[REVIEW] Ninjago 70643 Temple of Resurrection

[MKJoshA]

Hello, you might be asking yourself "what's a Star Wars Regulator doing a review of a Ninjago set for?" Well, I'll tell you. I've been a fan of Ninjago since season 2. When Ninjago first came out I thought, "what do I need a bright blue ninja for? Hiding behind bright blue curtains?" But as more sets came out and I started to watch the tv series, it began to grow on me. I'm still catching up on the episodes and haven't quite gotten to the Sons of Garmadon arc yet. So I can't tell you how they've handled the alternate Ninjago universe that is the Lego Ninjago Movie. But that also mean this review will be spoiler free, apart from some of the obvious spoilers that you can't avoid simply by looking at the box art.

When the newest Ninjago line was released, the set that stood out to me the most was this one, Temple of Resurrection. Even if you aren't a fan of the Ninjago license, most of the sets are great parts packs and this one is no exception. So without further ado, here is my review.

70643 Temple of Resurrection

Hopefully you can tell from the picture how thick this box is. I didn't get a tape measure out, but it seems to be about 50% thicker than your average $30-$60 set. And there doesn't seem to be an obvious reason for this. There are no large base plates or pre-fab pieces to accommodate. And the bags and instructions could have fit in a smaller box, or even a thinner one that was a little larger in surface area. Maybe Lego just wanted it to take more shelf depth.

The back of the box illustrates all the play features. But it also shows off one of the main reasons I wanted this set. Each Ninjago line (as all "Adventure" themed Lego lines tend to) has a set of pieces/objects to collect. Most of the time you have to buy multiple sets to complete your collection. But recently Lego has been putting all the collectibles into one of the highest priced sets. For example, the Hands of Time sets allowed you to collect 4 Time Blades by buying 4 different sets. Or you just just buy the 2nd most expensive set and get all 4 that way. For Sons of Garmadon, you could buy 3 different sets to get all 3 Oni Masks, or you can just buy Temple of Resurrection to get all 3.

Now, its time for a confession. The main reason I wanted all 3 Oni masks is because I'm a big Jackie Chan Adventures fan. One of the seasons dealt with Oni masks and seeing them re-created in Lego forum makes me geek out!

Opening the box you can see that there are 6 bags and a sealed set of instructions/stickers. It's always nice to see the instructions and stickers protected and I wish Lego would do that in more sets, not just the large ones.

My first reaction when I laid out the contents was "NO! The large windows are stickers not prints!" I have a love hate relationship with stickers, but it's mostly hate. If the piece I want to use in generic MOCs is stickered then I can just leave the sticker off to allow for more versatility. But if it's a piece I want to use for its intended purpose, like a decorative Asian wall panel, then I want it printed! I'll point this piece out again when we get to it in the building process.

Sorry for the poor quality on this picture. I didn't go back and check my pictures before moving on to each building step, so I missed that this one didn't turn out well.

It shows what things look like after Bag #1, as well as all the extra pieces.

There are some unique pieces in Bag #1. We get some of the new flower molds with 5 petals, the white modified stud with shaft, and 2 printed pieces. The compass looking piece gets hidden in one of the boxes on the ground floor of the temple. I'm not sure what it's significance is, but a quick Bricklink search shows it's originally a Minecraft piece. That helps explain why it looks pixelated.

Bag #2 finishes the extensions to the ground level. My guess is the red path is supposed to look like a tongue. You also get a bunch of spare parts, most of them extremely useful.

You get an extra Mr. T. mohawk in red, one of each bandana style in black, a red katana (a new color for this piece), and a spare espresso lever. I find it odd that 1 set would have both styles of bandanas. The skeleton wears the new style introduced for the Ninjago line a few years back. And one of the Sons of Garmadon bad guys wears the Wild West version.

Bag #3 builds the main floor of the 2nd story and achieves its stability with a lot of technic beams.

The instructions have you build the entire floor before attaching it to the rest of the build. If you look at the base of the building that was built from bags 1 and 2, you can see that the connection points are on 4 different levels. The floor also had to fit around bricks already set along the edges.

It was hard to line up and fit. And I assume that if I had trouble with it, the 8-14 year old this set was intended for will have even more.

