Review: 71420 Rambi the Rhino
Posted by SetToBuild,
First seen in Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, Rambi the Rhino is a rideable companion. Normally, he carries Donkey Kong, but here we see him helping out a friendly rival instead. This review will star Luigi since my Mario figure thinks he’s a cat at the moment.
Let’s break open this cardboard box crate and take a rare look at a treasured character from the Donkey Kong universe teaming up with Luigi to do what Rambi does best… Bashing!
Summary
71420 Rambi the Rhino, 106 pieces.
£8.99 / $10.99 / €9.99 | 8.5p/10.4c/9.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This is the smallest set in the Donkey Kong subtheme, however, at this price, it packs a punch
- Good price for an iconic Donkey Kong character
- More expensive in USD vs same-size sets
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Characters
Rambi the Rhino’s construction consists of various SNOT techniques to create his bulky body. The use of slopes does an excellent job of simulating rhinoceros armour. The comically large horn illustrated with a 1x4 claw is the perfect use for this piece. Although this is an exaggerated and fictitious character, the build doubles as a decent representation of a brick-built rhinoceros. I can already visualise some zoo MOCs getting a new animal enclosure.
Rambi’s back has a flat surface for the barcode and a hero figure to sit on. I appreciated the use of two headlight bricks to connect the back legs. Those exposed studs are a fun detail to simulate the naturally bumpy backside of rhinoceros armour.
The stack of stones is the first time we see this container element in dark stone grey and without any printing. This part is normally used as a mushroom cap or for Toad’s head. The 3x3 opening doesn’t provide any clutch, however, there is a 2x2 plate connection inside. The height from the opening to the 2x2 plate is 1 brick and 2 plates tall. While I don’t normally like to roughhouse with my bricks, I felt comfortable tipping over this stack a couple of times with the soft horn piece and it was satisfying to do so. We get three of these stones in the set. (Banana for scale.)
Play
A familiar tune begins to play when Mario scans the barcode on Rambi’s back. This is the drum beat from the song “DK Island Swing” heard during the first level of Donkey Kong Country. Coins being collected and grunting sounds are heard when walking Rambi across a table. Every tap on a surface creates satisfying stomping sounds. Picking him up while also pulling up and then stomping causes a louder smashing sound to occur and a larger cache of coins collected is heard. It’s a minor complaint, but I felt it would make more sense to hear this larger crashing sound when doing the pulling-up motion — that way we would hear the sound as if knocking over the stones.
Conclusion
This small expansion set adds more variety to your LEGO Super Mario course by giving your hero figure a mount to ride, much like sets 71396 Bowser Jr.'s Clown Car or 71404 Goomba's Shoe did. Plus at this price point, you get a little more bang for your buck compared to the hero costumes (unless you’re paying in USD, then LEGO will squeeze an extra dollar out of you).
If you’re a fan of collecting all the characters in the theme, you won’t want to pass Rambi the Rhino up.
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16 comments on this article
This looks very cute! I don't have any of the Mario sets yet, but I might buy a Luigi or Peach to play around with.
Definitely getting one of these for pieces to mod into a Rhino Legend Beast from Chima with some Mixels joints
I think this should've included some pieces to fill the gap when it's not being ridden. Just like minifigure-scale horses.
I should probably pick up another one of these. Good base for making something custom! A few more dark bley "stones" doesn't hurt either.
The banana scale is underutilized, and much appreciated here. Knowing how many Olympic swimming pools a set is might also be a useful metric in the future.
@Spritetoggle said:
"I should probably pick up another one of these. Good base for making something custom! A few more dark bley "stones" doesn't hurt either.
The banana scale is underutilized, and much appreciated here. Knowing how many Olympic swimming pools a set is might also be a useful metric in the future."
Totally agree, we need more usages of "banana for scale" in reviews. It's the ultimate measuring system!
@Blumbirde said:
"I think this should've included some pieces to fill the gap when it's not being ridden. Just like minifigure-scale horses. "
Good point! That would have been a welcome addition!
@Spritetoggle said:
"I should probably pick up another one of these. Good base for making something custom! A few more dark bley "stones" doesn't hurt either.
The banana scale is underutilized, and much appreciated here. Knowing how many Olympic swimming pools a set is might also be a useful metric in the future."
In its box, it's about 1/74400 of an Olympic swimming pool! *The more you know!*
Why is the USD price a big negative here? it's consistent with something like 60376: Arctic Explorer Snowmobile being $11 vs €10.
And yes, I can understand some Dollar / Euro price situations have been ridiculous in the past, but then you talk about huge differences instead of 1 dollar.
For example : 60340 : The Blade Stunt Challenge , $35 dollar compare to €20, or even this year 60362: Car Wash $33 vs €20
The opposite happens all the time with Disney/Marvel/Star Wars sets , where the dollar is favorable over Euro. (and in the past there were extreme examples like 75203 : Hoth Medical Chamber being $30 vs €50 in a bunch of euro countries)
Even unlicensed themes still have price differences, like for some reason Dreamzzz sets are cheaper in dollars, but Monkie Kid cheaper in Euro
@TeriXeri said:
"Why is the USD price a big negative here? it's consistent with something like 60376: Arctic Explorer Snowmobile being $11 vs €10.
And yes, I can understand some Dollar / Euro price situations have been ridiculous in the past, but then you talk about huge differences instead of 1 dollar.
For example : 60340 : The Blade Stunt Challenge , $35 dollar compare to €20, or even this year 60362: Car Wash $33 vs €20
The opposite happens all the time with Disney/Marvel/Star Wars sets , where the dollar is favorable over Euro. (and in the past there were extreme examples like 75203 : Hoth Medical Chamber being $30 vs €50 in a bunch of euro countries)
Even unlicensed themes still have price differences, like for some reason Dreamzzz sets are cheaper in dollars, but Monkie Kid cheaper in Euro "
Totally! Within the Super Mario theme however, comparing this to sets like 71396 or 71404 I would have preferred that this set have a 9/10/10 pricing structure like those did.
I haven't bought any Super Mario sets since 71404 and wasn't really planning to get any more, but this review just may have changed my mind on that.
Great review! The action photo at the end is awesome.
Love this set, and I can't wait to get more of the Donkey Kong wave!
not collecting the Mario theme, but this one will be the exception. so cute!
I don't know if I've missed it, but has 71424 had a review yet? I'm kind of sitting on the fence in terms of if I want to get it or not...
@ozbrickcreator said:
"I don't know if I've missed it, but has 71424 had a review yet? I'm kind of sitting on the fence in terms of if I want to get it or not..."
It hasn't yet, but it's on the way! :)
Thank you! Second actually! I reviewed 71427 Larry's and Morton's Airships as well. https://brickset.com/article/100228/review-71427-larry-s-and-morton-s-airships
Great review, Jonny!
Stunning photography. I really like the backdrop — this material looks great as background, it fits very nicely for showing the LEGO set in my opinion.
As a past Super Mario fan, I'd say that this set is no more than just a small expansion to your Super Mario world. The rino itself looks really fresh and smooth, it would be better if this set would include an enemy rather than a pile of 'rocks'. 71396 is way funnier and same size. The set is decent, but, ehhh..... I personally like 71396 more.