Minecraft. Lego Minecraft

An interesting set theme, is it not? Mere bricks and plates with the occasional play feature tossed in between, sliding under the radar of many a Lego fan; yet it possesses merit, elements not found anywhere else, especially as the longest standing video game Lego theme. So here I am, finally writing another review seen by likely not many, because I love this theme, and while the animal buildings may be excessive, they can also showcase what makes Lego Minecraft special.

Building experience

Let me get this out of the way. If you are someone who enjoys Lego for the physical act of putting it together, and exclude what you could do with it after, the Llama Village, and all other Lego Minecraft sets, are not for you. As the intro paragraph said, these sets are more about the end result rather than the journey, which I suspect is what turns off many AFOLs. But, Lego is a toy first and foremost, and the easy building techniques allow younger fans to get to playing with their toy quicker, so older fans, you'll just have to bear with them! Even a set as large as the Llama Village (Mincraft's 3rd largest set!) comes together fairly quickly, as it's bricks on bricks, plates on plates, and so on until you have the finished set. Nothing special, but since it comes together quickly, you get to the real value of this set sooner rather than later.

Parts

This aspect of the Llama Village, and indeed, many other Minecraft sets, is better than their building experience. This mostly comes down to the fact that, to date, not a single Lego Minecraft piece has had a sticker as opposed to a print (kind of bananas to think about, a video game theme having this honour), the exclusive head moulds, and every now and then, new moulds for new animals. In addition, this theme sometimes introduces new recolours, with the most prominent I can think of being the 2x2 jumper plate being introduced in trans-orange, trans-blue, and just plain transparent in this theme. Very rarely, a new piece that's introduced in Minecraft is used in other places, with the piece in question being the 1x2 rounded tile, in the Llama village representing bread or a pork chop (don't quote me on that being a piece introduced in Minecraft, I'm not 100% sure). Other than these instances, the main part value of Minecraft comes in how easy it is for younger people to build MOCs out of Minecraft sets. The fact that it's just bricks, plates, tiles and jumpers lets them easily take the set apart and rebuild it however they. This is opposed to many modern set lines, ranging from Speed Champions to DreamZzz, that while making fantastic playlets, most people would be hard-pressed to build something unique out of the parts at hand. This is not the case with the Llama Vtillage and other Minecraft sets. The Llama Village, I feel could easily be rebuilt without the llama visage, instead becoming a village in some deep snow. Though this might not make the most sense with savanna villagers, it is an option, one of many paths, that people could take to rebuild this and other Minecraft sets into something unique, something that's theirs, something special.

Playability

Now, onto where Minecraft sets, and the Llama Village in particular (amongst the modern Minecraft sets, that is. Dunno if any other set will eclipse the Mountain Cave in the sheer volume of what you [I want that set more than the Lion Knights' Castle, but am even more unlikely to get it]) shine. Boasting not one, not two, not three, but six removable modular 6x12 plates, able to connect on the sides, under, and on top of the Village in any manner you please. Granted, one of those modules is the definition of filler (a plate with two flowers, provides so much value) but the rest genuinely have something of worth to offer. The bell can function as a centre of the village, or as a way to warn the residents of the imminent raiders approaching! The stable is, well, a stable for the two llamas, the farm is a farm, but the most substantial modules hide something more. First is the trading stall, sporting nice little wooden (most likely oak wood) table and walls, along with a colourful carpet roof (too thin for full wool blocks). You're able to pose a figure in the stall, so a villager can be behind the table, hawking their goods for sale, if you so choose to imagine them doing as such, instead of the typical in-game staring at a work block waiting for you to interact with them! The 2nd stall, and biggest module, is the blacksmith's place. Introducing the brand-new blast furnace print (a furnace that smelts ores twice as quick, consumes fuel twice as quick, and gives half the experience as a normal furnace), but oddly only as a brick in the wall, as opposed to the usual furnace block able to be removed. In addition, it also sports a handy-dandy small lava well, for use in powering the forging and smelting process! (Note: this only works if used when in a bucket) But these two larger modules hide another function: the wall actually double as steps, and if placed on the back of the village, back facing the underside of the llama, then they allow minifigures two walk up to some vines, thereby climbing into the llama! Adding a way for minifigures to actually access the building is a big W, with it adding much charm and 'realism' to the set. The fact that they climb through what is presumably the llama's butthole also helps with the fun, as it lends a comedic nature to the set not often found in Minecraft sets.

