Review: 42149 Monster Jam Dragon
Posted by benbacardi,
For the third year in a row, LEGO is continuing its small partnership with the American motorsport Monster Jam by releasing two customary pull-back-and-go technic sets, bringing the total in the series up to six. All built to the same scale, each set is around 250 pieces and priced at $19.99, £17.99, 19.99€, making a small but consistent line up.
Judging by the sport's website, there are upwards of 40 vehicles, so the theme could continue for a further 20 years at the current rate! I suspect this is unlikely, however: but let's take a look at the first of this year's pair, 42149 Monster Jam Dragon.
Summary
42149 Monster Jam Dragon, 217 pieces.
£17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 | 8.3p / 9.2c / 9.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A bright fun build, faithful to the source material, and good value for money.
- Pullback motor makes for some fun play
- Quite accurate to the real truck
- Decent alternative build
- No real suspension
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Before I get to the set itself, there's one part of particular interest: a 7-long "flip-flop" beam, the style of which was introduced a couple of years ago and is now available in lengths of 7, 11, and 15. The three of them provide some interesting connection points that would previously have been trickier to achieve, although colours are still fairly limited.
Monster Jam Dragon
Like the others, the Dragon is packaged in a standard push-tab box with identical dimensions, showing the monster truck in midair above the arena with pyrotechnics exploding in the background. The Monster Jam and Dragon logos adorn the top right, the icon depicting the pullback motor in the bottom right, and the familiar "2 in 1" lettering on the left.
Inside, there's a single instruction booklet and a small sticker sheet, which was so crumpled in my particular set that I wasn't able to take a photo of it successfully. Although a choice of two models are available, only one is provided with physical instructions: for the other, you'll need to download the PDF from LEGO's website.
For reference, here's a photo of the real vehicle this model represents (courtesy of the Monster Jam website):
217 parts makes for a quick build, even for Technic, which I find slightly more fiddly than system sets (I have a lot less experience with it). I opted, originally, not to apply the stickers.
Like the real thing, the truck sits high on its suspension above the chunky tyres. I say suspension: it is purely decorative in the model, the entire vehicle is very rigid with nothing even remotely resembling suspension in sight. The pullback motor sits at an angle between the rear wheels, and like the other five models in the theme, a technic beam sits protectively in front of the tyres, which is not a feature of the real vehicles.
The corrugated pipes that represent suspension look fine when viewed from the side, but those at the rear of the truck are only attached at the top, so hang rather awkwardly in thin air when viewed from any other angle.
I always knew I would have to apply the stickers in the end: the truck is rather lacking without them, and they're a necessary part of the Monster Jam branding.
Once applied, the truck does a pretty good job of getting close to the source material: probably as good a job as possible at this scale. There's a large amount of empty space in the middle beneath the truck that looks a little out of place, but the spikes along the top of the truck, and the red "horns" look particularly good.
There's another review coming later of the companion set, 42150 Monster Jam Monster Mutt Dalmatian, but they are both aggressive looking trucks!
The B Model
The alternative model is listed on LEGO's website as a "Crocodile Buggy", and it is certainly an interesting design! Using most of the parts of the main build, it stretches the model out into a low-slung dragster-style vehicle.
It's not as intimidating as the primary build, but I actually quite like it! I particularly like how the red horns are positioned through the green parts at the rear of the car.
Conclusion
Monster Jam is an unusual license for LEGO to acquire—although it may be incredibly popular in the US—but I have to admit that I think it's perfect for small these pull-back-and-go builds. Each truck is distinctive, with bright colours and detailed stickers, and the alternative models are a nice touch. For small sets, it feels like you get a fair amount for your money, and they're great to play with in pairs, facing off against each other across the floor. (The pullback motor works significantly better on hard flooring instead of carpet, but given enough pull there is some oomph behind them.) I do wish they'd find a way to incorporate real suspension, however.
I'm pleased to see that LEGO is continuing to release these, and having reviewed four of them now I'm feeling compelled to buy the two I missed in the middle to complete the set! I wonder which of the remaining trucks they'll choose to release next year… personally, I'd like to see Velociraptor or Scooby-Doo! How about you?
42149 Monster Jam Dragon is available at LEGO.com for $19.99, £17.99, 19.99€.
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26 comments on this article
I’m more of a Monster Mash guy
@Sandinista said:
"I’m more of a Monster Mash guy"
Because it's a graveyard smash!
Great sets. The original ones prices shot right up after the last release.
I built the shark one that my kid got for Christmas as there was no way they would have managed it on their own (even with me watching). Don't know whether that's because we are more used to building system stuff, or an unfamiliarity with all the different but similar looking technic pieces, but it really is a totally different process to putting regular bricks together. More like a model kit.
The final model is fun, but equally the fake suspension was a disappointment.
It's a fun series though, the Kraken or dragonoid would be fun options (to the ones mentioned) or the big rig looking one.
B Model wins
@TheEpicLuke said:
" @Sandinista said:
"I’m more of a Monster Mash guy"
Because it's a graveyard smash!"
It caught on in a flash!
I agree that pullback motors make for fun vehicles. I think the B models are the best aspect of this series as they offer greater variety; the monster trucks all look a bit samey.
I think I might pick up a couple of these for some fun races at home.
I genuinely had no idea these were based on real cars, I thought they were the logical endpoint of Lego's ongoing obsession with monster trucks.
The monster mash in January... who would have thought it possible? @TheEpicLuke @Stylecounselor @sandinista you guys are awesome for bringing a smile to my face!
@Andhe said:
"I built the shark one that my kid got for Christmas as there was no way they would have managed it on their own (even with me watching). Don't know whether that's because we are more used to building system stuff, or an unfamiliarity with all the different but similar looking technic pieces, but it really is a totally different process to putting regular bricks together. More like a model kit."
