Review: 71847 The Guardian Dragon
Posted by CapnRex101,
71819 Dragon Stone Shrine showed the definite potential of NINJAGO sets designed for an older audience last year, prioritising detail and display value more than usual. The beautiful 71847 The Guardian Dragon shares those attributes, but is potentially even more ambitious!
Dragons are common in NINJAGO, although no other seems as authentically organic and its presence on display is unmatched. Even the base is highly detailed. However, these qualities result in certain compromises, especially to the dragon's articulation and therefore potential play value.
Summary
71847 The Guardian Dragon, 1,650 pieces.
£139.99 / $149.99 / €149.99 | 8.5p/9.1c/9.1c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
As a product intended for older NINJAGO fans, 71847 The Guardian Dragon excels
- Outstanding display model
- Naturalistic body shaping
- Richly detailed throughout
- Distinctive design among LEGO dragons
- Great minifigure
- Very limited articulation
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Box and Contents
This wave includes two NINJAGO Legends sets, each featuring illustrated artwork on the box. Regardless of their aesthetic value, previous attempts at this sort of thing have generally been unsuccessful, such as with Hidden Side, but I much prefer this design because it makes it clear what the set actually contains.
Inside the box are eleven numbered bags, one instruction manual, a small sticker sheet and a poster, displaying a more realistic interpretation of the Guardian Dragon. This poster is only A3 size and printed on relatively thin paper, but is still a welcome addition.
Minifigure
Similar to last year's 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech, only one minifigure is included. Master Wu is exclusive though and looks superb, unusually dressed to match the other ninja from this wave and seemingly ready for battle. The dual-moulded shoulder armour and mask is brilliantly detailed and I love the white eyes adorning the dragon-shaped pauldron.
I love the torso and legs too. The designer has found a perfect balance between features of all the new ninja minifigures and those specific to Wu, whose garb appears less heavily armoured than Lloyd's, for instance. Moreover, Wu's name is displayed on the front of his robe and shows why the letters 'W' and 'U' look this way, creating an image of Wu when arranged vertically!
The minifigure also includes a new head, featuring a determined or even angry expression. Wu is usually a source of calm, so between this and his militaristic garb, the situation is clearly very serious! Two golden katanas slide into the scabbards on Wu's back and his staff is provided too, now with handles fixed to either end.
The Completed Model
NINJAGO dragons are numerous and many have been excellent, but the Guardian Dragon is completely unique. The whole model measures 47cm in height and the dragon's wingspan of 53cm gives her tremendous presence on display, aided by striking colours. Furthermore, I love how the dragon is posed, perched on a rock in a remarkably natural way.
The base immediately reminds me of 71819 Dragon Stone Shrine, given the peaceful setting and intricate detail. The water around the rocks looks brilliant and the mix of olive green, dark green and other shades is attractive. However, I am not convinced the black frame around the base was necessary, interrupting an otherwise lifelike diorama.
Also, I dislike the light bluish grey plates used beneath the base. These are hardly noticeable from further away, but should have been avoidable. Fortunately, the environment above looks fantastic from all angles, including at the back, where the rocks are neatly finished and reddish brown elements create tangled roots from a tree.
Traditional tone lanterns decorate the landscape and round tiles create a path approaching the pond, again similar to 71819 Dragon Stone Shrine. I appreciate the subtlety of these minifigure-made features, which blend into the environment, in obvious contrast with the eye-catching torii gate leading to a hidden shrine.
Medium azure plates and trans-light blue tiles form impressive water, with flowers in autumnal colours floating on the surface. However, the water is perhaps not inviting as it seems, as four reddish brown tentacles emerge in the middle, apparently offering a sword. This dual-moulded weapon looks lovely and is only otherwise available in 71846 The Fire Knight Mech.
The aforementioned torii is simple, but its shape seems realistic, making clever use of the 1x3 inverted arches introduced a few years ago. Three stickers are placed on the gate, including a fire symbol in the middle and banners reading 'Shrine of Fire' in Ninjargon letters on either side. Only four stickers are provided, all concentrated around the shrine.
The shrine itself is built into the rock face, with candles arranged in front of a stickered portrait, presumably featuring a past Elemental Master of Fire. I like the differing heights of the candles and the Master of Fire looks splendid behind them, dressed in a cloak similar to 71846 The Fire Knight Mech.
On the other side of the outcrop we find a tree, constructed in the normal NINJAGO style. The dark red, dark orange and flame yellowish orange leaves match the flower pieces in the water below and the suspended trans-red lanterns are a nice addition, featured in a couple of earlier sets.
The rock texture also feels very familiar, mirroring the style of 71819 Dragon Stone Shrine, as various wedge slopes are mounted sideways. Moreover, the waterfalls pouring over the rocks look superb and I find the combination of light and dark bluish grey shades effective, grouping the colours together in specific areas.
Unsurprisingly, the Guardian Dragon is connected to the rocks with Technic elements, but I am impressed with how well these parts are concealed. The feet actually perform no structural role, instead hiding the Technic pieces and wrapping around the rocks. Otherwise, the legs are nicely sculpted and I love the bright green canopy elements creating knees, in particular.
