LEGO SET 71488 - Alternate build | Bunchu's Creative Animal Adventures

April 29, 2025

Exploring the hidden versatility in set 71488-1’s parts can lead you far beyond its original theme. Here are a handful of fresh builds to kickstart your imagination:

Jungle Canopy Lookout
- Use the arch and curved panel elements to form a leafy treehouse platform.
- Repurpose the small animal figures as “spotters” perched in the branches.
- Build a rope-bridge walkway with clip bars and chain links.
- Mount binoculars and radio gear on clip-on clips for added detail.
Savanna Safari Rover
- Transform the wheel assemblies into rugged off-road tires with added tire-tread pieces.
- Construct a roll-cage from liftarms and pins, then sling a spare “fuel can” bracket to the side.
- Fashion a fold-down animal-observation bench using hinge plates and tile-mounted handles.
- Paint it in earthy tones by recombining the set’s brown and tan bricks.
Animal-Rescue Mech Suit
- Center a cockpit around the small canopy piece, then surround it with Technic liftarms for “exoskeleton” limbs.
- Clip on claw-style grabbers using curved panel sections and small aircraft elements.
- Use the set’s translucent round studs as “energy cores” on the shoulders and knees.
- Accent with bright color highlights borrowed from the animal-patterned pieces.
Portable Wildlife Clinic
- Combine flat panels and hinge bricks to create a fold-out medical bay on a wheeled trailer.
- Stow stretchers and toolboxes inside, built from trays, clips, and bar elements.
- Use the animal figures as “patients,” and add diagnostic instruments from weapon-hilt parts.
- Top with a removable canopy of curved slopes for field-lab realism.
Critter-Carousel Playset
- Anchor a central rotating pillar using round-brick stacks and turntables.
- Attach small animal figures to clip bars around the hub.
- Dress up the base with decorative fencing made from fence elements and bar pieces.
- Use the set’s colorful tiles to form playful floor patterns.

Pick one standout component—whether it’s the uniquely patterned panels, the flexible hinge elements, or the vibrant technic connectors—and build around its strengths. By remixing these parts in unexpected ways, you’ll unlock entirely new adventures far beyond the original set. Let your creativity run wild!

MOC - 71488 Bunchu's Frog