In 2012, the LEGO Group introduced its latest ‘in/out’ theme centred around a team of supernatural hunters, dubbed the Monster Fighters. The team were in pursuit of a monstrous bunch inspired by classic monsters. Other monsters cropped up in various LEGO® Minifigures series. Now it falls to the LEGO Creator 3-in-1 theme to pay homage to bygone monsters with the Haunted Mansion. The newly released set lets you build a spooky house, or you can use the same bricks to build a Ghost Train or Haunted Pirate Ship. In this review, the focus will be on the lead model of the Haunted Mansion.
Product Details
Set Name: Haunted Mansion | Set Number: 31167 | Pieces: 736 | Theme: Nintendo
Number of Bags: Bags x 5 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Characters: A werewolf, a vampire, a ghost, Frankenstein’s monster & a skeleton.
RRP: £79.99/89.99€/$89.99/149.99AUD/119.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers
This new Haunted Mansion shares a lot of similarities with the one included in the Monster Fighters theme. In particular, its colour scheme. Much of the exterior is clad in Sand Green elements with a few Sand Yellow bricks dotted about to break it up. It also features several printed plank tiles. All of which help enforce its old and spooky nature. It’s clear the Monster Fighters set has been the main source of inspiration for this set, although it shares traits with classic haunted houses such as the one lived in by the Addams Family.
The exterior of the mansion is also home to a spooky-looking tree. This is located on the right side of the mansion. Although its eyes seem at odds with the style of the minifigures, they are more in keeping with the overall style of the Creator sets. Over on the opposite side of the mansion is a small graveyard. This includes three graves made from various light grey elements. It would have been nice if these had print detail, but it would limit their use in the sets’ alternate builds.
One additional thing any spooky mansion needs is an old iron gate. This is included as a separate section and features a pair of gate panels mounted on a couple of crumbling blocks. It is a little awkward as it’s not connected to the mansion, but it’s adds to the overall appeal of the set.
The mansion is made up of three different sections, which are all linked together with hinge joints. This allows it to be displayed as a fully enclosed building. But it can also be opened out to create a longer footprint and access to the interior. The choice of how to display the set will certainly allow it to be incorporated into Halloween displays. Plus with a little creativity, you could craft a larger mansion by combining multiple sets.
Although this is a small area, it has a lot of neat little details packed into it. On the upper floor is a spooky ghost lurking in the window. This can be rotated into view with a handle on the outer wall. A similar moving function can be found on the lower floor, with a clock featuring a movable pendulum. It appears any self-respecting haunted mansion needs a means to provide spooky music, and here is a small ornate organ located on the upper floor. By far the best feature of the interior is a pair of printed portraits. These 2×2 tiles feature Dracula’s Bride and the moonlit mansion.
The LEGO Creator 3-in-1 sets are often focused on the builds and not the minifigures. But this particular set and its Castle-themed companion have an impressive line-up of characters. They include some familiar faces, which are not direct copies but are inspired by a few past minifigures as well as many iconic Hammer Horror-era films. They include Frankenstein’s Monster, which uses the unique piece to give the character its larger, flatter head. A Werewolf, which also uses a past element to give the minifigures a wolf head. Unfortunately, it lacks the tailpiece. Dracula’s Bride is similar to past versions but uses the swept hair featured on the Vampire Bassist minifigure from the VIDIYO Bandmates.
They are joined by a classic skeleton minifigure and a ghost, which still glows in the dark. If you missed out on some of these spooky characters before, this is an ideal set to add similar ones to your collection.
You can also rebuild the set into two other builds. These have their own instructions and use some, but not all, of the bricks used to build the Haunted Mansion. Alternate builds include a Ghost Train, which features the engine and a small platform. The other build is a small Pirate Ship. Although its a fun option, the Haunted Mansion appears to offer the best looking of the three builds.
The Creator 3-in-1 sets have certainly improved in the last few years, and I like how the it’s being used to indirectly celebrate bygone themes. I missed out on the original Monster Fighters sets, so the new Haunted Mansion is the next best thing. The alternate models look interesting, but the appeal of the set is the lead model of the Haunted Mansion, as well as its ace line-up of minifigures. The LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Haunted Mansion is available now.
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This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
