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Kyosho is adding a fresh purple entry to its Fazer D2 lineup. The new 1/10 Nissan Silvia S13 Tuned Purple Fazer D2 Drift Readyset combines a fully licensed S13 shell with the Fazer D2 RWD drift chassis, and it arrives as a complete electric-powered package with part number K.34503T1B.

Suggested pricing is €295, or roughly $340.

Kyosho calls the S13 a timeless street icon. From Kyosho:

“Since its debut in 1988, the S13 Silvia has captivated driving enthusiasts with its sleek styling and front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (FR) layout.”

The model recreates a tuned S13 with aggressive aerodynamic bodywork and Fifteen52 wheels, including drift-scene-inspired aero parts. The shell is Kyosho’s “Ultra Scale Body,” with light buckets, realistic bumpers and mirrors, and a fully licensed look. Kyosho says the body is finished to create a realistic “action display-quality model.”

Adjustable Turbomacs and hidden mounts

A key visual detail is the wheel package. The car rides on officially licensed fifteen52 Turbomac wheels — newly designed two-piece wheels with adjustable offsets of 5 mm, 7 mm, or 9 mm.

Kyosho also fits the S13 with a stealth body mount system. External body posts and body clips are eliminated, giving the shell a cleaner, more realistic scale appearance.

Built on the Fazer D2 FZD2 chassis

Underneath, the Silvia uses Kyosho’s Fazer D2 FZD2 drift-spec platform. Kyosho calls it an all-new performance-based drift platform with newly designed electronics and describes its rear-wheel-drive layout as the standard configuration for current 1/10 scale drift cars. The D2 has its own weight distribution and suspension tuning, distinct from the standard Fazer, and its KRG-331D receiver and built-in gyro controls both steering and throttle. Kyosho says the gyro automatically manages counter-steer, allowing newcomers to drifting to drive like pros.

The chassis includes:

• A KS4072-06W servo optimized for drifting
• A beginner-friendly G22 brushed motor
• Oil-filled shocks pre-tuned for drifting
• Polypropylene drift tires
• A variable wheelbase that lets most existing FAZER bodies be mounted
• A wide range of optional upgrade parts

There’s more drift-specific engineering in the details. The D2 uses long-span front double wishbone suspension with adjustable caster, roll center, and other geometry. The motor sits high in the chassis, and the motor mount eliminates the need for gear-backlash adjustment. The gear ratio can be changed using elongated holes to fit Kyosho 48P 16-37T pinion gears. The ESC is mounted at the rear for weight distribution and sits in a tray that can be removed with one screw. The resin main chassis is split into front and rear sections, with connection points that can be changed to adjust the wheelbase. The rear drive unit uses a spool, rigid axle without a differential to support smooth drifting, and the wheel hubs wear dummy brake calipers and discs for extra scale detail.

Readyset convenience

As a Readyset, the S13 arrives fully assembled. The body comes painted with decals applied, the R/C system is pre-installed, and the kit includes the Syncro KT-231P+ transmitter, hex wrenches, a small cross wrench, and setting-change parts. To run it, owners need four AA batteries for the transmitter plus a charged chassis battery and charger; Kyosho recommends a 7.2V Ni-MH pack for the chassis.

Kyosho’s Fazer D2 Readyset range also includes the Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 in white and the Toyota 86 GT Tuned Ver. in lightning red, both sharing the same drift-spec platform, adjustable wheelbase, and concealed body-mount layout.

The Nissan Silvia S13 Tuned Purple Fazer D2 Drift Readyset is listed at €295 (around $340). Kyosho directs readers to KyoshoAmerica.com for more information.

Two decades after Maker Faire first took over the Bay Area, its 20th anniversary edition is getting a preview event of its own. On Wednesday, September 16, at 4 PM Pacific Time, Dale Dougherty and a group of Maker Faire Bay Area 2026 exhibitors will host a behind-the-scenes look at the projects and highlights headed to this year’s Faire.

A live preview with the makers themselves

The Make: Live session is set to spotlight a few of the acts that will fill the anniversary weekend. Among them is Lepidoptera Imaginaria, an AI-powered butterfly that blends machine learning with 570 LEDs to turn a visitor’s voice into glowing light patterns. There’s also Mesthastic, a crew of radio tinkerers using open-source, off-grid radio networks to keep communities connected without cell towers or the internet. And Michael Theodore Schupbach, an official Muppet maker and four-time Emmy Award winner, will talk about bringing puppet characters to life. Organizers tease a few more surprises beyond those names.

