Alan Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Hi Everyone! My first review on Eurobricks. Glad to get this set and share this with everyone who's interested in getting the set. Pardon my poor photography skills. Enjoy! This set draws my eye since the pictures were released. Its literally an evil castle with new fearsome villains. Been eyeing on this set for awhile already, shall we begin? Name: 2505 Garmadon's Dark Fortress Year: 2011 Pieces: 518 Minifigs: 6 Retail Price: SGD $139.90 *WARNING: The contents below are not meant for the faint hearted.. The box, NINJAGO box art is really cool and attractive. Back of the box featuring some features such as flip up skeleton and the huge spider. 5 bags, stickers and 2 huge wheels that comes from the thunder driller set. Usually I'll give stickers a pass but this time round, the skeleton graffiti of ninja attracted me! Take a look! Bag 1 bagged all the GOODIES! Prints of our 3 skeleton warriors. Upper torso of Samukai, nice buckle. Another head piece for Samukai that enables him to show off his favourite tooth. Smile! Golden weapons. Not as much a variety like the other sets but nevertheless good to have. Wooo next evil boss villiain! Love those prints. Altogether now. This guy is DARK. Bag 1 comes with a tomb.. From which you can flick the skeleton up! Oh did I forget to introduce our set exclusive pretty Nya? She comes with a cool double printed head. Is this the only female head that has a ninja headband? The spider mascot. With a double face.. Bag 2. Dog bone with viking clip axe. New neat weapons. Entrance into the fortress End of bag 2. The red piece is attached to a mechanism that actually ejects the spider mascot. HAHA! What skeletons use as MISSILES! Garmadon's Throne Completion! Oh the 2 turrets is turnable, making it a very awesome feature. Yet again, those missiles make me laugh hahaa. Some random pic. Meanwhile.. The way I see it, this set is not only NINJAGO but a very dark fortress as well. It will fit in nicely into any castle theme layout. Very awesome combination of black, dark bluish gray and purple. The minifigs may not be exclusive but they're definitely cool and you can use almost every part of this set for your skeleton/fantasy hideout. Get it! Edited January 26, 2011 by Peppermint_M Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dunjohn Posted January 26, 2011 The missiles made me smile too :) I don't really like that skeleton with the big head. He seems a bit much, but the others are alright. The black one is very nice. Thanks for the review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gregorovich Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks for the excellent review! I love all the figs except the giant headed skeleton. The building's pretty cool, but I think it's too empty inside. Thanks again for the review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nismogrendel Posted January 26, 2011 Ok, you sold me on this one! :) Great review, can't wait to get those minifigs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vexorian Posted January 26, 2011 I kind of like the big skeleton, his details are not much worse than the Power Miners' Rock Monsters and the four armed-design and torso print remind me of Mortal Kombat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fff Posted January 26, 2011 Nice review, the fortress seems pretty decent, the price is not nice since we are talking of not a licence though it is true there are a lot of strange pieces... Thanks for sharing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Delta 38 Posted January 26, 2011 Interesting. I'm actually going to get this set now, in a few hours once shops open. Great to know Samukai's mouth opens. I think we need more larger figures with movable mouths. The set itself looks fairly empty, but if you have extra money I suppose you could buy a second and modify it to serve as a back. Still, it's one of the few buildings in the theme, so I may as well get it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BeKindRewind Posted January 26, 2011 Very nice review! I like the shots looking straight into the entrance. I got this set almost the day it came out in my local Lego store and I have to add my two cents. The set itself is great for castle builders as there are a lot of black wall pieces and corner turret pieces (30246) as well as the new prison non-opening doors only seen in the new police line. It's a great parts-pack that I need to buy multiples of. And I'm a huge fan of Nya...that's the best female asian outfit we've seen yet. What I'm NOT a fan of is the giant spider as well as the poorly positioned throne. I quickly mod'd away the spider and the top of the fortress soon after building it. And the pop-up coffin could have been better constructed. It barely even looks like a grave! But overall a great buy, a decent build, and a nice review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted January 26, 2011 Great review. Mind posting pics of the back? From what I can tell, the front is very interesting, as are the minifigs. The price could be better, but hey, whatever... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XimenaPaulina Posted January 27, 2011 Nice review Alan, thanks for sharing! Pretty good large set, but not really my 'cup of tea' so to speak. But one interesting piece that really caught my attention is Naya's headpiece - I immediately thought this would be perfect for a Nightsister. