Review: 75902 The Mystery Machine

Scooby-Doo will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2019 and the latest incarnation of the series, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo, is planned for release this Autumn. When rumours of the theme emerged at the very end of last year the general reception was lukewarm, with many questioning why LEGO would bother to create sets based on a license which has become increasingly irrelevant in recent years.

However, there was little doubt that the theme would include some fun elements and that has certainly proven to be the case in my opinion! I am sure the most popular set of the initial wave will be 75902 The Mystery Machine. Not only does it represent one of the most iconic vehicles in film and television but it is also priced at an affordable £29.99 or $29.99.

Four minifigures is a generous number considering the price of the set and two of those are exclusive, which only increases the appeal. Scooby-Doo himself appears in all five sets, although there are a couple of variants which is nice. The figure consists of two components, the head and the body, which are connected using a pin the width of a standard bar. He is well detailed all over with black splodges and a blue collar which is complete with the well-known 'SD' tag. His legs are spaced apart so they will fit onto a studded surface and he has a stud on his back should you wish to attach an accessory of some sort.

I don't think this standing version of Scooby could be improved in any way. It is faithful to his appearance in the original Scooby-Doo cartoon series and is reasonably well scaled beside other minifigures without a reduction in detail.

Shaggy also appears in every set and, like Scooby, there are several versions of the minifigure. The hair piece is a brand new mould and looks very accurate to the show, as does his torso printing.

Dual moulded arms are used to represent short sleeves while Shaggy's head features a grin on one side and a frown on the other.

If you wish to assemble the entire Mystery Gang you will need both this set and 75904 Mystery Mansion as this is the only one to include Fred. This minifigure is a little simpler in his design than Shaggy, although all the necessary details are captured including his orange ascot, white jumper and blue trousers.

The head is double-sided, with confident and frightened expressions which are well suited to the character. However, best of all is the new hair element which is cast in blonde and looks brilliant, with an impressive likeness to Fred's hairstyle in the show.

The fourth and final figure is the Zombie who is clearly based on this handsome fellow from an early episode of the series. Once again the close resemblance of the minifigure to the source material is delightful as the relatively new spring yellowish green is used to good effect for the head and hands.

Some buttons are printed on the back of the head to show that this is not a genuine Zombie, although unfortunately an alternate head is not included for the villain's unmasking.

This set consist of two models: a monstrous tree and the eponymous Mystery Machine. The tree is rather nicely designed, with two leafy branches at the top and a pair of poseable arms which can reach out and grab any unfortunate minifigures who wander too close. The cylinders at the base of the tree look like feet which is quite clever, although they are static unless the model is partially disassembled to adjust their positioning. The face of the tree is a large sticker but I noticed that these seem to be very glossy and of excellent quality so the results look good.

The back of the tree reveals that it is in fact robotic with a control panel, a trans neon green gem and a spot for the Zombie to stand and peer over the top of it.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the Mystery Machine itself is the star of the set in my opinion. This is obviously a very well known vehicle and I think the designer has done justice to the source material using some SNOT techniques and a new windscreen component to form an accurate shape.

Almost every design visible on the exterior of the model is a sticker and some of these require particularly careful placement as the same artwork is continued over multiple stickers. For instance, the 'Mystery Machine' wording on the sides of the van consists of two stickers placed on separate 1x4x2 panel elements. The dishes on the front and capping each wheel are printed.

Inside there is room for two minifigures to sit in the cab and a place for Scooby in the rear. In its current state the entire Mystery Gang will not fit in the van but I think the removal of some furniture from the back would rectify that. In the show all four human characters often sit in the front but that certainly isn't possible here.

The roof is removable and the back of the Mystery Machine hinges open to access the interior, which is richly detailed with bulletin boards, computer monitors and other crime solving equipment. Naturally Scooby and Shaggy have installed a stove and sink for concocting snacks such as the enormous sandwich included.

I really cannot fault this set given that it is priced at just £29.99. There is a huge amount of play value and the minifigures are superb, with perfectly accurate designs on all four and several new components which are always welcome. The Mystery Machine is equally faithful to the show taking the scale into account and is very nicely detailed on the inside and out.

With a plethora of accessories, figures and two brilliant models I don't hesitate to recommend this set. Of course it would be fantastic if the entire gang was included but I think that is an unreasonable expectation as the price limits what can be included. The ability to comfortably fit three figures in the Mystery Machine is a fair compromise to allow the inclusion of some fun builds inside and it is well worth the sacrifice in my opinion, although you could remove the furnishings and create room for the other two if you wanted to.

In summary, if you are a Scooby-Doo fan this set will not disappoint. The price seems reasonable so if you see it in stores I would snap it up. I would not be at all surprised to see this set sell out rapidly as 76031 The Hulk Buster Smash did back in April.

The set is available now in some branches of Argos and Toymaster in the UK while a number of Toys R Us stores in the US are reported to have put them on sale. They will be officially released worldwide on the 1st of August.

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