LEGO How to Train Your Dragon: Toothless needed a saddle

The first LEGO How to Train Your Dragon set needed two important accessories to emphasise a crucial part of the character and his best friend.

10375 Toothless finally brings the iconic animated franchise into the LEGO portfolio just in time for the live-action movie, and while it's execution might not have been what many were expecting, the designer behind the build has opened up about how certain design choices help to emphasise a specific aspect of Toothless, and his bond with Hiccup, who is not included in the set.

"I'm using the widget tiles to express the saddle, and it's quite an important feature for the movies and the characters," shared LEGO designer Jae Won Lee in a roundtable interview with LEGO Fan media, including Brick Fanatics.

"The saddle is not just a tool that Hiccup used to make Toothless fly, but an important symbol of their trust and friendship. The saddle's patterns and shapes have been expressed in LEGO style as much as possible, so it could be a very nice expression for Toothless."

The saddle also helps to split up the mostly-black colour scheme of the dragon, providing a subtle contrast that blends nicely with the pink tongue, green eyes and red tail fin. It mainly serves to make the bond between Hiccup and Toothless clear in the build, even if the dragon trainer isn't included in the set as a minifigure or otherwise.

"My first sketch model had no saddle or buckles on the shoulders, because I think the first expression of Toothless was just natural, when he met Hiccup for the first time. But after that, I realised the saddle is quite an important feature and an iconic symbol of Toothless and Hiccup's friendship. That's why I changed the first model to have the saddle on the back.

"I presented, for example, that we have just one accessory for Toothless – the blue plasma clusters. But then I also suggested having a fish for Toothless, because the fish is also a very important feature to express their friendship."

For those who haven't seen the film, offering a simple fish to Toothless is how Hiccup first properly initiates the bond between himself and the dragon, proving that the strongest of friendships can have the smallest of starts. It was decided to include the fish and the saddle to represent this in 10375 Toothless.

LEGO Icons 10375 Toothless launches on July 1, 2025, with 784 pieces for £59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99. The new live-action adaptation is in cinemas now, but the LEGO set is based on the second animated movie.

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