Review: 71499 Mateo's Spray Paint Truck
Posted by benbacardi,
Five LEGO DREAMZzz sets were recently released in the summer wave, and as usual they offer a whacky and fun collection of models to invite children to play in the dream world they've seen on TV in the related show.
71499 Mateo's Spray Paint Truck is one of the larger sets released, with over 900 pieces, a bright and vibrant truck and choice of two sub-builds, and a whole variety of minifigures of favourite characters and enemies from the show.
Summary
71499 Mateo's Spray Paint Truck, 929 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 9.7p/10.8c/10.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Chaotic vibrant fun, with some excellent minifigures and a pretty good articulated truck!
- Articulated truck is excellent
- Lots of stud shooters!
- Decent selection of minifigures
- Some parts of the model slightly fragile
- Two alternative builds very similar
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The set contains a decent number of minifigures: three protagonists and their little sidekick, and two antagonists and their cyber brain spiders. Mateo and Cooper are two young members of the Dream Chasers, the "good guys" who fight the nightmare creatures in the dream world. They've both appeared in numerous sets previously, as two of the main characters in the show.
Mateo's clothing is entirely new: a blue jacket with various pockets and emblems over a black t-shirt, a utility belt and shoulder strap, and an excellent neon green cape. The printing is fantastically detailed; clearly, no expense is spared for these figures. His right arm and right leg are the same transparent neon green as the cape. In contrast, Cooper is all red and white—this outfit isn't new, and has appeared in quite a few of the previous sets. Nevertheless, it's also excellently designed, with many details on the zip-up jacket and cargo trousers.
Both heads are dual printed. Cooper snarls on one side, and wears some cyber-styled glasses on the other. Both of Mateo's expressions are confident, a small smirk on one side and a wider grin on the other. The detail on the torsos continues onto the rear.
Also on the side of the good guys, Mateo and Cooper are joined by Mr. Oz and his chimpanzee companion, Albert. In the real world, Albert is a bobble-head chimp on Mr. Oz's desk, but in the dream world, he comes to life to join the team. Mr. Oz has been the focus of two sets previously, so it's great to see him as a supporting character here. His face and hair are the same as before—shaggy grey hair with a large moustache, and a gold monocle. The rest of the figures are brand new. Mr. Oz's outfit continues the cyber theme, decorated with a game controller and a screen depicting a game of Breakout.
Albert's spacesuit, previously available in white and gold, is this time presented in a navy blue, and printed with the Classic Space logo! The poor chimpanzee looks very unwell beneath his helmet, at least on one side of his face. He looks more determined on the other, with his features overlaid with a sighting target and other elements suggestive of a HUD in the helmet.
Moving onto the cyber villains, the remaining two minifigures are One and D-Shock. One is the dream manifestation of Dawn, a software developer in the real world, who works for The Brain in the dream world. This is the only set she appears in. As appears to be the norm with these figures, her legs and torso are fantastically detailed, and her dual-moulded hair is quite something! She's wearing a cyber-themed dress, and her face is a mask that shows the silhouette of feminine lips and eyes with long lashes.
Her companion, D-Shock, appeared before in 71491 Mateo and the Z-Blob Action Race Car, and is identical here. With his neon yellow hair and jacket, anaglyph 3D skeleton, and purple trousers, they both make for a very vibrant pair of villains!
It wouldn't be a nightmare battle without weapons, and each minifigure comes with their own. Mateo has his paint gun, which has appeared before, and Cooper holds a chainsaw. One's equipped with some form of pink handheld lightsaber, and D-Shock ready to live up to his name with a dangerous-looking electricity gun. Mr. Oz is dual-wielding some simple pistols!
The villians may seem outnumbered, but they are not fighting alone. Two Cyber Brain Spiders join them, one with pink tentacles, one with blue. They both use the same brain piece introduced last year, but their legs are formed slightly differently.
