Zian the Cat-Owl is an important ally of the Dream Chasers in the first series of LEGO DREAMZZz, and as such, felt like a missing piece when the first wave of sets dropped last August. Fortunately, with the second wave of sets, this has been rectified.

This set is due for release on the first of January 2024. With 431 pieces, it is the second largest set in the wave and, along with Zoey and Cooper, presents us with a number of the Grimspawn as well well asNight Hunter.

Let’s take a closer look.

The initial part of the built is apread between bags one and two, while bag three brings us the Grimspawn, as well as the elements required to make our cat into either a Cat-Owl or a Cat-Peacock.

The Knoller-in-Chief has laid out the elements onto just one tray for us to puruse:There are plenty of the angled 2x2round tubes ‘Maxaroni’ – and spring green is a new colour for this part. Likewise the printed eyes on the 3×3 quarter dome is a new colour for that element, even before it got printed. The new petal/leaf element appears in light azure – and appears in other sets in this wave. As you can see, there are otherwise a good number of elements in blue and dark blue. In particular, there are a number of round plates and bricks in dark blue, along with curved slopes with wedge.  A small cluster of grey elements reveals a number of ball and sockets, large and small.the cluster of red elements will be associated with Coopers build at the start of bag 2.

The Characters

Zoey

Zoey has a dark blue torso, with dream-catching feathers arranged on it. The tie of her cape is represented, as well as the strap for the quiver to her bow and arrows. The legs are metallic titanium, and continue the torso printing down the front, while there are some shoes printed onto the toes. Zoey sports the same lavender afto style hairpiece seen in the first wave, while she carries a new ‘flick fire’ bow, with a transparent blue arrow. These elements were first seen in the Avatar Way of the Water sets earlier in 2023, although this is a darker arrow to the ones seen there. Her half-length feathered turquoise cape completes the look. He double-sided face features a smirk on one side and a warm smile on the other. Somewhere in the mix is an obligatory hourglass and night bureau tile, although it seemed to dodge the photo call.

Cooper

Cooper appears similar to his earlier appearances, with his tousled cool yellow hear, and his bright red racing suit. Once again he has his blue belt accessory. The torso printing continues down the front of the legs, agin with some extravagant detailing on both the torso and legs. He has a brick built hammer, perfect for smiting Grimspawn, with transparent light blue 1×1 pryamid elements ready to wreak havoc. He does not have a double sided head print.

Night Hunter

One of my favorite figures of the first wave – but let’s face it, they are all pretty good. Night hunter has it all: a broad brimmed hat, great decorations on the torso – a black jecket covered in chains, a creepy molded scarf and an all seeing crossbow. He also comes with a cain, to try and tie Zian down – good luck!

I really appreciate that virtually all of the minifigures come in the same form. The only real variation is the presence is accessories such as capes and skirts for Mateo and Izzie, as well as Cooper’s helmet when appropriate. The fact that Night Nunter is consistent between appearances makes it easy for kids to get the correct figure, and reduces the need to chase them all for completeness.

Grimspawn and Night Terrors

The Nightmare King has many minions, and a few are named. Included amongst them are Snivel, Sneak and Susan – Susan has taken a break in this wave of sets, and Sneak – a kind of Dragon-Dog grimspawn has made his Debut (he also appears in 71477 The Sandman’s Tower). With a 2×2 stud base, he has a minifigure head stud towards the front, while his tale curls up at the back, and is able to hold a standard bar. Sneak has one large, and one very small eye, while he has the recycled Monster Hunters Vampire bat hair/ears

Snivel appears as he did in previous outings, with the oversized head and flame on a jaunty angle. His Dreamling body has some printing on the front, and can hold 2 bars under his arms, for good measure. As previously seen, he also has some somewhat pointy shoulder pads.

Finally, we have a new flying Night terror – a large eye tile with some stud shooters on either side, as well as the translucent dragon wings. It has a couple of studs on top, allowing Hight Hunter to fly on top.

The Build

The first bag brings us Zoey, as well as the body and face of Zian: the body builds along a central core, with curved slopes and wedges contributing to an organic shape. The new (ish) 1x2x1 1/3 click hinge sockets provide a point of atttachment for the Cat’s legs… when we come to them.

The head has a larger ball joint at the back, and does look a little odd prior to the avian transformation. I am grateful that the eyes are printed onto the quarter dome elements – they look so good, and would be so easy to mess up as stickers.The forehead is blank except for a couple of offset plates in the centre of the forehead… I’m sure they will come in usefull later.

At the start of the second bag, we hake some time out to put together Cooper, his hammer and the motorcycle he rides in this set…

We move on to the legs, which feature little bands of gloden highlights, as well as a nice organic curve. The feat are given flexible toes, and we put together a twisty tail, which we attach at the >ahem< rear. The base cat is quite doable, and stable: the flexible toes allow Zian to stand steady on the ground, regardless of the angle of the leg.

The Cat Owl

From here, we make our choice – I build the cat owl first – it feels like the natural form With short and long feathers on the wings, the moon and star emblem on each wing helps to define Zian’s role in the Dream Realm. There is a 2×2 plate with 2 studs on Zian’s back, giving Zoey somewhere to sit. A few other pearl gold studs give the Grimspawn some where to attach their chains.

The Cat Peacock

The alternate build brings us a Cat-Peacock. According to designer, Trine Kinch Møller, The Cat-Owl is all about the battle, while the Cat-Peacock “is all about the beauty, the looks.” And certainly, with the alternate wing and tails design, certainly looks the part. An arch is formed using plates and 4×4 dome elements, with a tile decorated with a very peacock tail like motif in the middle. the two

Thoughts

It felt to me as is the first wave of sets featured a giant Zian-sized hole, which I am glad has now been filled. Zoey was familiar with the Dream Realm long before Mateo and Izzie crossed over to rescue Cooper, and has been an integral part of their Dream Chasing ever since..

Zian remains an integral character, and this model feels just about perfect: The colour scheme is pure fantasy, and he bears good resemblance to his on screen counterpart.

I appreciate the minifigure collection: In the series, Zoey has always felt a special distaste for Night Hunter, so his inclusion along with 2 of his major minions here is appropriate. Sneak played such an important role in the first series that I am glad he has made an appearance here .

If I have any concern about the model, it is that there is a tendency of the legs to rotate around the pins that are central to their construction, resulting in the occasional anatomical abnormality and postural instability.

That said, it was easy to set right and Zian is quite flexible – being able to walk tall, or crouch down, ready to pounce.

On the whole, I have really enjoyed putting this set together and playing with it” it is full of exciting story telling and role play potential, if that’s your thing.

Otherwise, Zian just looks plain cool, and Night Hunter remains one of my favorite minfigures of 2023. The arrival of Sneak is long over due, and he brings further variety to the range of villainous characters available.

I am more than happy to give this set 4 Arbitrary Praise Units out of 5. It’s a great play experience, and feels necessary to fill the lineup of the main characters – Zian is certainly a key ally of our heroes in the animated series.

This set goes on Sale on the 1st of January 2024, and has 437 pieces.

It costs: $AUD59.99/ $USD49.99/€49.99/£44.99 and you can find it at your local LEGO Store online here. I have to admit, it seems more reasonably priced here in Australia than in the rest of the world, once you take exchange rates into consideration.

I’d love to know what you think about this set. Looking forward to it? Loathing it? Why not leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!

This set was provided by The LEGO Group for Review Purposes. All Opinions are my own.