LEGO City 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck review

There are two big reasons to invest in a mid-range LEGO City jungle subtheme set this summer, and both fully justify your money.

Sometimes gimmicks can feel unnecessarily shoe-horned into LEGO sets that they don’t belong in and it completely ruins the vibe. The set feels broken and without a true purpose, the gimmick is viewed with derision and the decision is generally seen as a failed attempt at a quick cash-grab from greedy LEGO.

60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck could have been such a set for so clearly focusing on a shiny new animal and then again for including a completely random and unrelated character from the depths of the LEGO Group’s back catalogue. Yet, it just gets away with things thanks to exactly how good both of those have turned out, even if they still don’t really contribute to the set. There are no cheap gimmicks here, just a couple of reasons to take our money.

Release: July 1, 2024 Price: £24.99 / $34.99 / €29.99 Pieces: 314 Minifigures: 3 LEGO: Order now

This is grrreat

There are two obvious draws to 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck, neither of which are in the name of the set and the first of which is the excellent tiger. LEGO animal design continues to showcase some brilliant creativity and every now and again a new animal comes along that captures its subject in LEGO form just perfectly.

The latest is certainly the tiger here, moulded in the new reddish orange and with printed stripes all over its body. It uses the same body mould as previous big cats, but this time it is more appropriately to minifigure scale than it was when used for, say, a lion. The head is a new design with just enough white shading to quite wonderfully finish the tiger and place them as one of the best LEGO animal designs we’ve seen in a while.

The only downside in relation to the tiger is that the jungle setting within the set doesn’t really feel fit for purpose, being too small and rock-like. No long grass or plant life to hide between. It leaves this magnificent LEGO creature sitting rather awkwardly in the set. If the choice is between a great tiger in a poor jungle or a poor tiger in a great jungle we’d pick the tiger every time, though.

Johnny Thunder, is that you?

The second quite obvious draw to 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck comes in the form of the ghost of Johnny Thunder, or maybe it’s his clone? If it’s straight up Johnny Thunder himself, from the original Adventurers theme back in the day, then he has aged magnificently and adventuring definitely suits him.

It’s an unexpected set and subtheme in general to find this particular character but mystery aside his return is of course a welcome one. Even for those who don’t know or care who he is, the simplicity of his updated design from more than 25 years ago now transcends effortlessly and looks just as great now. For those curious, his face design is identical to that of the Johnny Thunder-inspired Collectible Minifigure a few years back, but for additional stubble, almost like he’s been trekking through the jungle for a day or two…

If we are honest then he’s totally ill-suited to this set in story and purpose, but in play and nostalgia we’re not complaining one bit. Now to just place him elsewhere, perhaps with some of the other updated Adventurers minifigures in the collection.

There’s also a truck in this set…

Highlights aside, there is the small matter of a jungle setting and truck included in 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck, both of which go some way to better explaining the name of the set. Neither are particularly ground-breaking, but the truck is still interesting to put together with seating inside for both jungle crew (one in a hidden central section of the cabin), while the camera crane and open cargo bed at the back is great for placing one of the minifigures in. And its height from the ground makes sense when you stand the tiger on its hind legs next to it…

There are details to the truck’s design that do leave a good impression on what could otherwise be a fairly standard and generic design, and it helps add a sense of value to the set overall.

The jungle setting, meanwhile, is solid enough in build, but struggles to really set the scene as it intends to. It’s okay but it’s hardly a playable area, the tiger sits awkwardly within it and it is more rock than typical jungle. For all the lovely new plant pieces that the LEGO Group has released in recent years it is surprising to see none of them used here. It’s the same for the other jungle-based sets in this first wave for the sub-theme – what gives, LEGO?

Finally, there are two additional minifigures included in the set alongside Johnny, both of which offer character design akin to modern jungle exploring, and their understated design and colour palette plays nicely against the more vibrant colours of their truck and the jungle-esque setting they are exploring. Easy minifigures to overlook, but you’ll find yourself coming back to them eventually.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Our honest opinion: Whilst you can pick up Johnny Thunder in a smaller set, the tiger is just as excellent a reason to stretch a bit further for this one. The truck won’t leave you disappointed either, even if we’d be lying in calling the setting they are in a jungle.