Review: 71790 Imperium Dragon Hunter Hound
Posted by CapnRex101,The realm of Imperium is dedicated to capturing dragons and harnessing their inherent power, so created Photac Beasts to help the ferocious Claw Hunters in the mission. 71790 Imperium Dragon Hunter Hound is significantly smaller than many dragons, although equally fearsome.
I love this creature's distinctive proportions, with its body narrowing sharply in the middle and therefore contrasting with equivalent NINJAGO animals. Moreover, the presence of three minifigures is appealing, given the affordable price of £18.99, $19.99 or €20.99.
Summary
71790 Imperium Dragon Hunter Hound, 198 pieces.
£18.99 / $19.99 / €20.99 | 9.6p/10.1c/10.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Other than an odd minifigure choice, this set is marvellous for play and display
- Unique and intimidating body shape
- Great articulation, mostly
- Very good value
- Limited articulation of hind legs
- Imperium Claw General is poor for army building
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Two ninja are included, which is unusual for sets of this size. Lloyd wears a bright green gi with dark green accents and looks great, although official images seem closer to the standard shade of green. Nevertheless, I like these colours and the new shoulder wrap element captures superb texture, while retaining the usual twin scabbards on the back.
Jay is identically dressed, with only his colours differing from the front. The shape of the dark blue and dark green areas is exactly the same between the two minifigures, for example. The new head wrap fits on top of the shoulder wrap and works quite nicely, but there is an obvious seam where the limits join. Earlier versions of the ninja have disguised similar seams better.
The only substantial difference between the costumes, other than their colour, is the energy crackling around the emblem on their backs. Jay's is more jagged, so evokes lightning. Both minifigures are armed with katana and include double-sided heads, featuring determined faces on one side and more enigmatic designs on the other. These relate to an ability introduced in Dragons Rising.
A menacing Imperium Claw General opposes the ninja. This minifigure is brilliantly detailed, featuring elaborate golden armour, alongside orange patterns on the torso and legs. I like the mechanised appearance of the warrior, furthered by the bizarre mask under his helmet, which reminds me of those worn by the Chitauri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The helmet and shoulder armour elements are undecorated, but the moulding alone provides ample detail. The ridges on the shoulders are especially striking and a stud is available on the back, so you could attach a banner or a clip for an accessory here, using some additional parts.
However, the supplied weapon would certainly not fit, as the standard dual-moulded Imperium sword is connected to a golden bar, giving the minifigure impressive reach from the back of his Photac Beast. The decision to include a general is odd though, as the creatures are deployed in groups onscreen and I think a lowly Claw Hunter would have been more suitable.
The Completed Model
Despite their organic appearance, Photac Beasts are comprised of hard light in the animated series, so are exceedingly strong and essentially indestructible. The beast's narrow body and arched back look fantastic, creating a unique silhouette and one which undoubtedly evokes the wolves that inspired this design.
The model measures nearly 24cm in length, but is sufficiently lightweight that the front legs are connected to the body using small ball joints. These provide a great range of motion, while the neck, ankles and tail are also attached via ball joints. Unfortunately, the hind legs are secured with click hinges, which can only move outwards, rather than forwards or backwards. Although necessary for stability, this is disappointing.
I love the Photac Beast's head shape. The muzzle and pointed ears look superb, alongside a new 3x4 brick with curved wedge slopes. The element is decorated with menacing eyes and I think their animalistic design works perfectly, even though the animated beasts feature glowing eyes. Moreover, the dark red accents on the head look nice, continuing onto the body.
However, those areas of dark red are first interrupted by pearl gold armour. The ridged texture on the armour looks brilliant and matches the legs, which also incorporate 1x2 ridge slopes to form repeated spikes. The minifigure sits on an orange 2x2 plate on the Photac Beast's back and therefore leans forward, so seems noticeably unprotected.
Black spines are fitted behind the saddle, as though the beast's hackles have risen. These also serve to disguise the Technic pieces between the front and back of the body, where the model becomes very thin. The golden spikes around this narrow section look excellent and I like the stickered banner too, displaying Imperium's angular symbol.
The second and final sticker is applied on the creature's back, featuring more armour and dark red highlights. The shape of the tail and hind legs is appealing, although the legs' movement is limited because of the click hinges, as mentioned earlier. While this limits options for posing the model, the articulated ankles and claws alone can achieve some dynamic stances for display.
Overall
71790 Imperium Dragon Hunter Hound only contains 198 pieces, but definitely rivals some of the larger Dragons Rising sets in detail. The design of the titular hound is impressive, primarily because of its unusual shape and stance, which give the Photac Beast a ferocious appearance. The beast's head and armour look outstanding too.
There are some issues, the most important being the inclusion of an Imperium Claw General, instead of the standard hunter. These animals are deployed in groups in the show and I could see their appeal for army building, which the general lacks. Even so, the minifigure selection is splendid overall and I think the price of £18.99, $19.99 or €20.99 represents great value, so I would recommend this set.
83 likes
25 comments on this article
Looks a bit too thin in middle bit still cool. Ninjago fenris wolf
That wolf looks like it could use a good meal, poor thing :(
I was super excited for this set when it was first rumoured but the official images made me feel less thrilled, however it definitely looks better than in the renders, so I'm more excited about the set again.
Jay and La-Loyd have completely different prints. Check the wrinkle lines, and also the golden symbol above the left hip. Even the legs have different prints, with different bandage patterns, a different hemline to the gi, and an unpainted line that crosses over the hinge point that takes a slightly different path right next to the codpiece.
