LEGO One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent review

LEGO One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent speaks to fans of the series first and foremost, building on a specific scene with an excellent and exclusive minifigure.

Of the five LEGO One Piece sets, most of them lean into the pirate aspect of the new theme, therefore appealing to a wider LEGO audience longing for the days of swashbuckling minifigures. 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent, meanwhile, leans far away from the pirate-adjacent subject matter, finally giving us a Big Top circus tent in LEGO, but with some One Piece-specific features that fans will adore.

LEGO circus sets and minifigures have been surprisingly rare over the past few decades, and One Piece is the theme to finally break the mould and provide us with a classic red and white tent. 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent embraces the silly and whimsical nature of a circus, but keeps the option to remove those most whimsical elements for those who would prefer a more grounded circus tent.

The sides of the main structure in 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent feature connection points for Technic axles, encouraging you to buy multiple copies of this model and combine them to form a complete tent model. It’s a great option to have, especially when the tent is as well-designed as this. The designers have left as small a gap as possible between the angled flaps of the tent as they point inward, creating a nearly seamless design that will look great when completely enclosed.

The circus tent in 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent doesn’t have too many features to speak of, focusing mostly on a stellar design. It does have a storage space for two stacks of crates and barrels, which hides the best inclusion in the set. Buggy’s power is splitting his limbs from his body and moving them independently, combining them back together in various ways.

These boxes hide additional elements for those separated limbs, since minifigures can’t remove their arms without risking damage. Take the head off of Buggy’s minifigure, and you can create a much smaller figure of the clown pirate, matching that of the live-action series. It’s a great feature, but with an unfortunately small sticker that is challenging to place.

The circus tent also holds a throne for Buggy to sit in, which can be easily removed to clear the walkway out of the tent, as well as a suspended cage that can be handily placed on either side of the build. The side builds in 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent continue this level of quality, starting with a water tank.

The chamber in which Luffy is held makes great use of a sticker for splashing water and bubbles, with enough space inside to hold a minifigure. Most notably, the designers have made use of the small platforms on the side windows created by using these two short elements to allow a minifigure to be suspended in the water-filled chamber, rather than sitting at the bottom. The effect works well, and doesn’t stop the functionality to blast the door off the tank and free Luffy.

The dart wheel on which Zoro is held is much simpler in comparison, and the intention is to attach Zoro to it by his legs, but in the live-action series, he is restrained to the wheel, and something to make this clear in this small build would have been ideal. Despite this, the model works just fine and adds to the circus scene.

As with most of the LEGO One Piece sets, the minifigures are where the set shines, but not quite as strongly as other models in LEGO One Piece. There’s only one exclusive minifigure in 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent, which is the titular Buggy. The character, played by Jeff Ward in the Netflix series, is captured fantastically as a minifigure using a specialised hat element, and with an appreciable level of printing. The fact that his head can be attached to the aforementioned small body is the cherry on top, and you’d be forgiven for buying 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent just for this minifigure.

Otherwise, the minifigure selection features the more common minifigures of Luffy, Zoro and Nami, all of which make perfect sense based on the source material. Zoro even comes complete with his sword accessories, giving you access to LEGO One Piece’s most interesting new element (Zoro’s neck attachment). There’s no doubt that Buggy is the star of the show, but the full minifigure selection in 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent isn’t quite as impactful as other LEGO One Piece sets – at least if you’re picking up other sets in this range.

LEGO 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent is sure to appeal to One Piece fans thanks to that Buggy minifigure, but the rest of the set’s contents aren’t bad at all. For £44.99 / $54.99 / €49.99 and with nearly 600 elements, there’s no doubting the value of this set, either. Those not interested in LEGO One Piece will still want to consider picking up 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent next month, given that it’s our first circus tent build. It’s also one that can be easily expanded.

Overall, 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent is another triumph for LEGO One Piece, kicking off the theme with great value, good minifigures and fun play features that will still appeal to fans who know nothing about the franchise.

Our honest opinion: Great minifigures in a model that depicts something not often seen in LEGO sets, with fun features and good value that are sure to appeal to every fan.

This LEGO set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes.

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How long does it take to build LEGO One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent?

At nearly 600 pieces, you’ll need one hour to build everything in LEGO One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent.

How many pieces are in LEGO One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent?

There are 573 elements in 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent, featuring four minifigures, the main tent, and two side builds.

How big is LEGO One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent?

75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent‘s main structure is 16cm high, 15cm wide and 14cm deep. Everything else in the model has an extremely small footprint and can fit inside that of the tent if needed.

How much does One Piece 75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent cost?

75637 Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent launches on August 1 for £44.99 in the UK, $54.99 in the US and from €49.99 in Europe.