Review + MOC: 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven from LEGO® DREAMZzz™

The last 2024 LEGO® DREAMZzz™ set we're reviewing is another great example of the quirky set design of this original theme: a witch's hut nested atop a gigantic raven. So far, I've been critical towards many sets of this wave due to unfocused and messy set design. I've associated this with the alternative builds. I like how these sets offer different designs using the same parts, emphasising the nature of this medium – but so far, it has deemed sacrifices on the design coherence.

Obviously, it's much easier to make one focused set design with a specific set of parts. In this respect, 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven is closer to the original August 2023 wave. There is a distinct B-Model, but it shares about 85% of the structure with the main model while still supporting very different play patterns. How does the raven fare?

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven

• Release date: 1 August 2024
• Pieces: 1203

Price:

• US$ 99.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 129.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 89.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 149.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 159.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 99,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 99,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 99,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 429.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 1319,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 899.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

Buy individual pieces from Never Witch's Midnight Raven set on LEGO® Pick a Brick

 

Interesting pieces

New Moulds

• Weapon Hilt with Bar, Hourglass with Opal-Trans Bright Green bar in Pearl Gold (6501460 | 5330) - also in 3 other August LEGO DREAMZzz sets
• Animal, Raven with a Black marbled pattern in Trans-Dark Pink (6466858 | 5272) - in each set of this wave
• 3x Dome 2 x 2 x 2 with Crystallized Top (6466880 | 5334) - in each set of this wave
• 2x Brick Special Cauldron Half 2 x 4 x 2 ⅔ in Pearl Titanium / Pearl Dark Grey (6466836 | 5271) - also in 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures

All of these new moulds remain exclusive to this theme so far. 

This set lacks the new maxi macaroni (15362), which is the most exciting new LEGO DREAMZzz part of this wave. 

Furthermore, this includes only two of the cauldron halves, whereas there are four in 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures, as shown in my review. You may recall I promised to have a closer look at this piece.

Techniques using Panel 4 x 2 x 2 2/3 Round with Circular Hole and Studs on Sides (LEGO part 5271)

Part 5271 is designed to work with click-based mech/creature hinges, known by some as Knight Kingdom II hinges, such as the 2x2 Technic brick with rotation joint sockets (48172, 48461). The cauldron's round hole fits their sockets; it doesn't connect, but the gap is very small. 

I did not find any tyres that match the hole snugly; but the lamp dome piece from the Batman accessories family mould (50018, above right, see some other uses of it here) fits it perfectly, staying in place by the friction of its three ridges.

The obscure almost-gear, Technic ball with grooves (2907, above left) is another fun combo. It doesn't touch the edges, but makes a nice visual match. I could see it used on joints to fill the gap.

Inside, the cauldron easily has room to fit 3x3 round things like the pink dish above. The maximum inner width is 9 plates, as the piece is 4 modules (10 plates) wide, studs excluded, and the side panels are half a plate thick. Naturally, there is not much of this available width inside, as the piece is very rounded. 

I think the piece would be more pleasant if the cutout hole on the top was a half-circle instead of a 1x2 rectangle; it breaks the aesthetics a bit. However, the rectangular hole is more useful to fit, for example, an axle connector with ball socket (67695), which is what I used in the tablescrap above left to attach the axle and gear.

Search Pick a Brick for
the half-couldron

Recolours

• 6x Weapon Sword with Jagged Edges, Axle in Opal Trans-Dark Pink (6474533 | 98856)

These opalesque wings are striking and beautiful – definitely inspiring for MOCs. The piece has appeared before in trans-dark pink in LEGO® NINJAGO®, so the added opal effect here is extra welcome.

 

• 4x Bar 5L with Handle (Friction Ram) in Dark Purple (6500017 | 87618)

• 2x Insect Accessory, Spider Web, Dome Shaped with Bar, Clips in Dark Purple (6500015 | 80487)

This may be quite an alien piece for MOC builders, as it is the cobweb dome's first appearance outside 4+ LEGO® Spider-Man sets, and that age mark is not at all popular among more mature fans. 

New prints

• Tile 1 x 2, Pyramid Pattern in Trans-Bright Green (6487036), also in 71486 Castle Nocturnia
• Tile 1 x 2, Skull and Windmill Pattern in Trans-Light Blue (6523611), in 2 other sets
• Tile 1 x 2, Sandman's Tower Pattern in Trans-Dark Blue (6523612), also in  71484 Cooper's Robot Dinosaur C-Rex
• 2x Tile Round 1 x 1 with Eye print in Yellow (6488249) - unique, with 1 extra (not pictured)

Eyes are crucial for creatures, and I'm very glad these are printed. The design is really good, and I'm happy that it's not "evil" by any means – it just has the small, insane gleam common to all birds. 

While not unique, the dream prints are some of the rarer ones, which is nice. Speaking of which...

