LEGO Ninjago 2023 Discussion

[a guy from somewhere]

Just now, Dardanel said:

Damn :/ I was afraid this was going to happen sooner or later... Now it seems I will never be able to complete my collection and I have all the Ninjago sets/minifigures ever made.

Same thing happened to my wife (she collects Unikitty figures) and she's missing the Comic Con ones which are sold for several hundred now.

I think you get a pass if its comic con, unless you really really go for it. It seems dumb considering how many people are trying to get complete collections. Maybe build it with own parts if the instructions become available?

[Dardanel]

Just now, a guy from somewhere said:

I think you get a pass if its comic con, unless you really really go for it. It seems dumb considering how many people are trying to get complete collections. Maybe build it with own parts if the instructions become available?

That's only if there are no exclusive prints/similar. It would be a shame to stop now, especially since it's a Dragon, but I will probably skip to "make a point" - like I did with the Asian market exclusive coins. Or maybe I'll start a gofundme :D

[Lemerbrix]

14 hours ago, Dardanel said:

That's only if there are no exclusive prints/similar. It would be a shame to stop now, especially since it's a Dragon, but I will probably skip to "make a point" - like I did with the Asian market exclusive coins. Or maybe I'll start a gofundme :D

Well, to be fair, ninjago designers know to make popular rare sets very accessible to all fans, for example, the 2021 employee gift, the temple of celebrations had no exclusive prints or stickers, so that way you could bricklink the parts and build your own, if you find the instructions.

[Dardanel]

6 hours ago, Lemerbrix said:

Well, to be fair, ninjago designers know to make popular rare sets very accessible to all fans, for example, the 2021 employee gift, the temple of celebrations had no exclusive prints or stickers, so that way you could bricklink the parts and build your own, if you find the instructions.

That's very true! Some rare parts, but it should be possible to build it by buying the parts. Thankfully, I was able to get the set, but would've done just that otherwise...

[cosmic]

Awkward timing maybe but I finished building the Hydro Bounty recently and wanted to post some thoughts. It's been retired if not soon to be gone as this is the time of year the Seabound sets were scheduled to be phased out. So I scooped up this set last minutes and want to share some thoughts about this beauty.

• The figures are immaculate. All 6 Ninja in scuba gear!?! Plus 2 Wu Droids, 2 antagonists and this feels like the one of the most satisfying figure rosters ever. Not too worried about accuracy to the show, the new (to last year and to me anyways) scuba gear piece is so much fun to interact with. Love that it goes over the hips and under the head piece it feels really well integrated into the existing figure anatomy. The Ninja hood not being molded into the scuba gear was genius so characters can swap between diving while masked or with their hair out. 3 Ninja even came with hair pieces in addition to the hood!!
• The symmetry of the build is so satisfying. Placing those golden tubes on each side of the body of the submarine was fun. building the ornate side builds are fun. Just be careful with the Dragon/Snake builds on the side they can pop out of place with too much pressure
• The mech at front integrates well with the ship but also has a great transforming feature its actually very "Transformers" in my mind
• The interior fits 4 figs and the 2 subs can fit inside the Bounty so all 6 Ninja can ride at the same time and that is so cool to me.
• The build process was quick! But nothing felt missing or incomplete.

 

Overall a great use of parts and figures and one of the best sets I've made in a while. I loved the Seabound sets Wish I got the Temple last year and waited to get the Water Dragon at a later date, as I bought the Dragon last 2022 thinking it was gonna retire "and if I can get only 1 seaboard set it would be the dragon" not knowing the Temple was a better investment as it ended up being the set that retired late 2022 and the Water Dragon remained available throughout this year.

Regrets aside Seabound was amazing and I ended up not being super excited about Crystalized as the sets and figures looked too uniform and uninspired to me. it was funny to see fans had a similar reaction to the Crystalized series which I did not watch. These new Ninjago sets are alright the new baby dragon piece being the most exciting part of the whole ordeal. But yeah Seabound was just so good. I still geek over how awesome the elemental nya figure is. Very Naruto-esque and just so cool.