20 years of Maker Faire Bay Area

The main event runs September 25-27, 2026, at the Historic Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. It marks the 20th anniversary of the original Bay Area Maker Faire, which debuted in 2006 and grew into a global movement of makers. Organizers bill it as the world’s largest celebration of invention, creativity, curiosity, and hands-on learning. Make Community LLC, the organization behind Make: magazine and the global Maker Faire movement, says it coined the term ‘Maker’ and has inspired hundreds of independently produced Maker Faires in more than 40 countries.

The Bay Area Faire is also organized around three regional themes this year, according to event materials: the South Bay as a home for invention startups, robotics, and emerging technology; the East Bay as a hub for large-scale building, industrial fabrication, and maker-run manufacturing; and the North Bay as a center for craft, food systems, textiles, and sustainable design. The venue itself adds to the story. Mare Island is a former naval shipyard that stayed in continuous operation for more than 140 years, and its cavernous industrial buildings and waterfront grounds provide room for large-scale installations. It’s a place where generations of builders once assembled ships, submarines, and machinery, and where a new generation of makers will now gather.

What’s on site

The schedule runs from 10 AM to 3 PM on Friday, September 25, and 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday, September 26-27. The event’s mix includes robots, rockets, Tesla coils, Rube Goldberg machines, kinetic sculptures, fire art, DIY electronics, 3D printing and digital fabrication, wearable tech, fiber arts, urban farming and food innovation, youth invention showcases, and live music. Attendees can also find a maker-built midway of rideable art cars, drone and flight exhibits, and hands-on workshops where they can build, solder, sew, code, and create alongside the exhibitors. Organizers say the lineup will bring together legendary makers who have been with the Faire since the beginning and the newest innovators shaping its future.

Tickets and getting there

Tickets start at $45, according to event listings, and organizers are offering discounted advance tickets — the official Maker Faire ticket page is promoting 20% off advance purchases. The site offers paid parking, a ferry from San Francisco to Mare Island, and food and drink for purchase. The event is rain-or-shine, and tickets are non-refundable.

Maker Faire Bay Area 2026 runs September 25-27 at the Historic Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 560 Nimitz Ave, Vallejo, California. The September 16 preview is the first chance to see what the anniversary Faire has planned.

After months of fan voting, LEGO Ideas has revealed the winner of its Yu-Gi-Oh! “It’s Time to Duel!” challenge. The Heart of the Cards – Exodia, designed by Stepona_Brick, will become the very first official LEGO Yu-Gi-Oh! set.

The win is a first for the franchise at LEGO. Yu-Gi-Oh! Nanoblock kits have been released in the past, but no official LEGO Yu-Gi-Oh! set has existed until now, and the winning concept is set to be mass-produced and sold.

A Winning Duo of Exodia and Yugi

The winning concept builds around one of the anime’s most famous monsters. Exodia—the “Forbidden One” that can win a duel instantly when all five of its pieces are brought together—rises from brick-built replicas of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and a brick-built Yugi Mutou stands beside it. The contest’s brief focused on the Battle City and Duelist Kingdom tournament arcs, and the Exodia concept was the only finalist with brick-built cards worked into the model, according to The Gamer.

On the submission page, Stepona_Brick wrote:

The model also features brick-built replicas of the cards themselves with Exodia “emerging” from them, creating a dynamic display that pays homage to the very first episode of the show. The central structure makes the entire model sturdy and easy to move. Exodia’s upper body can be rotated and his arms and head can be moved. Similarly, Yugi also offers multiple points of articulation, allowing for different poses.

The design skips a minifigure entirely; instead, Stepona_Brick built Yami Yugi in bricks. Coverage of the announcement noted that Seto Kaiba is not part of the design, and no Blue-Eyes White Dragon appears in the winning build.

Five Finalists, One Contest

The Yu-Gi-Oh! LEGO Ideas contest began earlier this year, asking builders to create models inspired by the Battle City and Duelist Kingdom tournament arcs. Entries had to be between 400 and 2,000 pieces, and LEGO received more than 250 qualifying submissions. The field was cut to five finalists in April, and fan voting opened immediately.

