Mini-review: Lego Fairground Mixer

It has been out for awhile, but a couple of weeks ago I realized that the Lego Fairground Mixer had long since been announced and I didn't buy it. I've mostly resisted the various adult collector Lego sets, especially the Star Wars stuff, but I have to draw the line at amusement rides. That's why I bought the Carousel back in 2010, and this thing, which is essentially a trailer mounted Scrambler, had to be mine. Lego is such a great part of my childhood, and Simon enjoys the end product too (he's starting to get how to follow the instructions to build).

There isn't really anything particularly difficult about the build, and I'm guessing it took just over four hours. It consists of a smaller truck that carries the ticket booth, a working dunk tank and a hi-striker, and a big tractor-trailer that carries the actual scrambler ride. There are also a butt-load of mini-figs in this one. If you have the motor, you can attach it to operate the ride. I have the one that came with the carousel, though the battery pack isn't the rectangular one they suggest for mounting on the truck (although I have that one too, as it came with the train set I pull out around Christmas).

Mechanically, it's relatively simple. The motor (or included crank) connects to a gear box in the center of the trailer, which turns a vertical shaft that the ride mounts on. The three sweeps collapse down for transport, but when they're open, each has a wheel that drags over a flat surface over the gear box. That wheel drives a shaft to the end of the sweep, with a gear that turns the vertical rod that has the seats on it. It works like a champ.

There is also a safety fence that surrounds the ride. While bulky, it does fold up and sits on the trailer. There are quite a few nice details, like glow-in-the-dark pieces on the ride, $100 bills in the ticket booth, a bed inside the truck cab with a TV, real dunking action in the dunk tank, and even the hi-striker really works (though it doesn't ding, since the bell is obviously plastic). There's a juggler on stilts, too. The whole thing is surprisingly solid for something with so much dynamic movement.

These "grown up" sets are kind of expensive (this one is $150), but they're a joy to build. I suspect that Simon will be able to build this himself in a few years, and I do hope he'll be interested in building this, under close supervision.