The images of The Lonely Mountain, Lego’s flagship set for this part of The Hobbit, leaked early. And they were rather disappointing. Many had expected to get a huge, brick-built Smaug to dwarf (heh) the greatest Ninjago dragons. That didn’t happen. Instead we got a maxifigure that seemed to be a slight remold of the generic Castle dragon released last year, and another Lego The Hobbit Wall ™. Not to mention that the price was way higher than sets with similar piece counts, like the Mines of Moria. Disappointment all around, mostly.

Now that I have Smaug in my hands though, it’s not all bad. Unlike the multi-layered colours in the movie, Lego Smaug is completely dark red, which makes him not just a little toyish. However, with a big mold like this it’s not like they would paint him more detailed. Instead, he strikes a rather decent balance between the much more cartoonish Castle dragon and getting so realistic that he doesn’t look like Lego.

He’s also almost completely new. Aside from the two generic tail pieces (and, obviously, claw pieces), he shares no parts with the older dragon. Smaug is also quite a lot bigger, with a huge wingspan. Since Smaug is a two-legged dragon, he is also obviously designed differently. The wings are on balljoints and can svivel into most positions, including his bat-like stance when sitting down. There is also a rotating joint that moves half of his wing into a folded position, since it’s a complex mix of soft rubber and semi-hard Lego ABS. It works well, but I’m a bit scared about how it will hold up over the years. Also, the joint that goes into the balljoint is tiny and there’s just enough resistance that it feels like you risk breaking it off. However, the overall posability is very good. Along with the neck and tail, and his well-modelled head, you can get a lot of personality out of him.

It can also be noted that Smaug might not be such a bad investment for Lego after all. The head is obviously unique but most of him can be reused to make a more generic dragon, just bigger than the old one. He’s also compatible with standard Technic connections and Bionicle balljoints, so it shouldn’t take too much work to improve him.

Another thing to note is the extra connectors that aren’t used for the Smaug design at all. He has studs on his neck that work well for attaching reins (as if!). There’s also a studded 2×4 area on his back for attaching a rider, or, if you want to make a new four-legged version, his wings. Finally, you mustn’t forget the five studs on his back that double as connections for spines.

Even if you don’t care particularly for Smaug as a licensed character, there is plenty to like for generic dragon fans. The only problem is that he is currently locked into a very expensive set, which limits his potential. But I’m confident that we’ll see most of him again, the next time a Castle theme comes around. Until then, this is what you get.

Also, Mecha Smaug looks pretty awesome…