16 replies to this topic

[WhiteFang]

Hello everyone,

I don't think anyone will actually expect or think that I will ever review the LEGO Ninjago Spinners! Even, I myself find it impossible initially, but when I first saw images of this new Samurai X, making it into the spinner series since it is only be made available in limited sets in the upcoming Summer release. I knew I had to get a few of these, to supplement my Samurai collection despite of my expressed disappointment for the Ninjago Spinners in 2011.  

Name: 9566 Samurai X
Theme: LEGO System / Ninjago
Year: 2012
Pieces: 23
Minifigs: 1 minifigure
Price: USD $9.99, GBP 7.49, EURO N.A, SGD $19.90
Resources: Brickset, BrickLink


An original box image of the 9566 Samurai X



Back view of the original box image of the 9566 Samurai X



The long awaited Samurai X has finally arrived!


Before the whole Ninjago TV series (2nd season) kicks in, I heard Nya was going to be the new Samurai X based on rumours. Guess the design of her samurai outfit turns out to be very well-designed and it is highly regarded as one of the most popular LEGO minifigure in the Ninjago Universe. To me, Samurai X had a very different meaning in my mind. Until now, I kept thinking it was meant to be Kenshin, when one mention the name of 'Samurai X', but this classic Japanese anime does not come under this purview.    


The content of the sealed package


The content of the spinner package is very straight forward. It comes with a spinner, spinner crown, playing cards, instruction/game manual and building parts for the minifigures along with some of the cool accessories. After building, these are the remaining spare parts.


Instruction Manual (Front)



Instruction Manual (Back)



Building content of Samurai X


As you can see the bricks count is less than 20, and we will be focusing more on the minifigure's design of this brand new samurai outfit.


The new 2012 LEGO Ninjago Spinners


If you had seen or experienced playing with the 2011 LEGO Ninjago Spinners, you will realise that the quality of the spinners are not as sturdy and firm like the new 2012 LEGO Ninjago Spinners above. Indeed, I was surprised by the excellent quality of the spinner. It is hard and the base is significantly better than before. It enable the player to add on components on top of the spinner to allow better balancing and combating purposes. More importantly, when I spins it, it gives a very smooth and faster spin in this new design.

These are some of the images on the game manual (link 1) and (link 2). Too bad, I don't have a scanned copy of those and I am not an expert in the Ninjago game rules as well, so I won't touch on that but I hope you enjoyed the overall preview of the Spinjitzu Game Cards.


Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu Game Cards



Samurai X weapons choice


Samurai X is only available in here and the upcoming 9448 Samurai Mech. I will think this scarlet looking samurai outfit is the best that I had ever seen, especially the usage of the mask for the headgear. The new samurai armour and the new designed headgear are some cool elements for those who truly enjoyed the Japan Feudal era. Not only that, this spinner package provides 3 good choices of weapons such as the black scimitar which is my favourite, pearl gold katana and the long naginata.


Nya's dual expression


Nya is fighting calm and aggressive on both fronts and the detailed torso on her is just fantastic. It even comes with back printing.


The different type of LEGO Samurais


So, by putting the 3 different Samurai's design together, which one do you like best? I got no complains at all as I think all 3 of them complements one another based on their militaristic roles.


Do you like the new gunmetal samurai headgear?


After playing around with the new samurai headgear, it is extremely weird looking to place onto others when there is no mask covering the appearance.


Together with my loyal Samurais



On a mission to protect our hime


Time to integrate the new character into my collection and I had great fun doing so. To conclude, I will encourage you to get this Ninjago Spinner for Samurai X because it is definitely worth it. Most importantly, the quality of this minifigure is not sub-par and is equivalent to any high quality LEGO minifigure which is normally available in LEGO sets. Plus, with the decent array of weapons given in here, I think it is worthwhile to pick a few to add into my Samurai collection. To be honest, I don't have a lot yet and I only had 2 of these. I may need to grab a few more of those if the price is 'right'.

Summary review
Playability: 10/10 (This is a 10/10 if you are into Ninjago game playing concept.)
Design: 10/10 (Design of Samurai X is excellent and the quality is superb.)
Price: 4/10 (Ninjago spinners are not that affordable, so that is my only downside.)
Overall: 8/10 (Get one pack and try it out yourself and you will be impressed with it.)

I gave it a "5" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed.
Pictures can be found in My Flickr and My Brickshelf (When moderated)

Edited by WhiteFang, 20 May 2012 - 04:28 PM.
Indexed

[Nightshroud99]

I want an army of these!
Thanks for the review Whitefang, I didn't know exactly what Nya looked like under the armor, which has now made me a fan. Stunning unisex torso, it'd be perfect for a multitude of Mocs.
I'm also fond of that gunmetal helmet, and of course a black Scimitar.  

[Graysmith]

A dream come true for anyone who ever wanted a golden bucket handle.

Thanks for the review, WhiteFang!

[Darkdragon]

Great review here and pictures of course.

I've been wanting this "set" for a while now but have not been able to find it anywhere. I'm pretty sad, well I really only want the figure and weapons not the cards or spinner though I do like that spinner crown.

