17 February 2025

Review: 71489 Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet from LEGO® DREAMZzz™

Posted by Elspeth De Montes

71489 Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet is one of the sets released on 1 January 2025 as part of LEGO® DREAMZzz™ season 3.

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This is the last of my individual LEGO DREAMZzz set reviews, and 71489 Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet is definitely worth a closer look.


Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

71489 Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet

  • Release date: 1 January 2025
  • Pieces: 266
Price: 

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Lego DreamZzz 71489 Cooper's Flying Video Game Controller

New moulds

Set 71489 contains 3 of the new moulds introduced for sets in this wave.

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  • One 'Cyber Brain' brick, dual-moulded in trans-dark pink and white (6512375) also appears in sets 71491 and 71497
  • 2x Cable, Curved Flexible with Bars on Each End in Medium Azure (6510358 | 6955) also in 71497
  • 2x Exhaust smoke with bar ends in Trans-Dark Blue (6530956 | 6958) also in 71490, 30698 and 71497.
Read more about the connections and geometry of all these new moulds in our LEGO DREAMZzz January 2025 new element overview.

Recolours

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  • 4x Wedge Plate 4 Stud 45° Angle Plate in Red (6519440 | 15706)
  • 2x Wedge Curved 4 x 8 No Top Studs in Red (6468176 | 5382) does exist with print in red

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  • 12x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Inverted in Dark Azure (6439745 | 99207)
  • 2x Brick Special 1 x 2 Rounded with Center Bars in Medium Azure (6525399 | 77808) also in 71491 and 71497

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  • 2x Brick Curved 10 x 1 in Neon Yellow (6527706 | 13731)
  • 2x Flag 2 x 2 Trapezoid with Clips in Neon Yellow (6527224 | 80324) also in 71491 and 71497
  • 1x Slope Curved 4 x 3 with 3 Layers in Neon Yellow (6527704 | 66955)

New prints

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  • Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with print in Trans-Red (6523340) also in 71491 and 71497

Rare elements

There are three elements that have only been in three or less sets.

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  • 2x Large Figure Sword Blade with Bar in Satin Trans-Dark Blue (6489478 | 65184) also in 71497
  • 4x Slope 30° 1 x 1 x 2/3 (Cheese Slope) in Vibrant Yellow (6427900 | 54200)
  • 1x Hair and Red Beanie in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6490731 | 5492) also in 71497

Minifigures

The Cooper minifigure is the same as found in set 71497 and polybag 30698.

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The new printed elements are as follows:

  • 1x Torso with print in White (6529259)
  • 1x Legs with print in Red (6523339)
  • 1x Minifig Head with print in Yellow (6523337)

Sticker sheet

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Up until now I have stickered every LEGO DreamZzz set I have reviewed but this one really looks better without the stickers I think. I'll show an image with stickers at the end of the builds.

 

The build

Set 71489 Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet follows the same format as the other sets we have reviewed from the January 2025 LEGO DreamZzz wave. The initial section of the instructions weaponises Cooper, builds the Cyber Brain Spider and the gaming controller base structure, and then we are presented with two build options.

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Cooper gets the same power saw weapon as in 71497 while the Cyber Brain Spider is a simpler version of this creature than is found in two of the other sets. The 1x2 trans red tile 'control' is simply held by a clip here; not particularly stylish. Let's not count the spider legs too closely.


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The game controller base model is common to both build options; it's a beautifully angled shape suitable for the start of a spaceship build.


Option 1 - flying jet

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The jet is made up of a few components, but only the weapons systems are part of the wider swapping/mixup concept of the other LEGO DreamZzz sets. The two satin trans-blue blades look great as the forwards prongs.

 

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As mentioned, I didn't want to mess with those clean lines and angles by applying the stickers as this is a great looking jet – although, there's a lack of wings for a jet. 


jet

Here's an image from LEGO showing the jet with all the stickers applied. Maybe you disagree and think it looks better with the details on? At least with stickers, there is a choice.

 

Side note: on first look it would be easy to think that this spacecraft is a Vic Viper – a type of spacecraft that originated in the video game Gradius.

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There's a LEGO variant that was initiated by AFOL Nate "nnenn" Nielson and became a yearly build challenge known as Novvember. Sadly Nate died in an accident in 2010 but his work lives on in the LEGO community.

The lack of dorsal tail means that Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet would not qualify as a Vic Viper.





With a quick bit of tweaking, it is possible to turn the jet into a Vic Viper. I do think folks will have fun modifying this jet as it's a handsome starting point.


Option 2 - helicopter

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To build the helicopter, it's necessary to deconstruct the jet back to just the basic game controller once more. The helicopter is certainly an interesting design, not the usual cab shape, but does it work as a futuristic or whimsical helicopter? I prefer the jet but it was still worthwhile building option 2.


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There are a handful of elements left over when switching to the helicopter option and a couple extra required, as is common with 2-in-1 models.


Conclusion

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As one of the cheaper sets in the wave, set 71489 Cooper's Gaming Controller Jet actually has a lot going for it. As well as Cooper, there's the Cyber Brain Spider but more importantly for New Elementary fans, there's also a host of recolours and some of the new moulds. With 266 elements, it works out at 6.8p/7.5c/7.5c per part despite there being a few larger elements in there as well.


READ MORE: Review: 42656 Heartlake City Airport and Airplane from LEGO® Friends™

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1 comment:

  1. Andrew Barnick17 Feb 2025, 15:13:00

    Nice review! In terms of the alt builds this might be my favorite of the new wave, the way the base controller build is rotated between the builds makes each model feel extremely distinct. I like the azure- and coral-colored accents on either side of the controller, which remind me of the similar color coding on the controllers of one of the original Nintendo Switch SKUs (and the upcoming Switch 2). The stickers putting buttons on both the front and back of the controller is a little odd but I suppose that helps ensure that it looks just as good from all angles in the helicopter mode.

    I do think I'd prefer at least some of the stickers being applied—the buttons for the "face" of the controller feel quite essential for getting the point across. The others I could probably take or leave especially since several of them are on those newly recolored parts that you might prefer to use for MOCs.

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