Ninjago 2012

[Kai NRG]

I saw Kimono Lloyd on Brickipedia earlier today. I am seriously considering pre-ordering the encyclopedia to secure myself a copy of that epic mini-fig.

Kimono Lloyd. That's a good name for him. he reminds me of Wu in his DX suit. Pretty cool. Although the shoulder armor does look a bit out of place. . .

[DraikNova]

Strange. It's the gold headgear printing which looks out of place to me. Although I really want this figure, I fear I will not be able to get it.

Edited July 17, 2012 by DraikNova

[Kai NRG]

Strange. It's the gold headgear printing which looks out of place to me. Although I really want this figure, I fear I will not be able to get it.

Yeah, that also looks a bit odd, since Lloyd is always in grey.

Edit: Does anybody know why the picture of the front of the Character Encyclopedia says it's "not approved by Licensor"? Does that mean LEGO has not certified it?

Edited July 17, 2012 by Kai NRG

[DraikNova]

Well, maybe this early picture hasn't been approved yet.

[horizon]

Seems like a cool book. Nice fig as well.

[Aanchir]

Yeah, that also looks a bit odd, since Lloyd is always in grey.

Edit: Does anybody know why the picture of the front of the Character Encyclopedia says it's "not approved by Licensor"? Does that mean LEGO has not certified it?

Yeah, it probably means this cover art is still preliminary. However, the minifigure in the very least should be finalized.

As for DraikNova's question about whether the book will be available in the Netherlands: From what I have been able to find, previous Dorling Kindersley LEGO reference guides like the LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia have not been published in Dutch (or, as far as I can tell, any language besides English and German), and I'm not sure if the English-language ones are available in bookshops in the Netherlands. However, there are a number of online stores with addresses ending in .nl which sell these books. Online may be your best bet, but if you want to be sure, check some local bookstores for previous DK reference guides or try to recall if you have seen them there in the past.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Aanchir

[DraikNova]

Oh well, it's probably available in Germany, like several other LEGO books, which are often in English.

[Kai NRG]

Yeah, it probably means this cover art is still preliminary. However, the minifigure in the very least should be finalized.

OK. That makes sense

[Aanchir]

So through another haphazard Google search, I just learned that the short stories "In His Footsteps", "Getting the Joke", "The Dragon's Roar", and "The Real Hero" are much better in the German Kai, Zane, Jay, and Cole guide books than in the American Kai: Ninja of Fire, Zane: Ninja of Ice, Jay: Ninja of Lightning, and Cole: Ninja of Earth chapter books. The stories are the same in each, but where we Americans only get text that occasionally jumps out at us with special bold typeface and odd alignment, the German books include full-color illustrations with these stories. Observe:

"In His Footsteps"

1

2

"Getting the Joke"

1

2

"The Dragon's Roar"

1

"The Real Hero"

1

2

3

Now, I recognize that the American books aren't completely inferior to the German ones. As far as I know, the chapter stories "The Vanished Villagers", "The Choice", "The Truth Seeker", and "The Phantom Ninja" appear exclusively in the American chapter books published by Scholastic. These black-and-white paperback chapter books are also probably cheaper than these full-color hardcover mini-guides. But against my better judgment, I still find myself envying Ninjago fans overseas who get these lovely illustrated books.

Incidentally, does anyone know if the Kai/Zane and Cole/Jay two-in one Ninja Handbooks from British publisher Ladybird have these stories with full illustrations? If they do I could easily see myself saving up to order these books from overseas (since they'll be in English and I could thus appreciate them for more than just the illustrations).

EDIT: And it just dawned on me that the pictures Horizon posted here are from the story "In His Footsteps" but in the Dutch version of the same book. I wonder if the others have similar gems to those not-seen-elsewhere pics of Kai and Nya's parents. Probably not since the other short stories don't have flashbacks like that one, but the possibilities make me even more anxious to know if I can find these illustrations in any English-language books.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Aanchir

[DraikNova]

Well, I know one dutch ninjago book, Jay's I think, has a short story where Jay makes a dragon megaphone. It had some nice illustrations. Rather funny idea too, a dragon megaphone.

Edited July 17, 2012 by DraikNova

[horizon]

Those German books you post are also available in Dutch. Kids have all four. The Kai book features pictures of his mom and dad (I posted these a while ago int this thread).