This leads me into the next section of this review: the llama itself. While it does not offer the sheer customisation of its exterior, it sports plenty of unique objects to fulfil any scene someone could come up with. Starting with the entrance, there is immediately a magenta-white carpet in front of it, adding a unique splash of colour. The corners right by the entrance also sport a handy furnace and crafting table, as no Minecraft base is complete without the pair! In addition, the furnace is where the new 1x2 tile representing bread or a pork chop is found. There's also a cosy plant pot near the furnace. Immediatly in from are two seats, which might seem unrealistic compared to the game, they can actually be replicated using a acacia stair blocks and signs. Moving on, a large bookshelf dominates the middle of the llama's interior. The most unrealistic part is the sides, as the only item I can think of replicating the sides would be coloured banners, not signs, which is not what they are. Nevertheless, Lego Minecraft has never been about 100% accuracy, so I am more than fine with this. The bookshelves look nice despite the fact that they cannot be removed like usual, sporting the same bookshelf style Lego has used since I believe the End Portal Gateway, #21124. However, the best part of this build is undoubtedly the creeper head, which is both accurate and looks great! This is not the only trophy of the llama's inhabitants, however, as beyond their cyan and magenta beds lies perhaps the biggest surprise of the set, an aquarium! It lacks much detail beyond a sandy surface, but the fact that a baby pufferfish even fits there and looks great renders this a fantastic addition to the Llama Village. However, how do we 'huge figures' reach into the set? Simple, pull off the roof, which also doubles as a area to put the modules on top of, or/and pull open one of the two balconies! These have great detail, with the colourful wool roofs matching with the llama's trader style, with more colour added with the inclusion of vines on the side. I will say however, on the static balcony it can be difficult to pose a minifigure on it, unless one rips the roof off, but as it's easily replaceable, this is a minor complaint. Moving higher up into the neck, which sadly does not have an easy way for figures to access, but imagination is a powerful thing. The llama neck is partially hollowed in a strange way, but while the corners may look odd, the front gap is with good reason. The neck houses a map and compass upon a table, with the frontal gap allowing a easy view of what the map presumably shows, if the figure does not want to look behind them as well! Finally, the head of the llama hides one final secret. Though a final room could've fit into it, the function of pulling back the red lever on its head to drop completely hidden water blocks as spit is ingenious and hilarious! It both introduces an unique action feature into the set (most of Minecraft's action features tend to be TNT blowing something up) in a way that makes sense since in game llamas spit at whatever attacks them, and is extremely well hidden and thus does not detract from the visuals of the llama! Finally, the last feature of the llama lies in its legs, particularly the second layer above the acacia tree in from ot it. The second leg layer is removable, allowing one to either make the llama a baby llama or use the legs for something else! And all of that's possible without even mentioning the minifigures!

