I am a fan of JDM automobiles. I love LEGO. I am not a particularly huge fan of the Fast & Furious franchise. But I do watch the movies, and I am very fond of the rides in the OG movie and, you guessed it, Tokyo Drift. So, when I chanced upon a 4,508-piece, Technic-style, 1:8 build of Paul Walker’s “10-second” car for Dom by Chinese toymaker Bole Brick, I knew I had to have it, no matter the cost. Thankfully, that cost was not much. But more on that in a bit. Anyhoo, I committed to it earlier this month, and after 22 and a half hours, I am ready to talk about this beautiful creation.
Unofficial Fast & Furious Fan Service
Due to licensing-related matters, the Bole Brick Toyota Supra A80 Building Set does not reference the franchise. But Bole Brick was not about to let this golden opportunity to provide the ultimate fan service for F&F fans slip by. Speaking of which, I think there’s a need to address the graphics on this model first.
The official graphics consist of a black fire/tribal livery that starts at the end of the door and runs through to the rear quarter panel. This livery is accompanied by the word “Sport” on the door and at the ends of the large spoiler. On the roof, there is the text “Turbo Power Mk4.” These graphics are presented as decals; however, the rear wheelarch is a printed element. Now, here is where things get interesting. Interesting not only because it uses a combination of printed elements and decals, but also because of some thoughtful fan service by Bole Brick that borders on IP infringement.
Officially, the box includes the black fire/tribal livery decal sheet. Outside the box, there is a bonus decal sheet featuring—you guessed it—the graphics found on Brian O’Conner’s 10-second Targa-top A80 Supra. This is not the only time the toymaker kind of crossed the line for fans’ sake. It also replicated the four-point harness using decals bearing the OMP branding. Oops. But hey, I am not complaining.
To complete the Troy Lee Designs-inspired look, the rear wheelarch comes in two versions: a black one for folks who want to go with the black fire/tribal livery, and a light green version for fans who want to choose the “Nuclear Gladiator”-inspired livery. Anyhoo, as far as decals go, there are only two other things that need applying, and that’s the NOS bottles. The rest, including the number “12,” the Toyota branding, the license plate on Brian O’Conner’s orange Supra, and more, are all printed elements.
A Thoughtfully Organized Build
The set has a modular design, so you’d be building in logical sections and then clicking them together. Special praise has to be given to the sectioning of the build’s pieces. The manufacturer clearly put some serious thought into it. The kit is not merely divided into 10 separate sections and bagged accordingly; the parts for each section are further divided into smaller groups, making the build easier to “digest.”
This also means there are plenty of natural stopping points if you do not want to finish the whole thing in one sitting. This was also the first time I did not have to sort the pieces before beginning a build because there weren’t many pieces to deal with each time. For common elements like friction pins and axles, they are labelled in a common bag called “TY”.
That Legendary 2JZ-GTE Engine
The model boasts functional steering, along with opening doors, trunk, and hood. The latter is complete with a hood prop rod and a detailed recreation of the legendary 3.0L inline-six, twin-turbocharged 2JZ-GTE engine. The engine boasts moving pistons and an engine cover with the iconic engine branding. The latter has a quick-remove design, allowing it to be easily removed to admire the gorgeous inline-six motor.
The attention to detail on this model continues into the engine bay, which is packed to the brim with components such as the air intake system, exhaust system, twin-turbocharger system, fan cowl, plumbing for the intercooler, brake master cylinder unit, and even the battery, albeit just the top.
The attention to detail is meticulous. Where they can be seen, the Technic-style pins with short friction ridges and Technic-style axles match the colors of the parts they are securing. Similarly colored custom pins are also used to fill unused holes for the seamless appearance.
The set also comes with a bonus engine build, also in 1:8 scale, complete with an engine hoist:
An Equally Detailed Cabin
On the inside, the level of detail is equally mind-blowing. There is an officially licensed steering wheel, the standard three-dial instrument cluster, a center console with even more gauges, and a bank of gauges on the dashboard.
Then there are the blue bucket seats with the aforementioned OMP harnesses presented as decals. And yes, every other graphic in the cabin is also printed directly on the elements.
Bodywork That Looks Like a Scale Model
The model-like result is also thanks to the specially molded hood elements. This section even includes printed black shapes that simulate the four-section hood vents on the real car. The use of specially molded pieces eliminates the broken look that plagued so many Technic-style builds.
