How tall is Bowser, the fire-breathing dragon-turtle-lizard thing who regularly roils the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario’s chief nemesis? It is the age-old question, and there’s no single answer. But if you’ve been holding back on Lego’s cutesy interactive Mario sets because their Super Koopa didn’t meet your satisfaction, I might have the set for you.
You’re looking at Lego’s 2,807-piece “The Mighty Bowser,” a supersized $270 version of the reptile that looks ready for some of the biggest boss fights we’ve ever seen in the games. It’s the biggest Lego Super Mario build yet, and much bigger than the original:
While the company hasn’t told us quite how tall the new Bowser is (update: 12.5 inches high) it’s quite clear he towers over Lego’s other Mario figures as only a Super / Mega / Giant or Giga Bowser can. His mouth, arms, legs, tail, head and neck are all moveable — the last two with the press of a button — and when you open his jaws far enough you’ll activate a fireball launcher in his head. He even “jumps” when you lift him off the ground, like a puppet.
The Danish company has rolled out the red carpet for this Bowser, too, providing a small chunk of his famous Bowser Castle stage with, yes, a gold-trimmed red carpet and cracked pavement. It serves as a display stand.
And, like other Lego Super Mario sets, there’s some sort of interactive electronic element. “Fans that own a LEGO Super Mario Starter Course can choose to battle Bowser against LEGO Mario, Luigi or Peach, allowing for truly immersive and digitally enhanced play,” reads a line from the company’s press release.
The new Lego Bowser set will be available October 1st for $270. It’s just one of the many, many pricier sets the company is releasing now that it’s building for adult budgets. Here’s a shortlist of others we’ve covered recently:
I’ll leave you with some more high-res images of Lego’s new Bowser set.
Update, 11:52AM ET: Added video, product page link, and additional details from both of those.