LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship review

The largest of the upcoming LEGO DREAMZzz sets chomps and sails its way into view in the monstrous shape of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship.

A hero is only as effective as the villain that they face off against, so it’s a good thing that LEGO DREAMZzz has an antagonist who’s every bit as scary as his name might suggest. The Nightmare King made his debut in the LEGO DREAMZzz TV show, as he and his dark minions began to corrupt the dream world and expand the influence of their own reality.

The terrifying ruler of the Grim Realm also gets his own signature LEGO DREAMZzz set in 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship. The model is the largest of the first wave of upcoming builds and is a literal combination of a terrifying sharp-toothed sea creature and a spooky pirate vessel.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship set details —

Theme: LEGO DREAMZzz Set name: 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship Release: August 1, 2023

Price: £119.99 / $139.99 / €139.99 Pieces: 1,389 Minifigures: 4

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship —

LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship will launch on August 1, 2023, and be available to purchase from LEGO.com, LEGO Stores and third-party retailers. Check out the latest prices for the set below.

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— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship build —

In the second episode of the LEGO DREAMZzz TV show, the sinister Night Hunter steals Izzie’s Mr. Sharkyjaw plush toy and combines it with his own flying ship to create a creepy new vessel. The result is 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, a 1,389-piece build that measures 31cm in height, is 60cm long and 25cm wide. The 10+ model claims its rightful place as the largest and most impressive of the initial wave of LEGO DREAMZzz sets and is only one of two that includes a minifigure of the Nightmare King himself.

As with every LEGO DREAMZzz build, the story-led instructions for 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship not only guide you through the assembly process, but also drop in impressive illustrations that hint at play possibilities with the completed craft. The hull of the vessel is the first section to come together, with Day-Glo green teeth surrounding the shark’s large mouth, which contains a retractable grappling hook and line. The maw of the beast can also be snapped open and closed by turning a dial on one side of its head.

The overall colour scheme and look of the shark brings to mind the Sandworms from Beetlejuice, nightmarish creatures that seem to share similar DNA to the fearsome beast featured in 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship. The rest of the brute’s build comes together with black, pink, purple, white and grey elements adding to the overall length of the beast’s body. For a set this size there are very few stickers, with some new dual-moulded elements adding plenty of vivid colour to what could have been a dark and gloomy build.

One curious moment in the building process for 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship comes with the placement of a brown ‘poo’ piece inside the rear of the shark. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this sort of scatological humour from the LEGO Group, but the item is soon covered over as the 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship build continues, leaving it as an Easter egg for the builder alone. Is the LEGO Group poop-shaming us? Answers on the back of a postcard.

There’s also an area with a bed located within the belly of the beast, with black rib pieces on either side that can be lowered, effectively acting as cage bars to imprison captured dreamers. The rear of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship is completed with a poseable tail section that terminates in two large black wings, pieces that have been repurposed from numerous LEGO Batman models.

Sitting on top of the shark’s body is the other major area of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, the pirate-inspired vessel itself. This section consists of the bow of the ship that features a large moveable sword prow, with a lantern dangling beneath it and two rotating and stud-firing turrets on either side. A trapdoor in the floor of the ship also reveals a secret treasure chest that’s just waiting to be discovered. The booty can be made to pop up from its hiding place by pressing down on a printed lock tile and opening it reveals gold bars contained within.

The rear of the ship is its own removable play section, one that splits open to act as a miniature scene, complete with various wall-mounted weapons, an hourglass and a captured Bunchu bunny figure. The top of this part of the build features a brick-built skull at the rear, railings constructed from handcuff and plant elements, four lanterns, the yellow eye motif of the Nightmare King, and a steering wheel for guiding 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship through the dream world.

With the main model complete, builders are then given the option of creating one of two variants of the monster vehicle. The first of these adds massive Star Wars podracer-style engines on either side of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, with new LEGO elements used throughout their construction, including a vivid purple flame piece. Particularly impressive details here include the pearlescent tubes on either side of the engines that reveal their interiors, hinting that they may in fact be powered by eyeballs! This variant of the vessel also boasts two gigantic black and purple batwing sails on top of the ship that are also new elements, with small wings located just behind the shark’s head.

The second 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship option transforms the LEGO DREAMZzz set into a powerful land-based tank, with the reassembled engines transformed into four large spiky wheels and two massive cannons blasting away at the front. The ship also gains a couple of crows nests for Grimspawn lookouts and a huge creepy flying eyeball build with batwings that could be used to seek out and pursue poor Dream Chasers.

