The LEGO 60160: Jungle Mobile Lab contains 426 pieces including four minifigures, a small waterfall, a venus fly trap, and a large mobile lab vehicle. The question is, is the set worth the money or should you spend your hard earned dollars elsewhere? Lucky for you, I'm here to help answer that question - so let's take a closer look at the set.
The set itself was priced at $60 though as of this moment you can find it for quite a bit less on Amazon (link provided to the left). However, for the purposes of the review, I'll assume you spent the original asking price of $60 (which is what I did since I happened to buy this set in the summer).
So what does the $60 get you? For starters, you get 4 minifigures and 426 pieces which on the surface doesn't seem like a great deal. However, it's always possible that the set delivers in unexpected ways, so let's take a look beginning with the first build you do.
Here, we see the four minifigures that come with the set. It should be noted (happily) that two of the figures are females (the other two are males which makes for a great gender balance). I particularly am happy to see that the "Indiana Jones" figure of the set is actually a woman - and better yet, a woman without a scared face (the scientist woman does have a scared "second face" which is perfect for the role she plays).
The other star of the first part of the build (and the set for that matter) is this Venus Fly Trap with the spider. The fly trap has a rubber band that truly "snaps" its jaws shut with a fair bit of force. It's a simple mechanism, but it works well and is quite satisfying. As a kid, I would have loved this piece for sure!
The set comes with two large components, the mobile lab which we'll get to in a bit and a waterfall/temple build.
Looking at the build, you can see a large waterfall (complete with a plastic "curtain" that acts as the falling water) and the remains of a small, ruined temple. I particularly like the little footpath through the waterfall, but there's a hidden action feature there that makes it more dangerous...there's an alligator waiting from behind the waterfall to strike at an unsuspecting person!
The other action features of the set include the branch at the top of the temple which can be "cut away" with the machete to reveal the gem and the green whip piece which is supposed to be a vine you can use to swing across the river. For such a small build, it's quite well done and I like it a lot.
That's what the back looks like. You can see the simple push mechanism for the alligator.
Next, the mobile jungle lab - the set's namesake. First, it should be noted that this is a large, heavy duty vehicle. Perfect for the jungle (or for rolling around in a child's sandbox). The vehicle actually seats two people in the front while the other two minifigures can be put in the back research area. That's awesome because it means all four included figures can ride in the one vehicle. I like self-containing sets like that.
The main play feature of the vehicle has two components. On the outside (of the backside) of the vehicle, you get a pair of collection bins with opening doors. These are perfect for sliding in 1x1 or 1x2 tile pieces (though you don't get any tiles included for the exact purpose). Still, you can use the two boxes as storage compartments as well which is always fun.
The main play feature though is the mobile lab itself. To get access to the inside, the front panel swings away and the top roof swings up which allows plenty of space for both minifigures and human hands to get inside! Speaking of the inside, you get a radar, a contour map, and a scale (all stickers) plus a couple of green bottles meant to represent vials holding specimens to be studied. Pretty cool set-up and definitely worthy of being called a lab.
As a whole, despite the 10 stickers and only 426 pieces, I think this set is actually worth the original asking price of $60. There is a TON of play value packed into the set - and with enough new pieces (and interesting uses of some older pieces), the build itself was fun as well.
The Bottom Line (out of 10):
Fun: 10
Play Value: 10
Kid Value: 10
Adult Value: 8
Overall: 9
Looking at value, you get four minifigs with great printing, an awesome vehicle, the new kayak piece, plus a Venus Fly Trap, alligator, and decent sized waterfall/temple build. That's quite a bit for the money - and none of it feels tacked on or incomplete. For those that are wondering how this set compares to the similarly priced LEGO 60159: Jungle Halftrack Mission (which I reviewed here), I'd say this set is worth the extra $20. In this set, you get twice as many minifigs plus a much larger structure build and a larger, more detailed truck build. While you don't get the black panther in this set, you do get the Venus Fly Trap which is equally cool (along with the alligator).
For another comparison, here are the two land structures from the two sets side-by-side. As you can see, the structure from this set pretty much dwarfs the other sets "temple." Also, it should be noted that with all the extra greenery provided in this set, it feels more like a jungle than the other set as well.
