The Lego NinjaGo building sets are different from the Spinners; the building sets offer you more replay value and can be combined with other themes. This is an excellent series to invest in if you liked the Lego Ninja theme and want to expand it. The building sets offer you a lot of visual variety and while there are a couple that are a little on the hokey side if you can find them for a decent price you can always modify or customize them to your liking. Since most of these sets are still considered new you are going to have to shop around to get the best price on them.
Visually they are just as nice as the 2011 sets but there have been some improvements to the larger sets; the prices on them are still a little on the high side so you might want to wait around for them to drop. I got most of them at a discount but there were a couple that I opted to bust with a friend. Busting is when you and another person (or persons) go in on a larger set then divide the pieces up. This can be extremely helpful if you only want certain things from a set and know that it is going to take a while for resellers to get them in stock.
Lego NinjaGo Venomari Shrine – 9440 – 86 Pieces
This is the smallest set in the 2012 building set series but it has some excellent elements in it for the price. You can get this for about six dollars if you shop around but the vipers and the altar are worth that price. The viper overhang is an excellent piece that can be used with a couple of different Lego themes. The set includes Zane in ZX format as well as the Venomari staff and two of the lime green vipers. When built it is a nice addition to the series and can be broken down and used with larger sets as a modified add-on off shoot scene. This is an easy to build set that looks great whether built according to the provided instructions or in a modified form.
If you are in to the alternative builds of the NinjaGo series then you might like the Blade Cycle; it comes with both Kai ZX and Rattla mini figures and the Hypnobrai Staff. Getting two figures with the set is nice but if you have no need for the cycle then you might want to pass on this until the price drops on it. There are some excellent elements used for the Blade Cycle and since it makes use of Technic pieces for the frame you are getting something that is not going to fall apart easily. You can use the elements to make other things but the gold weapons that are used on it give it an amazing look. If you use the Kai figure on the bike it is a little out of scale but because of the build of it, it is easy to overlook it.
Whomever decided that the NinjaGo theme needed a plane really needs to rethink what ninja are all about. While a ludicrous concept, the plane is not bad but it has the traditional Lego look to it so the exposed studs do not give it the same sleek look as using specialty pieces and Technic pieces. The stand out pieces of the set are the Fangpyre Staff and the Jay ZX mini figures. You are also getting Snappa but he doesn’t have the best features. The small altar is a nice add on piece but there’s no realistic way to use it with the plane in the set. While there are some movable sections to the plane, to me it just feels completely disconnected from the whole ninja theme. I opted to get the set for $22.00 and sell the plane for $15.00 when it was completed. For the price it is nice if you are in to different aero builds but if not, you can skip this without missing out on anything.
Even though I trashed the Storm Fighter set, I have to admit that the Rattlecopter is a decent set for thirty dollars. The build can be a little tricky because there are some elements in the directions that are not labeled clearly. The jet pack is a little on the lame side; the designers put a lot of work in to the visuals of the Rattlecopter but slapped together some generic pieces for the jetpack. The Rattlecopter has a sinister look to it and because it uses the lime green accent pieces it ties in nicely with the theme. You can easily modify this to be used with other themes if you change some of the lime green pieces. Included with the set are Garmadon and Fang-Suei and two white vipers. It’s a good set for the price if you like the copter, otherwise opt to get the other set pieces independently.
The Tread Assault is a massive vehicle but to me it doesn’t really fit in with the whole theme. Regardless of which angle you see it from, there is a lot of detail to it. The Technic pieces used for it give it stability and a nicer look than similar vehicles from other themes that are built with traditional Lego elements. The gold add on pieces give it a sharp visual but it’s the large chunky styled wheels, front tapering and symmetry that make it hard to bust up and use for other builds. Also included with the set are the characters Cole ZX and Skales but if you are in to the weapons you will want to get this for the Hypnobrai Staff. This isn’t a cheap set; it retails for about forty dollars which might be a little on the high side for casual collectors.
While it is far from being a conventional vehicle, the Truck Ambush is a nice build if you are into Fangpyre. The front end detailing is simply amazing and the forked tongue, red eyes and simulated blue scales add so much to the overall design of it. The rear section is made up of four pieces that have movement to them, the colors of the vehicle work well with the overall NinjaGo theme and there are a lot of different ways that you can customize this if you are looking to add it to other themes. Since some of the pieces are series specific you are going to want to make sure that you really want to customize this before you alter them. You are getting four mini figures with the set (Jay ZX, Zane ZX, Fangdam and Fangtom) and of course the small but extremely cool snowmobile that can easily be converted to a cycle when you remove a couple of pieces. Priced at about fifty dollars, it is a little on the high side but you are getting two vehicles and four mini figures.
