Review: 71742 Overlord Dragon
Posted by CapnRex101,Numerous memorable characters and vehicles return with the Legacy range, integrating new design methods and elements. 71742 Overlord Dragon is unique though, depicting something from the animated series but without previous representation in associated sets!
NINJAGO has featured many excellent dragons, although opportunities to distinguish them are perhaps becoming increasingly scarce. This creature evidently matches the scale of several previous dragons but its colour scheme and jagged teeth appear distinctive. Such features correspond with the animated design as well.
Minifigures
Golden versions of Lloyd Garmadon have already appeared twice during recent years and this minifigure shares components with its predecessors, although this exact design is unique as the pearl gold head has been replaced with a standard yellow element. Nevertheless, the legendary Golden Ninja looks suitably impressive, featuring metallic gold dragon designs on the torso.
Moreover, I like the dark green highlights which represent Lloyd's traditional colour, even though the band around his hood markedly differs from the original minifigure. The yellow head beneath is available throughout the NINJAGO range and I would welcome another variant. Lloyd's happy and determined facial expressions look good though, along with his distinctive green eyes.
The malevolent Overlord has also made two previous appearances within the Legacy range. However, the newest design is exclusively available here. Unlike recent depictions, this figure takes inspiration from Rebooted so features two arms and an entirely different helmet which is accurate to the television series. The head has also been updated and appears phenomenally menacing, as one would hope!
Furthermore, the torso now features metallic gold ribs which surround a glowing purple core. This design combines aspects from both the original Overlord minifigure and the more recent Legacy version, with splendid results. I like the accompanying spectral element as well, along with the golden shoulder armour which earlier appeared in 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech.
While this minifigure is certainly impressive, I am surprised that any changes were considered necessary. This depiction of the Overlord originates from the season after his dragon form and including them both together seems accordingly odd. Nevertheless, the character looks superb, wielding a trans-pink lightning bolt while Lloyd carries a golden katana.
The Completed Model
Villainous dragons are comparatively uncommon across the NINJAGO theme, conferring an opportunity for this model to distinguish itself from others. In many regards, I think the dragon impresses because its dark blue, purple and black colour scheme is unusual and the length of 46cm, when fully extended, is certainly substantial. Even so, I think the Overlord's dragon form might have justified an even larger set.
Modern dragons frequently include marvellous brick-built heads, although not invariably. This example instead recalls the earliest NINJAGO dragons, comprising two identical components which are connected using Battle Droid arms. I would have preferred a brick-built design but I appreciate the bold colours and moulded detail, especially concerning the jagged teeth which cleverly interlock.
These teeth appear even more intimidating after opening the jaws, revealing a magenta 2x2 slider which forms the tongue inside! The printed eyes include fantastic detail and I love how purple spines are distributed along the entire length of this menacing creature. Unfortunately, there is not enough space for the Overlord to capture Lloyd in his jaws, as he does onscreen.
Another deviation from the animated dragon is the absence of tendrils extending from around the head. These are among the most visually distinctive features of the Overlord and including such details would potentially have improved the model. Nevertheless, the head looks splendid and offers extensive articulation as the neck incorporates two separate ball joints.
The body shaping appears reminiscent of previous LEGO dragons, combining multiple curved slopes and mudguard elements which are surprisingly effective. The tendrils which cover the connection between the body and the wings look excellent and I appreciate that two vacant studs are available to accommodate the Overlord, should you wish. Of course, the Overlord actually transforms into this dragon during the television series.
That vital consistency between the Overlord minifigure and his dragon counterpart becomes especially apparent when viewing this creature from beneath. The golden ribs which adorned the aforementioned minifigure remain immediately recognisable here, in combination with one trans-purple 2x2 slider and a trans-pink lightning element. These parts really stand out against the whole dragon.
Corresponding with its source material, this dragon features two legs and enormous feet that provide ample support to the model. The thighs appear suitably organic and powerful and the ankles are neatly constructed using hinges and clips. Joints at the hips and ankles provide an appealing range of motion, although lateral movement of the feet is somewhat lacking.
Unfortunately, my least favourite aspect of this dragon is definitely the wings, which are very simple. Their proportional size looks marvellous and I like the purple blades that form dactyls, although only the outermost dactyl is articulated on each wing. However, no fabric membrane stretches between them, creating a skeletal aesthetic which is detrimental to this entire model.
