sweetsha Posted May 27, 2015 Hi EB, here is a somehow unconventional review as I decided to review it 2 weeks after the build (so no pictures of sealed bag of pieces, etc ...) I know everyone is into the upcoming ghost theme, but here I am with a review of a set of the previous wave ^^ Name : 70749 : Enter the Serpent Theme: Ninjago Year: 2015 Pieces: 529 Price: 49,99€ Since the beginning of the Ninjago theme, I always had a particular affection for sets with dragons or temple/villain's lair (not quite fan of the recurring "the ultimate motorcycle of #insert ninja name here#"). Lucky me, this 1st 2015 wave had both, so I'll start with the enemy's temple. Note - I did not watched the show so unfortunately I cannot say if this is show-accurate or what are the detailed stories of the different characters. The box Pretty big box with a lovely color code. I was not really fan of previous wave with all that robotic stuff, so I'm pleased to see a come back to a more "natural" environment. As always the back of the box shows the different playable elements, I'll describe them later on. Stickers / Pieces One small stickers sheet - note that some were not applied as I wish to use the blank pieces somewhere else later. A nice round sticker with Anacondrai logo, and 2 maps that indicates the different traps of the temple.. Speaking of the pieces, here are the interesting ones in my opinion : - rares/exclusives ones : 2 purple wedge and 2 huge exclusive in purple "brick round corner", 4 dark tan slopes 3x3 also exclusives and one dark tan wedge with this "scale" texture (that we already had in other colors in previous dragons for instance). Also a nice dish with Anacondrai symbol. - Anacondrai equipment parts : amazing work on these pieces : bone sword, lovely shoulder pads, snake skull helmets ... I say very good job ! Minifigures We often speak of the quality of licensed figs compared to non-licensed ones but here we have some beauties ^^ Let's start with our heroes - Jay & Lloyd in their new jungle outfit (the heads are the same as always) : They are of course armed to face the danger :) Now move on to the opposite camp - the Anacondrai cultists. We have from left to right : - Kapau'rai ; snake transformation of Kapau that appears in other sets. - Master Chen : the leader of the Anacondrai cultists with a detailed torso and gorgeous back print with the Anacondrai logo. - Zugu : the prison guard I guess (he has the key on his pants) with a superb face print (and these shoulder pads with the spine ... lovely !) A side view of Kapau'rai to see his head's profile : Everyone is also armed to defend their lair : The temple We start the build with the little prison and the bone-bridge - then the temple itself for an overall good result with a satisfying size for a set of this price range. The purple parts give a nice touch the the overall build, with some interesting areas (the stairs for instance). The prison is a classic, you always enjoy putting the good guys in prison ^^ But there is one negative point for me : the snake head. In previous years we had some beautiful snake heads in Ninjago sets but this one ... I don't know but I do not like it. Maybe the size of the fangs, maybe the way the eyes are build Anyway, there is an opened area on the head to store lime ball parts (poison I guess) so that when you open the mouth they fall and poison our poor ninjas. The 2 trans-red elements at the beginning of the stairs are in fact missile that are vey well hidden. Lego love to put missiles everywhere and it often ruin the overall design but here it is really well integrated, good job. You can fire the missiles by pressing on one of the snake skull in the top of the stairs, again good integration of the mechanism as it is not visible. The back view show that you can access a small weapon rack and a treasure chest, and also that there is a classic trap mechanism to make someone fall into the spikes/snakes below. Remaining parts Some weapons, it's always useful and especially when it's one of these lovely bone blade. Opinion Well, for me it is a really nice set with many play features and nice minifigures with some exclusives ones. A real crush for these equipment parts that are beautiful and very detailed The only bad point I see is the snake head as mentioned below. Another good point with Ninjago is that you can always find the sets with a good discount if you wait a little I also love the constant change of universe/environment in Ninjago across the years and I am happy with this "jungle" theme. One last pic of the entire set to conclude : Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AnthonyP301 Posted May 27, 2015 Nice review! I don't think this specific temple was in season four of the show, but there are definitely elements of other locations. The set looks great, I've always admired the Ninjago temple sets. I like the Anacondrai design that makes this one very unique. The exclusive minifigs make it appealing as well (Lloyd and Kapau'rai). I'd like to get it eventually, but it's not my highest priority Ninjago set. I think the only thing that could have made it better is if the price was bumped up so we could get all of Clouse's snake from the show plus a few more minifigs. I'll probably get it later on since it's such a nice set, and ya gotta love those trapdoors! Great review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Exetrius Posted May 28, 2015 Once I saw this set and it's price, I was sold. Just a great set. Good review Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MontyPython Posted June 7, 2015 I really like this year's Ninjago. This one is no different. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lordofdragonss Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) The only set I want to buy from this year Ninjago- great figures (but new headprints for ninjas would be nicer...), a lot of accesories, and a beautiful modable temple! My biggest let down is that I learned that map pieces are STICKERS! Unprinted accesory piece? Unacceptable! Now I can't give these cool maps for figs because they scratch the sticker... Edited June 8, 2015 by Lordofdragonss Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gamejutzu Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) The only set I want to buy from this year Ninjago- great figures (but new headprints for ninjas would be nicer...), a lot of accesories, and a beautiful modable temple! My biggest let down is that I learned that map pieces are STICKERS! Unprinted accesory piece? Unacceptable! Now I can't give these cool maps for figs because they scratch the sticker... Don't worry, it's not that bad! you can always just place the map on top of the hand. You know sweetsha, i think you are not fond of the head because they tried to make it look different. Not sure how I feel about them either. Edited June 30, 2015 by gamejutzu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darthzane321 Posted August 16, 2015 nice review :thumbup: but lloyd face is the old one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikael560 Posted September 15, 2020 I have this set. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thedarkmaster2 Posted November 20, 2020 Overall a good set, though it's a shame that the Anacondrai head piece was never as diverse as some of the other tribes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeyB Posted November 28, 2020 Dang, I forgot how cool that one Anacondrai cultist headdress is, had no clue it had a freakin' ribcage holding the tails together! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
