Azari & The Fire Lion Capture

My granddaughters absolutely love the Lego Elves sets. They offer mystical creatures mostly not found in the rest of Lego realm, ranging from fierce dragons to adorable but mischievous bat – kitten creatures. The sets show good creativity and I love watching my granddaughters' imagination go crazy as the play with their completed sets. And when I say completed, I should mention completed in a hurry. When they get a new set in hand, they don't stop until it is finished. I hope the Lego Elves sets continue on, as my granddaughters cannot get enough of these underappreciated sets…. This set in particular was another huge hit, as the girls were quite enamored with the Lion. Well done Lego! more less

I haven't bought a LEGO set for myself in ages, and this was a great way to get back into it. I haven't looked at any of the LEGO Elves sets for this year, so when I visited LEGOLAND Florida last week, I was pleasantly surprised to find them in the Heartlake Mall. I am planning on buying the earth fox one soon! This set is very interesting. I was very disappointed in last year's waves because they weren't interesting, so this year is a huge plus so far. This set comes with a buildable fire lion named Rowan, who is a guardian of some sort. She is about the size of Merina, the water dragon. She is pretty articulate, and very detailed. She even comes with a saddle. However, I wish she had fangs on her mouth, like the dragons do. This set also comes with Azari, in a brand new outfit which looks very snazzy. She has this very big hammer to break the chain that captures Rowan to steal her fire gem. The bats, Vespe and Molo, are wickedly adorable. the bat cave is very cool too, because the bats can hang upside down to sleep! The catapult was a nice challenge with all the Technic parts. There is a small water catapult, and a giant chain to trap Rowan in. The front of the catapult has a space to put the bats' wing glider, as well as a map and some food in the back. There is also a water bucket that the bats can carry around. Overall, this set is very cute, and I am looking forward to more. more less

The look of the fire lion is really cool with translucent pieces to create the fiery look of the lion's mane. And it will be fun to see how kids incorporate some of the more random accessories, such as the chicken leg and pink cupcake, into their creative storytelling. more less

Overall, I think this will likely be a standout for this year's Elves sets. Not only for the whimsical lion build, but also the reasonable price point. Despite being clearly marketed at girls, this in particular seems like a set that could have decent cross-appeal. more less

If you enjoyed the dragon builds released a couple of years ago you will enjoy this build as Rowan is the primary feature. Overall I think this set is attractive, but for some reason it didn't wow me as other Elves sets have. I enjoyed building Rowan and I think his colour scheme is quite striking, though one doesn't normally think of a flame yellowish orange colour going well with the pink highlights that we find here. It does though and it works, despite the dark grey joints. more less

As the sets get a little bigger, all parts of them gain a little more detail and functions. The fire lion features some great parts, it's just a shame about the grey bits peeking through on the legs and feet. Plus those fire tipped wings look a little odd, especially on a lion, but they still add a nice bit of detail to the fiery beast. The cave may only be a small part of the set but I love the little beds on it. They are a fun bit of detail. more less