Rare parts

• Large Figure Limb Cover / Claw / Spike Large with Axle in Dark Bluish Gray (6500016 | 15362) - in 2 other sets, returning from 2016
• 2x Brick Round Corner 6 x 6 x 2 in Dark Blue (6309137 | 87559) - in 2 other sets

• Slope Curved 3 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in Dark Blue (6470066 | 80177) - in 2 other sets
• Slope Curved 3 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in Dark Blue (6470085 | 80178) - in 2 other sets
• 2x Tile 3 x 3 Curved, Macaroni in Dark Purple (6472509 | 79393) - in 2 other sets
• 2x Slope Curved 3 x 2 No Studs in Dark Purple (6474416 | 24309) - also in 31157 Exotic Peacock
• 2x Tile Round 1 x 1 in Dark Purple (6476247 | 35381) - with 1 extra, also in 43248 Inside Out 2 Mood Cubes
• Cloud / Dust with Bar in Opal Trans-Dark Pink (6447569 | 68547) - in 2 other sets

I was really surprised that the 1x1 round tile in dark purple is new for 2024. It's such a modest piece. Same applies to the 3x2 curved slope. 

By contrast, I didn't guess that the opal trans-dark pink cloud piece has already been in two sets; it's very nice to have it floating around nonetheless.

Sticker sheet

The sticker sheet is very modest. Number 1 is shared with 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures, as they are applied on round tiles on the cauldron on both sets. 

The runic pattern applied on the macaroni tiles is attractive. However, I didn't apply them. The difference is quite small; you can see the official render near the beginning of this article.

Minifigures

The Never Witch was introduced already in the January 2024 wave, but gets a new swirly stand piece (6502433) that appears also in 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures. I already used it in a MOC in my review of set 71483. 

Dizzy and Dogan are new to this wave, and Dizzy features a skirt that is also available in 71486 Castle Nocturnia.

• Legs Dizzy (6487071)
• Torso Dizzy (6501089)
• Shoulder Wear (6511018)
• Head Dizzy  (6487069)
• Hair Dizzy (6503633)
• Skirt Dizzy (6499165)

I've reviewed 5 LEGO DREAMZzzz August 2024 wave sets so far, and 4 of them include Dogan. Once again, his new parts are:

• Legs Dogan (6487098)
• Torso Dogan (6493258)
• Shoulder Wear (6508633 | 5332)
• Head Dogan (6487096)

The heroes are Mateo and Astrid. Mateo's slime weapon is identical to the one in 71485 Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech. 

Astrid is the only unique figure here, featuring a new torso and leg prints, as well as a newly recoloured pearl gold wheelchair, furnished with attractive opal trans-blue cones.

 

• Equipment Medical Wheelchair with Pins for Wheels [Minifig] in Pearl Gold (6496465 | 80440)
• Legs Astrid (6487078)
• Torso Astrid (6501275)

Mateo as a main hero gets dual-moulded legs and a new bodywarmer piece, as well as a new head and hair prints.

• Legs dual-moulded Mateo (6526487)
• Torso Mateo (6493455)
• Jacket Mateo (6491524 | 5275)
• Head Mateo (6487046)
• Hair Mateo (6487055)

The Nightmare Raven

Firsty, note that the base here is not part of the set. It's my own design (from 2015) and I also used it in my review of 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship. I suppose that using it to display the set may give too good an impression of it, but it helped me to show different angles of the model, as well as to show how it looks when swooshed around.

And it looks great. 



They've nailed the bird head, the wing feathers flow beautifully and the tail is simply gorgeous. I'm especially happy how the various curved tiles compliment the spike parts used as feathers. There is a clear design language here: Don't fix it if it is not broken. Birds are beautiful and impressive to start with. They didn't need to change anything, and they didn't – simply blinging up the wings and adding some play features worked.

 

The raven's head could be from a realistic LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 set.

In my previous LEGO DREAMZzz August 2024 wave reviews, I have complained about the messy colour blocking. It is not an issue here. There are some light bluish grey parts visible, but they're mostly the ones doomed to be colour-locked (like Mixels joints in the feathers) or visible only from the underside. 

This might be partly due to the fact that the alternative models share more of the build, aka the whole raven. This has made the set design easier. 

How much design quality is it viable to sacrifice for a more diverse building/play experience with the alternative builds? It's a good question, however, many LEGO® Creator sets seem to manage to keep high quality consistent among the different models.

In general, I can find two issues in this design. Foremostly, the cauldron connects to the round 2x2 jumper, which is weird and not a very strong connection; furthermore, the jumper is on the flapping trapdoor, and swooshing the bird makes the trapdoor open, knocking the cauldron off the raven. Fortunately, this is very easy to fix with the parts needed for the B-Model; two 2x2 round plates, for example. 

A much smaller issue is the beak, as the lower jaw's connection is quite feeble. It doesn't fall off, but does not, for example, hold unfortunate minifigures very well. A stronger connection would have been more satisfactory. I'm also not sure about the spike plate on the tip of the beak. A cheese slope fits better, and fortunately an extra is included, so it's easy to swap out.

These are minor things. In general, it's wonderful that they've made very large wings which nonetheless offer plenty of posing options. 

