Ninjago 2012

[TheRedGuy]

I just sold two of my game consoles a few days ago and I bought all the new Ninjago sets except Lasha's bite cycle (It was sold out, I think) and some other stuff yesterday. I think I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Anyways, some things I hate:

The Samurai Mech is absolutely TERRIBLE. I'm probably the only person here that thinks that.

Dragon looks like a cluster of pieces.

Devourer looks incomplete.

Other than that I think they're fine.

[MakutaNocturn]

Have you know that Orobouros (the snake-city) is a name created by Illuminatis? And it means "the snake eating its tail". Nice shot Lego!

Edit:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Ouroboros-simple.svg

The same symbol is on the Lloyd's Ninja's cloth!

Edited May 15, 2012 by MakutaNocturn

[Kalhiki]

The Samurai Mech is absolutely TERRIBLE. I'm probably the only person here that thinks that.

Well, your opinion is opposite of mine. I just got it today and think it's great. However, I don't really like the helmet. Without a head under it, it just looks hollow. Like it's just floating there. Otherwise, my complaints are really minor.

But, we're all entitled to our own opinions.

Kalhiki

[Omega X]

I think the reason the Great Devourer is posed so he's rearing up like should be obvious: he's packaged with the Ultra Dragon, which is a flying adversary. Thus having him reared up like that makes the "battle" feel more evenly-matched than if he had to slither along the floor and/or nearby furniture.

On a side note, there is another time when he was reared up: back when he was just a little snake and bit young Garmadon. One reason I like how he's reared up is that he looks roughly like a massive version of the "vipers" that come in various Ninjago sets this year. The shape of his face also helps with this.

I'm not all that impressed with the Great Devourer myself, but it's less because of how he's reared up and more because the way his body is constructed he doesn't feel all that solid (especially around his "joints"-- if he's not going to be posable in those areas then there's no reason those parts of the body should look so hollow).

As it is, the model's kind of cool, but nowhere near as cohesive or breathtaking as the five dragon models we've had between last year and this year. Once the set is out (or perhaps sooner?) I hope somebody creates a suitable revamp of the model that looks a bit more lifelike. I might even attempt one of my own. After all, I still intend to get Epic Dragon Battle even if the Great Devourer isn't as amazing as he perhaps could have been. The dragon is more than awesome enough to make up for that, and the little prison tower isn't too shabby either.

I just sold two of my game consoles a few days ago and I bought all the new Ninjago sets except Lasha's bite cycle (It was sold out, I think) and some other stuff yesterday. I think I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Anyways, some things I hate:

The Samurai Mech is absolutely TERRIBLE. I'm probably the only person here that thinks that.

Dragon looks like a cluster of pieces.

Devourer looks incomplete.

Other than that I think they're fine.

True, the great Devourer is fighting a flying adversary. However, the Great devourer also fights a flying adversary in the TV show. It curls up a skyscraper(why didn't Lego pose the set in a city? Because Lego doesn't want to produce skyscrapers?) After all, when all the parts of the Great Devourer is connected using ball joints(like the PQ snake), it can also rear up, right? But, there is no point crying over split milk. Lego is not going to change it's mind

The four elemental dragons released last year are wonderful(I had one of them myself-the fire dragon). The combined four elemental dragon released this year are "wonderful". Okay, it's better than last year's dragons in terms of functions, but it looks...rumpled up. It's much chunkier and more rumpled up than the dragon that appeared in the TV show.

TheRedGuy, why do you think that the mech is terrible? And yes, the dragon looks like a cluster of pieces, even with its wings spread out.

P.S. This is my own opinion, sorry for the overwhelming number of negative posts.

Omega X

[Lordofdragonss]

I hate fact that Dragon set is not show accurate and how ugly the dragon looks now. It's so disapointing to see the dragons necks are not white and it's very hard to balance. I will get sonic rider and Vampyre castle instead.

I think it would be better if they made great Devouer and Dragon two separate better made sets.

[Kalhiki]

Personally, I like the set incarnation of the Epic Dragon. It just seems like a large bulky dragon. The one in the show (if I remember correctly) just looks like one of the four elemental dragons only white and with four heads. The set just seems more unique and different compared to the other four dragons.

Plus it has all those lovely trans-green pieces. I'm a sucker for transparent parts.

