Set Review ➟ 71376 Thwomp Drop
The new LEGO Super Mario Theme has a large number of add-on sets and here at HispaBrick Magazine we have not finished reviewing them by a long shot. Today I am sitting down to write about my experience with the 71376 Thwomp Drop. If there is one thing I can appreciate in a (System) set it is mechanisms and this set has one (or actually three) that certainly caught my imagination.
This set weighs in at 343 pieces and a price point of about 40€/$. Building is divided into 4 sections. Aside from the numbered bags you will find a 32L axle and a booklet with no instructions other than to use the app.
As all LEGO Super Mario Expansion Sets, in order to access the full building instructions in the accompanying app you need to fist build a scannable element from the set from bag 1. In this case these are two adorable lava blocks that each have a bar code on their back. The elements are identical, but no less cute for it.
The inventory of these pieces is a fair reflection of how many (if not all) of the cube forms in these sets are built as well as for the type of element you find in many of these sets. Particularly there are 1x2x2 bricks with stude on 3 sides, printed elements (in this case with eyes) and pre-applied bar code stickers with a serious layer of protection against scratching. (it remains to be seen how long that layer will hold, but for now, none of my barcode elements show any signs of wear or degrading.)
Next up is the base. This has a white platform that can slide left and right and has of two 4x4 surfaces to place Mario on. As you can see in the picture, one of these surfaces has studs, the other doesn't. This means you can choose the level of difficulty ou want for the game, but has no impact on the points you score since both elements share the same barcode.
One thing you need to get used to with these sets is that in every bag there are a number of large elements that are initially not used in the build. We are all accustomed to having small spare elements—fillers—in LEGO sets. But finishing a bag with a few plates left is certainly a but disconcerting to most of us. Where did I go wrong? What step did I miss? Fear not, all will be revealed in the end…
Right behind the sliding platform you place another section that again has some mechanism, but this time it is less easily identified.
Yes, some axle is going to be twisted, but to what end? Of course we have an extra long (32L) axle standing by for this mechanism and while we wait to find out exactly what it will do we are going to build another small mechanism to the side.
OK. So the mechanism at the base of the tower wiggles the protruding grey piece towards the top—let's get back to that later… The red base to the side is easier to understand. Somehow We're going to whack the long red lever and the black platform will catapult whatever happens to be on it off.
Don't worry, the wait won't be long. It is time to build the large 6x6 cube that goes at the top of the tower. Lot's of colour to make it easier to distinguish all the different elements. All of this will be covered up by large grey panels made with plates or tiles. If you look carefully at what now appears to be the back of the cube you will see some black slopes going in two directions: that's the front. Are you getting any ideas yet? Well, remember the wiggling grey thing on the pole…?
Enough with the suspense. When you place this large block on the pole, it will (surprisingly?) not go down … because the grey thing will snag on the black slopes. Now everything makes sens. Each time you wiggle the grey thing left or right, the grey cube will slide down one stage, and at the third wiggle it will come crashing down!
Now to wiggle the pole… that's what the sliding platform is for. Mario needs to pass the pole three times for the head to come crashing down. This will smash onto the red lever and make one of the lava blocks jump in Mario's general direction. The sliding will score you points (as long as Mario doesn't fall of) and the barcodes on the lava blocks will also. And once you bring the big block down there's another barcode on top of it to score some more.
The block falls onto two rubber elements carefully placed there to break the fall and prevent anything from breaking.
The exercise is fairly short, but then again, you can only do so much in the 60 seconds Mario has to complete the whole level. Spring loading the block is easy and the trick is to make sure Mario doesn't get hit by the lava block when it comes crashing down.
There is still the mystery of the surplus pieces…. These will be needed to unite all the elements and build the entire level! I suppose I would have been less worried if I had found them in the last bag, but….
Overall it is a fun level and a cool mechanism, so excuse me while and go and play another couple of rounds of LEGO Super Mario
We wish to thank LEGO for providing this set for review. The opinions in this review are not supported or endorsed by LEGO.
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