With Luffy’s ‘crew’ reluctantly formed, it’s not long before they are captured by a group of pirates who fly under Buggy the Clown’s flag. They are taken to Buggy’s circus tent, where they are subjected to circus-themed torture. It doesn’t sound the most wholesome inspiration for a LEGO® set, but it’s actually a rather fun-filled build, with plenty of neat little details, four great minifigures and two Wanted posters. Roll up, roll up and get ready to see how entertaining Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent is in another ONE PIECE set review.
Product Details
Set Name: Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent | Set Number: 75637 | Pieces: 573 | Theme: ONE PIECE
Number of Bags: Bags x 3 | Stickers: sheet x 1 | Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Nami & Buggy the Clown
RRP: £44.99/$54.99/49.99€/79.99AUD/64.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online and LEGO Retailers from August 1st
Buggy the clown resides in a large circus big top, filled with a captive audience. Time set only offers a slice of that, but still manages to pack an impressive amount of detail into such a small build. In terms of scale, the set features less than a quarter of the tent, but it still manages to include several elements featured in the episode. The best of which is the brick-built recreation of Buggy’s head, which looks like a minifigure head. This part of the set uses several stickers, but the result is quite good. Beneath the head is Buggy’s throne, surrounded by an archway of lights. Nestled behind these are a couple of boxes and barrels, which hide one of the set’s most delightful features.
Just like Luffy, Buggy has eaten a Devil Fruit and gained the power to detach his limbs. Whilst it would be possible to take Buggy’s minifigure apart, instead, the seat features additional elements to represent Buggy’s unique ability. So the boxes and barrels contain the pieces necessary to create a smaller version of the clown. Those parts included the same hand elements introduced for Thing in the Wednesday sets.
As captives of Buggy, Luffy, Nami and Zoro are each placed in different contraptions commonly used in circus acts. Zoro can be placed on a spinning table. Nami can be placed within a hanging cage, and Luffy can be popped inside a water tank, which can be blown open by flipping a lever, which causes one of the sides of the tank to detach. They are fun play features inspired by moments from the show.
Each of the ONE PIECE playsets features various Wanted poster tiles. This set contains two of them, which are displayed on the outside of the circus tent. There are eight to collect, with randomly selected ones placed in sets. They included the mugshots of various pirates such as Arlong and Don Kreig, shown here.
ONE PIECE is filled with a colourful cast of characters. With the series debuting as a popular Japanese manga, translating their unique appearance, which works so well in illustration, into live-action could have been a disaster, but the Netflix series pretty much nails it. One partly iconic character is Buggy the Clown. His minifigure is pretty much perfect. His fur coat and pirate outfit spread across his torso and legs. His two expressions are as managing as the character. Buggy also has a new piece to create this piratey clown hat.
Zoro, Nami and Luffy are featured in the standard outfits. As mentioned in my review of the Windmill Village set, the iconic straw hat is presented as both a wearable element and an accessory. In this set, Luffy’s hat is mounted on his back. One of the biggest questions when the ONE PIECE sets were revealed is how Zoro manages to hold a third sword in his mouth. Well, the answer is that it’s a brand new element. A sword piece now includes a bracket which sits under the head of the minifigure. The result is the sword having the appearance of being held in the mouth. It’s a simple but effective way to implement Zoro’s unique fighting ability.
The location this set is inspired by could have resulted in a much bigger set, but it’s the perfect size, especially since it features many moments from Luffy and Co.’s time at Buggy’s circus. If you so wish, you can combine multiple sets to create a bigger scene, thanks to the pegs and connectors found on either side of the set. It has several ace play features, with the ability to show Buggy in his discombobulated form being a nice addition. But Buggy’s minifigure, which is just perfect, he’s such an iconic character, and to see how well it’s been recreated in LEGO form is great. TheBuggy the Clown’s Circus Tent set can be pre-ordered now and launches on August 1st.
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This set was provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Netflix Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
