In our previous installment, we saw the arrival of organic creature-building elements, incorporating the Creature and Character Building system, along with an animated TV special to provide the backstory in Atlantis.

From here, things took off significantly, with the launch of Ninjago in January 2011. But what has this meant for the development of LEGO® Dragons? Or LEGO® Storytelling in general? Read on in our 4th part looking at the development of LEGO® Dragons.

Ninjago: Enter the Dragon

NINJAGO brought us characters and story in the setting of a TV special, with the added play gimmick of spinners. Ninjago captured the minds of Generation Z. The initial success of this series – initially intended to run for only a few years – resulted in an ongoing Series being commissioned, outliving its planned lifespan by more than a decade… so far.

Within the first year of Ninjago’s arrival, we had not 1, not 2, but 4 dragons. Each dragon had their own moulded head. The Bionicle claw elements were appropriately functional, but the attached ball joints could be quite chunky in places.

Certainly, the decision to use predominantly moulded heads was a good one: the number of elements that modern sets can tuck into such a small space can be remarkable. The LEGO System would not reach the level of fidelity necessary to achieve this level for a few years.

The System Expands

Fortunately, this period coincided with a rapid expansion in various families of elements: For example, the range of brackets that were available expanded significantly from 2012 to 2021 – initially with 4-stud long brackets, then two studs, and finally one.

The Rollout of Mixels, along with the Chima LEGEND Beasts in 2014, brought us several elements that would allow greater levels of detail in a smaller space. In particular, the mini ball joints and 2xnx2/3 baby bows.

Not only did these elements allow for greater detail at a smaller scale, but they also allowed for smaller, articulated models. These bows are also the starting point for producing smooth, curved studless forms. A topic for another day is whether or not this is the beginning of the loss of LEGO’s visual identity as a toy?

Until 2015, the heads of Ninjago Dragons were basically premoulded, and the wings were built out using stylised feathers and radiating geometric forms.

From 2015 to 2020, Ninjago dragons transitioned to brick built heads, which lead to some great examples of neat parts usage to get the right shape, That said, it was not the first time the front hood element of a car had been used in a creature: this honor belongs to the Lobster Strike in 2007

Over time, there was increased use of fabric in the wings – textiles, and later plastic.

The smaller  joints may have taken a while to catch on in Ninjago, but they were the backbone- or at least the hip, ankle and tail joints-  of the brick-built creatures appearing in the LEGO ELVES

In the second year of this In-house minidoll-centric fantasy theme, the principal plot of the accompanying animated series revolved around a sinister plot to capture and control the Dragons.

 As you can see, the sets were typically as likely to be focused on the scenery as the dragon itself. These dragons used common moulded heads, and capitalised on the new 2x2x2/3 and 1x2x2/3 curved slopes.

These smaller dragons tended to be aimed at a slightly younger audience with a recommended age of 6/7-12 years, rather than 7-8/14 years as was typical for a Ninjago set containing a significantly sized Dragon.

While a story revolving around elves with elemental affinities and dragons to boot may almost sound a little like the backstory for Ninjago, this range also brought us cuter baby dragons, in brighter colours.

Of course, these small joints were not the be-all and end-all, and larger ball sockets were used as hip joints in the Queen Dragon, and we also saw the introduction of the preprinted plastic sheet for the wing’s membrane.  

Creator 3in1 also took advantage of these smaller elements, bringing us smaller dragons with greater articulation. The creator team was not afraid to embrace plate-based wings, keeping as many studs as possible on display.

A new family of elements was lurking on the horizon: bringing with it the winds of change as to what an acceptable angle might be.

Small elements equipped with 3.18mm bars, or holes to receive them, as well as curved ends have allowed for more and more elements to run ‘off the grid ’, twisting and turning as they go, binding onto elements where the grid might not normally allow them to be stuck. This, in turn, allowed more organic forms to be created.

But what about the younger builders?

Up to 2020, Ninjago continued with predominantly brick-built dragon heads, with a mixture of fabrics and brick-built wings. These models add a degree of challenge for younger builders, and we will see premoulded heads return before long. Most of the larger Dragons incorporated in the Ninjago range were aimed at older builders: typically 8-9+ years of age.

Up to this point, there had been a few Ninjago dragons aimed at younger builders: you were far more likely to find them cropping up in Creator 3in1, Minecraft, a random poly bag, or Classic set inspiration build.

And so the Ninjago Dragons were revamped with a view to younger builders. In 2022, the Ninjago Core range introduced a new selection of elements to make building creatures and mechs a little simpler. Dubbed ‘System CCBS’, we saw a new angled plate, as well as new head, shell, and wing elements.

The resulting sets give fun, simple-to-build dragons.

The range of head moulds also means that with a little recolouring and some creative artwork, a variety of jaw and brow configurations is possible.

These elements are not a return to the plug-and-play of the mid-noughties, but are still simple enough for a four- or five-year-old to build. 

At the same time, these head moulds can be expanded on, using system elements, to create a larger, more detailed head.

Have we seen some of this before?

Now, there does appear to be a little repetition in subject matter between themes. Noone would blame you if you were to suggest that some old materials were being revisited.

Think of water dragons as being the Landspeeder or Fire-truck of the LEGO Fantasy world…

Here are some of my favourites

We have seen a wide variety of dragons over the past few years. Let’s take a closer look at some of my favorites.

80047 Mei’s Guardian Dragon

From 2023’s Monkie Kid Range, 80047 Mei’s Guardian Dragon is one of the most interesting dragon builds to date. It has drawn on the contemporary element library to deliver a beautiful, dynamic model.

