Review: LEGO 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse

July 30, 2023 | 4

The next LEGO DreamZzz set I’m featuring is 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse featuring a fantastical Nightmare Pegasus creature, under the control of the terrifying Nightmare King.

It’s a fairly expensive set, but is one of the cheapest sets to include the main villain and antagonist of the DreamZzz animated series, the Nightmare King.

Along with his army of Grimspawn, he’s out to capture kids in the Dream World and torment them with nightmares and night terrors, but it’s up to the brave Zoey to rescue one of her school friends Nova in the set.

71457 Pegasus Flying Horse goes on sale on 1 August 2023 on LEGO.com and most LEGO stores alongside the first wave of LEGO DreamZzz sets

Who is this set for? The cheapest set to contain the Nightmare King, and someone who wants a really cool Nightmare Pegasus creature

Special thanks to LEGO for sending these sets over for this review.

71457 Pegasus Flying Horse Set Details

Set number: 71457
Set name: Pegasus Flying Horse
Pieces: 482
Retail Price: US$49.99 / AU$84.99 / £46.99 / €52.99 / CAD$64.99
Theme: DreamZzz
Release Date: 1 August 2023

Unboxing and Instruction Manuals

In a nutshell, DreamZzz sets combined the rich narrative storytelling that’s familiar to fans of Ninjago, or Monkie Kid, with Creator 3-in-1.

Most DreamZzz sets have three different mode, a regular thing based on something in the real world, followed by two fantastical dream world versions that you can get a preview of at the back.

Here’s a look at some sticker sheet – there isn’t a large number of them which is always nice and they’re fairly easy to apply.

The DreamZzz manuals are terrific, and so enjoyable. Instead of grotty renders, the front covers of the manual feature these lovely illustrations. Unfortunately, this particular copy got mangled in the box which is quite disappointing!

In the manual are more of these rich and gorgeous illustrations, that pepper the building experience. It’s almost like a wordless comic book that tells you a story as you build the set, and after such a drastic downgrade in instruction manuals this year, this has been a huge step up in quality.

I won’t be recycling any of these DreamZzz instruction manuals for this reason.

At a certain point, the build experience forks, giving young builders a “choose your own adventure” type choice to build. For 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse, you have the option of either dreamcrafting a magical bird for Zoey, or some butterfly wings for her to wear.

It’s a really cool mechanic that makes you feel like you’re getting more out of your LEGO sets, and encourage dismantling sets to turn them into something slightly new.

71457 Pegasus Flying Horse Minifigures

The minifigure lineup for 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse is one of the main attractions of the set, as it features the terrifying Nightmare King minifigure. This is the “cheapest” set to get the Nightmare King in, so for minifigure collectors wanting one of the most exciting minifigures of 2023, this is the set for you to get.

You get three minifigures in the set, Nova, Zoey, the Nightmare King and Susan, a Grimspawn under the employment of the Nightmare King.

Here’s a look at Zoey and Nova. Zoey is identical to the one in 71456 Mrs Castillo’s Turtle Van, except that she comes with an exclusive cloth cape in this version. Nova is Izzie’s friend, and is one of the poor students plagued by nightmares caused by Grimspawn and the Nightmare King.

Zoey comes with an hourglass, a magical artifact that allows them to Dreamcraft, as well as a purple bow. Nova is in her pyjamas which has a super cute sleeping sloth printed on the front.

Here’s a look at their back printing and dual-sided heads – I really like Nova’s sleeping face.

Here’s a look at Susan, one of the named Grimspawn in LEGO DreamZzz. She’s one of the Nightmare King’s key lieutenants and has a striking appearance, with trans-pink wings, and a great new helmet that looks like a flaming pink shadow.

She’s not exclusive to this set, as Susan also shows up in 71460 Mr. Oz’s Spacebus and 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship.

Beneath the mask, here’s a look at Susan’s printed head, and printed mini Grimspawn body.

Susan’s helmet/mask is a thing of beauty, with a cool organic shadowy look, and fused black and trans-pink plastic. It has echoes of Ninjago Crystalized with the colour scheme and mix of materials and is yet another incredible example of the exciting new minifigure elements and accessories introduced in DreamZzz.

The star minifigure of the set is The Nightmare King, one of the most exciting minifigures of 2023, and a strong contender for minifigure of the year. This set is currently the cheapest way to get your hands on The Nightmare King, so I expect this set to be fairly popular.

The Nightmare King’s design is truly the stuff of nightmares, and looks to be influenced by some of the most memorable villains in pop culture, from Sauron, to Skeletor to Shredder from Ninja Turtles.

The Nightmare King features detailed prints across his body, all the way down to his feet.

His new swor which has a trans-pink blade is also really cool, and you can attach a printed eye tile to it to complete the Nightmare King’s evil eye aesthetic.

Here’s a closer look at the Nightmare King’s alternate face, which has tattered cloth strips obscuring his mouth, as well as that fantastic crown with large black spikes and a yellow eye fused into it.

And if you think The Nightmare King can’t look any cooler, he also comes with a fantastic new rubbery cape element, which has a tattered shadow designs, with silhouettes of a vulture and dragon on the edges.