[Lion King]

I’m knda surprised that Ninjao never has Advent Calendar while City and Freinds have thier owns. Ninjago is the evergreen theme, is it? I just wonder why it doens’t have an advent calendar. 

[Rolyat24]

2 hours ago, Lion King said:

I’m knda surprised that Ninjao never has Advent Calendar while City and Freinds have thier owns. Ninjago is the evergreen theme, is it? I just wonder why it doens’t have an advent calendar. 

We’ve talked about this on here before. Though a little surprising due to the insane popularity of Ninjago in the west, I think some good points were made about how much of Ninjago is influenced by Japanese/Eastern culture, so Christian mythology/tradition would feel a little out of place. Then again, some people in Japan surely celebrate Christmas, so I don’t think it would be too out there to see an advent calendar in the future. 

[a guy from somewhere]

20 minutes ago, Rolyat24 said:

We’ve talked about this on here before. Though a little surprising due to the insane popularity of Ninjago in the west, I think some good points were made about how much of Ninjago is influenced by Japanese/Eastern culture, so Christian mythology/tradition would feel a little out of place. Then again, some people in Japan surely celebrate Christmas, so I don’t think it would be too out there to see an advent calendar in the future. 

As cool as I think this could be, I dont particularly see the appeal, as Christmas themed ninjago figures aren't my deal, and I dont think I absolutely need tons of microscale models of sets, although a microscale Ninjago City skyline that can all connect together could be very cool. Advent calendars are also obscenely expensive these days, and it would be another set to add to the pile that im already trying to complete. The only draw for me would be exclusive show accurate figures like a Dr Julian or a mailman, or maybe a commissioner figure? But I wouldnt want Christmas minifies, as their use is limited outside the set. 

[untitled]

5 hours ago, Lion King said:

I’m knda surprised that Ninjao never has Advent Calendar while City and Freinds have thier owns. Ninjago is the evergreen theme, is it? I just wonder why it doens’t have an advent calendar. 

Perhaps because there is no Christmas in Ninjago.

[Lion King]

 

1 hour ago, a guy from somewhere said:

As cool as I think this could be, I dont particularly see the appeal, as Christmas themed ninjago figures aren't my deal, and I dont think I absolutely need tons of microscale models of sets, although a microscale Ninjago City skyline that can all connect together could be very cool. Advent calendars are also obscenely expensive these days, and it would be another set to add to the pile that im already trying to complete. The only draw for me would be exclusive show accurate figures like a Dr Julian or a mailman, or maybe a commissioner figure? But I wouldnt want Christmas minifies, as their use is limited outside the set. 

I’m not a fan of mircoscale myself either. BUT i like some excelusive parts, such as printed tiles, new toros, recolored parts (like…red Santa’s hat for Kai, blue Santa’s hat for Jay and Nya, white Santa’s hat for Zane, etc). And some villians come with hilarious ugly sweaters. And Santa visits Ninjago City  in a ninja uniform (maybe it’s a bad joke I I make). 

i mean, Christmas is a jolly and cheery season. 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Lion King

[a guy from somewhere]

10 hours ago, untitled said:

Perhaps because there is no Christmas in Ninjago.

We do know there is some form of Christmas in Ninjago, in crystalized ronin refers to “the giving goat” when the ninja arrive in prison with him.  

[a guy from somewhere]

Now that im able to finally get some good pictures of my city set up, here it is in full. From left to right, you have the Ninjago City skylines, with a lower section based on the original Ninjago City set and a work in progress upper section, primarilly around the back and around the construction section with the blue tree. Then we have my 8 wide module, the green grocers, and the Ninjago City workshop, both of which I haven't added stand alone pictures as they can be found on my Flickr page. Skylines is my current favourite, ive recently upgraded the yellow building and I may post more pictures of it if anyones interested. 