[Donut]

Thanks for the review, there's a couple of things I really like of the set from your pictures. The torso/leg printings is well done and the new samurai helmet adds a little variety to the collection. I am also glad that the black samurai armor is re-released, they were so hard to get back in 2000.

The red visor thing is a little funky for my taste, it looks like a big lip! I hope the fig is re-released in a standard set because $10 for a minifig is quite expensive (the cards and spinning base has no value since I don't play it) .

[WhiteFang]

Thanks guys for your kind thoughts!  

Nightshroud99, on 04 May 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

Thanks for the review Whitefang, I didn't know exactly what Nya looked like under the armor, which has now made me a fan. Stunning unisex torso, it'd be perfect for a multitude of Mocs.

Indeed, the torso is very useful for other customisation purposes.

Graysmith, on 04 May 2012 - 07:17 PM, said:

A dream come true for anyone who ever wanted a golden bucket handle.

I think it is considered pearl gold.

darkdragon, on 04 May 2012 - 07:21 PM, said:

I've been wanting this "set" for a while now but have not been able to find it anywhere. I'm pretty sad, well I really only want the figure and weapons not the cards or spinner though I do like that spinner crown.

I hope you are able to find one in your area soon. It means the same for me and the rest as well, that we are only interested in the minifig and the weapons.  

Donut, on 04 May 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

Thanks for the review, there's a couple of things I really like of the set from your pictures. The torso/leg printings is well done and the new samurai helmet adds a little variety to the collection. I am also glad that the black samurai armor is re-released, they were so hard to get back in 2000.

I recall it is not black. It is dark grey with slight gunmetal. I didn't seen that colour before.

[Darkdragon]

WhiteFang, on 04 May 2012 - 07:35 PM, said:

I recall it is not black. It is dark grey with slight gunmetal. I didn't seen that colour before.

I think it's "dark pearl grey" on Bricklink - same color as many of the Kingdoms weapons. I could be wrong since I don't own it.

[Kadabra]

Samurai X's armor and helm are both "gunmetal grey", and the match the Kingdoms Dragon Knight armor and weapons perfectly, as darkdragon stated. I love my Samurai X figure to bits, and her stuff has been great for my minifigs!  

[WhiteFang]

darkdragon, on 04 May 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

I think it's "dark pearl grey" on Bricklink - same color as many of the Kingdoms weapons. I could be wrong since I don't own it.

Thanks darkdragon! After doing a quick physical check, the colour for the samurai armour is the same colour for those baddies weapon colours in Kingdoms.  

The helmet is of the same colour but had a different finishing. It is much smoother.

[Darkdragon]

WhiteFang, on 04 May 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

The helmet is of the same colour but had a different finishing. It is much smoother.

You're welcome.  This is because of the two different plastic types of course. I'd imagine standard ABS would break too easily in that samurai armor mold style.

[Donut]

Thanks to all for clearing up the info on the colors. I am not too good with colors.

[Nom Carver]

I like the jaw section, makes it look like a really intimidating samuray but all this ninjago stuff is starting to make no sense with all those machines

[Lyichir]

Nom Carver, on 04 May 2012 - 08:45 PM, said:

I like the jaw section, makes it look like a really intimidating samuray but all this ninjago stuff is starting to make no sense with all those machines

If you think Ninjago was supposed to make sense, you haven't been paying attention. As a huge Ninjago fan, one of the things I've loved about the theme from the start was the zany anachronism.

Samurai X was my first spinner of 2012, and I was very impressed. I intend to get other spinners throughout the year, particularly those of the NRG-ninja (which are the only sets so far to include those figs).

[Im a brickmaster.]

I must  agree the mouth guard is pretty cool, but with out it, it looks a little odd which is why
I some what perfer the old helmet.

[Bioniclover]

I'm the only one who plays the spinner game? I feel so alone...     Excellent review, though!

[alex54]

Thanks for the review WhiteFang! Your pictures are always nice to look at. And your review always pleasant to read.
This fig looks very nice in fact, and this spinner is a very good and cheap way to have this fig.
Even if I am not a Ninjago fan, I reallly like some of the figures, and this one in particular.
I really like the headgear, with the red mask.
And the face is always good, adding some interesting femal expressions!

[WhiteFang]

Thanks guys for your thoughts.  

Bioniclover, on 05 May 2012 - 07:19 PM, said:

I'm the only one who plays the spinner game? I feel so alone...     Excellent review, though!

I am quite sure you are not the only person who plays this game. There is bound to be others as well. Just that, viewing this set merely as a form of minifigure review, more than the game perspective.

alex54, on 05 May 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

Thanks for the review WhiteFang! Your pictures are always nice to look at. And your review always pleasant to read.
This fig looks very nice in fact, and this spinner is a very good and cheap way to have this fig.
Even if I am not a Ninjago fan, I reallly like some of the figures, and this one in particular.
I really like the headgear, with the red mask.
And the face is always good, adding some interesting femal expressions!

Thank you Alex. Surprised to see you interested in this. Though this may be Ninjago, but this very Samurai X is pretty authtentic in terms of the Japanese Samurai warriors culture especially the usage of the mask. A breakthrough in the typical LEGO samurai design and historic taste as well. It's great to see you liking this. I am sure you will find it good use in your modular town layout.