The final five included three designs built around Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Brian b59124’s “Blue-Eyes White Dragon – Duel Display” placed Kaiba next to the monster, while Brick_flex’s “Millennium Puzzle: Duel of Eternal Rivals” staged a Yugi-vs-Kaiba duel with Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Moccermommy’s “Duel Across the Millennia” was the largest of the finalists at 1,917 pieces, pairing the same rivalry with a huge Dark Magician facing Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The fifth finalist, DarkAnimal’s “Summoning Slifer the Sky Dragon at Battle City – REDUX,” gave the Egyptian God card its own build.

Fan voting stayed open until April 28, 2026. The winning set was announced in September, and LEGO Ideas confirmed that Stepona_Brick’s Exodia design had won the fan vote.

Prize Package and What Happens Next

The prize package was laid out during the contest. Stepona_Brick will receive 10 complimentary copies of the finished set, 1% of total net sales, and credit as the LEGO Ideas Fan Designer. The four runners-up will receive LEGO sets as prizes, with the lineup including 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine, 21359 Italian Riviera, 21349 Tuxedo Cat, 21365 Love Birds, and 21376 Orange Cat.

The final design has not been locked in yet. Professional LEGO designers will now adapt the fan concept for official release, and LEGO has not yet confirmed the piece count, price, or release date. According to Blocks Magazine, the finished Yu-Gi-Oh! set is scheduled to arrive next year. The final model could stay close to the original fan concept or change things up during development; either way, more product details are still to come.

Two Trucks, One Set

Hess Toy Trucks has unveiled its 2026 Collector’s Edition: Tanker Trucks, a two-in-one set combining a tech-filled Modern Tanker with a Vintage Tanker inspired by the company’s earlier fuel delivery models.

The set went on sale September 14, 2026 at hesstoytruck.com for $69.99. It includes free standard shipping and comes with Energizer batteries. The two trucks are packaged and sold as a single set.

The Modern Tanker is packed with 109 LED lights, five realistic sound effects, six free-rolling wheels spread across three axles, and a rear door that swings open to reveal a slide-out loading ramp. That ramp is designed to let the Vintage Tanker roll directly into the Modern Tanker’s cargo area.

The Vintage Tanker leans into nostalgia with a matte-green body, yellow accent stripes, chrome-look details, 28 LED lights, and a pull-back motor that sends it rolling across the floor on its own.

Taken together, the two vehicles offer 137 working lights and six animated lighting patterns. The Modern Tanker also debuts a new look for the brand: its matte-green body is paired with a reflective chrome-colored surface.

Collector-Grade Packaging

Hess has put extra effort into presentation. The set ships in showcase-ready packaging that includes silver reflective foil elements, a removable New York City skyline backdrop, a Certificate of Authenticity, and a special printed message from John B. Hess marking the release.

That message fits a bigger moment for the brand. After the sale of Hess Corporation earlier this year, the toy truck line has become a privately run family business. John B. Hess said on the company’s website that his father, Leon Hess, started the toy truck tradition in 1964, and that the family intends to keep it going for generations.

A Lineup of Recent Releases

The new Collector’s Edition joins a growing list of recent Hess toy launches. Past items highlighted on the official site include the 2025 Hess Stock Car Racers at $49.99, the 2025 Mini Toy Truck Collection at $39.99, and the America 250 Edition, which featured three fan-favorite vehicles reimagined in miniature size with 131 total working lights.

The brand also continues to expand beyond trucks. The site mentions the My Plush Hess Truck: 2026 Monster Truck, a plush toy in the company’s award-winning series.

A Longstanding Tradition

For many families, Hess trucks are a holiday ritual. The official website is filled with personal stories from collectors who have passed the tradition down across generations. One visitor wrote about buying trucks for a nephew for 40 years. Another said their son has received a truck every year of his life, with that streak now at 37 years. A grandmother described starting a collection for her grandson before he was even born.

Those stories reflect the brand’s history of annual releases since 1964. For the new family-run operation, the 2026 Collector’s Edition appears designed to honor that legacy while pointing toward new releases ahead.

