JimBricks

REVIEW - 42096 - PORSCHE 911 RSR

INTRODUCTION

Not too long ago, 2016 to be precise, I wrote a review about a big orange Technic Porsche. Only 2,5 years later a new Porsche is added to the Technic range! This new Porsche 911 RSR uses the same wheel arches as the 42056, but slightly smaller tires. It's hard to qualify the exact scale, but for roughly half the price, we can expect less detail than the previous one. At first glance I am very happy with the looks and especially the color scheme. Looking at the name of the set, the color scheme wasn't a surprise, since this is how the actual model looks like. That diffuser means serious business.

This review is less detailed than usual, but time was limited. Sorry about that. I do hope you enjoy it anyway!

PICTURES
Pictures can be clicked to view hi-res versions. More pictures can be found in my Flickr album.

DISCLAIMER
This set has been provided by the CEE Team of TLG. It's not my goal to promote this set. It's my goal to give you an honest opinion about it. Therefore, the opinion in this review is my own and is in no way linked to TLG.

SET INFORMATION

Number: 42096
Title: Porsche 911 RSR
Theme: Technic
Released: 2019
Part Count: 1580
Box Weight: 2266 gram
Box Dimensions: 47,7 cm x 37,2 cm x 9,0 cm
Set Price (RRP): € 149,99
Price per Part: € 0,095
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

THE BOX

CONTENTS OF THE BOX

The box contains:

1x Sealed booklet
2x Sticker sheet
4x Tires
13x Unnumbered bag

BOOKLET

STICKER SHEETS

Two sticker sheets, with loooooots of stickers. There is even a completely white sticker, without a print. Seriously?!

TIRES

BAGS

HIGHLIGHTED PARTS

WHEEL ARCHES
Okay, let's get the big black-red-grey-white elephant out of the room. If you know a bit about TLG's sticker policy you will know that TLG avoids applying stickers to curved surfaces. And by curved I mean curved in multiple directions. So, it wasn't (or rather should not have been) a surprise that the wheel arches are printed. But man o man....are you kidding me?! These look like stickers I applied after a couple of brewskies....several brewskies....lots of brewskies! I totally understand the difficulty of printing these parts, but I expect more from a company claiming that only the best is good enough. Two thumbs down for these arches.

CANOPY
Clever use of the Windscreen 6 x 4 x 2 1/3 Bubble Canopy with Handle.

7 x 3 CURVED PANEL
I almost missed this one, but it's the first time we get this one in white.

3 x 13 CURVED PANEL
Thank you TLG for finally providing this part in white!

BANANA GEARS
We have seen these 11x11 Curved Racks in the Rough Terrain crane, but they are cleverly used in this set too.

PINS AND CONNECTORS
Not all of these connectors are new, but the Pin with Ball Joint has never been released in red. And the Pin with Pin Hole has never been released in white before. And the Axle with Pin Hole has never been released in black before.

PART LIST

The part list for all of the 1580 parts.

THE BUILD

Unsurprisingly, we start building the chassis, with the rear suspension.

Here's the front suspension with steering rack.

The chassis with front and rear suspension.

The single seat and steering wheel have been added. The water-cooled six cylinder 4.0 liter boxer with 510 hp (375 kW) has been placed behind the driver's seat.

Wheel arches and doors have been added. The car is taking shape.

Yes, there is a sticker with track information applied to the inner side of the door. In case you get lost hehe.

The front of the car looks spectacular. I love the usage of the "banana gears" and curved panels. I also like the canopy parts. I know they make the car look like a frog, but I still like ' em. They work for me.

Like the front, the rear of the car looks stunning too. I absolutely love that big bad-ass diffuser. The hoses and panels complete the package, along with the big spoiler. Thumbs up for the rear.

These are the left-over parts.

COMPLETED MODEL

We proudly present the Frog 911 RSR. I'm just joking, because I absolutely love the looks on this car. The color scheme is spot on. Maybe it's because I am working on a Mindstorms project with the same color scheme :wink:

I am not sure what to think of the gap behind the front wheel arch. Actually, I do know what to think of it. I think it isugly and it makes the car look unfinished. This is probably because of the door which needs to open, but I am not convinced this is the best possible solution.

Obligatory picture of the chassis.

Isn't she a beauty?! I love this shot.

What I don't like is the abundance of white stickers. And by white, I mean actually white. The color of the stickers don't match the white on the panels, at all. A very simple solution would have been to print the stickers off-white, instead of pure white. Printing the stickers in pure white even resulted in the need to apply a totally white sticker to one of the roof panels. A white sticker to match the other roof stickers, otherwise the color difference would have been even more obvious. I can't get my head around this approach, because a very simple solution seems to be available. Another approach would be transparent stickers, but I haven't seen those in a while.

The doors and the engine cover open up. Combined with fake engine, steering and suspension, that pretty much sums up the functionality in this car. There is no HoG (Hand of God) steering, which is a huge let down for me. I can imagine the people at Porsche had a say in this. Makes you wonder whether the licensed approach, over proper functions, is the right path for TLG to take.

The wind shield wiper is fixed in place by the way.

The side view shows that the wheels are slightly too small for the car. Or the wheel arches are slightly too big hehe. The size of the wheels just doesn't feel right. Of course, there is limited choice in wheels, so I understand this choice. No biggie.

All things considered, the car is eye candy!

A final view of the rear, because this is most likely the part of the car that you will see most, unless you are a really good racing driver :wink:

COMPARISON WITH 42056

This review would not be complete without a comparison with the 42056 - Porsche GT3 RS.

When you are building this model, you get the feeling that you are building more or less the same scale, maybe because of the wheel arches. But looking at the comparison images it is clear that this model is indeed a different scale. This obviously explains the lower part count and price.

Both fronts have that distinctive Porsche look. I like the canopy style headlights.

This picture from the rear clearly shows the difference in scale. The orange one has a much bigger ass :wink: I do think the RSR's rear design is much cooler than the RS3's. I know it's not fair to compare a street-legal car with a circuit racer. I would love to see someone give a go at an RSR version in the same scale as the 42056. Actually, I am surprised I haven't seen one made by @JunkstyleGio in LDD yet, but I might have missed it :wink:

B-MODEL

Like the previous Porsche, there is no official B-model for this car. I'm sure some fan made B-models will pop-up.

SUMMARY

To be honest; I am torn between two opinions. My first opinion is that this is a stunningly beautiful car. I absolutely love the color scheme and looks on this baby. I can't stop looking at it and it looks so much cooler than the 42056.

My second opinion is that the printed panels and stickers look horrible. This may sound confusing, because I just said it looks stunning. Well, it looks stunning from a distance, in a cupboard or something. You can see a lot of flaws from close by. The lack of HoG steering is also a bit let down for me. Basically, there is zero playability, so yet another display piece. The 42039 had some simple functions, which made the car fun to play with.

Like the 42056, this is just another display model. A display model depending on lots of stickers. Would I recommend it?! You bet I would. Why? Because it's reasonably priced and I can't stop looking at it. I will probably get a second copy and have a go at a Porsche 911 EV3 :wink:

PROS