27 replies to this topic

[Cardinal Brick]

Set Name: Spinjitzu Dojo
Set Number: 2504
Number of Pieces: 373
Figures:3
Released: 2011
List Price: £30.99 (GBP) $49.99 (USD) 39.90 (EURO)
2504Peeron.com
2504Bricklink Catalog
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When I first saw Ninja go I wasn't very impressed but over the past few weeks I've been thinking more about it. I did always love the Ninja theme and while the individual minifigs don't appeal to much I thought the sets might be worth a second look. I went to Bluewater this morning to start my Pharaoh Quest airforce but I was tempted by this and had money to burn after Christmas. With it in had I thought I may as well review it, as that's all I seem to get time to do on Eurobricks any more. SO without more woffle lets get started.

Lets us begin with the box.


Considering how few pieces there are you get alot of Danish air, it's almost Star Wars worthy.

The back shows the play features and the gold weapons which are aparently quite important.

Contents

This is what comes in the box though I don't think it really need to sets of instructions.

Cards
As with all NinjaGo sets you get some card here are the selection you get in this box, they remind me of Mike Rayhawk's Brik Wars cards, I do wonder if he was involved somewhere along the way







Minifigs
You get three minifigs here Sensei Wu Zne and General Nuckal. I like all three of them, while Zane if fairly standard (and I've just recieved an original Ninja Princess) Sensei Wu is a nice adition and I love the new hat mould I hope to get my hands on alot more of these at some point. General Nuckal is also intresting and alot more elaborate than previous evil skeletons.

Front view.

Wu and Zane without facegear, Wu's back inserted. Zane has no back printing.


New Windows
I really like these new windows and I can seen they'll be very popular for Japaneese mocing

They do seem a bit loose in the frame though.

Dojo Side
The final part of bag 1 is the side of the Dojo containing spinning blades for training purposes.

Does anyone ever train without spinning blafes.



Dojo Side 2
This bag only has the second Dojo side which has falling axes and water with spike in it.

Another sale for the Acme Falling Axe system.



Central Dojo
The final bag is the central part of nthe dojo with exploding floor which gets and entire page of the instructions

I couldn't replicate the instructions very well in real life.

Now lets put it all together

Front view.
The Dojo looks quite impressive and it does look like you could have an impressive montage of training before facing the evil skeleton oposition. It also has a very nice look to it.

Adding in the minifigs for battle..

The Rating System
Figures: 6.5/10 (I like Wu (the only set he's in at the moment) and Nuckle but Zane is a little ordinary)
Parts 8/10 (Fair selection and the new windows are a great adition in my view.)
Fun Fun Fun 6/10 (You only get one spinner so you can't have a sill spinner battle but there's a fair amount to do but a second spinner would have seemed wise)
Design 8/10 (Nice design and well executed has a great feel to it.)
Price 5/10 (I don't know maybe I no longer understand Lego pricing points, it just seems a little high while I was afraid 7307 would come in over £20 and was very happy to see it come in under £15 (just) £30.99 is A a strange price and B seems rather expensive for what you get.)
Grand Total 33.5/50 (Middling sets with a middleing score)

Conclusions
NinjaGo is a strange theme, but some of the sets do look very nice I like the looks and feel of this one for instance though I do feel the price point is to high. It's similar to the price I paid for 3053 recently which no one is going to argue isn't a superior set (if you are you'd better come armed!). I look forward to seeing the other sets that are coming for NinjaGo the Fire Temple looks excellent and these will make a good adition to my ninja collection I just want a little more for my money. On the plus side though the new skeletons are great in my opinion and Wu is well designed and I love his new had, if we could now just have large numbers in black so I can equip a force of ashigaru so I can have Shogun Total War in Lego at last.


The last page of the manual offers a map which is quite intresting and offers a view of the future, well perhaps!



And now for a bonus comic

[Lordofdragonss]

The comic was even better than whole review!   
(And art of spin its called SpinJitzu not Spingitsu).
I love new skeletons!
You should take photo of weapons! Could you?

[indyman09]

Don't stop with the comics! This one was really fun. Thanks for the great review, this is one of the exciting sets of NinjaGo.

[clouette]

I like you comics. Keep them coming

[Jipay]

I find your rating a bit harsh to the set to be honest. I think it'd deserve something along 40, as it offers much potential for MOCing, as you said yourself. Pricing seems quite ok in euro.

[Peppermint_M]

Well, this was one of the sets I had my eye on but at that price point, it may have fallen down from "Must Get Soon as I can" to "If I want a set that size in the next six months" considering other themes and sets I want more...

The Japanese themed parts are always welcome in my MOCs however.