The swinging tail also seems reasonably simple, comprising three main segments which are linked using clips with low friction and ball joints. These clips enable the tail to swing, offering some play opportunities but limiting options for display. However, I like how purple blades are integrated again. The instruction manual suggests placing these blades together but you may also split them, creating an uncommon forked tail.
Overall
Producing something inspired by an early season of NINJAGO, which was overlooked when products were originally released, seems like an appropriate celebration of this range. 71742 Overlord Dragon undoubtedly captures the menacing appearance of its animated counterpart and incorporates comprehensive articulation which is helpful for display.
However, I think there was potential to design an even larger and more impressive dragon to represent the Overlord, whose villainy spanned two seasons. The wings look disappointing in particular, lacking detail when compared with other dragons. Despite some issues, the cost of £27.99 or $29.99 represents good value and I am pleased with this design at that price. I only wish the dragon had appeared even more spectacular!
Our reviews of the other NINJAGO sets, released during 2021, are available here:
- 71735 Tournament of Elements
- 71736 Boulder Blaster
- 71737 X-1 Ninja Charger
- 71738 Zane's Titan Mech Battle
- 71741 NINJAGO City Gardens (Part 1)
- 71741 NINJAGO City Gardens (Part 2)
- 71741 NINJAGO City Gardens (Part 3)
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
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31 comments on this article
The dragon's face screams Skeksis from the dark Crystal to me.
It's really interesting that the head components look like the same mold, with only the top one having the eye printing. I like that method, especially since it wouldn't fit for the other dragons so it's unique here
Yeah, ever since the Morro Dragon brick-built versions like these feel like a cop-out.
I haven't bought much Ninjago recently, apart from the City, Docks and now Gardens and certainly no dragons for a while either. This looks rather good though and different enough from the other dragons that I have. I might well pick this one up.
The last photo looks excellent. It really shows off a menacing appearance of the dragon.
I am really glad that I got 70666 last year because now it is out of production! Two different copies of golden Lloyd and the Overlord feels unnecessary but doesn't hurt.
I wish that Lego put more effort into releasing sets that go together at the same time. The same thing happened with 75259 and 75288 when the AT-AT was released a few months after the snowspeeder's production ended.
I absolutely love this dragon (and the character he represents), and I'm awed by its size for its price. I definitely agree with all of the criticisms, I would have loved for him to be a tad bit larger and have fabric wings and his distinctive whiskers; though I do love what we got.
Quite cool, although it's clearly misnamed, it should be called the Overlord *Wyvern*.
Every pedant knows they're only called dragons before they erupt from the volcano.
I'm still positive that the Overlord is based on Khan Digifer from Gridman.
This is my favorite Ninjago set in years! I always wanted this to be a real set ever since I saw the finale episode, and it's unique in the sense that it's one of the only Legacy sets to not be a remake of an older one. It's also frickin' huge for $30. I was shocked at the size of this thing when finished because LEGO has made great $30 dragons, but this one seemed a lot more like a $40-50 size. I love the design because it reminds me of the older dragons with their molded heads and helicopter blade wings, and while I like most of the modern brick-built heads, I don't love some of their designs and I really hate the plastic/cloth wings on 90% of them.
Not everyone can afford a $100 dragon for each of the major dragons
This hits price to importantance ratio just right for me...
Stimulus check will add Wu's, Skeleton, & this one to my inventory!
Great set! Glad both Big Bad & Big Good in same set
The tendrils looked stupid in the first place. Lego made a good move ignoring them.
I think 2 cheap cloth pieces wouldn't have killed the budget for this otherwise great little dragon to top it off, although one might expect the only time Overlord is released as a set after 9 years, to be a little bigger than a 30$ wyvern (no, it's not a real dragon). Imagine this in the same scale as the Skull Sorcerer's dragon from last year.
Considering that the older Overlord figure already incorporated some elements from the Season 3 design, I think it would have been cool if they had just reused the existing one and thrown in a third, new minifigure. One of the corrupted ninjas would have been neat, especially Nya since she was evil for the longest and isn't in any of the Legacy sets this wave.
@Meadius said:
"Considering that the older Overlord figure already incorporated some elements from the Season 3 design, I think it would have been cool if they had just reused the existing one and thrown in a third, new minifigure. One of the corrupted ninjas would have been neat, especially Nya since she was evil for the longest and isn't in any of the Legacy sets this wave."
That would involve putting Nya into sets, which Lego seem to do whatever they can to avoid ;)
And can you review Epic Battle Sets?
https://brickset.com/sets/tag-Epic-Battle-Set
I want to read it!
