LEGO® DREAMZzz™ review: 71460 Mr. Oz's Spacebus

Would you step onto a school bus that's a also a space shuttle and driven by your physics teacher and his chimpanzee sidekick? I might think twice before stepping in, but this is space travel after all, so how could you resist? LEGO® DREAMZzz™ 71460 Mr. Oz's Spacebus presents such a scenario; let's see if this dream voyage is worth the ride.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® DREAMZzz™ 71460 Mr. Oz's Spacebus
US$99.99/ £84.99/ 99.99€/ AU$159.99
878 parts
1st August 2023
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Interesting parts in 71460 Mr. Oz's Spacebus

New moulds 

• 2 x Splat 3 x 14 with Dark Azure Center in Trans-Blue (6435597 | 1995)

The Splat is the signature part of this theme with blue being the most common version coming in 3 sets. A closer inspection on this part can be found in our introduction article on the LEGO DREAMZzz theme.

New recolours and prints

• 2 x Slope 25° 1 x 8 x 3 in Black (6453303 | 49618)
• 1 x Cable, Flexible 21L with 2 Connectors and Bars in Bright Green (6443503 | 2630)
• 2 x Animal Body Part, Bat Wing with Shaft [Chima Bat Wing] in Trans-Pink (6207783 | 15082)

Trans-Pink Bat Wings are used on the Susan Little Dude. The large Black slope was introduced in 2019 in White and was one of the parts in our Parts Festival that year. As this set doesn't have many new non-minifigure parts, these slopes remain the most interesting of them.

• 2 x Tile, Round 1 x 1 with Dreamcatchers logo in White (6434196) - with 1 extra
• 1 x Equipment Hourglass with Pearl Gold Sand in Trans-Clear (6440804)
•  3 x Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Left in Dark Azure (6211418 | 29120) - also in BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR
• 3 x Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Right in Dark Azure (6453302 | 29119)

The left cut-out curved slope in Dark Azure is not actually new, but I presented it here as the release of the matching pairs opens plenty of new possibilities for this piece - and the left version only comes singularly in one expensive set.

Rare parts 

Some of these rare parts appear in several LEGO DREAMZzz sets including ones revealed after the August release. Here their rarity is based on appearances before this theme.

• 1 x Dish 3 x 3 Inverted [Radar] in Satin Trans-Dark Blue / Trans-Dark Blue Opal
• (6337410 | 35268) -  also in 40478 Mini Disney Castle
• 2 x Plate Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole On Side in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6438836 | 3172) - also in 71799 NINJAGO City Markets
• 6 x Launcher, Plate Special 1 x 2 with Mini Blaster Square in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6345950 | 69754) - in 2 other sets

•  4 x Slope Curved 2 x 2 Inverted in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6445057 | 1750) - also in 76423 Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station
  

• 1 x Bar 4L (Lightsaber Blade / Wand) in Flame Yellowish Orange/ Bright Light Orange (6376752 | 21462 | 30374) - in 2 other sets
•  1 x Weapon Lightsaber Hilt with Bottom Ring in Flame Yellowish Orange/ Bright Light Orange (6134252 | 64567) - also in 10294 Titanic, with 1 extra

These Bright Light Orange pieces make up Mateo's pencil spear, making them common in the theme.

The sticker sheet 

There are lot of stickers in this set, and some quite big ones at that. I decided not to apply them and this decision affects the set a lot. Firstly, I think it looks cleaner and more streamlined without them. Secondly, for me personally, LEGO sets feel more authentic when their detailing is indeed brick-built and not based on extensive use of stickered or printed decoration. Thirdly, one of the biggest stickers - 10 and 11 - are put on the Black Slopes 25° 1 x 8 x 3 (6453303 | 49618) which are probably the most interesting parts of the set (not counting Mr. Oz's beard) and they are just so much more useful without the decoration.

Of course, to get a proper, full idea of this set one needs to know what it looks with the stickers applied so here's an official image:

©2023 The LEGO Group

I'm interested in hearing whether people prefer the look of the set with or without the stickers.

