Creator

Fiat 500

A cheerful little Italian icon that wins you over the moment those curves click into place.

Brick Rated Score

4.4/5

Set 10271 · 2020

Pieces960

Minifigsn/a

Year2020

Set number10271

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The verdict

This one charmed me faster than almost any car set I can think of.

The bright light yellow bodywork and those rounded curves make it instantly readable as the real 500, and the little painter's easel with a mini painting of the car outside the Colosseum is the kind of detail that makes you grin. It's on the smaller side and the price felt a touch steep for 960 pieces, but the personality more than covers the gap. If you love a display piece with a story, you'll adore it.

Best for: Car-loving adult builders who want charm and character over raw size

The full review

What it is

There's a warmth to the Fiat 500 that a lot of vehicle sets never quite manage, and I think it's the color. Almost 400 bright light yellow pieces give this LEGO® set a sunny, cheerful glow that suits the subject perfectly. This is the 500 F from the late 1960s, the front-hinged-door version of Dante Giacosa's tiny city car, and the designer nailed the proportions. You can squint at the finished model from across the room and know exactly what it is. That silhouette, all soft curves and a stubby friendly nose, is genuinely hard to do in a medium that loves right angles, and the fact that it reads so clearly is the whole reason people fall for this one.

The catch

I'll be straight with you about the value, because it's the thing builders raised most often. At 89.99 for 960 pieces, the price per part runs higher than you'd like, especially sitting next to the bigger Creator vehicles that give you a thousand-plus pieces and a much larger footprint. And this is a small car. It's a desk-friendly display piece, not a coffee-table centerpiece, so if you're picturing something the size of the VW camper you'll want to reset your expectations. The other quibble is the stickers. There are seventeen of them, and while the Fiat badge is nicely printed on a couple of 1x1 round tiles so you're not fiddling tiny logos, a few more printed elements would have been welcome at this price.

Who it's for

None of that dents how much I enjoyed it, though, and I think the trick is to go in wanting charm rather than heft. The build is full of neat little moves, the extras are delightful, and the finished car has real character on a shelf. If you love classic cars, or you've got a soft spot for Italian design, or you just want something cheerful that makes you smile every time you walk past it, grab it. The one person I'd gently steer elsewhere is the builder chasing maximum piece count and hours per dollar. For that, a larger set will serve you better. But for pure personality per brick, the little 500 punches well above its size, which is why it earns a solid spot in my recommendations even after retiring.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build moves through the car in sensible stages, and it stays interesting the whole way. The chassis and rear-mounted engine go together first, then you get into the seats, which are a little highlight on their own: medium nougat arms on Technic pins connect to the floor while curved slopes form the upholstery. The doors are where you'll pause and admire the engineering, because they use click hinges to lock curved slopes on their sides, giving you that smooth rounded flank instead of a boxy panel. The fabric sunroof rolls open and shut with a really satisfying action, and the opening hood, doors and tailgate keep your hands busy right to the end. It's not a difficult build, but it's a varied and rewarding one.

For parts people, the story is that gorgeous bright light yellow. Close to 400 elements come in the color, many brand new in that shade for 2020, which makes this a genuine bin-filler if you build in yellow. There are new transparent molds too, including a 1x4x3 outside half bow and a 1x10x4 windscreen in trans-clear that first appeared here. The Fiat emblem printed on 1x1 round tiles is a lovely touch that spares you the smallest stickers. The 960-piece count skews toward small curved slopes and detail parts rather than big plates, so while the value per piece is tight, the recolors and new elements give it real appeal for anyone who cares about their parts drawer as much as the finished model.

Fun facts

01The model recreates the Fiat 500 F built from 1965, the version that dropped the original 'suicide' rear-hinged doors in favour of front-hinged ones.
02The real 500 was designed by Dante Giacosa, who won the 1959 Compasso d'Oro for it, the first time that prestigious design award ever went to a car.
03The set includes a folding easel with a paintbrush, palette and a tiny painting of the 500 parked in front of the Colosseum in Rome.
04The Fiat 500 was retired in December 2022 after a run of about 33 months, so it's now a secondary-market hunt.