The LEGO 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van was available for 9 whole years between 2011 and 2020. Now here is the successor, the 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van! It is bigger, has more details, working functions, check out the detailed building review:
The set is available from 1st August 2021 for 159.99 EUR / 179.99 USD / 149.99 GBP / 269.99 AUD / 249.99 CAD
I’ve seen comments about the “outraging inaccuracies” of the set. I don’t say it is perfect, but I don’t think either that it would be completely wrong. A few thoughts from me:
- The model is apparently based on the pre-facelift version of the T2, therefore the position of the front indicator lights and the rounded rear lights nearer to the engine bay are pretty much correct. The shape of the front bumper is also ok, it even has the small step-on piece on the side (see reference photo below from Wikipedia).
- The roof looks chunky compared to the standard version, but that one does not have the camping tent built-in. The ones with the tent are also chunky. Considering the brilliant opening mechanism and the fact that TLG needs to work with fixed brick size I think the roof is ok.
- The front lights seem to be inaccurate, as they are pointing outwards instead of pointing straight and they are not recessed in the body.
- The shape of the windshield is certainly different, but that’s the limitation of the material, LEGO needs to follow their own design rules for such pieces.
All in all I don’t think the set would be a major disappointment. The T1 is certainly more iconic and easier to recognize, but as a 18+ set this one has a decent look and it has many cool working functions that are new compared to 10220.
The set is based on a version of the T2 that was only built for a short time between the original version and the final one, basically facelift one.
This version was mainly sold in the US, maybe the reason why they chose it.
On this version though, the factory roof opens up in exactly the other direction! Also, the ride height was definitely higher (this one looks lowered which is a no-no when driving up to the beach).
In the end, the model seems like it catered to the US-romanticised version of a T2, not to the european versions where it sold a lot more units.
So it is a model of a niche version of a hugely successful car, and from a special year, and even then they get the details of that exact version wrong.
Thats just inexcusable.