[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Great fun! This is definitely a very intense set, and not just something you can finish in an afternoon… there were over 2000 pieces! The finished model is quite impressive in person, and looks awesome on display.
The instructions were very easy to follow, and aside from putting a vital piece on upside down in one of the early stages (and getting completely stuck until I realised my mistake!), I found it very easy to follow and extremely satisfying to see it slowly coming together!
I don't think I would've noticed all of the intricate details had I not built it myself, there are so many small parts that you can pose and change the orientation of (e.g. the claws can individually pose)… these are small details that I would've never noticed just looking at the photo on the box… The minifigures are also really cool, and I loved the outfits and theming. It is very well designed and was really fun to put together. I spread the build over several weeks, as I wanted to enjoy the process casually in the evenings after work. There were 18 bags, so I tried to get through around a bag every evening. Doing this casually probably took me longer than the expected time, but I preferred to approach it like a relaxing wind-down hobby in the evening (which is healthier than my usual habit of scrolling social media!).
The dragon can easily be removed from the base, and I actually preferred it off the base, as you can do more poses with it etc., but for display purposes it slots very easily into the base... I was a bit worried because when you're attaching some of the larger pieces, it's quite easy to knock the whole thing over and for other pieces to fall off, so it definitely does require a level of patience in the final stages, when you're slotting larger pieces together. Overall, it was an enjoyable build, and the final result looks amazing! My favourite part has to be the floating illusions with the clear pieces and the lady ninja (I believe is called Mira)… that effect looks so real from a distance!
I think the value of these sets is about right for the time & enjoyment factor. I do wish it came with a spare sticker sheet however, (I was very worried that I might mess up the stickers!) It only comes with one sticker set, so you do not get any second chances if you make a mistake. Although, you can carefully peel them off, I really would've rather had a second sticker set just in case I made any mistakes (I didn't, thankfully, but it was stressful knowing I only had one chance!) There was also a tiny single pink piece missing in the 17th bag (accidentally got an extra pink pointy snake eye instead, but I made it work… and I am aware there is a way to request missing pieces with these sets, so I might chase that up later, because I'm a bit of a perfectionist). The instructions for where to place the minifigs right at the end wasn't as detailed as the rest of the instructions, but I didn't mind that, as it allowed me more freedom to place them where I wanted.
I felt very satisfied and proud to complete it, I'm going to set it up on a shelf & will share some close up shots on my socials. Brings back memories of Legoland!