While the original LEGO Mario sets are fun and all, the electronically-enhanced design of the character didn’t exactly feel like a LEGO model. It’s a tad too different, in our opinion. If you were hoping to get your hands on a standard buildable 3D Mario model, then now’s your chance with the upcoming LEGO Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart Set.
That’s right, LEGO is making a Mario Kart set with a traditional brick-built 3D Mario in tow, instead of the interactive screen-enhanced figure from earlier sets. Granted, that means it’s not a set that’s meant to be played with, but a build-and-display model that’s perfect for showing off on a shelf full of your favorite Nintendo characters.
The LEGO Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart Set lets you build an all-brick model of Mario riding his traditional kart from the game. We love the buildable Mario figure that’s riding on the kart, as it recreates his likeness pretty faithfully from the games, from the bushy moustache and the bulbous nose to his classic red cap. It’s just a beautifully-sculpted character, made all the more impressive by the fact that you’re going to build it all from separate bricks.
Even better, the Mario character comes with a poseable head, so you can make him face left, right, or center, so you can have him looking in any direction just like he’s about to make a turn. It’s not just the head, either, as both arms are poseable, too, so you can have him driving with both hands on the wheel or doing goofy Mario things. Sure, you don’t get the expressiveness of the interactive model, but these poseable parts do allow for some dynamic poses. Plus, it’s a traditional LEGO, which, we’re guessing, is what many LEGO fans would prefer.
The LEGO Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart Set recreates his kart racer pretty accurately, too, and in perfect proportion to the dimensions of the character figure. Sadly, the kart itself doesn’t seem to have any moving parts, as it’s strictly a build-and-display model. That means, you can’t even make the wheels spin, so you can’t even push it across the table to crash into a piranha plant that’s just chilling in the middle of the track. Instead, the kart comes with a stand that’s designed to support the kart at various angles, so you can pose it as if it is drifting, speeding, or downright flying off the ground.
When finished, the model measures 12.5 x 8.5 x 7.5 inches (length x height x width), making for quite a big display that’s sure to draw attention anywhere you decide to put it. It comes with 1,972 pieces, by the way, so it’s probably going to take a bit of time investment to put together. Given that this set is more likely to be bought by a Nintendo fan, though, that’s probably time you would have spent playing a Mario game anyway, so you can just look at it as indulging in your favorite hobby without having to pick up a Joy-Con.
The LEGO Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart Set is now available for preorder, priced at $169.99. It ships on May 15th.