Those of you born in the 60s and 70s would certainly be able to relate to Scooby Doo, and I think it’s part of the Lego target market to re-introduce to us our beloved childhood memories to entice us to open our wallets once again. Yes, regardless how much you deny, Lego does know that we are now working class folks with disposable income at the end of the day. A simple tug of those heartstrings is going to make you throw your money their way. I’ve got to admit that it’s all about the Mystery Machine for me. Come on, there are only 2 van type vehicles that are iconic during the 80s, the other one being the infamous black A-Team Van. 😃 Enough with the distraction - on with the review!
Parts (Rating 4 out of 5)
I’ve got to admit, the color scheme used are very bright and reminds me of the Friend’s theme. The set comes with 81 pieces and once you’ve gotten over the price you had to pay for this, it’s really quite a decent number of elements. Throwing in the extra elements, I got an extra “lightsaber” element with extra two transparent studs in white and yellow. If you think you’re going to be able to bricklink the van, think again. According to bricklink - the two roof elements (6122500 Medium Azure) are unique to this set. Go figure!
Mystery Machine Build (Rating 4 out of 5)
This is simply an amazing build, once again, using so little to represent so much! I actually tested this build upon completion with the non-AFOL nearby. "What do you think this is?" whilst holding the van in my hands? Instant reply: "SCOOBY DOOBY DOOOOO!" So, its a PASS with flying colours Lego team! Well done with the excellent representation! I really love how they included the two flowers at the sides. The green and medium azure WITH the flowers give it the right “look” to make it instantly recognisable. (Note, the flowers may just fall off as the grip strength is so-so) The one and only disappointing thing was the lack of a flower a the front. Yes, I think a sticker could do it, but I think it would not be worth to Lego as everything else looks perfect to convince that they have it 99% right.
Scooby Snack (Rating 2 out of 5)
Not to nit-pick but Lego calls this burger the Scooby snack. Come on, we all know Scooby snacks are his dog biscuits. These are their excellent Super Shaggy Sandwiches! So, unless I’m wrong somewhere, I’m Pur-e-tty sure that the designers of this set were not really Scooby-Doo fans.
Anyhoos, ok, just looking at this monstrous build, I got to admit, using these few elements for a sandwich just doesn’t cut it. Yes, I get it..it’s a sandwich, and they got all the colors right, the beef, ham, lettuce, cheese but somehow, its too TALL without sufficient width to be right. Good try Lego - if it was presented to someone without any knowledge of the theme, it’d be a hard time for them to guess this was a sandwich. Saying that, with the right background, yes, I’ll accept this as a sandwich. 😃
Shaggy (Rating 4 out of 5)
Full disclosure, I don’t own any other of the Scooby-Doo lego sets. So this is my first time looking at Shaggy. I must say I like his “curry-puff” hairstyle . They pulled it off pretty well with his beard and his other scary expression. This version of Shaggy appears in 75900 (Mummy Museum) and 75901 (Mystery Plane Adventures). This torso is printed on both sides and has a plain coloured set of legs. All I can say - although Shaggy is taller and has a thinner face but with the minifig representation, it’s a job well done.
Sooby-doo (5 out of 5)
First and foremost, Sooby is not listed as a minifig in brickset. It’s simply two elements made up of a body (element) and his head is listed as an “animal". If brickset is reliable as we think, this particular head on Scooby is unique to this set. So, this is yet another nice surprise for me. I thought it would be a re-used part instead of a whole new customisation. Can any other AFOL validate this? In every other way, if you leave Scooby on a table without any other reference to Lego, one would not be able to suspect it’s a Lego piece. So, kudos to Lego for this customisation for keeping the actual look and feel of Scooby. On the other hand, Scooby IS the theme of this set, they have no other choice than to get this right. They even got it down to the right color and shape of his dog leash and pendant hanging across his neck.
Overall (Rating 4 out of 5)
With the exception of the sandwich, I really liked this set and well worth my expectations especially with the Mystery Van. Looking at the unique elements to this set sort of gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling that it was worth it and not finding out too late thinking I could bricklink it in the future.