35 replies to this topic

[Hapori Tohu]

Today we bring you the 2012 Ninjago sets. Some are out already, but there's plenty more coming this summer! Obviously the line did pretty well last year, because LEGO continues to go all out with these sets. Read on to see what's in store.

View the full article

[Sumiki]

Making ninjas seem silly is easy - all you have to do is put them in magical repainted fighter jets. (Seriously, LEGO?)

That's the only real gripe I have on these sets. Otherwise, they're pretty sweet.

[ignika527]

ummm was the green ninja already known or did they just give it away?

[Tylerax Toa of Awesome]

Sumiki, while I agree that a ninja flying a jet seems silly, it's still a great set. Although I guess they could have made something more suitable for a ninja, like a stealth ship..oh well.

These sets look amazing! I only bought the dragon sets last year, and they all turned out to be great for me. I might just get that four headed dragon set with the giant snake too. Does anyone else think this green ninja somehow fused the 4 dragons together to make that 4 headed dragon?

[BioGio]

ummm was the green ninja already known or did they just give it away?

The purpose of Toy Fair is to display the sets that are not already known or released. Prior to this time, any pictures of these sets would have been considered leaked. So, yes, LEGO "gave it away" to make fans more interested.

Anyway, I guess I don't speak for everyone when I say that I actually rather like the anachronism of the sets. I probably won't be picking up any of these sets, since I don't buy much LEGO any longer. However, they really are interesting, and made me reconsider my current personal embargo on system.

~ BioGio

[Devorath]

Ages ago I cast my vote,
This article was my antidote.
I can see a little square,
Which when a scanner comes from the air,
Belonging to an I-Phone there,
Will be some kind of big affair.
And from the air your ears will hear,
A big, almighty, massive cheer.

[Ringoster]

Woah, that white tracked thing looks HUGE and EPIC!! And so does that four headed dragon.... I don't even want to know how much they are going to cost....
Also, it would be nice if we could get the names for these sets, along with the pictures.

[Spinjitzu Master]

....What happened to the old Ninjago???
A jet? An all terrian vehicle? A motorcycle?
What about the ninja things??? The...the Dojo...the Dragons...the mystism...I miss you so...

I hope people come to their sences and boycott the vehicle sets so LEGO changes it back. I will only be buying the spinners and the sets without modern twists.

[Crasher92]

They've got a power and a force
that you've never seen before.
They've got the ability to morph
and to even up the score.
No one can ever take them down
the power lies on their siiiide.

Go Go Power Rangers
Go Go Power Rangers
Go Go Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers!

Edited by Crasher92, Feb 16 2012 - 10:32 PM.

[BioGio]

I hope people come to their sences and boycott the vehicle sets so LEGO changes it back. I will only be buying the spinners and the sets without modern twists.

Because having a different opinion about what LEGO should be like is really not being in touch with reality. I'll admit, mystic, historical themes tend to entice me more, but the current direction of Ninjago seems to be continuing from its original anachronism (e.g., the skull truck set), and going in the direction of being deliberately powered by the rule of cool.

Then again, I was never big into Ninjago, and if I had been really interested from the beginning, I'd probably agree with you.

TL;DR: Diff'rent strokes.

~ BioGio

[Waffles]

....What happened to the old Ninjago???
A jet? An all terrian vehicle? A motorcycle?
What about the ninja things??? The...the Dojo...the Dragons...the mystism...I miss you so...

I hope people come to their sences and boycott the vehicle sets so LEGO changes it back. I will only be buying the spinners and the sets without modern twists.

On the contrary, LEGO should be more about building creatively with parts, not playing games with minifigs, trading cards, and spinners.

Right? Each to his own.

I haven't gotten any Ninjago sets, but since they're being lauded as Bionicle's successor in storyline and have many nice lime parts, I might buy some.

[bonesiii]

Wow. I had a feeling the new ones would be awesome; Ninjago has been so far, but these take the cake.

I'm especially loving that mech. I tend to strongly dislike most humanoid mechs people MOC or that LEGO makes, as they're boring and cliche IMO, but that is anything but. Clever uses of pieces galore, and it has a distinctly oriental feel that makes it look very, very cool. Far cooler than anything in the whole LEGO line previously devoted to mechs, Exo-Force, which is no small accomplishment considering it's not Ninjago's specialty.

The white tread thingy is also rad cool, esp. all those golden knifish thingies. Wow, that's a lot. And the design is cool too. LEGO's done a lot of cool treadish thingies before, but this lives up to them without being cliche IMO.

The dragon images confused me a little -- are those wings, or something like a defense mechanism for show, like the thing with the neck frills in Jurassic Park? Or both -- that would be even better. The images here seem to show them folded up, and arranged like neck frills, but not spread like wings. Given Ninjago precedent though I presume they also work like wings. (Maybe I just didn't look closely enough.)