Thanks for the review. I wonder what sets await me in Cardiff tomorrow  

[Darth Jar Jar]

I just got this set now and love that the japanese wall parts are printed

[Bingo Little]

Quick question: did Bluewater have Pharoah's quest in?  Thinking of popping there soon.

[Cardinal Brick]

Lordofdragonss, on 26 December 2010 - 04:58 PM, said:

You should take photo of weapons! Could you?

Ask and ye shall recieve

Jipay, on 26 December 2010 - 05:33 PM, said:

I find your rating a bit harsh to the set to be honest. I think it'd deserve something along 40, as it offers much potential for MOCing, as you said yourself. Pricing seems quite ok in euro.

Maybe I am being a bit hard, but then I feel that Lego has been creeping up to much in price in the UK recently, I'd have rated it better had it been 29.99 only a small diffrence but it's phycological

Bingo Little, on 26 December 2010 - 09:14 PM, said:

Quick question: did Bluewater have Pharoah's quest in?  Thinking of popping there soon.

Yes Pharoah's Quest is in though how much if left I don't know it was rather crazy there

[prateek]

Nice review. This dojo kinda reminds me of the one in Kung Fu Panda, with the spinning blades. The price is insane, and there is only one spinner, but other than that it's a nice set.

[Masked Builder]

Nice work here.  Those spinners are a bit weird if you ask me.  I like the dojo and the great new figs.

prateek, on 26 December 2010 - 09:41 PM, said:

This dojo kinda reminds me of the one in Kung Fu Panda, with the spinning blades.

    It does.  Nice work on spotting that.

[Burman]

Thanks for the review. This is one of the better sets in the theme but still not that appealing. The building itself is skimpy lacking obvious features and the only draw is the new hat and beard molds. I do however, like the range of weapons that comes with these sets.

Thanks for the review and funny comic  

[Mrlegoninja]

Thanks for the review! This set has nice pieces, and looks very cool. However, there are too many other sets that are less expensive and appeal to me more. If I have more money, I'll pick this up later in the year.

[Santhor]

Sorry if this was already asked, but it doesn't only come with one shuriken? Maybe there's a spare? I sure hope so. Anyway, great review, thanks for it!

-Santhor-san

[Delta 38]

Ah, nice review. Sensei Wu has back printing, nice. Zane doesn't have back printing, even better.
The reason why the ninjas not having back printing is good personally is because in promotional teasers they've been seen with their names written on their backs, which is obviously not good if you want to make an army.
Nice window pieces, great to know they're not stickers.  

[KielDaMan]

Thanks for this review Cardinal Brick! I agree with prateek, the first time I saw this set in the prelims I instantly recognized the dojo's resemblance with the one in Kung Fu Panda. This is a pretty decent set with lots of MOCing potential, especially the 'oriental'-looking parts. Sensei Wu is a lovely minifig IMO, with his new beard piece and headgear. Too bad for the steep price.

[Santhor]

Delta 38, on 27 December 2010 - 08:20 AM, said:

Ah, nice review. Sensei Wu has back printing, nice. Zane doesn't have back printing, even better.
The reason why the ninjas not having back printing is good personally is because in promotional teasers they've been seen with their names written on their backs, which is obviously not good if you want to make an army.
Nice window pieces, great to know they're not stickers.  

Perhaps their names are on the backs of their "dragon suits"?
EDIT: Yes, their names are printed on the backs of their DX/dragon suits.

-Santhor

Edited by Santhor, 28 December 2010 - 02:12 PM.

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review! Still can't find these...

[fff]

Nice review, promising set, very expensive one... i mean, it is not SW to have such price!!!

[yumiyoshi]

I like this new set so much! Great design but so many little pieces and so much expensive!
I'll put it on my "if on sales..." list, won't buy on entire price.
Still Love the rew-comic!

[xray]

Thanks for the review. i enjoyed the comic as well. This is the one set i was keen to acquire. i agree it is very pricey. I have no use for the skeletons, but the ninja figures are both good.  I suspect I'll be hitting bricklink for more of these. The Japanese parts are also useful for MOC work.

[buddy]

Great review, I especially like the comic at the end of it!    This is a decent set and I particularly like the minifgs in it.  
Very well done on the review.  

~buddy~

[Henchmen4Hire]

I think you should keep the comics, those were fun! I don't really care about the box or baggies or what color the booklets are so the comics are the main attraction for me.

[lightningtiger]

Great review, even greater comic.....I'm not sure if I'll buy this, though I do like the new printed parts (windows and torsos).....keep on spinning !

[kevin1990]

Great Revieuw, But I would of loved to see some picture of the new parts.

I went ahead and bought this set.
And well personly I think it was disapointing I thought the only good thing is the set was the beard and long bone.