Spray Paint Truck
Onto the build itself! A fairly large sticker sheet is included, printed on metallic silver backing.
Mateo's Spray Paint Truck is a large articulated truck born of Mateo's imagination, used in their seemingly endless confrontations with the nightmare creatures. The first couple of bags build up the truck's cab—an impressive six-wheeled vehicle in vibrant shades of red, green, and yellow. Two small cans of paint flank the cab, and details such as rearview mirrors, a large radiator and engine intake, headlights, and a number plate reading ZBLOB are included. Protruding out of the front of the cab, either side of the radiator grille, are a pair of large "cow catchers", adorned with the Dream Catchers emblem.
The rear four wheels of the cab sit either side of the articulation joint, which is attached to the rest of the cab via a pair of Technic pins that let it rotate slightly and give the cab its slight forward rake.
The roof of the cab can be lifted off, attached only by two studs, revealing a control panel, steering wheel, and seating area large enough for a single minifigure.
With the cab out of the way, it's on to the trailer. This is built with four wheels at the rear, and a stand can flap down at the front to hold it upright when not attached to the cab. One side depicts a picture of Z-Blob, and the other some hazard warning symbols. I like the way red tiles run down the side of the trailer, and the flourescent yellow higlights.
On the top near the rear of the trailer a Technic click joint on either side provide an attachment point for the final piece of the build, to be constructed after the trailer is complete!
The trailer contains one other play feature: a telephone piece forms a handle that can lift the lid, revealing an empty compartment. I'm surprised there was nothing included in the set designed to fit in here, but at least they made it an accessible part of the build instead of sealing the trailer entirely!
A ball joint beneath the trailer fits snuggly into the receptacle at the rear of the cab, joining the two together. The trailer can be pulled easily by the cab, although it would have been nice if some steering mechanism were included, particularly for a truck this size.
Giant Spray Can
As always with the DREAMZzz sets, you're given a choice between two or three alternative models for the remainder of the set that all build on top of what's been completed before. Usually, that central core doesn't make much sense by itself, but the truck is still mostly a functional standalone model.
The first option here is a giant (and I mean giant) spray can that attaches to the top of the trailer. It's built using large curved panels, four of which use stickers to make it very clear what's inside the tank. A rotating stud shooter protrudes out the front, and a cockpit is provided on top (I'm not really sure what for, the truck already has a driver! Perhaps for controlling the stud shooter?). Additionally, two stud shooters are built on small rotating platforms that attach to the side of the truck using the blue bar attachments.
Flex hoses run from the can to the truck's trailer, and Technic push pins hold it securely in place with the rotating click hinges. Some toxic-looking exhaust fumes spew from the rear of the cockpit on top of the can.
There's room on either one of the trailer's side stud shooter attachments for a minifigure to sit, and just enough space in the cockpit for Albert to sit beneath the hinged canopy.
The relatively recent 6-stud-shooter works by firing a stud at a time as the outer housing is rotated around the central axis. In this set, this central axis is connected through the centre of the can via an axle and a set of gears to the circular red controls on either side of the can. Subsequently, turning either of these discs will fire the gun. This mechanism is entirely hidden inside the can, but can be seen in the cutaway below.
With the trailer attached to the cab, the full model is complete. The stud shooter on the front of the can protrudes over the top of the cab.
The hinges that attach the can to the cab allow the spray can to be lifted into the air (and held solidly in place), aimed to fire paint (or studs) into the sky.
Rocket Launcher
Dismantle the spray can, or take a different choice midway through the instruction manual, and you can instead build a rocket launcher. At first glance this looks very similar to the spray can, and in many ways it is, but it is still constructed differently and has different functions.
The multi-stud shooter is still attached to the front of the can, but is no longer controlled via the internal mechanism—instead, studs are fired by simple rotating the shooter manually. The cockpit on top of the can remains, but has been elongated, and fitted with four forward-facing individual stud shooters.
