LEGO Mario Kart – Toad’s Garage Review

The LEGO Mario Kart sets are coming quickly, and obviously my kids are as excited as most to see their toy once again collaborate with their favorite video game company on brand new LEGO sets. We have purchased a number of the LEGO Mario Kart sets that have been released so far, but The LEGO Group was nice enough to send over Toad’s Garage, set number 72035. Although I’ve personally not been a fan of these sets – will get into that soon – my kids are absolutely loving them! Further proof that it is important for me to review these alongside my kids (ages 11 and 6) as opposed to on my own!

My personal dislike for the LEGO Mario Kart sets is actually pretty trivial and petty – I hate the glossy, hard plastic tires. That’s it. That’s the reason. Is it stupid? Sure, but it is an opinion I have. Other than that, these are pretty great!

Good thing that a building kit made for kids is loved by kids then, right? My kids are all about LEGO Mario Kart right now, and they have enjoyed putting together all the sets so far. Toad’s Garage is the largest set we have yet put together in this new line, and understandably has been my oldest favorite so far. With two Toad figures and a full fledged kart, there is a lot to love about this set. Not only are you getting the characters and the vehicle, but now kids can put together their own little garage setup to swap parts on their karts and bikes. The set is built for the car included, but my kids have used it for a variety of different Mario Kart sets so far.

I like that extra detail was added to this set to make it more garage-like. Honestly, the car lift might have been enough to highlight what this set was all about, but I’m happy to see the tire rack included with an additional set of tires that can replace the ones on the car. Obviously this set wasn’t going to have a major Technic component to create a substantial lift, but the little lever was easy to build and does lift the car a few centimeters off the ground for access to the tires.

The kart itself includes a triangle glider and a shell launcher, complete with a greet and red shell. I’m really excited about this new piece, and I think it will make a great addition to the LEGO Mario universe, especially as creators begin creating custom builds.

There are obviously some LEGO Super Mario elements that allow your larger Mario/Luigi/Peach figures to interact with the tiles. That includes a tile attached to the car lift and a tile on the car which will play some classic Mario Kart music. All in all, it was a fun set to build and has provided even more fun as my kids have begun to play with it. As we collect more and more Mario Kart sets, I see large tracks being built around my living room floor in my future!