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Brick Breakdown: LEGO Castle Dragon set

(Written by William)

In this Brick Breakdown series I review official LEGO sets, from the perspective of looking at interesting building techniques we can all learn from. Today we will be looking at the #70403 LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain. You can check out the previously discussed LEGO building techniques found in official LEGO sets at the end of this article. 🙂

#70403 LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain

I have to start out by saying that I’m a huge LEGO Castle fan, and I always look forward to new LEGO Castle sets; especially big fantasy creatures like dragons! Honestly, I was expecting more from the LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain set; something bigger and more substantial. However I do understand that the dragon elements cost a lot to produce and they are ultimately worth about half the price of the set. But because I do like dragons, I will let my disappointment go for the sake of that big beasty. And I would say that if you are planning to pick up LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain, you pretty much need to have the same perspective – mainly because what you build is closer in size and detail to a $30 set than a $50 one. Like I said before; the dragon adds a lot to the price tag. That’s not to say the design is bad, just be prepared that what you end up building is smaller than you might expect. But enough with the griping and time to look at the techniques! 😀

SELECTING THE TONE OF YOUR LEGO MODELS

Dark, forbidding places have an abundance of tone. At a glance you can easily tell whether a place is good or evil. For example look at the Tower of Orthanc in the LEGO Lord of the Rings series. Once you see it, there is no surprise that the wizard is a badguy. So the question is how to come up with the right tone for your LEGO model?

#70403 LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain Review

It all comes down to how we associate various things. In the LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain set there are a lot of barbs and pointed slopes – these are things we associate with claws and teeth. There are also old vines and spider-webs – these are things we associate with age and ruins. The colors on the bad side are dark-gray, black, and red – representing scary unknown, and sinister things – while on the good guys side we get friendlier colors. This bit of contrast also works on the level of the equipment used by the minifigs. The badguys have weapons that are a darker metal than the good guys. All of this represents tone; which gives your creation character.

THE ASYMMETRY OF EVIL

Asymmetric building with LEGO is the technique that has you constructing one side of a model different from the other. This is a really great technique for creating something that needs to look random – like elements of nature. However, when used in a building, it often comes across as the structure being under some evil influence.

#70403 LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain Details

This idea comes from how we as humans perceive beauty. Symmetrical features are how we identify balance and a sense of attractiveness. So when you throw in something a bit off-kilter or lopsided, we start thinking of the thing as ugly. In general, something that is evil should be ugly to us. Now look at the LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain model; one side is taller than the other. Also, one side is wider than the other. Meanwhile, we use the small bridge as a dividing line to compare the two sides because it is one of the most symmetrical things in the set. Ultimately we get a building that looks evil – now you know why.

APPLYING WHAT YOU LEARN

One of the biggest benefits of LEGO is that it allows us to create and tell stories out of our imagination. Character and tone are important elements in how these stories come across to others. Knowing how to express what we want to convey with shape and color is a fundamental aspect every good LEGO builder should have a grasp on. And when you do, your LEGO models will stand out all the more.

Interesting fact about asymmetry being evil; LEGO had a number of parents complain about their Blacktron space series. They said that the sets were too evil and they didn’t want to expose their children to that type of influence. Little did the parents know, but LEGO never thought of that series as evil. They merely built asymmetric structures in dark colors. It was the parents’ own associations with these features that made them think it was evil.

2013 LEGO Castle Summer Sets

So what do you think? How do you like the LEGO building techniques in the LEGO Castle Dragon Mountain set? Do you pay attention to the tone and symmetry of your LEGO creations and what kind of mood do they convey? Feel free to share your own experiences, tips or ask questions in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the other reviews in this series:

{ 11 comments… add one }
  • Chi-bacca August 24, 2013, 10:20 AM

    Wow I didn’t know any of that stuff! Thanks for the info. I’m considering that set-any good?

    • ninja of stealth August 24, 2013, 1:06 PM

      splendid! bravo!

  • Kimono Jay-Mouth Of Lightning August 24, 2013, 12:14 PM

    I bought this set a month ago 🙂 I don’t think it’s worth the $50. But the dragon is awesome! I pretend he is smaug 🙂

    • admin August 24, 2013, 9:37 PM

      Yeah, the dragon does look kind of Smaugh-ish. 😈

  • benny the padawan of the grand army August 24, 2013, 12:16 PM

    pretty cool set. considering I wasn’t into castle and am still not, i really liked playing the games of it. Will you might make my wallet be a tad lighter and my LEGO collection bigger because of this review. I don’t normally like the review posts (I feel like they don’t pull me in) but this one… this one pulled me in and now im considering buying this and not Star Wars LAAT/i , and that is hard to do. nice post Will

    • Chi-bacca August 24, 2013, 12:40 PM

      What!? Your turning down then LAAT! That set looks epic! I’d get that but then it is a bit pricey for me…. 🙁

      • benny the padawan of the grand army August 24, 2013, 4:30 PM

        its pricy for me thats becausei blew my money in june on the at-te but i might get it for christmas or i may have enougj at christmas

        • Chi-bacca August 24, 2013, 6:22 PM

          Sounds like a good idea 😀
          I’m currently saving up because my birthdays coming up so I get a bit of money and I can then get something larger than what I’d get normally buy. Unless of course I end up with the lion temple or something then I’d probably buy a game or so with my money 🙂

  • Fikko3107 August 25, 2013, 6:59 AM

    Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t been on for so long. Between coming home from London, moving into a house with no reception and going to LEGOLAND Malaysia, I haven’t got the time to do any commenting.

    It was great. We get to see the model shop, the park before opening…lots of things. I even met HP/David. Well, I won’t go into the details. You’ll just have to wait for the post!

    • admin August 25, 2013, 10:15 AM

      Fikko, great to hear that you got back home safely after a great trip. Can’t wait for your updates on your adventures! 😛

  • Ray Kremer August 26, 2013, 11:56 AM

    Interesting about the Blacktron. I know that as a kid I certainly thought they were supposed to be the bad guy faction, though now I can’t recall if that was based on any descriptions from Lego or if I was just assuming it. Of course, Space Police was the next series and that very much confirmed Blacktron as bad guys, so even if Lego didn’t intend that originally they certainly did pick it up and run with it.

    Also, overprotective parents are funny.

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