This is one of the sets, that come actually better, than they look in the pictures! It is like a pleasant surprise that you don't really expect. I'm not a big fan of dragon sets, but this one looked good, so I decided to pick it, and it was not only worth it, but beyond expectations.

The minifigures

There are total of six minifigures, two hero ninjas and four enemies. Sorry, I don't know much about Ninjago story, so no names here. The prints are good as usual, and I like the special sword, wielded by the red ninja, and I like the nice battle hammer for his friend.

The bad guys look more interesting to me, especially a punk guy with a jetpack. I'd even call it a "wingpack", as it relies on small wings. We get a regular warrior-type enemy, a sniper with a crossbow (it doesn't shoot, you just have to move the claw manually), and a funny looking "gladiator" with a shield and and a chicken. It clearly takes a lot of beating, just look at his face. I like the small detail, that he only have one horn on his helmet (where it supposed to be 2 horns). He must broke it in a fight with the dragon.

The parts

This set includes so many good and even unique parts! It's not just "bricks bricks bricks" everywhere, but more like a mix of interesting and special parts. If you build your own models a lot, this set is a treasure for you. Even better, a lot of the special parts don't come in one or two, but, like in 4 or more. The parts inside of the dragon have so many funny colors, that at some point you start to wonder, how it all will be covered? But don't worry, they are invisible from the outside.

The build

Oh what an enjoyable build it is! Absolutely, this one is fantastic! It never gets boring, using a lot of techniques, and there are a lot of moments, during the process, when you see what comes out, and think: "Wow, how clever and unusual!". Build-wise, it's one of the best recent models. The build is modular, you always build some smaller part, and then attach it to another. They managed to make it so fun, that there's not much of repetitiveness, even when you assemble wings and legs of the dragon.

The completed model & playability

After the fun build we get a small armor stand, a helicopter, and the main one -- a dragon. There's nothing special about the armor stand, just a couple of bricks. It starts to be interesting from the helicopter. It is medium-sized, and I easily see it as a full standalone set, not just a "side-build". It uses a good amount of parts, and doesn't look like it's build of "whatever the budget leftovers allowed". I think that rear rotor, made of teeth is very cool. The overall look of that machine is well-designed. It can shoot with two stud-shooters on each side, has opening canopy, and you can spin the main rotor with a gear. Funny thing, the pilot can use a fried chicken on a chain to lure the dragon. That's dangerous!

Now let's get to the main model. The dragon is large, very large. We can move its head, legs and wings, and we can turn a gear on the back to make the tail swoosh from side to side and hit the enemies! The wings can be folded to some point, they are plastic (which I don't actually like a lot, I'd prefer fabric), but unfortunately you can't put them down, they always stay up. But! You can flap the wings! Pushing a... some nice small mechanism on the back make the wings go up and down. Looks impressive.

We can put one of our heroes in a saddle (which is removable), to command the dragon. As about small details, the dragon can open its mouth, move its claws, and its flakes on the tail. Personally, I'd prefer that the dragon also had some shooters, like spring shooters, but I'm just nitpicking here. This beast is clearly made to use brute force to attack.

One more good thing, this set uses very few stickers, and they are absolutely unnecessary for it to look great. The eyes of the dragon are even printed pieces.

Overall

I think, this set is marvelous, a must-have for any LEGO fan! Great looks, better than expected build, awesome final models. Plenty of play features for your imagination too!

Thank you for reading!

Summary

I love the Ninjago dragons, and after getting Stormbringer (set 70652), I now got myself Firstbourne, and it has seriously wowed me. To me the set seems to be the equivalent of the Attack of the Morro Dragon (set 70736, released in 2015), only better. Frankly, this might be the best Ninjago Dragon yet. It is big, ferocious looking, well designed, a good number of play features, and mostly well dimensioned... IMHO the big image on this site does not do the dragon justice at all. The helicopter, again a brilliant design, works well. You get 6 minifigures, and a miniature stand with part of the Golden Dragon armour. The price per part is good, the build is fun, and the result is awesome. At full price this set is IMHO already very good value for money, at a discount it could well become a(n almost) no-brainer for any Ninjago or dragon fan.