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks 'Alan' for the review, not bad set....I agree it would fit the 2007 to 2009 castle series quite easily, but I won't be buying this set....the Dojo is on my list though. Brick On Everyone ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arigomi Posted January 27, 2011 The printing on Nya is definitely one of the highlights of this set. I personally would've cut back on the horn pieces at the entrance in favor of more flame pieces to give it more of a demonic look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandy Posted January 27, 2011 Just bought this set yesterday (along with three other Ninjago sets, in order to get all the ninja figs), and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It's not just a wicked facade, there's a semblance of interior in it too, and several neat play elements (the skull spider, the grave, the rotating shooty towers and the throne). The figs are top notch - especially Nya, but also Samukai and Garmadon, even if he is a bit simplistic for a main antagonist. The design is very cool, with a unique color combination of black, white, purple and dark bley. The stickers and parts selection actually lean towards sci-fi more than history or fantasy. There's also a variety of totally new pieces, and the price isn't high either. All in all, this set was a pleasant surprise at least for me (ie. not nearly as bad as it looked at a first glance). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peppermint_M Posted January 27, 2011 Hmmm... I think I might give this a miss, I want Nya, but her figure comes in a pack later, so I will save money and get that. There is something about the set that just turns me off it. And I love purple! I can't quite place what it is missing, but there is an abstract something that makes me reconsider buying it. I saw it built in a display case at the Lego Shop, but still I would prefer another kind of "evil castle" for Garmadon. Thanks for the review though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ziljin Posted January 28, 2011 I built this set recently. It is alright. I kind of regret it actually. For me the black panels and minfiigs redeem it from being a total loss. It is mostly panels and barely any black bricks. The set has lots of specialized bricks and other pieces and very few regular bricks which may or may not be a problem depending on what you kind of pieces you want out of the set. It would have been sweet if it was more of a modular castle like Prince of Persia Battle of Alamut or Kingdoms King's Castle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lordofdragonss Posted January 28, 2011 I want to get this set because of great pieces- 4 golden weapons, Nya, Garmadon and the Skeleton(I like the fact that his head opens!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
autobrick Posted January 30, 2011 For me, the draw of this set are the regular (non-cheap plastic) versions of Nya & Garmadon. The fortress itself does not appeal to me at all. In cases like this, I would usually go to Bricklink, but they are no use in this regard as they do not distinguish between regular and cheap plastic minifigs. Thanks for the review, Alan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tabris Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks for sharing the review. Even though I don’t own any of the Ninja Go sets, I don’t find this new theme appealing, except for the minis head. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chase Lego Hunter Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) Man this set is expensive. $90 CAN is expensive, you nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw your $139.90 price tag then I realized it was in SGD... I really wish Garmadon was wearing some black samurai armor (which is uber rare). It would really make him more awesome than he already is. Nya is a beautiful minifigure and for me is the star of the set. Finally another female head that has a bandanna. I like the humor you through in with the previous castle line. It always makes these reviews more enjoyable and not as analytical. This set is giving me loads of ideas for characters from Lego Universe. Love purple, exclusive figs make the set. But too expensive for me. Chase edit: now that I think about it, a black version of the prince of Persia spiky shoulder pads would had done the job too Edited March 10, 2011 by Chase Lego Hunter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
horizon Posted June 30, 2011 For me, the draw of this set are the regular (non-cheap plastic) versions of Nya & Garmadon. The fortress itself does not appeal to me at all. chinese plastic hairpieces fit better then other hairpieces. Daughter (7) got this set for her birhtday (she wanted is sooooooooooooooooooooooo much). She is in the middle of building it. Nice allround set with lots of extras, playability and minis. The build shows good use of various pieces. She is allready talking about placing the fort on the duplo cave (from the dino theme) to recreate the image in the booklet. Good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
