Review: 43025 Nike Air Max 95
Posted by Huw,
LEGO's partnership with Nike has so far yielded four sets of varying quality and appeal. 43025 Nike Air Max 95 is the second 'life-sized' trainer to be released, following on from 43008 Nike Dunk, which was arguably the best of last year's assortment.
However, it looks like this one has surpassed it, partly on account of the bubbles!
Summary
43025 Nike Air Max 95, 1,213 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 7.4p, 8.2c, 8.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A really well executed model that looks great on display
- Spectacular minifigure
- Midsole air pockets look great
- Excellent parts pack
- Eye-catching bubble 'Air' lettering
- Niche subject matter won't appeal to everyone
- Can't make a pair with two sets
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Reference
The Air Max 95 is one of the American sportswear company's most iconic trainers and apparently is especially popular among youths in the UK at the moment. It was launched in 1995 and the eye-catching grey and neon green colourway modelled here is the most famous.
A pair will set you back around £175 which is about the same price as two of the LEGO sets.
Parts and stickers
A pair of sticker sheets are provided, one white and one transparent, which are used to add details to the shoe's heel and logos to the inside.
Among the set's 1,213 pieces, there are some exciting recolours, including the 'banana gear' in transparent and around 50 transparent with opalescence pieces used for the 'Air' lettering.
I am not familiar with the curved 1x1 brick with rounded end (6573182), or the 4x4 plate with rounded corners and nine holes (6575513), but I'm hesitant to call them new because I am not up-to-date with all the novel parts produced nowadays.
Construction
Instructions are provided in two manuals, one covering the base and the other the shoe, so concurrent building is possible without resorting to digital devices should you wish.
The base incorporates a small drawer on the right-hand side and on the other side there's a Technic linkage that causes the shoe (ultimately attached to the axle hole in the teal beam) to rotate when the drawer is opened.
Like the real footwear, the model's sole is very chunky, incorporating the trademark air bubbles within the midsole which are formed of curved transparent pieces – including the 1x1s with rounded ends – on top of vibrant yellow plates.
The side of the shoe incorporates stripes in four colours, including two shades of dark grey. Titanium metallic pieces have thus been used for the stripe which is darker than regular dark grey.
The 1x1 cheese slopes along the top between the laces are printed, thankfully, as are the quarter-round parts that form the toe.
Minifigure
The minifigure is spectacular, featuring dual-moulded limbs, and printing on the front and sides of the legs. The figure wears its own pair of '95s: the air bubbles, swoosh, and stripes are all finely printed on the sides of the feet.
Two heads are included, a male and female, both of which are double-sided. The combined hoodie/cap piece was introduced in 2019, in Hidden Side sets (thanks @Dollhaus).
The completed model
The combination of the shoe, the contrasting colours on the stand, and the bubble lettering certainly make it an eye-catching and unique display model!
As I said above, opening the drawer causes the shoe to rotate, allowing the back of the trainer to be examined.
The minifigure is mounted on the plinth 'walking on air', courtesy of one of the angled handles.
There's not a lot of space in the compartment, but it does at least provide somewhere to store the spare minifig head.
The pieces used for the top stripe on the stand are the new blue violet colour introduced this year. Unsurprisingly, the back of the model, especially the lettering, is not much to look at.
The shoe is about 21cm long, which is about a kids' size 12 (UK) or 31 (EU) so life-sized, but not adult-sized.
The photo of the heel end below shows where the stickers are used, and it's slightly disappointing to note that, even if you buy two of the set, you can't actually make a realistic pair because the Nike swoosh is on a sticker that can only be applied to the left-hand side of the shoe, which would be on the inside of the right foot one. It's a shame that another pair of stickers was not provided for this purpose.
I've left perhaps the most interesting part of the model until the end of the review: the bubble letters! The combination of the pearlescent parts and the medium azure plates and trans blue bricks behind them looks absolutely magnificent!
The three letters are held together in a curve using the transparent banana gear, a piece which I am certain will be in demand among Great Ball Contraption builders (such as myself...)
Verdict
This is an extremely well executed model of an object that just a few years ago would have been impossible to make. If you squint at it from a distance the shoe looks very life-like: big, chunky and colourful, just like the real thing. It's easily the most realistic model of a trainer LEGO has made so far.
I am certain that it won't appeal to everyone, but the bubble lettering has certainly caught people's attention and its addition has elevated this from 'yet another model of a shoe' to something altogether more interesting.
LEGO trainers have come a long way since 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar and sneakerheads will find much to like here, even if they could buy a decent pair of trainers for the same price.
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42 comments on this article
This is impressive execution on a subject matter that I wouldn't normally be interested in. I don't think I will buy it, but I will choose to respect it.