[Tobias_Jay]

Both of those books are available in Australia. They are really quite cool and (as said earlier) features Kai and Nya's parents (and little Kai and little Nya! ).

[DraikNova]

Yup, those pictures are kinda funny, because we'll see young Kai in the show apparently. Anyway, is there any news at all about 2013 sets?

[Aanchir]

Yup, those pictures are kinda funny, because we'll see young Kai in the show apparently. Anyway, is there any news at all about 2013 sets?

Nothing definite regarding sets. However, in terms of 2013 info in general, my brother Meiko found some info on a new graphic novel due for release in February 2013. Interestingly, the Ninja on the cover have costume designs similar to the new Lloyd Garmadon figure from the Character Encyclopedia linked on the previous page, so it's hard to say for sure whether they foreshadow new sets-- after all, TLG seems to have moved away from such heavily-standardized Ninja character designs this year. It'll be a shame if we see the Ninja change into these gorgeous costumes in the show and don't get physical versions, of course, though since they're mostly palette swaps maybe some talented individual in the Minifig Customization Workshop could design some decals for us.

Since we're expecting an episode titled "The Stone Army" in this upcoming season of the show, it certainly would make sense that the graphic novel will fit at that same point in the storyline rather than foreshadowing future, unannounced Ninjago story threads. Keep in mind that so far the graphic novels have lagged slightly behind the pace of the TV show, since not even all of the Serpentine ones have been released. I just hope that if Ninjago is working its way to a close, however soon that might be, we won't see media like this get cancelled the way the tenth BIONICLE graphic novel was.

In other news, someone on Flickr posted some pictures from the LEGO Ninjago panel at Comic-Con.

Skeleton General prototypes

Rough sketch-- Great Devourer?

Unreleased tower prototype

Samurai Mech sketch

There are more in that same photoset on Flickr. Most are Samurai Mech prototypes we've already seen, though.

[DraikNova]

Strange that they all have swords. Even stranger is that the swords all use the modified lightsaber hilt. Also, the warriors of stone (confirmation for the stone army perhaps?) all seem to have a yellow printed flames on their heads along with gaping tooth-filled mouths. Interesting prototype for the treehouse.

[PenPlays]

If they dont make those Ninjas on that book cover I might as well be dead!! :wub:

I NEED!!

[Krulis]

Am I the only one that thinks that the ninja new weapon looks like lightsaber ?

[Kai NRG]

Nothing definite regarding sets. However, in terms of 2013 info in general, my brother Meiko found some info on a new graphic novel due for release in February 2013. Interestingly, the Ninja on the cover have costume designs similar to the new Lloyd Garmadon figure from the Character Encyclopedia linked on the previous page, so it's hard to say for sure whether they foreshadow new sets-- after all, TLG seems to have moved away from such heavily-standardized Ninja character designs this year. It'll be a shame if we see the Ninja change into these gorgeous costumes in the show and don't get physical versions, of course, though since they're mostly palette swaps maybe some talented individual in the Minifig Customization Workshop could design some decals for us.

Since we're expecting an episode titled "The Stone Army" in this upcoming season of the show, it certainly would make sense that the graphic novel will fit at that same point in the storyline rather than foreshadowing future, unannounced Ninjago story threads. Keep in mind that so far the graphic novels have lagged slightly behind the pace of the TV show, since not even all of the Serpentine ones have been released. I just hope that if Ninjago is working its way to a close, however soon that might be, we won't see media like this get cancelled the way the tenth BIONICLE graphic novel was.

They look really cool, and a lot more like the traditional "ninja" than the ZX (although those were awesome). It seems like they might be the new suits the ninja will use - although I guess we'll find out in the next few episodes. . .

Am I the only one that thinks that the ninja new weapon looks like lightsaber ?

They do! Although, since the front of the book is cartoonish, they'll probably look a bit less like lightsabers in LEGOs (if we ever get them. . . )

[Perry the Platypus]

Nothing definite regarding sets. However, in terms of 2013 info in general, my brother Meiko found some info on a new graphic novel due for release in February 2013. Interestingly, the Ninja on the cover have costume designs similar to the new Lloyd Garmadon figure from the Character Encyclopedia linked on the previous page, so it's hard to say for sure whether they foreshadow new sets-- after all, TLG seems to have moved away from such heavily-standardized Ninja character designs this year. It'll be a shame if we see the Ninja change into these gorgeous costumes in the show and don't get physical versions, of course, though since they're mostly palette swaps maybe some talented individual in the Minifig Customization Workshop could design some decals for us.