What’s in the Box

Here’s a quick summary of the key specs:

• Modern Tanker: 109 LED lights, five sounds, six wheels on three axles, rear door with slide-out ramp, matte-green and chrome-reflective finish
• Vintage Tanker: 28 LED lights, pull-back motor, matte green with yellow accents, chrome-look details
• Combined: 137 lights, six animated lighting patterns
• Packaging: silver foil, NYC skyline backdrop, certificate of authenticity, John B. Hess message
• Price: $69.99 with free standard shipping and batteries included

The 2026 Collector’s Edition Tanker Trucks are available exclusively at hesstoytruck.com.

Tamiya has a busy October on paper: the company’s official release list for the month covers R/C chassis and parts, static kits, and a long Mini 4WD accessory list. The brand is also showing another wave of models at the 64th All Japan Model & Hobby Show 2026.

TamiyaBlog posted the official October 2026 release list on Sept. 2, then followed on Sept. 14 with a rundown of Tamiya products on display at the All Japan Model & Hobby Show. The release list is split into R/C Models, Static Models, and Mini 4WD. The show list adds a fourth section, Tools & Educational Construction. Both posts are product lineups; the show display post is an item-number list without pricing or availability information.

R/C: DN-01 SR Chassis Kit Leads the October List

The R/C section of the October release list is built around item 58761, the 1/10 R/C DN-01 SR chassis kit. Tamiya also lists three companion parts: 2WD buggy front dish wheels with hex hubs (22105), a one-piece steel front axle and hub (22106), and DN-01SR front uprights (51768).

The hobby show display takes the R/C side in a different direction. Its four vehicles are the 1/9 R/C Volkswagen Dune Beetle Cross (BB-02, item 58757), the 1/10 R/C The Falcon (2026, item 47532), the 1/12 R/C Lamborghini Cheetah (2026, item 58754), and the 1/10 R/C Lamborghini Countach 5000S (TT-02, item 47527). That display spans 1/9, 1/10, and 1/12 scale vehicles.

Static Models: Fukuisaurus, Military Carriers, and Six-Wheelers

The October static releases are:

• 1/35 Fukuisaurus (28502)
• 1/35 U.S. Multiple Gun Motor Carriage M16 (35081)
• 1/35 U.S. 81mm Mortar Carrier M21 (35083)
• 1/35 German Tractor RSO/01 (35394)

The static side of the show display is more automotive, with seven car kits:

• 1/24 Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) in Red/White (28101)
• 1/24 Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) in Blue/White (28102)
• 1/24 BMW 320i Racing (24379)
• 1/20 Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler 1976 Japan GP with photo-etched parts (20058)
• 1/12 Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler with photo-etched parts (12036)
• 1/24 Citroën 2 CV (25415)
• 1/20 Toyota Celica LB Turbo Gr.5 (20072)

All four are 1/35 scale; the show display’s static kits span 1/24, 1/20, and 1/12.

Mini 4WD: Rollers, Lock Nuts, and a Fluorescent Chassis

Mini 4WD takes up the largest slice of the October release list, with nine entries:

• 15552 Large-diameter tire and wheel set for EZ chassis (wide tread)
• 95396 19mm aluminum rollers, five spokes, with plastic rings (red)
• 95404 HG lightweight 19mm aluminum ball-race rollers, ringless (red)
• 95423 Lightweight double aluminum rollers (13-12mm, red)
• 95514 HG maintenance base (180x210mm)
• 95555 2mm aluminum lock nuts in purple, five pieces
• 95556 2mm aluminum lock nuts in orange, five pieces
• 95711 Super FM fluorescent-color chassis set in pink/green
• 95718 Low-friction hi-mount tube stabilizer set in white for Mini 4WD Station

At the hobby show, the Mini 4WD display includes The Hornet Jr. (VZ, item 18107), the Neo-VQS (VZ) Advanced Pack (18106), and the Mini 4WD New Year’s Edition “Year of the Sheep 2027” (95721). The Mini 4WD show section has three entries, and the Tools & Educational Construction section has four. The tools display covers a Mini 4WD 2mm screw cutter (74168), clear plastic beam 4mm pipes in five-piece sets (70273), standard plastic beam 4mm pipes in five-piece sets (70274), and a differential gear unit (70272).

