Super Mario

Larry's and Morton’s Airships Expansion Set

Two brick-built Koopaling airships that fly straight out of New Super Mario Bros. U.

Brick Rated Score

3.8/5

Set 71427 · 2023

Pieces1,062

Minifigs3

Year2023

Set number71427

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The verdict

The airships are what got me here.

These aren't slapped together on a pre-formed hull, they're layered plate by plate until each ship has real weight and shape, and the scaled-up Larry and Morton figureheads on the prows are the kind of detail that makes you grin. I'll be straight with you though, this leans hard toward the Super Mario play system, so if you don't own a Starter Course the interactive sound stuff just sits there. For a Mario fan who wants a display piece with genuine personality, it earns its place. For everyone else, the price gives me pause.

Best for: Super Mario collectors who already own a Starter Course and want airships with real presence

The full review

What it is

This LEGO® set gives you two flying fortresses from the Koopa fleet, the airships piloted by Larry and Morton in New Super Mario Bros. U on the Wii U. If you grew up with those side-scrolling castle levels, seeing the ships rebuilt in brick form is a small thrill. LEGO didn't cheat the shapes either. Both hulls are built up out of layered plates and bricks rather than dropped onto a single molded piece, so they end up feeling solid and dense in the hand, and they read as proper wooden warships rather than toy approximations. You get the cannons, the little lanterns, the crow's nests and the spinning propellers, all the fiddly bits that made those levels feel alive. Perched on the front of each ship is a scaled-up figurehead of its owner, Larry with his signature blue hair tuft and Morton with his heavy dark shell, and those faces are honestly the best part of the whole thing.

The catch

Now for the honest bits, because there are a few. The first is price. At 79.99 dollars for 1,062 pieces you're paying a fair amount, and more than one reviewer came away wondering what could have been at that cost. The second is the play system tax. Like most Super Mario sets, this one is designed to work with a Starter Course, and the cockpits, the sound effects and the cannon battles only come to life when you drop an electronic Mario, Luigi or Peach figure inside. None of those figures come in the box. So if you're arriving fresh with no Starter Course, a big chunk of what this set is built to do simply won't function, and you're left with a display model that happens to have empty cockpits. The third caveat is more personal. The big, cartoonish Super Mario character styling divides people. Some builders love the oversized Koopaling look, others find those giant faces just don't click with them, and only you know which camp you're in.

Who it's for

So who ends up happy here? If you're already in the Super Mario system with a Starter Course on the shelf and a soft spot for the airship levels, this one is an easy yes. The build is genuinely fun, the ships display beautifully side by side, and Morton finally joining the roster left Roy as the only Koopaling still missing from the theme, which makes this a meaningful one for collectors chasing the full set. If you don't own any Mario electronics and you're purely after a display piece, I'd think twice, because you'll be paying for features you can't switch on. But for the right fan this is a warm, characterful build that's aged into a genuinely sought-after set.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The building here is all about the hulls, and that's where the fun lives. You spend most of your time layering plates and bricks to shape each ship's body, and because there's no pre-formed hull piece doing the heavy lifting, you actually feel the vessel take form under your hands. It's repetitive in the best way, steady and satisfying, and the payoff is two ships with real heft. Around that core you add the personality pieces, the cannons poking out of the sides, the tiny lanterns, the crow's nests and the propellers at the stern. Morton's ship even opens up into a battle zone, so there's a bit of clever hinge work to keep you engaged. It's a denser, chunkier build than the airships' cartoon looks might suggest.

The standout parts are the two scaled-up figureheads. Larry and Morton's faces are constructed on the prows using shaping pieces like the 1x2 half cylinder to get those rounded snouts and brows just right, and watching a recognisable Koopaling emerge from ordinary bricks is the highlight of the box. Beyond that you get three Super Mario figures, the Koopalings Larry and Morton plus a Goomba, along with a pirate hat element and a good haul of nautical browns, greys and dark accent parts. At 1,062 pieces for 79.99 dollars the raw part-count value is only okay, but the density of the build and those figurehead moments are where the money actually shows up.

Fun facts

01The two airships are lifted straight from New Super Mario Bros. U on the Wii U, where Larry and Morton captain flying fortresses in the castle stages.
02Morton's arrival in this set left Roy as the only Koopaling who had still never appeared in the LEGO Super Mario theme at the time.
03Unlike many ship sets that snap onto a single molded hull, both airships here are layered plate by plate, which is why they feel so dense for their size.
04Retired not long after its 2023 run, the set has roughly doubled from its 79.99 dollar retail price on the secondary market.