Minifigures and Little Dudes

This is one of the largest sets in the series, but nonetheless has only two minifigures. However, there are a record number of 8 little dudes - 5 evil ones and 3 good ones. The baddies are Susan, Denny (I think he's a combination of Devil and Benny), Flight Knight, Propper Chopper and Captain Bedbeard. The modern version of Classic Space helmet has appeared previously in Black only in 43179 Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse and may please Classic Space fans. I find the inclusion of a huge top hat more pleasant.

The good little dudes are a more diverse bunch: Logan, who's one of the kids but appears as a naked blue goblin in the dreamworld; Albert, who's apparently Mr. Oz's engineering essence manifested in the dreamworld; and Z-Blob, an amiable little green slime.

The normal figures are Mr. Oz's, the schoolteacher, and Mateo, who's the main hero of the series (or at least he's included in the most sets). Oz's hair-and-beard piece is excellent. Moulded beards that allow rotation of the head are not common; this actually might be the only one! I hope in future it will appear in other colours too. Mateo's the premium version with a cape which come in the biggest sets of the theme.

I can't emphasize how much I like Mr. Oz's hair-and-beard piece. A full look of the minifigures and their parts are included in our LEGO DREAMZzz introductory article.

The completed set 71460        

All aboard the Space Bus!

Please note that the stand shown here is not included in this set; I built it in 2015. The bottom of the spacebus is completely flat, making it difficult to take dynamic shots without a stand. I would have preferred some type of landing gear, or possibly wheels, to give the model an airier look when displayed.

The only side-build is a small rover stored in the back, which makes displaying the Little Dudes challenging as they are not very good at staying upright with their various accessories.

The cockpit opens, as does the Bright Light Orange school bus segment. The cockpit has seats for Oz and his monkey self. It has well-designed SNOT and brick math work around those wedge plates forming a space shuttle-like silhouette, albeit with pointed ear-like thingies.

The back door is hinged, and the Trans-Blue cylinders can be opened for extra luggage. I suppose they can be used to store the evil little dudes like with the prison cells of Space Police themes; the colour scheme of the non-bus parts of this set are actually very reminiscent of Space Police III! However, I think those cylinders look somehow crude and unfinished. Both the engines and the gatling guns on the ends of the wings are connected with the same modular pin connection making it easy to swap them.

Like the other vehicle sets, and as the name suggests, Mr. Oz's Spacebus is a synthesis of a spacecraft and a school bus. Or in other words, it's a rather traditional spaceship with a section of a school bus hull in the middle. As far as remixes go, this is far more mundane than a crocodile car or a shark pirate ship; a shame really as I think this set lacks character. I would have liked to see the long front of an American school bus with a silvery grille, or perhaps something interesting done with bus wheels.

On the positive side, the craft is sturdy and swooshable, some details are well designed and the modular function works nicely. The splat pieces also look great as the exhaust flames. However, there are still better spaceship sets around.

Conclusion

LEGO DREAMZzz is a versatile theme. There are plenty of hobbyists, many of them adults, who coo over a swooshable spaceship set, and this will probably fill their needs. But in comparison to the other sets of the theme, 71460 Mr. Oz's Spacebus leaves me cold. 

The parts are not very exciting - its two recoloured black slopes are the best this +100 € set has to offer so we're not in very deep New Elementary recommendation territory. Of the minifigures, Mr. Oz is excellent, but Mateo is very common and the Little Dudes... well, some of them are decent, but I'm not really a fan of these little pseudo-funko-pops. 

The concept of a school bus space ship has plenty of potential, but too safe a route has been taken here. The price of US$99.99/ £84.99/ 99.99€/ AU$159.99 for 878 parts is not the worst in the theme, but new moulds, recolours and rare parts are few and far between here. I'd recommend any other LEGO DREAMZzz set over this spacebus - except for space fans. They'll fave fun swooshing it around.

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