LEGO’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Toothless Set Makes for an Adorable Mini Night Fury

The 784-piece LEGO Icons How to Train Your Dragon: Toothless building set consists of seven bags. They (generally) get easier to put together as you go along. The set also works from the bottom up and inside out. You first build Toothless’ interior before ending with his big head and tail.

I thought with under 800-pieces this would be a pretty easy build, and in terms of time it was. I finished mine in roughly three-and-a-half hours. (For context I’m a slow but tenacious LEGO builder. I don’t put pieces together quickly but I don’t stop once I start.) However, the set was more challenging than I expected because it includes a lot of very small pieces. Each section also fits snugly into the previous ones, so there are some tight fits.

Fortunately the set is stronger than it feels as you’re putting them together. Multiple times I worried I was about to have portions snap off but that never happened. The instructions only slightly tripped me up twice, with the biggest coming when I had to place Toothless’ eyes. (Put them as high as you can.)

The small pieces, which frequently connect to other small pieces, means that despite Toothless being a kids movie icon his set is not appropriate for youngsters. They would struggle to put this together, hence, the 18+ age recommendation. They don’t really have to be old enough to vote, though. A pre-teen who knows how to follow LEGO instructions and has experience with more advanced collections can do it. But that age suggestion gives you a good idea of the skill level needed for this collectible.

Once you’ve finishing building your Night Fury, though, he’s very fun for kids to play with. LEGO Toothless features lots of posable parts. That includes his tail, wings, jaw, ears, head (that both turns and swivels), and a removable wagging tongue. He also comes with some fun extras, including a plasma-blast and blue fish. You can place both extras inside the mouth his depending on how you want yours displayed.

My favorite pose is a smiling Toothless with his tongue hanging out. With his saddle he looks happy and eager to have Hiccup on his back. The fact LEGO designed this set so Toothless looks like he’s really smiling is what makes this piece really stand out. Without his tongue you can also see how he got his name, as his bottom row of teeth look gummy. It’s a very well-designed, entertaining set.

The only real issue I have is that Toothless’ oversized head is too heavy to keep elevated. And since it only stands seven-inches tall (smaller than I expected), that causes a sightline issues. If you have Toothless below your eye line, as I have had with him next to my laptop, you’re missing out on seeing a lot of the best features. The top of his head isn’t as much fun as his big goofy smile. To really appreciate this finished set, you need to put your LEGO Night Fury in an elevated position. Fitting for a dragon, sure, but you might not exactly have the perfect place to put him.

Does all of that make LEGO Toothless worth his $69.99 price tag? That will partially depend on if you think the relatively short amount of time it takes to complete this set is worth that amount. But considering how much other hard-to-build LEGO sets cost, I think it’s a great introductory collectible for those hoping to expand their LEGO skills. Even for master builders, though, once you’re done it makes for a geneuinely great How To Train Your Dragon collectible that will remind you why you like the movies and its famous Night Fury.

It will also remind you it’s unbelievable it took us this long to get a LEGO set from the Isle of Berk.