The Jungle Mobile Lab is an easy one for me to recommend...and if you act quickly, you might even be able to nab this at a fairly substantial discount!
The set itself was priced at $60 though as of this moment you can find it for quite a bit less on Amazon (link provided to the left). However, for the purposes of the review, I'll assume you spent the original asking price of $60 (which is what I did since I happened to buy this set in the summer).
So what does the $60 get you? For starters, you get 4 minifigures and 426 pieces which on the surface doesn't seem like a great deal. However, it's always possible that the set delivers in unexpected ways, so let's take a look beginning with the first build you do.
Here, we see the four minifigures that come with the set. It should be noted (happily) that two of the figures are females (the other two are males which makes for a great gender balance). I particularly am happy to see that the "Indiana Jones" figure of the set is actually a woman - and better yet, a woman without a scared face (the scientist woman does have a scared "second face" which is perfect for the role she plays).
The other star of the first part of the build (and the set for that matter) is this Venus Fly Trap with the spider. The fly trap has a rubber band that truly "snaps" its jaws shut with a fair bit of force. It's a simple mechanism, but it works well and is quite satisfying. As a kid, I would have loved this piece for sure!
The set comes with two large components, the mobile lab which we'll get to in a bit and a waterfall/temple build.
Looking at the build, you can see a large waterfall (complete with a plastic "curtain" that acts as the falling water) and the remains of a small, ruined temple. I particularly like the little footpath through the waterfall, but there's a hidden action feature there that makes it more dangerous...there's an alligator waiting from behind the waterfall to strike at an unsuspecting person!
The other action features of the set include the branch at the top of the temple which can be "cut away" with the machete to reveal the gem and the green whip piece which is supposed to be a vine you can use to swing across the river. For such a small build, it's quite well done and I like it a lot.
That's what the back looks like. You can see the simple push mechanism for the alligator.
Next, the mobile jungle lab - the set's namesake. First, it should be noted that this is a large, heavy duty vehicle. Perfect for the jungle (or for rolling around in a child's sandbox). The vehicle actually seats two people in the front while the other two minifigures can be put in the back research area. That's awesome because it means all four included figures can ride in the one vehicle. I like self-containing sets like that.
The main play feature of the vehicle has two components. On the outside (of the backside) of the vehicle, you get a pair of collection bins with opening doors. These are perfect for sliding in 1x1 or 1x2 tile pieces (though you don't get any tiles included for the exact purpose). Still, you can use the two boxes as storage compartments as well which is always fun.
The main play feature though is the mobile lab itself. To get access to the inside, the front panel swings away and the top roof swings up which allows plenty of space for both minifigures and human hands to get inside! Speaking of the inside, you get a radar, a contour map, and a scale (all stickers) plus a couple of green bottles meant to represent vials holding specimens to be studied. Pretty cool set-up and definitely worthy of being called a lab.
As a whole, despite the 10 stickers and only 426 pieces, I think this set is actually worth the original asking price of $60. There is a TON of play value packed into the set - and with enough new pieces (and interesting uses of some older pieces), the build itself was fun as well.
The Bottom Line (out of 10):
Fun: 10
Play Value: 10
Kid Value: 10
Adult Value: 8
Overall: 9
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| Be careful crossing that path! |
Looking at value, you get four minifigs with great printing, an awesome vehicle, the new kayak piece, plus a Venus Fly Trap, alligator, and decent sized waterfall/temple build. That's quite a bit for the money - and none of it feels tacked on or incomplete. For those that are wondering how this set compares to the similarly priced LEGO 60159: Jungle Halftrack Mission (which I reviewed here), I'd say this set is worth the extra $20. In this set, you get twice as many minifigs plus a much larger structure build and a larger, more detailed truck build. While you don't get the black panther in this set, you do get the Venus Fly Trap which is equally cool (along with the alligator).
For another comparison, here are the two land structures from the two sets side-by-side. As you can see, the structure from this set pretty much dwarfs the other sets "temple." Also, it should be noted that with all the extra greenery provided in this set, it feels more like a jungle than the other set as well.
The Jungle Mobile Lab is an easy one for me to recommend...and if you act quickly, you might even be able to nab this at a fairly substantial discount!
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