In 2023 LEGO released the DreamZzz TV show and shortly after that, the first sets of the new DreamZzz theme are among us. This new theme encourages children to be creative, giving them the opportunity to be themselves by exploring the world of dreams as superheroes.
Welcome to Dream Crafting Van, the place where you can craft your own dreams and ride your way through the world of endless imagination. In the Dream World you can be whoever you want, go wherever you want, and explore the depths of your creativity. Let’s find out a bit more about this fun set.
Building experience
The set has 434 pieces and it recreates the van from the LEGO DreamZzz tv series perfectly. Building the van was fun. The book with instructions is very colorful and features illustrations that lead you through the building with a story. The illustrations are very beautiful, even if you haven’t watched a DreamZzz episode, they will introduce you to the Dream World. You have three options to build: leave the van just as a van, build it as a turtle with a fun party mode on, with a cat-cactus, palm tree and a chest, or make it into a flying turtle submarine with a periscope and “fire” in the back.
The van outside and inside
Ever since the official reveal of the LEGO DreamZzz line, this set was the one that caught my eye and I fell in love with. There’s something about this retro-looking van itself and its pastel colors that makes it so nice and different. Looking at it makes me feel like I’m home and join the crew.
Tortuga’s Dream Craft Shop is a very fun place where Mrs. Castillo mixes different items and ingredients. There are two boards showing the Dream Craft items and builds. They both look like chalkboards and are perfect details that add something extraordinary to the set.
But it’s all stickers, the set has no printed tiles. There are a few extra stickers included in the set sp you can decorate the van or the cat-cactus or wherever you want.
The hourglass is the main tool in the Dream World. It is used for Dream Crafting, but you have to be careful– the sand inside isn’t endless. You can see it even on the front of the van as an emblem.
Inside the van is very welcoming. The floor looks like tiles and there’s a special place for dream crafting and that’s where the materials and ingredients stand. The set looks appealing in both turtle and normal van mode.
Senor Tortuga
The turtle’s legs are movable, you can change their position, but you have to disassemble them first. You can rotate and tilt the head to make the turtle feel alive. The mouth is static, it can’t open, but the way it’s created looks like the turtle is smiling. Love the detail with the carrot and red pepper on a chain that makes him move faster.
The minifigures
If you watched the LEGO DreamZzz series, then I’m sure you already loved them. The set has 3 minifigures: Mrs. Castillo, Mateo, and Zoey. It also includes a Grimspawn and Z-Blob figures. They all have detailed colorful prints.
Mrs. Castillo, Z-Blob, and the Grimspawn are completely new moulds. Their bodies are small, but they have regular minifigure heads and can hold things like bars for example. The Grimspawn comes with a helmet, a pink flame piece, and an arrow. For me personally, Z-Blob looks strange with a body, but this way he would be more involved in the playing process.
Mateo has vitiligo, and in the Dream World it is represented as a green spot on his face and a little bit on his hair. His eye on this side of the face is different than the other one, making him look like a true superhero. He has a double-printed face with the special superhero eye on both sides. He comes with a red backpack and holds a pencil. I love how LEGO made it. Its sharp tip can be used for drawing or as a weapon and it even has a rubber on the other end.
Zoey has beautiful purple hair. She also has a double-printed face. The thing I like the most about her is her torso print. Lovely details there. She comes with a bow and arrow quiver.
At first glance the minifigure of Mrs. Castillo looks strange being shorter than a regular one, the hands are different than the usual minifigures ones, but it is perfect. The print on her dress, the look on her face, the white hair, they all match her personality as she is a wise and warm-hearted elder lady. She also has double-printed head. She has a backpack and it is attached to her body.
Conclusions
I really like this set and thanks to LEGO and BrickCentral I have the opportunity to take a closer look at it and all of its little details. It’s a really fun set, which is both great for display and play. It has a lot of characters involved. You can imagine you’re on the streets buying yourself some tacos, or in the dream world, wandering around and fighting some little nightmare creatures. The choice is all yours.
I give it a score of 9/10.
It has been released on August 1st and it’s piece is $47.99 or 47.99€.
Behind the scenes
I wanted to represent the colorful part of the Dream World so I decided to use hard light.
In the morning I put a piece of cardboard next to my bedroom’s window. On top of it, there’s a layer of artificial grass. Next, there’s a blue cardboard as a background and some props. I used barbeque skewers, wire, and Uhu Patafix to attach the objects to the wooden sticks.
For one picture I used a little tripod to place the turtle van on top to make it look like it’s flying. Then I edited the pictures on my computer, I had to remove the props and make the magic look real.