Playability subsection - the minifigures

This set features a generous 6 minifigures (generous for Minecraft. I see you all massive set enjoyers not believing this statement!) and 3 mobs, with 4 figures being exclusive as well as all mobs. There is two player figures, the Llama Herder and the Llama Warrior (the herder is the colourful one, the warrior is the knight-esc figure). The Hereder wields a rare stone shovel and the Warrior a common diamond sword (funny how the tools' positions are revered in Lego form!) The friendly villagers are new, with a generic savanna villager being one of them (sadly Lego didn't include printing of the little laurel the savanna villagers have) and the first appearance of dedicated job villager, the blacksmith! They sport a torso different from their non-employed friend, featuring a apron to protect themselves from their potentially dangerous job. However, easily the blacksmith's most iconic feature is their eyepatch, which is faithfully recreated in Lego and looks wonderful! Moving on to the villains, the attackers consist of two pillagers, a vindicator and a pillager captain. The vindicator is a genuine threat even with the best gear in Minecraft, while the pillager captain is less deadly but will afflict those that kill it with Bad Omen, trigegring a raid with even more of their kind attacking. Nevertheless, I believe the players should be able to fight off the deadly duo! The illagers are an excellent inclusion, as the provide adversaries for the player figures and present something to defend the villagers from! Finally, the animals. The llamas are interesting as the orange llama has never appeared, as well as a build for a baby llama. They are made more distinct by the fact that though the Llama Village itself displays a trader llama, both are not trader llamas, the first kind of Lego Minecraft llamas to have been introduced in set #21167 The Trading Post. Finally, the sheep is something special. Currently, even with the most modern 2024 sets, Minecraft has yet to make all possible sheep colours but the pink sheep stands out among all Minecraft sheep, Lego or otherwise. This is due to the fact that in game, the pink sheep is actually a naturally occurring colour of sheep, with only a .164% chance of spawning, making the rare sight of a pink sheep special. All in all, you get plenty of exclusive figures, enough to populate the village, opposing sides, and fun animals. What more could you want?

Value for Money

At $130, for the sheer playability of the set, the sheer mass of plastic you get, and the figures you get, the Llama Village is worth the price, though it being a bit lower than that wouldn't hurt. However, that was before it was discontinued (Honestly, before writing this I didn't know it was discontinued. It's way to new to be, but I guess Lego feels otherwise), with it now costing far more on most sties such as Amazon. However, if you have Paypal, you can snag it on Bricklink for even cheaper than when it came out, making well worth the price.

Conclusion

Another W in Lego Minecraft's history, the Llama Village is a towering beast with plenty to do to keep anyone entertained for quite a while. An excellent set, showcasing many of the strengths of this theme while keeping its price reasonable for what it offers, and other than perhaps the fact that it's one of many large-scale animal builds, is near perfect. So, even if you can't get it from Lego directly, maybe give other Lego Minecraft sets a try. There's more than meets the eye underneath the suitably Lego-like video game surface, capable of delivering to non-gaming fans, more advanced Lego builders, and people who just want a Lego set, and everything in between.

First, let's start with the Building Experience

I'm reviewing this set well after I've built it, but I can recall plenty from this experience. Overall, it's a not bad time, with the set coming together fairly quickly. There are some annoying points, such as joining the tread linkages, but outside of that, there truly is no tedious spot anywhere on the build. The most interesting part of the build lies in the construction of the various mechanisms/play features. I won't spoil it for those who wish to purchase this excellent set (though spoiling is easy, just look up the instructions online), there are multipurpose things hidden where you won't expect, the classic drawbridge, and surprising compatibility with the side-builds. Speaking of the side builds, you get a flying crossbow that's a mini version of a another set, a basic big wheeled motorcycle, and a little flying bad guy vehicle. The bad guy vehicle presents a nice enough challenge for the other side-builds, though it's obviously outclassed by the beast of a tank castle.

Parts - mostly colours

To my knowledge, the big pieces that make up the turrets, the special weapon/armour moulds, maybe the holographic displays, and the front 1-piece arch (excluding the 1x1 pyramids that originated from the theme) are th only unique/new pieces, and honestly, most don't have that much utility. Where the Nexo Knights theme as a whole shines in the part department besides the minifigure accessories, is in the recolors, most prominently in the trans-neon orange department. This thus carries over into the Fortrex, making its biggest piece standout something like the big holograph panels. That or Chef Eclair's, a squire bot who cooks for the knights, body, as I can see that being potentially useful in MOCs.

Playibility - one of the best sets for this. Ever.

