LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car review

71458 Crocodile Car is one of the most unique LEGO DREAMZzz sets, but also one that doesn’t quite manage to live up to its high price.

With an alliterated set name, a unique and well-executed concept and some great minifigures, the nonsensical price sours what should be a fantastic LEGO experience, otherwise summarising the LEGO DREAMZzz theme perfectly in a single box.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car set details —

Theme: LEGO DREAMZzz Set name: 71458 Crocodile Car Release date: August 1, 2023

Price: £57.99 / $59.99 / €62.99 Pieces: 494 Minifigures: 3

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car —

Every set in LEGO DREAMZzz’ first wave, including 71458 Crocodile Car, launches on August 1, 2023. This set costs £57.99 / $59.99 / €62.99 and is available to pre-order now.

[bdproduct search=’Crocodile Car’ sort=” numberOfRecord=’4′ brand=” sliderMinValues=’0′ sliderMaxValues=’750′]

---

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car build —

71458 Crocodile Car is an enticing name, but it’s not the immediate end result of assembling its 494 pieces: first you’ll end up with a more familiar wheeled vehicle, which is vaguely interesting but difficult to differentiate from cars in other action-centric LEGO themes.

Thankfully, this can be quickly remedied by picking one of two monstrous options for the car at the end of the instruction manual. Each iteration of the vehicle takes a fair amount of time to put together and take apart, so you might end up sticking with one or the other.

Out of the two options, the crocodile car arguably looks the best, using the car as protective armour in a believable way. However, this is a world of dreams and the truck mode is still appropriately creative, using the animal’s lower jaw as a boat for Logan and attaching whatever the design team can to the available spaces on the model. The arrangement of the truck means that you won’t have the tyres laying around, but you will have quite a few pieces to sort out.

Provided you’re happy to stick with one of the monstrous modes, you can easily remove their related modules from the main vehicle and revert it to the original red car, without completely taking the modules apart piece by piece. You will need to rebuild them to switch between the two different monster variants, though.

Fighting the crocodile car are a pair of nightmarish bikes with room for three figures between them. These fit well with the model but use a fair few pieces and don’t feel entirely necessary, given that other LEGO DREAMZzz vehicles are happy to go without any builds for the bad guys. One would have been just fine, but two are included in 71458 Crocodile Car.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car minifigures —

There are three full minifigures in 71458 Crocodile Car, almost all of which can be found in other sets. But while Jayden and the Night Hunter aren’t exclusive, Cooper’s helmet isn’t included with his race suit minifigure in 71459 Stable of Dream Creatures, adding some appeal to the minifigure in 71458 Crocodile Car.

It’s still a solid selection, too: the Night Hunter is one of the best minifigures in the theme so far, using some especially interesting new elements.

Both Cooper and Jayden come with alternate faces for sleeping, but we’d hope that Cooper can stay awake while behind the wheel unless the crocodile counts as some kind of autopilot.

Aside from the minifigures, this set also includes Snivel the Grimspawn and the strange blue version of Logan that he can transform into in the dream world. He appears in this form in 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus but based on his appearance in the animated series, he should have some printing on the torso, as Snivel does. There seems to be no excuse for this missing feature looking at Snivel and this set could have been an opportunity for a Logan minifigure instead, given the friendship between him and Cooper in the series.

In any case, only the blue version of Logan is featured in 71458 Crocodile Car, lacking the detailing that he has in the show.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car price —

At £57.99 / $59.99 / €62.99, you’d be best waiting for a sale on 71458 Crocodile Car as there’s simply not enough in this set to justify that high price. Sure, the crocodile car is big, but it doesn’t feel big enough for that price, especially looking at the piece count and other LEGO DREAMZzz sets, including 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse at 482 pieces.

Had a Logan minifigure been included or another character to sit in the second seat in the car, it might be another story – but as it stands, grab 71458 Crocodile Car when it’s on sale and no sooner.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car pictures —

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car pros and cons —

The high price of 71458 Crocodile Car sours what is otherwise a fantastic LEGO DREAMZzz experience, best representing the rebuilding feature of the theme’s first models.

Despite the quality of the builds and how well they work together, the cost and lack of a Logan minifigure make 71458 Crocodile Car a less appealing prospect – but not enough to stop us recommending this set with a discount.

71458 Crocodile Car pros	71458 Crocodile Car cons
Three interesting alternate builds	Not enough minifigures for the price
Interesting and uncommon minifigures	Too expensive compared to other sets
Unique concept and well-executed

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO sets using our affiliate links.

— Alternatives to LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car —

71458 Crocodile Car is unique, that much cannot be denied. However, there is a single good alternative to the model at a more reasonable cost. Those wary of 71458 Crocodile Car might want to consider 71454 Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van with nearly as many elements for £42.99 / $46.99 / €46.99 – it too is an animal crossed with a vehicle with legs protruding from the wheel arches.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71458 Crocodile Car FAQs —