Review: 71793 Heatwave Transforming Lava Dragon
Posted by CapnRex101,
The new season of NINJAGO is entitled Dragons Rising, so the associated sets inevitably include multiple dragons. Even though numerous such creatures have been released previously, 71793 Heatwave Transforming Lava Dragon shows the continued opportunity for innovation.
As the name reveals, Heatwave is able to switch between two completely different stances, which is an interesting feature among the myriad NINJAGO dragons. Either looks superb and the minifigure selection is splendid, including the exclusive Elemental Master, Wyldfyre.
Summary
71793 Heatwave Transforming Lava Dragon, 479 pieces.
£46.99 / $54.99 / €52.99 | 9.8p/11.5c/11.1c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Heatwave's transformation is implemented well and he looks near-perfect in either stance
- Completely unique dragon design
- Clever transformation feature
- Great minifigure selection
- Good balance of heroes and villains
- Unsightly ball joints
- Head lacks crests
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Given the fiery nature of this dragon, Kai is a natural inclusion. The colour combination of red and dark red across his gi looks fantastic, alongside a few metallic gold highlights. However, I have mixed feelings about the new shoulder and head wrap elements, as the shape looks odd and the seam between these pieces is conspicuous.
Lloyd incorporates the same elements, albeit in bright green. Their colour appears darker in official images, but this shade looks good, in combination with dark green. I like the initials on both ninjas' torsos and the stylised dragon symbol on their backs is striking too, surrounded by flames on Kai and wisps of energy on Lloyd. These subtle differences are very effective.
Additionally, both minifigures wield pairs of katana and feature double-sided heads. They each include a standard expression on one side, while their alternative faces appear to crackle with energy. These designs complement the headgear and relate to a newfound ability of the ninja, which has been revealed in the animated series.
The only exclusive minifigure and undoubtedly the most interesting is Wyldfyre. This enigmatic Elemental Master was raised by Heatwave, so her personality is decidedly ferocious, reflected by the angry facial expression. I was disappointed to find that Wyldfyre lacks a second design, even though the angry expression is appropriate for the character.
A unique hair component was designed for Chang'e in 80032 Chang'e Moon Cake Factory last year, featuring a crescent-shaped hair clasp. The element looks equally impressive in red and metallic gold, while Wyldfyre's ragged clothes reflect her unusual origins too, residing far from civilisation with Heatwave. The minifigure carries two trans-orange Power Blasts, denoting her familiar ability to control fire.
Lord Ras is another intriguing character introduced in Dragons Rising. Although he serves the authoritarian Imperium, Ras does not originate from the totalitarian realm, instead resembling the animalistic minifigures from Legends of Chima. The head is moulded with brilliant texture, while the torso and legs are incredibly detailed too. I love the metallic gold armour covering his legs in particular, comprising a hexagonal pattern.
The angular emblem of Imperium appears on Lord Ras' back, but more remarkable are his printed arms. These are decorated with pink stripes, which recall a tiger's patterned fur and correspond with similar designs on his head. The gold-attired Imperium Claw Hunter is nearly as detailed, also wearing intricate armour and covered with shiny golden highlights.
Furthermore, I like the shoulder armour on both minifigures, which includes a stud on the back, so could be customised. The hunter's bulky helmet is spectacular as well, clearly influenced by traditional samurai helmets, given the ornamental horns and segmented neck guard, known as a shikoro. This minifigure is armed with a dual-moulded energy sword, while Lord Ras includes his trademark warhammer.
The Completed Model
The Claws of Imperium often travel about lightweight hover chariots. A similar model appears in 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer, although this rendition is more heavily armoured towards the front and only includes two stud shooters, rather than four. I find this design much more appealing than the other, as the pilot appears better protected and the vehicle is visually balanced.
A couple of trans-orange pieces form a stand underneath the chariot, connected to a turntable. The vehicle therefore spins when struck and the function works well, but I would be tempted to remove the turntable. Detail is notably lacking towards the rear, although my favourite feature is found at the front, where Lord Ras can grasp a stolen Dragon Energy Core between four claws.
Of course, the energy core looks best when attached to Heatwave's chest, partly because this purple component stands out against the predominant dark red colour. The dragon is similar in size to others, reaching a length of 31cm, but its stance is unusual. The neck and legs are both elongated and this dragon is uniquely tall, holding his head high above his body, rather than in front, as normal.