Build experience

Let's start with the nit-picks, and then go on with the good stuff: there are 7 bags, which I think could easily have been consolidated in a 4 or 5. Some of them are quickly built, which somewhat prevented me from getting in a flow. Second, for sticker haters, there are stickers in this set, 10 in total. Most are easy to apply, though on sloped/curved surfaces. The good thing, however, is that just as with Stormbringer, the eyes are printed onto a Lego piece. Also, again, you get a nice bag with all kinds of weapons (of which the knives are surplus)

In general the build is quite easy. I saw few if any truly tricky construction sequences (the canopy of the helicopter and attaching the wings to the dragon are pretty much the only ones that come to mind). Total build time for me was a little under 2 hours, without rushing it. IMHO quite a few kids under the age of 9 should be able to build the dragon, with little help from adults (apart from the stickers).

The first thing to be built is the small little sanctuary/altar style repository for the parts of the Golden Dragon Armour, in this case the helmet and shield. It is simple and fairly effective, although it could easily be incorporated into a bigger structure (a temple proper, a ruin or cave like structure).

Next up is the helicopter. IMHO this is a gem. Its shape and colour scheme fit the theme and the bad guys brilliantly. Highlights to me are the many knife/scythe like elements used, and the turkey for bait. The use of a crane-support leg as tail boom is clever. So is the attachment for the rotor-blade (with a cog to spin the blades). The canopy consists of droid-arms, a fence piece and other arms at the bottom, that are not fixed, but can be moved to fit the shape of the cockpit. It works out well in the end.Crucial is connecting the droid-arms to the main fuselage at the right angle.

Last is building the dragon. Building up the core of the body first is ok; there are many SNOT pieces used, that get covered up later. I truly liked the build of the head, with a clever used of clicked in pieces and SNOT-techniques. The construction of the legs is fairly standard (compared to other Ninjago dragons), while the wings lean heavily on the design for the Green NRG Dragon (set 70593, released in June 2016). Overall I think the structural design of the wings is better. I am not sure about the material used for the wings though - rather than cloth-like fabric (with the Green NRG Dragon or the Morro Dragon) the designer has chosen for the same or similar plastic as which was used for the sails for Destiny's Bounty in Final flight of Destiny's Bounty (set 70738, released in June 2015). They need to be folded just before installation (fold lines are provided).

Even more so than with Stormbringer, I have the feeling that this set could also appeal to people looking for special bricks, of which I thought quite a few have been included in this set.

Minifigures

Six minifigures are included: two Ninjas (Cole and Kai) and 4 bad guys (Heavy Metal, Muzzle, Chew Toy and Jet Jack).

Cole and Kai have both now torso prints (showing damaged clothing, Cole even has claw marks on his chest and back) on the front and back. The leg prints are nice. Both have two face prints, and two part head gear - with unfortunately the lower half being black. Cole is armed with his war hammer, Kai carries the new dragon blade.

Three of the villains have the same torso and legs - nicely printed, and generally looking good. They are identified by their different head-print and armour/weaponry. Muzzle is identical to the one found in the Stormbringer set, only his weapons are different (two swords rather than a sword and pole-weapon).

Heavy metal has the same type of shoulder armour as Muzzle, and like him a single head print, showing severe injuries and 'provisional repairs', presumably the result of him hunting dragons. He is armed with a cross-bow like prong/spear-gun.

Chew Toy (again single print), carries a modified riot-shield, as well as (presumably) a bit of dragon meat to chew on. His torso armour shows some serious claw marks. His face shows little injury-by-dragon.

Jet Jack is the one with a unique torso and leg print, presumably the gear appropriate for wearing a jet pack. It is well done, in the colour scheme used by the villains (black, olive green, metal, and orange). He has no head gear, but an impressive mohawk, and cool sunglasses - and no alternate face. The build for the jet is simple but effective. He is armed with some kind of odd blade.

IMHO the minifigures look good, but are not exceptional. For the villains, although lacking alternate faces, the prints on the front (and back) of the heads is excellent.

The build

The helicopter is a very nice build, small, looks agile, and menacing: exactly the kind of helicopter poachers would use. The colour scheme works well, and the white fangs/blades work very well, even for the tail rotor. The helicopter is armed with two stud shooters, and shows some claw-marks. The canopy can be moved, making the insertion of a minifig easy. Heavy Metal can pilot the craft with the canopy closed as long as he takes of his head gear; the shoulder armour poses no problem at all.

