30558 Raya and the Ongi's Heart Lands Adventure LEGO Review - Disney, 2021

It almost takes longer to say this set's name than it does to build it.

TL;DR:

• Original Price:  $4.99
• Pieces: 49
• Minifigure(s): Raya (minidoll), Ongi
• Sticker Sheet: No
  
• Pros: colorful and interesting pieces, great (original) price
• Cons: quick build

Assembly:  

 Leftover Pieces

• Interesting Steps:
• 3: The use of the friction cylinders as columns here is novel and attractive. The back end serves as an anti-stud to mount it to the baseplate, and the bar handle is at just the right height to fit into a normal 1x1 with upward clip. The opposite end then serves as a stud to mount to the underside of the arch pieces.

• Interesting Techniques:
• Pairing medium lavender leaves with the coral-colored coral piece makes for an interesting and alien-looking tree, evocative of cherry blossoms but definitely not of our own world.

• Interesting Pieces:
• The satin trans-clear fishbowl is a fun piece with many potential uses

• The dark turquoise friction cylinders—though originally designed to act as a piston (as in the crane boom of 2010's Fire Boat, where a 5L bar with handle, or "friction ram," is inserted into it, the handles on each piece then slotting into SNOT bricks or similar openings)—are more often used as columns, as in this build. (see Interesting Steps above)
  

• Overall:  This is a cheap and relatively-simple build, exactly the sort of thing one would expect from a polybag. It's also interesting to note that, according to BrickEconomy, this is the most-owned set of the Raya and the Last Dragon series; I suspect that's in part due to the lack of popularity that movie had, and in part due to the fact that these polybags were in many checkout aisles, and at $5 be easy to toss into the cart without breaking one's budget (for comparison, the three other sets in the series were $30, $50, and $80).

While I wasn't a fan of the movie in terms of storytelling or character, I did appreciate the visuals and design. And translating that exotic look into these LEGO sets means unusual parts and unusual colors that are worth making use of for my own creations.

Similarly, while I really don't like minidolls, I can't deny that the design of Raya in minidoll form is appealing, especially with her hat and pants. The sand green sword is particularly noteworthy.

This is exactly what an impulse buy polybag should be: cute, visually attractive, with a good mix of interesting pieces and interesting techniques. It's nothing to write home about, but neither is it disappointing. At the original price it was just right, though it seems to have almost doubled in cost on the resale market, now that it's retired.

Score (out of 5 🧱):

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

• Total: 🧱🧱🧱🧱

Lego Instructions: here