Overall, the trunk, hood, and doors form a good seal with the car body. The door handles have an automatic spring-back function, achieved through the use of rubber elements inside. While the seamlessness of the model is great, I do, however, think that the spoiler mounts deserved a more solid build. But that’s me nitpicking.
Gearbox and Purpose-Designed Lighting
The model is outfitted with a functional four-speed sequential gearbox, but we shan’t go into its inner workings. To be honest, it is good to have but not necessary, since my set is the non-remote-control version.
While it does not have motors, it does come with light elements purpose-designed for this model. It has custom-length wires, so there are no excess wires to deal with. Speaking of wires, it even has special elements to guide the ultra-thin wiring. Now, that’s attention to detail.
There are eight light elements altogether: four for the headlights and four for the taillights. The lighting feature is a nice touch, though the headlights could use more brightness.
Build Quality and Frustrations
The quality of the main elements is great, but I think there are QC issues with the axle holes, axles, and friction pins. The quality of these particular elements could be improved, and I do find the tolerances of the pins and cross axles are inconsistent.
One of my pieces, a 2 x 2 circular plate with an axle hole, was misaligned, preventing the cross axle from passing all the way through. I had to drill the hole completely through to allow the cross axle to pass. Sure, I could ask for a replacement, but that would probably take another week or so. Since it was a three-piece 2 x 2 circular plate with an axle hole setup with a grey axle, I placed the modified misaligned sandwich between the two good ones. It solved the problem, but it is not an excuse for the poor QC on Bole Brick’s part.
That’s not an isolated case, sadly. There are a few other part QC issues. Like the Utensil Paint Roller Brush Handle used as the rear view mirror mount is thicker and could not be inserted into the pin connector of the Axle and Pin Connector. I had to shave it down quite a bit to get it to fit. And then, there’s the malformed Pin Double, and the soiled, slightly damaged Beam Frame.
Design-wise, it is mostly flawless. However, there are one or two areas where the structure is so tightly packed that pressing a little too hard on neighboring pieces during the assembling process can cause some parts to pop off. One such area is the dashboard cluster and steering column. When assembling the dashboard top cover, the pressure when clicking the pieces can force the instrument cluster to pop out, which, not going to lie, totally gets on my nerves. The same goes for the center console. The entire dash requires serious delicate touches, IMHO.
Licensed Wheels, Slightly Questionable Tires
Finally, this model rolls on newly molded, officially licensed Toyota wheels with Toyota branding, as seen in the movie. However, I noticed that the wheels are a tad wider than the supplied rubber tires, leaving quite a bit of the rims exposed. The fact that the rubber tires are fairly hard wasn’t helping the situation.
It could be just me, but the too-exposed rim lip does irk me a little. I will be purchasing the officially licensed CaDA Continental tires to replace them soon. Hopefully, that will resolve this aesthetic issue that plagues the OCD in me.
Instructions Not Perfect and a Strange-looking Brick Separator
It comes with two thick instruction booklets that detail not just the build, but also information on this legendary sports car. The instructions, if I can be perfectly honest, are not great. Some sections can be rather abstract, so you need to proceed with caution. Much like LEGO’s instructions, the instructions also use a red outline to indicate the “active” sections or parts to assemble. This outline can be fairly thick and sometimes may mess up the perspective, which could result in clicking in the wrong position, for example. How do I know? Don’t ask. 😭
And there’s the try-to-do-it-all brick separator, which has so many removal functions that it became rather clunky and pretty much useless. I tried using it in a few scenarios, ended up having to use other tools. After a while, I completely gave up on it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it is a pretty impressive set that is worth the asking price. The design concept and logic behind the kit are equally impressive, while the thoughtful organization makes a 4,508-piece build far less intimidating than it sounds. It has a few frustrating construction and quality-control issues, but once completed, the result is a beautifully detailed tribute to one of the most recognizable Japanese movie cars ever built. That’s not to mention it makes a perfect companion to my lonely, definitely not-Tokyo Drift CaDA 1:8 Mazda RX-7 Technic-style model.
Where to Buy
I bought my set directly from China via a Chinese e-commerce website for 645.10 yuan plus my local tax, which worked out to be about 703 yuan (or about US$105). For international buyers with no access to Chinese e-commerce stores, you may pick it up from BlockBrickWorld for US$164.90. But we heard the shipping can be quite a killer. The best way is to buy directly from China if you know how.
Images: Mike for Mikeshouts.com.