The two TamiyaBlog posts are dated Sept. 2 and Sept. 14.

Seeed Studio and the TinyGo project have turned a supported microcontroller into a full starter package. The new TinyGo Starter Kit with Seeed Studio XIAO bundles a pre-soldered XIAO ESP32C3 board, a Grove Base for XIAO, 11 plug-and-play Grove modules, and official tutorials for learning embedded development with the Go language.

The kit is now listed on Seeed Studio’s store at $53.54.

From board support to a full kit

TinyGo is a microcontroller-focused port of Go, which began as an internal productivity project at Google and went public in 2009. Although Go was designed for many-core, network-connected machines and large codebases, TinyGo has made it usable on resource-constrained hardware. The project supports more than 150 microcontroller development boards, with WebAssembly also available as a target.

The XIAO ESP32C3 has been a TinyGo-supported board for a while. TinyGo v0.41, released earlier this year, added native wireless support for the XIAO ESP32C3 and XIAO ESP32S3, allowing developers to write Wi-Fi-enabled applications in Go and flash them directly to the boards. That release also included the espflasher utility for simpler device deployment and added core support for hybrid boards like the Arduino UNO Q, which pairs a Qualcomm MPU with an STM32 MCU. The new kit takes that ESP32C3 support and wraps it in hardware plus guided lessons.

What’s in the box

The bundle centers on Seeed’s thumbnail-sized XIAO ESP32C3, built around Espressif’s ESP32C3 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller with 400KB of SRAM and 4MB of onboard flash. Because the board comes pre-soldered, there is no soldering to do before starting. TinyGo documentation covers flashing with the target xiao-esp32c3 and notes that the board has no onboard LED, so the usual examples/blinky1 demo does not apply.

The Grove Base for XIAO removes the need for breadboards and manual jumper wiring. The 11 included modules are solderless and plug straight into the base. The input lineup covers button, touch, rotary, light, sound, temperature, vibration, and acceleration sensors. Output modules include an RGB LED, an OLED display, and a buzzer. Together, the modules cover sensing, actuation, display, and lighting.

TinyGo builds are also available for other XIAO variants, including the XIAO ESP32S3, XIAO RP2040, XIAO RP2350, XIAO nRF52840, and XIAO SAMD21, in case users outgrow the ESP32C3.

Tutorials from the TinyGo team

The kit is paired with a getting-started tutorial series developed by the TinyGo team. Core member Patricio Whittingslow wrote the coding tutorials, taking users from first flashing commands through sensor work and wireless communication.

Seeed positions the kit for Go developers and beginners alike, aiming to get them from first program to real, portable projects. Seeed describes the bundle as the first joint-effort kit curated with the TinyGo team, with a shared goal of making hardware projects more approachable for Go developers.

TinyGo 0.42 arrives with more than hardware

The kit lands alongside TinyGo 0.42, which brings recoverable runtime panics to the language. This addresses a long-standing gap between TinyGo and standard Go: using ordinary defer and recover patterns, developers can now catch runtime failures such as nil pointer dereferences, invalid slice or map indexing, and division by zero. Fatal conditions like out-of-memory errors remain unrecoverable, but panic handling makes it possible for standard library test suites to rely on testing helpers such as Goexit, SkipNow, and FailNow.

TinyGo 0.42 also supports Go 1.27 and LLVM 22. A new UEFI target is part of the release, enabling Go code to execute as a native UEFI application ahead of the operating system. TinyGo also compiles Go directly into WebAssembly and WASI binaries for browser, server-side, and edge environments, using Binaryen’s Asyncify to support goroutines inside WebAssembly runtimes. TinyGo recently showcased compilation of Microsoft’s typescript-go compiler into WebAssembly.

Reactions in online developer communities mixed excitement with practical curiosity. On r/golang, developers highlighted the ability to host a fully functional HTTP server on a postage-stamp-sized microcontroller costing just a few dollars. On Hacker News, TinyGo 0.42’s recover() support was widely seen as a crucial maturity milestone.

Availability

The TinyGo Starter Kit with Seeed Studio XIAO is available to order now through Seeed Studio’s store at $53.54, with more resources available on the TinyGo project website.

