azog Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) Hello eurobricks community There has not been too many great reviews for this fantastic set so I decided to do one for you guys! This set is almost a must buy even though it has been retired for quite some time, it's an amazing set and it really pulls you back into your childhood. This set was officially released back in 1998 selling for $20.00! Now a days you can find one in great condition for only $40.00-$50.00! This set was in the Ninja wave or the spinoff of a castle series and it has 198 pieces and 3 minifigures! And without further of do lets dive in! WP_20160426_16_49_14_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr And just right off the bat there she is! It looks very ancient and oriental in every way! Sorry for the bad lighting . WP_20160426_16_50_21_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Here are the minifigures! They all look fantastic! According to multiple resources the black ninja on the far left is named Bonsai. In the middle that is the master samurai, and to the right is the samurai apprentice. WP_20160426_16_50_58_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Here is a look at all of them without there armor or hoods in the way. As you can tell they all have very nice torso prints and great face prints with a ton of detail! There is absolutely no back printing so there is no need to show you it. WP_20160426_16_51_45_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Here is all the minifigures weapons and armor! Correct me if I'm wrong but the Ninja line is the only line that has those black older style guns! WP_20160426_16_59_18_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr For there time differences they actually look pretty similar! WP_20160426_16_53_05_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Now on to the fantastic stronghold! I mainly wanted to start out by showing that very nice structure item that is on both sides of the grounds of the stronghold. Such a simple design but yet so effective! WP_20160426_16_53_20_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Here is the beautiful front gate of the stronghold! Two very large wood doors with some flags on the front of them that adds a ton of color! WP_20160426_16_53_37_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Up on the second floor of the stronghold there is a booby trap! Oh yes a booby trap and their is still one more in the set! This particular trap has 4 1X1 cylinder pieces in light grey that act as rocks. And the point of the trap is to make sure that no one can get through the front gates! WP_20160426_16_56_27_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Poor poor Bonsai . WP_20160426_16_53_46_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr At the very top of the stronghold there is a small balcony where you can pose some figures for play! That flag piece is almost a plastic type material and is very sturdy and strong, will not rip easily! And those light grey fish pieces are simply an amazing mold! We do not see it anymore but that could look good in a ton of MOC's. WP_20160426_16_54_43_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr The back or interior of the stronghold is lacking a lot of stuff that could make this feel a bit more homier. But in the overall this looks very good! That ruby must be very desired because Bonzsai really wants it! The ruby also has two yellow chalices on either side just for looks or maybe their worth something as well. But this brings on the second and last booby trap of the set! WP_20160426_16_55_24_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr When you pull out this pin it will drop this massive axe right in front of the ruby! So... WP_20160426_16_55_10_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr Once again poor Bonsai! WP_20160426_17_01_50_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr One of the last and one of the greatest features about this set is that you can easily pull off the second and balcony off to allow easier play inside the stronghold! WP_20160426_16_58_22_Pro by jameswestman, on Flickr And that is it for my review of the Samurai Stronghold! My opinion is that this is a must have set if you like medieval, ninjago, or the oriental johnny thunder theme! For kids this set is a 10/10 for sure! Great play ability with the booby traps, and the ruby! For teenagers it will definitely be a 8/10. I scored it less for teens because its a great set in all but there is not much really here for a teenager but it still looks really sharp! Then for adults it would have to be a 10/10 easily! It looks great, the figures are great, and its just a fantastic set! I hope my review helped you in any way and if I didn't show you something let me know! Thank you for reading all of this and I hope you have a great day! Edited April 27, 2016 by azog Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soccerkid6 Posted April 27, 2016 I've always liked the original Ninja line. Good review of a very cool set. I hadn't realized those fish pieces came in Ninja sets Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azog Posted April 27, 2016 Those fish pieces were in almost every ninja set! There fantastic pieces! I'm glad you liked the review, thanks fir the comment! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lordofdragonss Posted April 29, 2016 It's quite weird they don't reuse those dragon fish statues in Ninjago nowadays. I was always amazed how wild yet well made the colorsheme of this theme is! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azog Posted April 29, 2016 I think everyone would love if ninjago started using those fish pieces. And the color scheme on this set is truly amazing, it reminds me alot of the armada flagship set back 1994 being so colorful but still looking amazing! Thanks for the comment! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mpyromaxos Posted April 29, 2016 Nice review! I have bought that set at 1999-2000!! I still have the figures, the flags and the fishes!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azog Posted April 29, 2016 Man your a lucky duck! I had to buy this set on bricklink but it was in perfect condition! This set also looks very good next to the temple of airjitzu from ninjago, thanks for the comment Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
makoy Posted April 29, 2016 I think everyone would love if ninjago started using those fish pieces. And the color scheme on this set is truly amazing, it reminds me alot of the armada flagship set back 1994 being so colorful but still looking amazing! Thanks for the comment! This. I really hope that we get more of those fish pieces! Why TLG do not capitalise Asian theme to use more Asian-looking ornamental pieces is mind-boggling. btw, great review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azog Posted April 29, 2016 That is one of the many reasons that the ninja theme is one of my favorite themes, the Asian architecture is amazing! Those fish molds really should be used more for sure! Thanks for your reply! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sr1847 Posted June 3, 2016 This set is a nice small compact set and I think it would really fit in to a Ninjago set up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