The bubble letter, as you have said, are incredible, and the new translucent and opalescent parts nearly have me drooling. Even the sneaker build is quite impressive; I love the way the designers have layered angled wings along the sides, as well as the implementation of the air bubbles in the sole.
The hoodie/cap piece is actually from 2019! It was first used on one of Hidden Side's main characters, Jack Davids.
Ah, so my initial guess was right... the small bubbles are new parts, a mashup of https://brickset.com/parts/design-49307 and https://brickset.com/parts/design-6908. I'm kinda disappointed; I always prefer the designers to come up with clever solutions using existing parts, but LEGO seems to have no problem churning out new element designs these days, even if they have limited use.
Speaking of new, that 4x4 rounded plate with holes is also new, at least for this year. I might have seen it in another set this year, I can't remember. I believe the 3x3 quarter dome shell is new this year as well, as up until last year those pieces were solid, not shells: https://brickset.com/parts/design-88293. I'm not sure where else it has appeared, though.
I'm also happy to see that the plates are indeed Titanium Metallic, and not some new grey color as people were speculating yesterday. Hopefully this means LEGO is starting to allow more normal parts to be molded in the metallic colors.
Overall, it's a nice looking model of a... shoe... and a good parts pack, but not of interest to me personally.
Somehow I feel like the exclusivity and resale of the luxury shoe market is sneaking it's way into LEGO, or did I say that backwards? :/
I’d totally consider buying this one! It’s the only one of the shoe things that has ever interested me
Now this is the most interesting set of footwear TLG has made. I'm very impressed with it nd I'm sure it's fun to build.
That minifig is fantastic. So many details and the printing looks exceptional. I predict that it will be nominated as favorite minifig in the poll at the end of 2026.
The Air bubbles are so clever and I gasped when I first saw those. So great! I want all of these pearlescent parts.
I’m starting to wonder if there’s a restriction against doing M/F faces on the same dual-sided head. Seven of the D&D CMFs came with two heads, and I believe the PC minifigs in the big set did as well. That’s four unique faces per minifig, which senile a lot of hassle when they could have done one male face opposite one female face.
@Dollhaus, thanks. Corrected.
@PurpleDave said:
"I’m starting to wonder if there’s a restriction against doing M/F faces on the same dual-sided head. Seven of the D&D CMFs came with two heads, and I believe the PC minifigs in the big set did as well. That’s four unique faces per minifig, which senile a lot of hassle when they could have done one male face opposite one female face."
Maybe it's to avoid people complaining that "the males are always angry, and the females always scared" or similar. Even if they mixed up the genders and emotions, someone would see one particular combination and take offense.
I like having more choices for faces. I tend to use the happy faces most often- I want my little Lego world to be a happy place.
I have no interest in the shoe, but I need the bubble AIR on top of a City building somehow.
Also I'm very glad to see they included Left and Right of all of the wedge plates, even though there's no "right foot" swoosh logo.
This set is stunning! I don't usually care for these sneaker builds but this one stands out. I'm obsessed with the lettering and I love the new blue-violet color :)
The air lettering is fantastic - what are the odds on those pieces appearing in other sets?!
On the other hand, I'm not remotely interested in the trainer so I'll probably be passing on this one.
Waiting for a pair of Marks & Spencer slippers.
@560heliport said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"I’m starting to wonder if there’s a restriction against doing M/F faces on the same dual-sided head. Seven of the D&D CMFs came with two heads, and I believe the PC minifigs in the big set did as well. That’s four unique faces per minifig, which senile a lot of hassle when they could have done one male face opposite one female face."
Maybe it's to avoid people complaining that "the males are always angry, and the females always scared" or similar. Even if they mixed up the genders and emotions, someone would see one particular combination and take offense.
I like having more choices for faces. I tend to use the happy faces most often- I want my little Lego world to be a happy place."
I’ve definitely heard that complaint regarding black minifig faces always being angry. Problem is, fleshtones (including reddish-brown) are usually reserved for licensed sets. When those licenses are action-oriented, the minifigs (appropriately) tend to get stern or focused expressions.
But there’s a member of my LUG who wanted his home layout to be racially diverse. I don’t remember if he was going Simpsons-style, or true fleshtones, but he definitely ran into a problem finding neutral expressions in reddish-brown when Mace Windu was the main source of faces.
I want to take those legs and put them on a Scout Trooper.
@jsutton said:
"Waiting for a pair of Marks & Spencer slippers."
I want Wayfinder Trackers, with animal prints on the sole and a compass in the heel!
It's crazy that the minifig in this set has dual-mouled arms and legs but they couldn't be bothered giving Han Solo and the imperial officers dual-moulded legs in the 1000€ Death Star set.
Rest in peace, Light Sand Medium Vibrant Dark Neon Pearly Stone Maersk Bluish Metallic Grey, we hardly knew you.
