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Review: #7187 Escape from the Dragon's Prison


RobExplorien
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RobExplorien

LEGO Kingdoms #7187 Escape from the Dragon's Prison
Review by RobExplorien

I'm not a very big fan of the Castle theme, but I gave the theme a try and bought this set a while ago. It is the #7187 Escape from the Dragon's Prison set, a set from the main theme Castle, and the subtheme Kingdoms. The name of the set gives me high expectations, but it isn't that spectacular. There is no dragon in this set, that adjective refers to the Dragon faction, the antagonists of this set. The protagonists are the Lion Knights, which reminds me of the Royal Knights. Both factions can easily be distinguished from one another, the Lion Knights with their red and silver looks, the Dragon Knights in their black and darkgreen suits.

This set was released back in 2011, at a retail price of $19,99 (according to Brickipedia)/€19,99. It features the Dragon's Prison Tower, a ballista (the smaller vehicle of the Lion Knights) and more accessories, which I'll discuss later on. The box design is nicely done, with that castle look and the minifigures in action. One of the Lion Knights is imprisoned, and it is up to his mate to rescue him from the vicious Dragon Knights. The advised ages are 6-12, and underneath are the set number and the faction arms, all printed on a green tapestry. The Lion Knights castle is probably pictured in the background, in a 'greener' environment, whilst the Dragon Knights have their prison in a barren swamp.
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When we get to the back of the box, we see that the Lion Knights have escaped their enemy. Ofcourse they couldn't leave the loot behind, a ruby. They seem to leave their ballista behind. Clever, I guess... Now they only have to flee from the Elite Dragon Knight with his horse in unicorn costume. And the Crossbow Dragon Knight is just standing there on his turret, waving them goodbye. Also, some features are shown on the left as well, which are the ballista with flick shooter, catapult mounted on a turret and the small treasury.

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Now that we've had the box design, it is time for the contents:

  • 187 pieces (including spare parts, which are pictured left)
  • Instructions (a how to build in 51 steps)

A piece count for a reasonable price, I must say. The printings are well done as well (that's right, no stickers!).

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As for the instructions, they're much longer than they should/could be. You have to go through 51 steps in total! And this set is not very big, if I may say so. Some steps only require one brick to be put on something. The LEGO Company had better merged some steps with eachother, as it would save up on unnecessary used paper and ink. I, and others indubitably, could easily handle to put multiple bricks together in one step. But I can say for sure, that the instructions are very clear to understand, and assembling the bricks shouldn't be a problem here.

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This set, though having a relatively small Dragon Prison, has four minifigures. From left to right: Elite Dragon Knight, Crossbow Dragon Knight, Sword Lion Knight and Spear Lion Knight. The Elite Dragon Knight has to be my favorite, having awesome looking armour. The second from left on the other hand looks a bit goofy, but I guess you always need a goof alongside the antagonist. All four are very detailed and have printings on the front and back. The Elite Dragon Knight and the Sword Lion Knight also have a second face.

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Thus the battle begins. In the left corner: Sword Lion Knight, with his flick shooter and pointy spears ready to pierce any violent incomers apart! I the right corner: Elite Dragon Knight, with his badass unicorn costumed horse and sharpened sword, no one will conquer him (well, that's what he thinks)! The horse does have a very detailed saddle-cloth, and has two holders on its sides for equipment.

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And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the fully assembled set! The Dragon's Prison measures around 17cm (7 inch) wide and 15cm (6 inch) high. Both turrets carry the Dragon Knights coat of arms, and the turrets share a somewhat similar design. Taking the image below, the ruby is stashed in the left turret, the imprisoned Spear Lion Knight in the right turret. The gateway is opened, but it ends up at nothing. Therefore I guess that this set would fit better with a Dragon Knights castle (which doesn't exist as an official set), where this set is to be placed in front of the gangway of the main castle.

I'm not surprised that the two are still fighting, they really seem to hate each other's guts.

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You may not have known that there also is a rat included in this set, hidden at his turret. The prison has a door, but the room with the treasury is left open. In fact, there isn't even a door. I'd say the Dragon Knights did a good job at protecting their loot. As I said before, the set promptly ends when through the gateway, not really what I like.

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View more of the #7187 Escape from the Dragon's Prison set:

The sought-after ruby. Ostensibly stashed safely, but easy to steal via the back.

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"You're free, you're free!". Even with the door closed, he could still escape by going over the door. Not the most secure prison, right?

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While fighting, the Elite Dragon Knight got distracted by the rat, giving free course to the Sword Lion Knight. But he has to watch his step, the goof knight with his crossbow awaits him at the gateway!

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Having this set examined and tested, I come to the following conclusion:

  • The box allows for easy storage, for it is 5cm (2 inch) in depth. The box design fits very well with the Kingdoms theme, and the background matches with the scene pictured.
  • The instructions are, to just put it like this, too easy for me to understand. Many steps could've merged with each other to turn the build from a 51 steps to 30 steps. Though this annoys me, the instructions are very clear to understand this way.
  • The printings are detailed, and astonish me in some kind of way. At a few points the printing is a millimeter out of bounds, but this is hardly to be seen, and is certainly not something a child would mind.
  • The whole set is fun to play with, and the knights have lots of accessories to carry/use. Though this set would fit better with a bigger castle, as this Dragon's Prison looks more like the entrance of a bigger structure.

Rating
Design:  8/10
Quality: 8/10
Fun: 7/10
Price: 9/10

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