Review: 71843 Rogue's Mech Dragon Rider
Posted by CapnRex101,
Mechs and dragons are integral to the NINJAGO theme and mechanised dragons have appeared multiple times before. However, there has never actually been a mech riding a dragon, until now, with the release of 71843 Rogue's Mech Dragon Rider!
The previous two Mech Rider sets have been a little underwhelming, in my opinion, but this example looks excellent. Not only is the dragon highly detailed and articulated, but the accompanying mech has great personality. Moreover, this set introduces Rox, another member of the Forbidden Five, in minifigure form.
Summary
71843 Rogue's Mech Dragon Rider, 584 pieces.
£59.99 / $74.99 / €69.99 | 10.3p/12.8c/12.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Rogue's mech and the dragon are good apart, but outstanding once combined
- Impressive dragon design
- Dragon is highly articulated
- Distinctive mech, thanks to its striking cloak
- Great integration between vehicles
- Nice minifigure selection
- Dragon has few mechanical features
- Mech could use moveable wrists
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The not-so-mysterious Rogue debuted in 71841 Dragonian Storm Village earlier this year and looks fantastic, sporting a dark blue hat and bandana to hide his identity. The lightning designs and the Ninjargon letter 'J' featured on the character's robes are clear indicators though, as this is actually the Master of Lightning and former ninja, Jay.
Jay certainly looks darker than usual in this attire and the same applies to Arin, now wearing a black hood over his familiar flame yellowish orange robes. This combination looks superb and I like the magenta dragon design too, surrounded by paint splatters, as though Arin quickly added this decoration himself.
I love Jay's uncharacteristically serious expression and Arin could have used something similar, but his standard smiling head is provided instead. The minifigure also carries a lantern and the new Reveal Blade, which is dual-moulded with intricate detail, while Rogue is equipped with a naginata.
Rox is one of the leading members of the Forbidden Five, so I am surprised her minifigure is only available here. Regardless, the Elemental Master of Fear seems as sinister as expected, particularly given the ghoulish faces along the edges of her robes, matching those worn by her brother, Nokt. Notably, this minifigure is the first in NINJAGO to include medium legs.
Many of the Dragonians introduced earlier in 2025 have been transformed into ghostly beings known as Hollow Ones and this Spectral Dragonian Warrior is an example. While the earlier Dragonian minifigures were exceptionally detailed, I criticised their colours as too similar to the Vermillion, so I much prefer these updated blue-tinted characters.
The combination of aqua, trans-light blue and metallic silver, with red highlights and dark blue wings, is striking, definitely conveying the warrior's ghostly appearance. Moreover, the dragon-shaped chest armour looks perfect and I like how the spectral lower body piece has been used, mixing aqua and trans-light blue plastics.
Both characters are armed with swords and removing Rox's textured hat reveals her fearsome mask, lined with golden teeth. The Dragonian Warrior also looks quite intimidating without their helmet, displaying the Forbidden Five's emblem on the back of the head.
Additionally, the Dragonian carries a stickered banner, designed to work with the Reveal Blade. Passing the trans-red blade over the banner emphasises the red and white areas of the sticker and causes Thunderfang's face to appear! The dragon is easily visible without using the Reveal Blade, admittedly, but I still appreciate the feature.
The Completed Model
71761 Zane's Power Up Mech EVO introduced a new style of NINJAGO mech in 2022, using specialised parts for the limbs and sometimes the torso too. Rogue's mech essentially follows the example of the Power Up Mech and others, although this model's unique features certainly distinguish it from past vehicles of equal size.
As ever, the angled limb elements limit articulation to some degree, without moveable knees or elbows. Even so, the ball-jointed ankles, hips and shoulders are sufficient for plenty of dynamic poses, aided by the adjustable fingers. Articulated wrists would have been helpful with a bladed weapon like this, although you can angle the naginata on a Technic pin, which is useful.
The standard chest armour piece is integrated on the torso, angled forward similar to how this component is used on the Star Wars mechs. Even a simple adjustment like this really helps to differentiate Rogue's mech and I like the dark blue and pearl gold highlights too. There is room to stand Rogue behind the chest armour, though without any controls.
The mech's most interesting feature is probably the plastic cloak wrapped around its shoulder. The shape of the cloak gives the impression of motion and it definitely looks like something an enigmatic ronin could wear! Moreover, I like the letters 'R' and 'J' on the cloak, symbolising both sides of Rogue's persona.
A lightning dragon banner and the minifigure's weapon are mounted on the back of the mech, with a larger version of the naginata in its hand! This is a clever idea and the attached lantern looks great, with a tassel hanging underneath.
