on the AMR23 sticker sheet start at 17, so it doesn't contain 3 times more stickers than the Safety car sticker sheet, only double.
ReplyDeleteBut it's still a lot of stickers for a 564 piece set.
At last, Pepper Roni has a modern, more durable neck bracket to do stunts with.
ReplyDelete