Review: 41172 The Water Dragon Adventure
Posted by MeganL,
Elves sets have been quite delightful, and dragons have been a much anticipated addition to the theme. Merina the Water Dragon looks to be the smallest of the dragons. How does 41172 Water Dragon Adventure stack up to the others?
The front of the box shows Merina in full flight with Naida on her back, while the back shows various functions of the set, including using the catapult to feed Merina. Inside the box we have an instruction booklet, three dragon wings (one extra!) a dragon head, two numbered bags and a small sheet of stickers.
Naida Riverheart has a new torso and sarong skirt. Her torso is nicely detailed with a lovely metallic pattern and she has markings on her upper left arm. The skirt is a wraparound sarong, and Naida also has blue markings on her feet that are consistent with those on her forehead. She is holding one of the maps we see in the other sets in this wave as well as one of the jewels we saw in the sets from last year.
The first bag is devoted to the dragon, where you first build the body and the tail, consisting of the 1x2 with ball joints in grey, covered with blue and purple accents, Honestly, you would expect for these ball joints to be in a different colour other than grey! A couple of small purple wings finish off the tail, which I rather like.
Next up is the head, primarily made of a couple of molded parts. The detail on the top part of the head is great with some expressive eyes, white markings and not-too-menacing teeth.
The bottom jaw clips on, but does allow for several variations of being open. A small purple fin, some white horns and a hair bow (!!! Seriously??? A hair bow for a dragon?? What are we, in the Friends world?) finish the dragon's head. I refuse to have a hair bow on a dragon, so all the pictures of the dragon will be hair bow-less. I do love the clear blue flame piece being used for Merina's tongue.
The legs are added last. They also make great use of the ball joints and with the addition of the blue and purple cladding around them they almost cover the grey completely.
With the addition of the wings, we have the dragon. The wings can also be posed, so that they can flip up to be almost vertical, and then swiveled down to be parallel to the ground. The finished product looks rather impressive, and with the exception of the tail, the grey ball joints aren't all that noticeable. All the stickers in the set are used to decorate the dragon and I think they look rather nice.
I had a lot of fun with the dragon moving it into different poses. The flexibility of the neck, legs and tail allow for a multitude of positions.
The water fall is the second bag of the build, and feels like almost an afterthought. I really like the use of so many translucent pieces, though it's unfortunate that the top part of the waterfall isn't also translucent. The catapult at the top is meant to be a mechanism to feed the dragon. However, in limited testing by this reviewer actually getting the water lilies into the dragon's mouth is rather difficult, though that could be an indication of my targeting skills more than anything else.
There are also some grooming accessories included at the base of the waterfall - apparently the water dragon adventure is grooming it? - and as with many Elves sets there's a secret compartment for a treasure, in this case binoculars.
Overall thoughts
I think the dragon is fantastic. I love the use of the ball joints that allows for so much flexibility in posing. The colours for the dragon are great - the blue and purple are a good match for the water dragon. The multi-colour wings are wonderful - and I like that there's one extra provided. I spent a lot of time swooshing the dragon around.
I think this is a great set, especially considering the price point ($19.99, 212 pieces). Typically for sets with special parts you take a hit on the piece count, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the dragon sets for this round of Elves.
I've gotten the rest of this Elves wave, and I can't wait to build the other dragons! Let us know what other sets you'd like to see reviewed in the comments.
30 likes
22 comments on this article
This wave of Elves sets haven't appealed to me anywhere near as much as the original wave, but my niece seems to love them. I must admit to being unnaturally drawn to all the trans bricks and slopes (and minifig heads), and the pastel/garish branches, but that's about it as far as I'm concerned. I can't believe the use of light and dark bley in the tail, seems they're really reluctant to re-colour these particular pieces - which seems odd given their use in the Mixels range.
Looking forward to seeing a review of Ragana's Magic Shadow Castle, but I think this is a summer release?
ps It would be really appreciated if articles could include UK/EU pricing as well as US, and a link to the set in the database (especially great for mobile users). Edit: this does include a link, sorry :)
Nice review, thanks. I've seen others in which the reviewers are puzzled by having three wings, so that seems to be intended, do the wings seem particularly fragile to you?
In my box was only two wings, no extra one.
The extra wing was probably a coincidence, it seems.
I'm loving the dragons, I have to say. I'd love to see a review of the "Starlight Inn", because that looks really cool (and I like the fact that there are actual buildings to fit out the Elves world. I loved the bakery from last year for that same reason).
@HugeYellowBrick: I think my experience is like the others. I don't think the wings are particularly fragile: in fact one survived one of my dogs stepping on it unscathed.
A review of the Starlight Inn is coming, and I'm looking forward to checking out the Shadow Castle later this year.
Really nice review of a solid set. The dragon is really swooshable but the body seemed a bit short. I also had an extra wing in my set.
I think it is strange that the ball joints still only come in grey. There have been many sets that would have looked better if the ball joint parts were in color. Hopefully the Adventure Time Ideas set will remedy the situation.
Since they've done pegasus and dragons, I wonder if we can expect more fantasy creatures to show up in the elves world? My daughter would love to get a unicorn.