The title of this subsection accurately sums up my feelings about the playability of the Fortrex. In general, Nexo Knights sets have some of the most diverse and densly packed play features of any Lego line, easily rivalling Ninjago, Stuntz, Creator, Monkie Kid, Star Wars, you name them. Whether it's Clay's Rumble Blade, Jestro's Volcano Castle, or even later with Jestro's Rolling Headquarters, you're guaranteed a fun time with the Nexo Knight line (only augmented by the AR app, if it's still supported that is...). Now, for the build this is getting into build spoilers, so skip this next chunk if you want everything this mighty castle can do be a surprise. 1, 2, 3. For starters, the obvious tread rolling function, necessary to the absurd yet fantastic concept of 'what if a futuristic castle was also a tank?'. Rubber inserts, a potentially tedious part of the build (though I found them to not be at all, mostly because there wasn't as many compared to the tread linkages), are necessary, as the treads themselves would not have enough friction to roll properly on smooth surfaces and honestly, they still don't roll great on smooth places. Things like floor will work just fine, just don't expect it to clack along when moving it across a smooth, polished stone countertop. Besides this, the other transformation feature enables the back to open apart. It's held together pretty securely by clips, though a clever way to open it with the least amount of breaking and work lies in a little knob at the back. There are stickers with arrows pointing opposite directions next to it, making its use fairly obvious, though still unobtrusive as it blends in. It works by turning a pole that will matter later, and as it does bumps a blunt arrowhead shaped technic piece into a secure part of the Fortrex, eventually forcing it apart. Here another part comes into play, as you are able to connect 70324, Merlock's Library 2.0 to the open walls, resulting in a larger castle. I personally don't have it, though part of it feels unimpressive due to the wall's low height compared to the Fortrex's walls. Only the turret really fits in, though the option is a nice bonus. Now, moving on to more obvious things, such as the large 6-stud shooters slapped on the frontal turrets. Though unable to move, turning them provides a nice covering fire for your minifigures! Lowering the drawbridge has several things happening at once. 1, the drawbridge lowers, revealing the interior and mostly empty front section. That is with good reason however, as you can both slot the bike to roll out automatically when the bridge is lowered on the chain connection points, as well as raising the crossbow thing up to face enemies! You can choose to then either leave the crossbow there, were it can aim slightly down at the corners, or move it forward on a 1x2 plate with a bar close ahead. The back has simulated shooters, in the form of a cone 1x1 brick and a booster piece, with each back turret having a connected pair. You can move them side to side and change the shooters from horizontal to vertical in how they shoot, and can even simulate the minifigures doing this from inside the turrets with a control thingy inside them! Furthermore, the bar with the knob for twisting the back open comes back in perhaps the most unexpected way. It runs through the entire castle, only to meet up with a disk launcher hidden under the drawbridge! Pushing the knob, even when closed up, activates the disk launcher, shooting off a 2x2 rounded tile with printing. The bad guy mini build also sports a sick launcher with back activator, the crossbow and enormous yet excellent technic cannon, and even the drawbridge comes with 2 stud shooters! The last play feature where you can move things would be when the back is opened up, moving the pedestal of Merlock 2.0 forward and backwards pushes a tile that in turn opens up the seats of the round table to more easily slot the knights in. Besides from straight actions, there is much you can do with the minifigures, as there is a jail cel in the front right turret, Nexo shields, a small cooking station, and a removable training dummy accompanied by a target. While the cooking station, shields, training equipment and the round table, the back can feel crowded when the castle is closed up, yet it feels almost too spacious when opened up. Each thing is easily removable to take wherever you please, and there are countless spots to place the knights, ranging from the top of the turrets, to inside them, to the parapets, or ground floor.

Value for money - excellent, especially by today's standards, though brand new after market ones now hurt

For all this, especially today, you'd expect something ludicrous like $150, something AT-TE style. Nope. A flat $100 for a large set stuffed with more than enough to endlessly entertain. A true steal and well worth it, much like today's Galaxy Explorer (which I have yet to get). Now, if we're talking about the cost today though, things get a bit dicer. Like many sets (one of the few exceptions I've found would be Action Battle Echo Base) that have been retired, the price for a brand new one in the box is simply not worth it. If you want the full package though, not just the Fortrex, I recommend scourging the Internet for a good deal, or buying it used though not in unreasonable condition, just like how I bought mine and the Evil Mobile, squeaky clean and complete, just the bricks are old and creaky, though no, not really to shatter yet. If you can get it at the original price with everything, excellent choice. If not, then it's Nexo Knights, from what I can tell it's not super beloved, a good deal will pop up eventually.

