By Bianca Preusker (SAFOLs Memeber. CapeLUG Member)
An unexpected delight
I am no motorbike fan. So, I admit a certain amount of surprise at just how much fun I had with this build. I particularly enjoyed the mix of Technic and system techniques. The high reliance on system bricks made the start a little fiddly, and bits seemed to keep coming apart from a hard stare to start with. After a while everything came together in the most surprising ways and the final product was sturdy and robust. It is not only an iconic display piece, but also delightfully playable. The word swooshable springs to mind.
LEGO® designer Mike Priaki made magic happen, with mostly conventional parts put together in some innovative ways to create the unique and instantly recognisable shape of the Harley. I like the simple design, not too cluttered with unneeded greebling and, being a bike, a lot of the beautiful engine design is visible in the final product.
As an AFOL I was especially interested in the instruction booklet, which contained an interview with Mike Priaki. It is fantastic to read a little more about the process of making a design like this one. The timeline of the company also made for interesting reading.
One of my favourite aspects of the build was the use of the light blueish grey barrels in the exhaust. Brilliant! And the wheels… The tyres and the rims were especially designed for this set, and really look great.
Pros
- Creative parts use
- Beautiful eye-catching design
- Interesting Instruction Book
Cons
- Bit fiddly in some stages
- “only” 1023pc – I would have enjoyed a slightly longer build
In summary: I really enjoyed building the Harley. The techniques were interesting and varied and the final result is a beautiful rendition of an absolute icon. I highly recommend it.
Images from the official press release.