From the curved columns forming the legs and the bad robot arm giving us potentially vicious golden claws, to the use of small curved slopes, held in place by rounded studs to fill in unsightly gaps, this is a great demonstration of some of the principles we have outlined in this post.

I am particularly fond of the novel way that was used to bring angled scales to the dragon’s body, along with the placement of a brick-built frill, held off the grid thanks to the modified plates with round ends.

80112 Auspicious Dragon

80112 Auspicious Dragon – commemorating the Chinese year of the Dragon – uses similar techniques, although the model is fairly static.

Many of the techniques used with Mei’s Guardian Dragon’s head are revisited here.

43240 Maleficent’s Dragon Form and Aurora’s Castle

Let us take a look at Maleficent. Featured in 2024’s Disney Princess range, it provides a lovely balance between preformed elements and a satisfying aesthetic result for a 7+ set.

The set uses a new preformed head.

I had a chat with Wes Talbott, a Design Master at the LEGO Group who helped work on this set:

 “When the Disney team began developing the new head element for Maleficent, there was a wish from our Design Governance team to create it in a way that it would both work for Maleficent but also be a nice updated version of the old dragon head that could then be shared with partners like LEGOLAND who frequently ask for the latest versions of classic icons like this.“

As you can see, a few modifications were required to create the final result.
The build itself begins with a Great Wall of SNOT(studs not(only) on top – that is – lots of studs facing sideways), before adding the legs, tail, and neck. this

Opalescent corner circle tiles are used to convey the appearance of reptilian scales, and small domed elements represent the muscles over the hip and shoulder joints.

A brick-built tail is attached using a ball joint. The barb on the end of the tail is also brick-built, a universal substitute for the purpose-built and extremely expensive 2007 version.

LEGO IDEAS 21348 Dungeons And Dragons

The Dragon from LEGO IDEAS 21348 Dungeons And Dragons is similar to Maleficent in terms of basic components, but is a purely brick-built dragon.

With the broader wingspan, gravity comes into play, and stiffer hinges for the wings are needed. This model incorporates the double Galidor/Technic click joints to support these larger wings.

 Small quarter-circle tiles convey a scaly effect, while car roof elements form the muscles over the large joints. 

LEGO Ninjago 71882 Source Dragon of Motion

With over 1700 pieces, 2024’s 71882 Source Dragon of Motion is one of the largest LEGO Dragons ever released, regardless of the metric used – length, height, or part count.

The super-strong ‘double Galidor’ joint is used not only at the 4 hips, but also in the neck and tail. Rubber suspension elements were also used within the feet to reduce skidding.

The tail is reinforced by doubled-up mixel ball joints along the length, preventing significant droop.

The head is achieved by adding a brick-built extension to the premoulded head elements.

Year of the Dragon

But it doesn’t always go from Strength to Strength. In 2023 and 2023 — the Chinese year of the Tiger and Rabbit — we saw some exemplary Creator 3in1 sets to commemorate the occasion.

The Creator set released in January 2024, ahead of the Year of the Dragon, felt a little less…serious

However, in early 2025, during the closing weeks of the Year of the Dragon, Creator set 31161 Medieval Dragon arrived, a brick-built tribute to the 1993 original.

While this dragon represents a flashback to an earlier era of play, it doesn’t necessarily embrace the full range of organic curves available in the palette at the start of 2025. Personally, I like my Creator sets a little blocky. It reminds me that we are in fact building with LEGO Bricks.

The Hero model appears to lean into the European tradition of Dragon design rather than the Asian one. An alternative build for this set gives us this more serpentine model, in time for the year of the Snake.

71847 The Guardian Dragon

In 2026, the Ninjago Legends The Guardian Dragon brought a build catering to older Ninjago fans.

As well as building onto a premoulded head, the model embraces some of the latest curved slopes to maintain an organic look.

The set also incorporated some of the Bionicle Elements that remain in the current parts palette, a special treat for Those Who Remember.

This set is, however, primarily intended for display, rather than play. As such, it feels that we have almost come full circle, returning to the first of the brick-built dragons, 3724 Ollie from 2001.

And Finally

This feels as good a place as any to end our story. What began as a 30th anniversary celebration of LEGO dragons has taken a number of twists and turns over the past 3 years of LEGO Dragons. To say nothing of a dive down a couple of rabbit holes.

We have seen the original dragon incorporate elements from the early crocodile mould (although it might have appeared vice versa), before going on to lead a life with the Dragon Masters and Fright Knights.

We have seen how the joints used in the Galidor figures evolved for use in premoulded dragons of the fantasy era, before going the way of the dinosaurs.

Brick-built dragons have evolved from concepts set up by Bionicle, before building on the ideas in Vikings, and across other play themes ahead of the arrival of Ninjago in 2011.

In recent years, we have seen further development in Creator, Disney Princess and of course Ninjago. Modern LEGO Dragons are not limited to Ninjago: They are also currently available in ICONS (How to Train Your Dragon) as well as Creator 3in1 and Minecraft. As the LEGO system has evolved, we have seen ever greater detail in these builds, with ever greater finesse.

Dragons remain a mainstay of Ninjago: Dragons Rising, and we have seen many new dragon builds appear in 2026.

For now, however, we will sign off.

Which dragon from the LEGO back catalogue is your favourite? The Source Dragon of Motion? Mei’s Guardian Dragon? The Fafnir Dragon from Vikings? The Original Vintage mould? Or another? Leave your comments below.

Interested in chasing down a current LEGO dragon set? Check out this link to search for dragon-focused sets on LEGO.com.

Interested in chasing down a current LEGO Dragon set? Check out this link, searching for Dragon-focused sets on LEGO.com.