LEGO® DREAMZzz is shaping up to be one of the most colourful and eclectic themes that we have seen for some time. So far, we have looked at sets focussing on Creatures and Vehicles imagined by some of our heroes: Bunchu, Z-Blob, Space Bus and the Croc Car, to say nothing of the evil Grimkeeper. Today, we look at one of the first sets based on LOCATIONS in the LEGO DREAMZzz range: the Stable of Dream Creatures brings us a farmhouse and stables, which at first inspection feels like it might have come from LEGO Friends. On closer inspection, however, we see imaginative creatures and a colourful building with a warm palette and magical touches.

With 681 pieces, 4 minifigures and 3 of the little guys, along with some brick-built magical creatures, this set brings us a place for our heroes to chill out without any of the Nightmare King’s forces anywhere in sight.

Instructions and elements

Starting with the instruction manual, we see some great illustrations on the cover, as well as on the inside of the manual. These illustrations typically align with the level of progress made by the builder.

Here are the knolled elements for your enjoyment:

There are a good number of sizable plates in this build: predominantly lime, orange, bright light orange (flame yellowish orange), as well as teal. Bricks appear in grey, lime and mint. There are a number of the new, distinctly DREAMZzz ‘squiggly spiral’ elements, as well as the Transparent bright green swoosh/leaf/feather element. there are some new leaf elements as well, which will also appear in the new LEGO Super Mario/Donkey Kong sets – but here they are tan and teal. Simple leaf elements appear in dark azure, as well as a couple of coral elements (in violet.).

Minifigures

There are, as we mentioned previously, 4 minifigures: Izzie, Zoe, Parker, Mrs Castillo, while there are also two Dreamling Villagers, as well as the same form of Z-Blob that we saw back with Dr Oz’s Spacebus.

We have seen Parker and Izzie before: this time, Parker is wearing his racing driver outfit, but is without his helmet. He has been presented with a shovel, for cleaning out the stables. Izzies base figure is the same as previouslyseen, although in this set, she has shunned her shoulder armour as well as her sword. Armed only with a brush, all of her great printed details are present.

We also have loner Zoey- spending her time being ‘too cool for school’, zoey appears as a form of fantasy woodland warrior – typically sporting a crossbow her intricate printing features fine lines, arrow motifs as well as a number of belts and a scarf. She has a long, lilac afro hair element. She has a pitchfork, to aid with work around the farm.

Finally, we have Mrs Castillo, who serves the kids breakfast burritos from her food truck in the morning and appears wise and enigmatic in the dream realm after hours. She has a new body design, using Technic pin type plug-in arms (otherwise featured in the LEGO Super Mario buildable characters) and a built-in backpack (which we enhance with a few plates during construction). She features a white hair piece, as well as duel face prints, including a serious glare as well as a chuckling face. Mrs Castillo carries a staff that is nearly twice as tall as she is.

There are a couple of parallels to draw with LEGO Friends sets (particularly from a few years ago) – there are 3 female and only one male minfigure included in the set, and there are also no antagonist figures in this set: not a single Grimspawn to be seen.

The Z-Blob figure has been seen before, while the Dreamling Villagers feature aqua/mint bodies and heads, capped by purple 3-stud wide dishes with azure spots. They feature smiling faces with a few brown spots. I have discussed their geometry in greater detail in this post (review Dr Oz’ Space Bus)

Let’s look at the build:

We start building the central tower of the stables: behind an inviting green and orange facade lies the kitchen.

Moving upwards, we add in a mill, complete with flour sacks and loaves of bread. I love the way the roof folds down around the shape of the front wall, and the colours flow from cool yellow at the zenith, down to bright orange. On the front wall, we have a few magical dream like vines, mode of the same spiral element that featured as the Grimkeeper’s horns.

We add a dining room to the side of the kitchen, angled thanks to a hinge, and fixed using a small ball joint. Outside the dining room, we build up the trunk of a tree, relatively bare at this time, but I suspect we will build it up, before too long. Although there is seating for 4 minifigures in the dining table, the size of hair elements and , and impinging wall frames makes it hard for the figures to sit in place at the table.

