As a dad who collects LEGO, I’ve built my fair share of sets over the years, but the LEGO Piranha Plant is one of those sets that immediately made me think, “Yep, I need that on the shelf.”
What I really like about it is that it manages to be both a proper LEGO build and a fantastic piece of gaming nostalgia. If you grew up playing Super Mario, seeing that familiar Piranha Plant sitting there in LEGO form is brilliant.
The build
The build itself is really enjoyable. It’s not one of those sets where you spend hours building something that ultimately just sits there looking pretty. There are some clever techniques involved, particularly in getting the shape of the plant and the articulation working.
And yes, there is something ridiculously satisfying about being able to move the head, mouth, leaves and stem around and pose it however you want.
It actually feels like you’re building a little character rather than just an ornament.
The finished model
This is where I think the set really shines.
Once it’s built, the Piranha Plant looks fantastic on display. The colours immediately stand out, and the finished model has loads of personality. You can have it looking relatively innocent one minute and like it’s about to eat Mario the next.
For a LEGO collector, that’s a big selling point. It’s recognisable without needing a massive backdrop or loads of extra pieces around it.
From a dad’s perspective
The biggest compliment I can give it is that my kids actually want to play with it.
That’s always the danger with display sets. Dad builds them, proudly puts them on a shelf, and then everyone forgets about them.
Not this one.
The movable parts make it tempting to pick up and pose, and because it’s a character everybody recognises, it becomes something the whole family can appreciate.
Of course, as a LEGO collector, there’s also that little voice in my head saying:
“Don’t touch it. It’s going on the shelf.”
Then five minutes later I’m moving the head around myself.
Is it worth getting?
For me, absolutely.
It’s not necessarily the biggest or most complicated LEGO set I’ve ever built, but that’s not really the point. It’s a fun, instantly recognisable display piece that combines two things I love: LEGO and gaming.
It’s also one of those sets that looks better in person than you might expect from the box.
The LEGO Piranha Plant is a great example of why I love collecting LEGO. It doesn’t need to be enormous or have thousands of pieces to be worth owning. Sometimes you just need a brilliantly designed little model of something you remember from being a kid.
And let’s be honest, there’s something wonderfully ridiculous about having a LEGO plant sitting on your shelf looking like it’s waiting to take a bite out of an unsuspecting Mario.