The gnarly chimney gives a sense of motion, and the dark tan "nest" under the hut is a nice touch. 

71469 Nightmare Shark Ship, which I reviewed a year ago, is an obvious comparison: both are black-and-pink flying animals with some sort of built elements on top, and both are well-designed and original. Neither is clearly better than the other; but I prefer the raven for personal reasons. It feels smaller, and is decently cheaper as well. It's surprising that the difference in the number of pieces is only 186.

 

There are some play features. The roof of the hut opens, revealing a lovely set of potions. I only wish those jagged horns were connected more firmly than just with 2 studs – they're easy to knock off.

 

 

Just as in the shark ship, there is a prison inside the raven. It has a trapdoor in the back of the raven, under the cauldron, and an ornate iron lattice to the weird "nest" behind it. I suppose this is the bad guy space.

B-Model

The B-model leaves the raven quite bare. It's not too bad, as the base concept and design are very strong: but some curved pieces on the back wouldn't have hurt, and the gaping holes on the sides are distracting. The removed pieces are used for two side models: a walking hut and a monstrous spider.

The hut is obviously inspired by the Slavic folklore of Baba Yaga, a witch with a hut walking on chicken legs. This is a common concept in the fantasy genre, and has been featured in countless MOCs. However, I suppose this is the first time we have seen it in a LEGO set. Despite her menacing appearance, Baba Yaga helps the kind and eats the wicked – at least, in some folklore. 

In general, I think this set paints a nicer picture of The Never Witch as well – could someone with such a cool raven mount be evil after all?

The legs can spin but not walk, which is understandable taking into account their thin structure; a heavier but poseable one would have ruined the chicken leg impression. The hut is identical to the A-Model, with a different base to connect the legs. This makes the conversion relatively straightforward, but naturally dilutes the idea of alternative models.

In contrast, the monstrous spider is totally new. I really like this design, it's definitely one of my favourite LEGO spiders from a set. The trans-dark pink pyramids make excellent compound eyes, the trans-bright green flames add a creepily hairy feel (with added colour pop) and the web pieces make a nice opisthosoma. This uses the cauldron half pieces on the torso.

 

Although the raven has some shortcomings, I think the B-Model is successful – I like the spider a lot, and the base back of the raven probably won't be a huge issue for the target audience. If anything, its studded surface enables easy customisation.

MOC: The Diver

When the first image of this set was published, I was sure that the cauldron pieces were designed for a large-scale scuba helmet and just simply re-used as the cauldron before their initial appearance. My New Elementary peers disagreed… and they were totally right. There has been no indication of diver sets with this piece. With the rounded shape, large round hole on one side and round connections on the other sides, the similarity is nevertheless striking. I had to do it myself. 

I was not the first one, though; for example in October, CareCreations made a creepy model with it named Exit Strategy.

With my diver, I wanted to pursue realism; the baggy and clunky proportions of those old suits made it relatively easy on a smaller scale. Dark tan CCBS shells gave the desired effect of stiff, heavy fabric. Dark pearl grey macaroni tubes made matching weight shoes, and I'm particularly happy with the heavy mittens.

 



Generally, such diving helmets were copper, so this colour is not a perfect fit. But maybe it isn't that big an issue. I think the helmet piece has plenty of potential beyond its most obvious uses. I could see it in a variety of mechanical builds, from fantastical steampunk airships to more realistic fireboxes and pressure kettles.

The hardest part of this build was implementing a good visor for the helmet. A trans-clear boat stud would have had shown the stud pattern inside too visibly, and the same issue occurred with the crystal ball piece. A magnifying glass would have been fun, but the handle didn't fit inside and the glass was a bit too small. 

Finally, I found a perfect if a bit eccentric choice: the minifigure bubble helmet, introduced on Sandy on 2008 Spongebob set 3831 Rocket Ride. The bubble helmet had to be set at an unusual angle inside the helmet so that the seam of the two halves would not be visible. It is connected asymmetrically but securely, by a 45-degree angled bar connector.

Conclusion

I like this set. It has a great initial concept, combining the beauty of a real-world animal with gleefully weird story elements. The raven is excellent, with pretty eyes and enhanced feathers, and the hut is a well-designed bit of wonky architecture. Although the raven is rather bland in the B-Model, the walking hut is decent and the spider is probably my favourite LEGO DREAMZzz B-Model so far. 

US$99.99/ £89.99/ 99.99€/ AU$149.99 for 1203 parts including 5 minifigures is great value, although there are less exciting parts than in some other sets of this wave. The magnificence of the opal trans-dark pink feathers makes up for the relatively small number of recolours. I only wish this had someone else instead of Dogan, who has appeared in almost all of the LEGO DREAMZzz August 2024 sets I've reviewed.

LEGO DREAMZzz continues into 2025. Getting a third year is not bad for non-licenced theme. I hope the quality of this set will continue into the next wave – stay tuned for our analysis of every new element in the wave!

Buy individual pieces from Never Witch's Raven set on LEGO® Pick a Brick

READ MORE: Review of 2025 set 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet from LEGO® Botanicals

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