Review: LEGO 71456 Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van

One of Lego's major new introductions in 2023 is Lego Dreamzzz, a brand new, original topic with some of the most craziest and most fantastic designs that have ever existed.

LEGO DreamZZ is supported by an excellent animated television series (available on Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube), which forms the narrative backbone of the topic.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with the Lego Dreamzzz sets before the publication, and it is a really funny topic for younger children, with some really interesting and imaginative buildings and great new minifies, but a large part of the sets is really Expensive what parents who are currently struggling with the cost of living could be deterred.

At the start of my series from LEGO DREAMZZZ Test reports, we take a look at 71456 Mrs. Castillo's Turtle van, which is available on Lego.com from August 1, 2023 and in most LEGO shops together with the first wave of Lego DreamZZ sets

Who is this set suitable for? Anyone who wants to have a large selection of unique Dreamzzz figures and a funny looking Turtle van

71456 Mrs. Castillos Turtle Bus Set Details

Set number: 71456
Name of the set: Mrs. Castillos turtle bus
Parts: 434
Sales price: US $ 47.99 / Au $ 72.99 / £ 42.99 / € 47.99 / CAD $ 59.99
Topic: Dreamzzz
Appearance date: August 1st, 2023

Unboxing and building instructions

In short, Dreamzzz sets combine the rich narrative that fans of Ninjago or Monkie Kid know, with Creator 3-in-1.

Most Dreamzzz sets have three different modes, a normal one based on something in the real world, followed by two fantastic dream world versions that you can see on the back.

Here is a look at some stickers that also contain some replacement stickers with which you can decorate your set or your things with some cartoony symbols that I really like. Children love stickers, so these additional stickers are a great extra.

The DreamZZ Manuals are Terrific, and so Enjoyable. Instead of Grotty Renders, The Front Covers of the Manual Feature Thesis Lovely Illustrations.

In the instructions there are even more of these rich and beautiful illustrations that enrich the building experience. It is almost like a wordless comic book that tells a story while building the set, and after such a drastic deterioration in instructions this year, this is a big step upwards in quality.

For this reason, I will not throw away any of these DreamZZZ construction instructions.

At a certain point, the building experience is fork, and the young builders have the choice whether they want to build a turtle bus in the party mode or a turtle bus in flying submarine mode.

This is a really cool mechanics that gives you the feeling that you get more out of his LEGO sets, and which encourages you to take sets apart in order to transform them into something new.

71456 Mrs. Castillos turtle bus minifigures

The Minifigure Set 71456 Mrs. Castillo's Turtle van is an excellent introduction to Lego Dreamzzz and one of the reasons why I chose this set as an introduction to the topic.

The set offers a great compilation of two traditional mini figures with the protagonists Mateo and Zoey, the new Mrs. Castillo Grand figure and two of these strangely cute Dreamzzz figures, Z-Blob and a Grimspawn, which look like miniature casts.

Here is a closer look at Mateo and Zoey, which contain the main characters in the set. You wear your Dream World outfits, which give you a cool, upgraded look in addition to your normal clothing, and the pressure is really sharp and detailed, with the hourglass motif in a prominent place.

Mateo as an illustrator has a huge pencil as a weapon, while Zoey, which is more experienced, has her hourglass, which she uses for Dreamcraft, as well as her arrow and bow.

Here is a look at the back of the back and the double -sided heads.

The new LEGO wigs are great and I love Zoey's purple dreadlocks, and Mateo's hair also have green strands. Mateo has Vitiligo, which is noticeable on his face and gives it a very special look.

Next we have Mrs. Castillo, an eccentric and wise old lady who runs a popular snack car that the children often visit in the real world. LEGO has put it particularly hard here and introduced a brand new shape for her body, where you can also attach large arms, which gives it a really unique silhouette and shape.

It is a really unique torso body with arm holes on each side that can be equipped with any Technic pin compatible element, and here you can see the size comparison with a normal mini figure.

And here are Ms. Castillo's different components. It is a really interesting new mini figure that really hits the look of a cozy old lady. I am excited to see what Lego does with this form.

Next we have these little figures that are brand new in Lego Dreamzz, so I hope that they will be called Dreamzzz figures. They look like small Lego figures, with arms that can "grab" every stick-shaped element and are compatible with minifigure heads, which gives them a very chibi look.

Here is Z-Blob, a figure designed by Mateo who wakes up to life in the dream world, and a Grimspawn. Grimspawn are villains that have to serve as cannon food and provide a lot of comedy in the television series.

Here is Z-Blob when you remove Vidiyo Slim's head and a sweet face with two eyes appear.

And here is Grimspawn when you take off your helmet. The heads have a great design and can easily be converted for medieval fantasy minifigures.

These new Dreamzzz figures are really cute and they grow to my heart and I would like to collect many of them - hopefully if they can be ordered online from Pick a Brick.

71456 Mrs. Castillos turtle bus - food truck mode

The construction of 71456 Mrs. Castillo's Turtle van is relatively simple, and you start with a simple food truck that would not be out of place even in Lego City.