Yeah, Technic building is way different than System building in a lot of ways, even in relatively small/simple sets like these ones. Technic parts generally lack a clearly defined “top” and “bottom”, and parts are attached in all directions by default rather than “stacking” being the norm. But the orientation and alignment of the parts is still super important to ensure everything fits together correctly and all the functions work as intended.
There also tend to be a LOT of points where you have to rotate the model around as you’re building, which can be trickier to keep track of if you don’t even know what side of the in-progress build will end up being the front/back/bottom/top of the finished model.
And as you mention, there are many similar-looking families of parts, such as pins, axles, and angle connectors. I know a lot of experienced Technic and Bionicle builders HATE the bright, color-coded pins and axles in a lot of modern Technic sets. But it really can be a blessing to less experienced Technic builders to be able to quickly spot and identify the correct pin or axle in a pile of similarly shaped parts!
Technic can also be a lot trickier to DISassemble if you make a mistake due to parts getting locked together in so many different ways. Rather than being able to pull parts loose willy-nilly, you often have to remove parts in roughly the order they were added. Even as an adult it can be a real pain to locate and correct a building error buried deep in the gearbox of a larger model, as I’ve needed to do more than once!
I first became really aware of this distinction at around age 7 when my dad got Throwbots/Slizer sets as party favors for a LEGO-themed birthday party. A lot of the kids there really struggled since they’d never built Technic sets before. It’s certainly far from intuitive for a lot of people!
The suspension on 6617 was so simple yet felt so good to play with. It's unfortunate that a "higher level" build doesn't have anything like it.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @TheEpicLuke said:
" @Sandinista said:
"I’m more of a Monster Mash guy"
Because it's a graveyard smash!"
It caught on in a flash!"
It's now the Monster Mash!
Pretty good for fairly basic sets. Will add the current 2 once they're Amazon's usual £13.99 (or £10 as Megalodon currently is with voucher).
In order to wind up the "motor" you need to press the vehicle down to get better grip on the wheels. It's really difficult to build a working suspension that doesn't interfere with the pull back function. Actually, the lack of suspension is a feature not a bug :-)
Love the new white background!
I just wish Bigfoot was still in Monster Ma... I mean jam. That was always my favorite monster truck, so I'd love to have an official Lego version.
@ozbrickcreator said:
"Love the new white background!"
Agree. It’s the best part.
@Phoenixio said:
"The suspension on 6617 was so simple yet felt so good to play with. It's unfortunate that a "higher level" build doesn't have anything like it."
The trucks in 60295 : Stunt Show Arena had a somewhat similar simple suspension, works really well (but uses a long axle so not 100% independent wheel suspension in that case, but the rubber pieces helped make it feel good to play with)
I don't have the new 60387 : 4x4 Off-Roader Adventures but it uses a rubber band instead, and no axle, so each wheel can move individually.
Have a very Hot Wheels look to them. Not saying that's a bad thing though.
There are two real problems with any of these if you intend to use them like a child would, and suspension isn’t one of them:
1: The tyres! These can be easily thrown from a table or jump over chairs as they are rock solid, but the baloon tyres just come off the rim on impact. Seapping them for the tractor tread tyres solves it, because the sidewall is more stiff.
2: The axles should be ideally 13 long. The wheels work themselves out pretty easily, and although we didn’t loose a tyre yet, the small bushings fall off constantly,..
@SinKiller_Nick said:
"Have a very Hot Wheels look to them. Not saying that's a bad thing though."
That's because they have the same license! I saw their version of this same car just this last week. Was only then I realised it was an official license, not a hot wheels invention.
It funny because lego aren't particularly heavy with the monster jam branding, and can't imagine many sales are due to brand recognition, so feels this really could be their own thing with original ideas.
@sjr60 said:
"Pretty good for fairly basic sets. Will add the current 2 once they're Amazon's usual £13.99 (or £10 as Megalodon currently is with voucher)."
Argos often have at least one of the sets in their rotating 2 for £20 offer. They do go quite quick in that though
@Andhe said:
" @SinKiller_Nick said:
"Have a very Hot Wheels look to them. Not saying that's a bad thing though."
That's because they have the same license! I saw their version of this same car just this last week. Was only then I realised it was an official license, not a hot wheels invention."
Mattel lost the Monster Jam license a few years ago. They've since started putting out their own designed Monster Trucks branded as Hot Wheels, but they're in-house designs, not official Monster Jam trucks.
sold me with the B model!
@Dare_Wreck said:
" @Andhe said:
" @SinKiller_Nick said:
"Have a very Hot Wheels look to them. Not saying that's a bad thing though."
That's because they have the same license! I saw their version of this same car just this last week. Was only then I realised it was an official license, not a hot wheels invention."
Mattel lost the Monster Jam license a few years ago. They've since started putting out their own designed Monster Trucks branded as Hot Wheels, but they're in-house designs, not official Monster Jam trucks.
"
I definitely saw this dragon one just last week. So either my local supermarket is putting out old toys, or Mattel have put out a incredibly close copy of the dragon truck.
Amazon also seem to still be stocking the megaladon and dragon trucks as current stock, so who knows.
@Andhe said:
"I definitely saw this dragon one just last week. So either my local supermarket is putting out old toys, or Mattel have put out a incredibly close copy of the dragon truck.
Amazon also seem to still be stocking the megaladon and dragon trucks as current stock, so who knows."
Oh, there's definitely real Monster Jam toys being sold right now, but they're made by Spinmaster now, not Mattel. I was calling out above how Hot Wheels hasn't had the Monster Jam license for a few years now.