Star of the set is Firstbourne, which IMHO is a definite candidate for best Ninjago Dragon released by Lego so far (and yes, that includes the Green Ninja Mech Dragon, set 70612). Overall, the design seems influenced by the face and body shape of bull dogs or hyenas: short pug nose, massive chest and relatively small rear body. Just as Stormbringer and the Green Ninja Mech Dragon, Firstbourne has a moveable 'weaponized' tail. As said before, the wings seem inspired by the Green NRG Dragon, but IMHO are executed better. They appear less flimsy, and I like the use of the bigger blade like pieces rather than the small spikes. Unfortunately the wings cannot be folded up as well as with the NRG Dragon. The construction of the chest also is IMHO somewhat reminiscent of that same set. The design to make the wings 'flappable' is clever. The design of the neck is still somewhat problematic (as with many dragons), though now it can be moved in almost every direction.

The colour scheme works really well - vibrant yet still menacing. The stickers are really effective as well. And the designer(s) should be complimented for hiding the ugly bits (internal structure, Technic elements and such) so incredibly well in this set.

Play vs display

Overall, this is clearly a play set: the high amount of minifigures, the helicopter, the play-features incorporated in Firstbourne all point in that direction. The flappable wings are really well done. It is easy to imagine many scenarios in which Kai and Cole (and maybe Firstbourne) take on the villains, or are fleeing for them. The Golden Armour helmet and shield provide a nice objective to fight about. That said, the dragon is big, and quite heavy. It can easily be held along the torso, and children should be able to hold it in such a way that the wings can be 'flapped'.

That said, this dragon, just like Stormbringer, is good enough to feature as a display piece on its own or as part of a larger display. Its colour alone automatically draws one's attention. Keep in mind that the wing span is considerable, and the dragon as a whole will take up more space than Stormbringer (who is roughly as long).

The verdict

This set is a top notch set, arguably the best Ninjago dragon ever released; IMHO it is a definite candidate for best 'non-Ninjago-City-Docks' Ninjago set released this year. It is not cheap (around 65-75 dollars or euros), but IMHO definitely worth it. If on a budget, choosing for Stormbringer (at ca 35-40 euros) or saving for Firstbourne would be a difficult choice to make, but I would probably choose the latter option. When a parts list is released, those looking for special parts (some Technic, some regular Lego) should definitely check them out.

It is difficult to for me to say for others that this set is a 'must have' for any Ninjago or dragon fan, but IMHO this set comes awfully close to having me say this set is a 'must have'. I think this set is well worth it at RRP, and close to a no-brainer when found at a discount.

The first-bourne dragon is a really nice set including a dragon, a helicopter, 4 pieces of dragon armour and 6 minifigures. There are two ninjas, Kai and Cole in their hunter suits and 4 dragon hunters, Jet Jack, Muzzle, Chew toy and Heavy metal. These are great minifigures which are very detailed and a great addition to anyone's collection.

The dragon itself is probably one of the bigger ones with many play features and lots of articulation. The play features include a swinging tail (seen also on the stormbringer and green ninja mech dragon) and foldable and flapping wings! The flapping wings are probably the unique part about this set. The mechanism is well hidden and uses similar colours to the rest of the build. This also gives the dragon character and is great for play. The wings fold up nicely so can be fit into tighter areas, although I do wish there was a joint so that they could be angled downwards, but I understand that would ruin the flapping mechanism. The colour scheme is red, black and yellow and is kept throughout the build. The dragon has printed eyes, so that's two fewer stickers to put on! And its head is nicely shaped, but they could have finished it off a little better, so it wasn't so flat at the front but from the side it looks fine. It is nicely articulated so its legs, feet, wings, tail, neck and head can all move so is good for display and play. The dragon is a little front heavy though so its legs tend to give out sometimes which is annoying, but maybe it's just my copy of the set.

The helicopter surprised me as I thought it was just another sidebuild that would be taken apart, but I was very wrong. The helicopter is very detailed and the propeller at the top can be spinned via a small wheel underneath. The helicopter can also hold chains on its tail and a turkey can be attached by small clips to be bait for the dragon.

There is a small display stand for the golden dragon helmet and shield (not the sword) which I don't really care for as it is not that interesting but can be used as a way to store the armour.

Overall I recommend this set to all dragon lovers and I feel it is great value for money if you find it between 50 and 70 pounds (sorry I'm not sure about dollars) as it is retired now.