5x5 fest: Introducing the elements

It's been a while since we ran one of our "parts festivals", where we send LEGO builders some of the most interesting new elements and ask them to create some original models to inspire you. Well, buckle up because we have not one but two parts festivals coming at you this month, and they're a little different to before! We will introduce the second one soon, but today we reveal our 5x5 fest.

No, LEGO have not released a 5x5 plate, it's nothing like that! We simply sent 5 of our gorgeous contributors 5 LEGO sets, and asked them to get busy making gorgeous stuff. As well as parts in the sets, they could use their own part collections. So for the next 5 weeks, every Friday is 5x5 fest day when we will reveal what each of the builders created! The gorgeous bunch are Caz Mockett, Kev Levell, Aron Gerencsér, Thomas Jenkins and Tom Loftus.

Caz has kindly written the following introduction, and we will reveal what she came up with tomorrow.

The 5 participants each received a copy of 71746 Jungle Dragon from the NINJAGO theme, 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon from the Disney lineup, a VIDIYO BeatBox and up to two extra small sets of their choice. To kick things off we will take a look at the elements in the three common sets here, so that individual articles can concentrate on how the pieces were used to make some inspiring MOCs.

LEGO NINJAGO 71746 Jungle Dragon

First of all, let’s take a look at the Ninjago Jungle Dragon. It retails at £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99, contains 506 pieces, which gives a very respectable price per part of 6.9p / 7.9c. There are four minifigures - the Island Mask versions of Lloyd and Cole along with two islanders, PoulErik and Thunder Keeper. Cole gets a little stud-shooting sailboard side build (try saying that in a hurry!), but of course the main attraction is the magnificent dragon, resplendent in teal with pearl gold accents.

Exclusive New Parts in 71746 Jungle Dragon

The following elements are exclusive to this set, apart from the round tile:

• 1x Creature Body Part, Dragon Head Upper Jaw with Scales and Gold Eyes Print in Dark Turquoise (6321419 | 72362)
• 1x Creature Body Part, Dragon Head Upper Jaw with 4 Studs on Top and White Teeth print in Dark Tan (6323564 | 72224) 
• 1x Plate Special 1 x 2 with Angular Extension and Flexible Sand Green Tip in Dark Turquoise (6325523 | 61406)
• 1x Tile Round 2 x 2 with Bottom Stud Holder and Black Shuriken Print in Pearl Gold (6321340 | 14769) - additionally found in 71740 Jay’s Electric Mech

Rare Colours in 71746 Jungle Dragon

The following elements are only to be found in a limited number of other sets:

• 2x Dish 3 x 3 Inverted [Radar] in Dark Turquoise (6333162 | 43898) - also in 70820 Movie Maker, a small LEGO Store exclusive mini-build, Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Starship, and 43114 Punk Pirate Ship 
• 2x Wedge Sloped 45° 2 x 2 Corner in Dark Turquoise (6307898 | 13548) - additionally seen in 71741 Ninjago City Gardens and another set in our selection of five, 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon
• 1x Wedge Plate 4 x 2 Left (6258329 | 41770) and 1x Wedge Plate 4 x 2 Right (6258333 | 41769) both in Sand Green - have only been seen in 75277 Boba Fett and 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg previously 
• 1x Brick Special Disc Dragon Shape with Trans-Dark Purple Flames Pattern in Pearl Gold (6320796 | 69567) - also found in 71748 Catamaran Sea Battle and 71745 Lloyd’s Jungle Bike
• 1x Creature Body Part, Barb Large (Claw, Talon) with Clip in Red (6253274 | 16770) - also in 80103 Dragon Boat Race and 31088 Deep Sea Creatures
• 7x Plate Special 3 x 2 with Hole in Sand Green (6278542 | 3176) - only previously found in 75255 Yoda

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LEGO Disney 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon

Dragons appear to be an accidental theme in this parts festival, with a smaller animal to be found here along with Raya. The set retails for £27.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 with just 216 parts, giving a price per part almost double that of the Jungle Dragon, of 13.0p / 13.9c. Good old “IP Tax” at work, no doubt. But the parts were interesting, so we went with it anyway!

New Parts in 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon

There are some quirky foil elements along with some other specialised pieces made from regular plastic.