Moreover, the dragon's colour scheme is stunning. The combination of green, bright green and tan looks marvellous, especially given the use of tan elements across the creature's chest. The pearl gold highlights are great as well, used sparingly to preserve its natural appearance, which contrasts with many other NINJAGO dragons.
The dragon's pose certainly creates the illusion of movement, but its actual articulation is very limited. While the arms and neck feature moveable joints, none of these are very useful, given the static body structure. Similarly, the wings are fixed in place, which is a shame, if not a huge surprise, considering their size.
You can remove the dragon from its base and pose it approximately like a standard NINJAGO dragon, but the model was clearly not designed for this. The legs are completely static and the arm joints are not strong enough to support the dragon's weight. Maybe there is some potential here with modifications, but they would need to be dramatic.
The body is constructed in segments, joined together using small ball joints. These joints are cleverly offset to create a curve, with 1x2 grille slopes and other elements closing the gaps in between. Several other LEGO dragons have captured this kind of serpentine shape, but none have been as successful as this example, in my opinion.
I like the golden aeroblade used on the Guardian Dragon's chest and the rounded body shape looks good, except for a narrow gap between the angled 2x3 curved wedge slopes attached to the front and those located above. Otherwise, there are few awkward gaps between sections of the body and even many of the articulated joints are well hidden.
The dragon's wings, meanwhile, are spectacular. The exposed Technic elements forming the frame are suitably coloured to blend with the wings and the printed designs on the fabric look outstanding. Also, I love the material used, which feels smoother and more velvety than usual. However, the wings are folded when packaged in the box, so they will arrive creased.
Ideally, the wings would be decorated on the reverse as well, but they are plain. Even though there are no unsightly colours or anything like that, the model is clearly designed to be shown from the front. On the other hand, the spines along the dragon's back are attractive, especially the bigger bright green claws.
Small ball joints also appear along the tail, alongside more spines. As ever, I wish these parts could be produced in colours other than grey, but sadly it appears not. Notably, the joint at the base of the tail is hardly strong enough to support its full weight, so it is fortunate you can wrap the tail over one of the tree branches, which again looks completely natural.
The head is unusually small for a dragon of this scale, but still attracts attention, thanks to the huge horns and halo-like structure on top. The little flame inside this golden ring is a fun detail and one drawing an intriguing connection between the Guardian Dragon and the Shrine of Fire on the base.
A new head component appears in three summer NINJAGO sets, including this one, featuring golden scales and dark green energy crackling around the eyes. The moulded teeth look good and I like the articulated jaw as well, with a reddish orange tongue inside and a white beard-like tendril hanging underneath.
Overall
There are plenty of NINJAGO sets with extraordinary display value, but 71847 The Guardian Dragon is unique, intended purely for display. I think the model looks stunning and prioritising shape over functionality does not concern me, though I would not wish to see NINJAGO move too far in this direction, which has arguably been an issue for certain other themes.
In fact, the only real problem with the design, from my perspective, is the lack of decoration on the back of the wings. Otherwise, the dragon and its base are exceptionally detailed and Wu is excellent too. The price of £139.99, $149.99 or €149.99 feels slightly expensive for a NINJAGO set with one minifigure, but this is still a set I would recommend, much like 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech.
148 likes
35 comments on this article
It’s interesting to see the NINJAGO theme evolve from a very play-focussed theme into one that’s equally comfortable as a display piece.
Horns look like they were designed by an ai render, but nothing a mod can’t fix. Amazing set.
@Broken_Cheese_Slope said:
"Horns look like they were designed by an ai render, but nothing a mod can’t fix. Amazing set. "
How so? I feel like, not only are the horns distinct, they help the design stand out as something very regal. I'm not up to speed on Ninjago lore stuff, but I'm assuming "regal" is what they're going for here.
I couldn't point you to any examples right offhand, but I'm sure I've seen other depictions of mythical beasts with horns following this kind of design philosophy, and for a similar purpose.
Otherwise, I completely agree. Amazing set!
Nice, but not 149.99 USD nice.. The sad thing is people will likely pay it and reinforce LEGO's position that they can charge whatever and get it.
@madforLEGO said:
"Nice, but not 149.99 USD nice.. The sad thing is people will likely pay it and reinforce LEGO's position that they can charge whatever and get it. "
The price per piece ratio is rather good here, so the price is justified imo. Also this is a very big set and as always, photos don't give justice to the scale of such sets.
I think this will be my first Ninjago set. Might wait for a discount, but damn that's cool.
It would be interesting to see ideas as to how this might be merged with 71819 Dragon Stone Shrine.
It's nice, but I will probably wait until I can find this on sale rather than pay full price. It's not like I don't have a kajillion unbuilt sets already.
Built mine the other day. Love the soft fabric wings. I think the base took longer to build than the actual dragon.
Not a fan of the dragon’s morphology. Maybe it’s the shoulders but something about it makes it look too humanoid. It’s almost as if it’s an upscaled dragonian, not a dragon.
What a stunning set. I’m not a Ninjago fan but wow.
