LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31161 Medieval Dragon review
The LEGO Creator 3-in-1 team proves it’s still on fire in 2025 with an imaginative trio of fantasy builds in 31161 Medieval Dragon.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1’s recent renaissance shows no signs of slowing down at the moment, and 31161 Medieval Dragon looks sure to be another memorable marker for the theme, serving up three mythical creatures in one fantasy-themed package. Let’s build it, pull it apart, build it again, pull it apart again, and finally build it one last time to put all three medieval models through their paces…
31161 Medieval Dragon
Release: January 1, 2025
Retiring: December 31, 2027
Price: £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99
Pieces: 715
Minifigures: 0
The dragon
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 has already tackled a menagerie of modern-day, real-world animals, but this is the first time since the theme began levelling up in 2022 that it’s brought us a dragon on this scale. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2009’s 6751 Fiery Legend, or maybe even 2006’s 4894 Mythical Creatures, to find a Creator dragon at the same size, scale and scope as 31161 Medieval Dragon. But this one’s very much been worth the wait.
Channelling O.G. LEGO mascot Ollie the dragon through its bold and bright red and green colour palette, 31161 Medieval Dragon’s primary model takes everything the LEGO designers have learned about dragons – over years of refining and iterating their designs across themes including NINJAGO, Monkie Kid, NINJAGO, Disney, NINJAGO and (one more time for good measure) NINJAGO – and applies them to a classic high fantasy concept.
That means we’re looking at the prototypical image your brain conjures up when you imagine a medieval dragon, from the four legs and long tail to the snarling face and dramatic wings. There are pockets of visual flair, communicated mostly through clever parts usage – the missile base for the tail, the tooth pieces above the eyes – but 31161 Medieval Dragon also demonstrates restraint in its design, staying in the lane established by the set’s title.
Within that lane, though, there are still plenty of opportunities for the dragon to show off. This is Creator 3-in-1, where the only solution is bricks – how else to keep the parts palette common across three builds? – so the wings are fashioned entirely from standard elements. They’re a little bit fragile coming together as a result, but once locked in they’re surprisingly sturdy, and well-articulated thanks to their click-hinge joints.
The shaping is pretty clever all round too, once again exhibiting just how accomplished the Creator team has become at realising organic shapes with relatively common pieces. If there’s anything to pick away at it’s the head, which is smart in some ways – see again those tooth pieces above the eyes – but, ironically, the use of clips for its actual teeth doesn’t feel quite as menacing as it should.
The treasure chest side build is a fun and intelligent way to sneak a few more grey, red and gold pieces into the box for the alternate models, and as always in these sets it’s fun going through each of the builds and identifying moments where pieces have clearly been included to serve a particular model, and are then worked into or buried in the others. The phoenix’s eyes are squirrelled away inside the dragon; the jewels glistening in the treasure chest serve as the sea serpent’s eyes; and so on. And speaking of those other builds…
The phoenix
What’s most unusual about 31161 Medieval Dragon is that it almost entirely reverses the colour palette for one of its alternate builds. Where the dragon is predominantly green with red highlights, the phoenix concentrates those green pieces into its plinth, while the bird itself is purely shades of red and gold. It speaks to just how clever the designers are getting with these sets, finding ways to maximise the colour and part palette to serve increasingly disparate builds.
There’s more to the phoenix than just its colours, too: it’s another really strong build that comes together in a smooth and satisfying way, with wings that are easier and feel more natural to position than even the dragon’s, convincing shaping and a pretty decent head (easily the trickiest part of these mythical creatures to get right). It sits loosely atop the plinth rather than being anchored in, sliding Technic axles through bricks with round holes, which is great for picking it up and flying it around – you’ll just need to be careful not to inadvertently knock it off.
That advice is relevant because this is another build you’ll be happy to keep built up and on display, and there’s nothing better you can say about a Creator 3-in-1 alternate model.
The sea serpent
Finally there’s the sea serpent, which hews closely to the dragon in colour and general approach, but less so in articulation and playability. The shaping of its body is achieved through an enjoyable mix of stacking bricks and brackets for a sturdy studs-not-on-top core, but the side effect is that it’s all locked in, so only the tail and head offer any variation in posing. The single ball joint holding up the head also isn’t strong enough to support it independently, so it just flops back down if you lift it up and let go.
But the head is a real highlight here, and easily the best across the three builds, combining the clips of the dragon with actual tooth elements for a fiercer bite. It’s a surprisingly piece-heavy section of the model all round (contributing to the ball joint’s inability to support its weight), and takes full advantage of some of the more unusual elements the designers have managed to cram into 31161 Medieval Dragon’s part selection.
The finished model absolutely looks the part, even if the tail only really works from one side and the whole thing is a bit delicate in places during (but not after) construction, so it’s really splitting hairs to say it’s the weakest of the three. But on balance, neither the sea serpent or phoenix are reason enough alone to buy 31161 Medieval Dragon.
The good news is that you’re not buying into this set for just one of those builds, but all three: and that’s the entire point of Creator 3-in-1. You’ll have a good time building all three in turn, displaying each one until you’re tired of it and fancy having something a little different on your shelf. There’s more mileage in this theme than you’ll find anywhere else in the portfolio, and 31161 Medieval Dragon sustains its streak of stand-out sets.
LEGO 31161 Medieval Dragon, 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle and 21343 Viking Village comparison
The most obvious companion for 31161 Medieval Dragon is of course 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle (review) – at least if you’re keen on introducing a little fantasy to your medieval display. The bright colours of the dragon complement the castle’s palette well, and the size and design make it a great fit too. The relatively limited articulation may make it tricky to display convincingly without a little help, though.
If you’re looking for something a little further off the beaten track (or just want an excuse to pick up a second copy), consider pairing the sea serpent with 21343 Viking Village (review), where the Creator 3-in-1 set’s bright colours contrast with rather than complement the LEGO Ideas set’s comparatively muted tones.
Even if you don’t plan on adjoining 31161 Medieval Dragon to another set in your collection, though, there’s plenty of mileage to be mined from this one across all three builds. It doesn’t quite demand you buy three copies in the same way as other recent LEGO Creator 3-in-1 sets, but at least a single set should be on your radar in 2025 (and beyond).
Our honest opinion: Another strong effort from the LEGO Creator team, 31161 Medieval Dragon serves up a stand-out main act with a pair of stellar – if not quite as gripping – supporting builds.
This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.
You can support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links. Thanks!