Next up is my newest (so new its not even finished ) module, the business district, that comprises a modified custom version of pigsys noodles, and a shining skyscraper that will have an elevator inside. Around the back is a storage container with a hidden combat suit, for one of the many hoverboard flyers that zip about. Theres a way up to the roof of the noodle shop, and under a hatch theres a ladder that goes all the way down to the kitchen floor, giving full accessibility to minifigs. on the old city level, a canal way is present for boats to go back and fourth between, and a small house with bedroom above it can be found. The bedroom is my personal favourite part of this module, with the windows overlooking everything. I have a Bricklink order on the way that is chock full of city building parts, so I will post more pictures in a stand alone album once its complete. And finally, my mirrored gardens, which some of you may have seen before (along with a couple of mods) 

Let me know if theres any 'constructive' criticism you'd like to input, im always welcome for ideas. I also have a question for those that build custom modules, how do you find the fine line between being too cluttered and chaotic and too simple? All together it sort of feels like a cluttered mess, and id like to cut down on it, but other than that im pretty happy with it. I have plans to build one more module, Id really like to build a corner module but I desperately need a single straight 32x32 module now. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by a guy from somewhere

[Red Rackham]

4 hours ago, a guy from somewhere said:

Now that im able to finally get some good pictures of my city set up, here it is in full. From left to right, you have the Ninjago City skylines, with a lower section based on the original Ninjago City set and a work in progress upper section, primarilly around the back and around the construction section with the blue tree. Then we have my 8 wide module, the green grocers, and the Ninjago City workshop, both of which I haven't added stand alone pictures as they can be found on my Flickr page. Skylines is my current favourite, ive recently upgraded the yellow building and I may post more pictures of it if anyones interested. 

Next up is my newest (so new its not even finished ) module, the business district, that comprises a modified custom version of pigsys noodles, and a shining skyscraper that will have an elevator inside. Around the back is a storage container with a hidden combat suit, for one of the many hoverboard flyers that zip about. Theres a way up to the roof of the noodle shop, and under a hatch theres a ladder that goes all the way down to the kitchen floor, giving full accessibility to minifigs. on the old city level, a canal way is present for boats to go back and fourth between, and a small house with bedroom above it can be found. The bedroom is my personal favourite part of this module, with the windows overlooking everything. I have a Bricklink order on the way that is chock full of city building parts, so I will post more pictures in a stand alone album once its complete. And finally, my mirrored gardens, which some of you may have seen before (along with a couple of mods) 

Let me know if theres any 'constructive' criticism you'd like to input, im always welcome for ideas. I also have a question for those that build custom modules, how do you find the fine line between being too cluttered and chaotic and too simple? All together it sort of feels like a cluttered mess, and id like to cut down on it, but other than that im pretty happy with it. I have plans to build one more module, Id really like to build a corner module but I desperately need a single straight 32x32 module now. 

Hey very nice to see pictures of your Ninjago city.
So you rebricked the Original City? Looks very consistent. I really like the porthole window. In the small food shop to the left of the glass facade next to the gardens, I really like the logo (fish + knife) and especially the part below the counter (in white). Any container parts also go very well with Ninjago (such as in the MonkieKid HQ) and the garage doors in transblue. Very nice, too.
Gladly more detailed shots if you have and can.

Most of the buildings form a row, do you do that for reasons of space? Or are you planning to connect extensions in a U or L shape?

I am currently redesigning a future Lego room so that I can also set up the Ninjago world together (currently everyone is standing individually). Every layout is a nice inspiration.
Maybe I'll try my hand at a modular for the city. What you are describing, with the thin line between overloaded and just crazy and colorful enough, is already difficult to imagine....
Do you always plan with Stud.io beforehand or do you just start building? I can imagine that it is difficult to implement ideas, especially when you only own a few parts.

What I noticed is that there are no lights on the railings (neither trans orange nor blue like the Gardens. Didn't like them?)

