LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus review

75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus may offer a unique feature, but it still doesn’t quite push the envelope enough for a LEGO Despicable Me 4 set.

LEGO Despicable Me 4’s range of new sets are equal parts colourful and crazy and in comparison, 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus doesn’t present enough change in its transformation. That said, there may still be two major reasons to pick this set up.

Whether you’re looking for a surprisingly standard bus or are curious about the mysterious QR code featured in the set, 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus is an odd LEGO Despicable Me 4 model primarily for being a bit too basic.

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus set details —

Theme: LEGO Despicable Me 4 Set name: 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus Release: May 1, 2024

Price: £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 Pieces: 379 Minifigures: 4

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus —

Much like the rest of the LEGO Despicable Me 4 range, 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus launches on May 1 for most of the world in stores and online. Surprisingly, it launched early in the UK and Europe on LEGO.com and is available now.

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus build —

LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus may look like a standard bus on the outside, but it’s not quite what you would expect on the inside. The regular appearance of the vehicle can undergo a minor transformation by unfolding the front and back of the bus and opening the roof.

Without engaging in this transformation, the bus looks exactly as you would expect, almost like that of a model from LEGO City. That said, the slight curves and position of the wheels do help to give it an animated appearance, slightly setting it apart from most other LEGO buses.

The transformation changes the bus from a vehicle to a stage complete with a hot tub, though not much changes visually. The mechanism to change the bus is simple and easy to use, flipping up two parts of the roof, opening some doors and essentially splitting the top half of the bus in two.

Once this transformation is complete, the colour scheme remains mostly the same and the wheels are still on show. Overall, the changes aren’t quite as dramatic as we would have liked. Play features in 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus are light too, consisting of spinning turntables and wheels.

The transformed interior makes good use of the space, featuring a dance floor in the foundations, screens, speakers and lights on the underside of the roof, a small hot tub and a DJ station. The contents of the bus are interesting but ultimately not nearly as visually appealing or otherwise enticing as the other LEGO Despicable Me 4 sets.

What is interesting are the included accessories. Instruments, a balloon, food and a flag are included to get the party started as well as a small build with a QR code stickered on the underside. This code, when scanned, will take you to a stop-motion animation featuring 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus.

It’s a feature the likes of which we can’t recall being included in other LEGO sets, but one that adds an interesting level of interactivity without being reliant on an app. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the model itself interesting enough to have any substantial effect.

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus minifigures —

The Minion minifigures in 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus don’t help the set’s case that much either. Aside from a single Mega Minion, the characters are all normal Minions in the usual blue overalls. A good number of them are included to fully populate the bus, though in comparison 75580 Minions and Banana Car has the same number of Minions and Mega Minions but with two different outfits.

75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus also includes Gus the Mega Minion complete with a cone-shaped head and a flowing cape. It’s one of the more interesting Mega Minions across the LEGO Despicable Me 4 sets, but still not the most notable.

The antennae piece used in 71046 Series 26 Space is featured here in a different colour, but one that will be much less useful than the LEGO Minifigures series’ variant.

Those collecting every Mega Minion will need to pick up 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus, but its minifigures are otherwise far from the best compared to every other LEGO Despicable Me 4 set. You can customise them with the many included accessories, but a DJ Minion outfit at least could have helped the set greatly. Note that some unique LEGO Minions minifigures are depicted using stickers, but not included physically in the set.

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus price —

With 379 pieces for £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99, 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus‘s asking price is reasonable, though the quality and rarity of the set’s components stop this set from being a must-have. Instead, your LEGO budget may be better spent on 75580 Minions and Banana Car for a more varied LEGO Minions model, though with slightly less value overall.

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus pictures —

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus pros and cons —

75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus is exactly as its name suggests: a standard bus that can be transformed into a similar-looking musical setup. This LEGO Despicable Me 4 model is fine on its own but in a theme with such varied and colourful creations, it’s a shame that the bus is lacking in comparison. The contents of the set are small enough that everything can fit inside the bus, for instance.

Those who need every LEGO Minion or Despicable Me 4 set won’t be too disappointed with this model, but otherwise it’s not one to grab immediately. The QR code component is an interesting addition but doesn’t add a lot to the set, especially since you can scan the code on the box.

This LEGO set is fine, but that’s not quite enough when the rest of the range is as good as it is. As it stands, you can afford to wait for a sale on 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus.

LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus pros	LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus cons
The bus would fit in a LEGO City display…	…but it feels too normal for LEGO Despicable Me 4
Lots of minifigures…	…but they’re lacking compared to other sets
The transformation feature is easy to use…	…though there should be more than one major function

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus —

Anyone wanting an alternative LEGO Despicable Me 4 set will be well-served by 75580 Minions and Banana Car, which features just as many minifigures and a Mega Minion to boot. The vehicle is smaller but arguably more visually appealing (pun intended).

Alternative LEGO buses with transformation features include 42619 Pop Star Music Tour Bus and 41759 Heartlake City Bus, both of which are similar enough to the LEGO Minions set but at a higher cost. 75580 Minions and Banana Car is the better alternative overall unless you simply need a standard LEGO bus.

— LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus FAQs —

Author Profile

Jack Yates

LEGO has been a part of my life ever since I was young. It all started when my brother passed down 7657 AT-ST to me. It’s guided me through my early years, through school and eventually through my degree in journalism. I still have all my collection proudly on display, including my many NINJAGO sets, my favourite of all the LEGO Group’s themes. Outside of Brick Fanatics I am an avid gamer and enjoy a good game of Dungeons & Dragons.

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