Review: 75580 Minions and Banana Car
Posted by CapnRex101,
Minions are renowned for their love of bananas and unusual technology, so 75580 Minions and Banana Car should be an effective combination. The titular car definitely looks fun and four new Minions are included, with plenty of accessories for them all.
The price of £19.99, $24.99 or €24.99 accordingly seems enticing, so I am hoping this serves as an enjoyable introductory set for the broader Despicable Me 4 range.
Summary
75580 Minions and Banana Car, 136 pieces.
£19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 | 14.7p/18.4c/18.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
There is not much substance to this set, but the Minion figures are outstanding
- Excellent variety of Minions
- Unique banana car
- Many accessories
- Models are fairly insubstantial
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
As well as bananas, Minions are never averse to a costume, so AVL Tim is formally dressed for his role in the Anti-Villain League. The dark blue suit, tie and identity badge printed on the body component look superb, although you can see a hint of blue overalls showing through the shirt, as this figure uses the standard dual-moulded element. Also, this head is identical to Kevin from the prior Minions range, so a new expression would have been nice.
Pit Crew Ron presumably maintains the banana car and is also dressed for the role, sporting red overalls with Gru's logo and the words 'Gru Crew' on the front. The red uniform completely conceals the dual-moulded piece underneath and I like Ron's hat as well, even though it looks a bit silly, attached with a plate. For a Minion, I think that silliness works!
Appropriately, therefore, Ron is equipped with a nappy disposal gun and a banana, while Tim dons printed goggles with a helicopter hat. The goggles look great and I assume the provided controller directs the hat. I like the red and white accents beneath the rotor, adding some colour to this outlandish device.
Super-powered Minions appear alongside the usual figures in the Despicable Me 4 range and Mega Minion Dave is a fun example. Dave has clearly received a significant boost in strength, inflating to nearly double the height of most Minions. His stretched overalls look perfect and the flame yellowish orange bodysuit is interesting, matching the other Mega Minions and leaving a paler yellow patch around the mouth.
Mel is probably the least notable of this Minion quartet, lacking superpowers or a specialised outfit. Even so, the figure is new and only otherwise found in 75581 Minions' Music Party Bus, where he sports a baseball cap. As always, the dual-moulded parts forming the head and body are nicely shaped and the printed hair is excellent too.
Dave carries an enormous weight to augment his strength further, while Mel comes with some painting equipment. Unfortunately, the paint palette and brush are both undecorated, which is disappointing because this would have been an ideal opportunity to introduce a yellow-tipped brush, joining the blue, green and orange paint brushes produced before.
The Completed Model
Tim's goggles can be stored on an equipment rack, beside a radio and a weapon of unknown purpose, which is also found in 75583 Minions and Gru's Family Mansion. I am never a fan of similar items when they appear in Advent Calendars, but this is a helpful addition with so many accessories to store.
A simple easel and a painting of a banana are included too, belonging to Mel. The banana is very basic, comprising three curved tiles, but instantly recognisable on the canvas. Moreover, the set includes a changing table to accompany Ron's disposal gun. A white 3x3 splat piece is unexpectedly convincing as a flattened nappy, or perhaps spilt talcum powder from the bottle.
The banana car is certainly recognisable as such, incorporating 3x3x3 rounded cones at either end, which have not been available in yellow before. The shape looks marvellous and I find the abrupt transitions between these pieces and the cart in the middle effective, as this really seems like the kind of bizarre vehicle the Minions would create for themselves!
However, the car is shorter than I envisaged, only measuring 13cm in length. There is enough space for mechanical detailing though, including pearl silver grille slopes on either side and an enormous engine, complete with flaming exhausts. The driver looks decidedly unsafe, standing directly behind these exhausts, but Minions are known to be exceptionally resistant to injury.
1x1 round tiles with vertical bars are placed behind the cockpit and can be used for accessory storage, although this is not shown in any official images, so was perhaps not intended. Those images and the instruction manual do display the engine detached though, doubling as another weight for Dave. The vehicle seems underwhelming without its engine, but this is an option.
