Review: LEGO Ninjago EVO Dragons (71760, 71762)

February 20, 2022 | 0

In January 2022, LEGO introduced a new Ninjago subtheme, loosely dubbed Ninjago Core, which is a kid-focused theme that reimagines “core” Ninjago mainstays like Dragons, Spinners, Mechs.

Think Ninjago Legacy, but for younger builders, and introduces some really interesting building concepts that are suitable for those new to LEGO, and want to develop their building skills and capabilities.

First off, we’ll be looking at both LEGO EVO Dragons – 71760 Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO and 71762 Kai’s Fire Dragon EVO, two smaller and more accessible sets from the wave!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending these sets for review!

71760 Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO Set Details

Name: Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO
Set Number: 71760
Pieces: 140
Price: AU$32.99 | US$19.99 | £17.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [US] [AUS] [UK] [Amazon]
Minifigures: 2
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Ninjago Core
Set Designer: Niek (@toothdominoes)
Release Date: 1 January 2022

71762 Kai’s Fire Dragon EVO Set Details

Name: Kai’s Fire Dragon EVO
Set Number: 71762
Pieces: 204
Price: AU$44.99 | US$29.99 | £24.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [US] [AUS] [UK] [Amazon]
Minifigures: 3
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Ninjago Core
Set Designer: Markus Rollbühler (@rollbuehler)
Release Date: 1 January 2022

What is Ninjago EVO?

As part of Ninjago Core, the LEGO Ninjago team have introduced a new play feature, dubbed EVO which allows you to “evolve” or level-up your dragons or vehicles with brand new features.

These EVO mods are communicated throughout the instruction manual – as you build the base dragon or vehicle, and add on upgrades such as wings, armour plating, and even extend the size of the dragons through extra modules.

I really love how cool the illustrations are here – plenty of comicbook/manga-inspired graphics, that really bring the build to life – huge props to the graphic designers who were responsible for this.

71760 Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO Set Details

Let’s take a look at the smaller EVO dragon – Jay’s Thunder Dragon – a 140-piece build.

The set comes with 2 minifigures – Jay and Viper Flyer, a Serpentine snake warrior.

I like Jay’s Ninjago Core outfit design, which looks like it was inspired by a yukata, and also the new light yellow, and blue colour combination which matches the dragon.

Viper Flyer equally has some really detailed torso and leg printing, and he also comes with a spiky jetpack.

Not a bad combo, and Jay also comes with his hairpiece, which you can switch up.

Here’s a look at Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO – which was a really great build, for the price. It’s almost entirely brick-built, with a new dragon head design. It’s quite sizable for the price, and I really like the colours used – with different shades of blue punctuated by the pale yellow underbelly.

The head works really well, with the printed eye, and ability for the jaw to open in a wide array of angles – I also like the trans-yellow spikes on top of its head.

Here’s the fully-decked out EVO build from the side.

The dragon starts out small, but the you can lengthen it, and add on a seat, as well as lightning bolts for the tail.

Here’s a look at the small wings, attached to the front legs.

Thanks to the brick-built frame, the Thunder Dragon is very poseable and playable – it’s really solid, and kids will love how much you can do with it.

Jay also has a small seat on his Thunder Dragon, with a printed flag.

It’s been a while since I’ve had to build a set at this scale, meant for younger kids, and I really enjoyed the simplicity and playability of it all. With just the right number of minifigures, and an awesome dragon that you can level up.

The colours also look brilliant, contrasting really nicely against the orange snake warrior, and packs quite a bit of value, especially if you can get it on sale, or for a slight discount.

Up next is 71762 Kai’s Fire Dragon EVO, a redder, larger, Kai-er version of Jay’s Thunder Dragon. It’s a little larger (but not by much), and also slightly pricier.

The set also comes with an additional minifigure – you get 3 in the set, Kai in his Ninjago Core outfit, Cobra Mechanic and Boa Destructo, which I guess justifies the slight price bump, along with an extra 60-odd pieces.

Here’s a look at Kai’s Ninjago Core outfit, which also has the same Yukata-inspired design. You also get Kai’s hairpiece, and a sweet red Katana.

Here are the bad guys – Cobra Mechanic, who has a remote control for his drone, and Boa Destructor with his glider-like jetpack.

Cobra Mechanic (what an awesome name), also comes with a drone which has one of the new stud blasters, which flick out studs.