Dark tan elements on the left shoulder and thighs resemble traditional bamboo armour, which contrasts with the technologically advanced mech. Similarly, I love the wooden sandals on the feet, reminiscent of 71794 Lloyd and Arin's Ninja Team Mechs. In fact, the entire mech reminds me of Lloyd's vehicle from the 2023 set, as both are clearly influenced by Japanese ronin.
I must say, the dragon is smaller and less overtly robotic than I envisaged. Nevertheless, I find its stocky proportions and the colour combination of white, dark blue and trans-yellow effective, distinguishing this model from earlier lightning dragons. The general shape actually looks more like a dinosaur than a dragon, albeit one with wings.
The dragon's articulation is pretty impressive, including sturdy hip joints and double ball joints forming the ankles. The feet can accordingly remain flat and provide a strong base for various stances. Both wings and the head are also connected with large ball joints, while the wrists and segmented tail incorporate smaller ones.
The use of specialised pieces for the dragon's head is perhaps surprising, as these parts are typically better suited to organic creatures, instead of a mechanised dragon. The lower jaw in particular seems like an odd choice, though I like the continuous band of light bluish grey from the dragon's jaw to its belly, in contrast with brighter colours above.
However, the lack of detail inside the mouth is disappointing. The streams of energy on either side look great, but the mouth is otherwise unusually plain. I think a weapon that channels the dragon's electrical energy would have been perfect, perhaps in tribute to the earliest NINJAGO dragons!
A sticker on the dragon's chest adds some detail, but the brick-built texture along the flanks is even better, resembling an exposed engine. I think a few more features like these would have helped to convey the dragon's robotic design.
On the other hand, the wings look suitably mechanised, including thrusters on the trailing edges. The lightning patterns on top are appealing and I appreciate the articulated claws, although they would be more versatile with additional joints in the centre of each wing, so they could fold into a proper walking position. Unfortunately, that is not possible with vinyl wings, which should not be creased.
I like the pearl silver fez pieces along the dragon's neck, with pearl gold ridges underneath and on the saddle. Otherwise, dark blue and white colours dominate the model and looks superb in combination. The dark bluish grey joints and visible Technic parts on the ankles would be out of place on most dragons, but actually work in this case, again resembling mechanical detail.
Once the mech is attached to the dragon, I think both are improved. The duo look completely natural together, but are still visibly distinct thanks to the brighter blue on the mech. Moreover, adding the mech gives the dragon greater bulk and thus a stronger presence on display, which is needed, considering the set's price.
The mech connects to the saddle using two clips, which feels very secure. A pair of stirrups for the mech's feet could have been interesting, but is certainly not essential because the feet slot neatly between the dragon's wings and legs. You can still pose the arms as usual, although the aforementioned static wrists are irritating, as you cannot really point the weapon forward.
Overall
Mid-size mechs and dragons are not always an exciting prospect, given their frequency in the NINJAGO range. 71843 Rogue's Mech Dragon Rider really stands out though, as comfortably the best Mech Rider set to date and simply a fun model! The mech's integration with its dragon steed is near-perfect and I think they look fantastic together.
My only real complaints are the lack of wrist articulation on Rogue's mech and that the dragon could be more clearly mechanised. I should also mention that NINJAGO sets of this size often contain five characters, but those included here are appealing, with Rox the standout. Even so, the price of £59.99, $74.99 or €69.99 feels reasonable, especially in Europe, so this is definitely a set to consider.
77 likes
34 comments on this article
This set is peak Ninjago lol. It seems pretty well done, with the level of detail being better than I initially thought.
I really like this set, although I agree with most of the criticisms here, but I really feel the price is too high for what we have here. It seems to me a $15 mech and a $35 dragon, so I'm not really sure where the rest of the price comes in. I will be getting this, but it'll need a discount.
A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet?
I would rather have his mech from the show...
The Dragon at least looks way better in real life than it does on Lego phots. I dunno why they chose such bad presentation shots.
DRAGON JOCKEY!!!
I feel like they missed a trick by not having the dragon piloting a dragon-shaped mech.
Rox of the Forbidden Five?
The sword and the banner remind me a little of the Explorien stickers. (And Tech Spec decoders.)
@WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those.
There's a particular dinosaur this dragon reminds me of: Yoshi. The posture, body shape, saddle. Good thing it isn't green!
That said, I dig. Zane needs one of these to up the robot factor.
I like it, but I don't know how they got to that price. Maybe it's super dense?
@Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
But how does it compare to the sha-
...I'll stop
@Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
Now you got me curious.....had to google it, but basically the matryoshka version of death, if that makes any more sense than the description I read.....
"Unfortunately, that is not possible with vinyl wings, which should not be creased."
It has been done before in 70653
@Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
Turducken?
@dudebrick:
Not all Yoshis (Yoshi? Yoshii? Yoshen?) are green. There are currently six colors of LEGO Yoshi.
The dragon looks very good just not 70EUR good.
It's overpriced but good! It has 4 cool minifigs, a great looking mech and an awesome dragon, what's not to like about that? Wait for a 20%+ discount, tho.
Oh and @CapnRex101, there are other mech rider sets, outside of Ninjago. One from the top of my head: 76245
… Oh no this is much better than I thought it was
@PurpleDave said:
"I feel like they missed a trick by not having the dragon piloting a dragon-shaped mech."
Maybe you can place it on Cole's Titan Dragon Mech's shoulders?
'Your name is not Rogue, it's Jay!'
'Sounds legit, I'll put a big ol' J on my clothes and on my mech's cape thing.'
*sigh*
Why do your reviews make me want everything so much?
*adds to wanted list*
Got see/play around with this set in person at Brickworld Chicago last week and I gotta say, it looks way better in-hand than it does in the official images. That being said I will be waiting for a discount, this set’s good but not $75 good :P
Well, Nexo Knights gave us a mech piloting a larger mech, I think it's only fair that Ninjago gives us a mech piloting a dragon.
Lego's next mission? Give us a dragon piloting a mech.
@WizardOfOss said:
" @Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
Now you got me curious.....had to google it, but basically the matryoshka version of death, if that makes any more sense than the description I read....."
Lego have already done something pretty similar: 72004 Tech Wizard Showdown.
It is a boy inside a suit of armour inside a mech suit inside a giant mech. Peak Nexo madness
@Greg_73 said: "Lego have already done something pretty similar: 72004 Tech Wizard Showdown.
It is a boy inside a suit of armour inside a mech suit inside a giant mech. Peak Nexo madness"
That set was one of the best things Nexo Knights gave us. The combined form was like a tank on legs, it was epic.
@Greg_73 said:
"Lego have already done something pretty similar: 72004 Tech Wizard Showdown.
It is a boy inside a suit of armour inside a mech suit inside a giant mech. Peak Nexo madness"
I bet his father told the boy a few times too often to "always use protection!".....
Okay so the mech looks okay I guess, the dragon itself looks very cool but the overall proportions make it look like a chicken of sorts.
@AlexanderTheGreat said:
""Unfortunately, that is not possible with vinyl wings, which should not be creased."
It has been done before in 70653 "
True. I get the impression designers try to avoid it though and they may even have been instructed not to use vinyl that way post 2018.
@stepwise said:
"The sword and the banner remind me a little of the Explorien stickers. (And Tech Spec decoders.)"
My immediate thought was of Alpha Team: Mission Deep Freeze ice orbs.
@WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
Now I want a minifig riding a mech riding a dragon riding a car that ejects a motorcycle. With the dragon on the motorcycle, of course.
@Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
Or to save on postage, we could poison him with this
Chicken Jockey!
It's giving me Fuunsaiki (the Gundam horse) vibes.
@Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
Nanofig sitting on a microfig (from Lego games and the Lincoln memorial) sitting on a minifig sitting in one of the marvel/Star Wars mechs sitting in Kai’s fire mech sitting in a hulkbuster sitting in the hulk buster ultron edition sitting on one of the marvel buildable characters sitting in the UCS hulkbuster sitting in the ucs tumbler sitting in the new UCS Death Star sitting in a diorama in a shadowbox.
@StudMuffin24 said:
" @Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"A mech riding a dragon? What's next? That dragon flying a jet? "
A nanofig riding a minifig riding a mech riding a Hulkbuster riding a Landspeeder riding the Batmobile. Inside of a book nook, which may or may not be the shadowbox-version.
Have you heard the story of Koshchei the Deathless and/or the old lady who ate a fly? It's going to be one of those."
Nanofig sitting on a microfig (from Lego games and the Lincoln memorial) sitting on a minifig sitting in one of the marvel/Star Wars mechs sitting in Kai’s fire mech sitting in a hulkbuster sitting in the hulk buster ultron edition sitting on one of the marvel buildable characters sitting in the UCS hulkbuster sitting in the ucs tumbler sitting in the new UCS Death Star sitting in a diorama in a shadowbox."
Rooster standing on a cat, standing on a dog, standing on a donkey?