Lego Ninjago 2016

[the Lego scavenger]

Bought and built the Misfortunes Keep a couple of days ago and its a stunner, the dragon it comes with is also very nice, Loyds flyer... not so much. But all in all a very nice set, go get it.

Um, what dragon?

[gamejutzu]

lol

So apparently LEGO has had this one stop motion up about a kid recreating the first episodes of Ninjago, and in it, Wu is wearing that one suit we all keep seeing.

And you knew all along Curtis! Why??

[gunm]

Apologies if I missed it, but is Ninjago even close to becoming a retired theme at this point? How much longer do we think Ninjago will go?

I'm still looking forward to the Rock Roader (I like the buggies), and the Tumbler.

[Ninja of Fire]

Um, what dragon?

He means the Kai's Dragon polybag that came with orders over $50/$100.

[Master_Data]

Apologies if I missed it, but is Ninjago even close to becoming a retired theme at this point? How much longer do we think Ninjago will go?

I'm still looking forward to the Rock Roader (I like the buggies), and the Tumbler.

Not even close. LEGO now treats it as a licensed theme, and there's a movie coming out next year.

[the Lego scavenger]

He means the Kai's Dragon polybag that came with orders over $50/$100.

ah, my bad

[DuckBricks]

Apologies if I missed it, but is Ninjago even close to becoming a retired theme at this point? How much longer do we think Ninjago will go?

I'm still looking forward to the Rock Roader (I like the buggies), and the Tumbler.

The summer 2015 Lego employee magazine stated that it's an evergreen theme along the likes of City... I believe I provided an exact quote many many pages back, but it was along the lines of that. I can try to dig it up and post a picture.

[gunm]

The summer 2015 Lego employee magazine stated that it's an evergreen theme along the likes of City... I believe I provided an exact quote many many pages back, but it was along the lines of that. I can try to dig it up and post a picture.

Ah, I see! Cool, thanks for the info! Ninjago has grown on me. I didn't care for it when it first came out, but I appreciate the play features in these sets as the series has evolved.

Very interesting that this has indeed become an "evergreen" theme, as it's not something I would've foreseen back in 2011.

[HoganPrime]

I got the ghost chain cycle this weekend and I absolutely love it. It seems to be a very popular set in shanghai because the TrU and Lego stores I go to were sold out for quite some time, so when I saw it the other day I grabbed it...

The build was fun and the parts are fantastic. I like that it also comes with more of the green elemental blades, I gave the spare one to my Morro minifig so he has a ghost elemental blade like Cole. The catapult launcher on the bike is pretty great too.

I decided that I would moc the glider that Zane uses, I turned it into a detachable part of the Zane mech, added some parts to the back of the mech that are in keeping with the design of the robot, grey and white, and managed to attach the glider. Its simple to attach and detach, unlike the flyer from Zane's skybound set (the zeppelin), which didn't attach so well to the mech for my liking.

I highly recommend getting the chain cycle if you haven't already.

[Peppermint_M]

It can't be a licensed theme, it belongs to LEGO, they do not have to pay anyone else to use character names and likenesses. It is an Evergreen theme (like City).

[azog]

I sadly do not own the chain cycle;( and when I check my local stores its not there! So sadly thats one set I won't be owning

[raarghh]

Um, what dragon?

Ops! Mixed Destinys Bounty and Misfortunes Keep together as I built both not to far apart :)

[Master_Data]

It can't be a licensed theme, it belongs to LEGO, they do not have to pay anyone else to use character names and likenesses. It is an Evergreen theme (like City).

I posted this a while back, but I sent LEGO an email asking why they kept telling me that Ninjago minifigures couldn't be purchased from BnP because they were licensed. They come from a theme crated by LEGO, so that shouldn't be the reason. They replied (bolding added):

As you know, for a long time LEGO® offered Ninjago figures for sale. This past year, however, LEGO had to make the tough business decision to change the way these parts were offered. Though Ninjago is a theme that was created by the LEGO Group the expansion of the line through cartoons, books, video games, etc. meant that there are a lot of outside, creative talents invested in the product now. Due to this, the theme needed to change it's designation and become licensed.