KK Scale, known for budget-friendly diecast models, has two new series on the way. The announcement, posted on September 13, points to a September/October release window. One centers on a Toyota pickup with a Back to the Future tie-in; the other revisits a classic 1965 Buick Riviera in four exterior colors. The announcement positions the pickup for Back to the Future fans and the Riviera for fans of classic Americana.

Toyota Hilux: White and a Black Movie Tribute

The pickup release features the Toyota Truck Xtra Cab 4×4 (Hilux) in 1985 form. KK Scale lists two variants:

• KKDC181564 – Toyota Truck Xtra Cab 4×4 (Hilux) 1985, White
• KKDC181565 – Toyota Truck Xtra Cab 4×4 (Hilux) Back to the Future II 1985, Black

The black model is the one tied to the Back to the Future franchise, specifically the second film, per the announced product name. A UK retailer’s product page for the black Hilux adds several concrete details: it is a 1:18 scale diecast pickup with a sealed bodyshell, diecast metal construction with plastic parts, and a window box. The retailer lists approximate dimensions ranging from 240mm x 90mm x 70mm to 280mm x 110mm x 90mm, and recommends it for collectors aged 14 and over, with warnings that it is not a toy and contains small parts. The retailer adds that the listed dimensions are approximate and that colors and finishes may vary slightly from the original vehicle due to production processes. It also cautions that product images may be digitally enhanced.

The same listing notes that the model is mass-produced and intended for display, and advises keeping it away from direct sunlight or extreme temperatures and storing it in a dust-free environment or case. It also says the sealed-body construction helps maintain accurate proportions and clean exterior lines. The retailer adds that KK Scale models are popular with collectors seeking accurate proportions, display presence, and attractive detailing at a price point that remains accessible compared with many premium-priced alternatives, and that the 1:18 size makes the model well suited to display cabinets, desk displays, and themed collections.

One small note: while the announced product name references Back to the Future II, a UK retailer’s title describes the same black Hilux as a Back to the Future III “Look Alike.” The original KK Scale listing is the source used here for the film reference.

Buick Riviera 1965: Four Classic Finishes

The second series reproduces the 1965 Buick Riviera. KK Scale will offer the coupe in Gold Metallic, Creme, Blue Metallic, and Dark Red Metallic, under product numbers KKDC181531 through KKDC181534.

The announcement doesn’t say which product number goes with which Riviera color. A Dutch retailer’s listing does: it identifies the dark red metallic version as KKDC181531 and describes it as the Riviera seen in the movie Road House. That movie connection appears only in the retailer’s listing, not in the original KK Scale announcement. That same retailer lists the model in 1:18 scale, places it in the Movie/TV/Games/Comics category, and shows pre-order availability for September 2026.

Product Codes and Release Details

Here are the product numbers as published by KK Scale:

• Toyota Truck Xtra Cab 4×4 (Hilux) 1985 – White: KKDC181564
• Toyota Truck Xtra Cab 4×4 (Hilux) Back to the Future II 1985 Black: KKDC181565
• Buick Riviera 1965 – Gold Metallic, Creme, Blue Metallic, Dark Red Metallic: KKDC181531–KKDC181534

The Diecast Company lists the dark red Riviera as a pre-order with September 2026 availability. The black Hilux is also listed on the Diecast Model Centre website, though that page does not include a specific pre-order date.

LEGO chose Ferrari to open the 2026 Speed Champions wave, and the 77254 Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale is making that choice look good. Reviews of the set describe an intricate build, clever part usage, and a finished model that does justice to Ferrari’s road-legal hypercar.

The set retails for US$27.99, with regional pricing at AU$39.99, €27.99, £22.99, and CAD$34.99. It launched on 1 January 2026. That price, reviewers say, feels reasonable for a Speed Champions set with an above-average part count and a final build that sits on the larger side.

What’s in the Box

Inside are five numbered paper bags, a chassis element, an instruction manual, and a sticker sheet. The sticker sheet is modest by Speed Champions standards, which is welcome in a theme that can lean heavily on stickers.

The build is spread across those five bags. Bag 1 starts with the chassis, part of the interior, and the driver minifigure. Bag 2 handles more exterior work around the rear. Bag 3 carries the body paneling toward the front. Bag 4 brings the front section and rear wing into focus, and bag 5 completes the model. Jay’s Brick Blog describes the process as very detailed and full of enjoyable, innovative tricks.

