LEGO SET 31161 - Alternate build | Medieval Dragon

April 27, 2025

LEGO bricks are a toolkit for imagination, and with the parts from LEGO SET 31161-1, you’ve got everything you need to leave the instruction booklet behind and explore a whole new realm of creations. Here are just a few ways to transform that dragon armor, spiky elements, and colorful plates into fresh adventures:

Reforged Fantasy Beasts
- Wyvern or Wyrm: Break apart the dragon’s wings and tail segments to craft a lean, two-legged wyvern or a long, serpentine wyrm. By redistributing the armor plates along a slimmer frame, you can evoke a creature that feels both ancient and agile.
- Elemental Golems: Use the spike pieces and armor panels to build rock, ice, or magma golems. Add translucent studs or modified plates for glowing cores, and watch your build come alive with mystical energy.
Knightly War Machines
- Siege Tower: Repurpose the long beams and panel sections into a tall, wheeled siege engine. Incorporate gears or hinge bricks to create elevating platforms, so your minifigure knights can breach castle walls in style.
- Catapult or Ballista: Transform liftarms and connectors into rotating arms or tensioned launchers. A few technic pins and angled plates become the perfect mechanism to hurl projectiles across your battle diorama.
Medieval Vehicles & Conveyances
- Armored War Cart: Pair the dragon’s decorative plates with sturdy wheel hubs to build a four-wheeled war wagon. Add side-mounted shields or spiked bumpers for extra flair, then load it up with spears and banner poles.
- Royal Carriage: Soften the shape by mixing curved slopes and smooth tiles, turning your pieces into an elegant coach. Swap rugged elements for lanterns and reins to create a stately ride fit for a king or queen.
Modular Castle Outposts
- Watchtower Keep: Use the brick-built arches and panel parts to assemble a corner tower module. Swap in different wall textures—stonework, timber framing, or mossy battlements—to keep your fortress ever-changing.
- Merchant’s Stall: Combine the set’s straight beams and clip-on elements to build a market booth. Hang flags, drape cloth pieces, and display barrels of goods for a lively medieval bazaar scene.
Hybrid Mechs & Armored Suits
- Draconic Mech Suit: Blend organic curves with mechanical shapes—build a piloted exosuit with dragon-wing panels as shoulder armor, and use jointed limbs for high-kick poses. It’s the perfect fusion of knight and beast.
- Battle Robot: Strip away the medieval theme entirely and refashion the plates into a hulking robot. Use the spiky pieces as defensive armor, and repurpose the dragon’s claws as articulated hands.
Enchanted Dioramas
- Crystal Cavern: Scatter translucent studs and gem elements among rocky outcrops made from armor panels. Nestle mini-build creatures or hidden treasure chests within tunnels carved from LEGO beams.
- Forest Shrine: Build a moss-covered altar surrounded by ancient pillars. Incorporate the dragon’s scale-like plates as decorative friezes, and add foliage pieces to create a secret, overgrown sanctuary.

With 31161-1’s mix of ornamental armor, flexible joints, and vibrant plates, you’re not limited to a single monster. By rethinking connections, experimenting with scale, and blending themes—fantasy, mechanical, architectural—you’ll discover that every brick invites a new possibility. So grab those pieces, sketch out a wild concept, and let your creativity take flight!

MOC - 31161 Wyvern (4-limbed) Dragon