Super Mario

Mario Kart, Toad's Garage

A pit crew playset that gets the small stuff right

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 72035 · 2025

Pieces390

Minifigs2

Year2025

Set number72035

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The verdict

This one won me over on the little mechanical touches, the car elevator that actually lifts the B Dasher up so the Toads can work underneath it, the shell shooter, the swap-in horn and engine pieces from the Customization Machines.

It is a genuine play set built for tinkering, not a static display model, and that is exactly what it should be for a Mario Kart theme. I would not buy it for the piece count alone, this is priced for the license and the play pattern, not for value per brick. If you already have Mario, Luigi, or Peach from the interactive starter sets, this is a natural next pickup that adds real function to what you have.

Best for: Kids and Mario Kart fans who already own an interactive LEGO Mario figure and want a working pit stop to go with it

The full review

What it is

This set is built around a single idea, a garage where the Toads prep a kart before a race, and it commits to that idea in a way I found genuinely charming. The elevator is the standout, you crank the kart up so the Toads can get underneath it, swap tires, and bolt on a fresh engine or horn borrowed from the Customization Machines sets. It feels like a workbench more than a diorama, which is the right call for a theme built on physical, interactive play.

The catch

I will be honest about the price. Thirty nine ninety nine for 390 pieces is on the higher side for the piece count, and that is the licensing tax you pay across the whole Mario Kart wave. It is also a smaller, quieter set next to the bigger circuit and stadium builds LEGO released alongside it in January 2025, so if you are hoping for a sprawling centerpiece this is not that. And the digital reactions, the drifting sounds, the horn changes, only happen if you already own one of the interactive Mario, Luigi, or Peach figures, which are sold separately.

Who it's for

Get this one if you already have an interactive figure in the house and want to give it somewhere to actually do something, the pit crew loop is satisfying for repeat play in a way a lot of Mario sets are not. Skip it if you are shopping purely for piece count value or you want a big showpiece build, there are bigger Mario Kart sets in the same release that serve that job better.

The parts story

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

The build itself is quick and playful rather than technical, this is squarely a kids' set and the fun is in the mechanism, not the construction challenge. You are building a small garage bay around a lifting platform, then finishing the B Dasher kart with its shell shooter and a socket system for swapping parts in and out. It goes together fast enough that the real engagement starts after the last brick clicks in, when you start playing with the elevator and swapping tires and engines.

The two Blue Toad minifigures in their pit crew uniforms are the standout pieces here, they are new for the Mario Kart wave and give the set its personality. The compatibility with the horn and engine attachments from the separate Customization Machines sets is a nice bit of cross set design, it means this garage keeps getting more useful as you pick up other pieces of the wave. At 390 pieces for $39.99 it is not a value play by the numbers, you are paying for the license and the mechanism, and that is worth knowing going in.

Fun facts

01Toad's Garage was one of six LEGO Mario Kart sets that launched together on January 1, 2025, alongside sets built around Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Baby Peach.
02The set's digital play features, including drift and hover sound reactions, only activate when paired with the separately sold interactive LEGO Mario (71439), Luigi (71440), or Peach (71441) figures.
03The horn and engine pieces built for the B Dasher in this set are designed to be interchangeable with parts from the standalone Customization Machines sets in the same wave.