[LEGO Review] Ninjago 71746 – Jungle Dragon

Pictures and written words by: Akira

Thanks to The LEGO Group for sending us the full wave of NINJAGO “The Island” sets. It is a relatively small wave with just 4 regular sets, excluding polybags.

Today, we are going to cover the 2nd smallest set of this wave, the 71746 Jungle Dragon.

Just to be clear, to say that this is a small set is not exactly accurate because it has 506 pieces in it, but it is the 2nd smallest set in this wave.

It comes with 4 minifigures as seen from the front and the top side of the box.

The back side shows the Jungle Dragon is attacking the keepers which suggests the dragon is likely an ally in the upcoming TV season.

Inside the box, there are 5 numbered plastic bags, 1 instruction booklet and a sticker sheet.

Starting with the first bag. This one contains 3 minifigures and the parts for Zane’s surfboard, or sailboard.

Bags 2 to 5 contains all the parts needed for the dragon with bag 3 containing the Island Lloyd minifigure.

Let us build!

This is the lifecycle of a dragon, between bags 2 and 3.

The final build is an exotic Jungle Dragon that has a great proportion and articulation. From the top view, you can also appreciate its golden back detailed with teal quarter round tile

And do you doubt if its articulation is any good at all?

The answer is yes.It’s really good.

If you recall, many moons ago, Lloyd has a green dragon set. Compared to that dragon, this Jungle Dragon is tiny.

However, what it lacks in length, it makes up for its voracious character.

Its tongue can be configured to stick out on either side. Matched with the expressive eyes print, this Jungle Dragon appears to be always ready for hunting.

As far as the looks goes, I am not exactly sold on the sand green accent. The lower jaw is dark tan dual-moulded with white teeth. This is the same mould used in set 71742 (Overlord Dragon), just in different colours. As far as the design and build goes, the overall design is really excellent but I find that the 3×3 dishes on the front legs tend to slip out easily while playing. A single stud beneath it is simple not strong enough to hold it firmly even with regular not-so-rough play.

Despite the minor flaws, I really like how playful this Jungle Dragon looks. You can’t say the same for other more serious-looking dragons released lately.

For the minifigures, we have 4 in total namely, Island Lloyd, Island Zane, a Thunder Keeper and PoulErik

PoulErik is an interesting minifigure because not only is he an exclusive minifigure in this set but he is also the first minifigure to have 2 heads in this configuration, one on top of the other. Serpentines such as Fangtom and Fangdam both have 2 heads next to each other. The two heads of PoulErik are essentially the headpiece from Thunder Keeper (smirk) and Rumble Keeper (angry). Its torso is exactly the same as any of the Keepers so in my opinion, it is the weakest of all the exclusive minifigures found in this wave.

Island Lloyd is also found in set 71745 while Island Zane is also found in set 71748. Thunder Keeper is also found in the 2 other bigger sets in this wave.

The prints on all these minifigures are excellent. To me, the stand out is the prints on Thunder Keeper’s mask. It is not as elaborate as the Island Warrior Tiki mask from CMF series 11, but is fit for its purpose.

To wrap it up, it is very clear that the set is focused on selling you the dragon, less on the minifigures. At £34.99 / $39.99 / 39.99€, with 506 pieces, the only dragon that could match this value is 70734 (Master Wu Dragon) which is a dragon equally oozing with character, but that was released more than 5 years ago. In spite of the design flaw mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed the playability of this set and for that, I will give this 4.5 out of 5 score.

Comment below and share what you think about this set review. Take your time. This is Akira signing off.

The set used for the review was sent to us by The LEGO Group for the purpose of a review. Provision of sets do not in any way influence or guarantee a positive review.