Ninjago 2014

[LegendsOfNinjago]

Same, heard alot rumors of sets out all over th place, still nothing where I live...should be getting a new trailer anytime.

[Mandate]

What!? Where did you here that!

LEGO Club website.

[parksroad]

Interesting. Any sign of the Destroyers yet?

[just2good]

Interesting. Any sign of the Destroyers yet?

Sadly, not yet.

[legoIgor123]

Cause TBS were going to get it first. Just hope they don't say Nya wrong again. Anyway, any signs of Misako or Dr Julian yet?

[PenPlays]

Cause TBS were going to get it first. Just hope they don't say Nya wrong again. Anyway, any signs of Misako or Dr Julian yet?

Haven't you already seen the set pictures?

No one outside of Lego has seen the Summer set pictures yet (if any). If either of them end up in those sets, we'll know for sure by the middle of February.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

In the brick show review, it showed the all set numbers on the building instructions, 70726 Aka the Destroyer, wasn't present of the page...so either it's not real set, or it's a summer set. My guess is the latter!

Edited November 10, 2013 by LegendsOfNinjago

[Mandate]

No, it's an Exclusive set. Not every set is part of the "main" wave. Because of this, the sets that are "mainstream,", are the only ones displayed as the Exclusive set is much harder to find. For instance, the Haunted Mansion of the Monster Fighters line (not the castle) only just showed up in local stores about a week ago.

[PenPlays]

...the Haunted Mansion of the Monster Fighters line (not the castle) only just showed up in local stores about a week ago.

Never seen it. Is it Australia only?

In the brick show review, it showed the all set numbers on the building instructions, 70726 Aka the Destroyer, wasn't present of the page...so either it's not real set, or it's a summer set. My guess is the latter!

You'll notice in sets this year for Chima that, Razar's CHI Raider, Eagle's Castle, and Equila's Ultra Striker, and Croc Swamp Hideout were all not present on the set number pages. All of them were store exclusives. They were also the last sets to have images revealed in their respective picture reveal seasons.

[Mandate]

http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=10228-1

This is the set. Released last year, I got the name wrong, but not by much.

[PenPlays]

http://brickset.com/...il/?Set=10228-1

This is the set. Released last year, I got the name wrong, but not by much.

I knew what the set was I haven't seen it in what I consider a "normal store".

Found this on Brickipedia (Lego wiki)

[Tobias_Jay]

I hope we get that not-damaged Zane.

I think the legs look a bit off in animated form without leg printing, but that's just me.

[Mandate]

I knew what the set was I haven't seen it in what I consider a "normal store".

Ooooooh. No, it's not Australia-exclusive. If Australia has ever gotten a set exclusive to us, it's gonna be VERY rare. And probably long ago, too.

I hope we get that not-damaged Zane.

If we do, he'll be in either Destructoid or another exclusive book. Or summer wave.

[legoIgor123]

Do you think they'll be a new Minifig encyclopaedia for 2013/14, like we got with 2011/12? They could do one every two years! The exclusive figure could be Dr Julian, Misako or even that Zane!

[Aanchir]

Do you think they'll be a new Minifig encyclopaedia for 2013/14, like we got with 2011/12? They could do one every two years! The exclusive figure could be Dr Julian, Misako or even that Zane!

I don't know. While it'd be nice to have one every two years, the number of figs in 2013/2014 is much, much smaller than the number of figs in 2011/2012. (24 total figs so far rather than 55). Same goes for the number of total sets. So I think if there's going to be another character encyclopedia, we're going to have to wait a bit longer. I wouldn't mind another one, though. The first one was a great reference source, and the exclusive fig was an excellent design.

[Sprocket]

I gotta say, I was convinced Ninjago had fallen victim to being replaced by Chima, but clearly the old unwritten rule that 'you can't have a LEGO theme similar to a lincensed one' doesn't seem to really apply any more, considering they're letting space themed sets run in conjunction with Star Wars again. Which is fine by me.

[Lyichir]

I gotta say, I was convinced Ninjago had fallen victim to being replaced by Chima, but clearly the old unwritten rule that 'you can't have a LEGO theme similar to a lincensed one' doesn't seem to really apply any more, considering they're letting space themed sets run in conjunction with Star Wars again. Which is fine by me.

What does that unwritten rule (which I doubt was an actual rule in the first place) have to do with Ninjago? Neither Ninjago nor Chima is licensed.

[Aanchir]

I gotta say, I was convinced Ninjago had fallen victim to being replaced by Chima, but clearly the old unwritten rule that 'you can't have a LEGO theme similar to a lincensed one' doesn't seem to really apply any more, considering they're letting space themed sets run in conjunction with Star Wars again. Which is fine by me.

That rule only ever applies on a case-by-case basis, depending on whether there's a clause in the contract for a specific license that prohibits it and whether the LEGO Group thinks it's risky to have two similar themes running concurrently. Plus, neither Ninjago nor Chima is or has ever been licensed. They're both in-house themes.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

Never seen it. Is it Australia only?

You'll notice in sets this year for Chima that, Razar's CHI Raider, Eagle's Castle, and Equila's Ultra Striker, and Croc Swamp Hideout were all not present on the set number pages. All of them were store exclusives. They were also the last sets to have images revealed in their respective picture reveal seasons.

Good point I guess I didn't think about that... Hopefully pictures will start flying soon, very curious to see what this set will hold...

Edited November 10, 2013 by LegendsOfNinjago

[Faefrost]

I think the only Licensed theme that might have caused an issue with Ninjago was if they had some sort of no compete with the Nikolodeon TMNT line? I am actually still kind of amazed that TLG was able to get the TMNT license without bumping into some issues over Ninjago, as it's not just a competing toy line, but a directly competing television show? But then again, who am I to complain. They are both great shows (says the 47 year old teenage boy...) and I am giving Lego money hand over fist for both of them.

