LEGO Super Mario’s Greatest Exploit: Sabotaging And Escaping From 71391 Bowser’s Airship

Disclaimer: This is a fictional take on the Super Mario universe, and is no way an accurate indication of canon material.

Ships bob along the vast expanse of the sea; the choppier the waters, the more violently they rock. Mario knows this, so why is it that he feels a weightless roil rumbling through his being, a kind of…drifting? mixed in with a slight touch of turbulence.

Oh, the plumber thinks, I think I’m in the sky.

Shaking away the fog threatening to occupy his skull, he opens his eyes and lets out a small groan. The confines of a wood-crafted space greets him, but there’s nothing that suggests his current location. He breathes in the air, and promptly proceeds to cough. Bad idea.

Musty, stale air assails his senses. The stifling wave of heat is overwhelming, and the steady whirl of engines is reverberating beneath him. Mario takes a few moments to take in his surroundings, stretch his limbs, and stands. In the near distance, he spots a familiar figure slumped against the solid wall of wood, green hat knocked askew.

Luigi!

He goes over to his brother, shakes him awake, and ends up being the target of a panicked flail of limbs. “M…Mario?” Luigi lets out a weak croak, willing his legs to work as he adjusts the hat on his head. He turns to look at Mario, conveying the question of where they are, and the latter shrugs. Guess it’s time to find out goes unspoken in the air.

Wherever-they-are doesn’t seem all that big, so the pair makes quick work of their examination. A hatch and some makeshift rungs lay in the road ahead, and they proceed to scamper up – or would have, if not for the sudden jerk. Gripping tightly to the holds, the brothers find that they are no longer swaying in motion. The engine sputters to a stop, and they use this window of opportunity to climb upwards.

• 

• 

No wonder this place feels familiar is the first thought that strikes Mario when he reaches the surface: Bowser’s Airship lies ahead in all its entirety, its polished wooden veneer greeting him and Luigi the same way it does when he rescues his princess.

Except it seems nobody is on deck this time round. There’s no Bowser, Bowser Jr, or the Koopalings, just a blanket of silence and oh, unsecured equipment. Mario feels his lips quirk up at the thought, and shoots a look at his brother – the very same one he uses when he’s about to create mischief. Luigi, recognising it, lets out a long-suffering sigh, but proceeds to hatch a plan of wreckage together with his brother anyway.

Wreckage, because it’s not often (read: never) that Mario encounters Bowser’s moored Airship, which means it’s the perfect chance for him to rain havoc upon his nemesis and stage an escape with great flair. (Here, Luigi internally rolls his eyes at Mario’s antics).

Step one, disable the cannons. The plumber has long suffered at the mouths of these cannonball-spitting terrors, and it’s about time he strikes back. He knocks off the plates guarding the cannons, then crams the muzzle with the items he finds on the deck, which include but are not limited to a pair of dirty boots, extra Koopa Troopa shells, and uh, a bunch of fishing rods.

Next up, the propellers. With a long rope on hand, Mario ties a tight knot and loops it around the blades of the left propeller, before securing it to the flipper on the right, effectively locking them together. Luigi, meanwhile, proceeds to jam the Burner, forcing a damp, balled-up wad of cloth into its opening for maximum immobilisation.

• 

• 

The two brothers give each other a celebratory high-five. As they begin to head back to the deck, an idea washes over Mario, and he stops in his track. Grinning broadly, he returns to the quarterdeck, dislodges an emblem in the shape of Bowser’s head from the display, and enjoys watching it plummet to the ground. Oops, there he goes.

On to destroying the next of propellers on the foremast! Executing the same steps as before, Mario climbs up to the highest point of the quarterdeck (a seat, as it turns out), clings tightly onto a rope, ties a big loop, and tosses it upward. It sails through the air, hooks around the left blade, and he tugs it hard. The propeller falls, and so does Mario: a broken piece rains down and crashes against the ‘POW!’ button beneath the red-clothed plumber, who is hit with a brief bout of dizziness.

Concern overtaking his features, Luigi rushes over to help him to his feet, but sees something blue approaching the airship in the near distance. His heart thumps; he recognises the figure as a Magikoopa as he glances frantically around for a hiding spot. There!

Tugging on Mario’s hand, he leads his brother to a small cache located under the cabin, and peeks out to see that the bespectacled Koopa has landed on the main mast with a build of Bowser’s claw (Wow the guy really loves himself, Luigi thinks). As it takes in the damage with a frown on his face, the younger plumber quickly maps out a plan in his head, and throws the first thing he sees at its Magikoopa: a blue Koopa Troopa shell.

The wizard-looking creature attempts to dodge the hurtling surprise, but ends up nudging the claw with the end of its broomstick. The colossal structure falls off the mast and slams into the deck, while the shell knocks the Koopa unconscious. Luigi heaves a long sigh of relief, and sneaks a peek at Mario, who signals that they should make their way off the airship.

Skirting past the damage on the airship, the brothers quickly scamper out of the hiding spot to hop off the vehicle at the soonest opportunity. As they prepare for a long way home, Mario cannot help but enjoy the fruits of their destructive labour. Clogged engines, obliterated masts, and jammed cannons – manifico, he thinks.

Take that, Bowser!

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The LEGO 71391 Super Mario Bowser’s Airship Expansion Set will be available on 1 August 2021 for S$179.90 at LEGO Certified Stores, LEGO Official Stores on Lazada, Shopee, and Amazon, as well as major retailers and department stores in Singapore.

Luigi fans, meanwhile, can also opt for the 71387 Adventures with Luigi Starter Course, which encourages interactive play with other brick enthusiasts. It’s slated to launch on 1 August for S$84.90, and comes accompanied with the following list of expansion packs:

• 71388 Boss Sumo Bro Topple Tower Expansion Set (S$49.90)
• 71389 Lakitu Sky World Expansion Set (S$64.90)
• 71390 Reznor Knockdown Expansion Set (S$109.90)
• 71392 Frog Mario Power-Up Pack (S$14.90)
• 71393 Bee Mario Power-Up Pack (S$14.90)
• 71394 Character Packs – Series 3 (10 Collectible Character Packs including Galoomba, Parachute Bob-omb, Crowbar, Boo, Amp, Torpedo Ted, Bony Beetle, 1-Up Mushroom, Scuttlebug and Swoop) (S$6.50 each)