The red discs have been repurposed as the rocket's engines, complete with the green exhausts, and these are joined to the can by the flex hoses, rather than to the trailer.
The rocket is attached to the trailer differently, too—instead of firmly attached with Technic pins, it's held loosely in place with a couple of axles.
It can still rotate upwards as before, but at a push of the axle you can see protruding through the hinge below, the rocket is released from the trailer for launch.
Verdict
I've said it before: I'm a big fan of DREAMZzz sets, and the whimsy and creativity they exude. I've never sat down to watch the TV show, only seen the occasional segment, but the sets themselves really need no explanation beyond "these are for kids to play with" if you're happy to accept their whackiness.
71499 Mateo's Spray Paint Truck is no exception. The truck is really quite excellent—it's a great size, the cab is nicely detailed, and the articulation makes driving it around quite fun. As mentioned above, it's a shame there is no steering functionality, however.
I've always enjoyed the choice of alternative builds provided by the sets—while not at the level of the Creator 3-in-1, offer the builder a nice way to get even more involved with the story telling. I think the two builds here, however, are a little too similar, with not quite enough to differentiate between them.
Overall, the set is a great choice for anybody who enjoys the show or just the fun aspect of the DREAMZzz builds. The minifigures included are excellent, the truck design and build is great, and there are plenty of play aspects with the truck and spray gun, whatever form you decide to construct.
71499 Mateo's Spray Paint Truck is available at LEGO.com for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99.
88 likes
40 comments on this article
Talk about burning rubber... those wheels are burning my eyes!
I half want this for the wheels. But I fear what they would look like after just one spin on the floor.
I'm presently building the Avengers Tower 76269 and I'm growing tired as I build of the drab and dull color scheme.
This is definitely not drab or dull.
I believe this is the perfect remedy and foil to 18+ sets.
I want this awful-beautiful toy.
It’s a lot of fun: the red and neon green is giving me strong Atlantis vibes. I want to break out some 3d glasses to see what that skeleton looks like. If I was two decades younger I’d be on this like sprinkles on cupcakes.
I agree the 2 builds are too similar , which is a symptom of some of those sets.
I know 2-in-1 is technically a bonus, but it's inconsistent across the theme.
Some of those sets completely change the look of things :
71481 Izzie's Dream Animals has a red panda, a bird, or a turtle.
71484 Cooper's Robot Dinosaur C-Rex has a rex or a pterosaurus.
71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures has a bird, a mech+dog, or a wolf.
But then there's this:
71476 Zoey and Zian the Cat-Owl , still a cat owl in both.
71494 Zoey's Time Owl still owls.
71492 Mateo's Fire Chameleon does not touch the chameleon build at all.
However, it does not mean those sets cannot lead to entirely different custom builds, and even if it just leads to some kids or adults trying to build other things, it's a win imo (nothing wrong with displaying sets too by the way, but to me, LEGO is much more then just a statue system)
Dreamzzz sets just make me so happy. They’re bright and fun and inventive and I’m utterly charmed by almost all of them, and this is no exception. Yeah, more differentiation in the secondary build would be nice, but it isn’t a deal-breaker for me, and they at least both look good and would be fun to play with. I really hope the theme sells well enough to keep going.
@megafig said:
"I half want this for the wheels. But I fear what they would look like after just one spin on the floor."
The wheels can also be found in the cheaper 71491: Mateo and the Z-Blob Action Race Car
@TeriXeri said:
"I agree the 2 builds are too similar , which is a symptom of some of those sets.
I know 2-in-1 is technically a bonus, but it's inconsistent across the theme.
Some of those sets completely change the look of things :
71481 Izzie's Dream Animals has a red panda, a bird, or a turtle.
71484 Cooper's Robot Dinosaur C-Rex has a rex or a pterosaurus.
71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures has a bird, a mech+dog, or a wolf.