Please accept my apologies for the disappointing news that the mini figures can no longer be purchased independent of the sets.

It may be an evergreen theme, but for marketing reasons, it's now a licensed theme as well.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Master_Data

[the Lego scavenger]

Ops! Mixed Destinys Bounty and Misfortunes Keep together as I built both not to far apart :)

My bad then.

And the wait for the images still wages on.......

Edited April 11, 2016 by the Lego scavenger

[gamejutzu]

I highly recommend getting the chain cycle if you haven't already.

What turns people away from the Chain Cycle is that there are no real characters exclusive to this set. Wrayth and Airjitzu Zane come in other, more cheaper sets. And the Pyrrhus has no distinguishing features from other ghosts as well.

For some reason LEGO thinks Zane is the coolest ninja or something, because he's been an exclusive character for some time now.

[makoy]

For some reason LEGO thinks Zane is the coolest ninja or something...

Well... obviously because he's the ninja of ice. :)

[HoganPrime]

What turns people away from the Chain Cycle is that there are no real characters exclusive to this set. Wrayth and Airjitzu Zane come in other, more cheaper sets. And the Pyrrhus has no distinguishing features from other ghosts as well.

For some reason LEGO thinks Zane is the coolest ninja or something, because he's been an exclusive character for some time now.

The Zane in this set is a NRG varient. Its not his deep stone armour or usual face printing. So I would say its rare enough, plus for parts it has some brilliant green translucent pieces which I can imagine would be fantastic in MOC.

I do agree that Zane seems to be annoyingly hard to find in sets (including his poly bag kai has three skybound minifig and the others have 2. Except for Zane) but they seem to be rectifying that in the summer with more Zane sets that also feature hair pieces which I really look forward to

Edit to say, I see what you mean now when you say airjitsu Zane... You meant the NRG, sure but not everyone wants to buy the flyers

Edited April 13, 2016 by HoganPrime

[PenPlays]

What turns people away from the Chain Cycle is that there are no real characters exclusive to this set. Wrayth and Airjitzu Zane come in other, more cheaper sets. And the Pyrrhus has no distinguishing features from other ghosts as well.

For some reason LEGO thinks Zane is the coolest ninja or something, because he's been an exclusive character for some time now.

Did you know that the set actually comes with a vehicle that you can build?

It's not like it's just the minifigures in there.

Remember back when people cared more about the beautiful craftsmanship of the set, rather than the minifigs?

Those are days I long for yet again. It would change how people look at Star Wars, Friends, Ninjago... on second thought, that would probably make Lego lose sales, as unfortunate as that sounds.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Penkid11

[gunm]

What turns people away from the Chain Cycle is that there are no real characters exclusive to this set. Wrayth and Airjitzu Zane come in other, more cheaper sets. And the Pyrrhus has no distinguishing features from other ghosts as well.

For some reason LEGO thinks Zane is the coolest ninja or something, because he's been an exclusive character for some time now.

I've heard nothing but good things as most people pick it up for the cycle, not the minifigs. I'm planning to get one before it stops production.

[CM4Sci]

Did you know that the set actually comes with a vehicle that you can build?

It's not like it's just the minifigures in there.

Remember back when people cared more about the beautiful craftsmanship of the set, rather than the minifigs?

Those are days I long for yet again. It would change how people look at Star Wars, Friends, Ninjago... on second thought, that would probably make Lego lose sales, as unfortunate as that sounds.

I thought it was a super awesome looking cycle and I wanted it but the figures drive me away, nothin too exciting. A ghost tail would've been.. it, I guess.

[Aanchir]

Did you know that the set actually comes with a vehicle that you can build?

It's not like it's just the minifigures in there.

