LEGO just revealed the new Icons Jaguar Type-E Roadster (11381). Dark green, wire wheels, doors and hood and trunk all open, and the fabric roof folds back too. 1,673 pieces. Comes out August 1st, $139.99. The second I saw the pictures, it reminded me of something.
I'm deaf. ASL is my first language. When I was a kid, my boy cousins never bothered learning sign language. My girl cousins did. So I ended up hanging out with them a lot, especially my two closest cousins. We were what people call double cousins, our parents were siblings who married siblings from another family, so we were related to each other twice over.
We played Barbie dolls together. Constantly. I loved it, changing the dolls into different cool outfits. It was just fun.
Eventually my parents got tired of it. We stopped going to my cousins' house as much, and my parents started buying me toy cars instead. What I am going to do with them?
Then Hot Wheels started putting out cars styled after old classics, vintage-looking, even though they weren't actually old. That's what hooked me. I started collecting those and never stopped. Still have the whole collection today, sitting on a custom shelf my dad made for me on the wall. I've always liked home decor, so having them displayed like that means a lot to me.
So when this LEGO Jaguar showed up, that unmistakable E-Type shape, it clicked right away. This is the grown-up version of what I've been collecting my whole life. It'd sit right next to the Hot Wheels on that same shelf.
But I have a habit of impulsive purchases, and this set isn't cheap. I already have a stack of unbuilt sets in storage that cost me plenty. I'm trying not to add to that pile. It's nice to look at, though. And green isn't even a color I would've picked, I'd go with red or blue. That's part of what's making me hesitate. There's actually a blue LEGO Bugatti out there too, the color I'd have picked. But it's not for sale, only 250 were ever made, handed out at a special event in Denmark. So that's off the table anyway.
Truth is, I'm not as into vintage cars as I used to be. That interest has faded some over the years. So maybe that's the real reason I'm on the fence, not just the price or the color.
P.S. Still waiting on my LEGO E.T. set to arrive.