Something else interesting in Bag #3 was the varying shades of pearl gold. I know some colors are harder for Lego to keep consistent with every batch. But finding 2 different shades in the same bag seemed odd to me. I'd love to see the sorting process that brought this about. Was there really only 1 piece left from the previous batch that ended up in my set along with a bunch of the new batch? Or did one fall off a conveyor belt and a worker found it a week later, adding it to the batch of new ones? Who knows.

Bag #3 ends very few extra pieces and now we are ready to build the 2nd floor and roof.

Bag #4 has some great pieces in it. We get the oriental fence piece in pearl gold for the first time, the grooved dark red brick, some window and door pieces which are very useful for Asian style building, and an extra gold tassel. The gold tassel is in the Lego Ninjago Movie CMF, so it's not super rare any more. But it's nice to have more anyways.

The lanterns are built using a Speed Champions' wheel in white which I thought was an ingenious use of that part.

And Bag #4 wraps up with most of the walls being finished for the 2nd floor. There are also only 3 extra pieces in this bag.

Bag #5 holds the pieces that almost made me cry when I first opened this set. Those two panels are stickers. Thankfully I was able to get them on straight enough to keep the perfectionist in me happy. But what if I had messed up? I seriously think Lego should start adding extra stickers sheets to all sets. Or at the very least, any set priced over $50. In this bag you also get some gold ingots which are used decoratively with the Oni masks and a dark pearl gray lightsaber handle.

I'm not sure when Lego started doing this, but they now tell you at the beginning of a step whether you're going to need to build multiples of it or not. This saves a lot of time and frustration and I'm glad they started doing it!

These revolving panels use one of the most interesting techniques in the set. By utilizing the anti-stud that is only in the middle of the window frame, the designer was able to offset two 1x2 plates. You later attached a small turntable to this spot which helps stabilize them as they turn.

Bag #5 finishes off the structure of the 2nd floor and starts the roof. There are a few extra pieces shown at the bottom of the picture.

Bag #6 has some great pieces! The black "L" tile has been around since 2016, but never in large quantities so every extra one is a nice addition to the collection. The red connector pin may not seem all that exciting, but this is the first year it's been produced in red. I was really hoping each Oni mask would have a matching colored helmet base. So I was very disappointed to see that all the helmet bases where black. You can't even see the black with the mask attached, but it means fewer cool helmet combos for other MOCs.

With the finishing of Bag #6, the set is complete! There are some nice extra pieces like the dark bley horn and machete. Now to explore the play features!

With a name like "Temple of Resurrection" it makes sense that the main play feature involves resurrecting Garmadon. You can see from the back that this is achieved with a lot of technic gears. By lifting the red arm, the gears move the roof.

When it's lifted, the roof reverses direction and Garmadon is revealed.

The side view shows that the build has a lot of openings. The bottom floor I understand as it allows you to position minifigures. But it would have been nice to get more windows with white panels to fill in the opening on the 2nd floor. This view is also the least flattering for the roof. It has to have gaps to be able to achieve the play feature, but this angle makes it look the most unsightly.

Here's the temple with all the minifigures displayed.

And in case you were wondering, minifigures can stay standing on the 2nd floor even when the roof transforms.

The back shows that when the trap doors are activated the intruders are dropped into the armory. Probably not the best thought out plan. But it makes for a fun feature.

And in case you were wondering, the Oni masks do not fit with the samurai helmet.

Or course for many people the highlight will be the minifigures. As far as I can tell, the only minifigure you can find in another Sons of Garmadon set is Mr. E, the racer in black. Harumi, the female in green, and Hutchins, the man in green, and Garmadon are all exclusive to this set. Chopper Maroon, the man with the red mohawk, can be found in the S.O.G. Headquarters set with short legs and with the name of Nails. Cole seems to be exclusive, but he is very similar to the Ninjago movie version. Lloyd is listed as exclusive, but that's just because the other version excludes his katana holder.

All minifigures have back printing.

The baby does not have the new baby body mold. Instead it uses two pieces to achieve a swaddled look. I'd love to have another baby body mold, but this swaddled look works so well I can't complain.

A couple more things to note about the minifigures. Harumi has some interesting printing on her lower legs. Does anyone know why those extra green belts are around her knees? Chopper Maroon has some detailed biker printing that gets covered by his bandana. And Garmadon, while looking very much like his Ninjago Movie version, is unique because of the purple "resurrection ooze."

