LEGO Ferrari 488 GTE “AF Corse #51” Review & Lighting Journal

It seems the team at LEGO can read our minds from time to time over here at LMBHQ. Just when we were starting to mumble about wanting a new auto project to work on, LEGO goes ahead and announces the TECHNIC Ferrari 488 GTE ‘AF Corse #51’

An awesome looking TECHNIC set, the GTE appears to contain the same level of amazing detail as a Supercar, such as Lamborghini Sian or the Porsche 911 GT3 - just at a smaller scale, which helps with build time... and with the wallet!

At a reasonable piece count of 1677 our team had the GTE built in around 5 hours total, though a chunk of that was taken up applying two whole sheets of stickers! The final model measuring 13cm high, 48cm long and 21cm wide. Perfect for displaying in an office (our office!) or games room.

 

Once the build was complete (and all those stickers were very carefully applied!) it was time for our designers to put their thinking hats on. Viewing images online of the real endurance racer pointed out two things, there was a ‘daytime’ or regular auto electric lighting and a ‘night mode’ which saw the GTE lit up with a lot of intense neons for an interesting new way for race goers to view the car at night!

Ferrari 488 GT3 during the 24 hours of Le Mans

That left us with a couple of decisions to make, should we opt for the classic daytime race mode? Or head in a different direction with these crazy neons? Ultimately here at Light My Bricks, we’re all about authenticity and subtlety. While the night race mode certainly presented us with an alternative option to try out, it was just a little too intense for us! Especially for a traditional brand like Ferrari.

With our designers all on the same page with the direction of the kit, things then got off the starting line really quick. First order of business was the most important - the headlights. As mentioned above it was important to us to make sure the headlights were tinted as accurately as possible, after a series of trial and error we landed on quite a unique combination of three yellow bit lights and two large cool white bit lights make up what you see powering the GTE’s startling headlights.



During the design process of our last auto kit, the awesome Lamborghini Sian, our team tried to implement an NC Push Board to control the vehicle’s interior light. Unfortunately due to the LEGO car’s construction, size and unique door functionality there was just no where practical to place it! This time around however, the Ferrari was the perfect fit for the push board!

Finally, a really slick feature of the grand tourer’s overall design, is the exposed engine bay at the rear of the vehicle. Our designers couldn’t resist highlighting the LEGO V8 turbocharged horsepower. Ferrari fanatics can imagine the real car overtaking in a race and showing off those cylinders as it’s passes by!

And that’s it, the checkered flag has been waved! We really hope LEGO releases more of these mid-sized Technic auto projects, they’re the perfect lighting project for the model car fan in all of us, while being a lot more accessible than the next step up Supercar range! Which car would you like to see LEGO build next? Let us know via social media and tag us in your Ferrari 488 GTE posts!

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