Kalhiki

[Lyichir]

True, the great Devourer is fighting a flying adversary. However, the Great devourer also fights a flying adversary in the TV show. It curls up a skyscraper(why didn't Lego pose the set in a city? Because Lego doesn't want to produce skyscrapers?) After all, when all the parts of the Great Devourer is connected using ball joints(like the PQ snake), it can also rear up, right? But, there is no point crying over split milk. Lego is not going to change it's mind

The four elemental dragons released last year are wonderful(I had one of them myself-the fire dragon). The combined four elemental dragon released this year are "wonderful". Okay, it's better than last year's dragons in terms of functions, but it looks...rumpled up. It's much chunkier and more rumpled up than the dragon that appeared in the TV show.

TheRedGuy, why do you think that the mech is terrible? And yes, the dragon looks like a cluster of pieces, even with its wings spread out.

P.S. This is my own opinion, sorry for the overwhelming number of negative posts.

Omega X

They probably didn't want to include a skyscraper because it would clash with the aesthetic of every other set this year. In the show, it's easy to picture a skyscraper in the Ninjago universe, but in the sets, where only a portion of that universe can be depicted, they want to keep everything looking cohesive. Personally, I thought the Devourer's tendency in the show to stick closer to the ground made it look less menacing and more pathetic, so I for one am happy with the set version.

Also, ball joints, believe it or not, are not the strongest connection by a long shot. And the Devourer seems a lot bulkier than the Pharaoh's Quest cobra, meaning it has that much more weight to support. One thing I would like to try once I have the set is to see if ball joints would be able to support its weight if you used the high-friction ball-cup extenders used this year in the Ultrabuild Superheroes sets and the larger Hero Factory sets. But in general, ball joints sacrifice stability for poseability. And the more joints you have supporting the weight of the model, the more likely it is that one of them will fail and the snake will collapse.

I hate fact that Dragon set is not show accurate and how ugly the dragon looks now. It's so disapointing to see the dragons necks are not white and it's very hard to balance. I will get sonic rider and Vampyre castle instead.

I think it would be better if they made great Devouer and Dragon two separate better made sets.

None of the dragon sets look like they do in the show. And frankly, I like the one in the set better: it's more unique and "epic" than the one in the show, which just looks like the other dragons but with four heads. The set, on the other hand, has a much grander wingspan. And the wings flap! I can't judge how well this works since I don't have the set yet, but from a video I saw from one of the Toy Fairs, this function along with the swinging tail make the dragon's movements look quite natural when it is "flying".

And why did you expect the necks to be white? This sounds way too picky to me. LEGO deliberately limits how many elements it has in production at any given time, so if they had made the not-very-visible necks white, they may have had to compensate by eliminating the luscious trans-green highlights the dragon has on its wings and tail. Since the heads mostly cover up the necks anyway, I don't see why there's anything wrong with having them in an easy-to-ignore dark neutral color.

[TheRedGuy]

TheRedGuy, why do you think that the mech is terrible? And yes, the dragon looks like a cluster of pieces, even with its wings spread out.

I don't really know. Its appearance just devastates my eyes.

[DraikNova]

Personally, I like the more bulky, hi-tech, sci-fi look of the Epic Dragon in the set version. As said by others, the show version resembles an overgrown version of the individuals. The necks make me think of two-headed lizards . I just have to get the set, partially to make a grown-up, larger version of the ice dragon as I see it.

[Omega X]

After serious reconsideration, I've decided to stop commenting on the summer sets. Perhaps I'm just influenced by my 'first look'. After some time, maybe I will change my mind about the summer sets! (I rather doubt it)

Any way, let's discuss on another more interesting topic-the soundtrack of the TV show. Every 'movie' needs a good soundtrack to 'bond' all the climatic moments in the movie. Since the second season of Ninjago TV show has just finished, with a third series rumored to be produced, we can now conclude on the themes of the different characters or scenes.

Before revealing my own thoughts, I would like the Eurobricks community to post what they think is the best soundtrack and what they think is the soundtrack/themes of the characters(including the Serpentine)

P.S. They could have more than one soundtrack

Omega X

[GRogall]

Here are some nice HR images of the new summer sets!

All pics link to HR versions +2400.pxl

9447 Lashas Bite Cycle

9448 Samurai Mech

9449 Ultra Sonic Raider

9450 Epic Dragon Battle

Enjoy! :classic:

[Rick]

Any way, let's discuss on another more interesting topic-the soundtrack of the TV show.

Feel free to discuss that here.

[Aanchir]

So the Ninjago Miniland at LEGOLAND Deutschland is open!

It's very neat. They captured a lot of great locations from the show, as well as vehicles and characters familiar from the sets, at a highly-detailed Miniland scale.

