Review: 71491 Mateo with the Z-Blob Action Race Car from LEGO® DREAMZzz™

The first individual January 2025 set from LEGO® DREAMZzz™that we will take a closer look at is 71491 Mateo with the Z-Blob Action Race Car. Those eye-catching new tyres were calling to us, but anyone with arachnophobia should tread onwards with care. 

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
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71491 Mateo with the Z-Blob Action Race Car

• Release date: 1 January 2025
• Pieces: 485

Price: 

• US$ 49.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 64.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 44.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 69.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 79.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 49,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 49,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 49,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 219.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 449,95 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 449.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

New moulds

There are four new moulds in the set. We have already taken an in-depth look at each of these new moulds in our overview of all new elements in LEGO® DREAMZzz™ January 2025 sets so I will just summarise the moulds here.

Cyber Brain

One so-called 'Cyber Brain' brick, dual-moulded in trans-dark pink and white (6512375) also appears in sets 71489 and 71497. 

Used as an abdomen of the Cyber Brain Spiders, it's unquestionably a specialised shape, but upon further exploration it fits into LEGO® System better than it first appears.  

Further geometry can be seen in our earlier parts review.

Cable, Curved Flexible with Bars on Each End

2x Cable, Curved Flexible with Bars on Each End, in Magenta (6527625), which also appear in set 71490.

In its relaxed state, the cable connects across 8 modules with one end set at about 45° to the other end.

The cable is interesting as, although it is flexible, it is also robust enough to hold some weight and resist flexing. The main section is also about 3.18mm, as you can see from the minifigure hand and the clip connected in position. 

See more details about this element in our parts review.

Frilled Dome Z-Blob

Frilled Dome with eye print in trans-bright green (6523330) also appear in 71487 and 71497. We've categorised this as a new mould, but note that it also appears in white (6525849) in 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet where Eero discussed this new piece in his review.

The new frilled dome joins the various iterations of Z-Blob: the Dreamling-sized Z-Blob, 2x2x1⅔ dome  Z-Blob (6434203), and the Z-Blob print of the Bionicle Barraki Eye in trans-bright green (6508924). 

Read more about the new Z-Blob in our parts review.

Exhaust smoke with bar ends (6958)

Lastly we have the awesome new exhaust mould.

• Exhaust smoke with bar ends in Trans-Bright Green (6510438 | 6958)

Although this particular colour is exclusive to 71491, the exhaust also comes in trans-dark blue (6530956) in sets 71489, 71490, 30698, 71497.

The exhaust smoke element has 3.18mm bars on each end with an overall length of 7 modules and nearly 4 modules across. When attaching by both of the bars, the connection is a half-module short in length, requiring a jumper plate to achieve the connection – note the 2x2 jumper I used at the top. 

Read more about this element in our parts review.

Recolours

• 4x Tyre 43.2 x 22 ZR in Trans-Bright Green (6516975 | 44309)
• 8x Slope Curved 2 x 1 No Studs [1/2 Bow] in Trans-Bright Green (6530510 | 11477)
• 2x Brick Special 1 x 2 Rounded with Center Bars in Lime (6533506 | 77808)

• 3x Brick Special 1 x 2 with 2 Studs on 1 Side in Dark Azure (6523387 | 11211)
• 2x Brick Special 1 x 2 Rounded with Center Bars in Medium Azure (6525399 | 77808)
• 1x Minifig Neckwear Scuba Breathing Regulator in Dark Purple (6531805 | 24135)

• 4x Wheel 30.4 x 20 without Pinholes, with Reinforced Rim in Neon Yellow (6533006 | 56145)
• 3x Plate 1 x 6 in Neon Yellow (6525159 | 3666)
• 1x Game Controller / Weapon Hilt with Black Buttons in Neon Yellow (6533752)
• 6x Flag 2 x 2 Trapezoid with Flared Area between Clips in Neon Yellow (6527224 | 80324)

New print

Tile 1 x 2 with print in Trans-Red (6523340),  also appears in 71489 and 71497.

Rare elements

There are two elements that only appear in one other set.

• 2 x  Launcher, Weapon Rapid Shooter Six Barrel, 2 Fingers in Bright Green (6491850 | 77257 )
• 4 x Brick Round 2 x 2 Tube with 45° Elbow and Axle Holes (Crossholes) at Each End [LONG] in Trans-Bright Green (6510159 | 5489)

Sticker sheet

There is one small sticker sheet included.  

It was a tricky decision about whether to apply these as some of the stickers are placed on recoloured elements and I often like to reuse these without the restriction of decorations.  On balance, I felt it was best to go all in and apply for this set. 