• 1x Animal / Creature Body Part, Tail / Claw / Horn / Branch / Tentacle, End Section, Large in Medium Azure (6324389 | 67361) 
• 1x Creature Body Part, Dragon Head with Lavender Mane (Sisu) in Light Aqua (6336658 | 69672) - unique
• 1x Plastic Sheet Sisu Wings (6317332 | 69692)

All three of the above are unique to this set. Additionally 1x Weapon, Sword, Wavy Blade (Raya) in Sand Green (6331737 | 75604) is new for 2021 and also appears in 43181 Raya and the Heart Palace and 30558 Raya and the Ongi Polybag.

Recolours in 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon

All of the following are unique to this set:

• 1x Panel 2 x 6 x 6 with Gothic Arch in Dark Turquoise (6324010 | 35565)
• 2x Brick Arch 1 x 3 x 2 in Medium Azure (6056998 | 88292)
• 5x Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Axle Hole Type 1 [+ Opening] and Bottom Pin in Medium Azure (6322830 | 32064)
• 5x Brick Round 1 x 1 diameter Tube with 45 Degree Elbow(2 x 2 x 1) and Axle Holes(Crossholes) at each end in Medium Azure (6322807 | 65473)
• 1x Wedge Curved 2 x 3 x 2/3 Two Studs, Wing End in Medium Azure (6336541 | 47456)
• 1x Creature Body Part, Dragon / Bird Lower Jaw in Light Aqua (6336531 | 39124) 

The remaining three elements have also appeared in other sets:

• 8x Brick Curved 3 x 1 with 2/3 Inverted Cutout in Medium Azure (6320292 | 70681) -  a new mould in other colours for 2021, it is also in Raya and the Heart Palace and Raya and the Ongi in this colour
• 1x Tile 2 x 3 with Map with Dragon Shape print in Red (6317283 | 26603) - additionally seen in 43185 Boun’s Boat and Raya and the Heart Palace
• 1x Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger on Side, without Groove in Blue (6266252 | 44567b) - also in Raya and the Heart Palace

Rare Colours in 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon

• 2x Wedge Sloped 45° 2 x 2 Corner in Dark Turquoise (6307898 | 13548) - additionally in Ninjago City Gardens and Jungle Dragon above 
• 2x Tile Special 2 x 3 Pentagonal in Trans Blue Opal (633928 | 22385) - also in 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook
• 2x Brick Round 2 x 2 Dome Bottom [Open Stud] in Pearl Gold (6317208 | 15395) - in two other sets, 80015 Monkie Kid’s Cloud Roadster and 21324 123 Sesame Street

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VIDIYO BeatBoxes

In addition to the sets already mentioned, each participant also chose a VIDIYO BeatBox to their liking. The example above is 43106 Unicorn DJ BeatBox. 

The LEGO Group recently announced that they are halting future VIDIYO releases (and possibly even the 1 August 2021 sets about to release in North America, but there's no definite answer on that yet)! They will instead be taking another look at the user experience, with a view to simplifying it and starting again in 2023. Whether these future sets will still be branded as VIDIYO by that stage is completely unknown.

"We wanted to provide you with an update regarding LEGO VIDIYO.

As you know, we launched LEGO VIDIYO in January to connect with children in a completely new way, blending music, digital play and LEGO building in a fun and unique way. The product tested extremely well during development and has received really positive feedback from those children and families who have played with it.

We’ve seen a positive response to the launch, but we’ve also received feedback from people that we could make the play experience across the app, BeatBits, music and minifigures even simpler. So, we’re taking that onboard and together with Universal Music Group are going to pilot some new ideas in 2022, then release new play experiences in 2023 and beyond.

LEGO VIDIYO is very much still available, the current products will continue to be sold in stores and marketed globally, and we’re continuing to support this fantastic play experience, including new updates and fun challenges to the app to inspire children's creative music video making.

Thank you for your continued support of the LEGO brand, we hope for your understanding behind this decision."

In the meantime, the 2021 sets are infamously being heavily discounted so it’s a great time to get inspired by the many new elements introduced for the line! 

The BeatBoxes all come with some very interesting new parts - in various colourways. For more information on them all, please see Caz’s full review of the VIDIYO BeatBox lineup.

And of course come back tomorrow to see what she made in the first of our fabulous Friday 5x5 fest frolics!

READ MORE: See what Caz built using these parts and more

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