Verdict - Lego play perfection, even AFOLs can't help to love it

What more remains to say about this phenomenal set? Not only was it a fantastic deal (today that deal is harder to find, but still doable), it was a creative concept, which Lego is supposed to be (like in the new DREAMZzz) executed to perfection, stuffed with play features to the wazoo. Not only that, it's not like it was bad to look at from any angles by any means either! Featuring a generous selection of great minifigures with a stand out being the unique Axl (really Lego, use his style on figures that need it, like maybe Reinhardt, even if Lego is never making OW sets again. Sniff.), an exclusive Book of Evil, 3 mini figures in the forms of Chef Eclair and the 2 Squirrers, 3 side builds, interestingly coloured parts, and at least in the past AR compatibility, the Fortrex really came with the full package, embodying what Lego was supposed to be in every regard. A true set for the ages, even if the show died with its most interesting season and thus the set line, the Fortrex stands tall amongst a world stuffed with countless Lego play sets, forever known as the best of Nexo Knights.

The long awaited set brought about the fans apparently disappointed many, based off what I saw from the comment section of the official review. I don't understand this at all. While I understand that what people expect out of a quote-un-quote, 'Battle Pack', is a small build and 4 massable figures, I think this simply accomplishes the same achievement on a greater scale. Many people complain about this not being minifigure scale, but this holds no weight as most Star Wars sets are either vastly undersized or sometime oversized. The BARC Speeder is truthfully quite long, but the level of detail and smoothness makes up for this size expansion. As for the AT-RT, its colour scheme and various details do improve over 75002, while simultaneously being closer to minifigure scale. The stud shooter could've been improved however, and the frontal armour of 75002 is more appealing to me that the modern version, despite likely being less accurate. As for the minifigures, outside of the strange absence of belt, possible partial blue arm printing for the normal trooper, and perhaps a dual moulded jetpack, they are perfect. The minifigures feature outstanding detail, along with a more Episode 3 accurate face. The battle droids require no changes as they were perfected long ago, although a STAP or driodeka would've helped with imaginative play and helped make the price of $30 U.S better to some people. All in all, the 501st Legion Clone Troopers is an excellent set with what is possibly the most celebrated clone legion in all of Star Wars.

The Golden Ultra Dragon-

An interesting set, meant to be the physical toy version of something that made no real sense in the show, but regardless, it is here. And what a thing it is to behold, and yet we bemoan it, for a good as it was, it did not reach the mark it could of.

The Building Experience:

I don't remember much about this part, my only true takeaways from my recollections other that it is rather interesting. Seeing how the body starts and contains all these colourful pieces, how the manage to integrate simply extra middle joint, how the colourful pieces are hidden from sight, and most interestingly, how the front scales are integrated so seamlessly and beautifully. If I were to have any complaints (besides the obvious one), it would be that the underside of the dragon, particularly in the main body and the first tail segment really needed some smoothing and rounding off, particularly the tail segment. And that a piece on the inside of each front leg is too bulky and precents movement. That part should be replaced with a flatter piece if you are able. Now, to the elephant in the room, the wings. The mechanism is not bad, in fact it's rather good and interesting. It's also interesting how the technic frame is built into the body, though it is a shame that they can't move up and down. However, the wings themselves are all but beginning for cloth wings, and given the price and the incredible wings the show version had, there is simply no excuse. No excuse for not including proper wings when they would of elevated this dragon to a another dimension entirely.

Parts:

Nothing truly spectacular, except Oni Lloyd's mask and the dragons' head (Zane one is the worst, followed by Jay, then Cole, then Kai). Oh, and the incredible abundance of very nice pearl gold parts. But in terms of actual piece mould, not colours, it's generally meh. But pearl gold!