What would be even better is to make it 25% smaller, remove all the color and vibrancy, add some flame squiggles and a sanguine urine stream, and then squish it into a little grey square, while charging us almost the same amount of money.
I think this set seems quite impressive. Obviously I wouldn't want every Ninjago dragon to be this kind of mostly-static display piece, but as an individual set it works well and allows for a dynamic pose and level of detail that'd be tough to pull off for an articulated figure (the upright stance and undulating torso would not work nearly as well if every joint was articulated and still had to support that much weight). I also love that there's basically 360° of detail on both the dragon and base, including great little details like the waterfalls, trees, and shrine.
I don't think the lack of minifigures here is a detriment. Keeping the design focused on the meeting between one minifigure and the enormous dragon feels smart as far as composition is concerned, and figures aside the piece count is plenty generous for the price.
LOVE this. I've only got a couple of Ninjago sets but this is a must-have. Stunning display piece. This is going to, if not dwarf, at least significantly stand over the Temple of Airjitzu.
@Mister_Jonny said:
"It’s interesting to see the NINJAGO theme evolve from a very play-focussed theme into one that’s equally comfortable as a display piece."
Most 2011 Ninjago kids are adults now , so LEGO making more display models I guess, since they see the "Ninjago City" line of sets was a success as well I suppose.
Same is seen with the last version of Hogwarts, just the last Greathall and Tower sets are €200+ each, and that's still based on books / movies that have been around a long time now, first movie alone was 24 years ago. Of course, by the time they got most of the hogwarts done again, that new series is out, and they can start anew.
Who knew Ninjago could cook so well.
I keep wondering whether or not to get this. It's an attractive set, but I'm not sure. I think the price puts me off.
Even if I had infinite space, there are are other display-oriented sets I'd rather get (two of which just came out, 21357 and 21358) but if I were more into into Ninjago, I'd definitely be getting it, again assuming I had the space for it. Also, one of my old gaming buddies would probably love this. He's not into Ninjago (he's not even an AFOL), but he loves him some cool-looking dragons.
"the arm joints are not strong enough to support the dragon's weight."
Time to get back to the gym. Arm day.
Seriously, the wings should've been printed on the back. Needlessly and dramatically detracts from what should be a great all-around look.
Even though the dragon has issues off the stand, I'm glad it can be removed for play. Need that.
For some reason this still reminds me of the dragon from Rick and Morty.
Pythagoras loves the placement of that gate.
I can't help but notice that a waterfall falling from a rock formation this tiny, isn't really a waterfall. It must be leakage of some kind I'd rather not think about too much.
Apparently, a dragon needs a private moment too, from time to time.
It took me a bit to figure out what was bothering me, but I think it's the pose. It looks awkward. This huge dragon is standing on that relatively tiny bit of rock and it looks like the arms just hang to the side like it doesn't know what to do with them. This pose does not scream powerful to me. It screams 'dr Moreau found a dragon for one of the subjects on his island'.
Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful design. I love the halo on its head, and that it has more focus on natural non-gold colors than usual. But at that price I would just get a dragon that you can pose yourself.
@Yooha said:
"Pythagoras loves the placement of that gate."
Okay, I'm not really getting the joke. Is it something to do with the Pythagorean theorem, or something else?
Wow, that's an actually outstanding Ninjago dragon. Love the build.
LEGO's come a long way since the introduction of the classic green dragon in 1993. Would've been cool if this one had red wings too.
The details are amazing but I think the pose is too human-like. I prefer the 71846 The Fire Knight Mech. That one looks more 'natural' and the pose is more dynamic.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Yooha said:
"Pythagoras loves the placement of that gate."
Okay, I'm not really getting the joke. Is it something to do with the Pythagorean theorem, or something else?"
The centers of the pillars are 3 * 4 studlengths apart from each other (i.e. forming the corners of a 4 * 5 stud rectangle), and (I presume) the beam of the torii gate puts 5 studlengths between them (i.e. could be bridged with a 1x6 plate).
That is rare in the Lego system, and only possible with certain "Pythagorean triples", sets of three numbers where all three parts of the Pythagorean theorem are integers. (i.e. 3-4-5, 5-12-13, etc.)
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
"LEGO's come a long way since the introduction of the classic green dragon in 1993. Would've been cool if this one had red wings too."
At least there's 31161.
Literally Nicol Bolas
@ThoughtLash said:
"Literally Nicol Bolas "
I definitely thought of that when I saw the head piece.
Might get this one to display with some of my full art basics.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
"LEGO's come a long way since the introduction of the classic green dragon in 1993. Would've been cool if this one had red wings too."
At least there's 31161."
Yes, that's the true spiritual successor, and most likely the only brick-built dragon I'm going to get (this year).
A truly majestic set. I loved it from the minute I saw it, but I doubt my wife will let me put it on display in the livingroom.
Roblox has this in Creatures of Sonaria!
Scale wise, could you work the wings of this set into the Creator Medieval Dragon?
I really like the model, it looks awesome and the details are just astonishing. I wish the dragon was smaller and poseable, just like the Fire Knight Mech. I wonder if someone could modify it to have the double ratchet joints in the shoulders, hips, wings and neck, without taking too much away from the looks.