Recently there have been several LEGO sets building characters outside of the usual minifigure scale, like the buildable LEGO Star Wars 75371 Chewbacca and LEGO Super Mario 71411 The Mighty Bowser. These sets straddle the line between play sets and display scenes, offering options for collectors similar to the BrickHeadz theme, and sub-themes like the Star Wars helmets and starship collections. One such set is from the Despicable Me 4 wave, a brick-built Gru surrounded by 5 minions on a rotating base. LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru & Minions comes with 839 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $54.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £49.99
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the parts, instructions, and stickers
The set comes in a square box with the Despicable Me 4 branding. On the front of the box, the finished model is shown against an illustrated background of Gru’s lair and minion laboratory. On the back of the box, the model is shown from a different angle with two minions standing in front.
Inside the box are 8 numbered bags, 2 instruction booklets, and a small sticker sheet for the minion eyes, mouths, and Gru’s long zipper. Gru’s mouth, eyes, and eyebrows, along with the minion’s overall fronts, are printed.
The build
The first 4 bags each build a single minion while the 5th minion comes in one of the bags for the stand. The first minion wears a hula skirt and a hat adorned with fruit. Since this minion wears the hula skirt instead of the usual blue overalls, the construction is a bit different than the rest. The torso is built with studs facing sideways with Technic pins connecting the torso and head, allowing them to swivel. A phone element in reddish-brown is used for the coconut shell top. Each minion includes a prop, and for this one, it is a pair of maracas.
The next minion is wearing the dark blue suit of the Anti-Villian League (AVL) which is the secret group that recruits Gru in Despicable Me 2. This minion wears a spinning propeller hat.
In addition to his walkie-talkie, he also comes with a pair of alternate eyes sporting high-tech goggles.
Next up is a slightly taller minion who carries a large rifle that I think shoots fart gas, or green flames.
The fourth minion on the main stand wears a fancy hat from the scene in Despicable Me 2 when Gru sets fire to the phone after talking with Lucy and a squad of fire-fighting minions storms in to put it out.
Moving on to the substantial rotating stand, we start with a standard base of plates and bricks bordered with tiles. A few strategically placed plates with holes give anchor points for the gears that will rotate the stand by turning the fifth minion attached to the side.
A rounded border is added to the main stand along with three turntable bases. Three rounded 14-tooth gears are added before we move on the the top layer of the stand.
The top layer of the stand base has four concentric rings of color tiles, and four plates extending from each side which the minions will attach to. The fifth minion is sitting down, and once attached will be used to turn the base, rotating the other minions around Gru.
Now it is time to build Felonious Gru. We start with a round base with Gru’s feet and legs, which are simply a stack of bricks and sideways-facing brackets with tiles. The round pedestal fits onto the center of the stand.
Gru’s torso is made with a stack of brackets and outward-facing stud bricks in a variety of colors with black plates and tiles attached. Gru’s iconic wide shoulders and scarf are added, and small ball joints will be used to attach his thin arms.
The shoulders are topped with curved slopes and hing bricks are added to angle Gru’s head. Then the torso is added to the legs.
The rest of the torso consists of two assemblies made from black slopes attached to the sideways-facing brackets on either side.
Finally, we build the head and the arms, which can be posed in a few ways (although limited by the range of motion permitted by the ball joints).
The finished model
The finished model is sturdy and can be moved easily. There are some issues when turning the stand, where the props often collide with Gru’s legs or the props held by other minions, but as a display set, it does a great job capturing the characters. The minions have fun and expressive features, including the eyes which can be rotated to create a variety of expressions. The design of the stand, using one of the minions to turn the base is a great detail, and could easily be modified to run on a small motor.
Conclusions and recommendations
While this set does not have a lot of play features, as a display set, I think it is quite successful. All of the characters are detailed and the minions are especially expressive. If you are a fan of the Despicable Me franchise and are looking for a nice display set for your shelf I would recommend picking this one up, but if you are looking for a more traditional playset, I recommend picking up LEGO 75583 Minions and Gru Family Mansion instead. The set is also a great parts pack, with the ~$55 price including almost as many parts as the mansion. LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru & Minions comes with 839 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $54.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £49.99
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
