Lego Dreamzzz offers quite a variety of animal-themed vehicles, with 71742 Izzie's Narwhal Hot-Air Balloon being the most affordable set in this category. While the concept of a narwhal balloon is undoubtedly whimsical and creative, this set unfortunately somewhat missed the mark for me.

Pros:

• Appealing color scheme
• Interesting pieces
• Excellent minifigure and accessories

Cons:

• Narwhal is too narrow to serve as a convincing balloon
• Narwhal is too balloon-like to convincingly pull a chariot
• No suggestion of a burner for the balloon or reins for the chariot
• Off-putting mouth
• Potentially too finicky to build for a 7-year-old

Construction

The majority of the pieces go into the narwhal itself, with the core built first followed by SNOT techniques on the sides, and finishing by adding the tail, fins, and horn. After building the narwhal, the instructions diverge, giving a choice between building a hot-air balloon or a chariot. Both proceed similarly, the difference largely boiling down to where the basket is attached. Younger builders may find it frustrating to build the basket section, as it is difficult to line pieces up properly. There is a somewhat finicky combination of two 6-stud sticks and a rounded 1x2 plate in both models that is rather difficult to attach. The top of the balloon basket assembly needs to be lined up and attached to four clips, which could also cause frustration.

The balloon model uses all of the parts included in the set, while the chariot leaves a few behind.

Minifigure(s)

Izzie, as usual, is a fantastic figure. Her dual-molded sword is one of the most impressive minifigure accessories I'm aware of, and her colorful hairpiece is extremely appealing. She also comes with her Bunchu plush.

From the opposition, a grimspawn flies in to attack! This almost-minifigure works well as an antagonist in this small set, allowing this tiny set to work as a playset by itself. The translucent pink wings are appealing. It carries a weapon constructed from a purple carrot and a stick with holder, though I'm not entirely sure what such a combination is intended to evoke.

Completed Builds

If this were a Creator 3-in-1 set, the hot-air balloon model would undoubtedly be the A-model. It is more sturdy than I expected, and stays upright despite being rather top-heavy. Directly from the side, the narwhal is definitely evocative of a round, inflated balloon. From other angles I am less convinced: the narwhal is simply too narrow to look like a properly inflated balloon. There is also no suggestion of a burner nor a hole in the bottom of the balloon to let hot air in, so calling this a "hot-air" balloon is a bit of a stretch.

Unfortunately, the chariot is even less convincing. Because the cart still uses the tub, it does not appear aerodynamic, failing to convey the speed that a chariot should suggest. Some parts are used to make oars (I think? Oars don't tend to work particularly well if their ends are spherical). Does this mean that Izzie is propelling the vehicle herself or is the narwhal facilitating the motion? Reins are completely missing (unless what I assumed were oars are in fact supposed to be connected to imaginary reins), so there is no suggestion of a way for Izzie to direct the narwhal. Additionally, though the narwhal didn't make for a particularly authentic balloon, it doesn't work well as a proper narwhal either, its head being far too large compared to its tail.

The narwhal's mouth can be opened, with enough space inside to store Bunchu. The hinge allowing this motion is at the very back of the head, so the narwhal's mouth opens wider than Pac-man's! I found this motion rather off-putting, as the top of the head almost completely disconnects from the bottom, with barely any suggestion of a mouth when the mouth is closed. Furthermore, this mechanism prevents the model from being picked up from the top, impacting the "swooshability" of both models.

Overall

Izzie's Narwhal Hot-Air Balloon is fine. $16 USD is an appropriate price, offering slightly better value than a Star Wars microfighter. It works much better as a playset than as a display model. I do like the balloon model from several angles, but all-in-all I don't find it particularly appealing. There are too many issues for me to overlook.

That being said, I absolutely over-analyzed this set. If you like what you see on the box, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

The Dreamzzz line did not appeal to me when it first came out in 2023, and it still doesn't.

The concept is fuzzy and too reminiscent of Vidiyo with its funky designs and figures, as well as Hidden Side with its ghost-like antagonists.

When I noticed Izzie's Narwhal Hot-Air Balloon being a rather cheap set and offering a cool looking minifigure as well as a blue bunny, I gave the set a go.

I was surprised and disappointed by it at the same time.

The surprise came from the solid build of the Narwhal balloon and the wide variety of parts used. I still don't like the set as a (dis)play set but the build was solid and sturdy and offered enough variety, while still remaining easy. The printed eyes, the purple and teal parts make for a nice combination. And having an extra tub is always a plus.

The disappointment, however, came from the thing I mainly bought the set for: the minifigures.

The blue bunny (Bunchu) is one single element/part, so all fine.
The Grimspawn is simply, a rather stupid figure with overly unpractical 'hands' and it has little appeal.
It is the wings, however, that make this a dud. The known construction used for the wings is already large for a regular minifigure, but for this little dude, it is way too large and massive overkill. The head and the body also don't push enough pressure on the transparent clip, making the 'wing set' prone to a lot of unwanted moving.

Izzie looks cool, has nice prints, dual moulded legs, lovely hair and a cool sword to go with that.
The shoulder armour on the other hand, is poor. Again, the same issue as with the Grimspawn: the pressure between head and torso is not tight enough, so the armour doesn't stay nicely in place.

So the things that made me buy the set are the things that mostly make me dislike it.
In the end, the price made me just buy a cool parts pack, a blue bunny and an Izzie without shoulder harness. Yawn?