Edited July 14, 2023 by Red Rackham

[a guy from somewhere]

22 hours ago, Red Rackham said:

Hey very nice to see pictures of your Ninjago city.
So you rebricked the Original City? Looks very consistent. I really like the porthole window. In the small food shop to the left of the glass facade next to the gardens, I really like the logo (fish + knife) and especially the part below the counter (in white). Any container parts also go very well with Ninjago (such as in the MonkieKid HQ) and the garage doors in transblue. Very nice, too.
Gladly more detailed shots if you have and can.

Most of the buildings form a row, do you do that for reasons of space? Or are you planning to connect extensions in a U or L shape?

I am currently redesigning a future Lego room so that I can also set up the Ninjago world together (currently everyone is standing individually). Every layout is a nice inspiration.
Maybe I'll try my hand at a modular for the city. What you are describing, with the thin line between overloaded and just crazy and colorful enough, is already difficult to imagine....
Do you always plan with Stud.io beforehand or do you just start building? I can imagine that it is difficult to implement ideas, especially when you only own a few parts.

What I noticed is that there are no lights on the railings (neither trans orange nor blue like the Gardens. Didn't like them?)

Thanks! So to answer in order, with the rumours of the biggest ninjago set ever circulating, I actually began in summer 2020 trying to build the original Ninjago City set using my own parts, so I downloaded the instructions and tried building it somewhat brick for brick using my own collection so I could connect it with the gardens. I ended up abandoning the project when I realised it would take too long, and it sat unfinished for quite a while with only the old city sector complete. I eventually picked back up with the release of the gardens, and build a 16x32 module from scratch. After that I condensed it down and scrapped that module, before reintegrating the street level sector onto the unfinished corner module, basically transplanting half the build. That is the 16 wide section that has a food shop and orange apartment above it, along with the unagami insignia and yellow house. I'll add it to the new album. Eventually we got the news of the markets and in anticipation I built the smaller Ninjago City workshops module, as it was easier to take with me and build due to me being away from my main collection, and then the 8 wide green grocer module. Then markets was revealed and released, and I built the current work in progress business district module with the canal and skyscraper and noodle shop. Now that I have access to my main collection of parts (and Bricklink order opportunities) I have been making steady progress upgrading and continuing to work on these 2 modules until im happy with them. Then I plan to build 2 more corner modules, and a straight 32x32 module. Im planning on buying 2 markets sets (obliterating my summer budget in the process) and using the parts from 1 to help build the new modules. It will be a busy summer. 

My final layout for the city will be a sort of rectangle, with a water space in the centre to put the new destiny bounty in. Unfortunately the fact that Markets extends so far back into the waterways is proving to be a bit of an issue with my design. The line between control and chaos is thin, and looking at the other city sets, I think the best way to do it is go for large, simple shapes, with little base detail, and then add the detail onto it. As for planning for future builds, I mostly look for inspiration online, wiskeyshred on YouTube and Legands of ninjago have some very good builds, as does zachsbricks. On instagram theres also some pretty nice builds, and a few hidden gems, such as samurai_z_fire's exceptional Ninjago City centre moc, I'll link it with the next post. I'll be taking inspiration from both, using the idea of a split diagonal water way through the build with a bridge over it. Finally I want to highlight Reddit user HAFL, who I'll also link, as their sketches and builds are next level. I also use official lego concept art and concept models (like the test models of the gardens shown in the new elementary interview) to get ideas, and ive been trying to find decent scans of the ninjago: making of the movie book, as it also features a couple of preliminary and test models of the original city set in development. Other than outlining a few key parts and a couple of back-of-the-napkin sketches, I mainly build freehand with little to no planning. I dont particularly like using stud.io as ive found it to be difficult to work with. One of the biggest problems ive had with the city modules is colour blocking, ive never been great at art and I struggle to mesh the colours as well as the official city sets do it. 