Spot the one I placed upside down when building, and had to remove and re-stick - the sticker was very unforgiving!

Minifigures

There are two minifigures and one Dreamling included in the set. Both minifigures are exclusive and the new elements are listed below for each character.

Mateo

• 1x Hair Short Long Curls / Mop Top with print in Reddish Brown (6523477) - not the colour splotches are only Lime on this version of Mateo's hair.
• 1x Torso with print in Dark Azure (6531587)
• 1x Legs with print in Flat Silver (6523353)

D-Shock

• 1x Minifig Head with print in Black (6523356)
• 1x Torso with print in Neon Yellow (6531807)
• 1x Legs with print in Dark Purple (6523358)
• 1x Hair, Mohawk Wavy in Neon Yellow (6531802)

VR Dreamling

• 1x Minifig Head with print in Light Aqua (6523359)

Once the minifigures are built, both get weaponised; Matteo has a slime blaster and D-Shock has a gun that fires energy bolts. D-Shock has some lovely detailed printing, it looks like anaglyph print for 3D glasses.

Instructions

There's one instruction booklet which I want to mention for two reasons.  Firstly, this set has two main options for building the vehicle, although the initial part of the instructions to build the minifigures, their weaponry and the Cyber Brain Spider come first.

The second reason is that there is some cool artwork within the booklet. I wont show it all but here's an example.  It's nice to see so much effort go into the instructions booklet and definitely increases the urge to keep a hold of them rather than recycle.

Build

Cyber-Brain Spider

The Cyber Brain spider is a fun little build with plenty of poseability.  The new cables, the 1x2 printed tile and, of course, the awesome Cyber Brain element are all used in the build here. The cables are the 'antennae' that the spider uses to capture the poor little Dreamling.

Vehicles

The initial part of the build are modules common to both vehicles: a cockpit, and a weapons array.

The cockpit section is built with plenty of brackets to allow decorative features to be connected along with four technic bricks used to attach further sections for each vehicle.

The second module to be built is also a play feature with two firing six-stud shooters. The use of clips and the 1x2 Rounded Brick with Center Bars to click the sections into place is a great feature that has wider application for utilising these modules across other sets in the range.

The final result before the instructions split gives a cockpit section with the easily-detachable weapons array section.

Options

There are two main options presented in the instructions when you reach this stage of the build.

Build option 1: Car

The car is built up from the cockpit section,  with the 1x2 Technic bricks as the main attachment points for the rest of the chassis.

The front fender section utilises the same clips and bars for attachment. This is the first set of the wave that I have built but I suspect this connection will be common across other sets to allow mix-up creations!

The weapons array can be clipped into position or removed for separate play easily.

The final look of the car is actually pretty fun; it reminds me of the remote control car from Toy Story, but even more cool.  

The colour scheme pops, especially when those new recolours for the tyres and wheels are in position.  As mentioned, I did apply all the stickers although it pained me to place stickers on the neon yellow flags and trans bright green windscreen in particular!

The only negative for me is that I feel the rear looks a little unfinished or less polished with all those empty studs on display.  It's not a common view to see in images of a set, and it in no way affects play but it just didn't quite have the same vibe as the rest of the model.

Build option 2: Motorcycle

At this point I detached the weapons array and removed all the elements from car to return to the basic cockpit starting point once more. 

This time the first section is built up and wheels attached prior to connection at the same point as in the car - namely the four 1x2 Technic bricks. 

As you can see, only two wheels are used for the smaller motorcycle build but there's still plenty of construction involved.

The completed motorcycle is also a fun final model and sits in a stable upright position thanks to those chunky wheels.  

Of course you can also attach the weapon array module to give a souped-up motorcycle. Eagle-eyed readers will spot the re-applied sticker in this image with the unforgiving raised edge – apologies!

The play features are the modular sections and their removal, along with the shooters. Anyone who has fired these before will know that they really do fire an impressive distance. Thankfully, a few extra of the trans-bright green 1x1 studs are included.

Conclusion

This is a fun set with plenty of great new elements included, both in terms of new moulds and new recolours. Those trans-bright green tyres are really gorgeous and I have no doubt they will be popular for mocs, especially cyberpunk or futuristic vehicles.

There are some simple but fun play features, not just the stud-shooter but also the modular aspect with the removeable weapons array, which is controlled by the most adorable Z-Blob ever. The printing on the minifigures looks fantastic and both are exclusive to this set. 

Not everyone is a fan of LEGO DreamZzz but I think we can all agree that the theme is a source of some awesome new elements, and as a LEGO-owned intellectual property, the sets do not suffer from some of the inflated prices we see in other themes.

READ MORE: Designer reveal: 21354 Twilight – The Cullen House 

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