LEGO BrickHeadz Minions: 40420 Gru and 40421 Belle Bottom [Review]

Minions 2: The Rise Of Gru, the sequel to the 2015 film Minions, and the fifth film in the Despicable Me franchise was originally scheduled to premiere on July 3rd, 2020. But like so many other movie and video game releases in recent years, it has been delayed, and delayed again. Now slated for July 2022. So while you may be bummed to have to wait another 15 months to see the movie, you can still get a fix of sorts with these two additions to the LEGO BrickHeadz line. LEGO BrickHeadz Minions 40420 Gru, Stuart & Otto includes 244 pieces, is available now on LEGO.com for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99; 40421 Belle Bottom, Kevin & Bob includes 309 pieces, and is available on LEGO.com for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

The box and contents

The front of the boxes shows each of the main characters, Gru and Belle Bottom, flanked by two minions wearing their traditional blue overalls and martial arts garb, respectively. The upper right corner shows the branding for the upcoming film. The boxes also feature a blueprint background filled with schematics, LEGO elements, and random doodles.

40420 Gru, Stuart, and Otto includes 2 numbered bags and 2 instruction booklets, while 40421 Belle Bottom, Bob, and Kevin comes with three numbered bags, two bags for Belle Bottom and 1 bag for the minions, as well as 2 instruction booklets. For each set, the main character gets 1 booklet, while the second booklet is for the two minions.

As with most BrickHeadz sets, the decorative parts are printed, including several 2×2 round eye tiles, some hair for Stuart, stiped tiles for the minion sleeves, and some gold chains for Ms. Bottom.

The build

Starting with Gru, Stuart, and Otto, right away, we see the distinctive overalls taking shape for the minions, along with their squat bodies, which follow the standard 4×4 size for Gru and Otto, and the usual 3×3 buddy size for Stuart.

Minions lend themselves perfectly to the BrickHeadz design, and they look pretty good. The new eye tiles printed to include the rims of their goggles, and the black band around their heads is the perfect detail, and their dangling arms even include a bracket, which provides a neanderthal look. Young Gru sports his signature gray scarf with each end hanging down in front and in back. Gru’s profile would not be complete without his pointed nose. Few BrickHeadz characters have them. In fact, the only other non-animals to include noses were Olaf and the birthday clown.

On to Belle Bottom and her minions, Bob and Kevin. As her name suggests, Belle wears bellbottom pants, so her base starts out pretty different from the usual body. She is ranked by Kevin, who seems to be the tallest Minion of the two sets. Kevin and Bob are both built using a 3×3 base which, like the other minions, is largely devoted to their heads. Unlike the ones that come with Gru, Ms. Bottom’s minions wear tracksuits that remind me of the one worn by Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Long after the minions are finished, Ms. Bottom (that never gets old) keeps on and on, with a tall stack of bricks to support her substantial afro. I fully expect someone to use this technique to build a custom BrickHeadz style model of the famous happy little trees painter Bob Ross. She also sports a pair of precious gold hoop earrings.

The finished model

When each set is finished, you get a great line-up of characters from the next film in the Despicable Me franchise, with each main character flanked by two minions, which, if you are a fan of the movies, are really the stars of these sets. Since I had both sets, I took the liberty of improvising some minions of my own as well; I had some fun with a line-up, from tallest to shortest.

Conclusion and recommendation

Whether you love’em or hate’em, the Minions are certainly memorable, and for those that love them, these sets would make a great addition to any BrickHeadz collection. Even if you are not a big fan of the Minions, the printed eyes, along with several of the tall bricks with 2 studs on one side, make either of these sets a great parts pack. My only complaint about the main characters is the fact that Gru is supposed to be 12, while Belle Bottom is an adult, and aside from the extra height devoted to her hair, they are closer in height than they should be. I thought that Gru was depicted as an adult until I watched the trailer.

LEGO BrickHeadz Minions 40420 Gru, Stuart & Otto includes 244 pieces, is available now on LEGO.com for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99; 40421 Belle Bottom, Kevin & Bob includes 309 pieces, and is available on LEGO.com for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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