LEGO Dreamzzz has delighted builders with unique, colorful and enganging sets ever since it debuted last summer. The largest of those first sets was the impressive #71469 Nightmare Shark Ship which was $140 for 1389 pieces and aimed at ages 10+. This was followed by a second wave of five sets in January, ranging from $10 to $90 and with just two sets recommended for ages 9+

The upcoming August 2024 wave includes a whopping 8 sets. #71479 Zoey’s Cat Motorcycle is the cheapest and simplest set at $20 for 226 pieces and is aimed at ages 7+. This set, #71486 Castle Nocturnia is at the other end of the spectrum with 1742 pieces for $200, and is aimed at ages 10+. Let’s give this larger set the attention it deserves.

• #71479 Zoey’s Cat Motorcycle
  226 pieces, ages 7+, $20, available August 1.
• #71480 Logan the Mighty Panda
  342 pieces, ages 7+, $30, available August 1.
• #71481 Izzie’s Dream Animals
  328 pieces, ages 8+, $40, available August 1.
• #71483 The Never Witch’s Nightmare Creatures
  457 pieces, ages 9+, $45, available August 1.
• #71484 Cooper’s Robot Dinosaur C-Rex
  917 pieces, ages 9+, $80, available August 1.
• #71478 The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven
  1203 pieces, ages 9+, $100, available August 1.
• #71485 Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech
  1333 pieces, ages 10+, $130, available August 1.
• #71486 Castle Nocturnia
  1742 pieces, ages 10+, $200, available August 1.

First Impressions

We received the entire August lineup in a very large box and I did not research the sets very much before they arrived. It was fun to pull all of the sets out of the shipping box and show them to my son, since he loves the LEGO Dreamzzz show and has really enjoyed building many of the earlier sets.

I’m not sure if it was the size of this set or the design of the model, but it was definitely the one he was most excited about. Given my obsession with LEGO Architecture, I was also very excited to give this one a try!

Beyond the impressive architectural composition on the front of the box, the back of the box makes it clear how unique this model really is – the cubic composition is designed to include not just one play scene, but three different scenes as you change the orientation of the model. To my knowledge, this gravity-defying approach has never been seen in an official LEGO set, and I commend the designers (or the show writers) for introducing such a dynamic play feature into the model. I’m very eager to see how it works once built!

Box Contents

The box itself follows in the footsteps of other large sets this year, with a thinner cardboard box that is reinforced along the edges because the front lifts up like a collapsible shirt box from a department store.

Inside the box, you will find 17 numbered bags, a cardboard pouch containing the build instructions and sticker sheets, and nothing else… Unlike many sets, there are no loose pieces or un-numbered bags.

Build Process

The build process takes place over two books, although the second book only covers a small portion of the build because it has branching instructions for the primary and alternate models.

Bags 1-2: Flying Lion

In the first two bags, we build the flying lion that lives at Castle Nocturnia. The first bag creates the central torso structure, four legs, and a tail with a 42Transparent Light BlueTrans-Light Blue crystal on the end.

The second bag completes intricately detailed brick-built head, and the wings that look great with several opalescent pieces. While there are a bunch of stickers for the feathered wings (which I skipped), I appreciate the decision to use printed parts for the eyes. It ensures that the model looks complete even without the stickers applied.

I have to admit that this set has strong ‘Island of Misfit Toys’ vibes, borrowing heavily from the classic Rudoph the Red-nosed Reindeer (1964) stop-motion film. No worries, though – this is a beautiful poseable model which would have made a nice set of it’s own, although the intricate SNOT work in the head would have pushed it to a higher age recommendation than they would want for a less expensive set.

Build Time: 23 minutes (Bag 1: 9 minutes, Bag 2: 14 minutes).

Bags 3-9: Structural Core

The third bag creates a strong platform upon which we will build the central core of the model. It features a lot of SNOT elements along the edges, which makes sense since the finished model appears to have removeable modules facing in all three directions.

Bag 4 adds some ground floor decorations as we increase the height of the base by about two bricks. The space is broken into two areas: a small pond which the waterfall will flow into, and a small throne room behind it. The 154Dark Red and 191Flame Yellowish OrangeBright Light Orange chair looks very regal.

The fifth bag adds some vertical, culminating with the use of 3×4×6 Panel w/ Curved Top (Part 2571) in 42Transparent Light BlueTrans-Light Blue for the elegant waterfall falling past the window in the throne room. One detail that I’ve noticed is how a bunch of 1×1 Flower, 5-Petals (Part 24866) in 297Warm GoldPearl Gold are hidden in the walls, adding a pop of color and a rusticated effect to the white walls.

Bag 6 adds some nice decorations both above and below the waterfall, including lily pads with flowers and a 353Vibrant CoralCoral frog. We enhance the structure as well with vertical columns on either side of the waterfall, a pair of arches above the waterfall which we will build upon later, and another support on the front-right corner. We wrap things up by adding four 6L Bar w/ Stop Ring (Part 63965) in 297Warm GoldPearl Gold along the bottom edge.

