LEGO Super Mario 71426 Piranha Plant’s lack of functionality is an acceptable trade-off

LEGO Super Mario 71426 Piranha Plant lacks some obvious functionality – but is that necessarily a bad thing?

When you think of a Piranha Plant from Super Mario, the instant image is it creeping up out of its pipe pot to chomp on Mario and his friends. While the newly-revealed LEGO Super Mario 71426 Piranha Plant doesn’t have that functionality or any sort of functionality to extend or lower its stalk, that might not be a negative when you look at the set overall.

Some fans have been quick to complain in comment sections and on reddit that it lacks the ability to move up and down like it would in the original game, but looking at the size of the pot, it would have to be far larger for the internal mechanism required to fit. Potentially, that wouldn’t be a problem (who doesn’t want an oversized piranha plant on their shelf) except for one key element: the price.

Increasing the piece count by as much as you would need to make it bigger and include some sort of turn mechanism inside would surely increase the price, potentially even pushing this set over the £100 mark. At the moment, its relatively low price of £57.99 / $59.99 / €64.99 makes it even more attractive.

Plus, 71426 Piranha Plant marks the sign of a wider price shift for 18+ LEGO sets. While there are certainly some LEGO sets aimed at adults that are still pretty pricey (looking at you LEGO Star Wars UCS sets), the success of the Botanical Collection has demonstrated the demand for mid-range display sets that still pack a punch in terms of detail and design.

Even in other themes, like LEGO Star Wars and Marvel, it’s been shown that adult collectors will be loyal to affordable sub-themes, such as the LEGO Star Wars and Marvel helmet collection. In LEGO Marvel, this collection even extended to include other easy-to-display builds, such as 76191 Infinity Gauntlet, 76223 Nano Gauntlet, and 76250 Wolverine’s Adamantium Claws.

[bdproduct search=’super mario’ sort=’discount’ numberOfRecord=’4′ brand=” sliderMinValues=’0′ sliderMaxValues=’750′]

By comparison, LEGO Super Mario has lacked these more affordable options when it comes to display sets, with models like 71411 The Mighty Bowser, 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System, and 71395 Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block all costing well over £100 and some over £200. That’s hardly budget-friendly.

If a certain lack of functionality is missing from LEGO Super Mario 71426 Piranha Plant, then perhaps that’s a satisfactory trade-off to get a great-looking display set that doesn’t cost the earth – at least in our book.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by buying your LEGO sets using our affiliate links. Thank you!