And finally, the lanterns. I didn't like the switch from trans neon orange to blue, and the new lantern design is built poorly IMO, falling off and falling apart at the slightest knock, so I opted out on them. Maybe with a future Bricklink order I'll buy a ton and add them back in. 

Links to others work: 

Reddit U/HAFL: 

Zachs bricks amazing builds: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctw9XBxJc69/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtZiegTLjZJ/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMXbWjpHf1Q/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKHRe4VpjHl/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEHjPc3Jkfs/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbc9ywKrurm/?hl=en

Legends of ninjago: 

WiskeyShred: 

All of these people are incredible and masterful, and they all need to be highlighted more. Their work is amazing, and thats what I hope to achieve with my own city sets. Go and check them out and give them some love. 

[Red Rackham]

Thanks for the detailed answer, that sounds very interesting.
The links mentioned are fantastic, with so much inspiration one can get jealous. Many mocs look at least as good as the official sets, often a lot better. (HAFL from Reddit is...wicked good). Unfortunately, I clearly lack the stones to even come close to building something like this.
For a long time I felt that the city of WhiskeyShred was the Magnus Opum when it came to a NinjagoDistrict of its own.
At the moment I'm leaning towards the layout of BrickDaimyo (nice to see in the community tab on youtube), individual "islands" of the buildings or just two together and lots of water in between. So you get the feeling of narrow little streets in between.
I also thought about buying a set twice, but also more as a parts donor, because the variety is the great thing and not having the same corner building on the left and on the right again.
(although your mirrored and extended gardens fit in very well )

Will you build your own lanterns/lamps if you don't like the LEGO design?
And will your elevator be similar to the one from Ninjago City or integrated into the building with doors?
How do you feel about the MILS technique?
Remember to make it easier to show any height differences? Maybe to be able to put the Bounty a little lower on a pier.

I also had the book you mentioned in my hand when the film was running, there are small beautiful additional structures in there like stands, small vehicles and so on.
Maybe I'll find that needed again.
CJTonic's MOCs are also very suitable for a layout, but you probably know them too.

[a guy from somewhere]

6 hours ago, Red Rackham said:

Thanks for the detailed answer, that sounds very interesting.
The links mentioned are fantastic, with so much inspiration one can get jealous. Many mocs look at least as good as the official sets, often a lot better. (HAFL from Reddit is...wicked good). Unfortunately, I clearly lack the stones to even come close to building something like this.
For a long time I felt that the city of WhiskeyShred was the Magnus Opum when it came to a NinjagoDistrict of its own.
At the moment I'm leaning towards the layout of BrickDaimyo (nice to see in the community tab on youtube), individual "islands" of the buildings or just two together and lots of water in between. So you get the feeling of narrow little streets in between.
I also thought about buying a set twice, but also more as a parts donor, because the variety is the great thing and not having the same corner building on the left and on the right again.
(although your mirrored and extended gardens fit in very well )

Will you build your own lanterns/lamps if you don't like the LEGO design?
And will your elevator be similar to the one from Ninjago City or integrated into the building with doors?
How do you feel about the MILS technique?
Remember to make it easier to show any height differences? Maybe to be able to put the Bounty a little lower on a pier.

I also had the book you mentioned in my hand when the film was running, there are small beautiful additional structures in there like stands, small vehicles and so on.
Maybe I'll find that needed again.
CJTonic's MOCs are also very suitable for a layout, but you probably know them too.

Yes, I love Wiskey's square design with the central gate for boats, and his prime empire moc is also pretty damn incredible. Samsbricklab on YouTube also has a really cool set of buildings, the plaza hes built looks damn near perfect, although I think it does fall into the same trap the markets does with too much grey open space. BrickDaimyos monorail idea is something I desperately want to integrate, especially as I own the city of lanterns monkie kid set, but Id like there to be a cohesive flow between all modules and implementing a monorail track on my current MOCs and modding one onto the official sets would be too time consuming and parts consuming for me, plus it can off set the amazing look the sets already have. I try to keep all mods that change the official sets to a minimum. Eventually ill get some lanterns but not until after ive gotten the markets and modded it to my liking. I'd like to fill out the 8 stud wide walk way at the back with some small stands, which I have actually seen in the movie book from pictures online. The folks over on the "building screen accurate ninjago movie mechs" thread have been very helpful as they often work on auxiliary builds from the movie like the school bus, the sea monkey (and other boats), and some shark army vehicles. 

