LEGO Elves came about in 2015 as an off-shoot of the LEGO Friends theme and I originally thought it would be a marked improvement; not focusing on jobs in the service industry, veterinary practices or pop stardom. Then I saw Nadia’s Spa Secret and Azari and the Magical Bakery and sighed lamentably.

While much of the line focuses on magic and adventure, it can still be stymied by the trappings of being the ‘girl LEGO’ and that strikes me as wrong. This seems like a pretty cool world with magic and dragons and what seems to be a fish-out-of-water human character but is there even a villain for this line? Some kind of antagonist for these mages and their dragons to battle? There’s one, who only just received her first set, a year into the line (Ragana’s Magic Shadow Castle, which looks pretty awesome).

Anyway, today we’ll be looking at the 41173 Elvendale School of Dragons, which contains 230 pieces and sells for an RRP of £17.99. The box is eye-catching and really sells the mystic aesthetic and does a good job of showcasing the features of the set as well as the cross-sell for the LEGO Elves app (which I won’t be looking at like the NEXO Knights one)

The box contains two bags of bricks, a sticker sheet, a sheet with perforated banners and a long stick.

As usual, we’ll take a look at the figures included first and this time it’s of the mini-doll variety. This is Tidus Stormsurfer, a water elf who is a little bit like Hiccup from HTTYD and is in the process of training Miku, the baby dragon included in this set. He comes with an hourglass and can wield what is blatantly a Jammie Dodger crossbow. I… I don’t…

The majority of the build consists of the small hut and tree next to it. Unlike the Lord of The Rings sets, this magical world is alive with colour and the unusual hues and translucent bricks present in this set makes the build rather interesting.

The little nooks, crannies and details added in during the build gives the impression of a lived-in world despite being an isolated little island. There’s a removable desk, mail slot, storage box for Jammie Dodgers that can hold precisely TWO delicious biscuits and still be able to close the lid.

The long pole is rather malleable and acts a rail that bends around the entire set to create a launcher/swing for Miku, presumably to help the little dragon learn to fly if the included blackboard is any indication.

Overall, I think the Elvendale School of Dragons is a cute little set. It’s not as cool looking as the bigger dragon sets or that boat from last year but as an intro to the line, it’s not too shabby. I appreciate the colour scheme, the design aesthetic and the possibility of lore. Thank you to LEGO and Crescendo PR for the opportunity to review this set and I’ll catch you guys next time for another Mint in Box!

Kamen Rider Wizard is an odd series for me. In concept, a magical Kamen Rider who saves people from falling into a deadly depressive despair caused by Phantoms should be my cup of tea but I just never got on with the series, despite a cool premise and awesome looking Rider design.

So why am I not reviewing the base form? Because, according to trusted review sources (aka Josh over at CDX), that Figuart is garbage and I will not have garbage on my Rider shelf. Trash, yes — garbage, no. Let’s cut to the chase then and take a look at this mage!

Wizard’s Flame Dragon style passes over to his box, with a dull silver and red dragon sigil surrounding the window. The reverse sees full colour images of Flame Dragon form with Wizard’s summoning circle in the background.

Pulling Wizard out of the packaging reveals a very literal box of tricks. He includes six pairs of interchangeable hands, a reversed WizarDriver, the WizarSwordGun in both sword and gun forms and the Drago Skull. It’s a robust selection of accessories but I feel he may have too many hands? Blasphemy, I know, but some are only slight variations on others plus those bulky Wizard Rings on each hand makes swapping them out almost as painful as handling Bravo. He also includes a pretty ugly Tamashii stage but I’m not going to grumble at more stage arms.

It’s Showtime! Flame, Dragon! Haruto’s first elemental Dragon upgrade looks fantastic; taking the long flowing coat of the base form and adding more draconic elements to the design. The figure is well constructed and the joints are nice and tight but is it just me or are his feet a little big?

One thing I love about the Wizard design is that the helmet reflects the jewelled ring aesthetic and the translucent red ‘gem’ of a faceplate is executed amazingly well. Add to that the tandem gems and runes on his pauldrons and the jewelled elements on the torso, and you’ve got one stylish looking mage!

True to S.H.Figuarts’ regular high standard, the WizarDriver is beautifully detailed; shimmering silver with the Hand Author picked out in an intense gold and dark translucent plastic with a detailed rune behind it. Attached to his hip, Wizard carries the Wizard Rings which give him access to his various forms and the various spells he can utilise.

Both forms of the WizarSwordGun are highly detailed and have the Shake Hands opening gimmick to activate the various Final Strikes. I’m not sure which I prefer overall but I feel the Flame Dragon upgrade should have a unique weapon to add to Wizard’s arsenal. Oh, wait…

Each of the elemental Dragon forms includes a specialised dragon weapon and Flame’s is the Drago Skull which is by far the goofiest one and I say that knowing that Water Dragon includes the Drago Tail. The dragon skull, which is a swappable chest piece that sticks out of Wizard’s chest, has a decent amount of articulation — the neck moves, his ears waggle and the mouth opens.

Stacked up to both his predecessors and his successor, Flame Dragon looks pretty cool but I do lament that this isn’t a good version of the base form because that would look so much cooler.

Overall, if you need a Wizard for your Rider shelf, you can’t really go wrong with Flame Dragon as he looks great and is a functional figure, even if his colour palette is a shabadoobie touch too red. Have any thoughts on Wizard or the Figuarts line? Let your voice be heard in the comments and I’ll catch you guys next time on Mint in Box!