I was concerned that these proportions might make Heatwave more difficult to pose than other dragons, as he is bound to be relatively top-heavy. However, the head is fairly hollow and thus light, so the neck can move easily, as shown below. The ankle and hip joints are very versatile too, providing an opportunity for stable walking or climbing poses.
The front legs are longer than usual, but their proportions seem suitably stocky and I like how dark red elements overlap to form textured scales. The trans-purple Dragon Energy Core slots into a dedicated holder between the legs and complements the stickered scales above, showing energy from the core passing into Heatwave's body.
Similar stickers decorate the sides of the body and the legs, introducing some nougat details. Pearl gold elements also appear repeatedly across this dragon, most notably as swords form small wings. These are adjustable and they look reasonable, but some additional blades would enhance their shape. Also, I think the feet could be improved, as they are rather fragile.
LEGO has produced several upper and lower jaw elements for dragons in recent years, two of which are used here. The resulting head shape looks good and I like the ridges across the chin, in particular. However, I think the integration between these specialised pieces and the standard parts leaves something to be desired. In addition, Heatwave includes huge crests onscreen, so their omission is disappointing.
The complex combination of curved slopes across the dragon's body leaves the head looking rather simple by comparison. The general shape looks superb, but is interrupted by pearl gold pieces on either flank, securing a saddle. I like the purple accents on the golden straps and the saddle itself seems appropriately rustic for Wyldfyre to climb aboard.
I think the back of the dragon is its weakest area. The golden spines look nice and the curvature of the tail is attractive, but the light bluish grey ball joint supporting the tail seems completely out of place. The same incongruous colour appears on the ankles, while the hind legs also feature a surprising number of visible Technic pieces, which could have been better concealed.
Displayed in the above neutral stance, Heatwave would be a good, if somewhat unremarkable addition to the menagerie of NINJAGO dragons. As the name reveals though, there is more to this dragon than meets the eye, as its legs can be rotated upwards and the whole body turned upside down. In this configuration, Heatwave seems more static, as though preparing to defend a specific area.
The head is held just above the ground and looks fantastic, especially in combination with the nougat parts, now more visible on the neck. Again, the purple energy on the stickers is striking and purple highlights also appear on stickers decorating the legs, as though the dragon is more energised from his power core in this configuration.
A Technic element is situated behind the Dragon Energy Core and pressing this will eject the spherical piece. The mechanism is rather stiff and could perhaps be better integrated with the body, although it launches the core a reasonable distance. Moreover, a second saddle is found on the dragon's back, so minifigures can ride Heatwave either way up.
Several more nougat pieces become visible when the dragon stands in this configuration and these include a 2x2 curved slope, appearing for the first time in this colour. Also, I think the tail looks more natural when Heatwave stands this way than at his taller height, curving close to the ground and accordingly reflecting the shape of the neck.
Overall
The titular feature of 71793 Heatwave Transforming Lava Dragon could easily have become a gimmick, with one stance clearly preferable to the other. Fortunately though, the dragon looks great in either configuration! Both have their own personality, with the lower stance appearing particularly defensive, while the other is more versatile and permits easier articulation.
Also, the minifigures are excellent and Lord Ras is probably my favourite of the entire Dragons Rising range, although Wyldfyre looks splendid as well. In fact, the only real issues with the set are the awkward light bluish grey elements on Heatwave and his head, which is lacking in detail. Also, the price of £46.99, $54.99 or €52.99 also feels slightly more expensive than I would like, but this set is otherwise very appealing.
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23 comments on this article
Ninjago has made dragons an art form.
Good review!
I built this one recently myself. Loved the shape, color scheme, and simple transforming feature, but was disappointed with the sphere launcher (which felt way too stiff for my liking).
Tails really do seem to be the part of dragons that give LEGO the most trouble, resulting in oftentimes ugly tails.
Am I the only one who sees an old man’s face in Lord Ras’s beard?
This set looks great, as expected of Ninjago. The Dragons Rising subtheme has been a breath of fresh air in giving core elements of Ninjago a new spin
(in this case the dragon literally spins around. Not to mention the dragon core...).
"Heateave Transforming"
Rescue Bots has entered the chat.
Kai’s Transforming Lava Dragon!
Kai’s Transforming Lava Dragon!
Kai’s Transforming Lava Dragon!