I am still disappointed that they once again don't seem to have fleshed out the supporting cast in minifig form at all. Instead preferring to simply give us the new variant of the primary ninjas and their latest bad guys. Maybe if they ever do do a Ninjago theatrical movie we can get a CMF series with some of the odder characters. Like Dareth, Misako, Blacksmith Kai, Dr. Julian, the Mailman, the Tea Lady, Jay's Parents, Coles Dad, Lloyd's Classmates, etc and some odder Ninja and foe variants, like Zane as the Pink Ninja?

Good point I guess I didn't think about that... Hopefully pictures will start flying soon, very curious to see what this set will hold...

I figure there will be at least one Toys R Us exclusive set. I get the impression that pressure from mass merchants in particular TRU was one of the key underlying driving forces behind the return of the theme. There is no way TRU would not push for an exclusive this go round.

[Mandate]

No, TRU rarely gets sets exclusive to its stores. There's more or less no point anyway.

[SoupOrFishOil]

No, TRU rarely gets sets exclusive to its stores. There's more or less no point anyway.

Maybe not in Australia, but it's pretty common over here.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

Maybe a D2C. I thought about it, if it were the Borg Tower, wouldn't it have a similar built/height to the Tower of Orthac? Similar pricing too...just a thought.

[Faefrost]

No, TRU rarely gets sets exclusive to its stores. There's more or less no point anyway.

TRU tends to have set exclusives for almost every theme and most waves?They probably have a dozen on store shelves now. Palpatines Arrest, Jedi Defender, Chima Eagle Castle, etc

[Aanchir]

I think the only Licensed theme that might have caused an issue with Ninjago was if they had some sort of no compete with the Nikolodeon TMNT line? I am actually still kind of amazed that TLG was able to get the TMNT license without bumping into some issues over Ninjago, as it's not just a competing toy line, but a directly competing television show? But then again, who am I to complain. They are both great shows (says the 47 year old teenage boy...) and I am giving Lego money hand over fist for both of them.

I imagine that the LEGO Group had a little more bargaining power in that particular case because Ninjago existed before their TMNT license. After all, they would certainly have had the option to say "no" to any licensing agreement that would interfere with the sales of their existing themes.

I am still disappointed that they once again don't seem to have fleshed out the supporting cast in minifig form at all. Instead preferring to simply give us the new variant of the primary ninjas and their latest bad guys. Maybe if they ever do do a Ninjago theatrical movie we can get a CMF series with some of the odder characters. Like Dareth, Misako, Blacksmith Kai, Dr. Julian, the Mailman, the Tea Lady, Jay's Parents, Coles Dad, Lloyd's Classmates, etc and some odder Ninja and foe variants, like Zane as the Pink Ninja?

Yeah, I agree that'd be a great thing. You could easily have a series with new versions of the five Ninja, Nya, Wu, and Garmadon and still have room for eight new supporting character figs. I was actually sketching up a concept for that kind of thing on LDD yesterday.

I don't think that there's a whole lot of room in the theme's current operating budget for a lot of supporting characters. If there are only twelve new figs in the winter 2014 lineup, then I think we have to assume that's all the designers had a budget for. And frankly, most of those secondary characters would be less impressive to kids who didn't follow the show than obvious heroes and villains like the Ninja and Nindroids. Most of Dareth's appeal comes from his humorous personality, which would not be anywhere near as visible in a set as it is in the show. Similarly, the Mailman is primarily a comic-relief character. And the Ninja's parents draw most of their appeal from their involvement in the Ninja's emotional journey — without that context, they wouldn't seem nearly as impressive as heroic Ninja or spooky villains.

I figure there will be at least one Toys R Us exclusive set. I get the impression that pressure from mass merchants in particular TRU was one of the key underlying driving forces behind the return of the theme. There is no way TRU would not push for an exclusive this go round.

You could be onto something. The rumored 70726, if it exists, is almost certainly some kind of store exclusive.

Maybe a D2C. I thought about it, if it were the Borg Tower, wouldn't it have a similar built/height to the Tower of Orthac? Similar pricing too...just a thought.

There were rumors a couple months ago about a D2C Ninjago castle of some sort, but I have no idea whether those had any basis in reality. If they did, and the product in question is actually based on the show, I'll bet it's based on the new monastery featured in one of the concept art PDFs from the Ninjago site (which I'm guessing is the same as Sensei Wu's Youth Academy from the recent LEGO Club Inside Scoop story).

To be honest, I don't think Borg Tower would necessarily NEED to be as bulky as the Tower of Orthanc. You COULD make it that big and detailed if you wanted it to have the same level of sculptural quality, but I think it might actually benefit more as a playset if it were a little bit more "open" and framework-like in its design, kind of like Sentai Fortress, Flying Ninja Fortress, or Fight for the Golden Tower. And this would probably cut its price down enough to make it a normal sort of flagship set rather than a D2C set. I can see benefits to both sorts of designs, really.

EDIT: Regarding the mysterious 70726, one Russian site that lists both Russian and English names for the sets separated by a hyphen calls it "Автомобиль для самурая - Destructoid", which translates to "Vehicle for the Samurai — Destructoid". Might be a false lead, but it certainly SOUNDS like this will be the set to contain Nya! Another Russian site gives a price of 4550 Russian rubles, or around 140 U.S. dollars. But considering that their prices for the other Ninjago sets next year are about twice the prices we know them to be in the United States, I'd say its actual retail price will be between 60 and 70 U.S. dollars.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Aanchir