But then there's this:
71476 Zoey and Zian the Cat-Owl , still a cat owl in both.
71494 Zoey's Time Owl still owls.
71492 Mateo's Fire Chameleon does not touch the chameleon build at all.
However, it does not mean those sets cannot lead to entirely different custom builds, and even if it just leads to some kids or adults trying to build other things, it's a win imo (nothing wrong with displaying sets too by the way, but to me, LEGO is much more then just a statue system)"
The alternate build of Zoe's Cat-Owl is a Cat-Peacock.
I agree this is a great-looking set and it looks like it has great play value too. I also find the overall shaping and angles of the vehicle quite amusing - it's like a fun, friendly Lego version of the Mad Max war rig. :-)
The six stud shooter was introduced with the reboot of bionicle 10 years ago. I wouldn’t call that a relatively recent part, although I suppose in the grand scheme of things 10 years is quite short.
Keep saying it ever time, but how is Dreamzzz not more popular as a theme? They're fun, colourful, creative reasonably priced for what you get. Whats not to love about them?
I collect other LEGO themes, and you can't buy everything, but man, am I tempted.... DreamZzz is among the most imaginative and best looking themes out there
Lego are EVIL... they know people will buy it just for the dark blue helmet and airtank. Evil and greedy.
@Winklebob said:
"The six stud shooter was introduced with the reboot of bionicle 10 years ago. I wouldn’t call that a relatively recent part, although I suppose in the grand scheme of things 10 years is quite short."
Looking up 6 stud shooters https://brickset.com/parts/design-18588 , they were indeed quite widely used after introduction in 2015, with a lot of Star Wars, Ninjago and Ultra Agents using them.
And later Nexo Knights, Super Heroes, Batman and Ninjago Movies and Monkie Kid.
But I can understand the "recent" part might come from this particular design dating back from 2023. https://brickset.com/parts/design-77257
2015 also introduced the 1x4 disk shooter brick. https://brickset.com/parts/design-16968 later changed to https://brickset.com/parts/design-63783
Different colour scheme and minifigs and you have yourself a madmax vehicle
@Benbacardi The review is inconsistent on the chimp's name. Is Mr. Oz's little friend named "Albert" or "Alfred"?
@tmtomh said:
"I agree this is a great-looking set and it looks like it has great play value too. I also find the overall shaping and angles of the vehicle quite amusing - it's like a fun, friendly Lego version of the Mad Max war rig. :-)"
Was just thinking of the War Rig.
I have to say, the models in the 2025 wave of Lego Dreamzzz feel like a cross between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Vidiyo.
These minifigures look amazing. One is quite evocative of Cheng'e from 80032. I have a feeling I'll be buying Mateo and One on the aftermarket.
Lego Atlantis is crazy this year!
I love the colour scheme on this! This just screams Toxic Avengers to me. If you were around in 1991, you know.
M-Tron!
@VeryBigForce said:
"To me, this set looks equal parts Lego Movie and Space Police III - and that's a good thing. The minifigures look excellent, although I do question Mateo's decision to clothe himself in phlegm, even if it's very friendly phlegm. It's still weird, man. Don't be this way.
This is a great set."
Space Police III had near-flawless execution as a theme, so high praise indeed!
M-Tron Atlantis: Fury Road. Love it.
This is just splendid. It’s not for me but I wouldn’t pause getting this for one of my children/nieces/nephews
More trans clear minifigures for other themes!
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
"I love the colour scheme on this! This just screams Toxic Avengers to me. If you were around in 1991, you know."
The 90s kid friendly saturday morning cartoon is Toxic Crusaders. Toxic Avenger is the gory nc-17 movie the cartoon was based on.
That's the love child of LEGO M-Tron and a Super Soaker if you ask me.
Love those wheels, but wouldn't know then what to do with them :o)
Excellent choice of lets make the spray can as big, if not bigger, than the entire trailer.
Wonderful and refreshing model and theme.
