Super Mario

The Bowser Express Train

A rolling Bowser locomotive with real motion tricks and a big cast of baddies.

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 71437 · 2024

Pieces1,396

Minifigs6

Year2024

Set number71437

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The verdict

The thing that won me over is that the engine is literally Bowser's head, jaws open as the cowcatcher, chimney puffing out the top of his hair.

It's a genuinely fun play build with a bobbing chimney and a spinning rear platform when you push it along, and six characters is a generous crowd. Just know going in that this is an expansion set, so if you want the full interactive Mario magic you'll need a Starter Course too. If your family already plays LEGO Super Mario, this is one of the best-looking pieces in the whole lineup.

Best for: families already deep into LEGO Super Mario who want a showpiece with real play value

The full review

What it is

There's a train level in Super Mario 3D World called The Bowser Express, and it's exactly the kind of thing that makes you go "someone please make that in LEGO." Well, they did. This 1,396-piece LEGO® set turns that rolling menace into a 26.5-inch-long locomotive where the engine is Bowser himself. His open mouth becomes the front of the train, the classic smokestack pokes up out of the top of his head, and the whole thing has this gleering, cartoon-villain energy that's just delightful. It comes with a handcar for the chase, two little station builds, a Super Star block, a question-mark block, and six characters to cause trouble. For a Super Mario fan this is one of the sets that actually looks like the game instead of a loose approximation of it.

The catch

Here's the honest part you need before you buy. This is an expansion set, which in LEGO Super Mario language means the interactive electronic figures (Mario, Luigi, Peach) aren't included. If you already own a Starter Course, brilliant, the train and blocks all talk to those figures and you're set. If you don't, the interactive coin-and-reaction play won't happen out of this box, and that surprises people every single year. On value, roughly 120 dollars for 1,396 pieces lands at fair rather than a steal, especially since a good chunk of the count is small detail work. And that detail, while lovely, can be a bit delicate. A few reviewers flagged that some of the finer bits pop off under hard daily play, so it's not indestructible.

Who it's for

So who's this really for. If you've got a LEGO Super Mario household already, with a Starter Course and figures kicking around, grab this without much hesitation, because it slots straight into what you own and it's easily one of the best-looking pieces in the theme. It's also a satisfying afternoon build in its own right, about three to four hours, clearly instructed and paced so a nine-year-old won't drown. If you're brand new to the theme, or you're hoping for a display train that runs on rails and lights up, this isn't quite that, and you'd want to start elsewhere. But as a big, characterful centerpiece for kids who already love Bowser and Mario, it delivers exactly the ridiculous rolling villain it promises.

The parts story

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

The build breaks into clear chapters, which keeps it from feeling like a slog. You start with the smaller stuff, the handcar and the two station pieces and the blocks, which are quick wins that get a young builder invested fast. Then the main event: the Bowser engine. That section is the most interesting because you're building a recognizable face and a working mechanism at the same time. There's a simple gearing trick tied to the wheels so that rolling the train makes the chimney bob up and down and spins a platform on the rear car. It's not motorized, it's all push-power, but it's the kind of clever cause-and-effect that makes kids run it back and forth across the floor. Pacing is friendly, steps are broken into small manageable bites, and nothing here is going to overwhelm the recommended 9-plus age.

The headline pieces are the characters. Five of the six are exclusive to this set, which is real value if you collect the Super Mario baddies: an exclusive Hammer Bro and Boom Boom lead the pack, backed by two Goombas and two Para-Biddybuds. On the brick side, you get a lot of Bowser-appropriate oranges, greens and dark tones, plus printed tiles for the block faces and details rather than stickers in the key spots, which is always the nicer touch. There aren't headline new molds for a parts collector to chase here, so this isn't a set you buy for the elements bin. The story is really the finished model and that generous cast, not rare pieces, and on those terms the 1,396 count earns its keep.

Fun facts

01The engine is modeled on The Bowser Express, a boss stage in World Bowser from Super Mario 3D World, where you chase the train through a station on a handcar.
02The front of the locomotive is Bowser's open mouth, so his gaping jaws literally form the train's cowcatcher, and the smokestack rises out of the top of his head.
03Five of the six characters are exclusive to this set, making it a shortcut to a Hammer Bro and Boom Boom you can't easily get elsewhere.
04It's an expansion set, so the train and blocks are designed to react to the electronic Mario, Luigi and Peach figures sold in the separate Starter Courses.