Heroes on a Heatwave,
Ninja Power!
…yeah alright, context of the review tells me this is actually Wyldfyre’s transforming lava dragon but that didn’t fit the syllables of the song so well!
"These designs complement the headgear and relate to a newfound ability of the ninja, which has been revealed in the animated series"
Did I miss something in my watch through of dragons rising? I dont remember this being mentioned yet. Otherwise, great review as always. Cap! I love this dragon, hopefully I can pick it up at some point but my budget is being saved for the markets for now.
I get that the Mixel/ball joints are made of PC instead of ABS, and that they're among the most precision-requiring of all Lego parts, and that each coloration of PC ends up with slightly different properties that require testing to make sure they don't cause problems with that required precision.
That said, it's been a decade since these ball joint parts were introduced. One would think Lego should have been able to characterize at least a few colors of PC for their usage by now, like black and dark grey, so they don't always stand out so badly.
Edit: Doing a bit more research, it turns out that some of the ball joint parts are available in black or dark grey. Why not all in all three colors, Lego?
I wish the robot seen raising Wyldfyre in the show was included here
Underwhelmed by the transformation. It's neat that it has two stance options, but a more profound change by rotating limbs was done with the Bionicle Vahki in 2004. Again, different product category, density, and scale, but when all the "transformation" does to the silhouette is angling the neck differently, it seems lackluster. Still, being able to invert the dragon and having it look more or less decent is good design work.
71721 Skull Sorcerer’s dragon is still my favourite!
These Ninjago dragons are so cool.
@Goujon said:
""These designs complement the headgear and relate to a newfound ability of the ninja, which has been revealed in the animated series"
Did I miss something in my watch through of dragons rising? I dont remember this being mentioned yet. Otherwise, great review as always. Cap! I love this dragon, hopefully I can pick it up at some point but my budget is being saved for the markets for now. "
I think the energised heads are intended to represent their abilities when imbued with dragon power, as we have seen Lloyd experience in the show.
Just before opening the Brickset home page and seeing this review, I was thinking about the fact that there have been two songs named "Heat Wave."
Does anyone know if we are gonna get a second part to dragons rising this year? I just finished watching the series and Arin doesn't even have the strange gold horns that he does in the sets. Nor do we have Jay or Cole yet, and they appear in the sets too. Is this going to be like Dreamzzz and have a second half of episodes in August or do I have to wait for a season two?
This set is not as good as I thought it will be.
The gimmic is stupid. Its not really a transformation. The same stuff could be done with propper hinges on neck...
Also Ras should really use Chima saberwolf head...
@ozbrickcreator said:
"Does anyone know if we are gonna get a second part to dragons rising this year? I just finished watching the series and Arin doesn't even have the strange gold horns that he does in the sets. Nor do we have Jay or Cole yet, and they appear in the sets too. Is this going to be like Dreamzzz and have a second half of episodes in August or do I have to wait for a season two?"
Yes, the we are expecting news at san diago comic con in about 2 weeks. Should be getting either a trailer or a few details for the second part.
@Alia_of_AGL said:
"Underwhelmed by the transformation. It's neat that it has two stance options, but a more profound change by rotating limbs was done with the Bionicle Vahki in 2004. Again, different product category, density, and scale, but when all the "transformation" does to the silhouette is angling the neck differently, it seems lackluster. Still, being able to invert the dragon and having it look more or less decent is good design work."
Yes, I skimmed the article to see what the transformation was and missed it. Whilst rotating it is clever, I was hoping more for a total change in form.
I can't get over the fact that WyldFyre's name seems to be pulled straight out of the Rob Liefeld Name Generator.
Could be worse. It could have been BluddClawe, KyllBlöd, StabRazzzor or DeathDeath.
@Ridgeheart said:
"I can't get over the fact that WyldFyre's name seems to be pulled straight out of the Rob Liefeld Name Generator.
Could be worse. It could have been BluddClawe, KyllBlöd, StabRazzzor or DeathDeath."
I thought the review said "Wyldstyle" at first, and now I'm reminded of all the names Vitruvius said she used before taking that alias.
@myersjp said:
"Am I the only one who sees an old man’s face in Lord Ras’s beard?"
not any more ;)
Great review!
Now its Master Wu's turn. TLG, make him his own dragon with a molded head and plastic wings please. Thanks.