Remember back when people cared more about the beautiful craftsmanship of the set, rather than the minifigs?

Those are days I long for yet again. It would change how people look at Star Wars, Friends, Ninjago... on second thought, that would probably make Lego lose sales, as unfortunate as that sounds.

I think plenty of people still care about the beautiful craftsmanship of sets... but frankly, lots of sets have beautiful craftsmanship, and most people don't have the money or space to buy all of them just on those merits. The minifigure selection can be a good way to narrow your choices down.

In my case, I didn't buy Chain Cycle Ambush. Not because it's a bad set, but because there were so many other amazing sets out there that also had minifigures I didn't already have. If I hadn't already gotten Airjitzu Zane and Wrayth way back in May, then maybe I might've chosen differently, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Still, minifigure selection is not the only factor in what sets I get. If all I cared about were minifigures there are a LOT of other sets I could skip, including some expensive ones. For that matter, I could save a lot of money just getting the figs from the more expensive sets on BrickLink. But then there are all kinds of amazing sets I'd miss out on. Thinking about what minifigures I have and which I still need just makes it a little easier not to buy everything.

[Exetrius]

Did you know that the set actually comes with a vehicle that you can build?

It's not like it's just the minifigures in there.

Remember back when people cared more about the beautiful craftsmanship of the set, rather than the minifigs?

Those are days I long for yet again. It would change how people look at Star Wars, Friends, Ninjago... on second thought, that would probably make Lego lose sales, as unfortunate as that sounds.

To be honest, while I certainly do care about the design of the set, I mostly buy them for the minifigs and useful parts. You see, my budget is not big enough to buy sets for display and sets to make MOCs with. I am mostly interested in the sets with dragons and buildings so I buy those, I build them, leave them on display for some time, but in the end, they all get taken apart because I want to use the pieces. The only exception up to this point: 70734 Master Wu Dragon, because I've sworn to myself to keep that set intact, because it's - hands down - the best set I have ever bought!

So in fact, it kinda hurts that Ninjago keeps coming with bloody good sets, but man, I really hope they continue this trend!

And I'm getting tired that there is so little to discuss... Do we already know when and how the polybag below will be available? The torso and legs seem to be exclusive. (sorry penkid, another minifig )

http://brickset.com/sets/5004391-1/Sky-Pirates-Battle

Edited April 14, 2016 by Exetrius

[PenPlays]

And I'm getting tired that there is so little to discuss... Do we already know when and how the polybag below will be available? The torso and legs seem to be exclusive. (sorry penkid, another minifig )

*snip*

Now... I am a bit of a hypocrite. I love minifigures, especially the Ninjago ones. NRG Jay remains the only minifigure that I'm having trouble getting my hands on at a reasonable price, but other than that, I certainly want one of each, but the sets are far more a bigger drive for me is all.

Regarding that poly, though, I really wouldn't care for that Siren variant, as it's not completely necessary (if I really wanted her I could just bricklink the parts). The Samurai on the other hand... well, I love me some minifig scale robots.

Speaking of which, look at this beauty!

And of course, it's not readily available in my country.

[obsidianheart]

Do we already know when and how the polybag below will be available?

http://brickset.com/...-Pirates-Battle

That's pretty neat!

[LegendsOfNinjago]

Now... I am a bit of a hypocrite. I love minifigures, especially the Ninjago ones. NRG Jay remains the only minifigure that I'm having trouble getting my hands on at a reasonable price, but other than that, I certainly want one of each, but the sets are far more a bigger drive for me is all.

Regarding that poly, though, I really wouldn't care for that Siren variant, as it's not completely necessary (if I really wanted her I could just bricklink the parts). The Samurai on the other hand... well, I love me some minifig scale robots.

Speaking of which, look at this beauty!

And of course, it's not readily available in my country.

I know I've said this before, but the lack of avalibility of NRG Jay has been somewhat a mystery to me.