30647 The Dripstone Cavern LEGO Review - Minecraft, 2023

A cheap set with a rare animal and that's about it.

TL;DR:

• Original Price:  $4.99
• Pieces: 45
• Minifigure(s): Steve, Creeper, Axolotl
• Sticker Sheet: No
  
• Pros: Inexpensive, Rare axolotl
• Cons: Limited scope, Non-rare minifigs
  

  

Assembly: 

• Interesting Steps:
• Step 8 has us place four 1x2 dark tan tiles around the 1x1 reddish brown brick with studs on four sides to evoke a squarish sort of stalactite, appropriate for the Minecraft world.

This is a very small set and a quick build, but does a sufficient job of evoking the feel of a Minecraft cave. The Steve and Creeper figures are not rare (in 28 and 23 other sets, respectively) but the little axolotl (which comes with an extra 1x1 face piece) is only found in one other set. Given the salamander's popularity in recent years, I wouldn't be surprised if some fans got this polybag for that alone. The build is simple, and very rectilinear (as are most Minecraft sets, appropriately). Apart from the stalactite mentioned above, there are two stalagmites composed of 1x1 pyramids placed atop 1x1 bricks, in dark tan, and rotated 45 degrees, which is an acceptable trick to make them look slightly more angular without actually changing the cubic nature of the gameworld. A play action is included, wherein a pin (with a red Technic bushing, visible at the back) pushes a block of grey and blue off the base. My research indicates that this is a chunk of diamond, being mined by Steve with his pickaxe.

On the whole, this polybag feels more like the lower end of that category, suitable for Easter baskets, Christmas stockings, travel play kits, and other small gifts. Having a good guy, a bad guy, and a (presumably) neutral animal does allow for some storytelling, but the scope of the set is limited. That said, with as simple as the Minecraft design language is, it does allow for some creativity in rebuilding this set or combining it with duplicates (let alone other, different, sets) to construct different parts of the cave, with different arrangements of stalagmites and stalactites: you can see two such alternate builds here. Sometimes a limited palette can really help improve problem solving...but there are only so many ways 45 bricks can be put together. And—as indicated in my score below—there is a distinct dearth of interesting pieces in this little set: one SNOT brick, two Technic bricks, two 1x1 pyramids, and all the rest basic.

The low price point is the best feature, and if you wanted to build up an army of Creepers, or a menagerie of axolotls, there are worse ways to collect them (that said, it seems that the minifigures are available at Bricklink for pennies, and the axolotls for less than a dollar).

Score (out of 5 🧱):

• Price: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Process: 🧱
• Presentation: 🧱🧱🧱
• Play: 🧱🧱
• Pieces: 🧱

• Total: 🧱🧱

Lego Instructions: here