F1 Academy Race Car (LEGO 77258)

About this set

This is the LEGO Speed Champions F1 Academy race car, set 77258, with 201 pieces in the box and a difficulty of roughly 3/5, making it a modest step up from a starter build. The finished model is an open-wheel racer in a yellow body with magenta, cyan, and black sections, and the contrast between those colors reads clearly at a glance on a desk. You can pick out the front wing, rear wing, and the halo device above the cockpit, and there is a steering wheel inside along with a minifigure that sits in the driving position. When building, I would put the chassis and the wing assemblies together first, then fit the colored body panels, because the wheels sit outside the main body and the suspension points and tire alignment are fiddly to correct once everything is closed up. Save the stickers and the thin wing elements for last so repeated pressing does not curl the edges. At 201 pieces this suits builders with a little experience who like racing subjects, or Speed Champions regulars who want a brightly colored open-wheel car; if you usually build large display sets, note that the finished car is fairly compact.