Lego NinajGo Destiny’s Bounty – 9446 – 680 Pieces
While this is priced at eighty dollars, I found one selling for sixty and couldn’t pass up getting it because of the amazing ship. It is something that fits in perfectly with the older Lego Ninja theme and the front dragon accent works well with the overall design of it. Destiny’s Bounty has a non-typical look to it but the 90 minute build time is more than worth it. I had trouble with the mid section of it, seasoned builders might be able to get through this in an hour. It comes with six figures including Garmadon, Sensei Wu, Slithraa, Skales, Kendo Jay and Kendo Zane. The ship is stunning when built according to the instructions and the movable sections add another layer of beauty to it. If you are going to modify or customize this you are going to want to build it according to the instruction first so you can insure that the moving sections remain workable.
The Bite Cycle is the second cycle in the series for 2012 and has a more streamlined look to it, in comparison to the Blade Cycle it has a more futuristic look to it but retains the creepy Fangpyre look to it because of the eyes and lime green elements. There are some nice modifications that you can do to this if you want to remove the back tail section of it but that does take away from the overall appeal of it. Priced at about $24.00 it is not a necessity to completely the NinjaGo theme for the building sets but it is nice if you are in to customizing as there are a lot of things that you can do with it when you break out of the vehicle mode of it. This comes packaged with the Lasha mini figure as well as Cole ZX. The scale of it is a little on the large side for using with some of the other vehicles but the accents on it make it easy to overlook that design flaw.
Lego NinjaGo Samurai Mech – 9448 – 452 Pieces
If you liked the older Bionicle builds then you are going to love the way that the Samurai Mech looks when completed. It is a non-typical model but it has a lot of great features to it like the claw styled hands, oversized weapons, Technic styled pieces used for most of the construction and the menacing look it has no matter what position you have it in. This can be a complicated build for those with limited experience but it is not impossible to do in about an hour. The samurai makes up the bulk of the set but you also get the Bytar and Snike figures (they are the smaller ones) along with the Samurai X. The set is about fifty dollars but it is not what I consider a necessity for the theme unless you are someone that wants to collect all of the building sets for NinajGo.
Lego NinjaGo Ultra Sonic Raider – 9449 – 622 Pieces
The Ultra Sonic Raider is a massive mech but again, you have to ask yourself if you are going to have an actual use for it. If you are going to drop eighty dollars on a set like this you are going to want to make sure that it is something that is going to be able to be used; there are a lot of ways to modify it and customize it. The completed build is about twelve inches long and the set comes with six mini figures but for the price you can get a couple of the mid sized sets that fit in better with the theme. It is a nice looking piece when completed and there are a lot of movable sections to it as well as things that can be removed and used separately but it is a large chunk of money to drop on one set. Included with the set are The ZX versions of Kai, Zame, Jay and Cole as well as Spitta and Pythor.
Priced at $120.00, this is the most expensive 2012 NinjaGo building set to date. While the actual dragon is impressive in size, visually it is a hot sick mess. It tries too hard to copy the intensity of the 2011 dragon themed sets but because of the spiked styled pieces used on the mid back section and sides it looks too wild. If the colors were darker I am sure it would have looked nicer. While there are ways that you can modify it to have a nicer look to it, you shouldn’t have to add your own clear or colored studs to the spike pieces to try to get it to look better. Someone asked “Why does that turkey look so angry” when they saw a completed build at a toy convention. That imagery of an angry irate turkey has stuck with me ever since. For the price I really expected something that looked nicer when completed; I opted to see it for $70.00 and keep the mini figures and the Great Devourer. Even when getting rid of the dragon for a decent price, I still felt a little ripped off. Yes you are getting great figures like the enhanced version of Garmadon along with Acidicus, Skalidor, Chojun and the ZX version of Jay it is still a lot to ask for a set. I would rather see someone spend that kind of money and get a massive scene from it, something with some true replay value to it.
Lego NinjaGo Fangpyre Mech – 9455 – 255 Pieces
I have to say, the mech Fangpyre turned out a lot better than I expected and even though it does visually fit in with the theme it looks awesome. The lime green combined with the purple gives it an impressive but formidable appearance but the red eyes carry over the theme from other Fangpyre themed sets. Included with the set are Kendo Cole and Fang-Suei along with their companion weapons. This sells for about $25.00 which is a little on the high side for what you are getting but there are a number of ways that you can build the mech so there is replay value to it. The modified golden scythe is a great weapon to have multiples of because you can use it in an armory or as an actual weapon. The movable parts of the mech are nice but the missiles are horrible and never fire as far as you hope.
Lego NinajGo Fangpyre Wrecking Ball – 415 Pieces
An odd set and slightly overpriced at fifty dollars but there are some excellent points to it like the massive wide tracks used on the base, the actual ball used on the crane section and the detailing on the front of the piece. This is a functional piece of machinery but what exactly are you supposed to wreck with it? There are a lot of great elements used to build this and it is sturdy once assembled but it’s the bottom base wheel that gives it the most amount of movement. This was built once then disassembled and the about half the pieces were traded. I kept the front section because of the Fangpyre appeal of it as well as the scorpion themed back section elements. This is not a difficult build but you have to ask yourself if it is a true necessity. You get two of the cool red vipers along with Garmadon, Fangdam and Kendo Cole.