Another instance of "if this was a MOC at a convention I'd think it's pretty neat but since it's a product on a shelf I could not care less."
Ok set, Great minifig!
I assume they used shades of blue for the base to make it "airy", but I don't think the colors of the shoe and the base match very well. Also, in the final picture of this review, the shaping looks odd: the nose looks too narrow compared to the heel. And why does the yellow insole of the shoe need to sit up so high in the heel area?
@Crux said:
"Rest in peace, Light Sand Medium Vibrant Dark Neon Pearly Stone Maersk Bluish Metallic Grey, we hardly knew you."
Hahaha. This comment made my day!
Nike Air Max 95 are some of the ugliest trainers Nike have made.
@Denmark_Dragon said:
"Somehow I feel like the exclusivity and resale of the luxury shoe market is sneaking it's way into LEGO, or did I say that backwards? :/"
Nike trainers are not luxury shoes.
@Kre_O said:
" @Denmark_Dragon said:
"Somehow I feel like the exclusivity and resale of the luxury shoe market is sneaking it's way into LEGO, or did I say that backwards? :/"
Nike trainers are not luxury shoes."
£175 for trainers sounds like luxury to me.
@Elrond said:
"It's crazy that the minifig in this set has dual-mouled arms and legs but they couldn't be bothered giving Han Solo and the imperial officers dual-moulded legs in the 1000€ Death Star set."
That’s not how it works. They don’t plan those things across the entire span of product releases. The SW design team got a specific number of frames to work with, and this design team got their own set number of frames. Each team does with them what they please. Making the SW minifigs fancier would mean giving up other color changes and/or prints, and that’s not a choice those designers felt like making. Back when Brickheadz was still new, the designer mentioned that, because he didn’t have to include any minifigs in those sets, he could skip stickers and exclusively use prints for deco.
I will probably get one for parting out. A good colorscheme to use in Star Wars models, many new color changes that will likely not be widely used. This is a use of the shoe line I can get behind.
The up close pictures showing all the details really look good, and of course the "Air" logo looks fantastic. That said, definitely not something I'd ever buy unless it happens to be on deep clearance.
@BLProductions said:"Ah, so my initial guess was right... the small bubbles are new parts, a mashup of https://brickset.com/parts/design-49307 and https://brickset.com/parts/design-6908. I'm kinda disappointed; I always prefer the designers to come up with clever solutions using existing parts, but LEGO seems to have no problem churning out new element designs these days, even if they have limited use. "
These, at least, look like they could have a fairly broad range of uses.
@560heliport said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"I’m starting to wonder if there’s a restriction against doing M/F faces on the same dual-sided head. Seven of the D&D CMFs came with two heads, and I believe the PC minifigs in the big set did as well. That’s four unique faces per minifig, which senile a lot of hassle when they could have done one male face opposite one female face."
Maybe it's to avoid people complaining that "the males are always angry, and the females always scared" or similar. Even if they mixed up the genders and emotions, someone would see one particular combination and take offense.
I like having more choices for faces. I tend to use the happy faces most often- I want my little Lego world to be a happy place."
Besides, sometimes you want angry women and scared men!
@PurpleDave said:
" @Elrond said:
"It's crazy that the minifig in this set has dual-mouled arms and legs but they couldn't be bothered giving Han Solo and the imperial officers dual-moulded legs in the 1000€ Death Star set."
That’s not how it works. They don’t plan those things across the entire span of product releases. The SW design team got a specific number of frames to work with, and this design team got their own set number of frames. Each team does with them what they please. Making the SW minifigs fancier would mean giving up other color changes and/or prints, and that’s not a choice those designers felt like making. Back when Brickheadz was still new, the designer mentioned that, because he didn’t have to include any minifigs in those sets, he could skip stickers and exclusively use prints for deco."
I know it doesn't work like that but dual-moulded limbs are a rare occurence and it just feels a little wasted on a set like this, which clearly isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Meanwhile as a customer you expect to have the best value for your money if you buy the most expensive Lego set ever.
@Elrond said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @Elrond said:
"It's crazy that the minifig in this set has dual-mouled arms and legs but they couldn't be bothered giving Han Solo and the imperial officers dual-moulded legs in the 1000€ Death Star set."
That’s not how it works. They don’t plan those things across the entire span of product releases. The SW design team got a specific number of frames to work with, and this design team got their own set number of frames. Each team does with them what they please. Making the SW minifigs fancier would mean giving up other color changes and/or prints, and that’s not a choice those designers felt like making. Back when Brickheadz was still new, the designer mentioned that, because he didn’t have to include any minifigs in those sets, he could skip stickers and exclusively use prints for deco."