For a villain that haunts and terrorises the dreams of younger kids, The Nightmare King’s design delivers in every single department and makes for an all-time great minifigure.

71457 Pegasus Flying Horse Build and Alternate Models

Here’s a look at the completed model of 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse, a satisfyingly large creature that features an attractive black and coral colour scheme, punctuated by pops of dark pink.

The base horse isn’t exactly nightmare material, and despite its sallow eyes, still gives off fantastical vibes, with a slender design that makes great use of curves to give it a distinct silhouette.

The legs are attached to the body via mech connections, giving you quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to how you can pose it.

The Pegasus unfortunately becomes a tool for terror thanks to the Nightmare King’s throne, a bat-like creature with a single eyelid and pink dragon wings, which can attach itself to the Pegasus, giving it terrifying wings.

Here’s a look at the Pegasus Flying Horse in Nightmare (night, mare, geddit?) mode under the control of the Nightmare King.

The wings give is impressive wing-span and dramatically transforms the look of the horse, which looks cool. The Throne is easily detached from the horse via a pretty flimsy connection, and I found that the throne popped off a little too easily during play, which might frustrate younger builders.

Here are more shots of the Pegasus Flying Horse from different angles to showcase just how cool of a creature it is. The design aesthetic, colours and of course The Nightmare King gives off a very stylish fantasy-vibe.

The Nightmare King and Susan have their sights on Nova, who is sleeping in a nightmare cage, which traps unassuming dreamers and torments with nightmares in the waking world.

Coming to Nova’s rescue is Zoey, an accomplished Dreamcrafter, and you have two options to save her – the first of which is a bird with leafy wings that Zoey can ride.

The build is relatively simple, and I like the new teal feather/leaf elements used for its wings, and how the head is constructed.

Unfortunately, this particular build isn’t the most effective showcase of the DreamZzz Choose Your Own Adventure-type build as it only represents a minor part of the overall build, and you don’t get to “add-on” to a base build, and instead are just presented with two different things you can build.

The B-Model is a little boring – transforming Zoey into a butterfly by giving her large wings. It’s an interesting method to augment and change the look of Zoey, and it does look like she’s a powered up version, but it isn’t as impressive as the bird build.

I definitely recommend flipping ahead in the manual at the fork and selecting one to build, as you need to fully disassemble the build to switch models, instead of a more simple transformation.

It does feel like a slightly higher piece count would’ve been warranted here to give Zoey’s dream creations a bit more substance, which isn’t asking for much considering the relatively high price of this set.

What I liked:

• Pegasus Flying Horse is really well-designed
• Nightmare King minifigure is terrific
• Susan is the most detailed Grimspawn yet

What I didn’t like: 

• Set is pricey and feels like poor value
• Zoey’s bird and butterfly wings feel lackluster
• Should have come with another minifigure, or more grimspawn

Final Thoughts

I really wanted to like 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse, but the set’s expensive price tag makes for a pretty poor experience for fans.

Removing price out of the equation, there’s actually a lot to love about 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse, especially the minifigures.

The Nightmare King is sensational and one of the best-designed minifigures of 2023, truly befitting his title as King of Nightmares.

It’s scary, with plenty of familiar villain tropes and influences thrown in and accentuated by incredible accessories like his shadowy cape, sword and Crown.

Zoey is competently detailed, and I like her purple dreadlock hair, Nova has a cute printed tee, and Susan is one of the most detailed Grimspawn with a really cool headgear and even printed body.

The Pegasus Flying Horse is surprisingly big, much larger than the packaging and official photos make it look, striking a wonderful pose. The curvy design, colours and impressive wingspan make for a really substantial and satisfying fantasy buildable creature.

Unfortunately, where the set disappoints is that it’s a poor demonstration of the LEGO DreamZzz 2-in-1 build as the bird and butterfly wings feels lackluster and minor inconsequential builds.

For the set’s high price tag, US$49.99 / AU$84.99 I do think more elements should’ve been included, and a larger creature for Zoey would’ve gone a long way in justifying the price. It’s priced really high in Australia, Europe and the UK, but in the US it’s priced decently, if still a little expensive.

That said, it’s still the cheapest set to get your hands on a Nightmare King minifigure, and you’re still getting a really attractive Pegasus Flying Horse build that’s satisfyingly large, so it’s not all bad, but this is one of those sets where you should wait for a sale and discount to get the most bang for your buck.

Build [3] – The Pegasus Flying Horse is a great creature build but the side Bird/Butterfly Wings build is a let down
Real Value [2] – Very expensive despite its size, and only marginally better if you’re in the US.
Innovation [2] – Not a great demonstration of the LEGO DreamZzz choose your own build feature
Coolness [4] – Pegasus Flying Horse looks great, and so is the Nightmare King minifigure
Keepability [2] – The Pegasus is a great display model thanks to its size, but doesn’t really have that wow factor

Rating and score: 2/5 ★★✰✰✰

71457 Pegasus Flying Horse goes on sale on 1 August 2023 on LEGO.com and most LEGO stores alongside the first wave of LEGO DreamZzz sets

What do you think of the 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse and the price of what you’re getting?

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