Review: LEGO 40559 Road Runner (161) & Wile E. Coyote (162) Brickheadz

January 24, 2022 | 0

2022 is shaping up to be a great year for fans and collectors of LEGO Brickheadz, which is heading into its 6th year now. 2021 was a bit of a renaissance year for the theme, and it looks like the momentum is going to continue, as we have some brand new licensed properties making their Brickheadz debut such as Looney Tunes!

Fresh to the Brickheadz stable is 40559 Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, number 161 and 162 respectively, which will be released on 1 February 2022 from LEGO.com (fingers crossed no delays this time), and have the honour of being the very first Looney Tunes Brickheadz!

These will go great with 2021’s Looney Tunes collectible minifigures and I think it’s great that LEGO are leveraging other licensed properties outside of Star Wars, and Disney to expand the Brickheadz portfolio.

I’ll be sharing new Brickheadz reviews all this week, so be sure to keep an eye out for the next 2 days for more February 2022 Brickheadz releases!

In the meantime, let’s jump into a quick look at the new LEGO Looney Tunes Brickheadz!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review

405559 Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote Set Details

Name: Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote
Set Number: 40559
Pieces: 205
Price: AU$29.99 | US$19.99 | £17.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [US] [AUS] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Looney Tunes
Release Date: 1 February 2022

One of the appeal of Brickheadz is that they’re relatively inexpensive builds, and with these dual-character Brickheadz, they make for a fun solo or shared build as you can build both Brickheadz simultaneously thanks to the magic of separate manuals.

I started with Wile E. Coyote, the scheming ACME-addicted coyote whose sole purpose is chasing down his nemesis Road Runner.

The build was quite atypical of Brickheadz, as Wile E. has quite bipedal shape, and includes standard Brickheadz features such as clip arms, blocky head and small 2 x 2 brick legs.

That said, the build was not without surprises. Most Brickheadz have pink 2 x 2 brick brain in their heads, but I was surprised to discover a yellow drum in his body, and this dynamite-looking teal and magenta block in his head as well.

Not exactly sure what they are, but I’m guessing they’re ACME-related? Super weird, but unexpected in a good way.

Wile E’s features are captured really well, including angry eyebrows, large yellow sclera of his eyes, and protruding snout are all rendered very nicely here.

Wile E Coyote’s snout is one of my favourite features, and does give him more of a 3D look, than the usual blocky Brickheadz which suits his character silhouette.

His pointy ears are also very well done, attached with clips in a recess on the top of his head.

And here’s his back and sides, which gives you a better look at his tail, but there’s not too much detail here.

As you can tell, there aren’t any printed elements, which is something you expect from Brickheadz – I think some tufts of fur on his chest would’ve been a nice bonus touch.

That said, the designers did a great job capturing Wile E. Coyote’s features and proportions here, and for the most part, nailed the Brickheadz conversion.

Road Runner (beep beep), on the other hand is a total joy to build, and his adaption to Brickheadz is remarkably cute, capturing his vivid colours, and Ostrich-like features incredibly well.

Road Runner has a unique slender bird-like shape, which they’ve translated well, without losing any of his major features like oversized yellow bill, orange legs, and blue and purple feathers.

His eyes and beak give him an extremely expressive look, and the clean, SNOT (studs not on top) construction on his head is done really well.

Interestingly, Road Runner’s head is attached to his body via a Technic axle, which is quite new to me, and I think the first time this has been done with a Brickheadz. As his neck is quite thin, it does work well to give it some added stability, to ensure his head doesn’t get knocked over too easily.

Here’s a look at Road Runner’s plume, which has a great shape to it.

And here’s the side, which gives you a better look at his purple wings, and large blue tail.

And if you’re wondering how they compare with their Looney Tunes Minifigures counterparts, here’s a side by side!

Wile E. Coyote was one of my favourite minifigures from that series, and as you can see, the likeness is carried over really well. The Road Runner minifigure was a little odd (mostly because of his regular legs), but the Brickheadz is just a fantastic rendition of the speedy bird, with all the right colours as well.

What I liked:

• New license in the Brickheadz family
• Non-humanoid shapes translated really well into Brickheadz
• Road Runner’s design is gorgeous

What I didn’t like: 

• Printed elements would’ve been nice

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you like Brickheadz and Looney Tunes characters, you’ll love 405559 Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote as it delivers two iconic Looney Tunes characters into Brickheadz form really well.

I like that LEGO chose both these characters to be paired up, instead of the more popular Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny combo, although I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them next.

I really enjoyed building both of them, as the techniques used to adapt the more animal, and less humanoid features were refreshing, especially with Road Runner, of which this is the best LEGO take on the speedy bird yet.

No printed pieces is a bummer, as the designs could’ve been greatly accentuated with some nice printed details, even they’re minor details like fur or feathers.

As fairly inexpensive display sets, these are great if you’re looking to expand your Brickheadz collection, and if you’re a fan of Looney Tunes!

With such a rich character-base to tap into, I cannot wait to see more Looney Tunes Brickheadz in the coming months to round out the collection!

Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰

Build [4] – Both builds are quite unique, and adapting animal-shapes was a fun and novel experience
Real Value [3] – Without printed elements, it feels a little bit more expensive than your usual Brickheadz set.
Innovation [3] – Fun new sculpting techniques used here, especially with Road Runner
Coolness [3] – If you’re into nostalgia, or the current Looney Tunes run, these will be highly enjoyable
Keepability [4] – If LEGO release more Looney Tunes Brickheadz, these will be a fun sub-theme to collect

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review of the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner Brickheadz – here’s hoping we get more Looney Tunes Brickheadz soon!

40559 Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote will be available on 1 February 2022 from LEGO.com… if they don’t get delayed.

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Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review.