Here's a

I found of the Miniland. I can't wait until we start seeing photos of it on Flickr and other sites. But many details like the Destiny's Bounty are simply stunning.

[MakutaNocturn]

So the Ninjago Miniland at LEGOLAND Deutschland is open!

It's very neat. They captured a lot of great locations from the show, as well as vehicles and characters familiar from the sets, at a highly-detailed Miniland scale.

Here's a

I found of the Miniland. I can't wait until we start seeing photos of it on Flickr and other sites. But many details like the Destiny's Bounty are simply stunning.

Holy snake... I wish I were there!!!

So... beautiful. Better than SW. I love the ship desing and dragons!

[DraikNova]

Those brickbuilt snake heads are cute! At first I thought that the Storm Glider was the set version, but it looks even better like this! I'm in love with the treehouse build, it's just so awesome. The Bounty is great, the Arena is great and the only thing missing is a function that allows the recreation of the first few minutes of the Day of the Great Devourer episode . Seriously though, why is there no Great Devourer? Perhaps it was to big?

Edited May 17, 2012 by DraikNova

[Peppermint_M]

Oooo, something to look forward too in next years Event (Along with all the other stuff, lol).

[Aanchir]

Those brickbuilt snake heads are cute! At first I thought that the Storm Glider was the set version, but it looks even better like this! I'm in love with the treehouse build, it's just so awesome. The Bounty is great, the Arena is great and the only thing missing is a function that allows the recreation of the first few minutes of the Day of the Great Devourer episode . Seriously though, why is there no Great Devourer? Perhaps it was to big?

Perhaps they just felt it didn't fit in any of the "locations" they had selected. Or perhaps they wanted to stick to things people who hadn't seen the full season would be likely to recognize.

Kind of does disappoint me that the icy region has "eskimo"-type inhabitants who have never been so much as hinted out in the Ninjago story. I understand that the Frozen Wasteland is... well... a wasteland, but the people and igloo there just don't feel like they fit in, which makes sense if they were just chosen as "filler".

A section based on the Underworld might have been cooler in that corner of the Miniland.

[refriedbeans]

Perhaps they just felt it didn't fit in any of the "locations" they had selected. Or perhaps they wanted to stick to things people who hadn't seen the full season would be likely to recognize.

Kind of does disappoint me that the icy region has "eskimo"-type inhabitants who have never been so much as hinted out in the Ninjago story. I understand that the Frozen Wasteland is... well... a wasteland, but the people and igloo there just don't feel like they fit in, which makes sense if they were just chosen as "filler".

A section based on the Underworld might have been cooler in that corner of the Miniland.

There were Eskimos in the episode where the Ninja tried really hard to catch Samurai X.

[Aanchir]

There were Eskimos in the episode where the Ninja tried really hard to catch Samurai X.

Were there? I had forgotten.

It still looks kind of out-of-place to me, but I guess that justifies their inclusion in the Frozen Wastelands section. That section of the Miniland is very stylistically different than the other more temperate/arid locations anyway, so I guess making the stuff match stylistically would have been a losing battle anyhow.

[Omega X]

Wow those structures were just amazing!!! Brick-built Pythor has a closed mouth!!

Omega X

[theninjagofan]

the new nrg zane box:

cool

and the Slithraa box:

cool

and the Lizaru booster pack:

cool

and Bytar booster pack:

cool

[Kai NRG]

I don't really know. Its appearance just devastates my eyes.

I think the mech looks good - and the dragon really doesn't look that good.

I can't wait to see lloyds box! Here is a picture of him fightning slithraa:

Edited May 19, 2012 by Kai NRG

[theninjagofan]

thank you, I could not find Lloyd zx

[Lego_Hero]

Wow. Just wow. I'm a minifig guy and these booster packs and Zane are above and beyond!

I know I'll have to wait until I get a really good deal to pick up Zane, but the booster pack prices are quite reasonable.

As for Zane, the lightning pattern is awesome. One question, though: is that a knife attached to a throwing star on his weapon. I don't think I have a golden knife like that.

The Lizaru minifig is cool. I never thought to combine those parts to make his axe. I'm going to us that somewhere. Are those snake attachments transgreen?

Bytar is also awesome. I think I may get two just so I can file down the fangs on one to make a dinosaur creature!

[Gatanui]

Am I the only one to think NRG Zane looks like he´s wearing pajamas? Besides that, these look great, thanks.

-Gata

Edited May 19, 2012 by Gatanui