NOTE: I purchased Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon myself, and this review is not sponsored in any way. I strive to always provide my honest opinion on LEGO® products. If you are curious about how I generate scores in this review, I invite you to read about the True North Bricks rating system.
INTRODUCTION
I would not say that I am a fan of Ninjago, nor am I a big collector of the series. However, I buy the occasional set. I appreciate the series for the interesting Minifigure prints and accessories. I also like many of the Asian inspired buildings, and some of the dragons. That prompted this purchase. That and one of the Minifigures.
SET SPECIFICS
- NAME:
Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon - SET #: 71829
- THEME: Ninjago
- COST: $24.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 128
- COST/BRICK: $0.195 CAD
- MINIFIGURES: 2 + 1 baby dragon
- BRICKS/FIG: 64
- RELEASE DATE: January 1, 2025
- BUILD TIME: 35 minutes
- COST/MIN: $0.71 CAD
QUICK REVIEW
OVERALL SCORE: 82%
WHAT I LIKED: The Dragonian is the biggest highlight. The model also inspires me to build something more detailed.
WHAT I LIKED LESS: The set is a bit too expensive at full price for what you get.
VALUE: 68%
The set has an expensive cost/brick.
BUILD: 80%
A decent dragon design for the price point.
MINIFIGURES: 100%
Great Minifigures and accessories. Love the Dragonian.
ENTERTAINMENT: 80%
This is a parts pack for AFOLs, but it is an inspiring one.
FULL REVIEW
VALUE: 68%
SUMMARY: This set is expensive for what you actually get in terms of brick count. If you want it, wait for a sale. At 25% off, this set is an average value. At 30% off, the value starts to look good.
Value Score Breakdown:
As an in-house theme, Ninjago sets typically offer a good value. Unfortunately, that is not really the case with Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon. The set costs $24.99 in Canada, and comes with 128 bricks. The resulting cost/brick is $0.195 CAD… well above the theme average Iof $0.118 that I typically experience. Even compared to LEGO® sets in general, the value is not good. There, I typically see around $0.14/brick. Considering both comparisons, I rate the cost/brick at 52%.
As a Ninjago set, Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon is overpriced.
As for build time, I got 35 minutes. That might be a little generous as I was watching TV at the same time as I was building, so my attention was divided. With that said, the resulting cost/minute of build time was $0.71. That is more expensive than the average Ninjago set, but not horribly so. The set fares better compared to LEGO® sets in general. In that comparison, I’d say the build time was quite good. I rate the build time at 83%. Averaging this with the cost/brick score gives an overall value grade of 68%.
BUILD: 80%
SUMMARY: For the price, Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon offers a decent fantasy build. You can’t really expect more brick-built detail for $25. I like the molded elements, but I would have done them a little differently.
Build Score Breakdown:
As the set name suggests, the build consists of a green dragon. I appreciate that the set designers stuck to that and did not include any piddly, non-attached side builds. I am not a fan of sets trying to be too many things at the cost of detail in the main design.
Otherwise, the green forest dragon is simple in design. It features the usual blocky structure you often see in Ninjago dragons. For the price point, I would not really expect much else. Despite the blockiness, the design is effective as a child’s plaything. I would have liked this as a kid.
I would change a couple of details…
The head and the wings come as solid, single elements. In general, I like both. However, I would have done both differently as well. I wish the wings were dual molded plastic. They would look better if the ribs remained the current green colour, but if the membranes were a lighter, translucent green.
As for the head, the underside is completely open. The mold suggests a lower jaw, but features no moving parts. If the LEGO® Group wants to save on plastic by making the head hollow, they should provide a proper moving jaw to hide the empty space. But, like I said before, I do like it anyway. It is a nice design for a small dragon, and the beak look is a fresh change from the usual teeth.
The beak design is a nice change from most LEGO® dragons.
Overall, for a $25 dragon, Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon is not bad. It comes with some nice elements and looks good enough. Kids will probably enjoy it, and adults can modify it to include more detail. I rate this build at 80%. I don’t love it, but I certainly don’t hate it either.
MINIFIGURES: 100%
SUMMARY: Nicely designed, detailed characters with loads of accessories. You also get a great character count for a set this size. Not to mention that the Dragonian Scout is phenomenal for orc collectors.
Minifigure Score Breakdown:
Both Minifigures come with all the standard parts. Additionally, both have printing on both sides of the head and torso. Both have leg printing as well. I particularly like the Dragonian Scout’s armour print. It has a shiny, metallic quality to it. For a set this size, you get a nice number of accessories as well. I rate the character designs at 100%. In terms of accessories, the set includes:
- 2 x axe blades
- 2 x harpoons
- 2 x swords
- 2 x katanas
- 3 x whips
- 1 x Dragonian armour
- 1 x shoulder armour
- 1 x baby dragon
- 1 x printed dragon tile (2×3)
The set also include a great character count for a set this size. Ignoring the baby dragon, you get one Minifigure for every 64 bricks. On average, my experience with the Ninjago theme is one minifig per 144 bricks. Broadening that to LEGO® sets in general, I usually see around 203 bricks per Minifigure. Considering both these comparisons, I rate the Minifigure count at 98%. Averaging this with the design score gives and overall Minifigure grade of 99%… but since I love the Dragonian Scout so much, I’ll just bump that up to 100%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 80%
SUMMARY: Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon is an inspiring parts pack. It got me thinking about more detailed, alternate builds, as well as building a red orc army.
Entertainment Score Breakdown:
I like dragons, but that alone would not be enough to get me to buy this set. I purchased it as part of my March 2025 LEGO® haul. My main goal was the Creator 3-in-1 Medieval Dragon. I saw a post on social media that used the wings from the Forest Dragon on the body of the Medieval Dragon. I might like to try that. So, from my perspective, this was mostly a parts purchase.
With that said, I was pleasantly surprised by the Dragonian Scout. I went a little crazy buying orcs when Minifigures Series 24 came out. Since then, I’ve wanted to continue developing my army by customizing the orcs I have. I don’t want them to all look identical. The Dragonian Minifigure gave me the idea of expanding the army with red orcs. Who says orcs can’t have different skin tones?
Dragonian minifigs makes great orc army builders.
I like Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon for the inspiration it gives me. But, I don’t love it as the set was intended to be. As I mentioned before, kids might like it, and it really is meant for them. From an AFOL perspective, I rate the entertainment value at 80%. It is inspiring, but mostly a parts pack.
CONCLUSION: 82%
Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon is a fun little kit for kids. However, it is not a good value at full price, nor is it great for adults as a build. The assembly is simple, but the parts do inspire larger MOCs and mods.
For me, the biggest win was the Dragonian Scout. Prior to buying this set, I had not paid attention to the Minifigures in it. In fact, I have not taken a close look at Ninjago minifigs in general for some time. This was the second time this year they pleasantly surprised me. The first time involved the discovery of the wolf mask. I don’t love Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon, but I don’t hate it either. Overall, I would say it is an average LEGO® set. What do you think? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
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2 responses to “Lloyd’s Green Forest Dragon (71829) Review”
Orcs don’t like sunlight so it can be sunburn! Maybe they ate too many beetroots?
LOL – I had not thought of those options.