If you’ve seen any of the Despicable Me movies you know that those chattery little Minions get up to all sorts of shenanigans when left unsupervised. Well, now they can do it in style with this fully loaded party bus. Did the Anti-Villain League approve of this excursion, or did someone leave the key box unlocked? LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus includes 379 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99
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 small rectangular thumb-punch box with the Despicable Me 4 branding. The party bus is featured in party mode in the parking lot of the Anti-Villian League. There is an inset image of the bus folded up for driving as well as a line-up of the four characters included in the set.
Inside the box are four numbered bags, an instruction booklet, and a small sticker sheet.
The build
The bus starts with a base with inverted slopes in white all around. On the bottom layer of the bus are two tiled dance floors. There is a small section reinforced with a Technic lift-arm that forms the center of the bus, to which the front and back sections will attach with hinges.
The back section features a hot tub with a cute rubber duck. It attaches to the right side of the vehicle while the left side has a door that further unfolds when in “party mode.” There’s also a turntable in the center with two vinyl records on a DJ stand that incorporates two clips for each of the sections to lock in place. The records sport a Minion face and Gru “G” on their labels (both stickers).
Before moving on to the front section, we add a hinged roof that has two speakers, some lights, and two stickers of minions performing. Is that an L.L. Cool J reference?
The front section is a bit sparse in my opinion, having only a single steering wheel. The hinged roof plate includes more speakers, lights, and pics of performing Minions. It attaches the same way as the back section.
With both sections attached, the Party Bus is complete. The two sides, the doors, and the roof panels fold easily, although all the accessories and minions will make the bus a bit crowded when driving.
The minifigs
The set includes four Minion minifigures, all with printed torsos. Three have printed hair or stubble, and all of the goggle eyes are printed as well. The Minions are Mega Minion Gus, who wears a banana superhero costume complete with a cape. Phil, Mel, and Dave wear the standard blue overalls.
The finished model
The finished model is a simple but effective design, providing lots of attachment points for the Minions, and even includes a few stand-alone mini-builds like a piano and guitar rack. There is also a flag, a balloon, a few drinks, and even party hats to add to the ambiance.
Conclusions and recommendations
If you’re looking to score Minions for your yellow banana-loving army, then this is a great place to start. While the bus itself doesn’t have a ton of details, it does the job of providing the hard-working and hard-partying Minions with the perfect place to unwind and get in some karaoke. And with this bus, the party never has to end. As a parts pack it is also a great set, with a bunch of transparent blue window panels and several dark blue elements, and tiles in both azure and dark azure. LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus includes 379 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99
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.