I love this dragon. Besides last year's white Ninjago one I think this is the second best in recent years. It's well built and the color is great.
I agree. I would think we would have ball joints in at least white by now.
No extra wing here either - boooo...
Great review - these sets look great, build well and have lots of playability - what more can you really ask for?!
No extra wing in the set I brought my daughter (UK, from Toymaster).
I love the dragon, although I think the slopes on the feet could of been printed instead of stickers. The head piece is beautiful but I feel the stickers let it down slightly, and I usually don't mind them.
Great min doll, and nice addition to my daughters (/mine lolz) Lego Elves collection
Good review! The extra wing is presumably included because the wings are not packaged with the smaller pieces, so probably not subject to as precise a weight check. Same as how the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters includes an extra firepole, or sets with long Technic cables often include extras of those. From the reviews I've read, all the sets that include this new smaller wing piece include an extra.
Naida's new outfit looks quite nice, and I guess the different markings on her shoulder than last year confirm that is meant to signify body paint rather than a tattoo or birthmark. I like that the outfits for this year's elves characters feel consistent with the style of their outfits from last year, while still feeling fresh and different. It's also nice that all the main characters this year have new expressions that are different from last year. The characters who had closed-mouth smiles in last year's sets now have open-mouth smiles and vice-versa.
I had interpreted the transparent parts the Elves carry in their hands not as jewels but rather as an indication that their hands are "glowing" with elemental magic. Sort of like how Iron Man carries transparent 1x1 round plates in his hands to signify his repulsors. I used a similar technique for Lloyd's green energy in this Ninjago MOC: https://flic.kr/p/dmy6K5 I also figured that the transparent flame piece in Merina's mouth was meant more as water breath than as a tongue, similar to how Zonya has orange fire breath.
Overall I'm really impressed with the dragons in these sets. They have diverse and creative builds, like the Ninjago dragons, but they also have enough curves to fit in with the lifelike mini-dolls and creatures. Last year I wasn't sure how LEGO would achieve this but I think they ended up doing a splendid job! Proportion-wise, Merina is small like Thorne, but doesn't have the same stocky, bulldog-like physique. It's interesting that her wings are actually more posable than the wings of most of the other Elves dragons. Most of them are attached by two pins so they can't swivel as freely.
I do not particularly mind the grey joints, since they're a neutral color, and as you mention the ones on the legs, at least, are generally well integrated. Having them in other colors in the future could be cool though, and LEGO has finally introduced a recolor of one such joint in the Super Hero Airport Battle set (a joint piece in Giant Man's shoulders that is usually Medium Stone Grey is colored Dark Stone Grey in that set), so presumably they're not totally color-locked.
The waterfall in this set may not be totally essential, but it's great landscaping. I feel like the set would feel weaker without any kind of Elvendale scenery. I am less keen on the beauty supplies in this set, which feel out-of-place sitting out in the open like this rather than in a home or spa setting. I know Naida likes spending time at the spa, but it seems odd that she'd have makeover supplies stashed all over Elvendale in case of makeover emergencies (props if you get the reference).
Random side-note: when I first saw pictures of this set I thought the "dragon treats" were frogs! XD
The dragon is really cute, love the natural shaping. Seems a lot more dragon-like than many of the older Ninjago dragons.
My kindergarten-aged brother here really likes the set, I'm thinking that TLG has a winner with this line. :P
I can't wait to see some three-wing MOCs!
Are the grey colors used for the ball joints known to be more durable than other colors, or is this some continuation of grey as a utilitarian color à la the greys that appeared with the first Technic sets in the 1970s?
I have the 3 elves dragons and only got an extra wing with the green one. They don't seem fragile at all and are quite flexible. I prefer the larger fire dragon.
They are lovely sets, can't wait for the summer releases.
Great review. I love these dragons! It is nice to see sets that are aesthetically pretty, yet include awesome creatures and have more room for imagination and adventure. I like this one and the fire dragon best. I agree that a bow doesn't seem very fitting for a dragon.
I love the new dragons! My fire and water dragon are playing together...I love that they are different sizes! No spare wings for me!
@AlphaBravo: It's definitely nothing to do with durability. Technic is a better comparison, with parts like black and grey friction pins or axles. It's not only more efficient to standardize colors, but it also makes building somewhat easier, since parts of a certain type will share the same color even once you've mixed them in with the rest of your collection. Some parts (like the aforementioned friction pins) are even "color locked", meaning designers are not allowed to introduce them in other colors, but I don't think that's necessarily the case with these parts.
I don't think the grey joints affect the look of this set adversely, in any case.
Just built this set last night on our youtube show : Built from bricks , I agree the tree is lame....
http://youtube.builtfrombricks.com
Check it out!!
Nice set, but in Euro terms hideously overpriced. Bad enough in Germany (24.99 Euro equates to around 27.50 USD, or around 38 percent more than in the US!), even worse in France and other Euro countries. Definitely not worth it at that price.
These dragons look amaizing, had they come in a more Castle like theme looks (red and black) I wouldn't have minded buying one or two
Good review.
Personally, I don't mind the hair bow—Naida seems like the kind of character who might pamper her dragon with cute accessories, and I doubt Merina would mind that much. :P