LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus review

If uninspiring builds and lots of stickers are your sort of thing, then look out: here comes LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus…

One of the main selling points of the upcoming LEGO DREAMZzz sets is the ability to combine items together and create something new. This is certainly borne out in the likes of 71456 Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van, 71458 Crocodile Car and 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, with each model delivering exactly what it says on the box.

However, when it comes to 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus, the set’s designers seem to have slightly missed the memo regarding the theme’s overall goals, offering up what should be an exciting hybrid of builds as a lacklustre vehicle that’s just not fun to construct.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus set details —

Theme: LEGO DREAMZzz Set name: 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus Release: August 1, 2023

Price: £84.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 Pieces: 878 Minifigures: 2

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus —

LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus will be available to buy from LEGO.com, LEGO Stores and third-party retailers on August 1, 2023. Be sure to check out all of the latest prices for the set below.

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— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus build —

Before getting into assembling the main vehicle included in 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus, there’s a quick warm-up in the shape of a tiny four-wheeled and two-seated buggy to be built. It’s not shown on the box for the set or included in the official description of the model, with the bonus build designed to fit inside the main spacecraft’s rear cargo hold. 

However, whatever goodwill the additional vehicle generates is soon dissipated when it comes to the Spacebus itself. What could have been an exciting combination of elements with plenty of play potential is instead something of a tiresome build, with 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus proving to be just another winged LEGO craft with some minor functionality thrown in.

This soon becomes evident when constructing the base of the Spacebus, a laborious process that never seems to be going anywhere, regardless of how many pieces you add to the model. While the story-led instructions included with 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus hint at just how much fun you should be having with the set, it’s certainly not evident as you’re building it. As elements are coming together, there’s no real sense of joy or discovery, with each additional piece failing to provide a clear idea of exactly how the finished craft will look.

Oh, and remember what we said about stickers? Yep, there are loads of them to be applied to 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus – 24 in total – and some of them are tricky, especially if the model is being built by its intended 9+ target audience. It feels like almost every other element requires a sticker to be carefully placed on it, which is surprising considering how many new and exciting printed pieces have been specifically created for the first wave of LEGO DREAMZzz sets.

With the primary section of the spacecraft complete, it’s time to turn to assembling the school bus, with this section also having major problems of its own. For starters, it’s really only two side walls and the roof of a school bus that you’ll be making. This isn’t a separate vehicle that can be constructed and displayed on its own, such as 71456 Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van, and then combined with the spacecraft to create a thrilling hybrid vehicle.

Fold open the sides of the school bus to peek inside and it also appears that there’s been very little thought given to the interior of 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus. Sure, there’s room to add minifigures when it’s opened up, but it’s a tight squeeze when closed. Likewise, with the sides of the school bus shut, it’s impossible to see anything through this section’s windows, thanks to two blue plates blocking the view inside. Let’s put it this way, it’s no 70423 Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000.

The cockpit of 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus also opens up, but there’s really only room inside for one minifigure and Albert the monkey. Throw in multiple stud shooters and rotating cannons and it’s clear the LEGO DREAMZzz set should have all kinds of play possibilities, but it’s nothing we haven’t already seen many times before in other (better) models. There’s also a distinct lack of any wheels or landing gear underneath the craft, so the vehicle basically lands on its belly, leaving that section of the ship feeling decidedly unfinished.

With the main build of 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus thankfully out of the way, we move on to the customisation options. The first of these adds two large thrusters with new blue flame elements to the rear of the craft, along with a rotating satellite dish on top and wing-mounted cannons. These brick-built extras do finally bring a little excitement and visual flair to the set, although they also give the model more of a LEGO Space feel rather than a crazy Dream World craft.

The second option combines the thrusters into a huge cannon on top of 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus, a separate two-seater starfighter complete with its own massive engine and rotating cannons, plus a small satellite that’s repurposed from the roof build. Sadly, these shots at customisation still manage to feel fairly pedestrian, combining to reveal the one thing this particular LEGO DREAMZzz set is really missing – imagination.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus Minifigures —

There’s slightly more fun to be had with the minifigure selection included in 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus. Mateo is once again present and correct, with the core LEGO DREAMZzz character appearing in this exact form in three more of the theme’s sets. The Dream Crafter version of the character comes with a new hair piece, double-sided printed head and torso, printed legs and green LEGO Batman utility belt. Mateo also boasts a green cloth cape and trusty pencil staff, plus an hourglass, slime rope and two-part Z-Blob figure.

Annoyingly for completists, picking up 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus is the only way to obtain a minifigure of Mr. Oz himself and his simian co-pilot, Albert. The former only has a single head print, with most of the piece covered up by a new grey hair and beard element, in addition to a double-sided printed torso and printed legs. The character also gains a silver blaster and a new white harness piece complete with printed hourglass element.

Albert himself is very prominent in the LEGO DREAMZzz animated show, so it’s odd that the monkey is only included with 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus. The primate is constructed from a white body with front print, and a printed head piece with clear space helmet over the top. The model also comes with a version of Logan in his blue furry dream form, complete with double-sided printed head, a new hair piece and a white hockey stick, but he’s also available in 71458 Crocodile Car.

The set is rounded out with a whole squad of Grimspawns, with each nightmare creature carrying various weapons and headgear. While it’s great to have plenty of enemies for the heroes to battle, we’d have much preferred 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus to include other absent characters from the TV show, such as the Forge Master, Chief Inspector Celia Strick or even Jim the yeti.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus price —

When it comes to price, 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus presents something of a quandary. For £84.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 you’re getting an 878-piece build of the main LEGO DREAMZzz vehicle, complete with plenty of characters, but it’s one that just doesn’t excite in the same way as other entries in the upcoming theme.

If it’s a space-based ship, plane or bus you’re after, then we’ve listed a number of other LEGO sets further down that are much more impressive for a similar price point. Unfortunately, despite some attempts at customisation, the completed 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus build just doesn’t justify its cost or piece count.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus pictures —

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus pros and cons —

71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus fails to tick a number of boxes, from being an uninspiring build with far too many stickers to a lack of play options and an overall unfinished quality to the set. While two lots of customisation instructions are included, neither really adds much to the LEGO DREAMZzz model and the completed results don’t even make for much of a display piece, let alone what should have been one of the stand-out models in the upcoming theme.

There are some redeeming factors when it comes to the inclusion of the exclusive Mr. Oz minifigure and Albert figure, but they’re marred by yet another Mateo and too many Grimspawns. What 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus ultimately lacks is pure imagination, something that every other LEGO DREAMZzz set in the first wave of models seems to have a surplus of.

71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus pros	71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus cons
Exclusive Mr. Oz minifigure and Albert figure	An uninspiring build
Some attempts made at customisation options	Model lacks details, features and playability
Good for building up your Grimspawn army	Too expensive for what’s included

This set was provided by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus —

Fortunately there are plenty of alternatives to 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus, many of which offer much more satisfying builds. The upcoming 60367 Passenger Airplane looks to be an impressive LEGO City vehicle, with more minifigures and pieces for roughly the same price. 76248 The Avengers Quinjet also gets a thumbs up, as the LEGO Marvel set offers plenty of playability, features and collectible minifigures.

When it comes to similar four-wheeled vehicles, we’d recommend 41759 Heartlake City Bus, as the 480-piece Friends set actually presents a clear view of its mini-doll passengers inside. If it’s the zaniness of DREAMZzz that appeals to you above all else, 71456 Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van is also a worthy purchase, and one that manages to pack lots of detail and character into a much more affordable and satisfying build.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus FAQs —