The elevator will be only 2 or 3 floors, and its only a small thing to test proof of concept. its built around an old 2 x 4 door frame that will be on a cable that goes to the top of the building, completely inside it. What is MILS? Ive never heard of that term, I'd love to be enlightened. Im guessing its lego related and not airway related? Im planning on putting the bounty on a stand of clear bricks hopefully above the city (it is a flying ship after all, thats kind of the point). And yes, I advise digging the book out if your going to build Mocs. I'd also say go small, build a 16x32 module first as it gives you enough space to get a feel for building design and style but isn't as big of a task as a 32x32. Go from the bottom up to the top, and if you can, build it whilst its sat next to a Ninjago City set like gardens or markets or the OG. It helps a lot with colours and styling. Ill follow this post up with the album of my skylines moc. 

[a guy from somewhere]

First up, a massive album. I decided to pull together all the pictures I took of my scrapped and work-in-progress-but-may-have-never-finished models. If theres anyone out there that wants to start building a Ninjago City, these where my first attempt at the idea. Feel free to use any techniques and designs you want, although I'll admit a lot of these are a bit janky. the main focus is on my original 2 16x32 modules, one of which I transplanted onto my skylines moc, which ill post here in a bit. 

If theres any questions you have regarding these old builds I will try my best to answer them, I understand some of these concepts may be a bit strange, like that dark green building with the unagami insignia. That was actually meant to be a hover board launch pad, with the boards stored in the dark green building. Thats sort of my head cannon with my own city Mocs, theres a team like the ninja that zip about on hover boards around the city. Theres the workshop where they can build, a hideout above the noodle shop below the workshop, a secret bunker in the skylines set that is found under the stone supports on the left side of the moc, a secret storage space for a suit behind the sushi stand and skyscraper in the business district, and the yellow building thats at the top of the city skyline moc is actually a base/home for one or two of the 'flyboarders' to live in and monitor the city. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by a guy from somewhere

[Red Rackham]

On 7/16/2023 at 6:51 PM, a guy from somewhere said:

Yes, I love Wiskey's square design with the central gate for boats, and his prime empire moc is also pretty damn incredible. Samsbricklab on YouTube also has a really cool set of buildings, the plaza hes built looks damn near perfect, although I think it does fall into the same trap the markets does with too much grey open space. BrickDaimyos monorail idea is something I desperately want to integrate, especially as I own the city of lanterns monkie kid set, but Id like there to be a cohesive flow between all modules and implementing a monorail track on my current MOCs and modding one onto the official sets would be too time consuming and parts consuming for me, plus it can off set the amazing look the sets already have. I try to keep all mods that change the official sets to a minimum. Eventually ill get some lanterns but not until after ive gotten the markets and modded it to my liking. I'd like to fill out the 8 stud wide walk way at the back with some small stands, which I have actually seen in the movie book from pictures online. The folks over on the "building screen accurate ninjago movie mechs" thread have been very helpful as they often work on auxiliary builds from the movie like the school bus, the sea monkey (and other boats), and some shark army vehicles. 

The elevator will be only 2 or 3 floors, and its only a small thing to test proof of concept. its built around an old 2 x 4 door frame that will be on a cable that goes to the top of the building, completely inside it. What is MILS? Ive never heard of that term, I'd love to be enlightened. Im guessing its lego related and not airway related? Im planning on putting the bounty on a stand of clear bricks hopefully above the city (it is a flying ship after all, thats kind of the point). And yes, I advise digging the book out if your going to build Mocs. I'd also say go small, build a 16x32 module first as it gives you enough space to get a feel for building design and style but isn't as big of a task as a 32x32. Go from the bottom up to the top, and if you can, build it whilst its sat next to a Ninjago City set like gardens or markets or the OG. It helps a lot with colours and styling. Ill follow this post up with the album of my skylines moc. 