Regardless, that is also the best LEGO dragon I've ever seen, admittedly barring a few extremely complex fan MOCs (I'm sure yall're thinking of some too ), and the four-headedness really helps. The wing design is very cool too (if they're wings) -- reminds me very closely of a Gukko wing design I made for my RPG computer game, ironically enough.

And the other new Ninjago stuff is cool too; seen 'em before though, so yeah. Not as big a fan of the jet plane compared to the others, though, not really sure why, but it is probably the best LEGO plane yet. That's not, IMO, saying much though 'cuz I tend to dislike LEGO planes. The studs all over the wings, the fuselage designs, usually just don't look quite cool enough to me. Aaaanywho... The knives that slide out are what make it cool IMO.

And loving the whole snake thing. I think I'm absolutely gonna have to buy at least the cheap one with the lime standard LEGO head under the cobra "hat" -- been wanting to get my hands on a good lime head for a while at a good price for a particular MOC. Will have to wait a while though 'cuz I just spent a little more than I had budgeted for on LEGO lol.

Edit: And definately the best new sets from Toy Fair so far.


Edit2: Oh! Forgot! And the airship is absolutely B E A YOO-tiful.

Edited by bonesiii, Feb 17 2012 - 12:29 AM.

[Lyichir]

....What happened to the old Ninjago???
A jet? An all terrian vehicle? A motorcycle?
What about the ninja things??? The...the Dojo...the Dragons...the mystism...I miss you so...

I hope people come to their sences and boycott the vehicle sets so LEGO changes it back. I will only be buying the spinners and the sets without modern twists.

There is a dragon here, if you didn't notice. And the NRG ninjas appear to be incarnations of the ninja cloaked in pure Spinjitzu energy, and that just screams mysticism to me.

This year's Ninjago is amazing, and the zany anachronistic technology only adds to that. I personally would probably have never invested in Ninjago in the first place if it weren't for the zany aspects like the ninja fighting undead skeletons on motorcycles.

Prelim Ninjago material has shown that LEGO always intended the theme to be as zany as it is now, and it never was meant to be a purely traditional Japanese setting. So if anyone needs to come to their senses, it's people like you who can't appreciate the theme for what it is and instead pretend it was meant to be something it's not.

I personally intend to get a number of these sets. I love the Epic Dragon Battle (by far the most "traditional" set of the upcoming wave), but I'm not ruling out getting the Ultra Sonic Raider (which, much like the other vehicles, blends a traditional Japanese aesthetic with a sci-fi/fantasy battle machine).

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

Wow. I had a feeling the new ones would be awesome; Ninjago has been so far, but these take the cake.

I'm especially loving that mech. I tend to strongly dislike most humanoid mechs people MOC or that LEGO makes, as they're boring and cliche IMO, but that is anything but. Clever uses of pieces galore, and it has a distinctly oriental feel that makes it look very, very cool. Far cooler than anything in the whole LEGO line previously devoted to mechs, Exo-Force, which is no small accomplishment considering it's not Ninjago's specialty.

The white tread thingy is also rad cool, esp. all those golden knifish thingies. Wow, that's a lot. And the design is cool too. LEGO's done a lot of cool treadish thingies before, but this lives up to them without being cliche IMO.

The dragon images confused me a little -- are those wings, or something like a defense mechanism for show, like the thing with the neck frills in Jurassic Park? Or both -- that would be even better. The images here seem to show them folded up, and arranged like neck frills, but not spread like wings. Given Ninjago precedent though I presume they also work like wings. (Maybe I just didn't look closely enough.)

Regardless, that is also the best LEGO dragon I've ever seen, admittedly barring a few extremely complex fan MOCs (I'm sure yall're thinking of some too ), and the four-headedness really helps. The wing design is very cool too (if they're wings) -- reminds me very closely of a Gukko wing design I made for my RPG computer game, ironically enough.

And the other new Ninjago stuff is cool too; seen 'em before though, so yeah. Not as big a fan of the jet plane compared to the others, though, not really sure why, but it is probably the best LEGO plane yet. That's not, IMO, saying much though 'cuz I tend to dislike LEGO planes. The studs all over the wings, the fuselage designs, usually just don't look quite cool enough to me. Aaaanywho... The knives that slide out are what make it cool IMO.

And loving the whole snake thing. I think I'm absolutely gonna have to buy at least the cheap one with the lime standard LEGO head under the cobra "hat" -- been wanting to get my hands on a good lime head for a while at a good price for a particular MOC. Will have to wait a while though 'cuz I just spent a little more than I had budgeted for on LEGO lol.

Edit: And definately the best new sets from Toy Fair so far.


Edit2: Oh! Forgot! And the airship is absolutely B E A YOO-tiful.

