LEGO Super Mario

71462 LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant Revealed

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Every year, around this time, we see an adult focussed set drawing inspiration from LEGO Super Mario: be it the Retro TV, the Mario 64 Question Mark Cube or the Mighty Bowser. These sets have drawn heavily on nostalgic aspects of the Super Mario games, to present an artefact that has certainly been a talking point in many households around the wolrd. Each of these sets has had a suitably impressive price tag attached, too (priced from 300-400AUD This year, perhaps as a sign of the times, with cost of living being what it has become in 2023, the scale has been somewhat reduced. This year’s adult focussed LEGO Super Mario set is a shelf sized model of the Pirhana Plant. With 540 pieces, the set will be released on November 6th and priced at $AUD94.99/$USD59.99 / €64.99 / £57.99.

Over recent years, the LEGO Group have been responsive to the cries of adult fans – Give us more, give us bigger – and now it has become apparent that the major problems that these large LEGO sets have give AFOLS are related to two major factors:

  • one is cost with the previous adult focussed Super Mario sets, we have seen prices starting at $USD199.99
  • another is display space. I love the look of the new Concorde, but at over 1m in length, there is no doubt that I have nowhere to reasonably build it or display it without causing major disruption to the family living spaces.
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71424 Donkey Kong’s Tree House Revealed

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The forthcoming LEGO Super Mario Donkey Kong’s Tree House has been revealed and is available for preorder from the Australian Certified Stores for $94.99 AUD. It will be available on 1st August 2023.

It comes with 2 buildable figures: Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong.

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MAR10 Day: 71413 Super Mario Buildable Characters Series 6

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I seem to be slipping behind with my LEGO Super Mario Reviews: I have a few sets from the current wave remaining to look at (as well as some more from last year); sometime soon, we will see what the LEGO Group have in store for us later in the year.

The figures were released earlier in 2023, and cost USD6.99/AUD9.99 each. I picked up an unopened box at Toybricks. Read on to see who’s inside, and how they score:

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LEGO Super Mario: 2023 Sets Revealed

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As we approach the pointy end of the year, we are now beginning to get some information about next year’s releases: first up are the next wave of LEGO Super Mario sets. Once again, we have a collection of Character Packs, as well as Expansion packs, large and small. Here is a quick overview of the new sets: I’ll bring more information later, when I have had a chance to think about them properly. In the meantime, I shall be brief…

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71411: The Mighty Bowser [Rambling Review]

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Almost as consistent as the appearance of a certain Italian Plumber across a series of Nintendo Video Games over the past 30 years has been that of Bowser: ruler of the Koopalings, a fierce, fire breathing, Princess stealing warrior tortoise. We have seen him appear in 2 previous forms over the years: One in several of the LEGO Super Mario Expansion packs (Bowsers Castle, and Princess Peach’s Castle), and a microscale version in last year’s ‘?’ Block.

This is the Super Mario tie-in set to be specifically aimed at adult builders, and it promises an intriguing large scale build, imposing to display, but also incorporating some play features, posability as well as some impressive puppet like movements.

As I write this review, I am almost as far from the model as I can possibly be, on a little holiday before attending the Skaerbaek Fan Weekend. Fortunately, I got the model built and photographed before I left.

So, how does the model stack up with the stated aims? We shall start off with a general look at the finished model, before diving into an in-depth, spoiler-filled look at the build. I’d love to know if you appreciate this style of review, so drop me a line in the comments below, or reach out on social media. I still have some more Mario sets to review, and these will be coming up after we return from holiday.

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Counting Down to 100 years of Play : Rampant Speculation 2022-2031

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This last week or so, we have been counting down to the LEGO Group’s 90th anniversary. Today, we have reached the 10th of August 2022, and the LEGO Group are celebrating! After looking over the last 90 years, I thought we might take a moment to speculate about the directions that the company might take in the future.

It is speculation

Some will be exciting

Some will be mundane

Some will, quite possibly, be terrifying to us.

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71406. Yoshi’s Gift House Expansion Set

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Yoshi is a fan favorite character, and the LEGO Super Mario game has changed the way in which the character his handled since Green Yoshi debuted in 2020’s 71367 Mario’s House and Yoshi. Like that set, this set provides plenty of opportunity for play and experimentation, not necessarily in the setting of the timed game. Let’s take a look at this set, which builds further on the Fruit and gifts mechanic first revealed in the Peach Starter Set. We will take a close look at that mechanic, and see how you can use it to maximise your score.

The set is based around Yoshi’s house and brings us Green Yoshi, Monty Mole, Green and Red Fruit, a present and a…fruit upgrade carousel? That said, I have come through this set with a better knowledge of the fruit powers and gift giving.

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LEGO Super Mario: Goomba’s Shoe Expansion Set [Hands On Review]

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Over the years, we have seen a number of means used to enhance Mario’s coin scoring while ‘just walking around’ be it using a power up suit or flying around in Bowser Jr’s Clown Car, or even the various rafts seen in Wiggler’s Poison swamp or Dorrie’s Beach Front. This wave sees the arrival of 71404 Goomba’s shoe, an oversized boot, with a wind up key, which Mario (or Luigi or Peach) can ride in. How does it contribute to the game?

The set is priced at $17.99 AUD /9.99USD(affiliate link) and has 76 pieces. It officially goes on sale on August 1, 2022.

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71410 LEGO Super Mario Buildable Characters Series 5: Hands-On Review

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The LEGO Super Mario Buildable Characters were unveiled at LEGO CON, and this series represents a significant departure from the format of characters seen previously. I was fortunate to receive a shipping box for review from the LEGO Group, and I will present the contents of the box: we will look at the shipping order, the new packaging and the characters, including the characters behaviour in game, and their potential in game coin value.

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Getting Started with 71403 Adventures with Peach: Hands On Review.

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Regular readers of the Rambling Brick will know I enjoy looking at the LEGO Super Mario sets. With the interactive digital brick bringing us favorite characters, Mario and Luigi. This year we see the arrival of Princess Peach. Frequently a target of kidnapping by Bowser, I was intrigued to see what sort of activities she would be engaged in.

I have been fortunate to receive some of the new wave of LEGO Super Mario sets for review, and today I would like to start with the entry level Princess Peach set, 71403 Adventures with Princess Peach. With 354 pieces, this set includes The Princess Peach digital brick, as well as several brick built characters and some new terrain elements. It will go on sale on August 1, 2022, costing $AUD89.99.

Inside the box are 6 bags, and a leaflet highlighting the sets still available in the Super Mario range, including some ideas for arranging the elements.

As with All LEGO Super Mario sets, there are NO stickers to apply.

Let’s take a look at what we get in the set: the characters, powerups and  landscape elemements, including how scoring is allocated. At the end, I will include a video demonstrating gameplay for the elements of the starter set.

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