I have already examined the larger of the two LEGO® Spring Festival sets for 2024, 80113 Family Reunion Celebration and spoken to its designer, Niels Mølgård Frederiksen about it's inception. Today it's the turn of the smaller release, 80112 Auspicious Dragon.
Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
80112 Auspicious Dragon
US$89.99/ £69.99/ 79.99€/ AU$149.99
1171 parts
Released 1 January 2024
Set 80112 on LEGO.com
Dragons are extremely prevalent in Chinese culture, and they are also well-loved in the LEGO world - from the simplest Classic Dragon, which first appeared in 1993 in the LEGO® Castle Dragon Knights sets, through to 71809 Egalt the Master Dragon, which is coming to the LEGO® NINJAGO® line up in 2024.
Both of these examples (and many others in between) are creatures to be played with, interacting with minifigures and helping children create stories. Our specimen is a very different prospect, and is intended purely as a display piece. There are some interesting new parts, so let's dive in.
Recolours
Although we don't get any new moulds in this release, there are a handful of exclusive recolours to get excited about:
- 13x Plate Round 1x2 Half Circle with Stud (Jumper) in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6476747 | 1745), the 9th colour for this relatively new part
- 3x Wedge Plate 2x2 Left in Brick Yellow/Tan (6476744 | 24299)
- 3x Wedge Plate 2x2 Right in Tan (6476749 | 24307)
- 5x Cloud/Dust with Bar in Bright Light Orange (6475279 | 68547)
- 4x Cloud/Dust with Bar in Bright Orange/Orange (6475277 | 68547)
Rare elements
This "Vented Stud - 2 Holes" variant of the minifigure head has been seen in one other set in this colour:
- 1x Minifig Head Plain [Vented Stud - 2 Holes] in Bright Blue/Blue (6454717 | 3274) - seen in 45823 MASTERPIECE Challenge Set
The remaining elements have been seen in just two other sets:
- 3x Brick Curved, 3x1 with 1/3 Inverted Cutout in Blue (6439891 | 70681)
- 3x Animal Body Part, Cat Tail in White (6222201 | 37993)
- 2x Wheel Arch, Mudguard 2x3x 1 1/3 in Tan (6397562 | 49097)
- 2x Bracket 1x1 - 1x1 Inverted in Sand Green (6390504 | 36840)
The following have been seen in three other sets:
- 3x Brick Special 1x2x 1 2/3 with 8 Studs on 3 Sides in Blue (6378789 | 67329)
- 2x Brick Round Corner, Curved 3x3x1 Quarter Circle in Tan (6404615 | 76797)
- 3x Slope Curved 2x2 Inverted in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6445057 | 1750)
- 3x Brick Curved, 3 x 1 with 1/3 Inverted Cutout in Orange (6375376 | 70681)
- 1x Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Inverted Cutout in Orange (6431333 | 78666)
- 4x Technic Axle Connector 2x3 with Ball Socket, Closed Sides in Warm Gold/Pearl Gold (6416543 | 67695)
- 4x Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Double Split [Reinforced] in Bright Red/Red (6349275 | 69819)
Printed elements
There are no stickered pieces in the set, but we get two new, exclusive prints for the decorative accents:
- 26x Tile Special 2x3 Pentagonal with new print in Tan (6465545 | 22385)
- 1x Glass for Window 1x4x6 with new print in Tan (6465555 | 57895)
The build
The first five bags of parts, and 184 steps in the instructions, are concerned with building up the rock work plinth and surrounding water on which the dragon stands. There is an awful lot of studs-not-on-top (SNOT) building required inside to align studs around all four sides as well as on top, and a lot of elements go into making this happen. Although some of the techniques were clever I did feel this was the least enjoyable part of the build for me, because a lot of steps had to happen before you appeared to be making much progress. However, the end result is an extremely solid foundation for our majestic dragon to perch on.
The body, head and tail of the dragon also require plenty of SNOT building - some of which is very similar, but you do have to pay close attention to the instructions as there are some quite subtle differences between the sections, and it could be easy to think you are repeating a previous step and get it wrong.
However, the end result is worth it, as the magnificent dragon stands proudly clutching its pearl in one paw. The head, tail and raised front paw are all poseable, while the other three are fixed into position to provide solid anchors for the rest of the build.
I love the colours used in the model, but as often happens with ball joints used in articulated models, the dark bluish grey colour does stand out a bit against the otherwise well co-ordinated palette.
Clips on the "rear" of the base allow the plaque to be attached on that side as well, so that the dragon can face the opposite direction for display if that is your preference.
Conclusion
With 1171 pieces and a retail price of £69.99 / $89.99 / €79.99, the Auspicious Dragon provides us with a very good looking and sturdy display piece for a very decent price (6.0p / 7.7c / 6.8c per part). The build techniques are interesting and the colour scheme is very pleasing. I'm sure many AFOLs will be adding this to their collection, and not just those who are avid dragon fans. Let's hope it brings us all good fortune!
READ MORE: All the 2024 moulds in LEGO® Friends 42639 Andrea's Modern Mansion
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