A Build Full of New Parts

The finished model is sleek Ferrari red with black accents. The front end, a tricky shape on the real car, is handled with tiles, wedge plates, and slopes meeting at different angles. Some of the new pieces introduced here do a lot of the work: tiled 1×2 angled plates, 1×1 inverted corner cheese slopes, and a redesigned wheel-and-tire combo. The wheels are deeply concave single-piece rims with a Ferrari print in the center, rather than a generic hub with an inserted rim.

The bonnet gets texture from upside-down black plates and tiny gaps toward the front that mimic the hood scoops. The rear packs clever diffuser details into a tight space, and the rear window uses the new angled tiles in trans-black. The windscreen can be removed, revealing a cabin with room for two minifigures, a steering wheel, stickered interior details, and a yellow steering-wheel center that calls back to a Ferrari badge.

One Driver, One Strong Impression

Only one minifigure is included: a female driver in a red Ferrari-branded hoodie with a printed grey belt at the hem. She also comes with a racing helmet and a spanner. The hoodie is handy for builders making custom F1 characters, although the printed belt limits its reuse. The minifigure is adequate but not the standout; the car is the real star.

The Wider 2026 Wave

The Brick Blogger’s 2026 Speed Champions roundup covers the Ferrari alongside the APXGP Team Race Car, the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo, and the McLaren W1. In that company, the SF90 was the model that changed the reviewer’s mind about the theme, thanks to concave cheese-wedge slopes, subtle rear detailing, and fewer stickers. Hispabrick Magazine also praised the light sticker usage and counted 14 printed elements, including headlights, windscreen, fender vents, a silver Ferrari logo at the back, and two 1×1 cheese-slope Ferrari badges.

The same review offered a few builder-friendly modifications: fill the front lower-corner gap with extra quarter-round tiles, replace the bulky rear-wing mounts with notched corner tiles and neck brackets, and swap or recolour the wing-mirror brackets. Even in stock form, it calls the finished model very impressive and compares it favourably with 2020’s F8 Tributo as a sign of how far Speed Champions has come since the move to 8-wide cars.

Availability

The 77254 Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale is available from LEGO.com or local LEGO stores. It was released on 1 January 2026, and retail listings include a 9+ age recommendation and box dimensions of 13 cm wide, 4 cm high, and 17 cm deep.

ACME has a new diecast on the way, and this one is unusual: a 1959 Nash Metropolitan wearing Checker Taxi markings in 1:18 scale. The model, product number A1801000, was announced on September 13, 2026, with delivery listed as March 2027. No specifications or feature details accompanied the initial reveal.

Retailer pre-order pages have since added much more texture. The replica is finished in green and beige, with Checker-inspired livery and realistic detailing. One listing, from 3000toys.com, calls it a limited edition with an estimated production of 402 pieces and lists an Austin B Series 1.5 L engine, functional steering, opening doors, hood and trunk, and authentic taxi paint and graphics. That retailer cautions that the photos show a real-life car and the final model may vary, and rates it an adult collectible for people 14 and older. At the same shop, the listing is marked “Expected NEW” and invites pre-orders to reserve a copy.

ACME’s product page adds historical context, tying the car to the downtown city life of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The company says the Nash was “built for quick errands and tight parking spots,” and “the compact size made it the perfect car for the Checker fleet as it effortlessly navigated the crowded city streets of New York, Chicago, San Fran and so many more!” The page lists the model as a pre-order at $139.95, with a ship date of Dec. 26/Jan. 27.

Prices and dates differ from shop to shop

Retailers are not all quoting the same numbers. Diecast Direct, Inc. lists an MSRP of $144.95 and a selling price of $139.95, with expected arrival in October or November 2026 and an expected-by date of Oct. 31, 2026. It also offers free shipping and handling across the USA 48 states when standard shipping is selected. Nice Car Diecast lists the same model at $184.95, with both the regular price and the sale price set to that figure, and flags it as a pre-order item that is not in stock.

