LEGO Technic 42153 NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 detailed building review
Hi everyone, this is Balazs from RacingBrick! This is my second review from the March 2023 Technic wave, if you missed the video about this excellent Ford GT then I suggest to watch it by clicking on the link in the top right corner. Today I will review another licensed car from this batch, this is the 42153 NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1! You can see the car on a racetrack with a very blurry background on the front of the box with all the necessary badges around it. The rear view of the car is on the back
of the box, together with some illustration of, well technically all of the Technic functions. You can also see the real car in a surprisingly naked form – remember we are talking about a NASCAR vehicle – and some impressive data. Now let’s open the box! The set has 672 pieces, the price is 49,99 EUR / USD and it will be available from March 1st. There are 4 numbered bags inside, 4 separate tires, the manual and a huge and very-very flashy sticker sheet. I’m not sure how visible it is on camera but the product photos really cannot
show you what to expect, this is full throttle 80’s laser disco ball vibe baby! Here’s the manual, we don’t get any information about the original model
list if you are interested, now let’s start building! This is how the process begins, and here comes the crankshaft that again uses these older cam pieces we saw reappearing in some 2022 sets and the Bugatti Bolide as well, apparently this is the new standard setup for the small scale engines. I like the support configuration with this Y shaped brown connector, although it is quite tricky to put that bush in place and insert the cross axle, but when you succeed it looks pretty cool. Yet another interesting piece, this Technic half-pin with the extra hole here only
appeared in a single non-Education set so far, and that was the T2 Camper Van in 2021. Here I guess it will be used a stopper for the steering arms, I wonder if it has any different effects than the good old half pin with a 1×1 tile added. That one practically has the same height, but a somewhat larger diameter. Time to add the pistons and as you see LEGO designers took on step forward with the simplification, after using the cross axles and half bushes we are down to the simple 3/4 Technic pins. I mean they do
work and we still get a functional V8 so I wouldn’t complain, but I’m sure some people will miss a few dedicated parts here. Here comes the steering wheel that is not connected to anything, this is not a surprise considering the scale, but apparently it does not even rotate freely which is a bit disappointing I think. Here is the steering rack, this is how it is connected, and if we check the bottom we can see how it will work. We add 2 more assemblies to the front, and we are at the end of bag 1! Now
this will make you happy for sure – the car has a proper differential, something we could not see in cars at this scale for a long time now! Here we have the half shafts in place, and it seems to be pretty solid build this time, this car won’t loose its wheels easily. Here’s the new green clutch gear that only appeared in the Airbus set so far, it is used for the steering axle to bypass the axle driving the engine from the differential. And now with both assemblies connected, you can see how they will work. First
sticker of the many to be applied, and it is kind of funny how this special reflective surface is represented in the manual with thank pink hue. It has many colors but I don’t see pink at all 🙂 Oh wow, look at the backside! We’d really need transparent LEGO pieces to show the full potential of these stickers! Now this setup is interesting, shifting that pin hole only with half a module down. I think this will be part of the hand of God steering setup, this is how it goes in place, here’s the knob, and, Houston, we
have a problem! Ok I think this is a mistake that will happen with a lot of people, I’ve seen something similar in the Land Rover Defender and that was a super common mistake as well. See that gray cross block? It has one cross axle hole and a pin hole, so one is fixed, the other one is not, and I used it in a wrong position. It was added in this step, I think this would really deserve some kind of warning in the manual. Luckily it is not a big deal to fix at this point, let’s
pull this yellow cross axle out, then flip the grey piece, and there you go now it works as designed! And now we only need one extra gear to connect the whole steering system, this is how it should work! Two of these interesting assemblies are added to the sides, then comes this thing which is apparently part of the roll cage, then the seat and this is the end of bag 2! With parts from bag 3 we continue building the rear section. An interesting detail, both this lower section with this red cross block and the beams up
here sitting on that half bush have a half module offset compared to the rest of the body, that’s why they can be connected with this L beam. Apparently the car will have an asymmetric livery, we have blue and red beams on the 2 sides. After the roof panels here comes the side of the vehicle with a few System bricks added, it goes in place here, but at this point it is still pretty floppy. Got stabilized with a few pins here and there, time to cover it with stickers and then add the printed wheel arch. Here’s
the assembly of the rear section of the car, and a nice diffuser made of these new-ish panels. Another System assembly for the rear lights and the badge, unfortunately that is also a sticker and not printed. We put the rear wing in place, then a few extra pieces, more stickers, and bag 3 is finished! The last phase is about the front of the car, there are some interesting assemblies to build. More work on the hood to add pieces holding stickers. There was a concept behind this blue and red design for sure, this way LEGO didn’t have
to reintroduce this axle and pin connector block in blue after 20 years, the red version is just fine even on the blue side. Another pretty wobbly assembly with the lights and the grille, but once it goes in place it’ll be properly fixed. C’mon LEGO, these stickers don’t even try to be white anymore, these are clearly gray. Is it really that difficult to make pure white stickers? Another cool part usage here, these missile pieces are added here to support the small panels on this front assembly, not sure how visible it will be, but the rod is
clearly there to support the panel from below. We are almost finished now, completing the front of the car, then we need to put on the wheels, make sure the wider ones go to the rear, a few half bushes and the build is finished! Oh wait, I still have stickers on the sheet… apparently I missed 2 at the rear, but considering the sheer amount it is not surprising at all. So here is our finished Camaro, and it looks pretty nice! The stickers and prints add a lot of course, if you were wondering how it would look
like without them – I mean the stickers – then here it is! Yeah, if you want to keep the color scheme then the stickers are really advised to be added. The scale of the car is the usual small-ish one, we have a pretty wide selection of these already, and of course they all fit on the good old car transporter! Oh by the way you asked, the Ford GT does not fit on it unfortunately. From a functionality perspective there are no big surprises, we have hand of God steering here at the rear, and the differential is
driving the fake engine here at the front that can be revealed by opening the hood. That’s pretty much all and we don’t really get anything else as usual, adding doors that would open was not an option here apparently. So, is it good enough for the price? Well, honestly I think for the same price I would choose either the Bugatti Bolide or the McLaren Senna. The building experience of those is more interesting, the different look is a personal taste but they look more exciting for me, especially the Bugatti. This car seems like a reincarnation of the
blue generic muscle car from the Car Transporter set, with the added NASCAR livery. Since this set is retired now it’s a nice option to pick this one up, but if you have the old one at home then it won’t make a huge difference, unless you are a huge NASCAR fan of course, then this is a must have for sure. One little piece of advise for the end, if you can live without these hood pins, then don’t put on these gray stickers, as they completely ruin the look. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments
folks, if you liked this video then please give it a thumbs up, and don’t forget to subscribe with notifications as more exciting LEGO videos are coming soon including these 2 sets here! See you next time, bye bye!