Looks like an outstanding set for fans. Thanks for the review @CapnRex101
Love ninjago,love this range.
@PurpleDave said:
"Jay and La-Loyd have completely different prints. Check the wrinkle lines, and also the golden symbol above the left hip. Even the legs have different prints, with different bandage patterns, a different hemline to the gi, and an unpainted line that crosses over the hinge point that takes a slightly different path right next to the codpiece."
I know. "The only substantial difference..."
There are usually obvious differences in how the ninja wear their gi, what armour plates they are wearing or what their belt clasps look like, for example. In the Dragons Rising range, the differences between the classic ninja are more subtle, other than colour.
Cool, bit not for me.
What do the heads without the headgear look like?
More Ninjago reviews please! Thank you again Capn! Could we see the new bounty next? I’m particularly curious about its length, the specs on legos website say 53cm but that seems inflated compared to the build.
I’ve never collected Ninjago before, but I really like this brick built animal design
I'm wondering if they decided to include the General rather than a more generic fig was because the set already included two unique ninja, so they figured, "Might as well go whole hog."
@CapnRex101:
Reread the "Jay" paragraph that immediately precedes that line. It sounds like you thought they were identical when you wrote that, but changed your mind before writing the next paragraph. I missed it at first glance, including the very obviously different kanji on the front, but now all I can see is different depictions of a standardized uniform design.
@Brickodillo said:
"What do the heads without the headgear look like?"
They have masks over their eyes, but their mouths are normal. It's similar to the Prime Empire heads, but the mask is smaller. It looks almost like the ninja have different shaped mask prints, but I need better comparison photos to confirm.
They have made a few odd choices with the distribution of Imperium Minifigures in this wave. The Guard Commander shows up in two sets, whereas the standard Guard-who presumably is supposed to be a more common member of the Imperium military-appears in only one.
@PurpleDave said:
" @CapnRex101:
Reread the "Jay" paragraph that immediately precedes that line. It sounds like you thought they were identical when you wrote that, but changed your mind before writing the next paragraph. I missed it at first glance, including the very obviously different kanji on the front, but now all I can see is different depictions of a standardized uniform design."
I see what you mean, but by 'identically dressed' I meant that they are wearing exactly the same gi, other than the colours, their initials and the symbols on the back. The creases are indeed different, but there is no variation in the cut of the robe or arrangement of straps, for instance, as there usually is.
@CapnRex101:
Okay, yeah, compared to something like, oh, say, their ZX outfits from 2012 (which looked like they didn't even shop in the same mall), these do look kinda samey.
Not a fan of the new masks, but most certainly am a fan of all these awesome Imperium designs!
Looks interesting!
Those hind legs are atrocious though. Lego has some perfectly fine joints yet they go with click hinges to simply splay them out, all but making them static. I always dislike it when posability is straight up disallowed by the designers. It has four legs. Why not make them move forward and backwards here?
Not one I'm planning to pick up at all. It doesn't even have any kind of action or play features.
@Binnekamp:
Given how difficult it is to get _two_ feet to stand flat on a surface, I can kind of understand why they might think this was a good idea for a kid’s toy. And it’s not like you can actuate all four limbs at the same time without some contortionist assistance. And I can understand how those who grew up with the theme, and have seen it reach the heights of the Ninjago Modulars, would be supremely disappointed in how this turned out. Best suggestion, if you want it, is to either figure out a mix yourself, or wait until someone publishes one. Frankly, it looks like it’d be easy to swap out the click-hinges with Mixel joints, without any other changes being necessary.
I was really excited for this set when it was first rumoured - a cheap ninjago set, and a "hound" no less! Also, it's great that we get Lloyd and Jay, can't wait to see Jay appear in Dragons Rising.
About the Imperium Claw General, I find it a weird move for LEGO to include Claw Generals and Guard Commanders more frequently than their generic foot soldier counterparts - the Imperium Guard minifigure with gold armour only appears in one set - where these leader characters haven't even appeared in the show.
Having built the set, I dislike how skinny the Photac looks down the middle, but the arched back gives a very good impression of wolves, and I also like the relatively organic look throughout the build. I do wish that the hind legs were on Mixels joints, though. I can't even press down on the hound without those collapsing sideways.
@Grammaticul said:
"wonder if the intent was to make the gold-and-red liveried figures generals and the much more inconspicuous black-with-gold-highlights figures into plain old soldiers and if whoever names these simply confused the two. regardless, a wonderful model & a great review!"
That's kind of my thought process. I would think that the gold helmets are generals while black helmets are foot soldiers. Whereas here, it's the opposite.
Should have used molded wolf head they used for Elves theme.
Also it looks unfinished versus the show as in show it had a mounted canon on side.
@Torrent_Studios:
It’s…a Photac Greyhound.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Torrent_Studios:
It’s…a Photac Greyhound."
Oh. My mistake, I am not familiar with dogs, I have never owned pets. Greyhounds do look cool though.
Also, "dogs" of the modern era are domesticated wolves.
@Grammaticul said:
"wonder if the intent was to make the gold-and-red liveried figures generals and the much more inconspicuous black-with-gold-highlights figures into plain old soldiers and if whoever names these simply confused the two. regardless, a wonderful model & a great review!"
If it was, the show got it wrong too. Then again, Empress Beatrix has a black with gold accents color scheme, so maybe it’s intentional.