Set Review ➟ LEGO® 71786 Zane's Ice Dragon Creature
The penultimate set of these reviews dedicated to the new Ninjago line coming out in early 2023, is an ice dragon from our colleague Zane. With a total of 973 pieces and 5 minifigures it costs €99.99 and is for children aged 10 and up.
The contents are 9 numbered bags, the construction manual well protected as mentioned in the previous review and also a sticker sheet, but this time in smaller quantity.
Mmmm, new references. We start the construction with Zane and Bone king minifigures. Plus a Tori gate or arch with evil motifs and a little spider with a built-in cannon.
Then, after these warm-up steps, the manual tells us that we will be busy building the ice dragon from page 15 to 153. We can see that there is a new reference in Sand blue. We start building the chest, this is nothing more than a succession of pieces covered with brackets as you can see in the picture.
The obvious thing to do now is to cover the top of the spine. Here I see two references that I predict they will have many uses :)
I like the progression of this part a lot, besides having a good variety of pieces. As you can see the thickness it has taken is not negligible. Looking at it quickly and having a bit of a "sick" Star Wars mind... don't you see a hint of Slave I here? XD
Next we will build a Bone knight that to my surprise is identical to the one you get in the 71785 set we have already reviewed here. I say to my surprise because in the box it appears without the flags as you can see in the image below comparing the box of this set with the one of that one. Incompatibilities of images with respect to the thickness of the box of the set, so you don't know what you will find in your purchase! :O
Here we continue adding pieces and weight to the model on the upper part of the trunk. I'm amazed at how this sort of tangle of pieces gives the model a very nice consistency and scaly appearance. I can't say anything other than I love it.
In the next bag we see some new references.
There are only a few construction pieces here but they are very important as they are the ones that detail the head and tail of the dragon. With this addition we already have a more than considerable size of the model. If the titan mech from the 71785 set seemed quite big to me, I think this one will be much bigger without a doubt.
To the rich references, listen! Delicious :) In this part we will build the front legs, I guess you have noticed that the model has six of them. These are very sturdy, so sturdy that the elbow of the arm doesn't bend, it's a fixed angle.
We are now in the last third of construction. Here we will start with the central and rear legs. We can also see these new references again, which we have already seen in other colours in previous reviews of this same line. We also built a couple more minifigures, a Bone warrior and Pixal.
The hind legs are stiff at the elbow again, so those legs will never be able to shrink or stretch in that area. We'll see how it looks when the dragon is finished. In the meantime we will be analysing it a bit as the construction of the model progresses. For the moment a model of a good size and detail.
In the penultimate bag we will do the 6 soles of the feet. The 2 front ones are a bit more worked, the 4 back ones a bit less, but identical between them. The model is thus very solid and allows a little mobility in the legs but as I said before, nothing at all in the elbows. If there was mobility in the elbows and with the weight that the model has already acquired, the most likely thing is that it would not be adequately supported, so it makes sense that the implementation is in this way.
And now we are in the final stretch of the model. Here we will put those details that make it so imposing as well as warlike. We also show some new references and those striking ice swords.
Well, once those icy wings and flags have been added, the model and therefore the set is finished as you can see in the images above. Are you sure? No! Extra ball! There is a second part in the style of the Creator 3 in 1 sets. In this set there is an alternative model in which the ice dragon is shown in a bipedal pose. Mecha dragon? Here you can see the back of the box of the set, I went for the first model obviously, but to make the second model without having to make the first one and without opening the bags beforehand, you can also do it as shown in the construction manual.
This set is a very detailed model, much more advanced and technical than the previous reviews of this new batch of 2023 Ninjago sets. A model to have for any Lego-ninja fan, and of course also because it has a very good parts list, for example for winter builders, as it has both "white" and "light aqua", making it ideal for making winter mocs now that the time of the year is so appropriate. Also for those builders who like to use those pieces that most of us put aside, give away or throw away? Sacrilege! It is a curious set with a good number of "little used" references. Without a doubt an excellent set. We thank LEGO for sending this set for review in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are ours alone, and LEGO does not endorse or support them in any way.
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