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LEGO Disney Raya & the Last Dragon Sets Review

by Thita (admin) on June 14, 2021

in LEGO Disney

The latest Disney animation, Raya and the Last Dragon, was released in March, both in theaters and on Disney+. The story plays out in the fantasy world of Kumandra, where long ago, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. However, when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatens the land, the dragons sacrifice themselves to save humanity. At the end of the battle, Sisu, the last dragon, concentrates her magic into an orb-shaped gem and banishes the Druun, reviving Kumandra’s people but not the dragons.

The gem remains in the care of the Heart tribe, one of the five tribes of Kumandra. Chief Benja trains his daughter, Raya, to become the next guardian of the gem. Unfortunately, a power struggle for the gem amongst the five tribes eventually leads to the gem getting stolen, broken up, and divided, which then also reawakens the Druun. After a long search for Sisu, Raya is finally able to team up with the last dragon, and they go on a mission to find the pieces of the gem, unify the tribes, and banish the Druun once and for all.

During their adventures, Raya and Sisu make new friends like Boun who owns a boat that turns out to be very useful, “con baby” Noi and her trio of monkey-like companions, and Tong, a fearsome warrior. They are able to reclaim pieces of the gem, with only one more piece remaining. As the group gets closer to the place of the Fang tribe to get the last piece, Sisu suggests allying with Namaari, daughter of Chief Virana. This idea doesn’t sit well with Raya, who is struggling to trust others. The story gets pretty intense from here and centers around Raya learning to trust her friends, and even enemies in the middle of desperation and chaos.

The reason I’m telling this story is to emphasize how important the characters are. It’s not just about a single heroine overcoming obstacles and performing great feats. It’s about friendship, it’s about trust, it’s about ordinary people making a difference by uniting together, and it’s about forgiving our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others. Another unique feature of the film is the East Asian mixed with fantasy setting with beautiful landscapes, towns, and palaces. And both the characters and the setting provide a great setup not just for a great film, but also great LEGO sets.

LEGO released three sets related to the film; the #43181 LEGO Disney Raya and the Heart Palace, the #43184 LEGO Disney Raya and Sisu Dragon, and #43185 LEGO Disney Boun’s Boat. There is also a small polybag, the #30558 LEGO Disney Raya and the Ongi.

There is a lot to like about these sets. The color-scheme mixing several shades of blue and teal with white and gold is particularly pleasing. Most of the decorations you find in the sets are stickers, but there are also some really nice printed pieces, like the 2×3 tile with map and the large onion-style dome.

I also really like the characters. The mini-dolls of Raya, Namaari, Boun, and the human form of Sisu are all nicely detailed and true to the movie. Although I believe that holographic hair would have been more appropriate for Sisu, instead of just plain lavender (like Sweet Mayhem’s hair from The LEGO Movie 2). However, I’m disappointed that they are the only characters included in the set. The movie is all about making friendships and working together with others. Thus, it feels strange that the sets feature so few characters. The three monkeys are included, but not Noi, their leader. And I would have really liked to see Raya’s dad, Namaari’s mom, Tong, and some warriors and villagers. (I had the same disappointment with the LEGO Disney Moana sets as well. That movie was also about friendship and working together, and the sets only include two characters from the entire film. It’s just sad.)

The #43181 LEGO Disney Raya and the Heart Palace is the largest amongst the three sets, with 610 pieces for the price of $79.99. LEGO Disney sets are meant for children ages 7+, but I think adults would also appreciate the nice parts-selection and amazing colors here. This set could be easily expanded for building a larger fantasy palace. The printed domes are particularly beautiful. The printed map is another nice piece, and I really like Raya’s sand-green sword. The set also features Tuk Tuk, Raya’s pet that’s a hybrid of a pill bug, an armadillo, and a puppy, and functions as a high-speed off-road vehicle. It’s just a dual-moulded large piece with no articulation. It’s an enjoyable set to build, and again the colors and parts-selection is pretty great for custom projects.

The #43184 LEGO Disney Raya and Sisu Dragon contains two small buildable sections (a waterfall, and small part of the palace), and the main feature is the buildable Sisu dragon. The upper part of the dragon’s head is a single triple-moulded piece, and the lower jaw is a separate piece. Although it’s not clear on the pictures, the horn is actually translucent with beautiful curvy patterns. The wing and tail pieces are made of a silvery foil and also very beautiful. Sisu reminds me of the dragons from the LEGO Elves sets, and if you collect dragons, she would be a lovely addition. Just like with the human characters though, I’m sad that she is the only dragon included. Sisu’s relationship with the other dragons was quite important to the story. This set is really only worth it if you collect dragons. It comes with 216 pieces and the price is $29.99.

The #43185 LEGO Disney Boun’s Boat features several key characters that are unique to this set; Sisu in human form, Boun, and the three monkeys. As I mentioned above, I would have really liked if Sisu came with holographic hair, as it would have better matched her character from the film. Boun looks okay, and the monkeys are cute, but as I said, their leader, baby Noi, is missing. The boat is nicely done, and a canoe is also included. They could work well with the Ninjago City sets or in other Asian-style layouts. A small part of the marketplace is also included, but if you have seen the film, you know that this should have been a much bigger section with lots of stalls and characters. Overall, this is a decent set if you want to collect the characters from the movie, but not much more. It comes with 247 pieces and the price is $49.99.

In the video-review below by JBBrickFanatic, you can see all three sets in more detail, including the mini-dolls and play-features.