Continuing to bag 7, we get to build a crowd favorite feature: the bathroom! The sink is beautifully designed, using multiple SNOT connections to attach the faucet in the middle of the sink. We continue from here increasing the height. The front side is brick-built, and the back is supported using two 1×6×6 Window/Door Frame (Part 42205) which allow you reach inside and position the minifigs.

The eighth bag adds another floor to our growing tower. Inside, you will find a bookcase with a hinged opening, revealing a golden chalice inside. If you use the stickers, the window facing outwards is partially obscured, but the ‘hidden’ goblet is clearly visible from the outside if you skip the stickers.

The highlight from bag 9 is the addition of a 226Cool YellowBright Light Yellow vine that works its way up the front side of the tower. We also add some slopes near the peak of the roof and some other small details.

Build Time: 70 minutes (Bag 3: 8 minutes, Bag 4: 8 minutes, Bag 5: 12 minutes, Bag 6: 9 minutes, Bag 7: 12 minutes, Bag 8: 10 minutes, Bag 9: 11 minutes).

Bags 10-14: Left and Right Modules

We start working on a different module in bag 10. This first bag creates an L-shaped assembly built using earthy tones. Around back you will find vines and a mushroom.

We finish this module in bag 11, although it ends up being two parts that we cannot attach to one another until we start attaching them to the sides of the base. This locks everything in really tightly, which is a good idea for a model that kids are encouraged to rotate with three different sides facing upwards.

We move on to the left side in bag 12, where we build a small room with a banner on the front and a predominately 5Brick YellowTan color scheme. Bag 13 continues where we left off, resulting in a pretty basic looking castle with 21Bright RedRed flags and banners.

For reasons that I can not comprehend, we move on to the second instruction booklet while we still have one bag before making a decision about which version of the building we want to assemble. Bag 14 includes a ton of bad guy minifigs including the Never Witch, Madteo, and Dizzy. After that, we build a bunch of small sub-assemblies that attach to the left and right modules we had just finished earlier.

Build Time: 54 minutes (Bag 10: 9 minutes, Bag 11: 11 minutes, Bag 12: 13 minutes, Bag 13: 10 minutes, Bag 14: 11 minutes).

Bags 15-17: Castle variant

As this set includes two variations, I had to decide between a model with a castle on the top, and a version with a tree on the top. I chose the castle because it is the version featured on the front of the box.

Bag 15 adds some nice detailing to the tan-coloured tower that extends from the left side. It looks much more finished now thanks to some brickwork, a parapet leaning outward, and a decorative roof using the same techniques as the popular #21325 Medieval Blacksmith set.

We return to the original orientation for bag 16 to craft a tall spire above the white tower. It features a brick-built hourglass that you can actually tip over because it’s attached with Technic pins on either side. The two front sides have an imposing angular detail near the top created by a pair of 6×8 Pointed Wedge Slope w/ Cutout (Part 22390) in 297Warm GoldPearl Gold.

Now we turn the model with the right side facing upwards for the final bag, where we build a gorgeous blue tree with printed tiles containing memories in glass jars hanging from the branches. This is a creepy visual metaphor which bears a strong similarity to the central plot device for last year’s Disney film ‘Wish’. It does look good, though, and I’m satisfied with how the model looks from this perspective as well.

One thing to note is that these last three bags each include a fair number of extra parts. Be sure to set them aside as you will likely need them to build the alternate b-model with a tree on top of the central spire.

Build Time: 37 minutes (Bag 15: 9 minutes, Bag 16: 13 minutes, Bag 17: 15 minutes).

Conclusion

This is a very engaging LEGO model which has completely captured my 5-year old son’s attention, which is a great sign for the flagship set based on the second series of the TV show. He was very impatient for me to finish taking photos of this one so he could begin arranging the minifigures into battles on top of the tan castle or treetops.

While he can often build 10+ sets with little-or-no help, I am glad that I built this one since it has a lot of SNOT assemblies which need to be built perfectly to come together correctly… It took me some real effort to connect the two large modules on both sides tightly to the central base.

I did find myself questioning whether there is enough here to justify the price point. It didn’t seem way off the mark, but felt like a $160 set as I was building it. Part of the challenge is that the lion is excellent, but it’s completely removed from the central model once built. (I didn’t try too hard, but there isn’t an obvious place to put the lion on the castle itself.)

• LEGO Parts Weight: 1359.6 g (3.0 lbs)
• Weight-per-piece: 0.78 g/piece
• Price per piece: $0.115 per piece
• Price per gram: $0.147 per gram.
• Price per minute: $0.124 per minute.

My analysis of price-per-part, per-gram, and per-minute reinforce this concern: It does poorly on all three dimensions. That said, the minifigures in this set are excellent, with over-molding, prints on the sides of the legs, and a clear attention to detail. We also get get a nice selection of interesting parts in a wide range of colors, including several parts in pearlescent colors.

The good news as a reviewer is that this one is easy to grade – the innovative design that pays homage to M.C. Escher in building on multiple axes elevates this set above many others. It doesn’t hurt that it comes with an excellent flying lion model, and it’s anchored to a central story element from the second season.

Even at a better price point, I don’t think this is a must have set for builders who don’t have a connection to the TV show. It still earns an Excellent (4/5 star) rating for all of the reasons mentioned above: It’s beautiful, features creative play features, and it’s a great complement to the show.