He has an attractive white and sand -green color scheme and many fun stickers to decorate it. In a way, he reminds me of a T1 campervan on a mini -figure scale.

Here is a look at the side where you can see the menu and the shield, as well as the shutters that can be opened to show Ms. Castillo that is willing to accept orders.

The interiors are quite spacious, and although Ms. Castillo's mini figure is quite large, there is plenty of space to move them.

The construction is based on Mrs. Castillos snack car, which can be found in the real world. In the dream world, however, everyday things can suddenly take up fantastic forms with the help of the mighty hourglass that give dreamer the power of dream art.

You have the choice-build a party mode or a turtle bus in flying submarine mode!

71456 Mrs. Castillos turtle bus - party mode

Thanks to the forces of the hourglass, Ms. Castillo's modest snack car turns into a Turtle van! The transformation is quite seamless - you don't have to remove many elements, but just attach all of these little things to bring him to life.

This is a simple but effective method to transform the toilet into something else, and I like it very much how colorful, funny and almost silly of this model looks.

In the party mode, the Turtle van is activated, which is moved by pulling it on by a carrot that dangles on a stick.

There are a few really nice details, such as the printed turtle head. Actually it is a turtle ... but all turtles are turtles, so it is not technically wrong.

I like the use of these large elbow pieces for the legs very much.

On the roof there is a small palm, a treasure chest with jewelry and this incredibly cute cat katzus ready to celebrate. Cat cactus, do you understand?

I could stare at him all day.

The turtle van is also delivered with a yellow-orange splash part, which is a typical element of Lego Dreamzzz. These new elements are characterized by a really interesting new shape that mixes trans-plastic with firmer colors. They are nicely structured and have a single axle hole connection at the base.

As the name suggests, the party mode is a lot of fun and is my favorite configuration for Mrs. Castillos Turtle van.

71456 Mrs. Castillos Turtle van-Flying submarine mode

If you are in a hurry and don't have the time or patience to move the Turtle van on his four legs, you can choose Flying Submarine mode instead.

Instead of a carrot, a red chili pepper is used as a feed for the turtle, and it turns into jet mode, with its legs being aligned in a more aerodynamic position as it whizzes through the sky.

The cat's cat also flies into the air, with its own jetpack and rockets that transport it through the air.

It is a lot of fun, and I like the periscope that indicates that it is also a functional submarine, but that's the configuration that you build if you want it to rush through the area.

Not as charming as the party mode, but still quite funny, and here too younger builders have the opportunity to modify and transform the toy, so that it is seamlessly from the food truck to the turtle van and the flying turtle-submarine transformed.

If I were 8 years old, I would appreciate it and have a lot of fun with it. I think LEGO did a good job to bring fun and imagination to the DreamZZZ sets.

What I want:

Great selection of minifigures that are a great sample for DreamZZZ
The food truck can easily be adapted to any LEGO City
The Turtle van has a lot of charm

What I did not like:

The flying submarine mode is difficult to present
A bit expensive

Final thoughts

You can definitely see what LEGO wants to achieve with LEGO DreamZZ - a captivating story with interesting characters from the television series and try to take LEGO back to his roots, namely to be able to build everything you want.

71456 Mrs. Castillos turtle bus is a great entry -level set to familiarize yourself with Lego Dreamzzz, and I would recommend it if you have curious about the topic.

The minifigures are a great introduction to the new Dreamzzz figures, and Ms. Castillo, two small Dreamzzz figures as well as Mateo and Zoey are obtained. Mateo is contained in almost every set, so it is not a big attraction (do you understand?), But the supportive occupation of the minifigures is solid.

The construction itself is fun, and that of comics and "Choose your own adventure" inspired instructions bring a breath of fresh air to the Lego building and are something that I would like to see more about. The construction itself is not particularly new or challenging, but I liked that basically you get a LEGO set with 3 different forms, which gives the set a high replay value and hopefully prevents it from becoming boring.

Where 71456 Mrs. Castillos turtle bus (and most of the DreamZZZ kits) fails, the price is. With a price of $ 47.99 / 72.99 au $ / 42.99 £, it feels very expensive for what you get, and it feels like it is 20 % more expensive than it should be, Which in my opinion is a big entry hurdle, not only for Lego fans who want to try Lego's new big bang theme, but also for parents looking for toys for their children.

As a set, it is a lot of fun, and the fans will definitely look forward to the cool new minifigures, but the price is a big stumbling block, so you should wait for a cheap offer, especially if you have a short LEGO budget.

Structure [4] - A very fun and compact structure, and with 3 different shapes it offers a rich building experience
Real Value [2]-Poor price-performance ratio for the number of parts and minifigures
Innovation [4] - A lot of innovation with the manuals and the seamless transformation
Coolness [3] - The party Mode Turtle van has a lot of personality and looks funny and silly
Continuation [3] - depends on how successful DreamZZ is a topic, but this is one for playing and experimenting, not so much for building and exhibiting

Evaluation and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