Whichever version of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship you end up going with, the results are suitably spooky and spectacular. The completed LEGO DREAMZzz build is guaranteed to dominate any display, with the unique-looking vessel almost a bizarre mash-up of LEGO The Lord of the Rings and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean models.

The ability to construct a standalone version of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, then swap out extra sections to enhance the LEGO DREAMZzz set adds all sorts of play potential to a model that should rightly appeal to builders of all ages. Thanks to a number of exciting new elements, the set also offers up all kinds of possibilities for customisation, even using its unique elements when constructing your own creative endeavours.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship characters —

71469 Nightmare Shark Ship includes four minifigures representing characters from the LEGO DREAMZzz TV series. The first of these is Mateo in his dream avatar outfit, complete with new hair piece, double-sided head and torso, green cloth cape, plus printed and dual-moulded legs. He comes with a brick-built version of his large dream-crafted pencil accessory, as well as a small trans-green piece with printed eyes, representing Z-Blob, which can be attached to a flexible line.

Mateo’s sister Izzie is also included with 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, with her minifigure looking identical to the one included in 71453 Izzie and Bunchu the Bunny. She sports a trans-blue, pink and purple hair piece, purple shoulder pads, double-sided head and torso prints and dual-moulded legs. In addition, Izzie also comes with dual-moulded hourglass and sword accessories, plus a new yellow cloth skirt piece.

Only appearing in one other LEGO DREAMZzz set, 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse, the minifigure of dreamer Nova boasts a double-sided torso with a fun sloth print and a double-sided head. The young girl is shown imprisoned on the box of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, showcasing the model’s prison area.

However, the most impressive minifigure included with the build is the Nightmare King himself. The exact same version of the ruler of the Grim Realm also comes with 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse, so the two sets will be the only way to obtain the character for now. The villain has an impressive new dual-moulded helmet and a flexible plastic cloak, neither of which would appear out of place in a LEGO The Lord of the Rings build. The minifigure also receives his own dual-moulded sword, double-sided printed head and torso, plus printed legs.

Rounding out 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship’s character selection are two Grimspawn figures, Snivel and, er… Susan. As with other variants of the LEGO DREAMZzz foes, these are assembled from a small black body element with printed front and head pieces, with Snivel gaining a larger version of the latter. One issue we had with the Susan figure is that, due to a mis-moulded piece, we were unable to attach one of the two purple horns to the Grimspawn’s helmet. However, that’s likely just a one-off manufacturing error and unlikely to appear in every version of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship price —

Perfectly priced at £119.99 / $139.99 / €139.99 for 1,389 pieces, 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship manages to fully demonstrate the potential of the LEGO DREAMZzz theme. By mixing and matching ideas and elements, the set shows that the sky’s the limit when it comes to future builds based around the world of dreams and dream-based creations.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship pictures —

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship pros and cons —

There’s plenty to be impressed by in 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, from the use of striking new elements to the ability to transform the monstrous vehicle into two different forms. Add in a uniquely-detailed minifigure collection and plenty of play potential for the right price and it’s easy to see this being an extremely popular LEGO DREAMZzz set.

Minor issues are few, with only one small 2×4 piece missing from our review copy of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, although it’s a common enough element we were easily able to replace from our own stash of spare parts. Likewise, the problem with a mis-moulded Grimspawn helmet element could just have been a one-off and certainly doesn’t take away from the set’s value and imposing form.

For those who may start their LEGO DREAMZzz collections with some apprehension, be assured that 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship represents a solid investment in both time and money, with the completed model being the crowning jewel in the upcoming dream-based theme.

71469 Nightmare Shark Ship pros	71469 Nightmare Shark Ship cons
Striking and unique design, solid selection of minifigures	One piece was missing in our review set
Includes many new LEGO elements	Moulding error on Grimspawn helmet piece
Ability to craft multiple versions of the vehicle

This set was provided by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship —

As well as other imaginative sets available in the LEGO DREAMZzz theme, there are a few other models available that might satisfy your need to see multiple creations mashed-up together. These include Monkie Kid’s 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant, plus NINJAGO’s 71765 Ninja Ultra Combo Mech and 71792 Sora’s Transforming Bike.

There are also quite a few ship-based building options available, but we’d recommend three LEGO vessels that are currently still available: 31109 Pirate Ship, 31132 Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent and 76208 The Goat Boat.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship FAQ —