My overall thoughts? Go buy it! Or rather, find the best discount and then buy it. I got it 20% off at Target which seems to be the new normal price for this set.

The minifigure selection is wonderful, the build process keeps you interested throughout, and even if you just want a parts pack, this set is a winner.

So there you go. I hope you enjoyed the review as much as I enjoyed making it!

[Dardanel]

Great review! You've presented the set and its most interesting parts really well. This is a great set and I'm glad to see that it (and Ninjago in general) can spark the imagination of a hardcore Star Wars fan. The only thing I miss is some kind of a conclusion, like a summary or an overall score and it's reasoning.

Quote

Does anyone know why those extra green belts are around her knees?

I'm guessing it's just how her kimono folds, but I could be wrong!

Edited March 1, 2018 by Dardanel

[mccoyed]

I got this set on discount due to a pricing error at T'r'Us. Biggest set I've gotten in a while and holy crap is it a good one. Loved it.

[MKJoshA]

30 minutes ago, Dardanel said:

The only thing I miss is some kind of a conclusion, like a summary or an overall score and it's reasoning.

Great point. I've added a summary now.

[eurotrash]

I had been on the fence about this set. Even today I had it in my shopping basket but replaced it with something else at the last minute. Your review has convinced me to buy it tomorrow - maybe even two sets ?

[Venefic]

12 hours ago, MKJoshA said:

Interesting point made. I never new that the colours varied slightly sometimes. Seems pretty unfortunate that you got two shades in the same set!

[WhiteFang]

Great work! I also bought this set too. I like the built and more importantly, those 3 masks. I haven't started building mine yet but I am intending to build it soon and integrate with my diorama scene. High playability and lots of fun in there. Thanks for doing this review and sharing it with us.  

[rodiziorobs]

I am contemplating getting this set, but looking for a discount. It looks like a heck of a parts pack, with some good minifig parts to mix and match. I love the Misako/Lady Iron Dragon hair in white.

Coming from another person with a love/hate relationship with stickers, are they printed on white paper or transparent?

[MKJoshA]

2 hours ago, rodiziorobs said:

I am contemplating getting this set, but looking for a discount. It looks like a heck of a parts pack, with some good minifig parts to mix and match. I love the Misako/Lady Iron Dragon hair in white.

Coming from another person with a love/hate relationship with stickers, are they printed on white paper or transparent?

Definitely wait to find it on sale. I paid $55+tax at Target. That was their online price and they matched it in store when I showed them on my phone.

The stickers are on white paper. That would have been nice if it had been transparent.

6 hours ago, WhiteFang said:

Great work! I also bought this set too. I like the built and more importantly, those 3 masks. I haven't started building mine yet but I am intending to build it soon and integrate with my diorama scene. High playability and lots of fun in there. Thanks for doing this review and sharing it with us.  

Coming from one of the most legendary reviewers on Eurobricks, this is high praise!

This is only my second review, but I've been finding them to be a nice break from regular MOCing. It's a good way to break up the routine, and if others can enjoy it then all the better!

[rodiziorobs]

35 minutes ago, MKJoshA said:

The stickers are on white paper. That would have been nice if it had been transparent.

Bummer, transparent is always better IMO. Well, I don't think it's a deal breaker but it's definitely good to know.

I never thanked you for the review--I appreciate the clear pictures from all angles throughout the process, and for the answer. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a deal on this set now!

[Faefrost]

It's worth noting, when you put the baby in the backpack on Cole's back, the knot on the back of his mask acts as a lock to keep the baby in place. 

[Ravelino]

Very complete review indeed..except for the little baby thing 

Just bought this set after seeing CoolerTD's MOC a couple days ago (didn't even know it existed until then).

I was actually picking up an extra copy of 70651 Throne Room Showdown(also a recommendation!) when I remembered this set, found a single copy on the shelf and couldn't get myself to leave it there until next time.

Totally agree with everything the reviewer mentioned (especially the love/hate for stickers) except one thing:

I don't think Cole looks that much the same as the Ninjago Movie version; and honestly the two ninja are my least favourite minifigs in this one..I'd rather see a return of the Lloyd + Cole combo like in 70623 Destiny's Shadow but that's mostly because of their bodies reusability and the fact the orange accents look a little gimmicky to me.