I can also understand the cohesive flow, both have their charms.
With the MILS system, I mean the level below the usual baseplate, on the one hand, to be able to use the modular design better and to "hide" cables for lighting if necessary. Or also for different soil structures. Many with a city layout switched to this when Lego's new streets came along.
Here's how works: MILS
BrickDaimyo has used the 16x16 plates from the WorldMap (among others) on his channel, looks very good too.

The hoverboards are a great idea. Do you also have pictures of the vehicles in your album?
How do you actually feel about the "street level" in Ninjago. Would the road (for wheeled vehicles) be at level 0 (i.e. Old District) or more likely level 1?
Do you make sure that all paths are really within reach of a minifigure and also logically connected?
For example, a monorail could also serve as the only connecting route from two points on the path on level 1, or the ride/flight with a hoverbike. Stairs and ladders would also be bad for wheelchairs...

You probably also know the two AirCity buildings (1 and 2) by Rebrickable? I want to try to place them in the water between the main buildings.

 

And thank you for the insights into your build process from the album on Flickr :-)

[a guy from somewhere]

On 7/18/2023 at 11:21 AM, Red Rackham said:

I can also understand the cohesive flow, both have their charms.
With the MILS system, I mean the level below the usual baseplate, on the one hand, to be able to use the modular design better and to "hide" cables for lighting if necessary. Or also for different soil structures. Many with a city layout switched to this when Lego's new streets came along.
Here's how works: MILS
BrickDaimyo has used the 16x16 plates from the WorldMap (among others) on his channel, looks very good too.

The hoverboards are a great idea. Do you also have pictures of the vehicles in your album?
How do you actually feel about the "street level" in Ninjago. Would the road (for wheeled vehicles) be at level 0 (i.e. Old District) or more likely level 1?
Do you make sure that all paths are really within reach of a minifigure and also logically connected?
For example, a monorail could also serve as the only connecting route from two points on the path on level 1, or the ride/flight with a hoverbike. Stairs and ladders would also be bad for wheelchairs...

You probably also know the two AirCity buildings (1 and 2) by Rebrickable? I want to try to place them in the water between the main buildings.

 

And thank you for the insights into your build process from the album on Flickr :-)

Ah, I understand MILS now, thanks for the insight! I suppose it could be good for making deeper water or more interesting terrain, alongside lighting obviously, but I won't be using it. For the street level, I wouldnt be surprised if there was ways for vehicles to traverse between both, however I dont think wheeled vehicles would work for the city in general. Watercraft and possibly air vehicles (small blimps and balloons?) seem to be better suited for it. Yes I make sure that each area and building can feasibly be accessed, provided they aren't handicapped unfortunately, which is a trait found throughout most of the city sets in general, although I'll give the markets credit for being more inclusive. I'd like to implement some more accessibility in my new module that i'll begin working on soon. If I was to build something like the markets where its too towers and a large space in between, I'd think about adding a monorail system to connect them, although that would be a lot of space wasted in the already compact display, so I dont think I would do that unless I had a good reason to. I will also try and find some more pictures of the hoverboard crew, I should have them about somewhere. 

Those aircitys, wow, stunning design and architecture. The detailing is immaculate, I love em. I think im going to go for a more aerial focus on my next module, Ninjago City air-docks. Likely going to put a hot airballoon or blimp at the top. My big BrickLink haul just arrived so I will be sorting through that and hopefully finishing off the modules im currently working on. 