This looks pretty great to me!
Great review! Honestly, I'm extremely impressed with this build. The designers did a good job finding ways to echo both the Overlord Dragon's design from the show and the design language various minifigure versions of the Overlord.
Given that "show-only" character and creature designs often feel a little lacking in set-like detail, I don't mind that it's not a 100% screen-accurate portrayal. Much like the redesigns of other previously show-only characters like Ash, Shade, Bolobo, and Jacob Pevsner, I see this as what this character might've looked like if they had been designed with a set in mind in the first place, rather than the production designers for the show having to "improvise" their design by combining and modifying elements of earlier character designs.
It is a bit of a bummer that the wings are quite this spindly, but at the same time, I feel like it does at least somewhat fit the character since in the show, the Overlord Dragon's wings had an extremely bony and tattered (and vaguely "undead") look, whereas the Golden Dragon's wing membranes had fewer and smaller holes, and its dactyls didn't protrude so sharply beyond the wing surface. See these pieces of concept art for reference:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8a/e7/39/8ae73969f031c0f6ec2c3e207d9a0aa4.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a3/0f/13/a30f13f8210bfb7ef24ebe510e2f7890.jpg
Given that neither the original Golden Dragon set nor the Legacy Golden Dragon set had especially solid-looking wings, the only way to really retain that sense of contrast was to make the Overlord Dragon's wings even bonier. So ultimately, my biggest disappointment with this set's wings is that they don't have anywhere near as many dactyls as the on-screen portrayal, and aren't able to fold open and closed like the wings of old-school Ninjago dragons (a feature which I felt helped compensate for the gaps in their structure).
On the other hand, the rest of the design far surpasses any expectations I might've had. The neck, tail, and legs feel quite a bit beefier and more muscular than similarly-priced Ninjago dragons like 70503, 7`0602, or 71713, and the face, spines, and claws feel appropriately vicious and intimidating.
The new Overlord minifigure is also fantastic, although I agree that it's a little odd to include this overtly Season 3 inspired design in a Season 2 inspired Legacy set. Then again, this set has very no other printed elements besides the dragon's upper jaw, so it was probably just easier to fit a Season 3 inspired Overlord minifigure into this set's budget than into the budget of Season 3 inspired sets like 71699 or 71704 that also had to include new printed elements for the Ninja and Nindroids.
Thanks for the fantastic review and photos!!!
@Chouju_X_SPAM_ said:
"I'm still positive that the Overlord is based on Khan Digifer from Gridman."
Aka Kilokhan from Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad.
@SearchlightRG said:
" @Chouju_X_SPAM_ said:
"I'm still positive that the Overlord is based on Khan Digifer from Gridman."
Aka Kilokhan from Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad."
I mean, Ninjago is basically just a western Sentai show, makes sense they'd take a bit (or a lot) of inspiration.
It's adorable.
That last shot is awesome.
I wanted there to be a microscale golden dragon in the set, to represent the scene in which the overlord grows and swallows Lloyd and his dragon.
SO MUCH PURPLE! Gotta have it!
I love that it looks like an exact counter to 70666
The lack of whiskers is certainly disappointing. Those were the coolest part of it IMO.
Aside from that excellent model. Looking at this actually makes me wonder, if the 90th anniversary set is BIONICLE, could they do Kardas? I'd rather they do something from 2001-2003 'cause that'd sell better, but a brick built version of that dragon would be awesome!
The dragon and overlord figure are giving me strong Lego Universe vibes... love it
This shows that Lego could easily make a Balrog if only they wanted to :-(
Overall, great review but I don’t like how they gave Lloyd a sword. He says ‘I don’t need a sword’.
@Terreneflame said:
" @Meadius said:
"Considering that the older Overlord figure already incorporated some elements from the Season 3 design, I think it would have been cool if they had just reused the existing one and thrown in a third, new minifigure. One of the corrupted ninjas would have been neat, especially Nya since she was evil for the longest and isn't in any of the Legacy sets this wave."
That would involve putting Nya into sets, which Lego seem to do whatever they can to avoid ;)"
LOL true
@Brick_Master said:
"Quite cool, although it's clearly misnamed, it should be called the Overlord *Wyvern*.
Every pedant knows they're only called dragons before they erupt from the volcano."
A wyvern is merely a type of dragon; all wyverns are dragons, but not all dragons are wyverns.