Ninjago

Jungle Dragon

A teal dragon that finally looks nothing like the last twelve Ninjago dragons.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 71746 · 2021

Pieces506

Minifigs4

Year2021

Set number71746

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The verdict

The teal is what got me.

After years of red and gold and black Ninjago dragons, this one shows up in a soft blue-green nobody else was using, and it completely changes how the creature reads. The build is quick and clever, the four minifigures punch above the price, and the posable wings actually swing out of the way so you can seat a ninja in the saddle. It is a play set at heart, so if you want a display centerpiece it will not thrill you, but for a kid or a dragon collector who wants something different, it is an easy yes.

Best for: Ninjago fans and dragon collectors who want a color that stands out from the pile

The full review

What it is

I have built more Ninjago dragons than I can count, and somewhere around the tenth one they all start to blur together. The Jungle Dragon broke that spell for me, and it came down to one thing: the color. LEGO wrapped this creature in a soft teal that I had barely seen used anywhere else, and against the usual parade of fiery reds and blacks it looks fresh and a little bit alien in the best way. The dragon runs about 36cm nose to tail, with posable wings, legs and tail, a jaw that opens and closes, and a removable saddle so one of the ninja can ride it. There is also a surfboard with a sail and a little shooting function, which is very much aimed at the six-to-ten crowd but adds a second thing for kids to play with.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where it wobbles. The dragon's body is built in two sections, the front half and the tail-and-back-legs half, and they connect with only eight studs. Reviewers flagged it and I felt it too: pick the thing up wrong mid-swoosh and it can pop apart. The clicky ratchet joints are also a touch aggressive for a model this size, so posing takes a firmer hand than you would expect. And while the wings are clever, the spot where they meet the body is a cluster of plain gray parts that looks unfinished next to all that lovely teal. At 39.99 dollars for 506 pieces it was fairly priced when it was on shelves, though now that it is retired you will pay a premium closer to 50 or 60 dollars for a sealed one.

Who it's for

Here is how I would call it. If you love Ninjago, if you collect the dragons, or if you are buying for a kid who wants something to actually play battles with, this is a warm recommendation. The color alone earns it a spot on the shelf, and four minifigures at this size is generous. If you are an adult builder hunting for a sturdy, poseable display dragon you can leave out on a desk without it shedding a leg, this is not quite that set, and the two-piece body will nag at you. Know which of those two people you are and the decision makes itself.

The parts story

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

Building it takes maybe 35 to 40 minutes, and for a set this size it moves along nicely with a few techniques sprinkled in to keep you paying attention. The head is the part I enjoyed most: it reuses the lower jaw from the earlier Overlord Dragon but caps it with a brand new upper element, so the profile feels specific to this creature rather than a repaint of the last one. The wings hang off Mixel ball joints, which is what lets them fold out of the way when you want to interact with the figure in the saddle, and that small piece of engineering does a lot of quiet work.

The real draw for parts hunters is the teal. That color turns up here on elements that were new or uncommon at the time, so the set became a handy source if you were building anything in that palette. The four minifigures are the other treasure: Island Lloyd, Island Zane, the Thunder Keeper, and PoulErik, who is exclusive to this set and famously the first minifigure built with two heads stacked one on top of the other, a genuinely odd little printing gag from the show. For 506 pieces you get a real spread of value, and the printed and recolored bits give it more staying power than the piece count alone suggests.

Fun facts

01PoulErik is exclusive to this set and is the first LEGO minifigure ever built with two heads stacked one directly on top of the other.
02The dragon's head combines the lower jaw from the earlier 71742 Overlord Dragon with an entirely new upper element made for this set.
03The set was designed by Jme Wheeler and belongs to The Island subtheme of Ninjago, released March 1, 2021 and retired at the end of 2022.