About the dragon-- it has a play feature that involves the wings. If you lift it by the handle on its back the wings spread out.

Anyway, I'm very excited about this year's Ninjago sets. The vehicles, IMO, are explained quite well in the story, and moreover there's still a lot of that traditional/mystical Asian charm in sets like the Destiny's Bounty and the Epic Dragon Battle. I do wish there were more location-based sets this year, though-- the Fire Temple was extremely impressive and I'd love to see that same sort of design talent go towards making buildings with the same sort of architecture seen in the snake shrines.

[bonesiii]

Thanks for the info, Aanchir. And yeah, we've discussed elsewhere with Spinjitsu Master why Ninjago is actually true to Japanese style anyways; he seems to assume vehicles aren't part of what's Japanese, for example, but they are. And there were vehicles from the start, so there really was no change other than trivial details (which as we all know have to change).

[unknown_user2596]

I wish they made the giant snake so it's not just permanently fixed in one pose.

[Lyichir]

I wish they made the giant snake so it's not just permanently fixed in one pose.

It's not completely fixed: its tail is posable. But in regards to the upper body, I'm afraid you'd find that if it weren't fixed as it is, it would be nigh-impossible to get it to rear up like it does. Making a giant snake model hold its pose is surprisingly hard. You have to tread a fine line between it being posable and it being able to support itself in any positions where it's not flat on the ground.

[Obsessionist]

Wow! Some of these look like exellent parts packs. The mecha set surprises me, I wasn't expecting there to be hardsuits or anything. It's very impresive though, and I have a feeling that the designers were just looking for an excuse to use that part as a giant sword.

[Lyichir]

Wow! Some of these look like exellent parts packs. The mecha set surprises me, I wasn't expecting there to be hardsuits or anything. It's very impresive though, and I have a feeling that the designers were just looking for an excuse to use that part as a giant sword.

Maybe, although I'd be unsurprised if the part itself were designed with the intention of being able to use it as a giant sword. This set just gives them an outlet with which to use it as such.

The shoulder mounted cannon on the mech is pretty cool too, of course.

[Spinjitzu Master]

Thanks for the info, Aanchir. And yeah, we've discussed elsewhere with Spinjitsu Master why Ninjago is actually true to Japanese style anyways; he seems to assume vehicles aren't part of what's Japanese, for example, but they are. And there were vehicles from the start...

Oh, I'd rather not start that with you again. You seem to be deaf when I point out the first year was tradition vs. machine, and this is machine vs. machine.

Not only is this post spam by adding nothing to the discussion, you're also disrespecting one of the staff. There's nothing wrong with having a civil debate about something if it encourages discussion. Both parties may learn something. Do not, however, make another post similar to this one. - Watashi Wa

Edited by Watashi Wa, Feb 21 2012 - 01:14 AM.

[The Shouting God]

Those snake cars and the heli? Me gusta.

[Takua Nui of GoAnimate]

Why do Ninja ride Jet Fighters? I have never understood Ninjago. The only set I liked was Ninja Ambush.

[~Shockwave~]

....What happened to the old Ninjago???
A jet? An all terrian vehicle? A motorcycle?
What about the ninja things??? The...the Dojo...the Dragons...the mystism...I miss you so...

I hope people come to their sences and boycott the vehicle sets so LEGO changes it back. I will only be buying the spinners and the sets without modern twists.

Your free to not buy them, nobodys making you.
Asking people to "come to there senses" to do that is a bad way of putting it.

I must say the dragon is cool.
And that mech is awsome. I want it.

[Gatanui]

No, NINJAGO! What has happened to you? You were so great in the beginning, and now...

Now you are plain awesome. The story is hilarious, the sets are fantastic and overall this is the best LEGO theme for a long time. This year is definitely more cluttered than last year, though. I just hope they don´t mess it up next year. Personally, I think it was unnecessary to make both ZX and NRG ninja, but I am okay with it. Speaking of NRG ninja, you forgot to take a photo of NRG Zane. And has anyone noticed the QR code on the bottom right corner of the packaging on the very last picture? Other packages don´t seem to have it. I wonder what LEGO is up to with that.

~Gata.

Edited by Gatanui, Feb 18 2012 - 09:44 AM.

[Lyichir]

Thanks for the info, Aanchir. And yeah, we've discussed elsewhere with Spinjitsu Master why Ninjago is actually true to Japanese style anyways; he seems to assume vehicles aren't part of what's Japanese, for example, but they are. And there were vehicles from the start...

Oh, I'd rather not start that with you again. You seem to be deaf when I point out the first year was tradition vs. machine, and this is machine vs. machine.

