REVIEW – I have a 9 year old boy so LEGO building blocks are a way of life for us but I have noticed they have gotten a bit pricey lately. If you are interested in a cheaper building block set that is compatible with LEGO bricks read on.
What is it?
JMBricklayer entered the connecting building block space in 2022 as a cheaper alternative to LEGO. My fellow Gadgeteer’s are no stranger to JMBricklayer and have reviewed a Spaceman, Chameleon, Pirate Ship, Lighthouse, and a huge 5,391 piece Marble Run set. My son and I just finished their Western Train Station Bookend 50002 set and my son asked if we could do another one so JMBricklayer was kind enough to send their Cloud Surfing Dragon 70007 model for us to build.
What’s included?
- 1,364 pieces
- Building manual
- Brick tool (green one above next to an official orange LEGO tool)
Tech specs
- Model Number: 70007
- Material: ABS
- Pieces: 1,364
- Final Dimensions: 9.05”L x 9.05”W x 17.71”H
- Batteries Required: 3x AA batteries (not included)
- Recommended Age: 14+
Design and features
The JMBricklayer Could Surfing Dragon 70007 has 1,363 pieces and costs $69.99 which comes out to 5.1 cents per piece. By comparison the Lego Technic Mars Rover Set 42158 has 1,132 pieces and costs $84.99 which comes out to 7.5 cents per piece. Not a huge difference per piece but after buying a few sets you end up saving quite a bit.
For me the biggest question I had was if they were compatible with normal LEGO blocks and they are as well as with Technic blocks. They have excellent clutch and I did not find any issues with warped pieces or pieces that didn’t fit as they were supposed to. I would say the quality was on par with LEGO.
Assembly, installation, and setup
Assembling the JMBricklayer Could Surfing Dragon 70007 was pretty straightforward and actually a bit repetitious when assembling the Dragon’s body but it did have a few challenging sections. The instructions were clear and certain parts were written in English and German.
The Cloud Surfing Dragon 70007 consists of four main build sections with the base, the bottom half of the dragon, the top half, then the head and clouds last. There are 17 bags in total and clearly numbered except for the base plates which were just in a clear bag. I did hit one snag in that in the set #1 bags a piece was missing. Customer support was very responsive and they will send any missing pieces for free. I would like to note that the box I received was a pre-release of the final product so they likely have corrected the issue. I was going to substitute a grey LEGO piece but I saw I could continue the build without it and just wait for the replacement to arrive so it wasn’t a big deal.
I used multiple bowls to keep all the parts organized since you pretty much have to open all the same numbered bags at the same time since the pieces seem to be bagged according to production availability and not actual assembly order. The #1 bags and #4 bags were easy to assemble but the #2 and #3 bags, which are the Dragon bottom and top half respectively, were pretty tricky. My son is 9 years old and is a LEGO pro but even those sections were tough for me to get together correctly so when doing those sections some patience will be required.
Overall the build took about 10 hours but part of that was having to adjust the positioning of the Dragon along the metal molding tubes so that enough tubing was protruding from the correct end to connect properly. I didn’t measure exactly and thought it wasn’t a big deal if I was off a little but it ended up being a big deal. The ends of the metal tubes aren’t cut very cleanly either so some sanding or a little trimming with a utility knife may be required so the pieces slide on easier.
Be sure to follow the instructions and measure the tube ends accurately when assembling to save yourself time and tears.
The instructions were not kidding. Step 206 is difficult and required careful and patient assembly. After some trial and error I found the easiest way to get it in position was to place the Dragon on the two white upper mounts first then I carefully bent the bottom to the correct angle so the tube slid easily into the bottom half as seen below.
A cool feature of the Cloud Surfing Dragon 70007 is the LEDs in the Dragon’s eyes and in the moon. They are powered by 3x AA batteries which are accessible in the battery box on the back of the base. The wires route through the Dragon very neatly and it looks super cool although a bit menacing when lit up in a dark room.
What I like about the JMBricklayer Cloud Surfing Dragon 70007
- Compatible with Lego bricks
- Good clutch and brick consistency
- Great price
What needs to be improved?
- The ends of the tubes aren’t cut cleanly so I had to shave a little of the plastic off to smooth it out
Final thoughts
JMBricklayer offers a cheaper alternative to the building block scene that is very appreciated since my son gets invited to a lot of birthday parties. They have some very unique sets like the Cloud Surfing Dragon 70007 and the Western Train Station Bookends 50002 we did previously. Something different than the prevalent movie or video game sets. The Cloud Surfing Dragon was definitely challenging but still a fun build to do with my son so I highly recommend checking out what JMBricklayer has to offer for your next brick building adventure.
Price: $69.99
Where to buy: JMBricklayer website and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by JMBricklayer.JMBricklayer did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