I already had planned to get this set, but this review makes it all the more exciting.
ALSO, that One Piece set showing stretch arms are still around (for Mister Fantastic) and this one showing transparent mini-fig parts (Invisible Woman) shows just how bad that Fantastic Four set really is.
@Rimefang said:
"I'm presently building the Avengers Tower 76269 and I'm growing tired as I build of the drab and dull color scheme."
You should see some of my MOCs. My colour palette when I'm kinda messing around rather than making a properly planned build is grey, grey, grey, and dark tan. And a bit of olive green.
@Hiratha said:
"Dreamzzz sets just make me so happy. They’re bright and fun and inventive and I’m utterly charmed by almost all of them, and this is no exception. Yeah, more differentiation in the secondary build would be nice, but it isn’t a deal-breaker for me, and they at least both look good and would be fun to play with. I really hope the theme sells well enough to keep going."
"... if you're happy to accept their whackiness."
Why yes I am, Ben.
This is an eye-watering, explosion of Lego fun. I, too, wish the rocket was more distinguished. But, that's a small nitpick.
I will aquire this for my Anime-Steampunk-Ninjago city once its reaches the usual Dreamzzzy deep discount.
(Sigh) I miss @Ridgeheart . Hang in there.
My one criticism of Dreamz sets is they can, occasionally, over-rely on stickers. I build Cooper's controller jet last night, and it's a brilliant, gorgeous little set, but the stickers made that far more stressful an experience than it needed to be.
Last year's animals (the panda, the red panda, and the Never Witch's nightmare creatures) were brilliant, though. I've really enjoyed the Dreamz line.
I have no intention of getting this set, but I'm tempted to look for Pz's torso on PaB, as I love breakout. Might look for some of the piece that Mateo and Cooper's weapons are built around, it has a great steampunky vibe, might make something for 71048-12 with it.
@Eightcoins8 said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
"I love the colour scheme on this! This just screams Toxic Avengers to me. If you were around in 1991, you know."
The 90s kid friendly saturday morning cartoon is Toxic Crusaders. Toxic Avenger is the gory nc-17 movie the cartoon was based on."
After 35 years I still mix those names up! :'-) Especially funny considering I have a Toxie action figure right here in this room. But yeah, it does have that Toxic Crusaders aesthetic, with a bit of M-Tron thrown in for good measure. Man, those were the days when it came to fun toys.
I'll never get this set, but I do love it for the reawakening of a memory of a skateboard I had in the early 1980s which was a red board with bright green wheels!
@StyleCounselor said:
(Sigh) I miss @Ridgeheart . Hang in there. ]]
?! Is everyone ok?
@kingalbino said:
"Lego are EVIL... they know people will buy it just for the dark blue helmet and airtank."
That's what I did... I bought the Dark Blue air tanks and Helmet...
...but fortunately, when I did, I got a 929 piece Spray Paint Truck, FREE with them !
@ForestMenOfEndor said:
[[ @StyleCounselor said:
(Sigh) I miss @Ridgeheart . Hang in there. ]]
?! Is everyone ok?]]
@Ridgeheart's shadow-banned.
Wow! The truck looks very fun to play with!
But on the note about the minifigs... They are so freaking cool!
But am I the only one in the world who noticed that with each season Mateo's slime splat on his face grows? Now almost the half of his body's slimy!
Also, just one more thing; haven't been following Dreamzzz's plot since like season 2, but I thought that the pixel lady wasn't a villain. My bad.
I enjoyed building this although I almost added a couple of the larger stickers the wrong way round. Check the instructions and pieces carefully to avoid my mistakes!
I do like it, but it's a bit weird to me that the paint apparently comes out of the top of the plunger, rather than the nozzle. Is this can broken? That seems fraught with danger.
In fact, that can is one giant hazard, and it's not helped that everyone in the set seems armed with piercing, slashing and/or heat-based weaponry. This is a tragedy waiting to happen.