I'm not deaf, and indeed I appreciated the technology-vs.-tradition motif of the first year. But I like the new sets just as much as the first year of sets, and it's extremely pretentious of you to assume that because you don't appreciate the newer sets other people who do like them need to "come to their senses".

[BZP Blade]

Oh geez. It took them long enough to make a green clad ninja, but they made him as awesome as they could, from his name, to his outfit, to the fact that he wields both a sword and scythe. Yeah, that's one of the highlights of this for me. =D

[Spinjitzu Master]

Thanks for the info, Aanchir. And yeah, we've discussed elsewhere with Spinjitsu Master why Ninjago is actually true to Japanese style anyways; he seems to assume vehicles aren't part of what's Japanese, for example, but they are. And there were vehicles from the start...

Oh, I'd rather not start that with you again. You seem to be deaf when I point out the first year was tradition vs. machine, and this is machine vs. machine.

I'm not deaf, and indeed I appreciated the technology-vs.-tradition motif of the first year. But I like the new sets just as much as the first year of sets, and it's extremely pretentious of you to assume that because you don't appreciate the newer sets other people who do like them need to "come to their senses".

I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to bonesiii, notice I quoted him. I seem to understand where you are coming from, but bonesiii is unreadable.

[beefbanana]

The white four headed dragon looks odd. I think if your going to have a dragon with multiple heads it should have long necks for each head. It also looks odd with all the heads the same mould but one, but some of the trans-green parts look quite good and the giant snake looks quite cool, along with most of the snake people. I don't really care about the ninja stuff, as I don't understand ninjas driving around in vehicles. I would of liked it if they did a large snake temple made of dark tan bricks.

[Lyichir]

The white four headed dragon looks odd. I think if your going to have a dragon with multiple heads it should have long necks for each head. It also looks odd with all the heads the same mould but one, but some of the trans-green parts look quite good and the giant snake looks quite cool, along with most of the snake people. I don't really care about the ninja stuff, as I don't understand ninjas driving around in vehicles. I would of liked it if they did a large snake temple made of dark tan bricks.

The dragon has three identical heads because it seems like it's meant to be a "fusion" of the four dragons from last year. Notice how each head has different element-themed printing. The fact that the heads are so cramped is a little odd, but I'll wait to judge that when I can pose them myself, so see how limiting it truly is.

I do agree that a larger snake temple would have been awesome. It seems the closest we're getting is the prison tower in the set with the dragon, which is a little disappointing considering the awesomeness of last year's Fire Temple.

[sukapony]

I was never a really big fan of Ninjago, but these sets are out-and-out awesome, even driving me to get into the story and want a bunch of of them, lol. I've got to get me some of these.

Thanks for the coverage!

[Hakann-The Bully]

The bite-cycle seems pretty cool, I might pick it up, but the main thing I want is that awesome SNAKE which comes with the 4 headed dragon... although I doubt they'll sell me just the snake :/

[Erebus]

Looks like we know who the Green Ninja is now.

Love the set name, Epic Dragon Battle. The big snake looks amazing. Wish the Green Ninja had a green dragon, though.

[beefbanana]

The white four headed dragon looks odd. I think if your going to have a dragon with multiple heads it should have long necks for each head. It also looks odd with all the heads the same mould but one, but some of the trans-green parts look quite good and the giant snake looks quite cool, along with most of the snake people. I don't really care about the ninja stuff, as I don't understand ninjas driving around in vehicles. I would of liked it if they did a large snake temple made of dark tan bricks.

The dragon has three identical heads because it seems like it's meant to be a "fusion" of the four dragons from last year. Notice how each head has different element-themed printing. The fact that the heads are so cramped is a little odd, but I'll wait to judge that when I can pose them myself, so see how limiting it truly is.

I do agree that a larger snake temple would have been awesome. It seems the closest we're getting is the prison tower in the set with the dragon, which is a little disappointing considering the awesomeness of last year's Fire Temple.

Ah so its all the dragons fused into one, it still looks a bit strange though. But it wasn't exactly how well it can pose, its just that it looks weird all cramped even if they have a lot of free movement with their necks. And your probably right about the prison tower thing, as after this wave they will probably move onto a different type of villain meaning this is probably all the snake sets, which is a real shame as I love the snakes. I quite like the look of the 'NRG' ninjas, though I'll take of there masks as I don't really like the new mask mould.

Edited by beefbanana, Feb 21 2012 - 10:17 AM.

[Damaracx 7.0]

Those mechs look cool I wonder if they have the same build as the exo-force mechs or the power miners mech.

[Lyichir]

Those mechs look cool I wonder if they have the same build as the exo-force mechs or the power miners mech.

The mech (singular) doesn't seem to use the same build as either. It does use the same sorts of joint pieces as earlier mechs, but that's to be expected.

[Damaracx 7.0]

I want a ninjago mech now!!!!!!They are awesome!!!!