Here’s our review of the 71411 The Mighty Bowser which will be coming to LEGO stores around the world on 1st October 2022 for an eye popping USD269.99 price point and weighing in at an equally staggering 2,807pcs. Read on to see if we think it’s worth it.

The set is a headliner to the LEGO Super Mario theme that started in 2020 and has thus far grown to approximately 20 sets with this being the largest one yet.

Box Experience

The front of the box shows us Bowser standing on a platform while the back of the box shows some of the features off including a blueprint outline on the set dimensions (A rogue cap-less Mario was just chilling on the box and is not included with the set)

Unboxing


There are a total of 22 numbered packs of elements with an additional 1 pack of loose plates included in this set. The instruction manual is inserted into a cardboard envelope.
No stickers are present in the set

The Build

Bags 1 through 3 will build the platform for Bowser flanked by two columns topped with a fire brazier

Knocking over the left column will reveal a POW block and opening a drawer reveals a code. These two items allows for the interactivity with a Mario/Luigi/Peach figure. As the app is not publicly updated for this set yet, we do not know what the code triggers.

Bags 5-6 builds the main mechanism of the Bowser figure. At this point it bears a small resemblance to Boba Fett’s ship, the Slave-1/The Firespray (We made a silly mistake here with the position of the red technic cylinder/technic pins, which is hidden in this picture, even when the instructions had reminded us clearly with a 1:1 insert reference and we had to retrace our steps later on) The Mario pipe-like portion is the neck of Bowser while the while plates will house the shell of Bowser later on.

Bag 7 encloses the main structure .

Bags 8-9 build up the tail and the plastron of Bowser. Nothing too interesting here.

Bags 10-14 adds the feet and builds up the frame of the head. At this stage, Bowser’s eyes which are printed pieces on top of turntables allowing it to be rotated from left to right AND the flipper mechanism for the fireball shooter are built. From the back, we also build the frame that will hold Bowser’s shell later on. The choice of loose connections used to attach the feet and tail allows for some puppet-like movement when carrying Bowser up and down which mimics a jumping up and down motion.

Bags 15-16 complete the head of Bowser including his studded choker and sprint loaded shooter assembly. The eyebrows can be rotated to give Bowser an angry look or a comical confused look.

A quick shot of the lower jaw for Bowser

Bags 17-19 builds up the three sub assemblies of the shell which features the all new 3x3x3 ogive brick on top of the impressive looking shell and outer shell. The shell is one of the only places where the LEGO studs can be prominently seen in this build.

Bags 2022 completes the build with the final addition of the arms and hands. When this set was revealed by LEGO, we were impressed and after completing it, we are still impressed! Bowser is a highly pose-able figure. The head can be turned from left to right and this can be controlled via strategically placed push rods at both sides of Bowser.

The fireball mechanism is controlled via a flick switch right on top of the aforementioned push rods which opens Bowser’s mouth and releases the spring loaded fireball shooter if flicked on completely.

Bowser’s wrists can be rotated 360 degrees, with the fingers rotate-able and the thumb can be opened and closed.
The elbows can be bent 45 degrees and the shoulder connections features a 360 degrees rotation.

The plate support for the shell doubles up a as a stable support for you to pick up and manipulate Bowser’s movement.

Summary

We rate this set highly due to the detailed aesthetics and stability of the build. We especially like the puppetry-like play ability of Bowser.

As a possible change we’d make, the platform Bowser stands on takes up a ton of elements and while it does add to the overall grandeur of the set and interactive playability (which we couldn’t fully test out as the app update wasn’t out yet), we were wondering if the estimated $30-$40 savings off the retail price would have been a better choice.

Nonetheless, in our opinion, this is a landmark set for LEGO and we are thinking the high price point may put off some potential buyers so we advise everyone who wants it to save up and get it later on in it’s estimated 1-2 years shelf lifecycle! Perfetto!


The set used for the review was sent to us by The LEGO Group for the purpose of an honest review. Provision of sets do not in any way influence or guarantee a positive review.


REVIEW OVERVIEW
Overall

5 COMMENTS

  1. Was the first part of your instruction book printed streaky? Pages 1-26 were nowhere near the quality of the rest of the book. So was wondering if it was only mine.

    • Our copy was A-ok for the whole book.
      If you are having trouble with it, you can contact LEGO’s customer service reps to get a replacement which will likely take a few weeks to arrive. Instructions are also available online or on the builder app too if you need them immediately.

  2. I think I made a mistake somewhere along the lines as my flick switch isn’t releasing the flame. Anyway you could explain how it works and take some pics so I can try to fix where I went wrong?

    • Oh dear, We’ll send you an email to try and explain in pictures.
      The flick switch is supposed to activate a black flipper tile that pushes against the shooting mechanism.
      If this flipper tile is not moving , then it’s possible that you will have to retrace your steps back.

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