Set Review: Kavo World 89140 – Dragon Boat Pagoda Building Blocks

 Hey brick fans! Welcome back to another set review. Today we are looking at a decent sized, unique build that I recently snagged from Temu: the Kavo World Dragon Boat Pagoda (Set 89140).  

This is my very first time tackling a build from this relatively obscure brand. Curiously, they do run an official storefront over at kavo-world.com. Taking a peek at their current catalog, it looks like Kavo World heavily leans into complex, Technic-style vehicle sets rather than traditional brick architecture. Interestingly, the Dragon Boat Pagoda isn't anywhere to be found on their site, leaving it a bit of a mystery as to whether the set has already been discontinued.

Clocking in at 2,453 pieces, this  DIY construction kit promises a mashup of traditional Chinese architecture and dragon boat culture. Let’s dive into whether this set floats or sinks! 

Set Specifications

• Brand: Kavo World 
• Set Number: 89140
• Set Name: Dragon Boat Pagoda / Loong Vessel Pavilion
• Piece Count: 2,453 pieces
• Minifigures: None included
• Printed Parts: None
• Stickers: Yes
• Special Features: Included LED light string with 3 points of light
• Compatibility: Standard Lego-compatible bricks
• Dimensions: 19 x 7 x 13 (L x W x H) inches
• Sold on both Aliexpress and Temu, click on the images to take you to the listings (note price changes often).

On AliExpress, the set retails for approximately $67 USD ($92 CAD), whereas Temu offers it for around $28 CAD—roughly a two-thirds savings. However, the Temu listing notes an 1800+ piece count, which may mistakenly lead buyers to believe it is a smaller micro-brick set.

Unboxing & First Impressions

The set arrived from a local Temu warehouse in a generic black box featuring nothing but the minimal Kavo World logo. Opening it up, you get an 84-page instruction manual, a sticker sheet, and bags of bricks.

Since the box itself is completely blank, you have to rely on the instruction manual’s cover page for the official set specifications. However, even that is a bit misleading. The manual depicts a standard light brick, but what you actually get in the box is a battery hub paired with three separate LED light wires.

Organising your build is pretty straightforward here. The set comes with 32 bags in total, split into numbered groups from 1 to 7 that correspond directly to the 7 main stages in the manual. You also get 3 utility bags labelled G1, G2, and G3, along with 1 separate bag just for the LED lighting components.

Here's the battery box and 3 light strands.

Here's the sticker sheet. So many small stickers and lines. I probably won't use them all.

Upon inspection of the manual, I found the pictures to be very small and lacking contrast to see how the parts actually go together.

The Build Experience

So the first two stages were pretty uneventful. Mostly focused on building the dragon boat hull and top deck.  The lighting elements were also incorporated.  Brick clutch and quality was satisfactory.

💡 Pro-Builder Tip: There are three wine-coloured sockets on each side of the hull meant to hold the oars (see first build pic above). While the manual tells you to install these oars during Stage 7, I highly recommend flipping ahead to pages 77 and 79, steps 321, 322, 332, and 333 to attach them back during Stage 2 instead. If you wait until later, the sockets tend to buckle inwards under the pressure of inserting the oars, forcing you to tear the hull apart just to fix them!

The Dragon Head Nightmare: The massive dragon head at the bow is assembled during Stage 3, and let me tell you, it was an absolute nightmare. The assembly is split into a neck section and a head section, which ultimately snap together via a large ball joint. The problem is the instruction logic: the manual tells you to fully build the neck—complete with all its delicate, fiddly surface details—and then fully build the head with its own fragile pieces, before finally telling you to mash the two sub-assemblies together.  

Because both the head and neck are so incredibly delicate, trying to force that stiff joint together means one thing: explosion. One wrong press and tiny parts go flying everywhere, turning your workspace into a brick-hunting zone.

Save yourself the headache and build it this way instead:

1. Assemble the core neck structure (leave the fragile details off for now).
2. Assemble the core head structure.
3. Snap the head onto the neck while you still have a sturdy, easy grip.
4. Attach the combined head/neck structure directly to the boat.
5. Adorn all the fiddly bits to the both neck and head last.

The last part of stage 3 is to remove the adhesive backing from the led strips and apply them carefully onto the dragon eyes.

Initially, I thought that the dragon boat might be minifigure scale, but now I'm thinking the boat is too small for my minifigures.

In Stage 4, we now have the tedious task of applying stickers to each and every window pane in the set. To be fair, I never get the stickers on properly, and I was able to remove and re-align them each time without tearing them.  I only did the window details and did not attempt to apply the small/linear stickers.

If these were the real decks of the dragon boat, I'd put it at 1:100 scale.  The railings are decorative but tiny.

Moving right along, Stages 4 through 6 focus on stacking up the different levels of the pagoda structure. Visually, this is where the set really shines. I absolutely love how the vibrant gold accents play off the turquoise-coloured roof panels—it creates a fantastic, striking contrast.

Here is what the Dragon Boat Pagoda looks like at the end of Stage 6. We are officially down to the home stretch and almost at the finish line!

Finally, stage 7 sees the construction of the stand, the attachment of the oars and rear pagoda and flourishes.

Design & Display

Once finished, this set is an absolute showstopper. The fusion of the multi-tiered ancient pagoda sitting directly inside a dragon ship creates a sweeping, majestic profile.

The finished dimensions are as follows:

• Length: 19 inches
• Width: 7 inches
• Height: 13 inches

While the glowing dragon eyes look fantastic and are highly noticeable, the remaining interior lighting unfortunately gets swallowed up inside the dense pagoda structure. To get a truly dramatic nighttime display, there should have been more lighting elements  provided for the interior.

Final Verdict

• Design: Beautifully blends traditional architecture with structural fantasy, the gold accents really shine
• Build Difficulty: I would not recommend this set to beginners, experienced builders only - level of difficulty is high
• Value: 9/10 – For the price on Temu and just under 2,500 pieces, it offers an incredible bang for your buck.

Overall Rating: 4.0 / 5 Bricks 🧱

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I hope you have found this review helpful in your decision on whether to buy this set or not.  Anyways, let me know what you think in the comments!   Bye for now!