Playability:

This, besides its sheer shininess, is where the dragon shines. There is a saddle where Lloyd may sit as he rides it against the Overlord (spoiler: Crystal King = Overlord), and while it looks cool, it doesn't really provide much. Now, having this set and the Crystal King enhances playability greatly, as I think it is more interesting to have the apparently most powerful dragon (do not quote me on that statement, Firstbourne may yet be superior in terms of raw might) battle against an interesting dark crystal centaur that is also fantastic instead a of a larger but merely okay mech, but could use some changes. Before I meander too far into Crystal King territory, let us (e.g, me) return to the Golden Ultra Dragon. The Dragon boasts excellent articulation, perhaps enough to rival Lego's other medium big dragon that is quite postable (lighter dragons like the NRG are simply more pose able due utilising the smaller Mixel ball joints, which I adore. In addition, that dragon has the best wing mechanism and no one will convince me otherwise), that being Jay's Cyber Dragon, particularly due to it also including a hip-like joint, unlike competition like Lloyd's Legendary Dragon and Zane's Ice Creature. However, there a few gripes I still have, most notable how unstable it can be, and the restrictions on the forward leg's movement due to the aforementioned too fat inner leg piece. The knee joints being restricted is no problem, particularly since no dragon I know of actually has working knee joints, and it's necessary for them to be static in order to bear its weight. The forward leg movement is a much more egregious offence, due to it being easily remediable. The other negative point would be that while unlikely to fall, many outreaching poses feel rather unstable, particularly due to the small feet and large weight. However, despite these seemingly massive problems, they are actually only fairly minor (inner leg piece is the biggest annoyance), and the rest is beautifully articulable, from the deluxe waist, to the claws, to the tail able to change rotation, to the surprising amount of movement the heads have, which by themselves are great, fearsome and able to express a lot with different poses. Of course, the guards and the Crystal King help, but especially due to the other ninjas inclusion, there isn't really going to be a big battle without the Crystal King set. Heck, even the worst part, the wings, add to the playability, as while not being the best, the wing mechanism truly is great and can aid in fearsome poses.

Value For Money:

Let's just get this straight out of the way, is this large (only beaten by the Skull Sorcerer's Dragon in size, which is also awesome, but huh? Bad guy's dragon is bigger? Of course, they absolutely didn't do Firstbourne justice, as she should've eclipsed them both, but oh well) 4 headed dragon boasting 9 minifigures (only 1 unique though, but it's one of the best, Oni Lloyd) worth 150 U.S.D, 130 British Pounds, or 150 Euros? No, and any who say yes are deluded. However, it is still a great set, and thus this brings me to my conclusion.

Verdict-

Is this easily a contender for one of the best dragons Lego and Ninjago has ever produced? Yes. Does it being the four headed dragon concept to full potential? Almost. Does it look beautiful? Yes. Are the figures good, even if only 1 is truly exclusive to the most expensive set of the Crystallized season (not biggest however. That gives Nya's even more leverage as potentially the best set, but the mech [in show is awesome though] upon further inspetion and Jay's Titan Mech existing doesn't cut it for me, and it's also too expensive, even if the minifigures are the best in the wave)? Yes, but full potential is unrealised. And that statement fully sums up how I feel about this set. A awesome set, with so much potential, some much going for it, yet it falls disappointingly far from true perfection. The ungainly wings when the price more than justifies the inclusion of cloth, not like the show's version didn't awesome wings. The grey pieces were it could've been pearl gold, particularly in the heads. The reused head moulds, leading to not all heads looking equally as good. The lack of a larger foe to face when looking at the price, one was very much justified. And thus, I rank the Golden Ultra Dragon as 3.5 stars out of 4, the best 4 headed dragon, one of the best dragons period, but with some inexcusable shortcomings, particularly in the wings and lack of large foe, given its far too expensive price. I can only recommend it only on a hefty discount or buying from somewhere else than Lego.com, where the excessive price recedes somewhat, and this incredible dragon is less tarnished by it.