70743 Airjitzu Morro Review!

[The 1st Shadow]

I picked this set up a couple days ago, and since BZPower hasn't reviewed these yet, I figured I'd take the jump on them and do one first. Will this set carry you and your dreams to the clouds? Or is it best left grounded?

 

 

The Box

 

  

 

The box is just as you'd expect. Some decent artwork showing off the set and all its contents. It's made of that same thin paperboard stuff we're so used to by now. The back shows off more of the same, as well as the lineup of all six Aijitzu Flyers.

 

 

Contents

 

 

Within the container, you will find a single bag of parts, one propeller, and one ripcord, as well as an instruction booklet.

 

 

There's a decent variety of parts. For a set like this, though, the function is meant to outweigh the pieces. As such, it doesn't have a very good piece-to-price ratio, but it does contain this variation of Morro, which is only available in one other (very expensive) set.

 

   

 

Morro comes in his ghost form here. We see him in the original ninja suit, though in green this time, and wearing Lloyd's symbol. The back has printing, and it features his Japanese-style symbol. His head has only one face, though.

 

The set also includes a few weapons, most interesting of which is the new shuriken mold. The blades are slightly curved, and the handles are decorated like the katana handles. These are my favorite piece here!

 

 

Building process

 

The building process is fairly straightforward and simple. You build the minifig, build the handle, and click the spinner together.

 

 

And then you're done!

 

Playability

 

There's not much to say about this. You put the minifig in the dome, and you send it flying. With the spinners, you had a game you could play with them. I suppose this time around, you can take yours, and have a friend launch their own, and see whose goes farthest. Beyond that there's only so much you can do with them.

 

I did take mine out to the local school playground, and I discovered that it holds up fairly well against being dashed against the pavement (oops ). So, they're definitely durable, which is a plus!

 

 

 

Final thoughts

 

All in all, I like the concept here. For the figure, I think this is a good buy. It's nothing too special, but if you want something fun to take outside during the summer months, this is definitely a decent purchase at only $10.  

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first review, and hopefully I'll get around to doing more in the future.  

 

 

[Ford]

Great review!

 

Cyclondoe is a much better name, imo.

[Lyichir]

Great review! I have a review of all six sets pending for The New Elementary, but unfortunately it hasn't gone live yet. In the meantime, this explains almost all the important details of the set.

 

Did you notice that the "sprue" connecting the shurikens can fit on a Lego stud? That was one of the big surprises for me. Apparently, that was not an intentional design decision, but just a side-effect of the sprue shape combined with the rubbery material. If it had been cast in a harder plastic, that connectivity would not exist.

 

Also, the ripcord is a big improvement over past ripcords for the Legends of Chima Speedorz or Bionicle Rhotuka. Not only is it longer, but it's actually compatible with Lego Technic gears—you can use it for a lot more than just the Airjitzu spinner! So far, Ronin R.E.X. is the only set to take advantage of that functionality, with gear-driven turbines that spin when you launch the Airjitzu spinner from the back.

 

I had intended to use the Airjitzu spinners for a boat in this year's BrickFair VA boat race, but at this point it's probably not going to happen. While they achieved decent forward propulsion for the boat, their shape combined with the fact that they can only spin one direction to achieve forward movement meant that the two I affixed to my boat caused the boat to pitch to one side and veer off at an angle. Not a good combination when you're trying to cross a swimming pool.

[Dallior]

Wow, great first review, Shadow! I too like the handle's good shape and the use of the sword pieces as decoration.

 

Can we start a petition to rename Airjitzu "Cyclondoe"?

[The 1st Shadow]

Did you notice that the "sprue" connecting the shurikens can fit on a Lego stud? That was one of the big surprises for me. Apparently, that was not an intentional design decision, but just a side-effect of the sprue shape combined with the rubbery material. If it had been cast in a harder plastic, that connectivity would not exist.

 

I did notice, actually! Forgot to mention it in the review, though, because as soon as I figured it out, I implemented it into a MOC. I like it, though, because it looks just like one of the 1x1 round tiles, but with the little spikes for detailing, which is nice.

 

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On a side note, my brother may be getting Kai sometime soon, so I might review that one, too.

Edited July 28, 2015 by T1Shadow: The Artisan

[Aanchir]

I'm kind of surprised you didn't have more to say about the box, since it is a pretty unique shape, all things considered. I think it's really cool how many creative things the LEGO Group has been doing with cardboard/paperboard packaging lately. I like it a lot more than the blister packs they used for the 2011 and 2012 spinner sets. I was surprised how big it was at first, though — I guess that makes sense, though, considering the size of the propellor element!

 

I like that Morro's costume resembles a ghostly version of the Ninja's original training costumes from 2011. I wish he'd worn a non-ghostly version of this costume in the flashback portions of the TV show instead of just wearing the ZX costume that Lloyd later wore. It's a bit weird that Morro's unique printed tile has his and Lloyd's dragon emblem, while the ninja's tiles use their alternate symbols (the ones that resemble Chinese or Japanese calligraphy).

 

I wonder if there will be more Airjitzu sets in the future. It would be great to get Airjitzu versions of Lloyd and Nya.

[The 1st Shadow]

I'm kind of surprised you didn't have more to say about the box, since it is a pretty unique shape, all things considered. I think it's really cool how many creative things the LEGO Group has been doing with cardboard/paperboard packaging lately. I like it a lot more than the blister packs they used for the 2011 and 2012 spinner sets. I was surprised how big it was at first, though — I guess that makes sense, though, considering the size of the propellor element!

 

I wonder if there will be more Airjitzu sets in the future. It would be great to get Airjitzu versions of Lloyd and Nya.

I figured that since LEGO did unique shapes for the Speedorz sets, this sort of thing didn't need to be gone over too much, since we're all so used to the idea of the "action sets" having unique box styles. Just my thoughts. :shrug:

 

Well, in the SDCC Ninjago panel, one attendant asked if anyone else would learn Airjitzu. Since the panel-people said that someone would later on, it's possible we'll see another wave of these in the future.