I know it doesn't work like that but dual-moulded limbs are a rare occurence and it just feels a little wasted on a set like this, which clearly isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Meanwhile as a customer you expect to have the best value for your money if you buy the most expensive Lego set ever."
No, this checks out. I've long waited for specifically this colour-constellation of dual-moulded arms for my own sinister purposes - but I don't feel like shelling out what amounts to ~45 Euros per arm (plus some extra plates and bricks).
It's not for SW. It will never be for SW. Accept that I just don't care about SW nearly as much as you do, and move on.
@Crux said:
" @Elrond said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @Elrond said:
"It's crazy that the minifig in this set has dual-mouled arms and legs but they couldn't be bothered giving Han Solo and the imperial officers dual-moulded legs in the 1000€ Death Star set."
That’s not how it works. They don’t plan those things across the entire span of product releases. The SW design team got a specific number of frames to work with, and this design team got their own set number of frames. Each team does with them what they please. Making the SW minifigs fancier would mean giving up other color changes and/or prints, and that’s not a choice those designers felt like making. Back when Brickheadz was still new, the designer mentioned that, because he didn’t have to include any minifigs in those sets, he could skip stickers and exclusively use prints for deco."
I know it doesn't work like that but dual-moulded limbs are a rare occurence and it just feels a little wasted on a set like this, which clearly isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Meanwhile as a customer you expect to have the best value for your money if you buy the most expensive Lego set ever."
No, this checks out. I've long waited for specifically this colour-constellation of dual-moulded arms for my own sinister purposes - but I don't feel like shelling out what amounts to ~45 Euros per arm (plus some extra plates and bricks).
It's not for SW. It will never be for SW. Accept that I just don't care about SW nearly as much as you do, and move on."
Of course it's not for SW. If it was for SW, you'd want the color pattern to be reversed, so you could upgrade your Scout Troopers. Like a sane person.
@Crux said:
"It's not for SW. It will never be for SW. Accept that I just don't care about SW nearly as much as you do, and move on."
Well honestly the theme isn't really important, it could have been a Batman or a Pokemon set for that matter, it's just that the most expensive set happens to be a SW set. The point is if that set costs 1000 bucks I'd like the minifigures to be perfect. I don't expect that from a 100€ niche set.
Just came here looking for the Death Star minifigures comparison and was certainly not disappointed. Of course LEGO could make every figure this great to flex with quality instead of quantity, but why bother if 99% of customers will buy mediocre stuff anyway? Besides, these one-off figures and CMF are single run productions and guaranteed made in the same factory in China.
@R0Sch said:
"Just came here looking for the Death Star minifigures comparison and was certainly not disappointed. Of course LEGO could make every figure this great to flex with quality instead of quantity, but why bother if 99% of customers will buy mediocre stuff anyway? Besides, these one-off figures and CMF are single run productions and guaranteed made in the same factory in China."
CMFs haven't been exclusively made in China since the HP2 wave. When TLM2 followed, they'd switched to global production. I'd have to compare molds to be sure, but one possibility is that the stock minifig parts and common accessories are produced elsewhere, and it's the one-off accessories that are Chinese production. For a set like this, however, you can just check the box. It'll tell you every country of origin, and if China is not on that list, then none of the parts were made there.
Sidnote: In the Nike Community its AirMax Day on the 26th. A day when Nike often have a special release or colorway of one of its AirMax models... With that in mind, these will release on the 28th. Thats hilarious. Missed it by that much. I wonder who planned that. I hope they get fired.
Those printed shoes are hilarious. Should prove famous among Blacktron II minifigs.
Another wonderful trainer set, it definitely doesn't disappoint! I bit the bullet last year and in the Insiders splurge i treated myself to 43021 Nike Dunk Trickshot as it was very friendly pricewise (and also the design i wear the most, Nike Dunk Lows). This latest one is definitely on my radar, remembering how popular they were during my mid/late teens.. But I'll wait for the discount and pop it on the list.
I love the minifigure. If you give him a skateboard and a cell phone he would fit in perfectly at any Lego skate park
@Euroseb11 said:
"Another wonderful trainer set, it definitely doesn't disappoint! I bit the bullet last year and in the Insiders splurge i treated myself to 43021 Nike Dunk Trickshot as it was very friendly pricewise (and also the design i wear the most, Nike Dunk Lows). This latest one is definitely on my radar, remembering how popular they were during my mid/late teens.. But I'll wait for the discount and pop it on the list. "
All of you asking, "Who was this made for?" have your answer now.
This will be the only Nike set I'm getting as I had the exact same coloured pair of Air Max back in the days and that was my best pair of track shoes, EVER!
I appreciate the SW comparisons being made. When SW Lego starts making models of this quality (but minifig compatible), at this price, and with minifigs with this detail... maybe my passion for the brand might return.