Nice Car Diecast’s pre-order policy is strict: payment is processed immediately, release dates can change without notice, and pre-order prices are not 100% guaranteed. If an unexpected supplier increase or import duty applies, the retailer says extra charges may be added. Orders containing pre-order items ship only when every item in the order is in stock; the shop suggests placing a separate order for available items if you want them sooner. The retailer also advises customers who are uncomfortable with the wait to order once the item is available. For Canadian customers, the page’s FAQ cites delivery of roughly four to five business days across Canada and about three business days within Quebec. The same FAQ also notes that a 1:18 replica is 18 times smaller than the real car.

What lines up across the listings

Even with prices and dates scattered, the core details match: 1:18 scale, a green and beige Checker Taxi treatment of the 1959 Nash Metropolitan, and ACME listed as the manufacturer. Diecast Direct writes the item number as ACME-A1801000; other listings use A1801000. ACME has its own pre-order page up as well, and separate listings are live at Diecast Direct, Nice Car Diecast and 3000toys.

The arrival date is one clear difference between listings: the announcement says March 2027, ACME’s product page says Dec. 26/Jan. 27, and Diecast Direct says arrival is expected by Oct. 31, 2026.

Sparko is dropping the grub screw from shock mounting on its F8 buggy. The company has introduced 7075 hard-anodized threaded shock pins that mount directly into the shock, a setup it calls simpler and more secure than the previous hardware.

According to Sparko’s product announcement, the pins are machined from lightweight 7075 aluminum and get a hard-anodized finish for wear resistance. Because they thread straight in, there is no grub screw to fuss with. Sparko says that means a cleaner install and more consistent handling, run after run.

Sparko also engineered the pins with vibration in mind. The left-side pins are reverse-threaded, which the company says keeps them from loosening from vibration. The hard-anodized coating is described as wear-resistant, while the 7075 material is called strong, light, and race-ready.

The pins carry part number #F840910P. Powerhobby handles US distribution for Sparko products.

Built for the F8 platform

The pins are designed for the Sparko F8, a 1/8 nitro pro buggy that Sparko says was engineered with professional-level racers in mind. The company says corner speed drove every design decision, while build quality and durability stayed uncompromising. Sparko calls the F8 a future-focused platform, with optional upgrades and performance parts developed through testing by its factory drivers and engineers.

The F8 name, according to Sparko, references one of the most sophisticated fighter jets ever built, reflecting the precision and advanced engineering inside the buggy.

The F8’s standard suspension already includes 16mm bladder-type big-bore shocks with gold titanium nitride-coated shafts and 7075 hard-anodized aluminum shock bodies, so the new pins match the material and finish used elsewhere in the suspension. The shock hardware also includes pre-marked spring collars for height adjustment and a lower spring retainer screw that keeps the spring and retainer locked to the lower ball cup. Stainless steel front and rear quick-release lower pins make getting the shocks off the car quick work.

Sparko’s F8 spec sheet continues beyond the shocks. Up front there is a 16° aluminum C-hub for sharp steering response, a rigid front upper arm, and an aluminum steering bellcrank for a slop-free feel. The drivetrain is a three-differential design with 43/13 ring-and-pinion gears front and rear, a 46T spur gear and 13T pinion at the center, a dogbone center driveline, and universal driveshafts at the outdrives. A molded electronics tray can be fitted with optional grommets to help keep dust and moisture away from the receiver, battery, servo, and AMB transponder.

The F8 also comes with two sets of front and rear anti-roll bars: 2.3mm and 2.5mm front bars plus 2.6mm and 2.8mm rear bars, with other rates offered as optional parts. The suspension arms use carbon inserts for extra rigidity, and the rear arms can be run in long or short configurations with adjustable offset inserts. Sparko also gives the F8 body and its 3-in-1 rear wing system a role in the tuning package; the wickerbill can run with holes, without holes, or removed.

The F8 line isn’t just nitro anymore. Powerhobby lists the F8E Electric Pro Buggy Kit as the electric version of the F8 Nitro Buggy. That kit is described as a 1/8 brushless buggy with a multi-configuration battery mount, accepting 2x 2S stick or shorty packs or brick 4S or shorty packs. Its feature list includes alloy caster blocks, steering knuckles, a carbon fiber top plate, and center diff plates.

The new threaded shock pins are one more option for a platform Sparko says is built to evolve. Sparko points to SparkoRacing.com for more information on the F8 and its parts.