At the opposite end of the house, we add in the stable. Just what sort of creature it is, I cant be sure of just yet. Suffice to say, It drinks water, eats oats and also poops. It’s a great thing Cooper has his shovel to help muck out the stables.

The next step sees us add rooves to the dining room and stables, as well as the sign over the stable door identifying the occupant as a Catcus (you know, a cat-cactus hybrid). We add a windmill, made of the new tan leaf element: it turns in the opposite direction to the one you rotate the knob behind the mill. the roofs attach using the now commonplace shield handle- plate with clip technique. I love the way the cutout in the roof for tree trunks is lined using the dark orange plates and ingots. It makes the house feel properly completed.

I have to admit, the details in the construction – the furniture, the vines around the windows and use of stickers make this feel like a LEGO Friends set…so far. The colour blocking is perhaps a little different to what we might typically see in friends – the magical leaves and the overall palette to make this feel a lot like the ELVES sets of 2015-2018 as well.

And things are going. to get a little more magical. I might have neglected to mention the construction of the Catcus – we meet this marvellous creature with Mrs Castillo’s Tortoise Van as well. Sitting in its own special tub, it can rest in the stable at the end of the day. Which leaves me wondering where the poop actually came from? Perhaps it is the deer that we start to build next. It’s a little larger than minifigure scale – perhaps twice as large as you might expect, but this allows plenty of detail to be added. There are a few stickers that provide details, and while the legs are static, the head is posable.

Time to Choose.

As we have previously mentioned, every DREAMZzz set comes with. decision point: proceed with an A or B model. These models can change the overall appearance or characteristics of a set quite dramatically, but unlike Creator 3in1, the chang is a relatively simple transition – with this set, I found it easy enough to change between the two forms in under 10 minutes.

The first version sees violet flowers and antlers attached to the deer, while azure leaves and flowers are added to the trees. Or vice versa: floral antlers become part fo the detail while the vio;let flowers fill the trees around the house.

In conclusion

This was. a fun build and I really loved the final result. Based on the responses of visitors at Adelaide’s Brixpo last weekend, this set was certainly one that appealed to the older builders (ie grownups). Part of the appeal of DREAMZzz, for a lot of people, lies in the way it draws on some of the best examples of LEGO Heritage, and then brings something fresh to the table. Back in 2014, the LEGO Movie brought a fresh approach to LEGO Sets, with designers taking a concept, and just pushing it a little further, taking the familiar and rendering it just the lightest bit absurd. And so it is with DREAMZzz – sometimes the results are pure fantasy, sometimes completely off the wall, and sometimes delightfully whimsical.

This set is beautiful to look at, and catches the eye regardless of the final build pathway taken. The colour palette in the building, as well as the fantasy trees and deer are wonderful, and really enhances the feel of the set. My only criticism is that it is impossible for the figures to sit around the dining table without trying to cohabit in the same space as a wall. At the same time, this set evokes memories of classic (and contemporary) FRIENDS sets, to say nothing of the fantastic parts and colour palette of Elves.

It’s great to see a larger set that is focussed on playing with our heroes, rather than fending off the forces of the Nightmare King.

The set has 684 pieces, and is priced at AUD 139.99;/USD79.99/ £74.99/€84.99. Again, as we see with many sets in the new waves, this feels like a great set to get when it is on special, rather than pay full price.

I’d love to know what you think of this set. Please leave your comments and feedback below.

LEGO DREAMZzz sets go on sale on August 1 2023, and are available to pre-order now. If you wish to order these sets from LEGO, please consider using the affiliate link: the Ramblingbrick might receive a small commission, but it costs you nothing.

• 71459 Stable of Dream Creatures AUD 139.99;/USD79.99/ £74.99/€84.99 Link should direct to your local LEGO Store.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!