I'm breaking up the review into 3 sections- the ordering/shipping experience, the building experience, and my take on the design.
ORDERING / UNBOXING
AliExpress- $136
www.aliexpress...
They will remove the original packaging and ship you the part bags + instructions in a smaller unmarked brown box to save on shipping. From previous orders- the boxes typically have a foul odor- whcih permeats into the bricks themselves.
TaoBao- $83 + Shipping ($74) = $157 total
detail.tmall.c...
With TaoBao, you get the new, original, unopened box for only $20 more + it doesn't smell.
Taobao cons:
• Is in Chinese- you will need to translate the site to setup an account + buy
• Don't know shipping cost, they estimate 85 Yuan ($12) which is wrong
• After ordering- you need to keep track of the courier and when it arrives in the warehouse, pay to forward it to US
• Destination country customs- can probably reject package.
• No easy way to get tracking number
• Takes around ~ 1 week more than Aliexpress to arrive
• The original box had very little packaging and was damaged.
Shipping timeline:
2020-Oct-18: Place Order
2020-Oct-20: Order arrives at warehouse
2020-Oct-21: Starts international shipping
2020-Oct-24: Sent/Arrives in the US
2020-Oct-25: Clears customs
2020-Oct-30: Collected by courier
2020-Nov-01: Delivered
BUILDING
Cons
• The set has two boxes, and one manual.
• Each box has multiple numbered bags in it like Bag 1 being the engine, Bag 2 being the chassis, etc.
• There is an unlabelled bag containing connectors/studs/locking pins.
• My order had the rubber bands, plating, beams, etc. in the incorrect bags- this made building confusing.
• The hoses/ lights aren't cut to size- you need a scissor and do this yourself.
• The instructions colors don't contrast enough- and in some cases- use the wrong color.
• The angle at which some steps are shown make some assembly difficult
• LEGO sets usually have multiple checks (for instance- making sure the engine "pins" connected to the gear box are aligned properly)- these checks are missing with the Mould King set, are easy to miss, and require dissassembling the whole car if got wrong. This is particularly noteworthy for first time builders.
• Several of the exterior panel pieces had black scuffs on them
• The stickers blacks are like a dark brownish gray- so look weird when placed on black panelling.
Pros
The pieces look and feel as good as LEGO. In a blind AB test- I'd be hard pressed to tell what is and not genuine LEGO.
Even the grooves on beams have indents to make connected studs flush. This is ever so slightly different from actual LEGO- but acheives the same purpose all the same.
DESIGN
Cons
• Looks disprortionate near the other sets by LEGO.
• The interior pieces (seats, dashboard) are not reinforced and rattle around.
• The seats are 2 studs wide to all the 4 stud seats from LEGO.
• The stick/ gear changing lever is not pretty- and you may need to tilt the car for the gears to change.
• The interior is all black, and combined with the small windows and deep roof- makes it hard to see inside. LEGO uses big windows, or lighter interior colors.
• The wheels have no brake pads, brake disks, logo badge.
• The mechanism to raise/lower the spoiler sticks out beyond the spoiler and is visible. The bugatti employs a similar spoiler mechanism but is hidden away there.
• Personal, non-objective complaints here- but the rear wheels are farther back than the other sets LEGO has made, and there are some chassis pieces that aren't connected.
Pros
• The front light is made and looks really well. I think one of the spotlight features of the official sets are correctly mimicing the front of the car- likewise with this set- it's immediately tellable the front is that of a McLaren.
• The chassis, bonnet, bodywork, and build as a whole has been reinforced much more than other official sets- it honestly feels like a tank in terms of build quality. The roof has over 8 studs holding it in place, and the doors feel especially more solid than ALL of the current 3 officially licensed sets.
• The ability to see the engine pistons is really nice. This isn't the case with the Porsche, and is visible, albeit ever so slightly on the Bugatti and Lamborghini.
• HOG steering, and an easily accessible spoiler mechanism is a really nice QoL improvement.
#===============
CONCLUSION
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Overall- I'm pleasently surprised by the overall quality of the pieces- They feel just like LEGO when being put together. That said- for what is essentially a display model set, I have several gripes with the design, and panel quality (scuffs)- so I guess it's up to you whether you consider those a worthy tradeoff. If LEGO were to release this- it'd cost $350ish + tax, if you're to buy the parts right now from Bricklink- it will set you back ~$1200, so paying $130-$160 is a steal in comparison.
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