Overall
A set named 75580 Minions and Banana Car promises fun and definitely delivers! The sheer variety of Minions is impressive and three are exclusive, which is welcome in a comparatively small and affordable set. Additionally, the many accessories provide great play value and I like the car too. Everything here just exudes silliness, as expected for the Minions.
Sadly though, the contents feel sparse for the price of £19.99, $24.99 or €24.99. As mentioned, the car is small and the accessories, good as they are, are rather simple. Of course, the Minion figures account for much of that price and will probably justify this purchase for some, but it feels a little overpriced to me.
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25 comments on this article
Kind of hard to build a massive minion army if all minions end up looking so radically different. I'd just want Mel from this set.
Something is just off with these Minion models and it may be that Lego's precise dimensions are just a little inconsistent with their on-screen proportions.
I'd recommend re-aligning their eyes to make them slightly cross-eyed. Like, Tim's eyes shouldn't be that far apart.
A great little set, ruined once again by being 30%-50% overpriced. This would have been 15 like 5 years ago :(
BANANAAA!!!
Never seen Despicable Me but to had to do this
Nothing like burning your face sitting so close to the flames coming off the engine.
Am I the only one annoyed by the fact that the cap does not touch the head but just kind of hover above it?.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"BANANAAA!!!
Never seen Despicable Me but to had to do this"
I wish I could like your comment twice.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"BANANAAA!!!
I've never seen Despicable Me but to had to do this"
It's not just any Banana, IT'S AN SUPER CHARGED V8 ENGINE BANANAAA MOBILE!!! :D
@oukexergon said:
"Kind of hard to build a massive minion army if all minions end up looking so radically different. I'd just want Mel from this set."
There's always the polybags if you can find those at bulk.
So Mel is basically the Minion version of Bob Ross...
(Still prefer Deadpool Bob Ross though ;-)
@LegoMKB said:
"A great little set, ruined once again by being 30%-50% overpriced. This would have been 15 like 5 years ago :("
Yeah the price is totally bananas :-/
If it was cheaper it would be a no-brainer to but, stupidly fun banana car (I love it!) and a little army of Minions.
BANANA, BANANA!!
Pretty great Minion battle pack with a nice little cheeky banana car. The most egregious thing here is the undecorated painting equipment. Not sure what “models are fairly insubstantial” means, as it seems there’s quite a lot going on here. The kids are going to love it.
@AustinPowers said:
"So Mel is basically the Minion version of Bob Ross...
(Still prefer Deadpool Bob Ross though ;-) "
Is he painting happy little bananas?
@Maxbricks14 said:
"BANANA, BANANA!!"
BANANA, BANANA, BANANA!
@chrisaw said:
"Pretty great Minion battle pack with a nice little cheeky banana car. The most egregious thing here is the undecorated painting equipment. Not sure what “models are fairly insubstantial” means, as it seems there’s quite a lot going on here. The kids are going to love it."
All it means is that while there are indeed a lot of items included, none have much substance to them. The banana car really is small, equivalent to something like 60399 Race Car, hence I think people could reasonably expect a bit more for the price.
These make me physically ill in a way nothing since Galidor has. Not just "haha Minions are annoying", there's just something off-putting and queasy about them in Lego.
Ah yes, Minions battle pack.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"BANANA, BANANA!!"
BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA
Burn me as a heretic, but Minion figures are one of the few things Mega actually did better than Lego.
@HOBBES:
Like the S23 Snowman, there are hats that work, and there are hats that don't. I was really disappointed to find that the larger tophat falls into the latter camp with the Snowman costume. I was shocked to discover that the Cad Bane hat works perfectly with them.
@AustinPowers:
I figured out how to make a tiny easel and made a Bob Rosspool minifig.
Nice battlepack.
I thought this meme was dead. I guess that was just wishful thinking.
I like the car, but I hate absolutely everything else - including most of these comments.
@AidenBurrett said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"BANANA, BANANA!!"
BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA BANANA "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCkerYMffMo
Thats glue on the table xD