Here’s the base model, which looks like a giant red lizard – you can level it up, much like Jay’s Thunder Dragon – decking it out with armour, wings, and a flame for its tail.

And here it is all EVO’d up – getting pearl hold armour on its legs, spine and outstretched wings.

Here’s a look at its head.

From the side, it has a similar profile to the Thunder Dragon, except that it’s slightly taller, and longer.

Apart from the pearl-gold armour, you get these new wings, which have these trans-yellow fused bits to opaque red – they also connect to one another via pins, and you can also alter the orientation of the wings if you’d like.

There’s a saddle/seat for Kai as well, with his very own standard (flag) behind it.

Like the Thunder Dragon, Kai’s Fire Dragon is also really posable and playable. Thanks to the wider wingspan, you can strike all sorts of fun poses with it.

Ultimately, this new wave of Ninjago Core sets are designed primarily for kids, so I was keen to really put these sets to the test, to see how my 5-year old would play with them.

She of course, has quite an enviable LEGO collection, but is primarily interested in LEGO Friends and Disney Princess sets. After completing the builds, I just left these in our living area, to see what she’d do, and I was amazed at how quickly she took to them, wasting no time swooshing them around the room – which I luckily managed to catch as I was working from home!

Ninjago and conflict-heavy themes aren’t really her thing, she’s watched nearly all the Ninjago animated series episodes, so she had some connection to the themes and characters which she enjoyed.

These are really great Ninjago sets for younger kids, or if you’re a parent looking to pick up some fairly inexpensive sets that are big on playability.

What I liked:

• Very fun and playable, especially with EVO
• Fairly inexpensive, although Kai’s Fire Dragon feels a little pricey
• Great new Ninjago Core minifigure designs
• Bright vibrant colours

What I didn’t like: 

• Kai’s Fire Dragon could be more affordable, or include a small vehicle for the Serpentine
• Needs more variety with the Snake Warriors/bad guy minifigures

FINAL THOUGHTS:

For sets aimed at younger builders, where playability is the name of the game, it doesn’t get much better than these EVO Dragons. If you’re buying this for a younger Ninjago-obsessed builder, you simple won’t go wrong, and kids will have a blast with the new EVO Dragons.

The EVO functionality is quite cool, giving these dragons an almost modular sensibility to them, and gives kids a template on how to build and customise their own dragon designs, in which the designers Niek (@toothdominoes) & Markus Rollbühler (@rollbuehler) hopes kids will be able to take the dragons beyond what’s in the box.

Out of the two, I have a preference for Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO, because I like the more dialled-back colour scheme, and the blue and light yellow is a pretty rare combination that you don’t come across every day.

That said, Kai is a pretty popular character, and his Fire Dragon EVO has a more “traditional” dragon colour scheme, and the larger wingspan also gives it a more impressive look, however, I think it’s slightly overpriced compared to the Thunder Dragon.

I also think the minifigure selection could be improved, especially on the villain side – if you plan on getting the pair of dragons, and more from the wave, the orange Snake Warriors get old after awhile – despite unique printing, they do blend in one another pretty easily.

Ultimately, both Ninjago EVO Dragons are pretty fun additions to the Ninjago theme, and the potential of unlimited expansions, as you level-up these dragons and put your own touch to them are what makes these really exciting new products.

Without the connection to a Ninjago TV series to lay out a storyline, or characters, going back to basics with Ninjago Core is quite a welcome challenge for the Ninjago theme, a sort of reset if you will, to engage a whole new generation of fans.

These are great if you have younger kids, or if you need to buy a gift for a young girl or boy under the age of 10 – it’s not really meant for adult or more mature builders, unless you’re a hardcore Ninjago completionist or fan.

Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰

Build [4] – Quite simple, but the EVO feature makes for great customisation potential
Real Value [3] – The sets are decently priced, and accessible, especially if you get them on sale
Innovation [4] – Introducing EVO and the graphic design make for a fresh build experience
Coolness [3] – Depends how old you are, if you’re 10 and below, these would be a 5
Keepability [2] – These won’t be super collectible, but the value ultimately lies in the playability

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review of 71760 Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO and 71762 Kai’s Fire Dragon!

71760 Jay’s Thunder Dragon EVO and 71762 Kai’s Fire Dragon EVO are now available from LEGO.com, or most toy stores.

I’ll be covering more January 2022 Ninjago releases shortly, so keep an eye out for these spaced between upcoming March 2022 early reviews which are dropping soon!

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Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing these sets for review.