Since we're expecting an episode titled "The Stone Army" in this upcoming season of the show, it certainly would make sense that the graphic novel will fit at that same point in the storyline rather than foreshadowing future, unannounced Ninjago story threads. Keep in mind that so far the graphic novels have lagged slightly behind the pace of the TV show, since not even all of the Serpentine ones have been released. I just hope that if Ninjago is working its way to a close, however soon that might be, we won't see media like this get cancelled the way the tenth BIONICLE graphic novel was.

I do love those ninja outfits. I wonder if those are the rumored PRV ninja suits?

[Aanchir]

If these weapon designs do end up appearing in the show but not in sets, it will be an interesting reversal. In previous waves, a lot of brick-built weapon designs have typically been stylized to look much less like their set incarnations in the show-- examples include the golden weapons, snake staffs, and Fang Blades. These, on the other hand, look a lot more like LEGO weapons than any of those did in the show, which makes me hopeful that we might see that lovely blade mold, even if these new costumes don't end up appearing in sets.

Story-wise I have no doubt that the weapons hold some real significance, but from a practical standpoint they replace the Ninja's golden weapons which they lost to Lord Garmadon. If they do appear in sets, I hope that they will have another practical advantage by being compatible with the double sword-holsters on the back of the ZX shoulder armor, a function that was lost for many weapons when transitioning away from the classic Ninja headwrap with its more traditional clip on the back.

Overall it's still unclear what we can expect in the future of Ninjago sets. Some of the really new things we have seen like the new Destiny's Bounty and these new Ninja costumes are palette swaps of things that have already been announced for release, and given how much TLG has avoided palette swaps in previous waves I am not too confident about seeing these things as sets. But as the series goes on we may see things that are more likely candidates for appearances in a future wave.

[DraikNova]

Well, I doubt and hope those weapons don't appear in sets; they seem to similar. They consist out of only two pieces! I hope the ninja's will just use some more unique weapons instead, or stick with the powerless weapons they have now and had before they got the golden weapons.

[Kai NRG]

If these weapon designs do end up appearing in the show but not in sets, it will be an interesting reversal. In previous waves, a lot of brick-built weapon designs have typically been stylized to look much less like their set incarnations in the show-- examples include the golden weapons, snake staffs, and Fang Blades. These, on the other hand, look a lot more like LEGO weapons than any of those did in the show, which makes me hopeful that we might see that lovely blade mold, even if these new costumes don't end up appearing in sets.

Story-wise I have no doubt that the weapons hold some real significance, but from a practical standpoint they replace the Ninja's golden weapons which they lost to Lord Garmadon. If they do appear in sets, I hope that they will have another practical advantage by being compatible with the double sword-holsters on the back of the ZX shoulder armor, a function that was lost for many weapons when transitioning away from the classic Ninja headwrap with its more traditional clip on the back.

Overall it's still unclear what we can expect in the future of Ninjago sets. Some of the really new things we have seen like the new Destiny's Bounty and these new Ninja costumes are palette swaps of things that have already been announced for release, and given how much TLG has avoided palette swaps in previous waves I am not too confident about seeing these things as sets. But as the series goes on we may see things that are more likely candidates for appearances in a future wave.

The Black bounty does seem like just a color change, but how are the new suits just palette swaps? Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the weapons (and likely also the Stone Army) have something to do with the Island of Darkness (which in turn has something to do with the pirates). I really can't wait until we get out of this "Lord Garmadon creating and destroying something in every episode" phase and into the real plot!

Well, I doubt and hope those weapons don't appear in sets; they seem to similar. They consist out of only two pieces! I hope the ninja's will just use some more unique weapons instead, or stick with the powerless weapons they have now and had before they got the golden weapons.

I don't know, they seem pretty cool to me. Anyway, the top piece might end up each slightly different from each other.

[DraikNova]

Well, I like it like it is: each ninja has a completely different weapon and they don't all have swords.

[Tobias_Jay]

Those outfits look flashy and so do the swords. Ninja-Sabers .

At first glance i thought the stone warriors were clones of Garmadon.

Will this graphic novel be available in Australia? I'm a bit skeptical because the other ones as far as I know haven't been released yet.

[Kai NRG]

Well, I like it like it is: each ninja has a completely different weapon and they don't all have swords.

True. Still, I think thease are cool!