Overall, the LEGO Disney Raya and the Last Dragon sets look nice, and can offer quite a bit of playtime for younger builders, and lots of interesting parts and colors for adult fans. They just feel a little too empty with so few characters. If you want to check them out, they are available at the LEGO Disney section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Disney Raya and the Last Dragon sets? Did you see the film? Did you like it? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

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LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Review

by Thita (admin) on June 12, 2021

in LEGO Exclusives

Like many others, I’m a big fan of the NASA-related LEGO space-exploration sets. The #21104 LEGO NASA Mars Science Laboratory was a short-lived set released in 2014 that I missed out on and would still like to get. The #21309 LEGO NASA Apollo Saturn V from 2017 was an amazing building experience and it looks great on display (this set was re-released as the #92175 LEGO NASA Apollo Saturn V in 2020 and is still available at the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop). The #21312 LEGO Women of NASA highlighted important people in NASA’s history. The #10266 LEGO NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander from 2019, and the #21321 LEGO International Space Station from 2020 are two other excellent sets that are a pleasure to build and are educational as well. Thus, I was very excited when LEGO announced the #10283 LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set, the latest set made in collaboration between LEGO and NASA.

The #10283 LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set was released in April, so I’m a little late with this review, but I like to take my time with space exploration sets. The building instructions are full of educational materials and little tidbits that prompt me to do further research and take the building process slower than usual. These sets are not just great building experiences, but also remind us of the brilliant innovators, hard working scientists, and brave explorers reaching new frontiers.

The instruction book is 320 pages long, and starts out with information about the five space shuttles that make up NASA’s Space Exploration System (STS) fleet (including the Discovery), as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. There is also information about the LEGO designers who worked on this set. Extra tidbits are sprinkled around the instruction pages, which makes the building process more engaging.

The first part of the set that you are instructed to build is the Hubble Space Telescope from bags numbered 1-3. You also build the display stand and information plaque for the telescope. In my opinion, this is the most impressive part of the entire set. The silver pieces and gold foils make the model look high class and very realistic. Although the foils can’t roll up when the Hubble is carried by the shuttle, they can be replaced by golden rods (also included) as a realistic representation.

The shuttle itself as well as its stand and plaque are built from the rest of the bags (numbered 4-16). The model is full of interesting building techniques and constructing it never gets dull. Well, at least not until you have to apply the silver stickers on the inside of the payload bay. Applying so many stickers and trying to align them properly can be nerve wrecking. And silver stickers are especially prone to creasing and capturing fingerprints. I highly recommend using the soapy water method, as it is the most forgiving and the best way to properly align stickers. Carefully lift off each sticker from the backing paper with a hobby knife. (Try not to touch the face of the sticker with your fingers or crease them while lifting off.) Then apply a thin film of soapy water at the back of the sticker with your finger before placing it on the LEGO piece. The soapy water will give you a few minutes to slide the sticker around to its final position. (Even with this method, expect that you will most likely spend 30-60 minutes just applying stickers.)

The shape of the shuttle reminds me of the LEGO Classic Space Galaxy Explorer, as well as Benny’s Spaceship, and other classic space sets. It’s a wonderful and nostalgic building experience for LEGO space fans.

There are also some functional play features like the opening payload bay where you can store the Hubble Telescope (which comes with movable solar panels and opening aperture door), adjustable elevons, folding landing gear, and movable robotic arm. In addition, the cockpit opens to reveal flight and mid-decks with seats for five crew members.

I also appreciate that LEGO designers provided several display options. There are separate stands for the shuttle and the telescope so they can be displayed separately, or the telescope can be displayed hovering over the open payload bay with extended solar panels, or the telescope can be placed inside the payload bay with rolled up solar panels (represented by golden rods) and the payload bay doors closed.

Besides the tedious stickers, the only other negative I can say about this set is that I feel the nose section is not as smooth as it should be. It looks better from certain angles and from a distance, but it feels broken up when you look at it closely. Perhaps in the future LEGO will make a piece that will help smooth out this section, but with the currently available pieces, this is the best that could have been done.

Perhaps another negative that could be mentioned is that the booster rockets aren’t included. I always liked the contrast of the orange boosters against the black and white of the shuttle. Perhaps LEGO felt that the set would have been too expensive with the boosters, and they don’t really add munch besides the color contrast. They are basically just hollow tubes to store fuel, so building them wouldn’t be particularly interesting.

Overall, this is a wonderful set that should satisfy space exploration fans. It’s on par with the #21309 LEGO NASA Apollo Saturn V in terms of size, beauty, functionality, and displayability. It’s big, but not so big that you would have difficulty displaying it. The size of the shuttle is about 8.5 in. (21 cm) high, 21 in. (54 cm) long, and 13.5 in. (34 cm) wide. And the total piece-count is 2,354 pieces.

Below, I have included two video-reviews that I found valuable. The first one is by Tiago Catarino, a former LEGO designer, and big fan of space sets. And the second one is by JANGBRiCKS who is known for high quality and detailed reviews. They should help you decide if this is a set you would like to add to your collection.

If you like the #10283 LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set, or some of the LEGO space exploration sets developed in collaboration with NASA, like the #92175 LEGO NASA Apollo Saturn V, the #10266 LEGO NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, and the #21321 LEGO International Space Station, visit the LEGO Ideas and LEGO Creator Expert section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Space Shuttle Discovery set? And how do you like the other NASA-inspired sets? Do you have any of them already? Which one is your favorite? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Disney Raya & the Last Dragon Sets Review

LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Review

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