 

My local toy store has also come in clutch once again, they haven't received a shipment of the new dragons rising sets yet (bar 1), and they have a couple of the core titan mechs sitting on a top shelf so im hoping I can snag one pretty soon when they clear out old stock in prep for the dragons rising sets, as so far they only have the Kai and Rapton polybag. I was pretty surprised to see it, they haven't sold poly bags before, and they had them for £2 each so i grabbed one on impulse, and ill probably go back for more as the parts are decent for the city building (maybe this is how I get all the lanterns I need). Its a pretty great set, good value for £6 but for £2 its an absolute steal. Would recommend to anyone who sees one in the wild. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by a guy from somewhere

[Fenghuang0296]

On 7/14/2023 at 9:11 PM, a guy from somewhere said:

Let me know if theres any 'constructive' criticism you'd like to input, im always welcome for ideas. I also have a question for those that build custom modules, how do you find the fine line between being too cluttered and chaotic and too simple? All together it sort of feels like a cluttered mess, and id like to cut down on it, but other than that im pretty happy with it. I have plans to build one more module, Id really like to build a corner module but I desperately need a single straight 32x32 module now. 

I’ve only built one custom module; mostly because the confines of my display space mandated that I build something to connect the Docks, the Gardens and the ‘island shrine’ attached to the Gardens, since, IMO, none of them really fit together in the ways I want them to. 

My advice would be, look at what you’ve currently got - what your existing modules are, where they end - and build with them in mind. The left side of the Gardens, for example, has a balcony behind the Museum that sort of just leads into empty space, and none of the modules really have anything that connects to it well. So when I built my custom design, I was careful to extend that balcony as far as I could, and mimicked the railing design. Similarly, there’s a ‘tea house’ in the old city section of the Gardens with no evident way to access it; I installed a staircase leading up to that. Little touches like that, or things as simple as ensuring that the corners of buildings like up between modules, will go a surprisingly long way towards making everything go together well and not look like you’re just slapping random rubbish together. (Not that that aesthetic doesn’t have a place in Ninjago City, of course, but in moderation.)

Another thing I can recommend is carefully adding splashes of vibrant, pastel colour against darker, more muted buildings. Make sure you’re following the general aesthetic, and it’s not as simple as ‘dull colours lower down, bright colours higher up’. I like to think of it as an actual city that’s been built, damaged, repaired and upgraded over time. Walls that have been there for years will be worn and weathered, while the billboard attached to that same wall will be bright and new. 

[a guy from somewhere]

On 7/6/2023 at 10:47 AM, Dardanel said:

That's only if there are no exclusive prints/similar. It would be a shame to stop now, especially since it's a Dragon, but I will probably skip to "make a point" - like I did with the Asian market exclusive coins. Or maybe I'll start a gofundme :D

@Dardanel sorry mate, looks like the SDCC exclusive got revealed. And it’s probably the coolest thing ever, an exclusive print for a baby Riyu charging up. Definitely the coolest SDCC exclusive I’ve seen but I doubt this will be easy to get. Really hope it’s wide released at some point, maybe as an exclusive in the biggest set for the winter wave. 

[Red Rackham]

Pretty cool design of Ryu exclusive print, generally the baby dragon is one of the best lego animals.

[Dardanel]

3 hours ago, a guy from somewhere said:

@Dardanel sorry mate, looks like the SDCC exclusive got revealed. And it’s probably the coolest thing ever, an exclusive print for a baby Riyu charging up. Definitely the coolest SDCC exclusive I’ve seen but I doubt this will be easy to get. Really hope it’s wide released at some point, maybe as an exclusive in the biggest set for the winter wave. 

Yep, saw it :D I think it'll remain exclusive to SDCC but I hope that the price will be "fair" since it's in a polybag only. And yeah, it is very cool!

[Mister_Loki]

Its a shame such a cool print is SDCC Exclusive, but I'm honestly fine with not having this Riyu polybag. Hopefully they do a similar print in a future wave.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Mister_Loki

[Lemerbrix]

Well, Lego did say no more sdcc exclusives, but now there’s this… I wonder if this version of riyu will appear in the 2024 sets?