LEGO designer says new Creator 3-in-1 dragon was ‘too good to be true’

31161 Medieval Dragon is easily one of the stand-out sets of the January 2025 LEGO Creator 3-in-1 wave, and even the designer says the model’s initial brief felt ‘too good to be true’.

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 is keeping its hot streak going in 2025 with a brand new wave of animals, objects and vehicles, and while the likes of the panda and pigeon are turning some heads, it’s 31161 Medieval Dragon that seems to be pulling focus in the community so far. Over on reddit, plenty of users have expressed intentions to pick up multiple copies, to build not only the main dragon but also its phoenix and sea serpent alt models.

It’s tough to say anyone’s more excited for 31161 Medieval Dragon’s release than the set’s designer, though. Aaron Newman – whose name you might recognise from LEGO MASTERS USA, and who’s previously designed some of 2024’s best Creator 3-in-1 sets (including 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox) – brought the fire-breathing beast to life based on a brief that he couldn’t believe he received.

“Ever since joining the team at [the LEGO Group], I’ve dreamt of bringing an ‘ultimate dragon’ set to market… which will come as no surprise to those of you who know me,” Aaron wrote on Instagram. “So, getting assigned to create the most iconic, classic dragon possible felt too good to be true. I’m still pinching myself!”

Aaron added that the ‘two main challenges’ he set himself while designing the dragon were incorporating folding, brick-built wings, and giving one of the alternative builds a different colour scheme to the main model. While the dragon is primarily green with red wings, mirroring the colours of the classic ‘90s LEGO dragon, the phoenix is pretty much entirely red (and sits on a green plinth).

“Those wings required careful engineering, as they had to be both lightweight and sturdy – but we got there!” Aaron wrote. “As for the colour scheme, the hardest part turned out to be including enough gold, not just enough red, to make the phoenix look right.”

You can see some of those gold parts in the small treasure chest build that sits alongside the dragon. While LEGO Creator 3-in-1 sets don’t always use 100% of the pieces for the secondary and tertiary builds, the primary build has to incorporate all the elements in the box – but there’s clearly a back and forth between the three builds during the design process, rather than the main model solely dictating the parts assortment for the others.

You’ll be able to get your hands on 31161 Medieval Dragon from January 1, 2025. The 715-piece set is available to pre-order from LEGO.com right now for £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99.

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