Dreamzzz

Izzie's Narwhal Hot-Air Balloon

A tiny narwhal that opens its mouth and turns into a hot-air balloon, and yes, I grinned the whole time.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 71472 · 2024

Pieces156

Minifigs2

Year2024

Set number71472

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

I built this one on a slow afternoon expecting a filler set, and the narwhal's opening mouth got me every time I clicked it shut.

This is Dreamzzz doing what it does best, taking a plush toy from the show and turning it into a real mechanism instead of just a static shape. It is small and it is not going to challenge an experienced builder for more than twenty minutes, but for the price and for a kid who loves Izzie, it earns its spot on the shelf. Skip it if you want a display piece with heft, grab it if you want a genuinely playful little build.

Best for: kids seven and up who love Izzie or want a whimsical creature-to-vehicle transformation

The full review

What it is

I did not expect much walking into this one. Small Dreamzzz sets can feel like an afterthought next to the theme's bigger builds, but Izzie's Narwhal Hot-Air Balloon surprised me. The whole point of the set is that opening mouth, you build the narwhal head as a hinged jaw that snaps shut around a little clip mechanism, and it is such a simple piece of engineering that it still made me smile on my third go. That is the trick with good kids' sets. The feature does not need to be complicated, it just needs to work every single time, and this one does.

The catch

I will be honest about the size. 156 pieces goes fast, and if you are the kind of builder who wants an evening of concentration, this is not that set. The narwhal in the show is round and plush and huggable, and the brick version is flatter and slimmer than I wanted it to be, which is a fair complaint I saw echoed by other reviewers too. It is also not a set anyone is going to flip for a profit later, secondhand values sit close to retail, so buy it because you or your kid will actually play with it, not because you are stashing it away.

Who it's for

Get this one if you have a Dreamzzz fan in the house, especially anyone who already loves Izzie as a character, she is genuinely one of the better minifigure designs the theme has produced. It also works well as a quick, confidence-building build for a younger kid who wants to feel like they finished something real in one sitting. If you are an adult collector looking for a serious engineering challenge or theme centerpiece, this small one is not it, but nobody was promising that at this price point either.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build itself is short and almost entirely about the narwhal's head. You are working in flat panels and curved slopes to get that tusk shape and the rounded snout, then adding the hinge that lets the whole mouth swing open. From there the balloon basket goes together quickly underneath, simple enough that a first-time builder will not get stuck anywhere.

The real value here is Izzie herself. Her print and hair piece are specific to this set and hold up as one of the more expressive minifigure designs in the Dreamzzz lineup, and Bunchu the bunny gives you a second small figure to play with rather than a single lonely minifig rattling around a small box. There is nothing rare or collectible in the parts bin beyond that, this was built to be played with, not picked apart for spares.

Fun facts

01Dreamzzz is one of LEGO's original story properties, built by the same creative teams behind Ninjago and Legends of Chima rather than licensed from an outside studio.
02Brickset's staff review called this the favourite smaller Dreamzzz set released to date, scoring it 85 out of 100.
03The narwhal's opening jaw is meant to echo Izzie's plush toy from the animated series, though several reviewers noted the LEGO version comes out noticeably slimmer than its on-screen counterpart.
04At launch the set retailed for 15.99 dollars, 12.99 pounds, or 14.99 euros, making it one of the more affordable entry points into the Dreamzzz theme.